ALTAR

ca. 1885

1973.17.01

Gold rushes in the American West coincided with famine, overpopulation, and civil war in southern China. Desperate to aid their families, hundreds of men from Guangdong (Canton) Province traveled across the Pacific Ocean beginning with the first California gold discoveries in 1848. In Montana's gold camps, like elsewhere in the West, Chinese miners gathered in Chinatowns that generally included at least one temple. To these men far from home, urban temples were places of refuge and relief. Often these temples paid homage to military heroes; in that tradition, this altar from Helena's Chinese temple was dedicated to Guan Yu, a famous general who died in 220 AD. The two vertical lines of characters flanking the altar's central portion translate: "Throughout the ages, his Firmness and Loyalty shine bright as the Moon and Sun/For eons, his Bravery and Sincerity with the hills and rivers is one." The altar's intricate carvings include flowers, birds, silk worm moths, and bats with outstretched wings-a potent symbol of good fortune.