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NOTES AND QUERIES
ANCESTRAL IMAGES*
I have been fortunate enough to come across a most interesting book, "Religious Art in Taiwan" (in Chinese) by LIU Wen-san.† In it, amongst many other things, LIU describes several 17th Century wooden figures, some 18" high, which he discovered on the Pescadores. His photographs show images of elderly people, devoid of any colour and ravaged by time. I have translated part of his short article on them as it amplifies my Note on ancestral images.
The Contemplative CHANG Pai-wan (張百萬)
In Taiwan, not only temples but also homes have gods and ancestral tablets. Ancestral worship, a major characteristic of Chinese culture, is to show gratitude to the ancestors for bringing us up, and to mould us so that we do not shame them. Some people even have images made of their ancestors. The writer visited the old home of the legendary CHANG Pai-wan, a poor fisherman who lived over 300 years ago, in Pai Sha on the Pescadores.
One day in a cave CHANG saw large numbers of black bricks and took a few home, only to discover that they were black gold bars. To prevent others from finding out, he took only a few bars home each day until after a month he had moved the lot into his small home.
Now a wealthy man, he bought several hundred acres of land and the long string of bullock carts he owned filed past his home before dawn each day. Unfortunately they also had to pass the home of another rich man, a Mr. WU, who took CHANG to court for disturbing peace. The court case, a stalemate, led WU to suggest to CHANG that they see who was the richer of the two, the richer being the winner. The arrangement was for both WU and CHANG to take their gold to a nearby bay and one by one cast their bars of gold into the sea. Whoever was first to have no more bars left was the loser. CHANG emerged the winner.
* To be read in conjunction with the article at pp. 47-54
†台灣宗教藝術, 劉文三 (雄獅圖書股份有限公司) 台北 1976
200
NOTES AND QUERIES
ANCESTRAL IMAGES*
I have been fortunate enough to come across a most interesting book, "Religious Art in Taiwan" (in Chinese) by LIU Wen-sant In it, amongst many other things, LIU describes several 17th Cen- tury wooden figures, some 18" high, which he discovered on the Pescadores. His photographs shew images of elderly people, devoid of any colour and ravaged by time. I have translated part of his short article on them as it amplifies my Note on ancestral images.
The Contemplative CHANG Pai-wan ( ♬☎✯)
In Taiwan, not only temples but also homes have gods and ancestral tablets. Ancestral worship, a major characteristic of Chinese culture, is to shew gratitude to the ancestors for bring- ing us up, and to mould us so that we do not shame them. Some people even have images made of their ancestors. The writer visited the old home of the legendary CHANG Pai-wan, a poor fisherman who lived over 300 years ago, in Pai Sha on the Pesca- dores.
One day in a cave CIIANG saw large numbers of black bricks and took a few home, only to discover that they were black gold bars. To prevent others from finding out, he took only a few bars home each day until after a month he had moved the lot into his small home.
Now a wealthy man, he bought several hundred acres of land and the long string of bullock carts he owned filed past his home before dawn each day. Unfortunately they also had to pass the home of another rich man, a Mr. WU, who took CHANG to court for disturbing peace. The court case, a stalemate, led WU to suggest to CHANG that they see who was the richer of the two, the richer being the winner. The arrangement was for both WU and CHANG to take their gold to a nearby bay and one by one cast their bars of gold into the sea. Whoever was first to have no more bars left was the loser. CHANG emerged the winner.
* To be read in conjunction with the article at pp. 47-54 †台灣宗教藝術,劉文三(雄獅圖書股份有限公司)台北 1976
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