Shunfeng'er is a Chinese

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

and

door god ''Menshen'', or door gods, are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu () and Yulü () under ...

. He usually appears with

Qianliyan Qianliyan is a Chinese folk religion, Chinese sea god, sea and door god. He usually appears with Shunfeng'er as a guardian of the list of Mazu temples, temples of the sea goddess Mazu (goddess), Mazu. Name The name "Qianliyan" literally means ...

as a guardian of the

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

of the

sea goddess A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Anoth ...

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

Name

The name "Shunfeng'er" literally means "Wind Accompanying Ears" in reference to his ability to hear any sound carried upon the wind. The unusual idiom is translated variously as "Ears that Hear with the Wind", "Ears that Hear what Comes on the Wind", "Ears that Hear the Sounds Taken with the Wind", "Wind-Accompanying Ears", "Downwind Ears", or even "Sharp Ears", "Far-Hearing", or " All-Hearing". The god's role in helping sailors distinguish favorable winds also prompts the translations "Fair-Wind Ears" and "Favorable-Wind Ears". It also appears as . and His partner Qianliyan's name similarly means "Sharp-Eyed" or "All-Seeing". Under the Ming, Shunfeng'er was also known as ShiKuang. He is also sometimes known as Wanli'er, which has similar meaning, as the Chinese word ''wàn''—like the English "

myriad In the context of numeric naming systems for powers of ten, myriad is the quantity ten thousand ( 10,000). Idiomatically, in English, ''myriad'' is an adjective used to mean that a group of things has indefinitely large quantity. ''Myriad ...

"—simultaneously means the number 10,000 and "innumerable" or "uncountably vast".

History

Shunfeng'er is first attested in the early-16th century

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

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 Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'', where he appears as the personified form of the

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

Jade Emperor In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of ...

's ears and one of his lieutenants. There is, however, an earlier depiction of him in a

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

cave which has been dated to the

Southern Song The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending ...

. The Chinese folk tale about the

Ten Brothers ''Ten Brothers'' () is a Chinese legend known to be written around the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644). It has been told and spun off in various adaptations and remains popular since it is one of the oldest Chinese legends to feature chara ...

also probably long predates its first publication during the Ming Dynasty; in it, the eldest two brothers have powers just like those of

and Shunfeng'er.. Shunfeng'er next appeared as a lieutenant of the Emperor of Flowering Brightness ''Huáguāng Dàdì'') in Yu Xiangdou's '' Journey to the South'' and as a character in Xu Zhonglin's '' Creation of the Gods''. He was confused with the

Yulü ''Yùlǜ'').

Religion stories

Shunfeng'er's sharp hearing is employed to help sailors distinguish favorable winds from coming storms. In some accounts, he is capable of hearing everything in the world, no matter how quietly spoken, and was therefore also worshipped as a witness and guarantor of oaths and contracts. Shunfeng'er is most often portrayed as a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

defeated and tamed or befriended by the

. By one account, he and Qianliyan appeared off

Meizhou Island Meizhou Island (; Pu-Xian Min: ''Mî-ciu-doh''), Meichow; Meichou, is a small island close to the coast of China. Meizhou Town () is an administrative unit of Xiuyu District, Putian, Fujian, China. It is known for being the birthplace of the ...

during a storm and were defeated by Mazu's magical silk scarf, which blew clouds of sand into their ears and eyes. After their submission, they pledged their loyalty when she kindly healed them of the damage she had caused them.. In another, the two were Song generals who competed for her hand at Peach Blossom Mountain ''Táohuā Shān'') but were both defeated by her

kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

.. In another, the two were the brothers Gao Jue and Gao Ming. Ruthless generals, they fell at Peach Blossom Mountain and subsequently haunted it as demons. They appeared to Mazu when she traveled nearby and challenged her to battle, with the loser to do the winner's bidding. They intended to have her marry them both but were defeated by her magic and became her servants.. In still another, the Gao brothers were bandits during the Shang before they began to haunt the mountain.. In still another account, the pair were originally warriors or guards of King Zhou of Shang.. In this version of the story, they are sometimes said to have already possessed their superhuman powers and to have used them to foil the first moves towards rebellion by the Zhou. Ji Fa's advisor

Jiang Ziya Jiang Ziya ( century BC – 11th century BC), also known by several other names, also known by his posthumous name as the Duke Tai of Qi, was the founding monarch of the Qi state. He was a military general and strategist who as ...

is made out to have been a

adept, however, who uses the esoteric knowledge he received from the Primordial Lord of Heaven on to defeat them. Their powers fail them when he covers them in the blood of a black dog and Ji Fa is able to triumph at

Muye Muye District () is a district of the city of Xinxiang, Henan province, China. History The BC Battle of Muye ended Shang hegemony over the Wei and Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in Ch ...

and finally establish himself as the Martial King of Zhou ("King Wu").

Legacy

Ciyou Temple Mazu Cruise Parade 20131117-031

Worship

Shunfeng'er most often appears as a

Mazuist Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by #Names, several other names and titles. Mazu is the apotheosis, deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujia ...

temples or as a guardian beside

at her altars or on her yellow paper charms. He is separately worshipped in some villages. or by mariners for assistance avoiding danger. During the 8-day, annual pilgrimages from Dajia to Beigang, Mazu's idol is accompanied by figures of Shunfeng'er and Qianliyan played by masked men on stilts..

In art

Shunfeng'er typically appears as a red- or brown-skinned demon cupping a hand to one of his ears. He also occasionally appears with three heads and six arms.. He usually appears to the left of his companion

. Sometimes Shunfeng'er appears as the green demon, in which case he usually has one horn and

ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

eyes.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Shenfenger Chinese gods Liminal gods Mazu Sea and river gods Journey to the West characters