At the right time: Welcoming the God of Wealth and the market economy

Author: Liu Zhongyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: This book aims to analyze the specific religious and folk custom of welcoming the God of Wealth, revealing certain specific connotations of religious needs in contemporary society, and broadly outlining the motivations and origins behind welcoming the God of Wealth. Whether this effort is successful or not is left for the readers to judge. The book is richly illustrated with photographs and illustrations, not only to enhance readability but also because the content genuinely requires them. The belief in the God of Wealth exists in real life and takes a sensory form. Unlike the idolatry of Christianity and other Western religions, traditional Chinese religion has long had the habit of creating images of deities for worship. Therefore, using appropriate images is crucial, sometimes even irreplaceable, to explain Chinese-style deity worship. Without images, it is difficult to imagine the various forms of the God of Wealth, and without photographs, it is not easy to appreciate the current fervor of welcoming the God of Wealth. It should be noted that the images used here are partly sourced from others' compiled albums, while the majority come from real-life photographs, including images of contemporary people worshipping the God of Wealth, as well as photographs of rituals for welcoming and offering to the God of Wealth. The latter are particularly valuable because the God of Wealth is widely seen, while rituals can only be observed in temples or shrines and must wait for the right occasion. Some large-scale rituals are held only once a year. To illustrate the points, our photographs were taken in different regions and temples over the years. During our field research in various places, we took a photo whenever we encountered an image of the God of Wealth, gradually accumulating this rich collection.