The Development of the Thunder God’s Image from the Tang to the Song Dynasty: The Case of Deng Bowen

Abstract

Belief in the Thunder God has been important in China since ancient times. During the Tang Dynasty (618–906), the Thunder God was personified and incorporated into official rituals. Due to the increasing presence of Tantric Buddhism in China during the Tang Dynasty, in Daoism (particularly the Divine Empyrean lineage 神霄派), several Thunder Gods formed a military organization, among which Deng Bowen (鄧伯溫) was considered as a marshal who largely preserved the characteristics of the Thunder God from the Tang Dynasty, featuring traits of a half-human and half-bird. This study focuses on interreligious influences and aims to elucidate the logic that informs the evolution of the Chinese Thunder God’s image through Deng Bowen’s case. Through the analyses of iconography and text analysis, this study discusses how Deng’s image was blended with the image of the Hindu deity Garuda (迦樓羅), which was introduced to China during the Tang Dynasty through Tantric Buddhism. This study will also explore how Deng’s image evolved from before the Tang Dynasty to the period after the Song Dynasty and will indicate that the Tang Dynasty was a significant period for the development of Thunder God worship as well as its iconography.

1. Introduction

The worship of the Thunder God is an ancient cultural phenomenon, rooted in animism, which assumes everything possesses a spirit. The fear evoked by lightning and thunder led people to believe that the Thunder God held the power over life and death (Li 2003). Since the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), the image of the Yuren 羽人, an anthropomorphic figure with wings, began to emerge in Chinese iconography. It is often portrayed alongside the Thunder Duke in the same composition (He 2010, p. 50). The evolution of the ancient Thunder God’s image underwent a transformation from a “beast-like” form to a “half-human, half-beast” form. In early records, like The Guideways through Mountains and Seas, (山海經 Shanhaijing) (Strassberg 2023, p. 205), it is mentioned that there was a Thunder God in the Thunder Swamp (雷澤), resembling a dragon but with a human head. He was said to beat his belly like a drum, in the region to the West of Wu. This indicates that the early Thunder God’s image combined features of both animals and humans.

Since the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE), as Wang Chong 王充 (27–97) described in Lunheng (論衡), the Thunder Duke (Leigong 雷公) was considered as a powerful deity who punishes unruly dragons and people with hidden crimes. Jianmin Xian documents that there are records of a Thunder God temple that was conferred the title of Thunder King (雷震王) as early as the beginning of the Tang Dynasty (642) (Xian and Tao 2002, pp. 43–52). Before the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Thunder God’s image may have had multiple forms such as a bird or a beast, of which evidence can be found in the Dunhuang mural paintings (such as in Mogao Cavern 285). The Tang Dynasty was a crucial period in the transformation of the Thunder Duke into the Thunder God, and it was during this time that several personalized Thunder Gods began to appear. Chen Wenyu (陳文玉), a man described as having become a thunder god (Zhuang 1638), is a typical representative of this transformation. In Taiping Guangji (太平廣記), according to Tang writer Fang Qianli (房千里) in Touhuang Zalu (投荒雜錄), Chen Yi’s birth was extraordinary, with an egg breaking open after several months and a baby emerging from it1. The Yingshan Thunder Temple Records (Yingshan Leimiaoji 英山雷廟記), written in the Song Dynasty, also mentioned Thunder God Chen Wenyu. This text narrates the stories of a human-like Thunder God that can date back to the pre-Tang Dynasty (Wanli Leizhou fuzhi 萬曆雷州府志 1990, p. 307). In the Leizu Zhi (雷祖志) (Zhuang 1638)2 of a later period, recompiled in 1800, it is confirmed that Chen Wenyu was the first magistrate of Leizhou (雷州) in the present-day Guangdong province around the early Tang Dynasty. Under Chen Wenyu’s governance, the people lived in peace and prosperity. In 638, Chen Wenyu became a deity, and continued to manifest himself multiple times, becoming a cultural symbol of Leizhou. However, the names “Thunder God” and “Thunder Duke” coexisted in various historical periods, but this is not the focus of the present study.

