A centuries-old Mid-Autumn tradition: The Kinmen Bo Bing competition for the top scholar’s luck

▲ The 2014 Kinmen Mid-Autumn Bo the Top Scholar’s Cake Township Competition held its final day yesterday. (Photo / Kinmen Mid-Autumn Bo the Top Scholar’s Cake event website)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

With Mid-Autumn Festival just around the corner, besides barbecues, moon-gazing, and eating mooncakes, do you know what else people do during this holiday or what customs they follow? In Kinmen, there's a traditional activity called "Bo Bing." Yesterday evening, the final day of the 2014 Kinmen Mid-Autumn "Bo the Top Scholar’s Cake" Township Competition was held in the plaza in front of the "Governor’s Office."

▲ Rules of "Bo Bing." (Photo / Kinmen Mid-Autumn Bo the Top Scholar’s Cake event website)

After two days and four rounds producing eighty-eight table champions, the playoffs then produced eight more scholars. In the Kinmen Township Competition finals, Wang Jinsheng claimed the "Town Scholar" title, winning a grand prize of a 42-inch LCD TV, and will go on to compete in the mainland China Quanzhou finals. Meanwhile, the eighty-eight township scholars are eligible to participate in the September 7th Mid-Autumn holiday finals at the Kinmen County Historic Site – the Kinmen Town Governor’s Office – where they will compete against other table champions from various townships to vie for the county’s "Top Scholar Prize": a car.

Last night at 6:30 PM, the 2014 Kinmen Mid-Autumn Bo the Top Scholar’s Cake Township Competition resumed in the plaza in front of the "Governor’s Office" in Kincheng. The first round featured twenty-two tables, and after Kincheng Mayor Shih Zhao-t’i shouted “Let’s Bo the Top Scholar for Mid-Autumn—bring on the luck!” the games began. The second round also had twenty-two tables, making a total of forty-four tables across both sessions. A large crowd of participants and spectators filled the Governor’s Office plaza, cheering and enjoying lively music.

▲ The Mid-Autumn "Bo Bing" activity is said to foretell one’s fortune for the coming year. (Photo / Kinmen Mid-Autumn Bo the Top Scholar’s Cake event website)

This "Bo Bing" game is considered a form of "divination" locally, used to predict one’s exam luck as well as fortune for the year ahead. It has been passed down for over three hundred years; in some places, it is also called "Seizing the Top Scholar’s Cake" or "Grabbing the Top Scholar."