Buying Good Luck
Most people would agree that “superstition” is a significant feature of the traditional Hong Kong culture. There is an old Chinese adage that says, “to achieve success, 70% relies on your hard work, 30% depends on your luck.” However, do you know that money can also “buy” good luck in Hong Kong?
Temples are significant places to seek good luck. Wong Tai Sin Temple is one of the most famous temples in Hong Kong. One of the popular practices in Wong Tai Sin Temple is Kau Chim (求籤). Visitors would first think of a wish to themselves. Then they would shake a tube filled with bamboo “fortune sticks” (籤) until one of the sticks fell on the ground. The sticks are numbered 1–100, which have related stories. After remembering the number, visitors would ask the temple’s resident fortune-tellers to interpret it and tell their future (Gaai Chim, 解籤). Recently, the cost of Gaai Chim was HKD 30.
Another popular practice in Wong Tai Sin Temple is Sip Taai Seui (攝太歲), which means praying to the Chinese Daoism god Taai Seui (太歲神). There are in total 60 Taai Seui representing a cycle of 60 years, so the god Taai Seui is also known as the god who controls the fortune of the year (值年神靈). Suppose the current year is the same as the year that you were born (for example, 2022 is the year of tiger, and a person is born in 1998, which is also the year of tiger) or related to your year of birth (which include complicated traditional calculations). In that case, this year is considered a bad-luck year for you (known is 犯太歲). And traditionally, people believe that visiting a temple with the god Taai Seui and praying to the god (Sip Taai Seui, 攝太歲) could reduce or even eliminate bad luck. The process of Sip Taai Seui is relatively simple. Most importantly, an HK$310 was needed recently for this practice in Wong Tai Sin Temple.
Similar cases happened in Sha Tin Che Kung Temple (沙田車公廟) where you have to pay for the incense for worshiping the gods. HK$70 is for incense for personal use, whereas HK$100 provides you with a “family meal” where the incense can be used to pray for your whole family.
It’s interesting to note how money is tied to traditional superstitious practices in Temples in Hong Kong. This phenomenon demonstrates Georg Simmel’s idea money working as the quantification of human desire. It seems that the more you pay, the bigger wish you could make and the better luck you could gain. However, do people really believe that using money in this way can bring good luck? What do you think?
