Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Veiled Undressing

Ta-Wan


A new guy came to work, tattooed from ear to there, and with piercings that would impress a Red Indian chief.

One older person said to us as we looked over towards the new guy "I don't like all of those tattoos, just too much, and that piercing..."

I said "I don't look at clothes or skin, I look deeper. Like with you" I said turning to my older colleague "I see you are a-soul."

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

5 comments:

  1. Did the older colleague get it, is the question.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It took a moment. (I don't read with my ears....I'm a copy editor.)

    But you know, generally in China, tattoos are regarded at least among the Han, as something only for criminals or slaves. I only mention this because I've had some recent discussions about this regarding taoists (western kind) with tattoos.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't have any tattoos myself, but if I did, I don't think that means I can't be a Taoist, or that I'm a slave or criminal. You don't have to adopt Chinese culture and attitudes to adopt their religion, though naturally there's gonna be some cross fertilization.

    Anyways, nice one, Ta-Wan

    ReplyDelete
  4. Traditional Chinese regard the body as kind of sacred, a gift from one's parents. Hair is very important. The tattooing was for a kind of sordid underclass. The reason you see Taoists in China with long hair, the topknots, is that the long hair is "natural." Unlike say, Shaolin (Buddhist) monks who shave their heads as a symbol of renunciation.

    No you don't have to adopt the culture and attitudes to apply the principles, but if you were to become "ordained" in a temple, you would probably be encouraged to adopt these physical attributes, wear the attire.

    I just throw these things out here as the Sinologist/Sinophile of the group.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are unmoderated, so you can write whatever you want.