TELDAP Collections
A Slice of Wonder
Facets of Taiwan
Exhibitions
| Songsheng Niangniang (Goddess of Midwifery and Pregnancy) |
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Songsheng Niangniang (Goddess of Midwifery and Pregnancy) is one of the goddesses that grant people children. Her title is "Many-Faced Patron Saint of Childbirth and Labor." Songsheng Niangniang is said to have a double face; at the front is her kind face, benevolent and warmhearted, while at the back lies her mean face, ferocious and terrifying. According to legend, when she sends babies to the world, she is afraid that they might linger about in the secure comfort of the womb and refuse to be born. Therefore, when delivering babies, she presents her kind face first. Then she turns around to show her mean face to scare the babies out of their mothers’ wombs. This print depicts Songsheng Niangniang riding a horse, with a guide at the front and a fan-holding maid at the end, as if she is patrolling.
Printmaking
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