My Father's Willow Tree

 My late father liked to plant trees and greens. One of the trees he grew in Sibu was the Willow Tree 柳.

He found the right place to grow his willow sapling, which was near the drain which ran from Oya Road (later Brooke Drive) to our house. In those days drains were just dug out drenches with no concrete walls. And the sapling slowly grew to a magnificent tree which became a landmark of our wooden house. "Find the house with a willow tree!" my father would tell our relatives. He did not say, "Find the big white house!" Perhaps he knew a bit about Feng Shui, for he grew the tree outside our compound. Any Feng Shui master to day would advise one to do that.

Yes we lived in a White House but not in the American President's White House.

May be the willow tree reminded him of Beijing, of his loneliness as a scholar, or of his own lifestyle as a very quiet man in a very boisterous Foochow society.

As a great reader of Chinese classics and magazines, he continually cultivated his love for Chinese literature.To his children he bequeathed some knowledge of Chinese culture and a love for reading, though not in Chinese, as he , as a child of migrant parents, embraced the new Nanyang Culture of western education.

He sent all of us to English medium schools but at home, he "educated" us by telling us stories when we had meals together. He had foreseen the future of Sarawak as a British Colony and then as a state within the Commonwealth where English would be an official language.

Being an inquisitive child I had asked him why he grew willow trees outside our family compound.

"As if it was bowing, a willow tree symbolizes humility." He answered.

My father had often talked about social strife caused by men who were too ambitious. He preferred a humble lifestyle, away from climbing of the social ladder and garnering of wealth through greed and evil deeds. It was also because he grew up in a big household in which to prevent strife he would give power to those who were aggressive and dominant. He had also declined the chairmanship of the Sibu Urban District Council, saying that he was not healthy enough. He was also an elected member of the Council Negri of Sarawak, representing Sibu.

Later, in school I learned about the other symbols of the willow. The willow is a symbol of spring.

The willow to many elders, repels demons and in some areas in China, during the Qingming festival (held on the 105 day after the winter solstice), willow twigs are worn around the head. And if a relative were to be posted elsewhere especially far away, it was common for women and friends to press some twigs into his hands at his departure.

Today many have forgotten the symbolic meaning of the willow tree.