慈善救濟、族產辦學與華人跨境殯葬——澳門同善堂藏永租北嶺山地契約的背景、訂立與價值

There is a land deed in the collection of the Historical Archives of the Tong Sin Tong, which records that on April 3, 1949, Tong Sin Tong reached an agreement with the Xu Fengchi family to permanently lease the Xu clan’s land, located at the Lion Mountain in Bei Ling (Passaleão), with an area of 17.2 acres, for the construction of the Macao Chinese Permanent Cemetery. The rent of 350 and a subsidy of 50, totaling 400, paid to Xu Fengchi’s family, was used only to support the school’s operation in Bei Ling. This clause was intended to ensure that the clan land rent could be used sustainably for the school, to restrain the clan itself, and to ensure the school’s continuity in Bei Ling during chaotic times. With the introduction of the Zhuhai Burial Ordinance in 1967, the new urban burial land planning replaced the original cross-border cemetery cooperation, and the graves scattered all over Gongbei were concentrated in the new Zhuhai Heluoshan Cemetery, meaning that the contract between Tong Sin Tong and Xu’s family automatically ended. The system of cross-border cemeteries for Chinese in Macao came to an end.