Chi You

In Chinese mythology, Chi You is a war deity who fought the Yellow Emperor. For s, Chi You is a sagacious mythical king. Chi You, "txiv yawg" in Hmong, means grandfather.
Chi You is also the god of rain, and a descendant of Shennong, the inventor of agriculture. His appearance is half giant, half bull, with the front of his head covered with iron.

Mythology

Along with and , Chi You is a deity in Hmong mythology, Chi You was the mythical leader of the , king of , and once a follower of Yan Di. When Huang Di subdued Yan Di, Chi You was weary of the suppression and conspired with Yan Liang, another deity. Soon, Huang Di and Chi You clashed in the Battle of Zhuolu.

According to Chinese legends, Chi You and his people rebelled against Yellow Emperor at Zhuolu plains. Both sides used magical powers, but Chi You had the advantage because his troops were armed with forged swords and halberds. Using his power , Chi You covered the battle field in thick fog. Only with the help of a magical compass chariot could Huang Di's troops could find their way through the mist. He also used his daughter Nü Ba, the Goddess of Drought, to harm Chi You's troops. Later on, Chi You suffered more defeats and was captured. Only Ying Long, the winged dragon, being a brave servant of Huang Di, dared to slay him. Chi You's chains were transformed into acorn trees, while Ying Long was cursed to remain on earth forever.

According to Chinese legend, the people under Chiyou were defeated at Zhuolu by the military unification of Huang Di and Yandi, leaders of the Huaxia tribe as they struggled for supremacy of the Yellow River valley. The compass was believed to be the crucial reason of Huaxia's victory. The battle, believed to be taken place in the 27th century BC, was fought under heavy fog as Huaxia was able to match against Miao with the compass. After the loss, the original tribe split into two smaller splinter tribes, the Miao and the . Miao continuously moving southwest and Li southeast as the Huaxia race, now known as Han Chinese race, expanding southwards. During the course of Chinese history, they were regarded as "barbarians" by the increasingly technologically and culturally advanced Han Chinese. Some fragments of the races were assimilated into the Chinese during .

Yet, in other versions, the people of Jiuli fragmented in 3 different directions. It is said Chiyou had 3 sons, and after the fall of Jiuli, his oldest son led some people south, his middle son led some people north, and his youngest son remained in Zhuolu and assimilated into the Huaxia culture. Those who were led to the south established the San-Miao nation. Perhaps due to this splitting into multiple groups, many Far Eastern people regard Chiyou as their ancestors, and by the same token, many question the ethnicity of Chiyou as exclusively Hmong or otherwise. In some circles of thought, the Koreans also regard Chiyou as an ethnic ancestor. Chiyou is also regarded as one of China's forefathers alongside the ethnic Han ancestors, Huangdi and Yandi.

Other mythology states that Chi You had 81 brothers, and was a grotesque looking creature: he had six arms, four eyes, the head and hooves resembled an ox and his head was made of metal . He only ate stones and pebbles; therefore his teeth were almost unbreakable. One of his achievements was the first use of metal weapons in warfare. He is said to have forged the first swords from bronze or copper. He was violent and no one could defeat him.

Historical records

Across the Eastern Asia, many people had worshipped Chi You as the war guardian deity. According to Chinese history record ''Records of the Grand Historian'', at Chi You's shrine before the last battle against Xiang Yu and won. Joseon Navy Admiral Yi Sun-sin also worshipped Chi Woo, and he has never lost a battle, and thus deemed a hero in the war against Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army during
the during 1592-1598.

Figure in Hwandan Gogi

According to the controversial Korean mythology book ''Hwandan Gogi'' which was first published in 1979 and which says it was compiled and edited by Gye Yeonsoo in 1911 , 'Chiwoo' was 14th Emperor, named Jaoji-Hwanwoong, of the Empire of Baedal, which was to be succeeded by Go-Joseon, as the book says. He ruled the Empire during 109 years. According to these accounts, Emperor Chi-Woo succeeded Emperor Sawara of Baedalguk, the 13th ruler of Baedalguk, at around 41 years of age and is seen today as a great hero who expanded the territory of his empire tremendously, which was said to have reached the Shandong Peninsula area at its greatest extent. During his reign, he was said to have highly advanced the technology of his empire as well. Baedal was said to have possessed catapults, flaming arrows, and bronze swords starting from the reign of Emperor Chi-Woo, while its neighbors were still in the stone age. Chi-Woo was said to have reigned for 109 years, and died at the age of 151. He was good at making weapons such as an arrow, a bow, a spear, an amor and a helmet, and he also could deal with copper and iron. In addition, he united 12 feudal states, and was not defeated for about 70 wars. The books claims that Chiwoo's grave was in present Shandong province of China, and that in every July, the red flag, the symbol of Chi You's army appeared on top of his grave.

According to the same accounts, when Chiwoo became an emperor of Baedalguk, Yoomang , who was a descendant of Shennong, was a king in the nation of Shennong. At that time, the nation of Shennong became powerful because the population had increased so much. Emperor Chiwoo felt surrounded by threats and decided to attack the nation of Shennong, and prepared bows, arrows, spears and swords. Emperor Chiwoo assembled his army of nine grand generals and 81 adjunt generals in , and conquered the troops of Yoomang at Kuhon. Thereafter, Emperor Huangdi heard that Emperor Chiwoo was governing the land of Shennong. Huangdi assembled his troops, and waged war on Emperor Chiwoo and Baedal more than 70 times during ten years. It is said that Emperor Chiwoo defeated Emperor Huangdi in all of the battles except one.

Chiwoo, also called "Chiwoo Cheonwang" in Korea, is the mascot of the Red Devils, the supporters' group to the South Korea national football team. The manhwa ''Heavenly Executioner Chi Woo'' is partly based on the legends about Emperor Chi Woo.

Chang'e

Chang'e, Ch'ang-O or Chang-Ngo , also known as Heng-E or Heng-O , is the goddess of the moon. Unlike many in other cultures who personify the moon, Chang'e only lives on the moon. As the "woman on the Moon", Chang'e could be considered the Chinese complement to the Western notion of a man in the moon. The lunar crater is named after her.

Chang'e is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elements: Houyi the Archer, a benevolent or malevolent , an elixir of life, and the moon.

Story

Chang'e and Houyi the Archer

According to legend, Chang'e and her husband Houyi were immortals living in heaven. One day, the ten sons of the Jade Emperor transformed into ten suns, causing the earth to scorch. Having failed to order his sons to stop ruining the earth, the Jade Emperor summoned Houyi for help. Houyi, using his legendary archery skills, shot down nine of the sons, but spared one son to be the sun. The Jade Emperor was obviously not pleased with Houyi's solution to save the earth: nine of his sons were dead. As punishment, the Jade Emperor banished Houyi and Chang'e to live as mere mortals on earth.



Seeing that Chang'e felt extremely miserable over her loss of immortality, Houyi decided to journey on a long, perilous quest to find the pill of immortality so that the couple could be immortals again. At the end of his quest he met the Queen Mother of the West who agreed to give him the pill, but warned him that each person would only need half the pill to become immortal.

Houyi brought the pill home and stored it in a case. He warned Chang'e not to open the case and then left home for a while. Like Pandora in Greek mythology, Chang'e became too curious: she opened up the case and found the pill just as Houyi was returning home. Nervous that Houyi would catch her discovering the contents of the case, she accidentally swallowed the entire pill. She started to float into the sky because of the overdose. Although Houyi wanted to shoot her in order to prevent her from floating further, he could not bear to aim the arrow at her. Chang'e kept on floating until she landed on the moon.

While she became lonely on the moon without her husband, she did have company. A jade rabbit, who manufactured elixirs, also lived on the moon. The mythologies of Japan and Korea also feature references about rabbits living on the moon.

Another companion is the woodcutter Wu Gang. The woodcutter offended the gods in his attempt to achieve immortality and was therefore banished on the moon. Wu Gang was allowed to leave the moon if he could cut down a tree that grew there. The problem was that each time he chopped the tree, the tree would instantly grow back, effectively condemning him to live on the moon for eternity.

Chang'e and Houyi the Archer

Chang'e was a beautiful young girl working in the Jade Emperor's palace in heaven, where immortals, good people and fairies lived. One day, she accidentally broke a precious porcelain jar. Angered, the Jade Emperor banished her to live on earth, where ordinary people lived. She could return to the Heaven, if she contributed a valuable service on earth.

Chang'e was transformed into a member of a poor farming family. When she was 18, a young hunter named Houyi from another village spotted her, now a beautiful young woman. They became friends.

One day, a strange phenomenon occurred -- 10 suns arose in the sky instead of one, blazing the earth. Houyi, an expert archer, stepped forward to try to save the earth. He successfully shot down nine of the suns, becoming an instant hero. He eventually became king and married Chang'e.

But Houyi grew to become a tyrant. He sought immortality by ordering an elixir be created to prolong his life. The elixir in the form of a single pill was almost ready when Chang'e came upon it. She either accidentally or purposely swallowed the pill. This angered King Houyi, who went after his wife. Trying to flee, she jumped out the window of a chamber at the top of palace -- and, instead of falling, she floated into the sky toward the moon.

King Houyi tried to shoot her down with arrows, but without success. Her companion, a rabbit, is constantly pounding the elixir of immortality in a large mortar.

The moon is also inhabited by a woodcutter who tries to cut down the cassia tree, giver of life. But as fast as he cuts into the tree, it heals itself, and he never makes any progress. The Chinese use this image of the cassia tree to explain mortal life on earth -- the limbs are constantly being cut away by death, but new buds continually appear.

Meanwhile, King Houyi ascended to the sun and built a palace. So Chang'e and Houyi came to represent the yin and yang, the moon and the sun.

Chang'e and the Cruel Emperor

Many years after she was already the moon goddess, Chang'e looked down upon Earth and saw that a terribly cruel emperor sat on the throne. To help the people, she allowed herself to be reborn into the mortal world. The other members of her mortal family were either killed or enslaved by the emperor, but Chang'e managed to escape to the countryside.

Meanwhile, the emperor was aging and obsessed with discovering the elixir of life. He had people all over the land brought to him and demanded of them how to find the elixir of life; nobody knew, of course, but the emperor would not accept ignorance for an answer and executed all those who could not answer.

In the countryside, Chang'e met the Buddhist goddess of compassion, Guan Yin, who proceeded to give Chang'e a small elixir. Chang'e brought the elixir to the emperor. The suspicious emperor worried that it was poison and demanded that Chang'e taste the elixir first. She did, showing no ill effects, so then the emperor took the elixir and promptly died. Then, Chang'e also left the mortal world; the effects of the elixir had only been delayed for her. However, instead of dying, she ascended to the moon to retake her place as a goddess.

