Comments for Expat Lingo

Comment on Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities by expatlingo

expatlingo — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:46:21 +0000

I have no idea why I previously assumed they weren’t interesting enough to bother figuring out! They are awesomely cool symbols. I also love that cute, beckoning money cat!

Comment on Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities by expatlingo

expatlingo — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:29:19 +0000

It’s amazing what a small amount of Wikipedia browsing can do to give a superficial veneer of understanding! I still don’t know much, but the interesting stories that I did come across are enough bait to ensure that I’ll look up every little god I encounter in Hong Kong from now on.

Comment on Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities by americantaitai

americantaitai — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:25:04 +0000

Thanks for this educational post, Jen! I always wondered who the little figurines were. Even in the more dense urban areas in HK you sometimes find a cubby hole outside a shop that has the tiny figurines in them. It’s also interesting to compare and contrast these figurines with say the cute white money-cat!

Comment on Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities by expatlingo

expatlingo — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:23:53 +0000

As soon as I saw a reference to “Land Granny” I knew I had to figure out more. I too can’t believe I ignored this for so long!

Comment on Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities by lostnchina

lostnchina — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:36:51 +0000

I’m impressed at your knowledge of these gods, Jen! The other day I went with a gf to an old temple (erected in the 1800s) in Taipei. There were 5 levels of gods – everything from the more traditional Guan Yin and Earth God to God for Getting As on your Finals and God Knows What Else God. We burned incense and kowtowed our way up and down the different levels (there’s a certain path you must follow and you kowtow to the lesser gods first then the big honcho in the middle) and I came home smelling like an incense altar. I like how someone finally breaks down the god levels the way you do!

Comment on Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities by waterfallsandcaribous

waterfallsandcaribous — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:36:30 +0000

Wow, this is so cool! I see these guys/gals around the show but never put too much thought into exactly what they represent or who they are…which is kind of lame of me considering I’m a Religious Studies major, haha. I’m going to use this post as a starting point to learn more stuff Thanks for the inspiration!

Comment on Diamonds amongst the parked lorries: Ping Shan Heritage Trail by Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities | Expat Lingo

Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities | Expat Lingo — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:53:30 +0000

[…] the old police station that now houses the Ping Shan Heritage Trail Visitor’s Centre, I spied a tiny “Goddess of Mercy” (Guan Yin/Gun Jam/Kwuan […]

Comment on One to rule them all: Starbucks in China by Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities | Expat Lingo

Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities | Expat Lingo — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:53:27 +0000

[…] shopping mall filled Hong Kong, districts still exist where altars to gods outnumber coffeehouses. Wandering haphazardly around the New Territories, I’ve randomly stumbled across and […]

Comment on [Comic] Hong Kong: pock-marked with shopping malls, but still awesome by Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities | Expat Lingo

Land Granny, the Heavenly Bureaucrat and other tiny deities | Expat Lingo — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:53:24 +0000

[…] shopping mall filled Hong Kong, districts still exist where altars to gods outnumber coffeehouses. Wandering haphazardly around […]

Comment on One to rule them all: Starbucks in China by expatlingo

expatlingo — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:46:39 +0000

I agree: yuck.