For centuries, China has stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. It is also a land of gods and goddesses, ranging from the creators of the world to local deities. Religious belief is an essential element of peoples lives. There is a strong belief in the supernatural world with its spirits of humans (ancestors, deified heroes and worthies), of natural objects and of mythological beings dating from prehistory. Many gods have particular specialities; for instance, there are different wealth gods for success in business and for gambling. There are city gods and kitchen gods, the earth gods who protect a specific piece of land, and myriad spirits, who protect wells, mountains, bridges, distribute rain or snow, control flooding or protect humanity from disease and epidemics. Even today, these fundamental beliefs and traditions are still having a great influence on the behaviour of the Chinese. During the Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976, the Chinese people and their civilization underwent an extremely difficult time. The revolution was designed to destroy the culture of pre-communist China, to elminate the 'Four Olds': old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits. The Red Guards, ardent supporters of the revolution, roamed across the country, destroying books, music and anything else representing one of the Four Olds. Many wooden statues like the ones in our collection have been destroyed during that period. They were burned publicly and people were thrown in jail to wash away their superstitious way of thinking. After that period, not much has remained and we have spent several years travelling through China to collect these pieces dating from the Ming and the later Ching dynasty. In our warehouse you will not only find many statues but also house temples and many altartables from various provinces in China.