Fengxi (mythology) explained

Fengxi
C:封狶
P:fēngxī
Kana:ほうき
Romaji:Hōki
Kanji:封豨

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

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

A member of the Five Elders in One Piece, St. Topman Warcury, has the ability to turn into a yāoguài-like form that resembles a Fengxi.[6]

Notes and References

  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. News: Aubrey . Dave . This Is What One Piece’s Five Elders’ Devil Fruits Are Based On . 17 March 2024 . Geek Parade . 15 March 2024 . en.