Anset2000 Blog

This temple in Stanley, Hong Kong, is dedicated to the Goddess of the sea or "Tin Hau".  The same goddess is also known with the names of Mazu or Matsu of  Lin Moniang ( simplified Chinese :  妈祖 -    traditional Chinese :  媽祖 )  This temple was build in 1767 when a small fishing village was here. Fishermen and local used to made offer to the temple and the goddess to protect them while at sea. A video of this temple is here:  http://youtu.be/R7rXf4grmxE Please notice the tiger skin on the wall at 4'27" of the video

A short video of this temple is here:  http://youtu.be/fIdyL9vecZA Pak Tai, also known as  Yuen Tin Sheung Tai  ( 玄天上帝 ,  lit.  "Dark" or "Mysterious Supreme Emperor of Heaven"), is said to have been a prince  of the  Shang Dynasty .  During the fall of the Shang, the Demon King   ravaged the world. The Taoist god Yuen Chi Tin Chuen ( 元始天尊 ) ordered the  Jade Emperor  to appoint Pak Tai as the commander of twelve heavenly legions to fight this evil. Pak Tai defeated the Demon King and was subsequently granted the title of Yuen Tin Sheung Tai.  In Pak Tai temples, the bronze  tortoise and serpent  under the feet of Pak Tai's image signifies that the good always prevails over evil.

Small Temples are almost everywhere in Hong Kong.  If you feel you need some protection for the Gods of Heaven you can look for the nearest one at the corner of the road and make an offer or burn an incense stick.  This one is near the Main Street in Stanley, on the south side of Hong Kong island. Some useful links: Taoism in the BBC Encyclopedia of Religions Wikipedia. Religion In China Taoism in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Religions There are endless academic disputes about the distinction between  Chinese polytheistic religious beliefs and proper Taoism and about the differences between Taoist "Religion" and "Philosophy".  Ancient "folk" religions, Taoist disciplines, many aspects of Buddhism and sometimes Hindu doctrines are all practiced together.

Here are a few photos of the Taoist Temple in Sai Kung. It is near the Sai Kung Promenade in Kowloon, Hong Kong. A video of the temple is here:  http://youtu.be/VhKFEzU4A7o This kind of temples, ubiquitous in Hong Kong, contain altars and statues dedicated to many different Gods are they are more properly part of the Chinese system of "folk" beliefs, rather than of the proper Taoist philosophy or religion.