Yushi

ONE OF THE FOUR WHO STAND TOGETHER IN THE TEMPLES. The sources describe Leigong, Dianmu, Fengbo and Yushi as a working quartet governing storm, rain, wind, thunder and lightning; the corpus held exactly one of the four.

Domains

• rain
• the dripping sword

Relations

• of the storm quartet with: Dianmu
• of the storm quartet with: Fengbo
• of the storm quartet with: Leigong

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.