Longhua Temple Entrance
I went down to the Longhua Temple during the Spring Festival break. The office was still closed for the holiday, but Richard was working from home. I had read that it was a must do thing to do over Chinese New Year, but I had evidently left it too late, as they were clearing away the barricades as I arrived. I understand that had I gone earlier in the week there would have been performances of the dragon dance and acrobats performing in the
Pagoda Longhua Temple
courtyard in front of the Temple. Oh, well. The Temple is renowned for its 10th century pagoda which for many centuries was the tallest structure in Shanghai, until the The Bund was built up at the beginning of the 20th Century. There has been a buddhist temple on the site or its environs since the third century, but apart from the pagoda the current temple buildings are only 100 years old.
I’m no better informed than before about who is who in various statues that fill the various halls in the temple (must do better). But I did like the ones here, which I think are buddhists who have reached that state of egolessness, but I’m only guessing. They had a clarity about them, which I liked.
Vow Ribbons
In one courtyard, along the walls and around the protected trees were hung red ribbons. These were people’s vows. I suppose that each ribbon was one person’s public affirmation of their new year’s resolution. They looked very striking forming walls of red where the ribbons were tied onto frames.
Money thrown at incense burner
I don’t know if it was the time of year, or whether this would have been happening anyway, but a lot of people were throwing small denomination coins at the tall incense burners. Some didn’t quite make it in through the high up vents, most tumbling to the floor, but one or two got stuck on the highly decorated sides.
Fish bowl money magnets
It seems that it is a worldwide tradition to throw money into water. I’ve no idea why. And I’ve no idea where in the world this first started, but just as in the UK, people do it here in the temples in China. I know it’s supposed to bring luck, and I suppose that that is the reason people do it here too, but why? I’ve even seen paper notes in the water. I wonder if they disintegrate over time, or whether monks fetch them out at the end of each day.
The various foci of people’s veneration.
Other things that l liked were the guardian lion, this piece of eroded limestone – similar stones are loved all over China – watching water run over and through such rocks can be absorbing, the monk with his brown fur hat, the bird table and there were many sparrows feeding at it very close to crowds of people, before I got my camera out and the shape of the front gates are particularly appealing.
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