Quingyang Temple: Photos

The first picture is of one of the monks. This man looks very wise to me.

The second picture is of a pair of Brass goats. The story goes that Lao Tzu, the high priest of Taoism, asked a friend to meet him here. When the friend arrived he saw only a boy leading two goats on a leash. In a fabulous move of lateral thinking he realized the boy was Lao Tzu. According to this story, a Taoist palace was built there with the two symbolic bronze goats. Although called a goat, one of them is actually a strange creature with mouse ears, an ox nose, tiger paws, rabbit back, snake tail, dragon horns, horse mouth, goat beard, monkey neck, chicken eyes, dog belly and pig thighs. It was said that this goat has some supernatural powers and anyone who touches it will survive from illness and accident.

Burning incense is in the third picture and the fourth is of part of the palace grounds.