Ainiannian / Goodbye, Mum

Ainiannian,“Ai（𠊎）”means “My”in Hakka dialect,and I call my mother“Niannian（嬭嬭）” in Hakka dialect.

This is a private image in memory of my mother,and also a hodgepodge of Hakka rural customs in western Fujian: The deep-fired rice cakes ,The Guanshe Kueh,The scripture of Wugong,The scripture of Luozu, Wearing one’s hair in a buddhist bun, The Dizang fast, The Tiansheng incense、The meal for the bodhisattvas,Reciting the scripture of Yuhuang,
Redeem a vow to god,Selecting a date with the help of spirit-medium,The Lake of Blood ritual,The Zhongyuan Festival,Lighting the Zhutian incense,The ritual to transform the dead to ancestor.

Before, I always thought that my mother's faith in folk Buddhism was chaotic and unsystematic; there was superstition, vanity，inheritance, and even a bit of simple pragmatic foolishness in it. But my mother just kept fasting and reciting the sutra,she held on to this trust and faith all year round.On the night of the total lunar eclipse in April 15 in Chinese lunar calendar, we three brothers stayed by our mother's side, where she had given birth to us. We recite the Buddha's name for three days and three nights without fear and panic. At noon three days later ，when mother was approaching her end, I touch her gently, and I found that the top of her head was warm. After seeing it with my own eyes, I trembled to realized that what I had only known from words had been confirmed in my mother and I felt both sad and relieved.

After my mother passed away,I began to compile the video materials about her, and each time I could not hide my reluctance, could not help but shed tears of grief, and my mourning always interrupted the editing. Had it not been for the urging and persistence of Mr. Wu Wenguang, I know I would still not have been able to finish this rough image.