Home 2011: Cepat No. 5 (Last One!!)

Umk, the final bloggie entry on Haw Par Villa to wrap up the trip home back in 2011!!

One would see the iconic 笑佛 at the entrance as below:

笑佛 is no stranger to pple all over the world; since even in the UK, one would see the statue in rests, etc. Even Japan and South Korea have this Buddha. He is aka 布袋和尚, bcos he always carries the leetle possessions he has in the 布袋 bhind him. He is thus a symbol known for happiness, plentiful and contentment

Ya noe, when Marpig was young, parents and the elders told Marpig to touch his belly for gd luck, whenever they went to 拜拜 at 四马路. So many pple touch his belly such tt his belly was a different colour (&super smoooooth)!! Ah~~ wonder howz tt statue now... Stil rem when Marpig was older and preparing for O (or was it A) levels, she went to touch 笑佛z head; in the hope tt she wil be clever muahahaha. Marpig also touched his smile, in the hope tt she wil be as happy and also his 布袋, for contentment. Really!! 该摸的都摸了!! :P

BTW, was reading bout him and 1 th leads to another; apparently, 布袋 is said to be 1 of the many reincarnation of 弥勒菩萨, the succeeding  Buddha after 释迦牟尼. TTz bcos he uttered this when he passed on, "弥勒真弥勒, 化身千百亿, 时时示时人, 时人自不识"

Itz said tt when the world forgets and loses all Buddhist teachings & overwhelm with sins and suffering (not quite the end of the world like Xtainity), then 弥勒菩萨 wil come and "re-teach" Buddhism

In fact, according to 佛教的宇宙观 (Buddhist Cosmology), therez many 世界s and everyth we see and xist in now = 一个小世界. Carrying on with the formula:
一千个小世界 = 一个小千世界
一千个小千世界 = 一中千世界
一千个中千世界 +  四禅九天 = 一大千世界
三千个大千世界 = 一个佛渡化众生的世界

Therez much to meets the eye but itz getting abit 玄 to understand, since therez also vertical, horizontal, dream, etc realms...

And with 一个跟斗, Marpig skipped the topic above and arrive at the foot of 花果山 to meet with...

齐天大圣 and al his 猴孙!!

And u r right, the next themed dioramas in the park depicts the epic story, Journey to the West!! Marpigz fav story and one of the 四大名著. Think most pple would love and know this story!! Sm of the 脍炙 chapters includes:

孙悟空大战红孩儿!!

唐三藏被困盘丝洞!! (The papaya tree is part of the diorama!!)

The lecherous 猪八戒 being 迷惑 by the 妖精s in 盘丝洞

蜘蛛精威胁沙僧

Another 穿着肚兜的妖精 burning 经书s (还画了妆!!)

Chinese version of "白马王子"!! :P

Next themed dioramas is another of Marpigz fav again!! 白蛇传!! Ah~~ really hope to see the 粤/京剧 or puppet show of the story..

白蛇 & 青蛇, 化身成人!!

And the faymous scene where 许仙 met 白素珍 on the 断桥 (must visit 西湖 one dae!!) Hmmm, but therez no scene where 白素珍 & 小青游湖 and borrowed a 伞 from 许仙...

Surprisingly too, there isnt the scene where 白素珍 drank the 雄黄酒 and turned into her original form. Instead, itz the scene where 法海 gave 许仙一道符 to use on 白素珍 to show her true form (in the story, 许仙 refused to and was imprisoned)

The story goes where she went to 金山寺 to demand tt 法海 release her hubby (but to no avail)

And so, she gets really, really angry *story telling tone* (shez supposed to be pregnant then, never mess with pregnant women!!) and decided to 水淹金山寺!!

FFwarding, she got punished for killing so many monks and pple from the flood she created, by being 压在雷锋塔下. Luckily her son 许孟姣 bcame 状元 and went to the tower to 祭母

And his 孝心感动了天, hence, 白素珍破塔而出!! :D

Home 2011: Cepat No. 4 - 真的要很 Cepat 了啦!!

Biangz!! Itz 2013 and Marpig is stil nagging bout 2011!! 真是越老越长气!! But actually, itz al bcos of a 人生大事 which Marpig had 决定 (wil eventually come to tt later!!) Meanwhile...

