Ox-Head () and Horse-Face () are two guardians or types of guardians of the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

. 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 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 o ...

, 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 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" (/, ). K ...

(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 novel ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popu ...

'', Ox-Head and Horse-Face are among the underworld denizens overpowered by

Sun Wukong The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong ( zh, t=孫悟空, s=孙悟空, first=t) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West'' ( zh, ...

after his soul is dragged to hell in his sleep. He then crosses out his name and those of all non-human primates on earth from the record of living souls, hence granting a second level of immortality to himself and general immortality to his monkey children.

Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...

, Ox-Head and Horse-Face are known as "Gozu" and "Mezu" respectively. They appear in classical Japanese literature such as the '' Konjaku Monogatarishū'' and ''

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923� ...

''. In ''

The Tale of the Heike is an epic poetry, epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being ...

'', they appear in an ominous dream of

Taira no Tokiko was a Japanese aristocrat from the Heian period. She was the concubine of Taira no Kiyomori, mother of Taira no Tokuko, and grandmother of Emperor Antoku. Later she took the vows to become a nun, after which she was generally referred to by her ...

Gallery

File:Haw Par Villa 1, Dec 14.jpg, Statue of Ox-Head at

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 as ...

, Singapore. File:Haw Par Villa 2, Dec 14.jpg, Statue of Horse-Face at

, Singapore. File:牛頭將軍.JPG, Statue of Ox-Head in Taiwan. File:馬面將軍.JPG, Statue of Horse-Face in Taiwan. File:Fengdu Ghost City -4.JPG, Statue of Horse-face,

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 ...

References

Chinese legendary creatures Horse in Chinese mythology Literary duos

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. Th ...

Horse-Face Psychopomps {{China-myth-stub

Role

Chinese mythology

Japanese mythology

Gallery

See also

References