Enter through the Dragon Door

Background: This was is a common tradition in Taiwan and China, with religious significance.

Context: This story was performed in the Architecture studio, for an audience of two, in order to pass time while working on projects.

“If you are entering a temple in Taiwan, there are three openings in front, and a statue of god inside. On the door to the left is the Chinese dragon, and on the right is the tiger based on the god’s view. The middle is the door for the god. When you go through the door, you have to go through the dragon door, because you don’t want to walk in through the tiger’s mouth, and you exit through the other door. Always. You just have to. Usually there will be some donate box. ”

This seems to be indicative of the Taiwanese attitude towards dragons versus tigers: Tigers being viewed as a source of bad luck, and dragons being good luck.