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| A Woman's Directory For Travel and Life. WAVE Journey is your one stop online resource for women oriented businesses and services around the world. WAVE Journey is for every woman to enjoy. If you love to travel, cook, garden, read or revel in outdoor activities this website is for you. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women or if you are interested in finding businesses or services that cater to women, WAVE Journey is your number one online resource. On the Trail of Chinatown’s Hidden Gods ~ Shopkeepers in Manhattan’s Chinatown still tend shrines to their Buddhist gods, who guard the cash and the goods, and the owner’s health and wealth. Look closely, and you’ll see them everywhere. Article & photos by Patricia Chang |
| WAVE Journey |
| Women's Adventures, Vacations & Experiences ~ Your Journey Starts Here! |
Beyond the stalls selling steamed pork buns and knockoff
handbags, the observant visitor to Manhattan’s Chinatown
can watch a telling ritual unfold. Look, in the crowded
corners of shops, and high on the shelves, for the little
wooden red shrines, each containing a different Buddhist
statue. Not meant to be seen, their presence is felt.
These wooden lacquered boxes shelter Chinese Buddhist
gods, placed there by storeowners to protect their
properties and ward off bad spirits. Busy shoppers often
overlook them. But their importance hasn’t diminished,
because shopkeepers today, as thousands of years ago,
still pray to their gods daily.
You can see shines inside the Walker Pharmacy, on Walker
Street. Amid thousands of Chinese herbal remedies, two
stand near the cashier. One is nestled on the ground,
surrounded by offerings: tiny cups of wine and several
oranges. The other hangs near the ceiling, so high that
only a glimpse of the god’s head can be seen. An idol is
inside, along with a small cup of uncooked rice. Incense
sticks—some burnt, some still burning—have been jabbed
into the rice.
handbags, the observant visitor to Manhattan’s Chinatown
can watch a telling ritual unfold. Look, in the crowded
corners of shops, and high on the shelves, for the little
wooden red shrines, each containing a different Buddhist
statue. Not meant to be seen, their presence is felt.
These wooden lacquered boxes shelter Chinese Buddhist
gods, placed there by storeowners to protect their
properties and ward off bad spirits. Busy shoppers often
overlook them. But their importance hasn’t diminished,
because shopkeepers today, as thousands of years ago,
still pray to their gods daily.
You can see shines inside the Walker Pharmacy, on Walker
Street. Amid thousands of Chinese herbal remedies, two
stand near the cashier. One is nestled on the ground,
surrounded by offerings: tiny cups of wine and several
oranges. The other hangs near the ceiling, so high that
only a glimpse of the god’s head can be seen. An idol is
inside, along with a small cup of uncooked rice. Incense
sticks—some burnt, some still burning—have been jabbed
into the rice.
The god up high represents the heavens, and the one on the ground the earth, explained
Elaine Wong, 38, who mans the cash register. She’s been lighting incense and putting out
fresh offerings for the gods since she was a little girl in Asia. It’s a Buddhist family tradition,
Wong says, “to [seek] blessings for health, love and all kinds of good wishes you have.”
Most Chinatown shrines honor three famous Buddhist gods, said Molly Chin, who works at
the Mahayana Buddhist Temple on Canal Street. As with the Greek gods, each Buddhist
god has its own realm to rule. So shopkeepers offer prayers to different gods, for different
reasons.
You’ll often see Guan-Yu or Guan-Gong (pronounced Goo-arn Yoo, or Goo-arn Gorng) first.
With his furrowed brow, long mustache and beard, and brandished sword, he stands for
honesty and loyalty — important if you have many employees and a cash register nearby.
Then there’s Tu Di Gong (pronounced To Dee Gorng), the ruler and protector of the land,
important for sellers of food. He’s placed on the floor, close to the earth. The realm of the
goddess Guan Yin (Goo-arn Ying), is compassion and caring, often in family life. She offers
protection and good luck in personal and business life.
It’s important to fulfill the gods’ needs each day, Chin said. “Buddhism is not just a religion,
it is also a way of life.”