Chang'e and Houyi the Archer

This version is very similar to Version 1, although in this instance Chang'e is bitter and abusive towards Yi for their exile from heaven. When Houyi obtains the Elixir of Immortality from the Queen Mother of the West, he is told that, if both he and his wife take half of it each, they will avoid death but remain on Earth. He informs Chang'e of this arrangement and trusts her with the knowledge of the Elixir's hiding place and goes out hunting to prepare a feast when they will both take the Elixir. Chang'e, however, is not content to simply avoid death so she swallows the entire Elixir herself and immediately begins to float up to Heaven. En route, she fears the wrath of the other gods for her selfishness in taking the Elixir and floats to the moon instead. Yet another variant of the story ends with Chang'e imprisoned on the moon in the form of a frog by the Queen Mother of the West as punishment for her selfishness.

Worship of Chang'e

On , the fullmoon night of the 8th lunar month, an altar is set up on the open air facing the moon to worship her. New toiletries are put on the altar for Her to bless. She endows her worshippers with beauty.

Literature and adaptation

This story was adapted in 2003 into a Chinese TV period drama titled Moon Fairy, starring Singapore actors Fann Wong and .

Chang'e appears in Wu Cheng'en's novel Journey to the West and also TV adaptions of the novel. Her story slightly changed from her going to the moon on her first try to going to the heavens, and would later be rewarded to live in the moon after an incident which involved her and Zhu Bajie.

The legend of Lady Chang-O plays a prominent role in Amy Tan's children's book, ''The Moon Lady'', retold from her more adult novel The Joy Luck Club.

Miscellaneous

The moon goddess was mentioned in the conversation between Houston Capcom and Apollo 11 crew just before the first moon landing:

: Among the large headlines concerning Apollo this morning there's one asking that you watch for a lovely girl with a big rabbit. An ancient legend says a beautiful Chinese girl called ''Chang-o'' has been living there for 4000 years. It seems she was banished to the moon because she stole the pill for immortality from her husband. You might also look for her companion, a large Chinese rabbit, who is easy to spot since he is only standing on his hind feet in the shade of a cinnamon tree. The name of the rabbit is not recorded.

: Okay, we'll keep a close eye for the bunny girl.

In 2007, China launched its first lunar probe, named Chang'e 1 in the goddess's honour.

In Mother's Agenda The Mother tells that Chinese are originally from the moon, which they had to leave when the planet started to die. One may suggest that there are links between this and Chang'e legend.

Cangjie

Cangjie is a legendary figure in ancient China , claimed to be an official historian of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters. Legend has it that he had four eyes and , and that when he invented the characters, the deities and ghosts cried and the sky rained millet. He is considered a legendary figure rather than a historical figure, or at least, not considered to be sole inventor of Chinese characters. The Cangjie method, a Chinese character input method, is named after him. A rock on Mars, visited by the Mars rover , was named after him by the rover team.

Legend of character creation

Shortly after unifying China, the Yellow Emperor, being terribly dissatisfied with his "rope knot tying" method of recording information, charges Cangjie with the task of creating characters for writing. Cangjie then settles down on the bank of a river, and devotes himself to the completion of the task at hand. After devoting much time and effort, however, he's unable to create even one character. One day, Cangjie suddenly sees a phoenix flying in the sky above, carrying an object in its beak. The object falls to the ground directly in front of Cangjie, and he discovers it to be an impression of a hoof-print. Not being able to recognize which animal the print belonged to, he asked for the help of a local hunter passing by on the road. The hunter told him that this was, without a doubt, the hoof-print of a , being different from the hoof-print of any other beast alive. His conversation with the hunter greatly inspired Cangjie, leading him to believe that if he could capture in a drawing the special characteristics that set apart each and every thing on the earth, this would truly be the perfect kind of character for writing. From that day forward, Cangjie paid close attention to the characteristics of all things, including the sun, moon, stars, clouds, lakes, oceans, as well as all manner of bird and beast. He began to create characters according to the special characteristics he found, and before long, had compiled a long list of characters for writing. To the delight of the Yellow Emperor, Cangjie presented him with the complete set of characters. The emperor then called the premiers of each of the nine provinces together in order for Cangjie to teach them this new writing system. Monuments and temples were erected in Cangjie's honor on the bank of the river where he created these characters.

Cai Shen

Cai Shen is the Chinese god of prosperity. He can be referred to as Zhao Gongming or Bi Gan. Though Cai Shen started as a Chinese folk hero, later deified and venerated by local followers and admirers, Taoism and Pure Land Buddhism also came to venerate him as a god.

Cai Shen's name is often invoked during the Chinese New Year celebrations. He is often depicted riding a black Tiger and holding a golden rod. He may also be depicted armed with any one of several iron weapons.

Several versions of Cai Shen's political affiliation and subsequent deification are circulated. It is unclear whether he is a genuine historical figure, though the vast majority of stories agree that Cai Shen lived during the early Qin Dynasty. It is believed that Bi Gan had a wife with the surname Chen , or Chan in Cantonese. His son is Quan . After Bi Gan was assassinated, his wife and son escaped into the woods. His death eventually marked the collapse of the Shang Dynasty. Later on, Quan was honoured as the ancestor of all by Zhou Wu Wang.

Budai

Budai or Budai Luohan, pronounced Hotei in , also known as the ''Laughing Buddha'', is an interpretation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the predicted Buddha to succeed Gautama Buddha in the future.

He has become incorporated into Buddhist, and Shinto culture and is based on an eccentric Chinese Zen monk who lived in the time of the Liang Dynasty. His image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets, and businesses. Budai has become a deity of contentment and abundance, when adopted by religious and Buddhists. In Japan, Hotei persists in folklore as one of the Seven Lucky Gods . He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the "Laughing Buddha" .

History

As Angida Arhat

Budai derives from the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, where there was a monk named ''Angida'', whose name also meant ''calico bag''. Angida was one of the original eighteen Arhats of Buddhism. According to legend, Angida was a talented Indian snake catcher whose aim was to catch venomous snakes to prevent them from biting passers-by. Angida would also remove the snake's venomous fangs and release them. Due to his kindness, he was able to attain bodhi. Both Budai and Angida have similar resemblances, as they both are rotund, seen laughing and carrying a bag, However, in Chinese art, Angida is portrayed as Budai, so it may be unclear whether the imagery between the two are similar in any way.

As a Chinese Buddhist monk

In the Chinese tradition, Budai was a monk who lived during the Later Liang Dynasty of China. He was a native of Fenghua, and his Buddhist name was Qieci . He was considered a man of good and loving character. Apart from his character, his identification with the Maitreya Bodhisattva is also attributed to a Buddhist hymn he uttered before his death:

:彌勒真彌勒，化身千百億，時時示時人，時人自不識

::''Maitreya, the true Maitreya
::''has billions of incarnations.
::''Often he is shown to people at the time;
::''other times they do not recognize him.

Description

Budai is almost always represented as carrying a cloth or linen sack, which never empties, and is filled with many precious items, including rice plants , sweets for children, food, small mammals, and the woes of the world. Sometimes it can be filled with children, as they are seen as some of those precious items of this world. His duty is patron of the weak, the poor and children. In some Japanese representations, Budai may be found sitting on a cart drawn by boys, or wielding a fan called an ''ōgi'' .

In Chinese Buddhist temples of the Chán sect, Budai's statue is traditionally placed in the front part of the entrance hall. He is depicted in the familiar likeness of the above described Laughing Buddha; a stout, smiling or laughing shaved man in robes with a largely exposed pot belly stomach symbolic for happiness, good luck, and plenitude.

Some sculptures have small children at his feet. Another item that is usually seen with the Budai figure, is a begging bowl; to represent his Buddhist nature. All of these images display Budai as a wandering monk who goes around and takes the sadness from people of this world. Because he represents prosperity and happiness, statuettes are often found in homes and businesses in China and Japan.

Faiths that revere Budai

Zen Buddhism

The primary story that concerns Budai in Zen is a short kōan. In it, Budai is said to travel giving candy to poor children, only asking a penny from Zen monks or lay practitioners he meets. One day a monk walks up to him and asks, "What is the meaning of Zen?" Budai drops his bag. "How does one realize Zen?" he continued. Budai then took up his bag and continued on his way.

I Kuan Tao

Statues of Budai form a central part of shrines in the I Kuan Tao. He is usually referred to by his Sanskrit name, Maitreya, and is taken to represent many important teachings and messages, including contentment, generosity, wisdom and open kindheartedness. He is predicted to succeed Gautama Buddha, as the next . He helps people realize the essence within, which connects with all beings. and he fosters the realization of tolerance, generosity and contentment; thus, he helps to bring heaven to earth.

Phra Sangkadchai/ Phra Sangkachai

In Thailand Budai is sometimes confused with another similar monk widely respected in Thailand, Phra Sangkadchai or Sangkachai . ''Phra Sangkadchai'', a Thai spelling of Mahakaccayanathera , was a Buddhist Arhat or Arahant during the time of the Lord . Lord Buddha praised ''Phra Sangkadchai'' for his excellence in explaining sophisticated dharma in an easily and correctly understandable manner. ''Phra Sangkadchai'' also composed the Madhupinadika Sutra.


One tale relates that he was so handsome that once even a man wanted him for a wife. To avoid a similar situation, ''Phra Sangkadchai'' decided to transform himself into a fat monk. Another tale says he was so attractive that angels and men often compared him with the . He considered this inappropriate, so disguised himself in an unpleasantly fat body.

Although both Budai and Phra Sangkadchai may be found in both Thai and Chinese temples, Phra Sangkadchai is found more often in Thai temples, and Budai in Chinese temples. Two points to distinguish them from one another are:

1. Phra Sangkadchai has a trace of hair on his head while Budai is clearly bald.

2. Phra Sangkadchai wears the robes in Theravadin Buddhist fashion with the robes folded across one shoulder, leaving the other uncovered. Budai wears the robes in Chinese style, covering both arms but leaving the front part of the upper body uncovered.

Folklore

Budai in folklore is admired for his happiness, plenitude, and wisdom of contentment. One belief, popular in folklore not Buddhist doctrine, maintains that rubbing his belly brings forth wealth, good luck, and prosperity.

