China hospital in firing line over fears that mythical wealth gathering ‘fortune beast’ statues could harm patients
- Mythical creature, feng shui symbol, eats gold and silver, has no anus
- Concern expressed that figures mean patients will not be discharged
A hospital in China has attracted controversy for placing two black pixiu statues at the entrance of its inpatient department.
Pixiu is a mythical Chinese beast and a feng shui symbol said to attract and keep wealth. It has a big mouth that mostly eats gold and silver, yet it has no anus, which indicates a great fortune coming in but not going away.
Some online observers have expressed concern about the statues being placed outside a hospital because they think that implies the patients will not be discharged.
On January 23, staff at Yuzhou Second People’s Hospital in central China’s Henan province, told the mainland media outlet, Guoshequ, that the statues had been there for more than two decades, and in all that time no one had shown concern.
They said the statues have now been removed.
Pixiu, which is also known as “fortune beast”, is one of the five auspicious Chinese mythological creatures, along with the dragon, phoenix, turtle, and qilin.