In Wong’s shop, like most here, you can find Guan-Gong. He faces the door, to guard
against trouble – and to ensure employees don’t steal or lie.
“We pray to him ultimately for protection. Every store will have him in it,” Chin said. He is
also known as the God of Police Officers: every year in Hong Kong, the police have a big
ceremony for him. He looks slightly evil at first glance (he’s god of martial arts and war).
Before he became a god in the afterlife, he was a general in the Chinese Army, serving
under the powerful warlord Liu Bei. His story is told in the historical folklore novel “Romance
of the Three Kingdoms.” He is portrayed as a fiercely loyal general who refused to be
recruited to enemy camp, even when offered all riches imaginable. When he reached
enlightenment in his afterlife, he became a god.
Guan-Gong stands at the door of the Vietnamese restaurant XeLuaNhaHang Vietnam, on
Mulberry Street.
“He keeps away fights because, you know, sometimes at restaurants people start fighting
or yelling, like gangsters,” said employee Kelly Nguyen, 27.
Next door at the Porcelain Corner Shop, salesperson Gigi Leung, 24, was preparing her
prayer ritual to Tu-Di Gong, god of the Earth. She lit incense and poured rice wine into tiny
cups until they were almost overflowing. Then she chose an offering of oranges.
“My boss and I pray every morning and every night for protection, and for our dreams to
come true,” she said. “We also pray for good health and good family.”
Continued next page.
Elaine Wong, 38, who mans the cash register. She’s been lighting incense and putting out
fresh offerings for the gods since she was a little girl in Asia. It’s a Buddhist family tradition,
Wong says, “to [seek] blessings for health, love and all kinds of good wishes you have.”
Most Chinatown shrines honor three famous Buddhist gods, said Molly Chin, who works at
the Mahayana Buddhist Temple on Canal Street. As with the Greek gods, each Buddhist
god has its own realm to rule. So shopkeepers offer prayers to different gods, for different
reasons.
You’ll often see Guan-Yu or Guan-Gong (pronounced Goo-arn Yoo, or Goo-arn Gorng) first.
With his furrowed brow, long mustache and beard, and brandished sword, he stands for
honesty and loyalty — important if you have many employees and a cash register nearby.
Then there’s Tu Di Gong (pronounced To Dee Gorng), the ruler and protector of the land,
important for sellers of food. He’s placed on the floor, close to the earth. The realm of the
goddess Guan Yin (Goo-arn Ying), is compassion and caring, often in family life. She offers
protection and good luck in personal and business life.
It’s important to fulfill the gods’ needs each day, Chin said. “Buddhism is not just a religion,
it is also a way of life.”
In Wong’s shop, like most here, you can find Guan-Gong. He faces the door, to guard
against trouble – and to ensure employees don’t steal or lie.
“We pray to him ultimately for protection. Every store will have him in it,” Chin said. He is
also known as the God of Police Officers: every year in Hong Kong, the police have a big
ceremony for him. He looks slightly evil at first glance (he’s god of martial arts and war).
Before he became a god in the afterlife, he was a general in the Chinese Army, serving
under the powerful warlord Liu Bei. His story is told in the historical folklore novel “Romance
of the Three Kingdoms.” He is portrayed as a fiercely loyal general who refused to be
recruited to enemy camp, even when offered all riches imaginable. When he reached
enlightenment in his afterlife, he became a god.
Guan-Gong stands at the door of the Vietnamese restaurant XeLuaNhaHang Vietnam, on
Mulberry Street.
“He keeps away fights because, you know, sometimes at restaurants people start fighting
or yelling, like gangsters,” said employee Kelly Nguyen, 27.
Next door at the Porcelain Corner Shop, salesperson Gigi Leung, 24, was preparing her
prayer ritual to Tu-Di Gong, god of the Earth. She lit incense and poured rice wine into tiny
cups until they were almost overflowing. Then she chose an offering of oranges.
“My boss and I pray every morning and every night for protection, and for our dreams to
come true,” she said. “We also pray for good health and good family.”
Continued next page.
The bearded red-faced Guan
Gong, sword in hand,
protects a shop from evil.
Gong, sword in hand,
protects a shop from evil.