Posted by giveawayboy on August 12, 2003 at 00:47:30:
Well, not too long ago I decided I was going to research just who we see when we go to a Chinese restaurant. Although this list is not comprehensive I hope that it will begin to help us grow in our understanding of who these images represent. If anything, it can help us appreciate and understand a culture other than our own.
First off here are the Three Stars, Fu Xing (Fu) the god of happiness and joy, Lu Xing (Luk), the god of prosperity and finally Shou Xing, (Sau), the God of Health and Long Life. Fu usually carries a baby, Luk always has gold and Sau always has a peach or a staff with a gourd on it or both. Each carries the symbol of what he represents. Sau is famous for his extra large forhead. He sometimes has a deer with him and sometimes is inside the peach. I have many other pictures of Sau if you want to see them. As a Christian, I think it's important that we can understand the meanings of the images we see so that we can see how other cultures value the same ideals that we feel we find in Christ. For instance, Christ is our provider, healer and source of joy. The three stars together are called FuLuShu. The next time we go to a Chinese restaurant (or even the Vietnamese one) we can try to remember who these guys are and be aware of the meanings.
Enter Kwan Yin. Everyone who goes to a Chinese restaurant is bound to see a statue of a lady dressed in white with a vial in her hands. This is Kwan Yin, the goddess of compassion. The story of how she came to be is a sort of strange evolution. First, she was not a goddess at all, but a special kind of person called a bodhisattva, or a very compassionate soul who exists to help others acheive liberation from the things that bind them in life. This kind soul was called Avalokiteshvara, and was male. Avalokiteshvara's name meant that he was so compassionate that he could hear the cries of the world. It implied that he had compassion on all. He became known as the bidhisattva of compassion and is actually one of the most popular dieties in buddhism, esp. in Tibet where he is called Chenrezig. In Chinese culture Avalokiteshvara began a strange transformation that took him from being a compassionate bodhisattva all the way to being a goddess of compassion. The neat thing about Kwan Yin is that she too 'hears the cries of the world'. So, as Christians we can see that both Avalokiteshvara and Kwan Yin remind us of God who is all knowing and all compassionate. Here are some pictues that will show you the evolution from Avalokiteshvara to Kwan Yin. The many arms imply the compassionate feelings that these beings have for the whole world, much like our Christian belief about God.
Another god which we might see in a Chinese restaurant is Choy San, the god of wealth, which is depicted as a man riding a large tiger.
Finally, you might see a lucky cat, or maneki neko waving to you as you enter or leave the Chinese Restaurant. I know such cats are popular in Japan for beckoning good fortune. As Christians, we do not believe in luck or fortune, but we do believe God blesses us and so when we see the cat with one paw raised beckoning we can recall that God wants to bless us and we can thank God for his many blessings to us.
Hope this helps you on your next visit to a Chinese restaurant.