Subsequently, Daoism followed the path of personifying the Thunder God and constructed a series of Thunder Deities. During the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127), with the rise of the Thunder rites, the Thunder God transformed from its original popular image into a recognized system of Thunder Deities within Daoism. Meanwhile, Daoism merged historical mythological figures (such as Fuxi伏羲 and Huangdi黄帝) with the legendary Thunder Dukes and Thunder Masters of various generations, collectively venerating them as Thunder Deities (Li 2004, pp. 32–36). For instance, among the Thunder Deities summoned through the Thunder rites, figures like Deng Bowen鄧伯溫, Xin Hanchen辛漢臣, and Zhang Yuanbo張元伯, with their attributes and divine personalities, have deep connections to ancient mythological characters (DZ 1220, j. 82 Xiantian yiqi huolei zhangshizhe qidao dafa 先天一炁火雷張使者祈禱大法)3. Within the pantheon of gods, Deng Bowen is a Daoist deity characterized by his human–bird form. A comprehensive depiction of him will be provided in subsequent sections.

In previous research, many scholars have discussed the relationship between Daoism and Tantric Buddhism, often comparing the deities in both traditions. Carmen Meinert, for example, examined the relationship between Garuda and Deng Bowen from a textual perspective (Meinert 2013, pp. 39–52). Mark Meulenbeld suggested that Deng is a direct heir to the appearance of the Sire Thunder (雷公)4 we know from the Tang Records (Meulenbeld 2016, p. 70), and his research pioneered the exploration of Garuda and Deng Bowen’s interaction on the levels of ritual and literature (Meulenbeld 2007, pp. 44–100). In his study of Hariti (鬼子母), Li Ling mentioned the images of Deng Bowen and Zhang Yuanbo in Daozi’s Ink Treasures (道子墨寶) (Li 2017, pp. 89–91). However, she did not provide much analysis on the path of Deng’s image transmission. Wang Chengwen, based on documents like the Tang Dynasty text Touhuang zalu (投荒雜錄), explored various characteristics of the Thunder God in Leizhou and pointed out the coexistence of thunder gods of different origins in the Leizhou area after the mid-Tang Dynasty (Wang 2018, pp. 891–920). Through field research in the Leizhou area, He Xi highlighted the connection between the Thunder God belief in Western Guangdong during the Ming and Qing dynasties and the local clan society (He 2009, pp. 115–63). This research also confirmed the coexistence of half-human, half-bird Thunder Gods and humanoid Thunder Gods in the Leizhou region today. While the time period of He’s research differs from the period examined in this article, it still provides a valuable supplement to the chain of evidence for my research.

Building on the aforementioned studies, this article aims to examine the influence of the interaction between Tantric Buddhism and Daoism, taking a perspective from both iconography and texts. Using Deng Bowen as an example, it seeks to analyze the iconographical development logic behind the evolution, and the development of the half-human, half-bird Thunder God image in China. Thus, it explores how the image of the Thunder Duke underwent a process of personalization and transformation during the Tang Dynasty, and how this transformation was preserved through the transmission of works like the Song Dynasty’s Daozi’s Ink Treasures, thereby retaining the core of the Tang Dynasty’s human–bird-shaped Thunder God image.

2. The Image and the Worship of the Thunder God in the Tang Dynasty

Before Chen Wenyu ascended to deity status during the Tang Dynasty, deities of this kind were often referred to as Thunder Dukes, and they typically appeared in the form of beasts or human–beast hybrids. The image of a Thunder Duke having a human body and a bird’s beak is a significant category of such deities. In the murals from the Western Wei (535–557) period in Dunhuang, there are pictorial depictions of Thunder Dukes with human bodies and bird beaks (see Figure 1 and Figure 2) among the other Thunder Duke images. Thunder Dukes are often associated with drums, and the Thunder Duke (or Sire Thunder) and the drum are closely intertwined (Meulenbeld 2007, pp. 53–57). We can observe in Figure 1, in a part of a wall painting, a divinity descending, who is surrounded by 11 drums, the god ornated with wings beside dynamic arms, as well as a bird-like beak. In Figure 2, we observe the whole wall painting piece in which two Thunder Dukes are heading for the center. In comparison to the divinity on the left, the one on the right is also encircled by a ring of drums while his face is more fiercely mammal-like, although his face bears resemblance to an auspicious beast (weishou畏獸)5 (Kong 2009, p. 421). It is the presence of drums that allows us to identify him as a Thunder Duke6. The coexistence of two variations of Thunder Dukes in the same wall painting explicated the fact that, at least prior to the Tang Dynasty, the avian Thunder Duke shared space with other thunder gods. Moreover, Cavern 329, dating back to the early Tang Dynasty, features an image similar to the Thunder Duke described earlier7. Although it remains unclear whether this depiction portrays the Thunder Duke formed with bird-beaked characteristics, it shares similar attributes, particularly the encircling presence of multi-sided drums. This suggests a potential influence from the Western Wei mural art on the Tang Dynasty representations.

In addition to the Dunhuang murals, evidence of the Thunder God’s image is also frequently discovered in archaeological reports from the Tang Dynasty, especially in Bai Bin’s archaeological research (Zhang and Bai 2006, pp. 1615–23). During this era, representations of the Thunder God were often found in tombs. According to Bai’s archaeological investigation (Zhang and Bai 2006, pp. 1615–23), bird-headed human Thunder God figurines were particularly common in tombs of the early and middle Tang period. For example, a human-headed bird Thunder God was unearthed in the Tang tomb in Wan County, Sichuan (see Figure 3) (Gao 1980, pp. 503–21). Another humanoid bird-headed Thunder God appeared in a tomb of the Tang Dynasty in Chaoyang city, Liaoning Province (see Figure 4) (Li and Yu 2001, p. 67). Both of them are from the early Tang period. In addition, from the middle and late Tang, there were more archaeological findings provided by Bai in his report, which gave evidence of the belief in bird-like Thunder Gods.

During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong (玄宗) Li Longji (李隆基685–762), mentioned the Thunder God in The Decree on Expanding and Establishing Rituals (增定祀典詔) in The Complete Anthology of Tang (全唐文), stating:

“The imperial rituals have followed the traditions of a hundred generations, and the significance of the suburban sacrifices belongs to the Three Spirits... When the awakening of spring comes and the thunder marks its beginning, the divinatory hexagrams are used to display symbols, and the power of the spirits is manifested. The essence of the Qi originates from Yin and Yang, and its effects are bestowed upon all living things. Now, the Masters of Rain and Wind have long been included in the regular offerings. However, the deities have not yet included this thunder of awakening. Henceforth, whenever offerings are made to the Masters of Rain, the Thunder God should also be included in the ceremony (Quan Tang wen 全唐文, j. 32).”

皇王之典，聿循於百代，郊祭之義，允屬於三靈…發生振蟄，雷為其始，畫卦陳象，威物效靈，氣實本於陰陽，功乃施於動植。今雨師風伯，久列常祠，唯此震雷，未登群望，已後每祀雨師，宜以雷神同祭。

Emperor Tang Xuanzong personally integrated the Thunder God into the official ritual system, marking an early official appearance of the Thunder God in state-sponsored worship. During this period, the state’s reverence for the Thunder God belief led to its diffusion from the central government to the wider population.

If we trace back to an earlier history, in China, the worship of the Thunder Gods can at least date back to Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), Jiaosi Zhi (郊祀志) (Record of Suburban Sacrifice) recorded that under Pingdi’s (漢平帝 r. 1–6 CE) reign, Wang Mang (王莽 r. 9–23 CE) modified the sacrifice ritual. He arranged the sacrifice to the Thunder Duke as well as to Wind Uncle (風伯) in the Eastern suburb, and the Rain Master (雨師) in the Northern suburb (Jiaoji zhi II 郊祀志下). What he promoted was actually based on the Yi (易) tradition, as the Yijing said, “Directions gather the similar kinds, and things are divided into groups” (方以類聚，物以群分), meaning that the gods are divided into five groups based on their similarities (分群神以類相從為五部). (Jiaoji zhi I 郊祀志上).

In addition to the fact that the Thunder God has long been a cultic tradition and bird-like Thunder Gods existed before the Tang, the bird-like Thunder God, in the form of a half-human, half-bird deity, evolved into a common burial item accompanying high-ranking officials, such as the Thunder God item found in the early Tang state officer Ran Rencai’s tomb (Figure 3).

In summary, the bird-like Thunder God image has existed since the Tang Dynasty. In addition to the long historical context of the sacrifices to Thunder Gods, Emperor Xuanzong included the Thunder God in the official state rituals. This official recognition and incorporation into state worship contributed to the spread and perpetuation of the Thunder God’s image in Chinese culture. Above all, how did this human–bird form, which originated from the Tang Dynasty develop and stabilize?

3. The Interaction of Tantric Buddhism and Daoism, and the Evolution of the Image of Human–Bird-shaped Thunder God

In the Tang Dynasty, through the efforts of a few foreign monks and Chinese masters like Yijing (義淨635–713), Tantrism gradually gained legitimacy as a part of China’s Buddhism. With a handful of monks, Yijing was dedicated to translating new Indian texts, and along with their active involvement in the political events of the time, they transformed Chinese Tantric Buddhism from a miscellany of magical formulae and rituals used to embellish other Buddhist practices into an independent spiritual path (Birnbaum 1983, pp. 35–91).

Meanwhile, Tantrism did have an important influence on Daoism. The mutual influence between Buddhism and Daoism has deep historical roots, with early manifestations appearing in Daoist scriptures dating back to the Han and Six dynasties (202 BCE–589 CE) (Hsieh 2011, pp. 139–80). When it comes to the interaction between Tantric Buddhism and Daoism, there are numerous examples. For instance, we can find clear examples of a mutual influence (Tang 2014, pp. 59–100) between Tantric Buddhism and Daoism in the scriptures of deities such as Marici (Molizhi Tipohuaman Jing 末利支提婆華鬘經 T 21, No. 1254.) and Doumu (DZ 1220, j. 83 Xiantian leijing yinshu 先天雷晶隱書, Xiao 2011), Ucchuşma (Huijijingang jinbaibian fajing 穢跡金剛禁百變法經 T 21, No. 1229), and Marshal Ma (馬元帥) (DZ 1220 j. 242 Jinbi yuanguang huoxi daxian zhengyi lingguan mayuanshuai mifa 金臂圓光火犀大仙正一靈官馬元帥祕法, Hsieh 2012, pp. 1–36), among others. Marici and Doumu were connected to each other because of the intertwined relationship between Tantric Buddhism and Daoism, which can be seen in the Song Dynasty scripture (DZ 45 Yuqing wushang lingbao ziran beidou bensheng zhenjing 玉清無上靈寶自然北斗本生真經). Hsieh compared the scripture on Ucchuşma and Marshal Ma to find out their connections and found that some of the scriptures dated back to the Middle Tang (around 732 AC). Therefore, we cannot discount the influence of Tantric Buddhism on the Thunder God in Daoism.

Concerning the Thunder God with a bird-like human form, we can observe that within the interactions and the realms of Tantric Buddhism and Daoism, there is a significant connection and interaction between Garuda (a deity with Indian origin) and Deng Bowen (a Daoist deity).

Garuda originates from India and was originally the mount of the ancient Indian deity Vishnu. As a divinity, Garuda later spread across various religious traditions in India and was transmitted through Buddhism to Central Asia, China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and other regions, giving rise to different images and beliefs (Etsuo and Sharma 2008, pp. 44–60). Garuda thus represents a cross-cultural phenomenon across Asia.

In Garuda in Asian Art, E. Yamamoto and D. P. Sharma present a wealth of visual evidence documenting the widespread dissemination of Garuda images in the Asian region since the 2nd century BCE. Figure 5 below shows a sculpture from the 5th century CE in Uttar Pradesh, India, depicting Garuda carrying Vishnu. Figure 6 and Figure 7 show the bird-headed and human-bodied characteristics of Garuda from 4th to 5th century Indian representations.

When comparing these Indian figures of Garuda with the Thunder God images unearthed from the Tang Dynasty, significant similarities emerge in terms of visual representation. Figure 3 indicates that Garuda shares striking resemblances in the head and wing shapes, as well as the dynamic profile, with the relief designs in Figure 6. Furthermore, the bird’s head in Figure 4 closely resembles the one seen in Figure 7.

Next, I will compare and analyze the textual descriptions between the image of Garuda and Deng Bowen. Mark Meulenbeld, through ritual and textual analysis, suggested that Deng Bowen was the direct heir of the Thunder God’s image as known from Tang Dynasty records, and he cited two indispensable primary texts such as the descriptions of the Garuda image in the Tantric Buddhist Scripture of the Garuda and Various Celestial Mantras迦樓羅諸天密言經 (Meulenbeld 2007, p. 83) and the portrayal of Deng Bowen in the Xuhuo dengtianjun dafa欻火鄧天君大法 (Meulenbeld 2007, pp. 61–62, 120). However, from the iconographical perspective, I am convinced that the image of the Thunder God from the Tang Dynasty, after blending with the image of Garuda, has been particularly transmitted and retained through the Thunder Gods of the Divine Empyrean lineage in Daoism, especially through the example of Deng Bowen as seen in the iconographical attributes and his divine personalities.

The appropriation and interaction between Tantric Buddhism and Daoism are at the core of the process under discussion. By exemplifying some textual evidence, Carmen Meinert mentioned that Buddho-Daoist interactions in the Song Dynasty caused both religions to develop in close interdependence with each other. She assumed that Lord Deng Bowen might be appropriated from both the images of Garuda and Acala generated from the Tantric Buddhist context. Her analysis of the similarities between the divinities inspired me to study the appropriation of Tantric Buddhist forms and their function in the conceptions of Daoist divinities. As she argued, on the one hand, Deng Bowen and Garuda are related by the form, such as “having the beak of a phoenix and a blue body”, “keeping wings also the [glimmering] of fire”, and “having a fiery dragon winding around the body”. On the other hand, she also compared Deng Bowen and Acala, who were both in charge of commanding the rain, which invoked my curiosity on a comparison of the functions of Garuda and Deng.

Moreover, Joshua Capitanio confirmed that the Divine Empyrean lineage, one of the Daoist lineages, had appropriated some elements into their ritual orientations from Tantric Buddhism since the Song Dynasty (Capitanio 2011, pp. 529–35), which provided me with a general context for my following arguments.

As Li Yuanguo argued, Zhang Jixian (張繼先 1092–1127) and his lineage were inspired by Du Guangting (杜光庭 850–933) of the late Tang period, where Zhang combined the contemporary Daoist magical techniques with the Thunder rites of the Divine Empyrean lineage (Li 2003, pp. 17–50). Deng’s significant role in the later (after Tang) Divine Empyrean lineage suggests a potential origin dating back to the late Tang Dynasty. Therefore, I intend to explore the Tang Dynasty era to uncover evidence related to the depiction of Garuda in Tantric Buddhism.

In the following discussion, I will combine the texts of Tantric Buddhism and the Divine Empyrean lineage to conduct a comparative analysis of the iconographical and functional similarities and differences between the images of Garuda and Deng Bowen.

According to the Tantric Buddhist Scripture of the Garuda and Various Celestial Mantras (Jialouluo ji zhutian miyan jing迦樓羅及諸天密言經 T 21, No. 1278), translated by the Tang Dynasty monk Boruoli (般若力), Garuda possesses a complete standard set of iconographies:

When painting the image of Garuda, precise measurements and meticulous craftsmanship are required. These craftsmen should purify themselves through bathing and refrain from using impure glue made of animal leather (to mix with pigments). They should treat the task with great reverence. The upper body of Garuda, from the navel upwards, should be depicted as resembling a Celestial King. His nose should resemble an eagle’s beak and be colored green.

From the navel downwards, he should resemble a bird with an animalic-shaped (eagle) body. Garuda should wear a crown adorned with décor, and his hair should flow freely down his shoulders. His arms and wrists should also be adorned with Yingluo (an ornamental accessory originated in ancient India, which symbolizes the notability) and celestial robes. He should be entirely golden in color. His wings should be bird-like, extending in both directions, and his tail should hang down. Meanwhile, Garuda should be depicted with four arms, with two main hands forming a great seal, where the fingers of the left hand press against the right hand. The open palms meet at the heart center, with the fingers crossed, forming the seal. The remaining two hands should hang down, with the five fingers extended in a gesture of granting wishes. His beak, mouth, shin, and claws are all with colorful diamond treasures.

On a golden stand, there should be a golden canopy, covered with silk. The main deity should stand upright on the canopy in a wrathful form, with teeth bared and covered by an umbrella. There should be a circular halo above the head, adorned with a precious crown.

