Last of the Temple Photos- The Luckiest Families in China

I've stretched these out as long as I can, which means I better be snapping a few pics tomorrow!! This is the last of the pics from Sunday at the Temple of Filial Piety with Linda, Rebuen, and the Famous Emme Lu.

A close-er-up of the decapitated lions....most likely a result of the cultural Revolution. Notice the Lion in the corner is whole- it's also made of new stone.

A mini pagoda at the temple
Quan Yen- The goddess of fertility I think?
A monk came up to Emme Lu and spent a long time looking at her. So curious to wonder what was going through his head as he looked into her eyes- was he wishing her well? reading her soul? Passing luck to her as she starts her new life with her new family?
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On Wednesday this week I had dinner with my whole global team from work here in Guangzhou. One of my colleagues just got married, so she was showing me her wedding photos. Besides looking like the beautiful blushing bride she was, I noticed in one of the photos there was a woman presenting two enormous stuffed babies to She and her Husband. When I asked her about them, she explained that they were a "wish"- for Children. It was a wish for twins: one Boy, and one Girl. I had read before that the ideal family in China was one boy and one girl- and whenever I've seen families with twin boys, I've always thought "Oh they must be considered the luckiest of all"- but it's not true. The luckiest of all, are the families who give birth to twins: One boy, one girl- because they can achieve the "ideal family" and still stay within the one child policy, since twins are given an "exception" and considered as a single child (in regards to the single child policy anyway). The reason that Chinese families desire one Daughter and one Son is, as I understand it:

The Son will stay with his parents and take care of them in their old age. He will marry and live with his parents, and provide a type of "social security" so that his parents do not have to work until they are old and no longer able. A Son will ensure the family will not starve in their old age.

The Daughter will marry out of the family, but she will be more "filial" and closer to the parents. Although the Son will live with the parents, Parents expect that they will have a closer family tie or family relationship with a daughter, who will be more loving and, well, filial.