Feng Po Po (), also called Feng Popo or Feng Pho Pho, is the goddess of the wind in
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of t ...
who rules over storms and moisture. She is referred to as "Madame Wind", and is usually depicted as a crone, old and wrinkled. Feng Po Po can be seen riding through clouds on the back of a tiger which represents courage and bravery signifying her importance in the Chinese mythology. The tiger the goddess rides on is also a symbol of the autumnal season and therefore associated with the Crone stage of life which further ties the tiger to the goddess.
Feng Po Po is usually portrayed as replacing
Feng Bo, the male form of
Fei Lian. It is unclear whether she replaces Fei Lian, or becomes his new human form. In some later traditions, myths such as
Leizi's marriage to the
Thunder God
Polytheistic peoples from many cultures have postulated a thunder god, the personification or source of the forces of thunder and lightning; a lightning god does not have a typical depiction, and will vary based on the culture. In Indo-European c ...
, Feng Po Po directly replaces Feng Bo and is the one who was moving everyone.
Powers
Feng Po Po carries a full sack of wind in her arms when she is riding on the back of a tiger. On calm days she expresses her generous spirit by stuffing all the winds into her sack, but when her mood turns foul or the sack of wind becomes too heavy, she unleashes pent up winds in the form of violent storms.
Popular Culture
*In ''
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
'', a superhero named after the Chinese goddess of wind Feng Po Po.
See also
*
Yu Shi
Yu Shi () is a Chinese spirit or god of rain, also known as or conflated with Red Pine (Chisong, 赤松, or Chisongzi – Master Red Pine), among other names. Translations of ''Yu Shi'' into English include "Lord of Rain" and "Leader of Rain".
As ...
References
Chinese goddesses
Wind goddesses
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