To the west of Central is the incense-filled Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong, one of the oldest and most beautiful temples on Hong Kong Island. The words Man Mo mean civil and military , and this temple, like many other Man Mo Temples located throughout China, is dedicated to two very different gods.
Built in the 1800s, the temple celebrates the deities Kwan Yu (the righteous, red-checked god of war named after a Han Dynasty soldier) and Man Cheung (the civil deity named after a Chinese scholar and statesman of the 3rd century). It s a favorite of both the police and secret societies like the Triads.
It is said that locals came here to solve disputes that could not be solved by British law During the 1900s. The process of finding an equitable solution involved the legal system of the Qing Dynasty that both plaintiff and defendant should make a promise in the temple and write it on a piece of yellow paper. They then killed a chicken, chopped off its head, let its blood drip onto the paper, and burned the paper. It was believed that if the individual broke the promise they would suffer the indicated punishment by god. Many Chinese preferred this justice system to the British system.
While the Man Mo Temple is no longer used for settling disputes nowadays, believers come here for other reasons. Devotees burn huge bell-shaped coils of incense that hang from the temple s ceiling in hopes of attracting the attention of the gods. Some also believe the incense is food for the spirits that have gone before.
Much of the original structure of Man Mo Temple still remains. Wooden sedan chairs with intricate carvings of the God sit near the entrance to the temple. Most of they were once used during festivals to transport statues of the gods through the streets of Hong Kong in the 19th century. A large number of fortune-teller stalls are located near the temple.
Both locals and visitors stop by to check out their chances for good luck in the future. In this Chinese version of fortune telling, these clairvoyants shake a bamboo tube that contains fortune sticks . There s a number on each stick that corresponds to a fortune , and the one that falls out first will determine your destiny.
Early afternoon is good for taking photos.