RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch ORASHKB and author 72 Vol. 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 hua-pên (story-tellers' prompt-book), we can hardly know their origin or the invaluable part played by the author of the Fêng-shên in transforming them into interesting characters. Li Ching, bearing the same name as the historical hero in the early part of the T'ang dynasty, is no doubt derived from the Buddhist heavenly king Vaisravana. We know from many Buddhist texts the legends of the Four Heavenly Kings. According to the Abhiniskramana-sutra (出曜集經) translated by Jnanagupta in 587, they are, Dhritarashtra or Chih-kuo T'ien-wang in the East, who leads the gandharvas, musicians in heaven; Virudhaka or Tseng-chang T'ien-wang in the South, who is the sovereign of the kumbhandas or deformed demons; Virupaksha or Kuang-mu T'ien-wang in the West, who is king of the nagas who dwell in their palaces at the bottom of the lakes; and Vaisravana or To-wen T'ien-wang in the North, who is head of the yakshas, strong and brave genii. The author of the Fêng-shên Yen-i adapted these four heavenly kings in his novel (Chs.31-40) and called them "the four generals of the Mo family". He made them brothers and commanders who took charge of the Chia-mêng Pass under the command of the Premier Wên T'ai-shih. Their individual names are Mo Li-ch'ing, Mo Li-hung, Mo Li-hai and Mo Li-shou. But in Ch.31 when they are summoned by Premier Wên T'ai-shih, the author writes, "The four heavenly kings (ssu t'ien-wang) strode forward,” thus unconsciously revealing their origin, and afterwards in Ch.99 they are given the titles of Tsêng-chang T'ien-wang (Mo Li-ch'ing), Kuang-mu T'ien-wang (Mo Li-hung), To-wên T’ien-wang (Mo Li-hai) and Ch'ih-kuo T'ien-wang (Mo Li-shou) respectively. In Ch.40 the author describes the weapons of these four brothers through the mouth of General Huang Fei-hu as follows: The eldest brother Mo Li-ch'ing is twenty-four feet in height, with a face resembling that of a crab, and his beard is like copper wires. He fights always on foot with a long spear, and he has a sword which is called "Blue Cloud", on which there are charms and a seal saying "earth, water, fire and wind". The wind caused by the brandishing of this magic sword is a black wind in which hundreds of thousands of spears would run and cut off the limbs of men. Following the wind is a blaze in which flaming golden serpents cover the atmosphere with black smoke. The weapon of Mo Li-hung is an umbrella. * chúan 16, Shê-kung Ch'u-chia P'in (攝功出家品). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 56 Yin in the other temple, the Pi-yun Ssu, depicts her with only two arms sitting cross-legged on a recumbent blue lion. Her assistants are an unnamed dark-faced elderly minister who appears to be South Asian, standing holding a tablet before his chest and dressed in a long blue robe. Her other attendant is the Red Youth, Hung Hai-eh, standing on her left hand with his hands held together before his chest, and dressed in a red robe over green trousers with a flowing scarf-like halo. Taking the three groups, the twenty Deva listed in Soothill, and the two groups in the Ta Pei Ssu and the Pi-yun Ssu, we have twenty deities common to all three. These are: Brahma, Indra, Pancika, Sarasvati, Laksmi, Skanda [Wei T'o], Prthivi, Hariti, Marici, Surya, Candra, Siva, Yamaraja, Bodhidhruma, Guyapati, Kinnara and the four T'ien-wang guardians Vaisravana, Dhrtarastra, Virudhaka and Virupaksa. In the Ta Pei Ssu we also have five additional Deva not present in the Pi-yun Ssu, the Asura, Vimalakirti, Nanda Upananda and Mahoraga. A further two Deva images are seen only in the Pi-yun Ssu. These are Lei Kung and Sagara. Taking each of the deities in turn, we shall examine their background and in particular their Brahmanist [or Vedic] origins, their role in the Chinese pantheon and any ambiguities or contradictions we encounter. The important three Brahmanist deities are known in Sanskrit as the Trimurti: the creator Brahma the preserver Vishnu the destroyer Siva Brahma and Siva are indeed included in the two temples whilst Vishnu is not3. Though a major Hindu deity today Vishnu was not so during the Vedic era of the second millennium BC. His particular task ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 58 seen in a comparatively modern temple near Taipei. A lengthy tunnel connects the main part of the Kuan Tu temple complex, to the North-west of Taipei, with the front entrance overlooking the Tamshui River. Some twenty-eight images stand in glass-fronted niches carved into the rock down the sides of the tunnel. These large individual images are of the Early Buddhas, the Ku Fo; the Buddhas of pre-history, the Buddhas who came before Sakyamuni, The Buddha. They have no altars and as there is an altar dedicated to the Thousand-arm and Thousand-Eye Kuan Yin P'u-sa at the river end of the tunnel they are not offered incense individually. Several aspects of the hagiography