Red Bluff - Chinese Cemetery
The reality is in the 1800’s-1900’s, the Chinese and their customs were considered strange. Although, the “Chinese were known as the hardest of workers for the lowest of pay and this caused resentment from white laborer’s who felt the Chinese were stealing jobs and causing unreasonably low wages” (Red Bluff Daily Newspaper). This sentiment resulted in prejudice, boycotting, the creation of discriminatory Associations and Societies to campaign harsh backlash against the Chinese.
For those original Chinese families, like the Chew’s, who chose to make Red Bluff, CA their permanent home, they were not allowed to be buried with other ethnicities. Today after entering the Oak Hill Cemetery, on Cemetery Lane, Red Bluff, CA 96080, on the right hand side, rear portion of the cemetery, there is a historic Chinese gravesite section. This section was intentionally created to exclude the Chinese from the remainder of the cemetery and other ethnicities. Although, many Chinese patrons of Red Bluff made temporary residence, their bodies were exhumed and shipped back to China; this was customary for the bodies to return to the Motherland following thousands of years of tradition.
Since five Chinese families had made America their home becoming the first settlers in Red Bluff, their original dead remain buried in the “Chinese graveyard section” at Oak Hill Cemetery and can still be visited today.
Each of the original five Chinese families held an old country Chinese funeral procession.
On July 31, 2021, this last ritual of a Chinese funeral procession traveled around 860 Main Street, Red Bluff, CA and through the former Chinatown ending on Reeds Creek Road was conducted for Joe You Chew who was 99.5 years old and the last Chew family resident in Tehama County. During the procession, Chew’s granddaughter scatter little pieces of Chinese ghost paper with holes in them to confused the evil spirits because they would have to go through all of the little holes to reach the graveyard so that Joe can reached his resting place before them. As the Ancestors were awaken with Chinese music and a gong letting them know that Joe had arrived, his granddaughter placed a red tray full of all of Joe’s favorite vegetarian dishes for their ancestors to feast on. The family wanted to insure an everlasting peace for Joe so an ancient Chinese rhyme was said; since Joe, in fact, enjoyed the best that life had to offer:
To be born in Suzhou (where there are beautiful girls)
To eat in Guangzhou (where there is the best food)
To live (wear) in Hangzhou (where the best silk is made)
To die in Liuzhou (which is famous for making coffins)
It was widely known amongst the original Chinese families who buried their loved ones at Oak Hill Cemetery, that the homeless would often steal the offerings to the Chinese ancestors and Gods, and eventually the families changed this ritual to be performed at a Temple. Additionally, the Chinese families would use a Joss House oven (Burner) located within the Chinese section of the cemeteries for burning the belongings of the deceased. For this occasion, the Joss House oven in Vina, CA would be used for the last time on August 1, 2021 for Joe Chew.
These ancient funeral proceedings and Chinese procession would be the last time it was performed by one of the original Chinese families in Tehama County.
