Friday, March 19, 2010

Some of the issues I have discovered in ‘The Son of the Turtle Spirit’


Some of the issues I have discovered in ‘The Son of the Turtle Spirit’ are:-

1.) In the Chinese belief, some spirits are said to commit adultery with human men / women. This normally takes place during the seventh month of the Chinese calendar where it is believed that the gates of hell are opened during this period. There are some claims which I have read in the newspaper stating that a male spirit impregnated a Chinese woman during the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. So this story reinforces my background knowledge of the spirit in accordance with the Chinese belief system.

2.) It is also known in the Chinese culture that some turtles has spirits which manifests at night and disappear at dawn before the sunrise.

3.) The Chinese community may shift their ancestral / elders remains if the necessity arises. For example, they may shift their ancestral / elders remains upon the request of the dead one through their dreams or they may shift the remains if they find a more suitable place to bury it. The costs of shifting the remains are quite expensive not only in the story but also in the real life. The Chinese community has a strong belief system that the location of the burial ground is very important because it affects the wealth and the well-being of the deceased descendants. In this story, it is stated clearly in the 8th paragraph that “the sons and grandsons of anyone buried there would certainly rise to high honours.”

4.) Regardless of race and religion, we have a common belief system of ‘fate’. The son of the turtle spirit was supposed to place the remains of the rich man’s grandfather in the dragon’s mouth. Instead, he hung the bones on the dragon's horns because he followed his mother’s instructions. Finally, the son of the turtle spirit became the Emperor, and the son of the rich man was his minister. That is why I said that our life depends on our fates. We can only plan for something and work hard for it but as we all know our fate is predetermined by god. Everything in the universe works in accordance to the Almighty’s good will.

Issues one to three are only relevant in the Chinese culture. Meanwhile the fourth issue is universal in nature regardless of race and religion.

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