Black Tortoise

The Black Tortoise is one of the of the Chinese constellations. The word for "tortoise" was taboo; and the entire entity is not just the tortoise itself, but both the tortoise and the snake. It is sometimes called the Black Warrior of the North , and it represents the north and the winter season. Although its name in , ''Xuánwǔ'', is often translated as ''Black Tortoise'' in , it is usually depicted as both a tortoise and a snake, specifically with the snake coiling around the tortoise.

The Seven Mansions of the Black Tortoise

Like the other Four Symbols, the Black Tortoise corresponds to seven "mansions", or positions, of the moon.
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Origin

In ancient China, the tortoise and the snake were thought to be spiritual creatures symbolising longevity. During the Han Dynasty, people often wore jade pendants that were in the shape of tortoises. Because of ancient Chinese influence on Japan, honorific titles and badges in Japan often referred to the tortoise or images of tortoises.

Historic Reference

In the classic novel, Journey to the West, '''' was a king of the north who had two generals serving under him, a "Tortoise General" and a "Snake General." This king had a temple at Wudang Mountains in Hubei, thus there is a "Tortoise Mountain" and a "Snake Mountain" on the opposite sides of a river in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei.

In legend it was said that ''Xuánwǔ'' was the prince of a Chinese Emperor. However, he was not interested in taking the throne, but decided to study in Tao's way. At age 15, he left his parents to search for enlightenment in Tao's way. It was said that he eventually achieved god status and was worshipped as a god of northern sky.

Other Chinese legends also speak of how the "Tortoise General" and a "Snake General" came to be. During ''Xuánwǔ's '' study to achieve enlightenment and god status he was told that in order to fully achieve god status, he must purge all ''humanly'' flesh from his body. Since he was born he had been eating the food of the world, humanly food, therefore his stomach and intestines were still human. Legend told of an event that a god came and ''changed'' out his human stomach and intestines for a godly body so he could fully achieve god status. The stomach and intestines taken out by the god whom did the surgery on ''Xuánwǔ'' were said to have taken on the shape of a tortoise and a snake . As many Chinese legends speak of certain animals becoming demons over time as they gain knowledge, that's what the tortoise and snake became, and terrorized people. As ''Xuánwǔ'', now in his god status, heard of this, he came and slayed ''the demons from his past''. However, he did not kill them, as the snake and tortoise demons showed remorse. He let them train under him and atone for their wrong doings, and they became the "Tortoise General" and "Snake General", and they assisted ''Xuánwǔ'' with his quests.

Bashe

Bashe was a python-like giant snake that ate elephants.

Name

The term ''bashe'' ''ba'' "a proper name; tip, tail; crust; greatly desire; cling to; be near" and ''she'' "snake; serpent".

The Chinese character 巴 for ''ba'' was graphically simplified from ancient Oracle bone script and Seal script pictograms of a long-tailed snake. In early Written Chinese usage, ''ba'' 巴 frequently referred to the Zhou Dynasty state of , which was located in present-day eastern Sichuan. In modern Standard Mandarin usage, ''ba'' 巴 often transcribes foreign loanwords such as ''ba'' 巴 "bar ", ''Bali'' 巴黎 "Paris", or ''Guba'' 古巴 "Cuba". ''Ba'' 巴 is a variant Chinese character for ''ba'' 把 "grasp; handle", ''ba'' 笆 "bamboo; fence", or ''ba'' 芭 in ''bajiao'' 芭蕉 "banana" .

''Bashe'' not only names this mythical giant reptile or Chinese dragon but is also a variant Chinese name for the South Asian ''ran'' or ''mang'' "" . "Mythical draconyms often derive from names of larger reptilians", says Carr and, "Since pythons usually crush their prey and swallow them whole, one can imagine Chinese tales about southern ''ran'' 蚺 'pythons' being exaggerated into legendarily-constipated ''bashe'' 'giant snakes' that ate an elephant every three years." In literary usage, ''bashe'' is found in the four-character idiom ''bashetuxiang'' 巴蛇吞象 meaning "inordinately greedy; extremely insatiable".

Early textual occurrences

The earliest references to the legendary ''bashe'' 巴蛇 are in the ''Chuci'' and ''Shanhaijing'', two Chinese classic texts containing Warring States period materials compiled during the Han Dynasty .

The ''Chuci'' is an anthology of Chinese poems from the southern state of , and it mentions ''bashe'' in the ''Tianwen'' 天問 "Heavenly Questions" section. The preeminent ''Chuci'' translator describes the ''Tianwen'' as a "somewhat odd combination of archaic riddles with questions of a speculative or philosophical nature" and believes "it started as an ancient, priestly riddle-text which was rewritten and greatly enlarged by a secular poet". This mythological questionnaire asks.

Where are the hornless dragons which carry bears on their backs for sport? Where is the great serpent with nine heads and where is the Shu Hu? Where is it that people do not age? Where do giants live? Where is the nine-branched weed? Where is the flower of the Great Hemp? How does the snake that can swallow an elephant digest its bones?

The ''Shanhaijing'' is an ancient Chinese mytho-geography. Chapter 10, the "''Haineinan jing''" 海內南經 "Classic of Regions within the Seas: South" describes a legendary land where ''bashe'' lived.

The Big Snake eats elephants and after three years it disgorges their bones. Gentlemen take a dose of this snake so that they will never have heart disease or illnesses of the belly. The snakes of Bigsnake country are green, or yellow, or scarlet, or black. One author says the black snakes have a green head. The land of Bigsnake lies west of Rhinoceros country.

The ''Shanhaijing'' commentary by Guo Pu compares the ''ba'' snake with the southern ''ran'' 蚺 "python", which after eating a large animal can wind around a tree trunk and expel the bones from between its scales, and notes they could grow up to a length of 100 ''xun'' . Guo's commentary likewise notes this exaggerated length for the ''changshe'' 長蛇 "long snake" that the ''Shanhaijing'' locates on Daxian 大咸 Mountain "Mount Bigwhole" ; "There is a snake here named the long-snake; its hair is like pig bristles. It makes a noise like a nightwatchman banging his rattle."

The 1578 CE ''Bencao Gangmu'' entry for ''ranshe'' 蚺蛇 "python" mentions the ''bashe''.

The ''Shan-Hai-Ching'' says that pythons can eat elephants, the bones of which they emit every three years. Gentlemen who take these bones as medicine never suffer from heart or visceral ailments. They are referred to as ''Pa She'', that is the great snake.

Compare how the ''Shanhaijing'' description of the ''ba''-snake's sympathetic magic is interpereted as eating the snake or eating the undigested elephant bones . This materia medica lists uses for python bile, flesh, fat, teeth, and oil. The ''Bencao Gangmu'' says pythons can reach lengths of 50-60 ''chi'' ; but Python molurus grow up to 5.8 meters and Python reticulatus 9.2 meters.

The Chinese folklore scholar Wolfram Eberhard links ''bashe'' with the legendary archer Houyi 后翌 who descended from heaven to destroy evildoers. One of Houyi's victims was a monstrous serpent in Lake Dongting, the ''xiushe'' 修蛇 "adorned/long snake" . Eberhard concludes giant snakes such as the ''xiushe'', ''bashe'', and ''ranshe'' "were typical for the South", but were not part of a snake cult like those among the ancient Yue .

Azure Dragon

The Azure Dragon is one of the of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the Azure Dragon of the East , and it represents the east and the season. It should not be confused with the mythological that is associated with the Emperor of China.

The Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon

Like the other Four Symbols, the Azure Dragon corresponds to seven "mansions", or positions, of the moon.
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Origin

In Book of Tang, the reincarnation of the 's Star is said to be Li Shimin's general Luo Cheng and the reincarnation of the Azure Dragon's Star is said to be the rebellious general Shan Xiongxin . They two are sworn brothers of Qin Shubao , Cheng Zhijie and Yuchi Jingde . Their souls after death are said to possess the body of the new heroes of the Tang Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, Xue Rengui and He Suwen.

In some legends of the Tang Dynasty's general Xue Rengui, he's said the reincarnation of the White Tiger's Star. And his archenemy, Liao Dynasty's prince He Suwen is the reincarnation of the Azure Dragon's Star.

In Japan

In Japan, the Azure Dragon is one of the four guardian spirits of cities and is said to protect the city of Kyoto on the east. The west is protected by the , the north is protected by the Black Tortoise, and the south is protected by the Vermilion Bird,and in the center is protected by the Yellow Dragon. In Kyoto there are temples dedicated to each of these guardian spirits. The Azure Dragon is represented in the Kiyomizu Temple in eastern Kyoto. Before the entrance of the temple there is a statue of the dragon which is said to drink from the waterfall within the temple complex at nighttime. Therefore each year a ceremony is held to worship the dragon of the east.

In 1983, the Kitora Tomb was found in the village of . All four guardians were painted on the walls and a system of the constellations was painted on the ceiling. This is one of the only ancient records of the four guardians.

Taotie

The ''Taotie'' is a commonly found on ritual bronze vessels from the and Zhou Dynasty. The design typically consists of a zoomorphic mask, described as being frontal, symmetrical, with a pair of eyes and typically no lower jaw area. Some argue that the design can be traced back to Neolithic jades of the ancient Yantgtze River Liangzhu culture .

Scholars have long been perplexed over the meaning of this theriomorphic design, and there is still no commonly held single answer. The hypotheses range from Robert Bagley's belief that the design is a result of the casting process, and rather than having an iconographic meaning was the artistic expression of the artists who held the technological know-how to cast bronze , to theories that it depicts ancient face masks that may have once been worn by either shamans or the god-kings who were the link between mankind and their deceased ancestors . The once-popular belief that the faces depicted the animals used in the sacrificial ceremonies has now more or less been rejected. Most scholars favor an interpretation that supports the idea that the faces have meaning in a religious or ceremonial context, as the objects they appear on are almost always associated with such events or roles. As one scholar writes "art styles always carry some social references." It is interesting that even Shang divination inscriptions shed no light on the meaning of the ''taotie'' .

In Chinese mythology, one of the Nine Dragon Children is named ''Taotie'', possibly a derivative of the earlier motif.

According to Lu’s Spring and Autumn Annals: Prophecy, "The ''taotie'' on Zhou bronzes has a head but no body. When it eats people, it does not swallow them, but harms them.* It is hard to explain what is implied in this, as so many myths concerning the ''taotie'' have been lost, but the indication that it eats people accords fully with its cruel, fearful countenance. To alien clans and tribes, it symbolized fear and force; to its own clan or tribe, it was a symbol of protection. This religious concept, this dual nature, was crystallized in its strange, hideous features. What appears so savage today had a historical, rational quality in its time. It is for precisely this reason that the savage old myths and legends, the tales of barbarism, and the crude, fierce, and terrifying works of art of ancient clans possessed a remarkable aesthetic appeal. As it was with Homer’s epic poems and African masks, so it was with the ''taotie'', in whose hideous features was concentrated a deep-seated historic force. It is because of this irresistible historic force that the mystery and terror of the ''taotie'' became the beautiful—the exalted."