In response to Cornz sharing of another bloggie, herez Marpigz humble reply:

• Practise living the life of a minimalist, although it can be difficult in this era of "trending" and the tendency to look at oneself through the eyes of others is luring, but it can be done
• "Wealth is thus bad ethically only in sofaras itz a temptation to idleness & sinful enjoyment of life, itz acquisition is bad only when itz with the purpose of later living merrily & without care --- Max Weber"
• Be content with and cherish wat 1 has NOW
• Be mindful and conscious of wat we think, say and do and try to have a quiet moment to reflect on each daez dilemma (e.g, to litter or not, to ignore sm1 in need of help or not, etc) and the morally correct way to react next time (even if it meant to 吃亏 a leetle but not being taken advantage of!!) Just like the story bout 一件好事一个白子 & 一件坏事一个黑子
• Life is made up of choices and we face them constantly. Although it can be difficult at times, a choice to react positively, even in the least favourable situation, a positive choice wil give us the courage to carry on the fight
• 1 of Marpigz many mottos, we must have the courage to be different!!

Think Marpig am sm1 who likes the occasional thrill of planned and unplanned changes/hiccups and enjoys the process of pursuing the plans, not necc goals per se. Like the time when Corn, Lian and Marpig sneaked into STC in the middle of the night for fun, Beenie & Marpig followed a gay couple from Changi village to a deserted carpark (& waited!!), backpacking trips, choosing not to litter, overcoming the sadness of losing Marpigz mom, etc. Though it sounded weird, they are sm of Marpigz achievements, on top of the "societal" achievements like degree, CEng, blah blah blah

Perhaps many pple think of goals simply as humansz desire to achievements and success in life, measured by material worth, which smtimes make pple unhappy. But if al of us think in a less superficial level, then, in actual fact, each of our xperience is an achievement, no matter how silly, unfortunate, happy, embarrassing, etc it may be :)

Umk, carrying on to~~

******* 重游虎豹别墅 --- 第二章: 园内风景 *******

Right, long time ago (因该有十年多之久了), MZ said she wil tel Marpig bout the 二十四孝的故事 but... oh wel hahaha Actually, the stories can be found in 通胜. How did Marpig know? Wel, can u believe it or not, Marpig read 通胜 bcos shez curious (& 通胜 is interesting and informative!!)

Anyw, being Confucianists, the Haw Par brothers value fillial piety. 正所谓: 万恶淫为首, 百善孝为先!!

Therez a total of 24 stories and sm of them are quite faymoss. Above is just 1 of the many (repairs in progress) 王祥(为继母)卧冰求鲤

Ard the parkland, therez many other miniature 风景s, such as the one above showing villagers ploughing the fields, with other minute details of village life

More mini "小剧场s"

Itz really sad to see the once popular and 风光的 amphitheatre deserted... just like a 荒废了的破庙... sighs

A bridge ax the pond in the park, overlooking the monument

Surprise!! Out of the blue is the Status of Liberty!! 大煞风景!!

Next came an interesting place; 鸳鸯洞!! Therez nth much inside but at tt moment, Marpig really thought tt perhaps she wil have sm luck after walking in it!!

看吧!! Therez really nth much inside and itz kinda dark and eerie... maybe itz more like a place for couples to hanky panky :P

怎么可能少了褔禄寿!!

The entire park is a feast for the eyes, since diorama tels delightful stories/meaning and therez always nested details!!

Wow, this is cool too!! 武松杀嫂!! Hmmm... wherez 武大郎的烧饼?

天女散花~~!! 谢谢大家支持!!

Ancient brothels were also known as 藏美室?! Wow, pimping has a long history too

"姜子牙钓鱼 ------- 愿者上钩!!"

Therez a section of the park where the dioramas are half humans and half animals (specially sea creatures), since this is the central idea of chinese mythology and folklores (as wel as Greek, etc), like Marpigz fav, 白蛇传 (wl blog in another entry)!!

(Say in Cantonese to understand the joke) 关公张飞刘备邊個? (^_^)

Again, the many depicted scenes (in a circular manner) shows the virtues and vices of humans

四色牌!! Smth Marpigz elderly relatives & family play used to play (Marpig noes how too, but std is bout the same as Marpigz mastery of Hokkein!!)

Finally, ttz the scene from "八仙大闹海龙宫", just above the 鸳鸯洞... ... 真是翻腾~~覆雨啊!!

Home 2011: Cepat No. 3 - 上刀山, 下油锅

Havent been blogging for waaayyyy too long, wonder whether was it because of work, less energy left at the end of each dae, other ths to 忙 or simply pure laziness (al actually!!)

