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Ox-Head
Ox-Head () and Horse-Face () are two guardians or types of guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. As indicated by their names, both have the bodies of men, but Ox-Head has the head of an ox while Horse-Face has the face of a horse. They are the first beings a dead soul encounters upon entering the underworld; in many stories they directly escort the newly dead to the underworld. Role In their duties as guardians of Diyu, the realm of the dead, their role is to capture human souls who have reached the end of their earthly existence and bring them before the courts of Hell. Souls are then rewarded or punished based on the actions performed in their lifetime. Ox-Head and Horse-Face also play the role of messengers of the king of hell, Yanluo Wang (閻羅王). Ox-Head has also been "created" by the latter took pity by the arrival of a newly dead ox, who had worked hard all his life: he made him one of his faithful servants. Chinese mythology In the Chinese classic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horse-Face Of The Underworld
Ox-Head () and Horse-Face () are two guardians or types of guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. As indicated by their names, both have the bodies of men, but Ox-Head has the head of an ox while Horse-Face has the face of a horse. They are the first beings a dead soul encounters upon entering the underworld; in many stories they directly escort the newly dead to the underworld. Role In their duties as guardians of Diyu, the realm of the dead, their role is to capture human souls who have reached the end of their earthly existence and bring them before the courts of Hell. Souls are then rewarded or punished based on the actions performed in their lifetime. Ox-Head and Horse-Face also play the role of messengers of the king of hell, Yanluo Wang (閻羅王). Ox-Head has also been "created" by the latter took pity by the arrival of a newly dead ox, who had worked hard all his life: he made him one of his faithful servants. Chinese mythology In the Chinese classical n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yanluo Wang
In Chinese mythology and religion, King Yan () is the god of death and the ruler of Diyu, overseeing the "Ten Kings of Hell" in its capital of Youdu. He is also known as King Yanluo (), a transcription of the Sanskrit for "King Yama" (/, ). King Yan is the fifth judge in the court of underworld. In both ancient and modern times, Yan is portrayed as a large man with a scowling red face, bulging eyes, and a long beard. He wears traditional robes and a judge's cap or a crown which bears the Chinese character for "king" (). He typically appears on Chinese hell money in the position reserved for political figures on regular currency. ''Journey to the West'' King Yan featured in the classic Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. One day, Sun Wukong invited his friends the six demon kings, including Bull Demon King to dine at his cave, and they drank until they were all incapable while he suddenly fell asleep. Sun Wukong dreamt he saw the Ox-Head and Horse-Face carrying a warrant and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heibai Wuchang
The Heibai Wuchang, or Hak Bak Mo Seong, literally "Black and White Impermanence", are two Deities in Chinese folk religion in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the Youdu, underworld. As their names suggest, they are dressed in black and white respectively. They are subordinates of Yanluo Wang, the Supreme Judge of the Underworld in Chinese mythology, alongside the Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Hell Guards. They are worshiped as fortune deities and are also worshiped in City God (China), Cheng Huang Temples in some countries. In some instances, the Heibai Wuchang are represented as a single being – instead of two separate beings – known as the Wuchang Gui (also romanised ''Wu-ch'ang Kuei''), literally "Ghost of Impermanence". Depending on the person it encounters, the Wuchang Gui can appear as either a fortune deity who rewards the person for doing good deeds or a malevolent deity who punishes the person for committing evil. Alternative n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horse In Chinese Mythology
Horses are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are many myths about horses or horse-like beings, including the pony. Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China.The geographic area of "China" is of course a concept which has evolved or changed though history. This includes myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China, according to Lihui Yang, 2005:4). There are various motifs of horses in Chinese mythology. In some cases the focus is on a horse or horses as the protagonist of the action, in other cases they appear in a supporting role, sometimes as the locomotive power propelling a chariot and its occupant(s). According to a cyclical Chinese calendar system, the time period of 31 January 2014 - 18 February 2015 falls under the category of the (yang) Wood Horse. Myth versus history In th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diyu
Diyu () is the realm of the dead or " hell" in Chinese mythology. It is loosely based on a combination of the Buddhist concept of Naraka, traditional Chinese beliefs about the afterlife, and a variety of popular expansions and reinterpretations of these two traditions. Diyu is typically depicted as a subterranean maze with various levels and chambers, to which souls are taken after death to atone for the sins they committed when they were alive. The exact number of levels in Diyu and their associated deities differ between Buddhist and Taoist interpretations. Some speak of three to four "courts"; others mention "Ten Courts of Hell", each of which is ruled by a judge (collectively known as the Ten Yama Kings); other Chinese legends speak of the "Eighteen Levels of Hell". Each court deals with a different aspect of atonement and different punishments; most legends claim that sinners are subjected to gruesome tortures until their "deaths", after which they are restored to their ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haw Par Villa