*footnote by Li Zehou: "Some scholars consider that the meaning of '''taotie'' is not "eating people" but making a mysterious communication between people and Heaven ." Excerpt from ''The Path of Beauty: A Study of Chinese Aesthetics'' by Li Zehou, translated by Gong Lizeng .

See also:
Jordan Paper, "The Meaning of the 'T'ao-T'ieh'" in ''History of Religions'', Vol. 18, No. 1 , pp. 18-41.
Mircea Eliade, ''Shamanism'', trans. W. R. Trask. NY: Bollingen Foundation, 1964.
Robert Bagley, ''Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections''.
Roderick Whitfield, ed. ''The Problem of Meaning in Chinese Ritual Bronzes''. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1993.
K. C. Chang, ''Art, Myth, and Ritual: The Path to Political Authority in Ancient China''. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1983.

Tam Kung

Tam Kung is a sea deity worshiped in Hong Kong and Macau.

A temple dedicated to this deity is located at the end of Shau Kei Wan Man Street East, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong, and was originally a small shrine. Local people raised money to construct it in 1905 and reconstructed it many times afterwards. The statue of Tam Kung, which was first worshipped among the other gods in the temple, was formerly positioned in the Tam Kung Temple in Tam Kung Road in Kowloon City. There is a big rock in front of the temple and is believed to be Tam Kung's magic stamp. Local residents and fishermen are the sincere worshippers. On the birthday of Tam Kung , they will have a celebration and play a so called "kung fu" show which is a major part of the celebration. There is also a at Rua de Cinco de Outubro in Coloane, Macau.

In Victoria, BC, there is also a temple to the god Tam Kung. At 1713 Government Street is a tall, slim building established by the Yen Wo Society. Fifty-two steps up to the top floor is the oldest Chinese Temple in Canada. The statue you will find there was originally kept in a wooden box at Market Square, and it was moved to the temple by its keeper after Tam Kung appeared to him in a dream. Visitors are welcome most days, and you can make a donation to ensure your good health and the upkeep of the shrine!

Tam Kung Procession

In , Tam Kung was one of gods who could forecast the weather. He was born in Huizhou Prefecture. It was said that he could cure patients in his childhood. Tam Kung became an immortal in heaven at the age of twenty in the Nine-dragon Mountain in Huizhou.

He was granted an honor in the Ching Dynasty. People whose ancestral home are in Huizhou or Chaoshan of Guangdong province worship Tam Kung most sincerely. They built a temple for Tam Kung in A Kung Ngam. On Tam Kung's birthday on the 8th day of the 4th month in Chinese calendar, a special ceremony including parade and dragon dance is held in honor of him.

Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong , known in the West as the Monkey King, is the main character in the classical epic novel ''Journey to the West''. In the novel, he accompanies the monk on the journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India.

Sun Wukong possesses incredible strength, being able to lift his 13,500 Ruyi Jingu Bang with ease. He also has superb speed, traveling 108,000 li in one somersault. Sun knows 72 transformations, which allows him to transform into various animals and objects; he is, however, shown with slight problems transforming into other people, since he is unable to complete the transformation of his tail. He is a skilled fighter, capable of holding his own against the best generals of heaven. Each of his hairs possesses magical properties, and is capable of transforming into a clone of the Monkey King himself, or various weapons, animals, and other objects. He also knows various spells in order to command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, freeze humans, demons, and gods alike, to name a few. Unlike most gods, he earned his immortality through battling heaven and earth.

Background

Birth and early life

Sun Wukong was born from a mythical stone formed from the primal forces of chaos, located on the . After joining a clan of monkeys, he earned their respect by discovering the behind a large waterfall; the clan made it their new home. The other monkeys honored him as their king, and he called himself ''Měi Hóuwáng'' . However, he soon realized that despite his power over the monkeys, he was just like them, and was not beyond mortality. Determined to find immortality, he traveled on a raft to civilized lands, where he found and became the disciple of a / Patriarch Bodhi. He was able to acquire human speech and manners through his travels.

Influence

In spite of their popularity , legends regarding Sun Wukong have changed with the ebb and flow that is Chinese culture. The tale with and the "Pillars" is a prime example, and did not appear until Buddhism was introduced to China during the Han Dynasty. Various legends concerning Sun Wukong date back to before written Chinese history. They tend to change and adapt to the most popular Chinese religion of a given era.

* Some scholars believe that the character Sun Wukong was partly based on Hanuman, the "monkey god" of Hinduism described in a book by the historical Sanzang. Wukong became so well known in China that he was once worshiped by some as a real god.
* Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn's Chinese opera "" is based on the legend of the Monkey King. They were subsequently commissioned by the BBC to produce a two minute animated film to promote their coverage of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, which features the characters involved in various sporting activities.
* There are some scholars who believe this character may be originated from the first disciple of Xuan Zang, .
* Sun Wukong is so prominent in ''Journey to the West'' that the famous translation by Arthur Waley entitled '''', leading to other versions of ''Journey to the West'' also being called ''Monkey'', such as the Japanese television show, ''''.
* The phrase "You burst out from a stone" has become one of the common excuses used by Chinese parents when answering the "where do babies come from" question.
* Sun Wukong is said to be the influence behind the creation of various Monkey Kung Fu styles.

In his book ''The Shaolin Monastery'' , Tel Aviv University Prof. Meir Shahar claims that Sun influenced a legend concerning the origins of the Shaolin staff method. The legend takes place during the Red Turban Rebellion of the Yuan Dynasty. Bandits lay siege to the monastery, but it is saved by a lowly kitchen worker wielding a long fire poker as a makeshift . He leaps into the oven and emerges as a monstrous giant big enough to stand astride both Mount Song and the imperial fort atop Mount Shaoshi . The bandits flee when they behold this staff-wielding titan. The Shaolin monks later realize that the kitchen worker was none other than the Monastery's guardian deity, Vajrapani, in disguise. Shahar compares the worker's transformation in the stove with Sun's time in Laozi's crucible, their use of the staff, and the fact that Sun and his weapon can both grow to gigantic proportions.

Names and titles

Sun Wukong is known as ''Syun Ng Hung'' in , ''Son Oh Gong'' in , ''T?n Ng? Kh?ng'' in , ''Son Gokū'' in and ''Sun Go Kong'' in ''Hanuman Sun Wukong'' in Cambodian

Listed in the order that they were acquired:
;''Shí Hóu'' : Meaning the "Stone monkey". This refers to his physical essence, being born from a piece of rock after millennia of incubation on the Bloom Mountains/Flower-Fruit Mountain.
;''Měi Hóuwáng'' : Meaning "Handsome Monkey-King", or Houwang for short. The adjective ''Měi'' means "beautiful, handsome, pretty"; it also means "to be pleased with oneself", referring to his ego. ''Hóu'' also highlights his "naughty and impish" character.
;''Sūn Wùkōng'' : The name given to him by his first master, Patriarch Bodhi. The surname ''Sūn'' was given as an in-joke about the monkey, as monkeys are also called ''húsūn'' , and can mean either a literal ''or'' a figurative "monkey" . The surname ''sūn'' and the "monkey"-''sūn'' only differs in that the latter carries an extra "dog" to highlight that 猻 refers to an animal. The given name ''Wùkōng'' means " ". This is translated into Japanese as ''Son Gokū''.
;''Bìmǎwēn'' : The title of the keeper of the Heavenly Horses, a punning of ''bìmǎwēn'' . A monkey was often put in a stable as people believed its presence could prevent the horses from catching illness. Sun Wukong was given this position by the Jade Emperor after his first intrusion into Heaven. He was promised that it was a good position to have, and that he, at least in this section, would be in the highest position. After discovering it was, in actuality, one of the lowest jobs in Heaven, he became angry, smashed the entire stable, set the horses free, and then quit. From then on, the title bìmǎwēn was used by his adversaries to mock him.
;''Qítiān Dàshèng'' : Meaning "Great Sage, Equal of Heaven". Wùkōng demanded this title from the Jade Emperor and was eventually granted it. This is translated into Japanese as ''seiten-taisei'' . The title originally holds no power, though it is officially a high rank. Later the title was granted the responsibility to guard the Heavenly Peach Garden, due to that many Heavenly Officials noticed that Sun Wukong had nothing to do.
;''Xíngzhě'' : Meaning "ascetic", it refers to a wandering monk, a priest's servant, or a person engaged in performing religious austerities. Xuanzang calls Wukong ''Sūn-xíngzhě'' when he accepts him as his companion. This is translated into Japanese as ''gyōja'' .
;''Dòu-zhànshèng-fó'' : "Battle-Mystic-Buddha". Wukong was given this name once he ascended to buddhahood at the end of the Journey to the West. This name is mentioned during the Chinese Buddhist evening services, specifically during the eighty-eight Buddhas repentance.

In addition to the names used in the novel, the Monkey King has other names in different languages:
*''K?u-chê-thian'' in : "Monkey, Equal of Heaven".
*''Maa⁵ lau¹ zing¹'' in : "Monkey Imp"
*''Saiten Taisei Son Goku'' in : "Great Sage Equal of Heaven"

Appearances in other media

Sun Wukong has been a staple character in many forms of media from many East Asian countries.

Film and television

Many actors including Masaaki Sakai, Liu Xiao Ling Tong, Stephen Chow, Yueh Hua , and Dicky Cheung have portrayed Sun in films and television shows. Jet Li portrays the character in the 2008 movie ''The Forbidden Kingdom'', which condenses many of the elements of his character into a single narrative.

In 1985, filmmaker wrote an early draft for the third Indiana Jones film , which featured the Monkey King. In Columbus' first draft Sun Wu Kung is benevolent deity and god to a city of pygmies and apes in Africa; but in the second draft he is a villain. George Lucas eventually decided the character was too unrealistic The script was leaked online in 1997, and many believed it was an early draft for the as the date was mistakenly printed as 1995..

The anime, ''Saiyuki'', portrayed the monkey king as Son Goku. Kazuya Minekura, the author of the manga, took the legend and made alterations to appeal to a teenage audience.

The manga and anime series Dragon Ball was based on ''Journey to the West'', and the protagonist was named . However, while Goku had a few items in his posession similar to the Monkey King , he appeared to be more human than monkey , and his initial mischievous behavior stems from his youth and innocence, rather than from arrogance and sometimes outright malice.

