China
18:48, 18-Feb-2018
Controversy over “Pray to Buddha” picture on Chinese social media
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Spring Festival is a good time of the year for family members to pray for the good fortune for their beloved ones, however, someone has taken advantage of this love and care.
A picture of woman wearing traditional Chinese clothes, kneeling down and praying to the Buddha went viral on Chinese social media on Friday, the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The picture was posted along with the text saying “repost this picture and your mother’s illness will be driven away”, which caused tens of thousands of reposts on Chinese social media platform, especially on WeChat.
A picture of a woman kneeling down and praying to the Buddha went viral on Chinese social media. /Photo via Weibo
A picture of a woman kneeling down and praying to the Buddha went viral on Chinese social media. /Photo via Weibo
Beijing citizen Zhang stated that a lot of his friends reposted this picture in WeChat moment with the above text since Friday, reported Beijing Youth Daily.
“I reposted this picture when I saw it, because I felt a little bit uncomfortable if I didn’t repost it since I’ve already seen it,” Zhang added.
Painter Zheng Yue defenses herself in her WeChat moment. /Photo via Weibo
Painter Zheng Yue defenses herself in her WeChat moment. /Photo via Weibo
On Friday evening, Zheng Yue, the painter, stood out and defended herself in her WeChat moment. She posted the drafts of her picture and clarified that her picture didn’t mean to "driving away illness." She added that she was angry with the person who stole her work without permission.
“I hate superstition. It is good to send blessings, but not by using other people’s work. For the person who created this, I think you are immorally taking advantage of people’s love and care for their beloved ones,” Zheng declared in her post.
Zheng Yue's clarification on her Weibo account, Saturday. /Photo via Weibo
Zheng Yue's clarification on her Weibo account, Saturday. /Photo via Weibo
Zheng Yue posted a statement on her Weibo account on Saturday, which drew attention and caused a heated debate among Chinese netizens.
“Some people just want to show off their love and care for their moms by posting the blessing picture,” a Weibo user commented, “since it is much easier and quicker to post a picture than doing something in reality for their moms.”
“Please take the time to help your mom do the dishes rather than posting a meaningless picture,” said another Weibo user.