In Japan, I was crazy about a group of seven figures called the "Shichi Fukujin" ("Seven Lucky Gods"). Their counterparts in China are the "Ba Xian," the "Eight Immortals" found in almost every folk temple.
During our May Day visit to Guanzhou this year, we walked from the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to a nearby temple, the San Yuan Gong. (More on that another time.) On the wall of one room in the temple hung these paintings. I have seen many representations of the Ba Xian, in painting, statuary, and even embroidery; these are some of the best.
I wish I could have shot them better; I had only a point-and-shoot camera, without tripod or Polarizer. Perhaps I'll go back another time.
Meanwhile, enjoy what we have. The captions tell a bit about each figure and its identifying marks.
No comments:
Post a Comment