Dianmu

THUNDER WITHOUT LIGHTNING. The corpus held Leigong, whose name means 'thunder LORD' and whose whole definition is being the yang half of a pair, and did not hold the yin half whose name means 'lightning MOTHER'. That is the fault this programme has now found in twenty-two traditions, in its most literal form yet: the two names encode each other.

Domains

• lightning
• the yin half of the storm
• the flashing mirrors

Relations

• wife of: Leigong
• of the storm quartet with: Yushi
• of the storm quartet with: Fengbo

Sources

• Reference treatment of the Chinese weather deities: Dianmu, also known as Leizi, is the goddess of lightning, said to use flashing mirrors to send bolts of lightning across the sky; she is the deity in charge of lightning, attributed to yin, hence called 'mu', mother or female, and also known as Goddess of Golden Light or Lightning Lady, and she is married to Leigong, the god of thunder. Leigong is the deity in charge of thunder, attributed to yang, hence called 'gong', lord or male. Yushi, the Rain Master, controls the rain and is said to dip his sword in a pail of water and let it drip down from the blade over the earth. Fengbo, also known as Fengshi, is the Taoist deity of the wind: roaring winds rush from a goatskin bag manipulated by Fengbo, the Earl of Wind, who was later transformed into Feng Po Po, Old Lady Wind. In larger temples and Daoist settings Leigong may appear alongside Dianmu, Fengbo and Yushi, together forming part of a wider celestial system governing storms, rain, wind, thunder and lightning.