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Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts

Friday, April 22, 2016

Guarding in Red in Tainan

Today's guardian lion, courtesy of the Anping Kaitai Matsu Temple in Tainan, Taiwan:

guardian lion with red ribbon bows at the Anping Kaitai Matsu Temple in Tainan, Taiwan

Monday, April 18, 2016

Fire, Blood, and Prayer at Taipei's Chang Qing Temple

Despite having "over 210 years of history", the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) isn't one of Taipei's most famous temples, but like many small temples in Taiwan it has plenty of spirit nonetheless. As I walked nearby last night some loud sounds compelled me to take a closer look. I believe I caught the end of a special ceremony where statues of gods are taken out of the temple and later returned, often with a great amount of fanfare. Although I didn't witness any massive parades like I recently saw for similar events in Jieyang, last night's ceremony stood out for the bloody wounds a tattooed man inflicted upon himself and the intense music.

Some photos below capture the man who was at the center of the ceremony's conclusion. He received a warm round of applause for his dedicated efforts.


ceremony at the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei



ceremony at the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei



man holding a flail and another lighting a fire for a ceremony at the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei



man holding swords and standing between several fires for a ceremony at the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei



man next to a fire in a ceremony at the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei



man with a bleeding back in a ceremony at the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei



man sticking a sword into ashes for a ceremony at the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei



ceremony at the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei



Top-front of the Chang Qing Temple (長慶廟) in Taipei

Friday, March 11, 2016

Brother Photo Request: Chinese Jesus

In a desire to mix things up and present myself a challenge, today for the first time ever I told my younger brother "you can pick the photo for today's post". The instructions were vague, but I figured he would understand what I was after.

Of course, he didn't, and after expressing excitement he sent me an image from The Oatmeal. Brothers . . .

I began to regret my offer and pointed out it wasn't a photo. My brother proposed it may have been a photo taken in a cartoon world with a cartoon camera.

This is why we didn't have better things growing up.

He soon made another attempt, though, and asked, "Do you have a picture of a Chinese Jesus?"

I didn't see that coming at all, and it raised several intriguing issues.

As I searched my mind for something relevant I have come across, he added, "I've seen Korean Jesus and Vietnamese Jesus, but I don't think I've seen a Chinese Jesus."

And if I was lacking motive, my brother provided one: "Jesus always brings in the pageviews."

Ok then.

One possible connection was Hong Xiuquan, a leader of the Taiping Rebellion and "self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ" — quite a story there. But I have not visited the Hong Xiuquan Memorial in Guangzhou, so I didn't see much potential there.

The best I could come up with was a nativity scene I saw a few months ago at the Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street in Xiamen. Not only did it include Jesus (unsure of ethnicity but probably not Chinese), it also included something connecting to my brother's earlier cartoon theme — Olaf (snowperson), a character from Disney's animated movie Frozen.

nativity scene with Olaf at the Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street in Xiamen


Olaf's sign said "Warm Wishes".

As with my brother's request, I am not going to even try to explain the display. But I will add that it was popular for selfies.

two young females taking a selfie in front of a nativity scene with Olaf at the Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street in Xiamen


Like a dog in Taiwan, my brother took me in unexpected directions. And in both cases there were religious destinations. What a world.



Update: More context and a bit of an explanation for the display here.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Scenes from Kaihua Isle in Fuzhou's West Lake

circular entranceway at Kaihua Temple in Fuzhou

Fuzhou's West Lake may not be as famous as Hangzhou's, but according to a sign at the 105-acre park first constructed in 282 AD:
It is ranked 6th among the 36 west lakes all over China and wins its fame for verdant hills, sparkling waters, shady trees, grotesque rockwork and wooden pavilions.
I have been to a number of those similarly named parks and wonder if I have been to the one ranked 36th. Whatever the case, I recently enjoyed a peaceful afternoon walking around the park in Fuzhou, and it wasn't hard to believe it deserved a top 10 ranking. This post includes some scenes from its Kaihua Isle, the location of Kaihua Temple. Tree penjing, sculptures of small monkeys, and a monk all make appearances.

rock formation with sculptures of small monkeys in front of Kaihua Temple in Fuzhou

Tree penjing (bonsai) at Kaihua Isle in Fuzhou

man and small girl walking on small stones across a pond at West Lake in Fuzhou

sculpture at West Lake in Fuzhou

scene at Kaihua Temple in Fuzhou

covered walkway behind Kaihua Temple in Fuzhou

monk walking into a prayer hall at Kaihua Temple in Fuzhou

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Barking Dogs, Barbecue Buddha, and a Broom Attack

Today while walking down Renmin Road in Changsha, I encountered two dogs who had plenty to say to me.

two dogs in Changsha


Perhaps the closer dog had realized at this moment I knew they were mostly just bark. But at least they were standing next to an interesting location — a Chinese barbecue shop.

two dogs in front of a Chinese barbecue shop


It opens at 5:00 p.m. and closes around midnight. When closed it displays a painting of what appears to be Buddha holding grilled skewered beef.

painting of Buddha eating barbecued beef skewers

Or maybe it is tofu. Whatever the case, the shop's name specifically mentions beef.

As I took photos of the shop and the Buddha painting, something unexpected occurred. A shirtless man approached me and began screaming at . . . I'm not sure who, maybe the dogs, though they weren't doing anything at the time. He was possibly using the local dialect.

I sensed something wasn't quite right as it certainly wasn't normal behavior. Especially compared to what I had seen and dealt with during my earlier 10 years of life in Baltimore, I wasn't worried, but I remained alert. I commented to the man about the painting. His yelling continued unabated.

I then decided to start video recording to capture the moment to see if a local friend could understand the man. But he had stopped yelling by then and started to walk away.

