In Chinatown, a celebration of a 1,189th birthday

The annual celebration honors General Humin, a guardian god of Chinese Fujian people, with a parade, lion dance and traditional folk music.

Lion dancers lead the 2019 Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade down 10th
Street toward the center of Chinatown on Sunday. — Lion dancers lead the 2019 Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Parade down 10th Street toward the center of Chinatown on Sunday.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer

by Diane Mastrull

Published Mar. 31, 2019, 5:08 p.m. ET

General Humin was a scholar and a fighter who was deeply empathetic and philanthropic whose contributions to the Chinese Fujian people have been remembered annually so many years after his death.

Sunday was no exception in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. There, a parade, lion dance and opera show were among the festivities commemorating the 1189th birthday of Humin, a guardian god to the Fujian people.

The city’s first Chinese Hoyu Folk Culture Festival to celebrate Humin was held in 2009, inspired by new Chinese immigrants from Hoyu Township of Fujian and sponsored by the Philadelphia Hoyu Chinese American Association. It has been held every year since, popular with locals and tourists.

According to historical accounts, Humin assisted the King of Min in building the Fuzhou city, including opening ports, attracting investments, and building schools. After his death, the society lapsed into chaos and corruption.

Hoping to be blessed and protected by him, the Fujian people build temples to worship Humin, triggering an annual tradition of honoring him that has lasted more than 1,000 years.