The Story of the (Foochow) Red Blanket

In the olden days both in Fujian and Sibu, a Chinese bride would be endowed with this beautiful wollen blanket (hand woven ).

A red blanket like this was made of pure wool and after being dried in the sun it had a really good smell. There would always be a blanket beating ritual on a good spring day in Minqing according to my Ngie mah. The Foochows also called this 12 pound blanket because that was its weight.

The British had already been trading with China as long ago as 1800's and wollen blankets were one of the exquisite items they would trade with the Chinese in exchange for tea. China in those days did not have textile factories yet. The most important silk industry was in the stage of cottage industry.

According to the marriage rituals of the Foochows in Sibu in those days, the bride must come with some bridal gifts, especially gifts for the Bridal Chamber like wash basin, quilts, pillow cases. And later, came the wollen red blanket, even if the bride family was poor.

My Ngie Mah once told me a very heart rending story of how a woman was abused in life and in death. She was married from her poor family who only could afford to give her a few items for the wedding, a small gold ring, a pair of earrings, and a red blanket and two lanterns. Her husband's family also did not provide much because they were very stingy. They had wanted to make her their daughter in law because she was a strong and capable girl. She would have been also a good mother to many sons.

However all through her life she was very much abused. And she had valued all the gifts her parents gave her.

Due to all her hard work, she suffered from poor health and she finally died at quite a young age.

The Foochows had the ritual of ENCOFFIN which required her siblings or at least one representative to close her coffin and to cover the coffin with the RED blanket.

If her side of the family was not happy with the husband's family, that would be the time to seek amends or to speak of the abuses before the burial. Indeed the siblings said a few words of how hard the sister had worked for the family. Every one shed a lot of tears and many realized how much the lady had contributed to the famly.

As the coffin was taken out of the house for burial, her mother in law rushed out to pull the red blanket from the coffin.

And to the villagers, this was the last straw. She did not even want her daughter in law to be buried with the last gift from her parents.

Her children were so devasted that they could not do anything about the situation and prayed that their long suffering mother would understand.