I don’t remember where this photo was taken, likely at the entrance to small shop, what caught my eye here was the offerings in front of the statue, especially the offerings of food. Like so many other places we have travelled to as well as at home, food is front and centre.
In China, the central importance of food shows up not only in these offerings, but also in daily language. Where a Canadian would say, “Hi. How are you?” a Chinese person could say, “Hi. Have you already eaten today? (nǐ chī le ma – 你吃了吗)” If you are ever asked this question, the simplest and likely best response would be to say, “Yes, I have eaten. (chī guò le – 吃过了).
For us, as foreigners, we see the importance of food in terms of the gifts given to us by students and colleagues, especially with the approach of festivals such as the Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhōng qiū jié – 中秋节) also known as the Moon Festival. The practice of giving moon cakes (yuèbǐng – 月饼) is the norm at that time of year. Of course, we got more moon cakes than a person could possibly ever want to eat. But as in the western world, it is the thought that counts.