Su Shuang

Su Shuang was one of two big-time merchants from . According to , he and Zhang Shiping supplied Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with horses, money, and steel for making weapons. Liu Bei's forces were preparing to fight against the at the time.

Qilin

Qi Xi , also known as Magpie Festival, falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month on the Chinese calendar; thus its name. It also inspired Tanabata in Japan, Chilseok in Korea, and That Tich in Vietnam. It is sometimes called Chinese Valentine's Day in recent years.

Young girls traditionally demonstrate their domestic arts, especially melon carving, on this day and make wishes for a good husband. It is also known by the following names:
* The Festival to Plead for Skills
* The Seventh Sister's Birthday
* The Night of Skills

In 2008, this festival falls on August 7.

The story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl

In late summer, the stars Altair and Vega are high in the night sky, and the Chinese tell the following love , of which there are many variations:

A young cowherd named Niulang happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister Zhinü to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niulang has seen her naked, she must agree to his request for marriage. She proves to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang a good husband. They lived happily and had two children. But the Goddess of Heaven finds out that a mere mortal has married one of the fairy girls and is furious. Down on Earth, Niulang is very upset learning that his wife is gone. Suddenly, his cow begins to talk telling him that if he kills him and puts on his hide, he will be able to go up to Heaven to find his wife. With tears flowing, he killed the cow, put on the skin and carrying his two children with him and off he went to Heaven to find Zhinü. The Goddess found out he had come and was very angry. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratches a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever .

Zhinü must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niulang watches her from afar and takes care of their two children .

But once a year all the magpies in the world take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, the seventh night of the seventh moon.

It is said that if it rains on the night of Qi Xi, they are the tears of Niulang and Zhinü crying at the misery of their life.

See also:

As an interesting note, Barry Hughart's fantasy tale "Bridge of Birds"
is loosely based upon this celestial story, though the two figures are switched here. The girl is forced to remain on earth, and her male paramour in heaven. She is a peasant girl, and he shepherds the stars.

Variations of the story

*It was also said that the Goddess of Heaven out of pity decided to let them unite once on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. She was touched by their love for each other.
*It is the Emperor of Heaven, or his father , who keeps the lovers separate and he does so in order that they focus on their work instead of romance.
*The star Deneb is a fairy who acts as a chaperon when the lovers meet on the magpie bridge.
*Rather than once a year, there was another version where the lovers were allowed once a month.
*It is also a Chinese myth that sometime during the night of Qi Xi the two stars Altair and Vega will actually unite on the same side of the Milky Way.

Traditions

On Qi Xi, a festoon is placed in the yard and the single or newly married women in the household make an offering to Niulang and Zhinü consisting of fruit, flowers, tea, and facial powder . After finishing the offering, half of the facial powder is thrown on the roof and the other half divided among the young women. It is believed by doing this the women are bound in beauty with Zhinü.

Another tradition is for young girls to throw a sewing needle into a bowl full of water on the night of Qi Xi as a test of embroidery skills. If the needle floats on top of the water instead of sinking, it is believed to be an indication of the girl's being a skilled embroideress.

Schedule

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar in the coming years.
#2008-08-07
#2009-08-26
#2010-08-16
#2011-08-06
#2012-08-23
#2013-08-13
#2014-08-02
#2015-08-20
#2016-08-09
#2017-08-28
#2018-08-17
#2019-08-07
#2020-08-25

Other romantic days in Chinese culture

Two other days have, or had, romantic associations in China: Valentine's Day on February 14th, borrowed from the West, and , on which an unmarried girl was traditionally permitted to appear in public unescorted and thus be seen by eligible bachelors. The latter no longer has such implications nowadays, however.

Vietnam: "Ngày m?a Ng?u"

In Vietnam, this day is called "Ngày m?a ng?u" . The tale is about a pair of lovers: Ng?u Lang, who is the Jade Emperor's buffalo man and an outstanding bamboo fluter, and Ch?c N?, who is responsible for fabric weaving. They were too passionate for each other to do their work well. Because of this lost productivity, the Jade Emperor became angry and decided that they must live on opposite sides of s?ng Ng?n . But after that, the Jade Emperor felt sorry for them and permitted that they can meet each other once a year on the 7th day of the 7th month on the lunar year.

However, they cannot cross the Milky Way. To fix this, the Jade Emperor ordered crows and Racquet-tailed treepie to build a bridge across the Milky Way. From then on, the bridge has the name c?u ? Th??c .

Every year, when they meet each other, they cry and cry and cry. Their tears fall down from the sky and make a special kind of rain on this day: "m?a ng?u" . This is why the people call them ?ng Ng?u and bà Ng?u .

Pixiu

Pixiu or Pi Yao originally known as ''Pi Xie'' is a Chinese mythical creature considered to be very a powerful protector to practitioners of Feng Shui. It resembles a winged lion. Pixiu is an earth and sea variation, particularly an influential and auspicious creature for wealth. It is said to have a voracious appetite towards only gold and silver. Therefore traditionally to the Chinese, Pixiu has always been regarded as an auspicious creature that possessed mystical power capable of drawing ''Cai Qi'' from all directions. Thus, it is helpful for those who are going through a bad year according to Chinese zodiac.

There are two different types of ''Pi Xiu''. The difference is with their s. The one with two horns is known as ''Pi Ya'' and the one with one horn is called ''Tian Lu'' .

*''Tian Lu'' - is in charge of wealth. Displaying ''Tian Lu'' at home or in the office is said to prevent wealth from flowing away.
*''Pi Ya'' - wards off evil. It is also believed that ''Pi Ya'' has the ability of assisting anyone who is suffering from bad Feng Shui that is due to having offended the Grand Duke Jupiter .

''Pi Xiu'' is the ninth offspring of the . ''Pi Xiu'' craves the smell of gold and silver and it likes to bring his master money in his mouth. Statues of this creature are often used to attract wealth in feng shui.

Today, ''Pi Xiu'' is also a popular design on jade pendants.

Characteristics

Fierce looking and covered with whitish-grey fur, ''Pi Xiu'' has the head of a Chinese dragon, but is commonly depicted with only one antler as time passes. Ancient Chinese depictions of ''Pi Xiu'' show the male with the single antler, and the female with two. As with the , the common image today is a representation of a single sex. ''Pi Xiu'' has protruding eyes and sharp teeth. Its body resembles a Chinese lion and the legs of ''Pi Xiu'' are those of a ''qilin''. Looking at the posture of the ''Pi Xiu'', the creature seems to project a sense of strength, elegance and mobility. Its obvious characteristic is its fat body to indicate a full stomach loaded with unlimited amounts of good fortune. It has a single horn on its head, a pair of wings and no anus. Likewise it has a big opened mouth ready to gobble up money. Many people like ''Pi Xiu'' because ''Pi Xiu'' does not have a hole at its bottom so it only eats but does not dispose of anything. This means, the ''Pi Xiu'' could contain a lot of good fortune and wealth luck for you and your family in your office or home, stays within your premises and does not 'dispose' any of the luck.

It is believed that the common wingless ''Pi Xiu'' assists in seeking wealth while a winged ''Pi Xiu'' assists students in furthering their studies.

Due to their similar appearances, Pixiu is often confused with s or ''qilin''.

Mythology

The myth of ''Pi Xiu'' tells that the creature violated a law of heaven, so the Jade Emperor punished it by restricting the pixiu's diet to gold, and prevented the creature from defecating by sealing its anus. Thus, pixiu can only absorb gold, but cannot expel it. This is the origin of ''Pi Xiu'''s status as a symbol of the acquisition and preservation of wealth.

''Pi Xiu'' is also a fierce creature. The large s visible in the creature's mouth are used to attack demons and evil spirits, draining their essence and converting it to wealth. ''Pi Xiu'' also guards against disease caused by these same evil spirits.

In tribute to ''Pi Xiu'''s ferocity and prowess in battle, 'The ''Pi Xiu'' was synonymous with the army in ancient China.

Feng Shui

Pi Yao is the heavenly variation of a particularly powerful and auspicious creature of good fortune. He is said to have the power to assist anyone suffering from bad Feng Shui due to having offended the Grand Duke Jupiter . In 2005, the Grand Duke resided in the West, so those born in the will have been in conflict with him. Practitioners of Feng Shui should ensure that they display the Pi Yao in the West to appease Tai Sui. The Pi Yao should also be displayed in homes for those enduring a period of bad luck soon after moving into a new home or soon after undertaking renovations. In 2006, Tai Sui moved to the Northwest. His exact position in 2006 is West-Northwest.

During China's history, ''Pi Xiu'' were commonly displayed in ancient architecture to ward off ''Yin Qi'' and to harness auspicious ''Qi''.
The statues of a Pixiu are commonly found on the four corners of the roofs of houses--usually houses of important people such as the emperor. The Pixiu is lined 5th, behind the dragon, phoenix, winged horse and sea horse. In ancient China, statues of ''Pi Xiu'' were also used as tomb guardians.

*''Pi Ya'' - must be placed facing out of the house. Displaying ''Pi Ya'' at the affected area of the house or office can avoid misfortune and disasters. For displaying towards openings or entrance, a pair of ''Pi Ya'' is needed.
*''Tian Lu ''- for attracting wealth, one may place it at the desired wealth area such as attractive wealth area or accumulative wealth area. Do not place ''Tian Lu'' facing directly on any person like a confronting position. Ideally, ''Tien Lu'' should not be place on the floor but it should never be place above eye level.

More

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Peng (mythology)

Peng is the Romanization of the Chinese character for a mythological bird.

The character, 鵬, is comprised of and .

Literature

In Chinese mythology, the Peng and Kun :
:There lived a kind of giant mysterious fish in the northern sea. These fish are called ''Kun''. Nobody knows how big these fish actually are. They can turn into giant birds. When they are in bird form, they are known as ''Peng''. Nobody knows how big these birds actually are. When they fly, their wings are like the colorful clouds in the sky. When there is a storm in the northern sea, the Peng will fly to the southern sea. They travel three thousand in one flap of their wings. They can fly for six months without rest.

Note: the southern sea mentioned in the story is also known as .

Famous people named Peng

The Chinese word Peng symbolizes ambitions and great accomplishments. This word is commonly used as a given name in China. Several important Chinese politicians are named Peng. In contrast, the word Kun is seldom used.

