-40%
Vintage composite Chinese character doll. Ho Hsien -Ku
$ 13.18
- Description
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Description
This is a Chinese Character Doll of Ho Hsien -Ku . I have listed her as vintage, but I honestly believe she is antique or very close to it. I can't find any reference to the Fook Wah Company in Hong Kong. The box says it a Globe Brand. but the insert sheet says Rose Brand.
She is made of composite materials and cloth portions of her body. Her clothing is silk and all in good condition.
She is about 12 inches tall and her base ads about another 1/2 inch.
I don't know her history. We picked her up at an estate auction about 6 years ago.
I have the bottom portion of her original box as shown in the last photo, but it is in very poor condition, and it has no top. Also shown in the photos I have her original tags and description inserts (also shown in the photos)
Here is her legend:
Ho Hsien-Ku is the Chinese immortal woman also known as the Health Goddess. She is one of the Pa-Hsien or eight immortals of Taoist legend.
Some scholars say her father is Ho T’ai, a native of Tseng-Ch’eng Hsien in Kuangtung. Others say her father was a shopkeeper at Ling-ling in Hunan.
As a child, Ho Hsien-Ku decided to live on Yun-mu ling. On this mountain there were stones called Yun-mu shih, “Mother of Pearl” or “mica.” When she was around fourteen or fifteen, a god came to her in a dream. He told her she must crush one of these stones and eat it so her body would gain great agility and be immune from death. Ho Hsien-Ku did what she was told and ate some powered mica.
As a result of eating the mica, as the god foretold, she did indeed gain agility and immortality. For some reason that is not clear, she also vowed to stay a virgin.
While she lived on earth, every day she would go high up in mountains and bring loads of fruits to her mother. As she was doing this, she found she was eating less and less. Soon enough she gave up on ordinary foods altogether because she realized she didn’t need to eat in order to survive.
One day, the Empress Wu, hearing of her fame, sent a message to have Ho Hsien-Ku attend to the palace. However, it seems disappeared on the way. What happened is that she disappeared from the view of mortals as she became one of the eight immortals and joined the gods in the sky.
After joining the gods, she was a nurse of T’ai Sui, god of heavens and time, who is connected with the planet Jupiter.
Because of her nursing of T’ai Sui, it is believed that she is able to help heal most issues that occur in your life. Whether it is a physical wound or an emotional wound, she can help. Ho Hsien-Ku can also bring happiness and luck into your life.