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Apr. 5–Spring rain has left the wild grasses unmowed and weeds knee-high at San Jose’s century-old Chinese cemetery plot, a reminder of a time when “Oriental” people lived and died in segregation. Long after a people disappear from a community, however, they leave behind artifacts of their lives. The Chinese pioneers who worked the orchards of Santa Clara Valley and built the railroads at the turn of the century left behind this cemetery. Today — the eighth day of the third month of the Lunar Year — is Ching Ming, a traditional spring occasion when millions of Chinese people visit grave sites to honor the dead. The San Jose plot — 140 feet by 160 feet — sits adjacent to the parking lot of the Oak Hill Memorial Park and is preserved as one of the few remaining Chinese-American historic sites in the valley. The estimated 250 to 300 bodies once buried there have long been exhumed and shipped back for a second burial in China. “Not a lot of people know about it; it’s forgotten,” said Dennis Wan, president of the South Bay Historic Chinese American Cemetery Corp., which spearheaded a group effort in the 90s to clean up the cemetery after decades of neglect.

On Saturday, a Taoist priest led a Ching Ming ceremony at the San Jose plot. Last weekend thousands of others from around the Bay Area made their annual visit to the vast cemeteries in Colma. This weekend, Oak Hill Memorial Park will hold its own Ching Ming observation.

The South Bay Historic Chinese American Cemetery Corp., formed in 1980 to take care of the cemetery, uses the holiday to bring history to today’s younger generation. Saturday’s event, open to the public, featured chanting, burning of incense and paper-money offerings at the brick altar erected near the cemetery’s front gate, which faces Curtner Avenue near Monterey Highway. “This is where our ancestors and pioneers were buried, so we want to preserve the site,” Wan said. “They really paved the road for the later generation, and they should be honored and respected.” Through the early 1900s, Chinese people were not allowed to be buried in other cemeteries, and in 1900, eight Chinese organizations were deeded the land for their own cemetery near Oak Hill. The first recorded burial was July 24, 1900, but Wan said, “People were burying before that date.” Between 250 and 300 people were buried in the half-acre plot of land. The last burial was in 1963. Headstones were removed long ago to avoid vandalism. “From a historical perspective, it adds to the lore of Oak Hill,” said Greg Lim, a sales manager at Oak Hill. “We hold the distinction as being one of the oldest cemeteries in California.” Back in the 1900s, though, Oak Hill was not an option for the Chinese. But times have changed. Today one out of every five Bay Area residents is Asian; Oak Hill is building an Asian chapel to accommodate the special needs and cultures of Asian families. Many Asian cultures have as many, if not more, rituals dedicated to death as to birth. On Saturday, for the spirits that used to rest at San Jose’s once-abandoned Chinese cemetery, and in observance of Ching Ming, there was roasted pig, puddings and fruits — for the living and the dead. Contact Truong Phuoc Khanh at tkhanh@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-2729

Copyright (c) 2006, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.