H20.660A

Chinese Taoist gods, carved from wood. Probably representing religious forms of worship. Page torn From the History Information Station: Object: Carved wooden Taoist figure of a praying child. Made in China during the second half of the 19th century. The black coating, the result of many years of incense and candle smoke, hides its original brightly colored surface. History: These figures are from the Lit Sung Kung Joss House in San Francisco. Joss houses were temples of the Chinese deities and reflected all the Chinese religious faiths, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. In early California Chinese immigrants had no places of worship. They were afraid to erect any temples because they feared vandalism by non-Chinese settlers. In time they began to set aside rooms for worship in commercial and residential buildings. As time went on, they were able to build houses of worship, sometimes even full-scale temples. These buildings were called Joss houses. Many think the word "Joss" comes from the Chinese pronunciation of "Deos". the Portugese missionaries' name for God. Usually Joss houses had shrines for several gods, which were protected by full-time attendants. In the Joss houses people practiced their religion individually. Sometimes they meditated for spiritual rejuvenation. Sometimes they consulted certain gods for the solution to a family problem. Gods were also asked to bless babies and crops, and to watch over perilous journeys and commercial ventures.

Used: god ~ Tao | China | Chinese