Haw Par Villa () is a theme park located along Pasir Panjang Road in Singapore. The park contains over 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese mythology, folklore, legends, history, and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism. During the 1970s and 1980s, the park was a major local attraction; it is estimated that the park then welcomed at least 1 million annual visitors, and is considered as part of Singapore's cultural heritage. As of 2018, under the park operator, Journeys, efforts to revitalise the park are ongoing with the holding of themed events and the planning and construction of ancillary museums. History Burmese-Chinese brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, the developers of Tiger Balm, moved their business from Burma to Singapore in 1926. The site, which is in front of a small hill and faces the Singapore Strait, was deemed suitable based on considerations of feng shui, and was purchased in 1935. On the site, a Har Par Villa was b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Youdu
Youdu () in Chinese mythology is the capital of Hell, or Diyu. Among the various other geographic features believed of Diyu, the capital city has been thought to be named Youdu. It is generally conceived as being similar to a typical Chinese capital city, such as Chang'an, but surrounded with and pervaded with darkness. Name "You" () in Chinese means "dark". "Du" () means "capital". Thus, Youdu is the Dark Capital (Yang 2005: 236). Among other meanings, ''You'' can mean "hidden", "secluded", and is in particular used to indicate the underworld. Location Youdu is located under the earth, in the Region of Darkness, also known as Diyu, or the Yellow Springs. The general ruler of this realm is Houtu, but there are many other functionaries which have been believed to inhabit this region, and with the more important individuals being located in Youdu, as the capital city and seat of government. Description Youdu has been described in various texts, as well as being depicted in art. Som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fengdu Ghost City
Fengdu Ghost City (, originally ) is a large complex of shrines, temples and monasteries dedicated to the afterlife located on the Ming mountain, in Fengdu County, Chongqing municipality, China. It is situated about downstream from Chongqing on the north bank of the Yangtze River. The city consists of buildings, structures, dioramas, and statues related to Diyu and Naraka, concepts from Chinese mythology and Buddhism that signify the underworld or hell. It is modeled to resemble Youdu, the capital of Diyu. After the building of the Three Gorges Dam and the rising of the water level of the river it became separated from the city of Fengdu, which was rebuilt higher up the mountainside on the south side of the river. In recent years, Fengdu Ghost City has become a tourist attraction. Cruise boats carrying tourists up or down the river stop at the docks and tourists are taken in vehicles halfway up the mountain. From there, there is an open-air escalator up to the complex or the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meng Po
Meng Po () is the goddess of forgetfulness in Chinese mythology, who serves Meng Po Soup on the Bridge of Forgetfulness or Naihe Bridge (). This soup wipes the memory of the person so they can reincarnate into the next life without the burdens of the previous life. She awaits the dead souls at the entrance of the 9th round Fengdu (). Legends According to Chinese mythology, there exist several realms beneath the Earth. Meng Po serves in Diyu, the Chinese realm of the dead, in the 10th court. 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 Diyu. 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 e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lugal-irra And Meslamta-ea
In ancient Mesopotamian religion, Lugal-irra () and Meslamta-ea () are a set of twin gods who were worshipped in the village of Kisiga, located in northern Babylonia. The Great Twins were regarded as guardians of doorways and they may have originally been envisioned as a set of twins guarding the gates of the Underworld, who chopped the dead into pieces as they passed through the gates. During the Neo-Assyrian period, small depictions of them would be buried at entrances, with Lugal-irra always on the left and Meslamta-ea always on the right. They are identical and are shown wearing horned caps and each holding an axe and a mace. They are identified with the constellation Gemini, which is named after them. See also * Castor and Pollux * Alexiares and Anicetus, twin-sons of Heracles/Hercules and Hebe/Juventas; alongside their father, they are the guardians of the gates of Mount Olympus. * Janus * Nio * A-un ''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Supernatural Beings In Chinese Folklore
The following is a list of supernatural beings in Chinese folklore and fiction originating from traditional folk culture and contemporary literature such as Pu Songling's ''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio''. This list contains only common supernatural beings who are inherently "evil" in nature, such as ghosts and demons, and beings who are lesser than deities. There are also ghosts with other characteristics. They are classified in some Chinese Buddhist texts. Aoyin (傲因) The Aoyin. is an ancient humanoid monster with a long tongue, sharp claws, and wearing tattered clothes. It likes to eat human brains. It is recorded in "Shenyi Jing: Southwest Desolate Classic" (神异经·西南荒经). Ba jiao gui (芭蕉鬼) ''Ba jiao gui'' () is a female ghost that dwells in a banana tree and appears wailing under the tree at night, sometimes carrying a baby. In some folktales from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, greedy people ask for lottery numbers from the ghost in the ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castor And Pollux
Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, from ''Dîos'' ('Zeus') and '' koûroi'' ('boys'). Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who raped Leda in the guise of a swan. The pair are thus an example of heteropaternal superfecundation. Though accounts of their birth are varied, they are sometimes said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. In Latin the twins are also known as the Gemini (literally "twins") or Castores, as well as the Tyndaridae or Tyndarids.. Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together, and they were transformed into the constellation Gemini. The pair were regarded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