Since achieving CEng, life seems to be lack of goals and al the more this saying holds true "the more u noe, the more u dont noe"

For no particular reasons, Marpig has been watching 纪念 interviews of Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung. Although they are Marpigz fav idols, it was only after watching the interviews tt Marpig noe more bout them.

And gosh, she got to noe smth: During the very last concert which Anita Mui gave b4 she passed on (Marpig bought the concert DVD), she was actually wearing adult diapers because she was bleeding internally (she had cervical cancer)!! (|_|) 为什么?! 为什么?!

Once again, Marpig am reminded of how fragile life can be and how al of us missed opportunities to do/say alot of ths... In fact, she always has this thought: tt her life may only last approx. 60 yrs. Sigh... Marpig am feeling melancholy and blue again...

Anyw!! Lifez laments aside, time to continue with trip home back in Nov 2011!!

******* 重游虎豹别墅 --- 第一章 *******

In 1 of Marpigz childhood memories eons ago, Haw Paw Villa was a themepark with water ride through a colourful dragon, passing through the 十八层地狱 (Marpigz fav) and also the xciting (and scary!!) ride down the water slide. Marpigz fav bcos she likes making dioramas, as much as she likes looking at them!! :D Not lest Marpig is actually quite Confucianism in her thinking and beliefs :P

But as the yrs went by, the water themepark was closed down and Haw Par Villa became almost deserted for a period of time. Undergoing some re-construction and the water rides were removed. Entrance fee was also waived but the crowd never returned

Think Marpig and sm frens visited Haw Par Villa back in sec/Uni daes once after it lost itz luster. As usual, only Marpig would come up with such an idea of an outing. Then again, also need to have like-minded (read: crazy) frens to participate hahahaha

Marpig am sure everyone of us has a memory of Haw Par Villa and many pple would not think of visiting tt place. But personally, IT IS a very nice place for a family outing, specially so if parents want to teach their children traditional Chinese moral values (original aim of the Haw Par brothers), in addition to colourful Chinese culture, folklore and history. Although the place is primarily Buddhism/Taoism, (because of the founders' beliefs), everyone should take it with a pinch of salt (Marpig am sure there xists fanatic Xtains who wil be very negative with the place, how shallow)

And so it is, Marpig wanted to 重游 the place with family and take lotsa pics (in case the gahmen wanted to demolish the place!! :( ) so she went there on a sunny sundae with Marpigz dad, sis and BIL, last yr Nov. FYI, Marpig was so carried away, running ard the park, enjoying herself and taking pics under the hot sun tt she almost 中暑!! Marpigz dad was also busy snapping pics away but he stopped b4 he could get everyth as his mem card was ful heheheh!! Then again, Marpig didnt manage to get everyth too herself, so she wil go back again!!

A leetle backgrd to refresh our yellow-with-age memory of Haw Par Villa; it was built in 1935 and took 2 yrs to complete in 1937. Hence, the place is already 70 yrs old!! The place was built by the older brother, Aw Boon Haw 胡文虎, for his younger brother Aw Boon Par 胡文豹. The villa costs approx. 1mil to build at tt time and it was born out of the belief of the brothers to contribute back to the society, while xpanding their biz

The STB took over the running of the villa back in 1988 and turn it into the water themepark, "Haw Par Villa Dragon World" and charged entrance fees. But according to records, the themepark made profit in the 1st yr, breakeven in the 2nd and make losses for the next 3 yrs. Maybe it is against the wishes of the Haw Par brothers tt the place is being used to make lollies instead of a place to educate pple of the traditional Chinese moral values, which lead to itz evnetual downfall :P

Anyw, a leetle more into the Aw family; Aw senior aka Aw Chu Kin 胡子钦 was a Hakka and from Xiamen. He later moved to Singapore and then to Penang, where he practiced as a TCM sinseh. He later moved to Rangoon to set up 永安堂 in 1870. He had 3 sons, the eldest, Aw Boon Leng 胡文龙 died young. He sent his 2nd son to his 家乡to learn TCM while his youngest son remained in Rangoon to receive British education. After his passing, he left his biz to his youngest son, Aw Boon Par, who later persuaded his elder brother to join him in running the biz in Singapore

Just a note, there is another bloggerz entry on his memory (he is 20 yrs Marpigz senior) of Haw Pa Villa and is worth a gd read!! So, itz not just Marpig who is missing the gd o' ths in the Leetle Red Dot!!

