Abstract:

Folk customs are rich in the information that is extremely important to an understanding of a society and its cultures. This paper interprets the cultural symbols of a special folk custom， known as “Zhufu” or blessing， practiced at the end of the Chinese year in Shaoxing region， Zhejiang providence of China. Three cultural patterns， namely， “maturity and harvest，” “death and departure，” and “end and revenant，” are examined to decompose the complex multiple meanings embedded within the concept of “end” in its temporal sense. Our objectives are to understand a special worldview of the Chinese people and to explore the foundation for the production and reproduction of a culture.

Key words: Zhufu, “observe”, symbol, cultural pattern