*Li Peng
*Yue Fei
*Ji Pengfei
*Xiao Peng
*Bi Dapeng (毕大鹏）

Ox-Head and Horse-Face

Ox-Head and Horse-Face are two fearsome guardians of the in Chinese mythology, where the dead face judgement prior to reincarnation. As indicated by their names, one has the head of an ox, and the other has the face of a horse. They are the first people a dead soul meets upon arriving in the Underworld; in many stories they directly escort the newly dead to the Underworld. Usually, the two are mentioned together .

In the Chinese classic novel ''Journey to the West'', at one point Horse-Face and Ox-Head are sent to capture Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Sun Wukong overpowers both of them and scares them away. He then breaks into the Underworld and crosses out the names of himself and his people from the record of living souls, hence granting immortality to himself and his monkey followers.

Notable representations in popular media

*In Lone Wolf and Cub, the protagonist, Ogami Itto, has visions about Ox-Head and Horse-face. He refers to them as "Gozu Mezu" and uses drawings of them to advertise his services as an assassin.
*In the animated version of Rumiko Takahashi's InuYasha, the cast fights with Ox-Head and Horse-Face in order to enter the underworld - but only Sesshomaru, with the sword Tenseiga, is allowed to pass without fighting Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
* Ox-Head appears as the titular character in Takashi Miike's movie ''Gozu''.

Nine-headed Bird

The nine-headed bird is one of the earliest forms of the Chinese phoenix, worshiped by ancient natives in Hubei Province, which during the Warring State Period was part of the kingdom of Chu .
Nine-headed bird was also called "Nine Phoenix" , which together with Chinese dragon, were two the most vastly worshiped divine/mythical creatures throughout Chinese history.

The number "Nine" was thought to possess mysterious power in Chinese culture. Nine-headed bird was, and still is believed to be a symbol of wisdom and good fortune.

Nian

In Chinese mythology, a Nian is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. Once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year, it comes out of hiding to attack people, especially children. The Nian is sensitive to loud noises and afraid of the color red.

Traditions

The Chinese New Year traditions of decorating in red, exploding firecrackers, and performing a lion dance were originally used to scare the beast away. Some people display on red banners to prevent the Nian from returning. Numerous other traditions such as wearing red clothing or handing out red envelopes are also designed to protect against the Nian.

The Chinese word for ''year'' is the same as the name of this beast. A phrase for celebrating Chinese New Year, ''guo nian'' means ''the passing of the beast''.

In the Lion Dance

A lion dance is a traditional dance usually performed by martial artists or acrobats. One or more performers hold up a large costume beast with a distinctive head, and one or more human characters will dance around the beast. Although these dances are commonly called lion dances, the beast portrayed is often not a lion. In northern China, it may be a Rui Shi or Fu Dog. In the south of China, it may be a nian. The Cantonese lion dance is sometimes a reenactment of the legend of taming the Nian.

Image gallery

Nian in Popular Culture

The Nian were a part of the Canthan New Year Celebration as part of the game Guild Wars, specifically appearing in Guild Wars Factions

Omen, a boss in World of Warcraft which appears only once a year during the Lunar Festival was inspired by the Nian.

Nezha (deity)

Nezha or Na Zha is a deity, the ''enfant terrible'' trickster, originally of Chinese mythology, though in the he is perhaps more well known from Japanese anime. His official Taoist deity name is ''Zhongtan Yuanshuai'' or ''Nezha Qiansui'' .

Life

Nezha is often depicted flying in the sky with a wheel of fire under each foot, a golden hoop, the "cosmic ring", around his shoulder and a spear in his hands. Sometimes he is given multiple arms. Nezha is usually depicted as a youth and rarely as an adult.

As the third son of a military commander called , a military leader in Chentangguan Fortress, his birth was peculiar. When his mother Lady Yin got pregnant, she waited for three years and six months to deliver the boy, but unfortunately a ball of flesh was born. His father got so angry that he split it with a sword, which caused Nezha to jump out and grow fully, even though his mind and temperament were that of a child.

After he killed , a yaksha, and Ao Bing, the third son of Dragon King Ao Guang, Nezha flayed and disemboweled himself in order to save his parents that were taken hostage by Ao Guang, but was brought back to life by his master, Taiyi Zhenren, a Taoist immortal sage who used lotus blossoms to reconstruct a body for his soul to inhabit.

Nezha's two elder brothers are also powerful warriors. The eldest is Jinzha , who is a disciple of Manjusri Bodhisattva, and the second eldest is , a disciple of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.

Some traced his origins to the god Nalakuvara, and legend goes that he was born in the Shang dynasty.

Appearance in ancient Chinese mythology and literature

Nezha has frequently appeared in Chinese Mythology and ancient Chinese Literature such as the ''Fengshen Yanyi'' , although the story of ''Nezha conquering the sea'' is the most famous among Chinese households. In ''Journey to the West'', Nezha was a general under the leadership of his father Li Jing. He entered into combat against Sun Wukong when the latter rebelled against the Jade Emperor, ruler of Heaven, but Nezha was beaten by Sun Wukong and had to retreat.

Animated films

The story of Nezha has been made into several animated films. One of the most well-known is the 1979 production of ''Nezha Nao Hai'' , translated into English on the recent DVD release as ''Nezha Conquers the Dragon King'', which won international award and recognition in the former USSR.

In the Chinese VCD, Nezha is shown with fire wheels, a red ribbon, and a golden ring.

Also, Nezha appears in the popular Japanese manga/anime series '''' as Nataku, a half-mortal war god who won the then-divine Son Goku 's friendship. Unfortunately, Nataku falls into a catactonic state and sits in the divine garden of heaven with only the Goddess of Mercy to keep him company staring blankly ahead for all time. In the series, Nataku is decidedly more somber than Goku and is resigned to being a puppet to the Gods. Furthermore, Nataku goes by a different title, but his background is still very much the same--right down to a Commander father and spear weapon. Nataku's father however, is then lectured by the past reincarnation of and further mis-treatment of his son is then yet to be seen in the series.

In the anime series Gundam Wing, Meilan Long, Chang Wufei's wife, insists on calling herself Nataku . After her death, Wufei would give his mobile suits, the and Gundams the nickname Nataku in her honor.

In the manga/anime series '''', one of the is named Nataku after the god. A genderless clone with the body of an adult and a childlike mentality, Nataku is presumed by its creators to be soulless and without emotions, though its actions prove otherwise.

Nezha, renamed Nata, appeared in the animated version of Monkey Magic as the main character's first major opponent. In this version Nezha was defeated more by trickery than power or skill.

Meng Po

Meng Po is the Lady of Forgetfulness in Chinese mythology.

Literally means Old Lady Meng, Meng Po serves in Di Yu, the Chinese realm of the dead. It is her task to ensure that souls who are ready to be reincarnated do not remember their previous life or their time in hell.

To this end she collects herbs from various earthly ponds and streams to make her Five Flavored Tea of Forgetfulness. This is given to each soul to drink before they leave Di Yu. The brew induces instant and permanent amnesia, and all memory of other lives is lost.

Having been purged of all previous sins and knowledge, the dead spirit is sent to be reborn in a new earthly incarnation, and the cycle begins again.

Occasionally people are able to avoid drinking the brew, resulting in past life memories surfacing in children.

Mazu (goddess)

Mazu , also spelt Matsu, is the Taoist who protects fishermen and sailors, and is revered as the patron saint who protects East Asians who are associated with the ocean. Her mortal name is Lin Moniang .

She is widely worshipped in the south-eastern coastal areas of China and neighbouring areas, especially Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, and Vietnam, all of which have strong sea-faring traditions, as well as migrant communities elsewhere with sizeable populations from these areas.

Nomenclature

Popular names

* Mazu , or Mazu-po , pronounced as ''Matsu'' in Japanese
* Tian Hou or ''Thiên H?u'' in Vietnamese
* Tian Fei , pronounced as ''Tenpi'' in Japanese
* A-Ma or A-Po
* ''Tianshang Shengmu'' or ''Tianhou Shengmu'' or ''Thiên H?u Thánh M?u'' in Vietnamese

Official titles

* In Southern Song Danasty, she was given the first Title as "Princess of Supernatural Favour" in A.D. 1155 by Emperor Gaozong of Song.
* In the Yuan Dynasty, she was officially the "Protector of the Empire and the Brilliantly Outstanding Heavenly Princess" .
* In Ming Dynasty, she was given as "Holy Mother of Heaven Above" in 1417 by the Yongle Emperor.
* In the Qing Dynasty, she was made the "Heavenly Empress" . Her last imperial title was given as "Holy Mother in Heaven" in 1839 by the Daoguang Emperor.

Person

According to legend, Lin Moniang was born in 960 as the seventh daughter of Lin Yuan on Meizhou Island, Fujian. She did not cry when she was born, and thus her given name means "Silent Girl."

There are many legends about her and the sea.

Although she started swimming relatively late at the age of 15, she soon became an excellent swimmer. She wore red garments while standing on the shore to guide fishing boats home, even in the most dangerous and harsh weather.

According to one legend, Lin Moniang's father and brothers were fishermen. One day, a terrible typhoon arose while they were out at sea, and the rest of her family feared that those at sea had perished. In the midst of this storm, depending on the version of the legend, she either fell into a while for the lives of her father and brothers or dreamed of her father and brothers while she was sleeping. In either the trance or the dream, her father and brothers were drowning, and she reached out to them, holding her brothers up with her hands and her father up with her mouth. However, Moniang's mother now discovered her and tried to wake her, but Moniang was in such a deep trance or dream that it seemed like she was dead. Moniang's mother, already believing the rest of their family dead, now broke down, crying, believing that Moniang had also just died. Hearing her mother's cries, in pity, Moniang gave a small cry to let her mother know she was alive, but in opening her mouth, she was forced to drop her father. Consequently, Moniang's brothers returned alive and told the other villagers that a miracle had happened and that they had somehow been held up in the water as a typhoon raged.

There are at least two versions of Lin Moniang's death. In one version, she died in 987 at the age of 28, when she climbed a mountain alone and flew to heaven and became a goddess. Another version of the legend says that she died at age 16 of exhaustion after swimming far into the ocean trying to find her lost father and that her corpse later washed ashore in Nankan Island of the Matsu Islands.

''Lin Moniang'' , a minor Fujianese TV series, is a dramatization of the life of Mazu as a mortal.

Goddess

After her death, the families of many fishermen and sailors began to pray to her in honor of her acts of courage in trying to save those at sea. Her worship spread quickly. Much of her popularity in comparison to other sea deities resulted from her role as a compassionate motherly protector, in contrast to authoritarian father figures like the Dragon Kings. She is usually depicted wearing a red robe, and sitting on a throne. As often happens to revered folk heroes in Chinese culture, she became an empress figure during the Yuan Dynasty.