BTW, Haw Par Villa is very accessible by public transport, should you want to pay it a visit. Think 143 stops outside/directly opp, depending on where u come from, there is also a Haw Par Villa MRT station serving it on the Circle Line (hope Marpig got this right). Marpig and fam drove there and there are ample free car parking too, just outside the villa. Try visiting it early on a morning, because some tourist crowds will generally arrive ard 11am. Free entrance and opening times are 9am - 7pm daily

Enough of lengthy words, below are sm pictures of the countless, detailed and intriguing diomaras in Haw Par Villa which you may not have noticed/remembered!!

Main entrance!! The ticket booth (u can only see the bit of roof on the right) is no longer in use

虎豹精神, "刻苦耐劳, 饮水思源"

This is actually a scene to depict, "螳螂捕蝉, 黄雀在后" --- The snake is about to prey on the goat but little did it noe tt a tiger is sneaking up on itself from the back!!

Another reason why Marpig is in love with Haw Par Villa is tt therez so many 成语, 俗语, and 做人的道理!!

The "Tiger Balm Arch" leading into the park from the main entrance. This is the original gate built in 1937 and is supported by 4 granite pillars

虎哥, 虎妹 and 虎弟, advertising Tiger Balm (in their palms!!) :P Can tel the age of these (and also their x-glory daes)

Rem these statues during the time when Haw Par Villa was a water themepark? The dragon was the icon for the themepark. Too bad they are now part of history... BTW, 猪八戒z 叉 was vandalised and damaged, hence, hez now 手无寸铁!! Defendless!!

Carrying from the main entrance, there are more nostalgic and familiar statues!! Another proverb, 皆大欢喜!!

A pat on the shoulder for anyone who noe the mandarin above!! Hint: Opium Wars. Answer at the end of this bloggie entry!!

Another almost-faded-memory of the sumo wrestlers advertising the wonders of Tiger Balm!! (Nay, Marpig dont get any advertisement income from this bloggie entry)

Above is a diorama showing 2 different 帮派 of weasels fighting for territory. Guess itz 黑 and 黄帮s, from their colour hahahaha Gosh, how detailed and gruesome sm of the scenes. But, Marpig actually thought itz interesting bcos every detail tels a story and Marpig is gd at imaging and coming up with stories in her head from such ths!! :D

BTW, pple would have thought; why create smth like tt? Wel, rem the aim of the Haw Par brothers for building this mansion? They wanted to share and remind others of lifez many 道理s. Lessons which can be learned from the above are (in Marpigz POV):

a) Wars and fighting among pple (the weasels represent mankind) are pointless, since we are al human beings (just different appearance, culture, habits, etc) 你有的, 我也有, 只是大小和颜色不一样!! :P

b) Compassion and "人性" (weasels carrying their injured comrade). Even animals wil help their own kind, so why cant human beings be more compassionate towards one another?

Therez quite alot of proverbs which can be inferred from the above too. And it depends how each individual interprets it. Interestingly, different pple with different personality wil have different 看法; 弱肉强食? 以牙还牙?

One of the monuments in memory of the Har Par family members

More proverbs which we should al try to stick to!! "从简就实, 尽力常乐"

Carrying on the tour ard the park towards the 10 courts of hell (xhibt), they passed by a 许愿池

A lotus fruit caught Marpigz attention. For sentimental reason associated with Marpigz mom (wat else), lotus fruit always reminds Marpig of her as she taught her an oldie song which went like this, "莲蓬呀莲蓬, 十几八个洞, 莲蓬喷水~ ding ding 又 dong dong" *smiles*

Finally, as Marpig and fam came near to the entrance of the 10 courts of hell (xhibit), the dioramas are bcoming more gruesome. The following Buddhist saying among the mountain of severed heads is so true;

苦海无涯, 回头是岸!!

This 俗语 also not bad; 善有善报, 恶有恶报, 不是不报, 时间未到~~!!

Then therez the 家喻户晓的济公 and one of the 地狱使者...

地藏王菩薩 and the famous saying, "地獄不空、誓不成佛"

Here we are finally, at the gate to the 10 Courts of Haaddeess!! From the short 说明 near the entrance, 十殿阎罗 is based on the Indian Buddhist legend of "World of Sufferings". By the end of the Tang Dynasty, the notions of 地狱, 阎罗, etc become so 脍炙人口 tt throughout the centuries, 人民百姓 add other colourful stories and beliefs :)

And now... 地狱开罗啦!!

