Dianmu
| Dianmu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.JPG) A statue of Dianmu | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 電母 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Mother of Lightning | ||||||
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Dianmu (Chinese: 電母; lit. 'Mother of Lightning'), also known as Leizi, is the Chinese goddess of lightning, who is said to have used flashing mirrors to send bolts of lightning across the sky.[1][2]
She is married to Leigong the God of thunder. She is one of the gods who work together to produce the phenomena of thunder. Other companions are Yun Tong ("Cloud Youth"), who whips up clouds, and Yu Zi ("Rain Master") who causes downpours by dipping his sword into a pot. Roaring winds rush forth from a type of goatskin bag manipulated by Fengbo ("Earl of Wind"), who was later transformed into Feng Po Po ("Lady Wind").
Legend
Dianmu was once a human. She lives with her mother. One day she was dumping the husk of rice because it's too hard for her mother to eat it. Leigong gets angry easily, so when he saw her dumping the husk out he thought she's wasting food so he killed her. The Jade Emperor found out and got angry that Leigong killed the wrong person. So the Jade Emperor revived Diamu and made her into a goddess. Also told her to marry Leigong. Leigong killed her so it's his fault and his responsibility to take care of her now. Dianmu's job is to work with Lei Gong. She uses mirrors to shine light onto earth so Leigong can see who he hits and makes sure they aren't innocent. This is why lightning comes first.[3][4][5]
In popular culture
Following has been named after her name
- Typhoon Dianmu (T0406, 09W, Helen) – struck Japan.
- Severe Tropical Storm Dianmu (2010) (T1004, 05W, Ester)
- Tropical Storm Dianmu (2016) (T1608, 11W) – struck Indochina
References
- ^ Wuerthner, Dennis (2020). Tales of the Strange by a Korean Confucian Monk: Kŭmo sinhwa by Kim Sisŭp. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-8304-1.
- ^ TIAN-MU on Godchecker
- ^ Mukherji, Priyadarśī (1999). Chinese and Tibetan Societies Through Folk Literature. Lancers Books.
- ^ 歲節的故事 (in Chinese). 知書房出版集團. 2004. ISBN 978-986-7640-16-1.
- ^ 神仙传奇故事 (in Chinese). 南文博雅. 2015.