Worship

Starting from Fujian, worship of Mazu spread to the neighbouring coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong, and thence to all coastal areas of mainland China. With emigration and especially the Chinese diaspora of the 19th and 20th centuries, it further spread to Taiwan, Vietnam, Ryukyu, Japan, and South East Asia; the role of Mazu as patron of the seas ensured that newly arrived immigrants often erected temples to her first, to give thanks for arriving safely. Today, worship of Mazu is also found in other countries with sizeable populations from these regions. In total, there are around 1,500 Mazu temples in 26 countries of the world.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, around 60 temples are dedicated to Tin Hau, some giving reverence to other important deities. The temple in the Tin Hau area, east of , in , on Hong Kong Island, has given its name to the area and to serving it . The ''Tin Hau Temple'' is one of the declared monuments of Hong Kong. Because of their historic significance, many Tin Hau Temples in Hong Kong were graded historic buildings.

See Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong for a more detailed listing.

Macau

Macau has three Tin Hau temples . The name ''Macau'' is thought to be derived from the Templo de A-Má , a still-existing landmark built in 1448 dedicated to the goddess Mazu.

Mainland China

Aside from Fujian, there are more than 40 temples dedicated to Mazu in Guangdong and Hainan, and more than 30 in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In northern China, there are large Mazu temples in Tianjin, Weihai, Yingkou, Qinhuangdao, Qingdao, Changdao Islands , and .

In Nanjing, the Tian Fei Palace was built by the Yongle Emperor in the Ming Dynasty, at the instigation of Admiral Zheng He after returning from his first expedition. Before and after each expedition, Zheng He would worship at the temple for Mazu's protection. Because it was a state temple built by the Emperor, this temple was the largest and enjoyed the highest status of all Mazu temples in the country. The temple was largely destroyed by Japanese bombings in 1937, but is currently being rebuilt.

In Shanghai, historically here were three principal Tian Hou Temples. During the Qing Dynasty, it was customary for diplomats departing by sea to worship at the Tian Hou Palace in the old city. All of these were progressively destroyed. The last, on the banks of the Suzhou Creek, was moved to Songjiang. This temple is now dedicated to the "Mazu of the Huangpu River". The City God Temple in the old city is also partially dedicated to Mazu.

Fujian

In Putian, the legendary birthplace of Mazu, there are hundreds of temples dedicated to the goddess, including about 20 on Meizhou island alone.

Elsewhere in Fujian, there are about 70 temples dedicated to Mazu, mostly concentrated in the coastal areas.

Heavenly Empress Temple-Meizhou Ancestral Temple is on her native Meizhou Island.

Malaysia

Malaysia has a long history of Taoist religion ever since the Chinese from Southern China settled in South East Asia region. The famous Thean Hou Temple situated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, Capital of Malaysia is a famous tourist destination in Asia. Few tenths thousand of other temples and statues are found throughout the country.

Every year, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival is celebrated heavily especially in Penang; and the Birthday of Mazu celebrated throughout the country.

A mega project to build the world tallest Mazu statue at Northernmost tip of Borneo, Kudat was officially launched by the leader and people of Sabah recently . The statue was to measure at 10-storey high and would draw millions of tourists to the country every year. This project has however been cancelled due to protests from a few Muslims in Sabah and some political interference.

Singapore

The worship of Mazu was brought to Singapore from China by the influx of Chinese immigrants during the 19th century, a large proportion of whom came from Fujian. Two of the oldest and best known Chinese temples in Singapore, Thian Hock Keng and Yueh Hai Ching Temple, were both dedicated mainly to Mazu, and in the 19th century were frequented by immigrants who came to give thanks after a safe sea voyage from China.

Taiwan

There are about 800 to 1000 Taiwanese temples dedicated entirely or--more often--partly to Mazu. Here are some of the more famous:
* Chenlan Temple in Tachia, Taichung County, is the most famous Mazu temple in Taiwan, and an annual pilgrimage takes place there each spring.
* Chaotian Temple of Peikang Township in is was constructed in 1694 and is dedicated to Maxu. It is renowned for the extravagance of its decorative elements.
* Great Queen of Heaven Temple of Tainan City was founded in 1664.
* Tianhou Temple of Cijin in Kaohsiung dates back to 1691.
* Tianhou Temple of Lugang contains an image of Mazu brought to Taiwan from the mainland in 1684.
* Tianhou Temple of Magong on Penghu Island was built in 1593. It is Taiwan's oldest temple.

Thailand

In Thailand, there are a lots of Mazu temples too, especially in cities near the sea such as Bangkok, Chonburi, Pattani, and Phuket, there are 3 shrines as Gew Leng Thong, Sam San Tian Hew Geng, Keng Jew Hui Guan .
Many Thai Chinese worship the goddess, and some visit Fujian, China to worship her at her place of origin.

United States

Mazu is also worshipped by southeast Asians in the West as well. Many temples are dedicated to Mazu in Chinatowns in the United States.
* The oldest Taoist temple in the United States, Tin How Temple in San Francisco, built in 1852, is dedicated to Mazu.
* Another Mazu temple that has gained popularity in the west is located in , wherein many South East Asians are known to reside. Known as ''Chùa Bà Thiên H?u'' and home to the Camau Association of America, a Chinese/Vietnamese/Teochew benevolent association, it has become an immensely popular tourist attraction in Chinatown after being completed on September 5, 2005 after two years of building and an investment of around $2m. It features such attrtactions as annual 24-hour lion dances and a legal firecracker display on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, Mazu is known as ''Thiên H?u''.
* In the 19th century, the Cantonese congregation of Cholon, now a part of Ho Chi Minh City, built a well-known temple to Thiên H?u.
* The well-known Quan Am Pagoda, also in Cholon, has an altar to Thien Hau.

Festival of Mazu

Her birthday-festival is on the twenty-third day of the third lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It falls in late April or early May in the Gregorian calendar.

* 2001: April 16
* 2002: May 5
* 2003: April 24
* 2004: May 11
* 2005: May 1
* 2006: April 20
* 2007: May 9
* 2008: April 28
* 2009: April 18
* 2010: May 6

References

Luduan

A luduan was a beast which could detect truth, in the mythology. Thus in the Qing dynasty, rulers such as the Emperor Qianlong would surround his throne with ''luduan'' in order to properly subdue his subjects. In the adjacent image, the ''luduan'' were incense burners. The enamelled charcoal braziers next to the Dragon Throne may not actually have been so close, but since Forbidden City in Beijing is at the latitude of Chicago, the Emperor may have required the braziers for comfort.

Above the throne, not shown in the image, was secreted a box in which the name of the next emperor was written. This was the way that Qianlong himself learned that he was the successor to the Dragon Throne.

Long Mu

In Chinese mythology, Long Mu or Mother of Dragons was a woman who was deified as a goddess after raising five infant . Long Mu and her dragons developed a strong bond for each other, and have thus become an example of and parental love, an important virtue in Chinese culture.

The legend

The historic name of Long Mu was Wen Shi . She was born in 290 BC in Guangdong province, near the Xi River . Her family's ancestral home was in the Teng District in Guangxi province. She was the second of three daughters of Wen Tianrui and Liang Shi .

Wen Shi frequently went to the Xi River to fish and wash clothes for her family. One day, she found a large smooth white stone along the banks of the river. She took the beautiful stone home, but later discovered that the stone was actually an egg, from which hatched five baby snakes . Wen Shi's family was poor, but Wen Shi saved the best food she had for her baby snakes and fed them by hand. As the snakes grew, they helped Wen Shi catch fish at the Xi River. The snakes were natural swimmers and became very good at catching fish.

As the snakes grew even more, it became apparent that they weren't snakes at all. The snakes eventually matured into five powerful dragons. In Chinese culture, are considered spirits of water, and have the power to control the weather. During a drought, Wen Shi asked her dragon children to summon the rain for her village. When rain came and ended the drought, the grateful villagers gave Wen Shi the name "Mother of Dragons" or "Divine Human" .

Qin Shihuang, the Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, received word of Wen Shi and her dragons. The Emperor sent her gifts of gold and jade and requested her presence at Xianyang, the imperial capital city near the Yellow River, far to the north. By this time, Wen Shi was an elderly women in frail health. Her adult dragons feared for her safety and did not want her to travel so far from her village. Wen Shi boarded a boat to comply with the Emperor's commandment, but her dragons hid under the boat and dragged the boat backward so that the boat could never pass Guilin. Eventually, the frustrated imperial officials relented and allowed Wen Shi to remain home.

After Wen Shi died, the dragons were overwhelmed with sadness and took human form, known as the Five Scholars . They buried her on the northern side of Zhu Mountain .

Legacy

Everyone who heard the story of Long Mu was touched by the filial devotion of the dragons. During the early Han Dynasty, the Xiaotong Temple , later known as the Longmu Ancestral Temple , was built in her honor. The temple is in Yuecheng in of Guangdong province. It features calligraphy dedicated to the goddess written by the of the Ming Dynasty. The temple remains very popular and has been renovated 13 times over the centuries, most recently in 1905-1912 and 1985.

Another temple dedicated to Long Mu is the Baisha Temple in Zhaoqing, south of the Xi River in the Ruizhou District, also in Guangdong province. The temple was built in 1587, but it is not as well preserved as the Xiaotong Temple. The city declared the temple a cultural site in 1982.

Long Mu's festival is in the first week of the fifth month of the . She is a patron goddess of parents and children, and remains a popular deity throughout China.

Lei Gong

In Chinese mythology, Lei Gong , also called Lei Shen , is the Chinese Taoist deity who, when so ordered by heaven, punishes both earthly mortals guilty of secret crimes and evil spirits who have used their knowledge of Taoism to harm human beings. Lei Gong carries a drum and mallet to produce thunder and a chisel to punish evildoers.

Lei Gong is depicted as a fearsome creature with claws, bat wings, and a blue face with a bird's beak and wears only a loincloth. Temples dedicated to him are rare, but some persons do him special honor in the hope that he will take revenge on their personal enemies.

Since Lei Gong's specialty is thunder, he has assistants capable of producing other types of heavenly phenomena. Dian-mu , for example, uses flashing mirrors to send bolts of lightning across the sky. Yun Tong whips up clouds, and Yu-zi causes downpours by dipping his sword into a pot. Roaring winds rush forth from a type of goatskin bag manipulated by Feng Bo , who was later transformed into Feng Po Po . She rides a tiger among the clouds.

