Monday, September 24, 2001

Pixiu (貔貅)

Pixiu (貔貅)

Alternative Names (異名):
貔貅(Chinese), pí xiū(pí xiū), Pixiu, Pi Yao, 辟邪(Chinese), Pi Xie


Pixiu or Pi Yao (Chinese: 貔貅; pinyin: pí xiū) originally known as Pi Xie (辟邪 to avoid evil spirits in Chinese) is a Chinese mythical hybrid creature considered to be very a powerful protector to practitioners of Feng Shui. It resembles a winged lion. Pixiu is an earth and sea variation, particularly an influential and auspicious creature for wealth. It is said to have a voracious appetite towards only gold and silver. Therefore traditionally to the Chinese, Pixiu has always been regarded as an auspicious creature that possessed mystical power capable of drawing Cai Qi (財氣 wealth) from all directions. Thus, it is helpful for those who are going through a bad year according to Chinese zodiac.

There are two different types of Pi Xiu. The difference is with their horns. The one with two horns is known as Pi Ya (possibly a corruption from bi xie (辟邪)) and the one with one horn is called Tian Lu (天祿) (Pi Chen).

Tian Lu (天祿) - is in charge of wealth. Displaying Tian Lu at home or in the office is said to prevent wealth from flowing away.
Pi Ya - wards off evil. It is also believed that Pi Ya has the ability of assisting anyone who is suffering from bad Feng Shui that is due to having offended the Grand Duke Jupiter (also called as Tai Sui (太岁)).
Pi Xiu is the ninth offspring of the dragon. Pi Xiu craves the smell of gold and silver and it likes to bring his master money in his mouth. Statues of this creature are often used to attract wealth in feng shui.

Today, Pi Xiu is also a popular design on jade pendants.


Characteristics

Fierce looking and covered with whitish-grey fur, Pi Xiu has the head of a Chinese dragon, but is commonly depicted with only one antler as time passes. Ancient Chinese depictions of Pi Xiu show the male with the single antler, and the female with two. As with the Chinese Phoenix, the common image today is a representation of a single sex. Pi Xiu has protruding eyes and sharp teeth. Its body resembles a Chinese lion and the legs of Pi Xiu are those of a Qi Lin. Looking at the posture of the Pi Xiu, the creature seems to project a sense of strength, elegance and mobility. Its obvious characteristic is its fat body to indicate a full stomach loaded with unlimited amounts of good fortune. It has a single horn on its head, a pair of wings and no anus. Likewise it has a big opened mouth ready to gobble up money. Many people like Pi Xiu because Pi Xiu does not have a hole at its bottom so it only eats but does not dispose of anything. This means, the Pi Xiu could contain a lot of good fortune and wealth luck for you and your family in your office or home, stays within your premises and does not 'dispose' any of the luck.

It is believed that the common wingless Pi Xiu assists in seeking wealth while a winged Pi Xiu assists students in furthering their studies.

Due to their similar appearances, Pixiu is often confused with Fu Dogs or Chi Lin.


Mythology

The myth of Pi Xiu tells that the creature violated a law of heaven, so the Jade Emperor punished it by restricting the pixiu's diet to gold, and prevented the creature from defecating by sealing its anus. Thus, pixiu can only absorb gold, but cannot expel it. This is the origin of Pi Xiu's status as a symbol of the acquisition and preservation of wealth.

Pi Xiu is also a fierce creature. The large fangs visible in the creature's mouth are used to attack demons and evil spirits, draining their essence and converting it to wealth. Pi Xiu also guards against disease caused by these same evil spirits.

In tribute to Pi Xiu's ferocity and prowess in battle, 'The Pi Xiu was synonymous with the army in ancient China.


Feng Shui

Pi Yao is the heavenly variation of a particularly powerful and auspicious creature of good fortune. He is said to have the power to assist anyone suffering from bad Feng Shui due to having offended the Grand Duke Jupiter (Tai Sui). In 2005, the Grand Duke resided in the West, so those born in the year of the Rabbit will have been in conflict with him. Practitioners of Feng Shui should ensure that they display the Pi Yao in the West to appease Tai Sui. The Pi Yao should also be displayed in homes for those enduring a period of bad luck soon after moving into a new home or soon after undertaking renovations. In 2006, Tai Sui moved to the Northwest. His exact position in 2006 is West-Northwest.

During China's history, Pi Xiu were commonly displayed in ancient architecture to ward off Yin Qi (陰氣) and to harness auspicious Qi. The statues of a Pixiu are commonly found on the four corners of the roofs of houses--usually houses of important people such as the emperor. The Pixiu is lined 5th, behind the dragon, phoenix, winged horse and sea horse. In ancient China, statues of Pi Xiu were also used as tomb guardians.

