Showing posts with label Haw Par Villa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haw Par Villa. Show all posts

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Haw Par Villa - How to go to Haw Par Villa

This is the original garage where the Aw's brothers kept their "tiger car".

Monument in memory of the founder and his wife of tiger balm, the parents of the two brothers.

The statue of the old man showing the direction to the entrance of the park. Admission is free of charge.

Visitors who do not drive can take the MRT and alight at Haw Par Villa Station. On exiting from the mrt station (road level), turn right and the park is just next to the mrt station.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Haw Par Villa - More Statues

The two brothers were really very rich businessmen to have so many statues in their park which they started in the lates thirties. I did not managed to take photos of all the statues, think might be more than a thousand statues in the park. This statue is that of a great learned man, Confucius. Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic texts including all of the Five Classics, but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but only many years after his death. You can read more about him from wikipedia. The living buddha or Ji Gong is well known for his wild and eccentric behavior while maintaining his compassionate nature, Ji Gong became a folk hero in China and was later deified in the Taoist community often invoked by oracles to assist in worldly affairs. Source (wikipediaThe three statue of Fu Lu Shou which I explained in earlier post.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Skywatch Friday - Haw Par Villa - Journey to the West

These exhibits showcased statues from the famous novel of Journey to the West. The novel is a fictional story about a monk together wish his disciples, Sun Wukong (the monkey whose name means awakened to emptiness, Zhu Bajie (the pig whose name means eight precepts, Sha Wujing (meaning sandy). They have to overcome many obstancles and demons and spirits before arriving to the west to collect buddhist scriptures from the living buddha. You can read more from source.





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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Haw Par Villa - Life during Early Singapore

These exhibits showcased life during early Singapore. Life was hard and most made their living by farming. During the early 50s and 60s, vices and fights were common in early Singapore. Unlike the present Singapore where majority of Singaporeans owned their own homes, the early settlers live in rented homes and always find difficulty paying rents and most of the time get kicked out of their homes by landlords.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Haw Par Villa - Ten Courts of Hell Part 2

Continuation of yesterday posting on the Ten Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa. There is no admission fee to the park as well as the exhibits in the Ten Courts of Hell. Do take a view of the video showing the ten courts of hell in Haw Par Villa - it isn't that scary or eerie cause the tunnel is quite short and there's sunlight at both ends of the tunnel as well as dim lights inside the tunnel. Would be nice if they add sound effect to scare visitors hahahaha.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

My World Tuesday - Haw Par Villa - Ten Courts of Hell Part 1

Highlight of the visit to Haw Par Villa must be the visit to the Ten Courts of Hell in the park. These exhibits have been around for a long time since its opening in 1937. As a child, I was so afraid of the exhibits cause they told many stories that if we did something wrong in our present life, we would suffer when we die. One exhibit I will never forget was when my mom told me if we lied in our present life, when we die, we would be punished to hell and have our tongue extracted out. I guess was one way one parent back then used to educate the child not to lie hahahaha. When I was a parent, I also taught my kids the same thing and it actually worked, maybe for a few years hahahaha. The concept of the "Ten Courts of Hell" began after Chinese folk religions were influenced by Buddhism. In Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor put King Yama in charge of overseeing the affairs of Diyu. In fact some were cold hells, other were dark and yet others were miscellaneous hells. There were 12,800 hells located under the earth, eight dark hells, eight cold ones and 84,000 miscellaneous ones located at the edge of the universe. All people will go to hell but the length of stay will vary depending on the severity of the crime and all will eventually be reborn. In the meantime souls will pass from stage to stage all at the decision of King Yama. King Yama also reduced the number hells down to ten. King Yama later divided Diyu into ten courts, each overseen by a "Yama King", while King Yama remained the sovereign ruler of hell. (Source: wikipedia) You might like to read more about the Ten Courts of Hell. For photos on other parts of the world, please visit Our World Tuesday Meme. Thanks to the team of Our World for giving us the opportunity to share my world with the rest of the world.

Haw Par Villa - Fu Lu Shou

The three main statues of Fu Lu Shou are favourite with many chinese. Fu means Good Fortune, Lu means Prosperity and Shou means Longevity.

Many chinese especially the older folks like to celebrate their birthdays with buns that looked like peach. According to legend, he was carried in his mother's womb for ten years before being born, and was already an old man when delivered. He is recognized by his high, domed forehead and the peach which he carries as a symbol of immortality. The God of Longevity is usually shown smiling and friendly, and he may sometimes be carrying a gourd filled with Elixir of Life.

The Lu star is believed to be Zhang Xian who lived during the Later Shu dynasty. The word lu specifically refers to the salary of a government official. As such, the Lu star is the star of prosperity, rank, and influence. The Lu star was also worshipped separately from the other two as the deity dictating one's success in the Imperial Examinations, and therefore success in the imperial bureaucracy. The Lu star is usually depicted in the dress of a mandarin.

Alternately, according to Taoist legend, the Fu Star is associated with Yang Cheng 阳城, a governor of Daozhou 道州. Yang Cheng risked his life by writing a memorial to the emperor to save the people from suffering. After his death, the people built a temple to commemorate him, and over time he came to be considered the personification of good fortune. He is generally depicted in scholar's dress, holding a scroll, on which is sometimes written the character "Fu". He may also be seen holding a child, or surrounded by children.

Source from wikipedia