Thien Hau Temple
by Lucinda Walter
Title
Thien Hau Temple
Artist
Lucinda Walter
Medium
Photograph - Photography, Digital Art, Fine Art
Description
Thien Hau Temple in Saigon, Vietnam.
Ch�a B� Thi�n Hậu (The Pagoda of the Lady Thien Hau) is a Chinese style temple located on Nguyen Trai Street in the Cho Lon (Chinatown) district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It is dedicated to Thi�n Hậu, the Lady of the Sea ("Tian Hou" as transcribed from the Chinese), who is also known as "Mazu". Thi�n Hậu is a deity of traditional Chinese religion, who is revered in the southern maritime provinces of China and in overseas Chinese communities. Thi�n Hậu is worshipped in the seafaring Chinese communities of Fujian, Guangzhou, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. She is not specifically a deity of Taoism or of Buddhism, though she has been brought into connection with figures and themes from Taoism and Buddhism. The temple is located right on busy Nguyen Trai Street. It can be accessed by entering through an iron gate and crossing a small courtyard. The roof is decorated with small delicately fashioned porcelain figurines expressing themes from Chinese religion and legends. Lanterns and wooden models of Chinese theaters hang over the entrance. The interior of the temple is actually a partially covered courtyard, at the end of which is the altar to Thi�n Hậu. The exposed portions of the courtyard contain incense burners, and open the view to the remarkable porcelain dioramas that decorate the roof. The dioramas show scenes from a 19th-century Chinese city, and include such colorful figures as actors, demons, animals, and Persian and European sailors and traders. In one scene, actors depict a duel on horseback battle between the revered halberd-wielding general Guan Yu of the novel Three Kingdoms and another fighter. Another scene depicts the three Taoist sages representing longevity, fecundity and prosperity.
The altar to Thi�n Hậu is dominated by the three statues of the goddess. The faces are bronze in color, and the clothes and crowns are multi-colored. Incense burners are all about.
Uploaded
May 26th, 2013
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Comments (4)
Sherri Of Palm Springs
so very beautiful, love to see things like this, they fascinate me, and being a photographer like you are Dear Lucinda, you show us things we may never see in our lifetime...love it.. Sherri vf g
Lucinda Walter replied:
Dear Sherri, We have been blessed to be able to travel to many areas around the world and I have been blessed to be able to capture these with my camera. Thanks so much for your beautiful comments, my friend! hugs
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