Pi Ya - must be placed facing out of the house. Displaying Pi Ya at the affected area of the house or office can avoid misfortune and disasters. For displaying towards openings or entrance, a pair of Pi Ya is needed.

Tian Lu - for attracting wealth, one may place it at the desired wealth area such as attractive wealth area or accumulative wealth area. Do not place Tian Lu facing directly on any person like a confronting position. Ideally, Tien Lu should not be place on the floor but it should never be place above eye level.


See also

Fu Dog
Chi Lin
Chinese dragon
unicorn
Feng Shui


Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixiu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_mythology


Chinese culture | Chinese legendary creatures | Chinese mythology | Divination | Mythical hybrids | Spirituality stubs | Chinese dragons

Sunday, September 16, 2001

Pipa Jing (琵琶精)

Pipa Jing (琵琶精)

Alternative Names (異名):
琵琶精, Pipa Jing


Pipa Jing (Chinese: 琵琶精; Pinyin: Pípa Jīng), a yaojing changed from jade pipa, is a character featured within the famed ancient Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi.

Fat-Belly Guitar Pipa Jing is one of three renowned female specters under the legendary Nu Wa. After Pipa Jing - as like both Daji and Splendor - was ordered by Nu Wa to bring chaos to the Shang Dynasty, Pipa Jing would not be shown until the time of chapter 16. At one point in time when Pipa Jing had returned from a visit with her friend, Daji, she happened to find Jiang Ziya with a large crowd of people around the fortune telling studio. Thus, Pipa Jing would turn herslelf into a very attractive young woman and approach Jiang for a fortune.

Unfortunately for Pipa Jing however, Jiang could see that she was truly an evil specter in disguise; the palm reading still continued however. Once Jiang became more forceful and would not let go of Pipa Jing's palm, she began to scream and ask for help with the people around her. Due to this, Jiang had no choice but to smack her over the head with an ink stone -- which would kill her mortal body. Following this point, Jiang would never let go of Pipa Jing's palm so that the true specter could not escape. Soon enough, Pipa Jing was set around a large amount of firewood and set aflame after varied juju's were set as to prevent her true self from escaping. Once everyone realized that even her hair never burned or even got caught on fire, Pipa Jing would end up being burned to death once Jiang unleashed a triple divine fire combined with shattering lightning. Five years following her death, Pipa Jing would finally be revived once again after Daji gathered the essence of both the moon and the sun.


Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipa_Jing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_mythology


Fengshen Yanyi characters | Chinese mythology | Demons | Literary character stubs

Friday, May 18, 2001

Persephone (Greek)

Persephone

Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. After her abduction by Hades she became his wife and Queen of the underworld.

Monday, May 14, 2001

Peng (鵬)

Peng (鵬)

Alternative Names (異名):
鵬, Peng


Peng (Chinese: 鵬; pinyin: péng) is the Romanization of the Chinese character for a mythological bird.

The character, 鵬, is comprised of 朋 (péng - a phonetic hint to pronunciation) and 鳥 (niǎo - a pictograph of a bird with long feathers).


Literature

In Chinese mythology, the Peng and Kun (Chinese: 鯤; pinyin: kūn) are different forms of the same creature. Translated from the ancient literature, Zhuang Zi's Xiao Yao You (逍遙遊):

There lived a kind of giant mysterious fish in the northern sea. These fish are called Kun. Nobody knows how big these fish actually are. They can turn into giant birds. When they are in bird form, they are known as Peng. Nobody knows how big these birds actually are. When they fly, their wings are like the colorful clouds in the sky. When there is a storm in the northern sea, the Peng will fly to the southern sea[2]. They travel three thousand li (里[1]) in one flap of their wings. They can fly for six months without rest.


Notes

[1] 1里 ≒ 0.393km
[2] southern sea (南冥) mentioned in the story is also known as Tian Chi (天池).



See also

Fenghuang
Roc


Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_mythology


Chinese mythology | Mythical fish | Legendary birds | Chinese mythology stubs

Sunday, January 14, 2001

Panlong (蟠龍)

Panlong (蟠龍)

Alternative Names (異名):
蟠龍, Panlong, Coiled Dragon


In Chinese mythology the Panlong (Chinese: 蟠龍; pinyin: pánlóng; Wade-Giles: p'an-lung; literally "coiled dragon") are water dragons believed to mostly inhabit the lakes of the Orient.


Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panlong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_mythology


Chinese dragons | Chinese mythology | Legendary creature stubs | Chinese mythology stubs