The Tin Hau Temple Tiger in Stanley, Hong Kong

At the Tin Hau Temple in Stanley, Hong Kong, I didn't witness any temple cleansings. But I did see something I didn't expect to find.

Accord to Geoffrey Charles Emerson in his book covering a part of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, "Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley":

In May 1942 one of the most unusual events of the internment years occurred. Although hardly an event of great importance, it is of great interest. For weeks there had been rumours in the Camp that a tiger was roaming around at night. As rumours were always prevalent, most internees refused to believe such a "preposterous" tale. Therefore, it came as great surprise when a male tiger weighing more than 200 pounds was killed just outside the Camp by a part of Japanese gendarmes, Chinese and Indian guards. The Hongkong News of 21 May 1942 reported that the tiger weighed about 240 pounds, was three feet high and six feet long with a nineteen-inch tail. Some of the Indian guards reported that they had also seen the tiger's mate and two cubs, but these were never found.

One of the internees, who had been a butcher with the Dairy Farm Company in Hong Kong before the war, was taken out of the Camp to skin the tiger. After being stuffed, it was put on exhibition in the city and attracted many viewers. The meat was not wasted, either, as The Hongkong News reported on 27 June that "thanks to the generosity of a Nipponese officer, some officials of the Hong Kong Race Club were recently given the rare treat of having a feast of tiger meat. The meat, which was as tender and delicious as beef, was from the tiger shot at Stanley.

No live tigers approached me in the area, though there were a few domestic cats. So I just had a salad by the beach.

Two Cleansings at a Hong Kong Temple

Like other Man Mo Temples in Hong Kong, the Man Mo Temple in Tai Po is dedicated to the God of Literature (Man) and the God of War (Mo). During my brief visit to the spiritual location I had the luck to witness two acts of cleansing.

I don't know how often these cleansings occur, but some tranquility contrasting with the lively market on the street should be easy to find.

A Taste of Chanukah in Wenzhou, China

A popular place for a local snack in Wenzhou

I didn't only observe many examples of the Christmas holiday in Wenzhou, China, this year. I also observed a Jewish tradition in the U.S. for December 25: I ate Chinese food.

Of course, finding Chinese food isn't too much of a challenge in China, but this time the local food in Wenzhou allowed me to also feel some of the Chanukah holiday spirit — particularly fitting since this year its first full day was also December 25.

Deep fried goodness

The deep fried cakes are very similar in concept and taste to the latkes (potato pancakes) commonly eaten by Jews in some parts of world during Chanukah, except they are made from shredded white radish instead of potato. They are also stuffed, most often with meat and egg. The place I went to this day offered a variety of options.

Decisions

I figured I would avoid the common pork filling on this day. I asked whether the 羊 (yáng) listed on the menu meant lamb or goat. No answer came right away, but eventually someone said "It should be lamb."

Good enough — either worked for me anyway.

That brief moment between being whole and disappearing

The radishy delight was tasty, although it left me craving applesauce.

To top it off, the name of the latke-like treats has a coincidental tie to the Chanukah story, which traditionally includes the miracle of one day's worth of oil lasting for eight days. Due to their shape, they are called oil lamp cakes (灯盏糕).

It will be hard for me to top this December 25th in China.

Sales, Santas, Apples, Prayer, Police, Beer, Devil Horns, and Balloon Attacks: Some Christmas Sights in Wenzhou, China

Signs of the holiday were easy to spot the day before Christmas in Wenzhou, a city in Zhejiang on China's central east coast. In many ways, they were similar to what I had seen previous years in Wuhan, in Changsha, in Putian, and in Zhangzhou.

For example, in a central commercial district, there were numerous holiday promotions, including one with a "I have a dream!" theme at the Kaitai Department Store.

And several stores I passed had people dressed up as skinny Santas.

But I had never seen as many Santas together as I did at the Wuma Pedestrian Street. A parade of them kept coming . . .

And coming . . .

And coming . . .

And coming . . .

And coming . . .

And coming.

One of the Santas handed me a gift.

As soon as I had the box in my hand I realized it contained a Christmas apple — a tradition in China for Christmas Eve.

The Santas and their Christmas apples were part of a promotion for a dental clinic. I didn't get my teeth whitened, but the apple was good.

Christmas apples were for sale elsewhere, including at the Washi Lane wet market.

The Christmas holiday takes on a special significance in Wenzhou and elsewhere in Zhejiang due to recent forced demolitions of churches or removal of their crosses. I didn't seek out any churches, but I did stumble upon a small one on an alley off of Dasheng Lane.

When I first passed by I noticed two men wearing unmarked uniforms standing nearby. Other people greeting guests encouraged me to come inside. They said photography was fine and pointed out the church's ceiling.

There were approximately 150 people seated inside. I stuck around for a couple of songs.

As I left, I noticed an unhappy-looking policeman talking to the greeters outside. I didn't stick around to listen. When I passed by the area later, the church was still active and a policeman was keeping an eye on things nearby. It was a far different scene from the 30+ police I saw at a larger church in Quanzhou four years ago.

Not far away on Shuomen Old Street, the Hello K.T. bar had special Christmas all-you-can-drink deals.

After not drinking all I could drink, I saw two people who were wearing a type of headgear I had seen a number of others wearing for the holiday.

Yes, those are devil horns. No, I don't know how wearing them became a thing. My guess is their red color simply fits in. And lights. It is worth pointing out that for most people in China Christmas is mostly a chance to have some fun and there is no religious meaning attached.

To top things off that day, I stopped by a food fair at Wenzhou's European City.

A number of the booths were decorated for the holiday.

And a few people there were full of holiday spirit.

Most of the holiday spirit I saw on Christmas day was just more Santas and sales. But at the Wuma Pedestrian Street I saw my favorite Christmas holiday sight this year: two dressed-up children enthusiastically attacking their amused mother (I presume) with weapons made from balloons, a stick, and a giant inflatable pencil. They happily agreed to pose for an action photo.

Maybe this will give rise to a new holiday tradition in China.

Signs of Tainan's Past

Cemetery in Anping District, Tainan, Taiwan

Guarding in Red in Tainan

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scenes from Kaihua Isle in Fuzhou's West Lake

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.