Reflections | Vandalising the graves of enemies was once commonplace in China, today it shows extreme polarisation of Hong Kong
- The graves of lawmaker Junius Ho’s parents were desecrated after he was seen fraternising with men in white
- One of the most famous attacks on ancestral shrines in ancient China dates back to 506BC
The desecration of the graves of one’s enemies or their family members was a common practice among cultures that bury their dead to show one’s contempt or vent one’s anger towards one’s foes. For many Chinese people, especially those living in the rural New Territories, it may even be construed as a curse because many believe that the proper maintenance of ancestral graves ensures the well-being of the whole clan.
A famous story of grave vandalism occurred more than 2,500 years ago, during the late Spring and Autumn Period (771–476BC). King Ping, of the state of Chu, a large kingdom whose territories included modern-day Hubei, Hunan and parts of their neighbouring provinces, had married his hitherto daughter-in-law, wife of his own son. After the prince fled for his life, King Ping decided to kill Wu She, the tutor of the prince, and Wu’s two sons. Wu She and his elder son were killed but the younger son, Wu Zixu, escaped and ended up in the service of the kingdom of Wu, located to the east of Chu whose capitals were modern-day Wuxi and Suzhou.
In 506BC, the kingdom of Wu launched a military attack on its western neighbour, Chu. The king of Wu led the invasion, and he was assisted by Wu Zixu and Sun Tzu, of The Art of War fame. Although Chu mounted a strong defence, it was no match for the military manoeuvrings of Wu Zixu and Sun Tzu, and the Wu army soon marched into the capital of Chu.
Wu Zixu, seeking vengeance for the murders of his father and brother, headed straight to the tomb of King Ping, who had died 10 years before. He did not simply desecrate the tomb; he had the royal carcass dug up and gave it 300 lashes of his whip. One can still feel Wu Zixu’s intense rage and anguish today, 2,525 years later.
In most retellings of the story over the centuries, Wu Zixu is often cast as the hero and King Ping the villain. In the case of the vandalised graves of Ho’s parents, there were no heroes. The whole episode in Yuen Long, both the beatings at the train station and the immediate aftermath, was informed by the anger and hate that accompany the extreme polarisation of present-day Hong Kong, where everything is literally black or white, where the capacity for nuanced thinking and moderation are like dead relics of a long-forgotten past.