第一殿 --- 秦广王

The "Sorting Hat" of 地狱. 秦广王 judges each soul according to his/her deeds in the past life. The good and evil are separated;

a) those who do gd deeds only - wil walk the golden bridge to 西方极乐世界
b) those with gd deeds & evil ones - wil walk the silver bridge to 西方极乐世界
c) those who do evil - wil be asked to look into the 孽镜台 to reveal the evil ths they had committed and proceed to other courts for punishment!!

第二殿 --- 楚江王

Clockwise from top right: a) 火山 - for those who 殴斗伤人, 抢夺他人财物 b) 寒冰池 - for those who 贪污, 盗窃, 赌博 c) 血污池 - for those who 娼妓在庙宇, 学堂等地方行为不端 & those who 沾污圣洁之地

第三殿 --- 宋帝王

Marpig took close-up photos of the intricate details (entails) but didnt publish here. However, feel free to click on the pic to see a larger, zoomed in pic... if gruesome is yr thang!!

Punishments dealt here are: a) 刺心 - for those who 有恩不报, 不敬长辈 b) 炮烙 - for those who 贩毒, 吸毒, 越狱, 盗墓 & 诱人犯法

第四殿 --- 五官王

This court housed the 枉死城 too, where those who were framed to death see how those who framed them are punished. After which, they wil be judged themselves

Punishments melted here are: a) 石碓 - for those who 逃税, 赖租, 欺人骗人, 不守信用 b) 石磨 - for those who 对父母不孝, 对兄弟不敬

第五殿 --- 阎罗王

This is the familiar (上)刀山!! Itz a punishment for those who 图财害命, 放高利贷. Itz also here tt therez the 望乡台 where those who committed the said crimes see how their families/relatives/loved ones suffer becos of their wrong-doings

第六殿 --- 卞城王

For those who 怨天忧地, 绑架, 浪费食物, 不尊敬/珍惜经书, 收集黄色杂志/书籍, dont follow rules and regulations

第七殿 --- 泰山王

Other familiar punishments: a) 拔舌头穿腮 - for those who 口出邪惡之言, 捏造是非, 尖酸刻薄, 諷刺他人的過失, 搬弄是非 b) 下油锅 - for those who are 强奸犯, 驾车撞死人!!

第八殿 --- 都市王

Punishments: a) 抽肠 - for those who 不孝顺父母考试时泄漏和偷看试题 b) 锯解 - for those who 损人利己 & 坑害他人

第九殿 --- 平等王

(Biangz, 亡魂看起来真的很痛苦 in al those gruesome details!!) a) Hands and head cut off & 插上 pillar to 示众 - for those who 杀人抢劫, 谋财害命 b) Crushed by boulders - for those who 不知敬老, 爱幼

And Finally!! *透透气*

第十殿 --- 转轮王

Gosh, was reading bout al these and really makes one feel guilty for not being as gd as gd can be!! Although Marpig didnt 做杀人放火的事, think itz better to be mindful and be a gd person!! Whether or not therez a 地狱, the world had enough of bad pple!!

At this 10th court, 转轮王 wil 按照亡魂的罪福大小 and let them 投胎 accordingly. Therez 6 bridges; golden, silver, jade, stone, wooden and 奈何 to represent the 六道轮回 aka Samsara; 天道, 人间道, 修罗道, 畜牲道, 饿鬼道 & 地狱道 respectively

Come to think of it, Marpig recalled tt she shared with JC classmates during moral ed class tt life is a cycle, using the water cycle as an analogy (XT wil rem this!!) Gosh... Marpig really am too matured or maybe shez just got the 慧根 hahaha

Anyw, as Marpig was reading abit more into Samsara for this bloggie entry, the Wheel of Existence aka Wheel of Life is actually very gd information. In fact, Marpig thought it pretty much summarises what Buddhism is al bout (comments pls) and wat one should strive towards. Wil blog bout the Wheel of Life in later bloggie entries!!

Umk, now tt the 亡魂 noe where to go, they need to visit 孟婆 to drink the 似酒非酒的汤 to 忘掉前生事. The drink consists of the following 五味: 干苦辛酸咸

Sm of u, like Marpig, might wonder who is this 孟婆. Wel, according to the WWW, she was an 81 yr old elderly who noes 四书, 五经 & 佛经 who 得道. A phrase which is associated with her goes like, "過去事不思, 未來事不想"

And wala!! The marathony 第一章 of the visit to Haw Par Villa ends with 孟婆汤!! Hopefully you can stil rem the contents of this entry... :P

(Ans: 林则徐)