Fengxi (mythology)

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Fengxi
Chinese name
Chinese封狶
Japanese name
Kanji封豨
Kanaほうき

Fengxi (封狶), also known as Hōki in Japanese, is a boar-like monster in Chinese mythology. He is said to have two heads and lives in Morus forests. Some accounts refer to it as the ancient rain deity.

Description[edit]

Fengxi is depicted as a two-head boar with great force. Other depictions have it with four long tusks. He is very brutal and always terrorises the countryside.

According to Huainanzi, Fengxi destroyed a lot of villages and their farming lands while killing many people, which angered the Emperor Yao who sent the great archer Hou Yi to get it hunted in a morus forest.[1]

According to Jiaoshi Yilin and Lüshi Chunqiu, Fengxi is the ancient Chinese rain deity.[2][3] According to Records of the Grand Historian, when Fengxi appears, there will be rain soon.[4]

According to I Ching, as raining (云雨) stands for mating in ancient China, Fengxi might also be the ancient fertility deity.[5]

In popular culture[edit]

In One Piece, St. Topman Warcury, one of the Five Elders, can take the yōkai-like form of a Fengxi.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 《淮南子·本經訓》(Huainanzi) 記載:「逮至堯之時,十日並出。焦禾稼,殺草木,而民無所食。猰貐、鑿齒、九嬰、大風、封豨、修蛇,皆為民害。堯乃使羿誅鑿齒於疇華之野,殺九嬰於凶水之上,繳大風於青邱之澤,上射十日,而下殺猰貐,斷修蛇於洞庭,擒封豨於桑林。萬民皆喜,置堯以為天子。」
  2. ^ 《吕氏春秋》(Lvshi Chunqiu) 记载: 「武王胜殷,立成汤之后于宋,以奉桑林。”高注:“桑山之林,汤所祷也,故所奉也。」
  3. ^ 《焦氏易林》(Jiaoshi Yilin) 记载: 「封豕为沟渎,灌馈国邑 ... 封豕沟渎,水潦空谷。客止舍宿,泥涂至腹。」
  4. ^ 《史记》(Shi Ji) 记载: 「奎为封豕,为沟渎。」
  5. ^ 《易经》(I Ching) 记载: 「上九:见豕负涂,载鬼一车,先张之弧,后说之弧。匪寇昏媾,往,遇雨则吉。」
  6. ^ Aubrey, Dave (15 March 2024). "This Is What One Piece's Five Elders' Devil Fruits Are Based On". Geek Parade. Retrieved 17 March 2024.