Lei Gong began life as a mortal. He encountered a peach tree that had come from Heaven, due to the struggle between the Fox Demon and one of the Celestial Warriors, and had become evil. When Lei Gong took a bite out of one of its peaches, he was turned into a human with bird wings. He soon received a and a hammer that could create thunder. This is how he became the God of Thunder. Lei Gong is said to be extremely prudish, and will not enter a house where copulation is taking place. Pictures of this act are also supposed to have the same effect. He rides a chariot driven by A Xiang.

Kui Xing

Kui Xing is a character in Chinese mythology, the of examinations, and an associate or servant of the god of literature, Wen Chang.

Kui Xing was an ugly but clever dwarf, who became the patron deity of those taking imperial examinations. He is often depicted standing on a turtle's head holding up a .

Kua Fu

Kua Fu is a in Chinese mythology who wished to capture the sun.

One day out of the blue, Kua Fu was perplexed by the Sun's whereabouts at night and decided to chase and catch the Sun. With each stride he gets closer to the Sun, however, he could never catch up to it.

He followed the Sun from the East to the West, draining all rivers and lakes crossing his path as sources of water to quench his burning thirst as he closed in on the star. However, he wasn't able to finish his quest because he died of the extreme heat and exhaustion.

The wooden club he was carrying grew into a vast forest. In modern day usage, the story of Kua Fu chasing the sun is used to describe a person who fails to obtain his goal because he greatly overestimates himself.

Ksitigarbha

'''''' is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism, usually depicted as a in the Orient. The name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb." is known for his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied; therefore, he is regarded as the bodhisattva of hell beings. Usually depicted as a monk with a nimbus around his shaved head, he carries a staff to force open the gates of hell and a to light up the darkness.

Overview

is one of the four principal bodhisattvas in Oriental Mahayana Buddhism. The others are Samantabhadra, Manjusri, and Avalokitesvara.

At the pre-Tang Dynasty grottos in Dunhuang and Longmen, he is depicted in classical bodhisattva shape. After the Tang Dynasty, he became increasingly depicted as a monk, carrying rosaries and a staff.

His full name in is , or the Bodhisattva King ''Dizang'' of the Great Vow, pronounced as ''Dayuan Dizang Pusa'' in Beijin Mandarin dialect, Daigan Jizo Bosatsu in Japanese.

This is a reference to his pledge, as recorded in the sutras, to take responsibility for the instruction of all beings in six worlds, in the era between the death of Gautama Buddha and the rise of Maitreya Buddha. Because of this important role, shrines to often occupy a central role in any Oriental Mahayana temples.

In China

in Anhui is regarded as 's seat. It is one of the four great Buddhist mountains of China, and at one time housed more than 300 temples. Today, 95 of these are open to the public. The mountain is a popular destination for pilgrims offering dedications to .

In some areas, the admixture of traditional religions has led to being also regarded as a Taoist deity, albeit his duties differ to what Ksitigarbha does. For example, in Taiwan, followers of Buddhism, Taoism or folk religion can be found venerating , where he is often appealed to for protection against earthquakes. There, and in Hong Kong and among Overseas Chinese communities, his images are usually found in the memorial halls of Buddhist and Taoist temples.

In Japan

In Japan, , known as ''Jizō'', or ''Ojizō-sama'' as he is respectfully known, is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, particularly children who died before their parents. Since the 1980s, the tendency developed in which he was worshipped as the guardian of the souls of ''mizuko'', the souls of stillborn, or fetuses. In Japanese mythology, it is said that the souls of children who die before their parents are unable to cross the mythical Sanzu River on their way to the afterlife because they have not had the chance to accumulate enough good deeds and because they have made the parents suffer. It is believed that ''Jizō'' saves these souls from having to pile stones eternally on the bank of the river as penance, by hiding them from demons in his robe, and letting them hear mantras.

''Jizō'' statues are sometimes accompanied by a little pile of stones and pebbles, put there by people in the hope that it would shorten the time children have to suffer in the underworld . The statues can sometimes be seen wearing tiny children's clothing or bibs, or with toys, put there by grieving parents to help their lost ones and hoping that ''Jizō'' would specially protect them. Sometimes the offerings are put there by parents to thank ''Jizō'' for saving their children from a serious illness. ''Jizō'''s features are also commonly made more babylike in order to resemble the children he protects.

As he is seen as the saviour of souls who have to suffer in the underworld, his statues are common in cemeteries. He is also believed to be the protective deity of travellers, and roadside statues of ''Jizō'' are a common sight in Japan. Firefighters are also believed to be under the protection of ''Jizō''.

Source

The story of is described in the '''', one of the most popular Mahayana Buddhist sutras. This sutra is said to have been spoken by the Buddha towards the end of his life to the beings of the Heaven as a mark of gratitude and remembrance for his beloved mother, . It stated that practiced filial piety as a mortal, which eventually led to making great vows to save all sentient beings.

As Sacred Girl

In the Sutra, the Buddha claimed that in the distant past aeons, was a Brahmin maiden by the name of ''Sacred Girl''. She was deeply troubled when her mother died, because she had often been slanderous towards the Triple Gem.

To save her from the great tortures of , the young girl sold whatever she had and used the money to buy offerings which she offered daily to the Buddha of her time, known as The Buddha of Flower of Meditation and Enlightenment. She made fervent prayers that her mother be spared of the pains of hell and appealed to the Buddha for help.

One day at the temple, while she was pleading for help, she heard the voice of the Buddha advising her to go home immediately and there to sit down and recite his name if she wanted to know where her mother was. She did as she was told and while doing so, her consciousness was transported to a Hell Realm where she met a guardian who informed her that through her fervent prayers and pious offerings, her mother had accumulated much merit and therefore, she had already been released from hell and ascended to heaven. She was greatly relieved and should have been extremely happy, but the sight of the great suffering she had witnessed in Hell so touched her tender heart that she made a vow to do her very best to relieve beings of their suffering forever in her future lives of s to come.

As a Monk

There is another legend about how manifested in China, and chose his bodhimanda to be Mount Jiuhua, one of the in Buddhism.

In the Eastern Han dynasty, during the reign of , Buddhism started to flourish, reaching its peak in the era of the Tang Dynasty, eventually spreading to Japan and Korea. At the time, monks and scholars arrived from those countries to seek the Dharma in China. One of these pilgrims was a former prince of Korea, which was at the time divided into . The monk, whose Korean romanization was Kim Kiaokak was a prince from Silla who became a monastic under the name of ''Earth Store'' . He came to the region of Anhui to Mount Jiuhua. After ascending, he decided to build a hut in a deep mountain area so that he may be able to cultivate.

According to records, the monk was bitten by a poisonous snake, but did not move, thus letting the snake go. A woman happened to pass by and gave the monk medicines to cure him of the venom, as well as a spring on her son's behalf. For a few years, the monk continued to meditate in his hut, until one day, a scholar named Chu-Ke led a group of friends and family to visit the mountain. Noticing the monk meditating in the hut, they went and took a look at his condition. They had noticed that the monk's bowl did not contain any food, and that his hair had grown back.

Feeling pity on the monk, Scholar Chu decided to build a temple as an offering to the monk. The whole group descended the mountain immediately to discuss plans to build the temple. Mount Jiuhua was also property of a wealthy person named the Wen-Ke, who obliged to build a temple on his mountain. Therefore, Wen-Ke and the group ascended the mountain once more and asked the monk how much land he needed.

The monk replied that he needed a piece of land that could be covered fully by his kasaya. Bewildered that a piece of sash could not be enough land to build a temple, the monk surprised them as he threw the kasaya in the air, and the robe expanded in size, covering the entire mountain! Elder Wen-Ke had then decided to renounce the entire mountain to the monk, and became the monk's protector. Sometime later, Wen-Ke's son also left the home life to start his life as a monk.

The monk lived in Mount Jiuhua for seventy five years before passing away at the age of ninety-nine. Three years after his nirvana, his tomb was opened, only to reveal that the body had not decayed. Because the monk led his wayplace with much difficulty, most people had the intuition to believe that he was indeed the transformation body of .

Monk Jijang's well-preserved, dehydrated body may still be viewed today at the monastery he built on Mount Jiuhua.

Iconography

Traditional iconography

In Buddhist iconography, is typically depicted with a shaven head, dressed in a monk's simple robes . In his left hand, holds a wish granting jewel; in his right hand, he holds a monk's staff called in Japanese a ''shakujo'' , which is used to alert insects and small animals of his approach, so that he will not accidentally harm them. Such a staff is traditionally carried by high ranking monks of Chinese Buddhist temples. Usually, will sometimes be seen wearing a crown depicting the Five Dhyani Buddhas, worn by Tibetan and Chinese monks in rituals.

In Japan, is almost always depicted in a standing position; the posture of the adjacent picture is rather unusual.

Like other Bodhisattvas, usually is seen standing upon a lotus base, symbolizing his release from the wheel of rebirth. 's face and head are also idealized, featuring the third eye, elongated ears and the other standard attributes of an being.

Misconceptions

Many uninformed Buddhists, Taoists, and those who believe in Chinese folk religion, see as identical with , the judge of Hell, but this is a misconception.

has also often been mistaken by many uninformed Buddhists to be Xuanzang, the famous Tripitaka master of the Tang Dynasty who made the hazardous journey to the west to seek the Buddhist scriptures, and the basis for the fictional character from the Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. This is mainly because of the robe and the Five Buddha crown which both are seen to wear.

Popular iconography in Japan

The Narihira Santosen Temple in Katsushika, Tokyo contains the "Bound Jizo" of ?oka Tadasuke fame, dating from the Edo Period. When petitions are requested before the Jizō, the petitioner ties a rope about the statue. When the wish is granted, the petitioner unties the rope. At the new year, the ropes of the ungranted wishes are cut by the temple priest. The vandalism of a Jizo statue is the theme of the J-Horror movie Shibuya Kaidan.

Akasagarbha

has a twin known as , the "Void Store". While theologically equally important, ?kā?agarbha entirely lacks the popular cult of .

Phra Malai

In Theravada Buddhism, the story of a Buddhist monk called Phra Malai, who has the similar qualities of Ksitigarbha, is well known throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and Laos. Legend has it that he was an arhat from Sri Lanka, who achieved great supernormal powers through his own merits and meditation. He is also honored as a successor to Maudgalyayana, the Buddha's disciple foremost for his supernormal attainments.

In the story this pious and compassionate monk descends to Hell to give teach & comfort the suffering hell-beings there. He also learns how the hell-beings are punished according to their sins in the different hells.

Mantras

The Following Mantra is Associated with Ksitigarbha:



In Japanese Shingon Buddhism, a mantra used in public religious services is: