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ubquitous whilst Lei Tsu, the Ancestor of Thunder is rare. These two forms tend to be confused by devotees, with a concensus accepting that Lei Shen is another name for Lei Kung, whilst Lei Tsu is an entirely separate deity, the major deity who has two aides, Lei Kung and his consort, Tien Mu [the Goddess of Lightning]. Numerous differing views offered by temple keepers, devotees, god carvers and even Taoist religious specialists claim that Lei Kung himself under several different titles is a member of the Five-deity Board of Thunder but subordinate to the President, Lei Tsu.
The Thunder God, is an early Chinese nature deity, a stern god who, though generally speaking benevolent, is one who averts evil. He is also feared as being particularly merciless towards those who kidnap children and oppress widows and orphans. He was revered in the very early days because of the mystery and powers of nature he and his consort controlled. The list within temples of the evil doers against whom he takes action is seemingly endless. It used to be that the list only included capital crimes, nowadays however it includes the filial impious, liars and cheats, and physical discomfort for truants and lazy scholar students. Children were told that he would not harm them unless they told lies. On the other side of the coin he has the power to obtain pardons for anyone who genuinely repents, and for many centuries Lei Kung has answered people's prayers and requests for cures for all diseases, injuries and sickness. However, during the early part of this century in and around Peking it was believed that he would not cure anything more severe than scratches and bruises. He has developed into a deity whose charms cure minor wounds, stomach aches and perhaps hasten the delayed birth of a babe.
Lei Kung causes damage to property and fields with his thunderbolts whilst Tien Mu, the Lightning Goddess, merely flashes her mirrors to cause the lightning. During the late Ming and the Ch'ing dynasties images of Lei Kung were situated on high places, a roof of a temple, for example, to ward off lightning.
His standard image is unique and the most easily identifiable deity in the Chinese pantheon. Represented as half-man half-bird, a human body and arms, chicken's feet and claws, a monkey's head apart from his bird-like beak, he is also occasionally portrayed with a third eye. He holds a hammer and chisel13, has a string of drums slung around
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ubquitous whilst Lei Tsu, the Ancestor of Thunder is rare. These two forms tend to be confused by devotees, with a concensus accepting that Lei Shen is another name for Lei Kung, whilst Lei Tsu is an en- tirely separate deity, the major deity who has two aides, Lei Kung and his consort, Tien Mu [the Goddess of Lightning]. Numerous differing views offered by temple keepers, devotees, god carvers and even Tao- ist religious specialists claim that Lei Kung himself under several dif- ferent titles is a member of the Five-deity Board of Thunder but subor- dinate to the President, Lei Tsu.
The Thunder God, is an early Chinese nature deity, a stern god who, though generally speaking benevolent, is one who averts evil. He is also feared as being particularly merciless towards those who kid- nap children and oppress widows and orphans. He was revered in the very early days because of the mystery and powers of nature he and his consort controlled. The list within temples of the evil doers against whom he takes action is seemingly endless. It used to be that the list only included capital crimes, nowadays however it includes the filial impious, liars and cheats, and physical discomfort for truants and lazy scholar students. Children were told that he would not harm them un- less they told lies. On the other side of the coin he has the power to obtain pardons for anyone who genuinely repents, and for many centu- ries Lei Kung has answered people's prayers and requests for cures for all diseases, injuries and sickness. However, during the early part of this century in and around in Peking it was believed that he would not cure anything more severe than scratches and bruises. He has devel- oped into a deity whose charms cure minor wounds, stomach aches and perhaps hasten the delayed birth of a babe.
Lei Kung causes damage to property and fields with his thunder- bolts whilst Tien Mu, the Lightning Goddess, merely flashes her mir- rors to cause the lightning. During the late Ming and the Ch'ing dynas- ties images of Lei Kung were situated on high places, a roof of a temple, for example, to ward off lightning.
His standard image is unique and the most easily identifiable de- ity in the Chinese pantheon. Represented as half-man half-bird, a hu- man body and arms, chicken's feet and claws, a monkey's head apart from his bird-like beak, he is also occasionally portrayed with a third eye. He holds a hammer and chisel13, has a string of drums slung around
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