A Street Cleaner and a Temple in China

To quickly touch on two recent themes and cities from the past week, here is a street cleaner in Shanghai taking a break:

And here is another scene at Guanghua Temple in Putian, Fujian province:

For more about street cleaners, there is an account by a Shanghai street cleaner which covers everything from his daily work to his interest in crickets:

I’ve been working for the government as a road sweeper for seven years and I work Monday to Friday, from seven in the morning till around four in the afternoon with a two hour lunch break. I earn 1,580rmb [about US $250 at the time] a month. It’s not too tiring. . . .

I’ve played with crickets since I was a child. I can tell from the sounds they make whether they are green crickets, yellow crickets or purple crickets, how big or small they are, how strong they are. You need to look after them well to make them strong. The back of a strong cricket’s head is oily and shiny, and looks like a ripe water melon. Famous emperors used to play this game.

You need to change what you feed your crickets depending on their age. In the early days, you feed them rice with some medicinal herbs. When they are middle-aged, I make prawn porridge for them, with ant dust. The ant dust is from ants in Guangxi, the big ones. When they are almost ready to fight, I will give them pearl dust or ginseng dust.

For more about Guanghua Temple, Wikipedia has one of the more comprehensive articles which includes details of the temple's recent history:

At the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949 the temple had a resident population of 60 monks, a figure which by 1965 had declined to 57. Used as a factory for a period during the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), the monks were dispelled and all statues of deities smashed.

With opening up and reform during the late 1970s and the advent of religious freedom, Master Yuanchan (圆禅法师) from the Yechengguang Garden Temple (椰城广化寺) in Indonesia together with other overseas Chinese began to support the Guanghua Temple. In 1979, a six-year restoration program began under the supervison of then 70-year-old Venerable Master Yuanzhou (圆拙老法师).

Guanghua Monks

I don't have much time for a post today, so I'll share a scene from a place in Putian, Fujian province, where time seemed to pass differently — Guanghua Temple.

A Rock Pile in Shanghai

The other day I saw a stack of square bricks sitting next to a restaurant's outdoor patio at a mall.




I didn't know whether the person who stacked the bricks had anything spiritual in mind, but they still reminded me of the Tibetan rocks piles I saw next to China's largest lake.



See the Qinghai Lake photos I posted two years ago for more scenes at a place far away in many ways from Shanghai.

Jing'an Juxtapositions

Today in Shanghai's Jing'an district, I saw an outdoor promotion for the American outdoors wear retailer Timberland next to the Jing'an Temple.

It made me think of another view of Jing'an Temple — one which included a store for Old Navy, an American clothing retailer owned by Gap.

And yes, when I took the photo, the digital billboard above the Old Navy store was displaying an advertisement for the Swedish clothing retailer H&M, prime competition for Gap. None of H&M's 20 stores in Shanghai are in the immediate area, but one is only a single metro stop away.

Taipei Scenes: Temples, Streets, and Drinks

Although more about Taiwan will appear, since I now find myself on the much larger land mass across the Taiwan Strait, the focus here will shift. But first, I want to share a few photos which especially resonate with me and show a little more of Taipei's spirit.

At the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

Praying at the Xiahai City God Temple

Inside the Yonglian Temple

Looking out at the Luzhou Temple Commercial District from Yonglian Temple

Nanhai Road at 5pm

Xinyi Road at 5am

One of many places for a soy milk fix

Free tea and traditional music

Xinzhuang Night Market on Xinzhuang Temple Street

One of Taipei's many alleys

Xinzhuang Lanterns

At the Wusheng Temple (武聖廟) in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City

A Few Scenes from Yangjiang's Beihu Park

Beihu Park (北湖公园) in Yangjiang's Jiangcheng district seems to have seen better days and shows signs of significant wear. Nonetheless, it seemed to be another place suitable for a game of xianqi, and I enjoyed a quiet visit walking around its lake.

Here are three scenes from one of its more spiritual islands where I met a friendly monk:

The Nian Li Festival in Maoming, China

Two days ago on Sunday, as I enjoyed a bowl of dumplings along an alley in Maoming, Guangdong province, I heard traditional Chinese music slowly growing louder and louder. Kids nearby were clearly excited and soon a Gods Parade passed by.

The parade was part of the Nian Li Festival (年例节). Nian Li is a local holiday celebrated in Maoming (and perhaps Zhanjiang) and it can't be found elsewhere, including Maoming's neighbor to the east, Yangjiang. According to Newsgd.com, during the Nian Li Festival people make sacrifices to gods, pray for good luck, and feast with relatives and friends. The Gods Parade and entertaining programs are also part of the festival.

After watching the parade pass, I decided a change in my day's plans was in order. So I finished my dumplings and tracked down where the parade had made a temporary stop. There I found a scene enshrouded in smoke from exploding firecrackers.

After the air cleared, people prayed.

Others placed many more firecrackers to set off.

Some were curious about my presence since there aren't many foreigners in Maoming. I met a number of people, including a few of the parade's flag carriers.

After the prayers finished, it was time to line up.

And they headed to another destination. I was told they went to 11 in total.

The parade had occasional onlookers.

Once at the next destination, they set up.

And things went mostly as before.

This time, though, one kid was super excited about the fireworks.

Again the parade continued on, sometimes stopping traffic.

After a long walk, we arrived at the final destination, a temple.

A variety of rituals took place. In one a man exhibited some fine attack skills.

To conclude, after a set of exceptionally loud explosions, the gods which had been paraded around were returned to the temple.

Later in the evening there there was a Chinese opera performance on a stage set up next to the temple. I couldn't make it that night, but I did catch some of the following night's performance.

For me, the holiday was another chance to experience traditional Chinese culture and see another example of how China can differ from one place to the next. There's always more to discover. Even if this is the first mention of the Nian Li Festival you've ever seen, you already know more than I did before I happened to be eating dumplings at the right place at the right time.

Selfless Selfies

What do you call a selfie taken by someone dedicated to overcoming selfhood? http://t.co/h039cHyZ79 pic.twitter.com/1W4WoKo92t
— Chris Buckley 储百亮 (@ChuBailiang) February 24, 2014

"Is the self identical with the body?" ~ a question Buddha refused to answer

Lanterns at the Man Mo Temple

For some balance, which may be needed after the previous post, here's a scene from the Man Mo Temple in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong:

The Kwun Yum Temple in Hong Kong

On Friday, the last day of the Lunar New Year's celebrations, I visited the Kwun Yum Temple in Hung Hom, Hong Kong:

Kwun Yum or Kwun Sai Yum (觀世音) [has been] known for centuries as a deity of sympathy, compassion and mercy, hearing the pleas of those who are suffering. She is worshipped by people of both the Taoist and Buddhist religions. Kwun Yum in the earlier times was a male divinity, but evolved to be a female deity in Tang Dynasty (唐朝). Arising from a saying that Kwun Yum studied Taoist teachings on lotus blossoms, some Kwun Yum Temples are also called Lin Fa Kung or Palace of Lotus Flower (蓮花宮). Temples dedicated to Kwun Yum are often alternatively known as Shui Yuet Kung or Palace of Water and Moon (水月宮), which stands for all that is quiet and peaceful and detached from the material world.

The inside did feel detached from the world outside. People prayed, made offerings, and had their fortunes told. The scenes especially contrasted with others I saw later in the day regarding a holiday not so detached from the material world--the subject of the next post. But first, below are a few scenes, most of which include incense burning or being lit, from a temple full of people, smoke, and spirit.