Most of the early ships had heads of mythological monsters or patrons carved in the bow; hence, the terms "figure head," "the heads" and the term "eyes of the ship" followed from the eyes of the figures placed there. Large "eyes" are still painted on the bows of Chinese junks.
Sailors also believe that these "eyes" help them and their ship through a storm by magically seeing the right of way. One particular Sailor's tale says that on the day before he was to sail, he bought his wife two beautiful, green emeralds for earrings. He was heartbroken when she did not like them, so instead he used them as the eyes of the female "figure head" on the bow of his ship.His wife had a change of heart that night, and unbeknownst to her husband, removed the emeralds from the wooden figure. She planned to wear them upon his return, but he never did. One day after sailing, his ship steered right into a typhoon and sank. Some say it was because the ship could not "see" as his wife had stolen the ship's "eyes." When the wife heard the news, she cried for days until she fell asleep. When she awoke, she was blind...and the two beautiful emeralds had disappeared.