I sensed all was not over.

As the following video shows, I was not wrong, but what occurred was even more unexpected — especially the dramatic "unsheathing".


After the man walked away, one person watching nearby used hand gestures to communicate he thought the man was "crazy". I am somewhat surprised I haven't seen similar examples more often in China. Baltimore was more eventful in this regards.

I have no idea what the man did with the broom handle. It looks like it could have been a great skewer for some large pieces of beef.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Buddha Lends a Hand

This Buddha appears to be ready to lend a hand . . .

a large Buddha head sitting on the ground with a large hand next to it


. . . or a foot.

a large Buddha head sitting on the ground with a large hand next to it and another hand and two feet farther away


I saw the Buddha head at Hengyang's West Lake Park. For a size reference, here is a young girl examining it:

young girl who is almost the same height as the Buddha head

I don't know why the parts were there, nor do I know what became of the rest of Buddha's body, assuming it ever existed. Perhaps a deep message is intended. Perhaps one can be found.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Sunday, January 11, 2015

One Gas Station Under God, Indivisible

After I wrote about a church with a movie theater underneath it in Zhangzhou, China, a reader in the Washington, D.C., area brought my attention to a building with a similar unconventional mix in the U.S. Instead of a movie theater, though, the "Our Lady of Exxon" church has a gas station underneath it.

"Our Lady of Exxon" -- Arlington Temple Methodist Church, Arlington VA
Photo by mj*laflaca on flickr (original and copyright information)

As The New York Times reported over 20 years ago:
It's a place of worship. It's a gas station. It's Arlington Temple United Methodist Church. Newcomers to Rosslyn, Va., a suburb of Washington, often gawk at the odd structure. But locals breezily refer to it as "Our Lady of Exxon."

The Rev. Jack Sawyer, the church's pastor, doesn't mind at all. "People can call us whatever they want," he says. "We're happy to have them here. We're happy with Exxon too."
A more recent independent report on "this architectural magnificence" indicates the gas station changed from Exxon to Chevron. Whatever the case, according to UMTV, the mix of religion and capitalism was no accident:
This ministry has existed in the middle of the marketplace for more than 30 years. Founder Dr. James Robertson wanted an urban church, but land was expensive. And Dr. Robertson rightly predicted that its value would continue rising.

The Rev. Jean McDonald-Walker: “He said that if we have a gas station underneath the church, the church will never be at a loss for funds. They’ll always have some income, even if there aren’t many members.”
Despite its uniqueness, like the church in Zhangzhou, the church in Rosslyn could be seen as symbolic of broader issues in its country. The environmentally-concerned Christian group who once ran an advertising campaign asking "What would Jesus drive?" to "gas-guzzling Americans" might have some suggestions.

Friday, January 9, 2015

A Church Higher than Movies in "Godless Communist" China

Last month a friend's acquaintance referred to Chinese people as "Godless Communists" in a privately shared comment about Yiwu, "the town in China that makes the world's Christmas decorations". I replied:
It's hard to call China's system these days "communist", whatever the name of the controlling political party. On that note, "The total number of Christians in China is approaching the number of Communist Party members". Yiwu also happens to be in a province with an especially large number of churches, even after a number were recently demolished.
The comment also brought to mind a large church I had recently seen in Zhangzhou, Fujian province.

church in Zhangzhou, Fujian province


It is not Zhangzhou's only church and just one of many I have seen across China, including a church in nearby Quanzhou. However, one aspect of this church was rather unusual. A commercial movie theater operated underneath it.

movie theater underneath a church in Zhangzhou, Fujian province

Although some may consider this a great mix of religion and capitalism, the story behind churches and movies theaters in China is complex. While numerous active churches (usually without movie theaters underneath them) openly exist, the Chinese government tightly regulates religion, as suggested by the demolished churches near Yiwu. And while China's many movie theaters (usually without churches above them) care about profits and "a market-based Chinese film industry has started to emerge from the shadows of the older, centralized and state-funded model", the Chinese "government controls which films are made and has a hand in every aspect of the film business, from production to exhibition".

In this sense, the unconventional church & movie theater building in Zhangzhou is symbolic of both how "Godless Communists" isn't often a useful phrase for talking about today's China and how it is challenging to come up with a similarly concise way to accurately describe China other than, of course, as "Chinese".

Saturday, December 6, 2014

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:

street cleaner with a handmade broom reading a sign in Shanghai


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

bush with purple and green leaves in front of Guanghua Temple in Putian, Fujian


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).

Friday, December 5, 2014

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.

Monks in a procession at Guanghua Temple in Putian, Fujian, China

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

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.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

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.

outdoor promotion for Timberland next to the Jing'an Temple in Shanghai


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.

Old Navy store next to the Jing'an Temple in Shanghai

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.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

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.

Stature of a woman in front of a fountain at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park
At the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

person with incense sticks at the Xiahai City God Temple
Praying at the Xiahai City God Temple

dragon head in smoke
Inside the Yonglian Temple

dragon in front of a market scene
Looking out at the Luzhou Temple Commercial District from Yonglian Temple

Nanhai Road
Nanhai Road at 5pm

Xinyi Road with Taipei 101 in the distance
Xinyi Road at 5am

restaurant with Yonghe Soy Milk sign
One of many places for a soy milk fix

people drinking tea in front of a live traditional Chinese music performance
Free tea and traditional music

Xinzhuang Night Market
Xinzhuang Night Market on Xinzhuang Temple Street

man with boy walking down an alley
One of Taipei's many alleys

Monday, September 22, 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

A Few Scenes from Yangjiang's Beihu Park

lake a Beihu Park in Yangjiang, Guangdong

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:

smiling Buddha statue at Beihai Park

monk at Beihu Park

Bamboo at Beihu Park