China: 'Master Thunder (Lei Gong)', a Ming Dynasty hanging silk scroll from 1542, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Lei Gong, sometimes known as Lei Shen, is a god of thunder in traditional Chinese religion and religious Taoism. Generally depicted as a fearsome bird-man with a blue face and a beak, bat wings and claws, wearing only a loincloth. Lei Gong is often shown wielding a drum and mallet to produce thunder, as well as a chisel with which to punish evildoers. In Taoism, Lei Gong is not only the god of thunder but also a divine instrument of punishment and retribution, ordered by heaven to punish earthly mortals who have been found guilty of secret crimes or evil spirits who abuse their Taoist knowledge to do harm upon human beings. To aid in his task, he has a retinue of assistants and helpers, including his wife Dian Mu (Tian Mu or Lei Zi), the goddess of lightning, who uses flashing mirrors to send bolts of lightning streaking across the sky. Lei Gong began his life as a mortal man by the name of Feng Lung, who accidentally found and ate one of the immortal peaches from heaven, which immediately transformed him into his godly form. Temples dedicated solely to Lei Gong are rare, though he is sometimes honoured by people who hope he will exact revenge upon their personal enemies. Lei Gong is also said to be extremely prudish, and will not enter a house where copulation is taking place, or even if there are pictures of this act displayed in the house.

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AKG4881272

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akg-images / Pictures From History

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High