Hong Kong, Day 5
Not much new to report. Yesterday I was so proactive that I basically chewed through all my leads, leaving me with not very much to do today. I figured that with no substantial leads, and not wanting to be overbearing with the people who I am talking to, the best thing to do was go find a local temple and appeal to higher powers for help! (Not that they aren't helping me now, but to keep it coming, ya know?) So with that in mind I wandered around and checked out some of the temples in the area around which I'm staying. The temples here are hard to describe in words, and pictures are frowned upon at most places, so i'll just leave all the work for your imaginations. ;-)
First, the temples that i visited today were much smaller than the ones i'd seen before - maybe this is a north/ south difference, or maybe its just that all the ones i'd seen before were all attractions because they fit the "big exotic temple" stereotype. The two that I saw today were small, maybe 3 or 4 rooms at most, and fairly compact - there weren't any huge thresholds or doorway guardians or intricately carved columns or any of the stuff that i'd usually seen associated with temples. Instead, these places were small, unassuming, and peaceful. Humble, I think is the right word. Beyond that, the two temples didn't have much in common, but trying to explain the differences will be a small book. Oh, you still want me to give it a go? Okay, but you've been warned.
So, of the two temples, the first was to my mind much more engaging. it was first erected in the 1700s, burned down, and rebuilt, as things are wont to do. from the front, it looks like your standard square temple setup - you go in the doors, theres somebody selling incense on your left or right, a couple of lines of tables for offerings and incense, and then a statue of the deity. Usually theres some more stuff thrown in, like hanging things or artwork or big door guardian carvings, but your basic temple has a fairly consistent layout. Not today. This thing starts off normal, with a front door and incense seller, but then goes haywire. the incense seller is almost in the open, because theres a (for lack of a better word) indoor courtyard stuck in the building about 15 feet in from the front wall on either side! Even more curious, these 'courtyards' don't have any doors to close in case of bad weather, although they do have a wall with a round traditional doorway towards the center of the building. it was strange, both inside and outside at the same time. anyway, the other thing was that the temple was very dark inside, and full conical coils of incense hanging from the ceiling. The primary deity was the goddess of seafarers, you can read about her here. also, there were figures for the god of wealth, and a deified judge renowned for his kindness. It was a very cool temple.
The other temple was a lot more standard, with one notable exception - half the altar was a story above the rest of the temple, perched on a big boulder. You actually had to climb a staircase to get to the back of the temple, to see the statues of the gods. They also were brightly lit, with yellowish floodlights lighting the whole thing up like a christmas tree. This second temple, clearly much newer and shinier than the other, was also more active - while i was there, maybe 6 groups of people showed up to leave incense, paper flowers, fruit, etc. The deity for this one was originally apparently an indian prince of some sort, but apparently through the ages and has become worshipped as a woman for some reason. While interesting, it left me rather confused.
I'll be busy tomorrow with following up with everybody I contacted yesterday, and preparing to head up to shanghai on friday.
First, the temples that i visited today were much smaller than the ones i'd seen before - maybe this is a north/ south difference, or maybe its just that all the ones i'd seen before were all attractions because they fit the "big exotic temple" stereotype. The two that I saw today were small, maybe 3 or 4 rooms at most, and fairly compact - there weren't any huge thresholds or doorway guardians or intricately carved columns or any of the stuff that i'd usually seen associated with temples. Instead, these places were small, unassuming, and peaceful. Humble, I think is the right word. Beyond that, the two temples didn't have much in common, but trying to explain the differences will be a small book. Oh, you still want me to give it a go? Okay, but you've been warned.
So, of the two temples, the first was to my mind much more engaging. it was first erected in the 1700s, burned down, and rebuilt, as things are wont to do. from the front, it looks like your standard square temple setup - you go in the doors, theres somebody selling incense on your left or right, a couple of lines of tables for offerings and incense, and then a statue of the deity. Usually theres some more stuff thrown in, like hanging things or artwork or big door guardian carvings, but your basic temple has a fairly consistent layout. Not today. This thing starts off normal, with a front door and incense seller, but then goes haywire. the incense seller is almost in the open, because theres a (for lack of a better word) indoor courtyard stuck in the building about 15 feet in from the front wall on either side! Even more curious, these 'courtyards' don't have any doors to close in case of bad weather, although they do have a wall with a round traditional doorway towards the center of the building. it was strange, both inside and outside at the same time. anyway, the other thing was that the temple was very dark inside, and full conical coils of incense hanging from the ceiling. The primary deity was the goddess of seafarers, you can read about her here. also, there were figures for the god of wealth, and a deified judge renowned for his kindness. It was a very cool temple.
The other temple was a lot more standard, with one notable exception - half the altar was a story above the rest of the temple, perched on a big boulder. You actually had to climb a staircase to get to the back of the temple, to see the statues of the gods. They also were brightly lit, with yellowish floodlights lighting the whole thing up like a christmas tree. This second temple, clearly much newer and shinier than the other, was also more active - while i was there, maybe 6 groups of people showed up to leave incense, paper flowers, fruit, etc. The deity for this one was originally apparently an indian prince of some sort, but apparently through the ages and has become worshipped as a woman for some reason. While interesting, it left me rather confused.
I'll be busy tomorrow with following up with everybody I contacted yesterday, and preparing to head up to shanghai on friday.
posted by Me at 9:10 PM
<< Home