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

Haw Par Villa - Interesting stories about the statues

Besides viewing all the statues, was nice to read some interesting stories behind the statues.

Haw Par Villa - Opera Masks

Right inside the park were three very huge opera masks. Am glad they maintained the park and the statues. Remember seeing these huge masks when I was young. Replica of the nine dragons found in Beijing Forbidden City.

Skywatch Friday - Haw Par Villa - Buddha Statues

I love taking photos of the different types of buddha statues in the park. Am not familar with the names of the different buddha but I think the above photo is that of the smiling buddha. Not only do the buddha have different names but the way the buddha posed are just as important. To learn more about the meaning of the poses you can view from here For other sky watchers, please hop over to Skywatch Blog

Haw Par Villa - Statues of foreign countries

The Thai Dancer at the entrance of the park was about 3 metres tall. These two sumo wrestlers had a place in the park too and between them were replicas of the Tiger Balm Ointment. Even Statue of Liberty found her way to Haw Par Villa too. These statues were already very famous in their respective countries. The founders of the park were nice to share these educational features in the park with society.

My World Tuesday - Haw Par Villa

The park, originally called "Tiger Balm Gardens", was built in 1937 by brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, the developers of Tiger Balm, as a venue for teaching traditional Chinese values. In 1988, the Singapore Tourism Board took over the running of the Tiger Balm Gardens and renamed it as Haw Par Villa Dragon World. The statues were restored while retaining the original flavour. Plays, acrobatic displays and puppet shows were also organised. However, visitors were charged entrance fees. The high fees discouraged the public and the management incurred a loss of S$31.5 million after 10 years of management. The gardens made money for the first year of operations after renovations in 1994, broke even in 1995 but lost money for the next 3 years and was forced to have free entry in 1998. In March 2001, the Singapore Tourism Board renamed it Tiger Balm Gardens and entrance fees dropped.(Source Wikipedia) My parents used to bring my siblings and myself to visit the park, many fond memories of the park. Most of our photos of the park back then was in black and white. Most would be familar with Tiger Balm, we used to have them at home when we were young, the ointment worked wonders in relieving aches and pains. 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.

Skywatch Friday - kites



Something moving in the sky attracted me.



Saw two kites flying high up in the sky, weather very fine and very very hot.

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