Some say that every story's already been written, that all art is derivative. Maybe that's why this elderly woman apparently mistook a statue of a video game character for a Chinese general (who's since been deified in Chinese culture).
The photos popped up on Chinese blogging site Sina Weibo on April 3, seemingly showing an elderly woman kneeling and offering incense in honor of what appears to be a "League of Legends" character statue.
The character is named Garen, and he is apparently being mistaken for a Chinese general (circa 200 CE) named Guan Yu. In the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" tale, Guan Yu is deified. He's also a well-known figure as a result of his appearance in the story.
Here is the character in the case who she's praying to, Garen:
And here's a depiction of the deified historical figure in question, Guan Yu:
He's actually a character in another eSports game, similar to "League of Legends", called "Smite". Here's how Guan Yu appears in that game:
As Shanghaiist succinctly put it, "An elderly woman was spotted recently trying to prostrate herself before the old gods, not realizing that the statue she was bowing to was instead the idol of a new era." Indeed!
