Sinophilia - Guides

Chinese folk religion is a multifaced mixture that combines beliefs and practises mainly derived from Buddhism and Taoism, the Chinese thought being much more flexible and open than its western counterpart. Thus, it is natural for the Chinese to burn incense in a Buddhist temple doing the same in front of a Taoist god the day after.
The fat happy Buddha is a fundamental element of this mixture of popular beliefs: you can find him everywhere, from private homes to public places, sometimes in company of Taoist deities, made of wood, porcelain, precious stones, ivory... and during the Cultural Revolution they used to paint him red!
This smiling Buddha is the Chinese version of the Indian Maitreya, also known as the Future Buddha: of bramhanic origin, he lived as a follower of Buddhism; after his death, he entered the Nirvana from where after 4000 years he's supposed to come back to this human world to spread the Buddhist doctrine again. But the Chinese wouldn't wait so long, so we see Maitreya (or Milefo, in Chinese) make his return on earth during the Five Dynasties as a monk named Chang Dingzi: short and fat, poorly dressed, he used to lay on the snow without getting wet, and could foresee the future. He soon became worshipped as Milefo, also known as the Monk with the Cloth Bag, because of the bag he is often represented with.