As far as I know, there are double meanings to the Hokkien words, Kam Cheng. The first alludes to having gratitude or showing a mutual respect of one another. The second meaning refers to the delicate old lidded porcelain pots of various sizes that were brought to South-east Asia by the baba-nyonyas in the 19th or 20th Century. To give someone a Kam Cheng pot meant a great deal in the past.
Apart from the walkabout in the heritage quarters of George Town on the seventh of July, I managed to sneak in a visit to Seven Terraces in Stewart Lane where an exhibition of old Kam Cheng porcelain pots was taking place. This Kam Cheng Cache exhibition came from a private collection by Christopher Ong who had been holding short but significant exhibitions of his valuable nyonya stuff yearly as part of the George Town Heritage Day. It was a truly impressive collection but I don't know when it will ever be displayed in public again.
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