of the images in the cave/tunnel are intriguing. First of all, those holding weapons have them in their left hand. They are mostly dressed in gilded armour, and finally, their titles in Chinese, though Sinicised Sanskrit, have proved impossible to translate into the original Sanskrit and are therefore unidentified. Several of these unidentified deities have been depicted in Taiwanese religious literature but without any explanation apart from being listed under a general title of Supportive Incantations to Buddha, Ta Pei Chou Fo 大悲咒佛. The following Vedic deities who have been noted in one or both of the temples in the Western Hills would seem not to be present in the cave/tunnel: Marici, Pancika, Hariti, Pippala [Bodhidruma], Laksmi, Prthivi, Surya, Candra, Vimalakirti, Nanda Upananda and Skanda/Veda. Of the scores of books, both the popular illustrated and monastic academic, produced over the last half century in Taiwan describing the Buddhas, bodhisattvas and the hundreds of minor deities of Buddhism, one at least has listed what they have called The Celestial Guardians Division. This list includes not only the Four Diamond Kings, the T'ien Wang, [Vaisravana, Dhrtarastra, Virudhaka and Virupaksa] but nine of the Deva seen in the Western Hills. These are Indra [Sakra-devanam], Brahma [Maha-Brahman], Marici, Laksmi [Sri-maha-devi], Sarasvati, Yamaraja, Guhyapati, Skanda [Wei T'o] and Gandharva. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 The King Protector of the East and controller of Spring element: water P'i-p'u Tung-ch'a T'ien-wang LUXXE 毘普動叉天王 Red face Mo-li Hai Lute/guitar or Umbrella 摩禮海 or Sword and Snake or writing brush or Green face Kuang-mu Virupaksa T'ien-wang with Red beard 廣目天王 [Colour: red] The King Protector of the West and controller of Winter element: fire 79 P'i-p'u Po-ch'a T'ien-wang OXXE Mo-li Shou Rat or Mongoose Pink or Green face Tseng-ch'ang Virudhaka T'ien-wang [Colour: Red] 增吒天王 [which changes into and short beard 摩禮壽 a white, winged or Red Bird elephant] or Red or Golden Dragon or Magic sword and ring or Whip The King Protector of the South and controller of Summer [or Spring] element: wood T'i-t'ou Lai-cha T'ien-wang DELI Mo-li Hung Umbrella Pink or white face T'o-wen Vaisravana Clean shaven or Money bag T'ien-wang 摩禮紅 or Snake [and pearl] [Colour: Black] 多聞天王 or Rat/Mongoose or gold and occasionally ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 89 Appendix B THE DEVA WITHIN THE BODHISATTVA HALL IN THE PI-YUN SSU PEKING'S WESTERN HILLS The Chinese titles of these the Deva within the Bodhisattva Hall in the Pi-yun Ssu are as follows together with their standard Sanskrit name: Fan T'ien Brahma [Mahabrahman] Ti-shih Indra [Sakra Devaran] T'o-wen Tien-wang Vaisravana (Guardian of the North) Ch'ih-kuo T'ien-wang Dhrtarastra (Guardian of the East) Tseng-ch'ang T'ien-wang Virudhaka (Guardian of the South) Kuang-mu T'ien-wang Virupaksa (Guardian of the West) ) the Four ) Guardians ) of the ) Entrance ) to ) Buddhist ) Temples** Mi-chi Chin-kang Guhyapati Another Diamond King Guardian Mo-hsi-shou-lo Siva [Mahesvara] Pan-chih Ta-ching Pancika Pien-ts'ai T'ien Sarasvati Chi-hsiang T'ien-nü Laksmi Wei-t'o Skanda or Viharapala Chien-lao-ti-shen Prthivi P'u-t'i Shu-shen Bodhidruma or Pippala Kuei-tzu Mu Hariti ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 92 Prthivi Sakra Devaram Sarasvati Skanda Surya Tung-yüeh Ta-ti Tzu-wei Ta-ti Vaisravana Vimalakirti Virudhaka Virupaksa Yama ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 94 Ah-hsü-lo Wang 阿修羅王 [Asura] Na-lo-yen T'ien 那羅延天 [Narayana - son of Nara -the Original Man] Mi-ta Chin-kang 密達金剛 [Guhyapati raja] T'i-t'ou Le-cha 提頭勒吒 [Mo-li Hai - Dhrtarastra - Guardian of the East - one of the Four Diamond Kings] P'i-lo Le-cha 毘羅勒吒 [Mo-li Hung- Virudhaka, Guardian of the South - one of the Four Diamond Kings] P'i-lo-po-cha 毗羅博叉 [Mo-li Ch'ing - Virupaksa - Guardian of the West - one of the Four Diamond Kings] [T'o-wen T'ien Wang - Mo-li Hung] P'i-sha-men T'ien 毗沙門天 [Vaisravana, One of the Four Diamond Kings - the Guardian of the North - Bishamen] [Protector of Travellers in the train of the 1000 arm Kuan Yin] Chin Ta Wang 金大王 Chin-se Kung-ch'iao [Five-colour Peacock] 金色孔雀 Man Hsien-jen 滿仙人 [Purna - The Fully-complete Immortal] Ma-hu-lo Wang 摩虎羅王 [Mahoraga] Ma-ho-lo Nü 摩和羅女 [?] ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 96 Appendix E THE LIST OF TWENTY DEVA 十天 +* IN SOOTHILL'S DICTIONARY OF CHINESE BUDDHIST TERMS Maha Brahman - Brahma Sakra devanam - Indra Vaisravana Dhrtarastra Virudhaka The Four Diamond Kings - Temple Guardians of the Four Directions Virupaksa Guhyapati Mahesvara Pancika Sarasvati Laksmi Skanda Prthivi Bodhidruma or Bodhivrksa Hariti Marici Surya Candra Sagara Yama-raja ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 102 Devas in the Deva Hall of the Pi-yun Ssu right to left: Brahma, Vaisravana, Virudhaka, Surya, Hariti, Prthivi and Laksmi ================================================================================