Chinese magical creatures
http://landsofwisdom.com/?p=1848
Chinese magical creatures: Huang Fei-Hu, Hu-Hsien, Lei Chen-Tzu and Lei Gong
Let’s continue our travel through Chinese mythology with Huang Fei-Hu, Hu-Hsien, Lei Chen-Tzu and Lei Gong (or Lei Kung).
In Chinese mythology, Huang Fei-Hu is the Earth god who takes the form of a one-eyed bull with a snake’s tale. He became the mountain god who guards the holy mountain of Tai Shan in eastern China where the dead come for judgement. From here, he acts as a judge to the souls of those who have recently died.
Hu-Hsien are the spirit foxes of Chinese folk tales. These shapeshifting creatures can assume human form, usually of a handsome youth or beautiful maiden. Hu-sien can act like an incubus or succubus, a male or female spirit that visits members of the opposite sex and steals their vital sexual energy from those who fall in love with them. However, they are normally betrayed by their love of wine, for when they become drunk they lose their human form and are unmasked for what they really are. Because scholars are considered virtuous and venerable, Hu-Hsien often appeal to them when they need to hide from the wrath of the Thunder God (Lei Gong) who sends thunderbolts to punish them for their misdeeds. In return from protection, Hu-Hsien grant favors to scholars, promising to lead them to high office.
In Chinese mythology, Lei Chen-Tzu is a hero who became a great winged, green dragon, with a boar’s tusks. He was hatched from an egg than resulted when his father Lei, the Thunder Dragon, sent a thunderclap to Earth. He was adopted by the God of Literature, Wen Wang, whom he loved so much that he rescued him from imprisonment by shapeshifting from a man into a dragon. While still in human form, Lei Chen-Tzu ate two apricots given him by his father, Lei; these had the effect of making him become a green, boar-faced dragon. He was so implacable in this form that he was easily able to rescue his foster-father.
Lei Gong is the God of Thunder. He has the beak, wings and claws of an owl but a human body; and he is blue. He wears a loin cloth and he’s shown carrying his emblems of hammer and drum with which to produce thunder. In the bureaucratic way of Confucian deities, Lei Gong is an official in the Ministry of Thunder, helping to keep celestial administration going. Lei