畫迦樓羅像者。應肘量渫善圖畫之。其匠清淨沐浴。色不用皮膠。當作尊儀。其身分自臍已上如天王形。鼻若鷹嘴而作綠色。自臍已下亦如于鷹蠡駱。寶冠發鬘披肩臂腕皆有寶冠。環釧天衣瓔珞。通身金色。翅如鳥而兩向舒。其尾向下散。四臂二正手結大印。兩手指頭相交左押右。虛心合掌以印當心。餘二手垂下。舒五指施願勢。其嘴脛及爪皆是彩金剛寶所成。金山上有一金架。金架上覆以錦衾。本尊於衾上正立作忿怒形。形露出牙齒。以傘覆之。首有圓光而戴寶冠

(Jialouluo ji zhutian miyan jing迦樓羅及諸天密言經 T 21, No. 1278)8.

Before analyzing the image of Deng Bowen in Daoism, it is important to mention the Garuda in Himalayan art. The following two figures depict Garuda statues from the 13th century in Nepal (Figure 8) and from the 17th century in Tibetan Buddhism (Figure 9). In Figure 8, a gilded statue of Garuda is depicted, resplendent in gold, adorned with crowns on both head and hands, featuring a bird-like beak and a fierce facial expression. This depiction showcases two arms with human hands, while from the navel downwards, Garuda assumes the form of an eagle, with feet elongated into bird claws. Figure 9 presents a half-length golden statue of Garuda, entirely gilded, representing a crowned head, a bird-like beak, and a face expressing intense anger. It is evident that these resemblances are linked to the Garuda image from 5th century India (the bird-headed, human-bodied characteristics demonstrated in Figure 6 and Figure 7), as well as similarities such as crowns with décor, bird claws, and bird beaks to the Garuda described in Tantric texts Jialouluo ji zhutian miyan jing from the Tang Dynasty. The comparison mentioned suggests that the evolution of the Garuda image in 8th century Tang Dynasty China is not an isolated occurrence.

As for Deng Bowen, the longest extant ritual manual devoted to him is the Great Method of Celestial Lord Deng, the Statutory Commander of Scorching Fire (欻火鄧天君大法) (DZ. 1220 j. 80 Xuhuo Dengtianjun dafa) written by a Daoist named Yang Gengchang (楊耕常 1208–1227) from Yanping of Fujian province, in the first half of the 13th century. The description of Deng’s appearance is as follows:

With fiery red hair and a regal golden crown, Deng possesses three eyes and a blue face, while his beak resembles that of a phoenix, and his wings are fleshy. In his left hand, he brandishes a drill, and he wields a hammer in his right. His body stands bare, adorned with vermilion Yingluo encircling his arms and legs, each sporting five claws and adorned with golden rings, green sash, and draped in a crimson, flowing apron secured with straps, two heads emerge from beneath his wings: one on the left governs the winds, and the one on the right commands the rains. He is engulfed in a blazing fire that envelops his entire form, atop a vermilion, unadorned dragon.

赤髮金冠，三目青面，鳳嘴肉翅；左手執鑽，右手執槌；赤體朱纏絡，手足皆五爪，上帶金環，綠風帶，紅吊褪裙，兩翼下二頭：左主風，右主雨。徧體烈火，乘赤龍

(DZ. 1220 j. 80 Xuhuo Dengtianjun dafa)9。

Through textual comparison, similarities emerge between this description and the Scripture of the Garuda and Various Celestial Mantras translated by the renowned Tang Dynasty monk, Boruoli (般若力).

From a perspective of their divine functions, Garuda possesses the ability to control earth, water, fire, and wind, which can be manifested through esoteric mantras. This is similar to the divine function of Deng Bowen in summoning rain and sunny weather. The Scripture of the Garuda and Various Celestial Mantras describes the following:

On the one hand, Garuda should be represented in the form of a bird, encircling, and supporting, while on the other hand, he should possess the power of control...At the moment of descent, he focused on water, fire, wind, and earth; it is also as if they are inverted and interchanged. Even the dragons are subdued by him, the rest can be also subdued. All deities rely on him, and the four realms look up to him. He possesses a compassionate and modest heart and some executing methods to rescue or liberate; Garuda is born as an animal. The feathered tribe is subdued and strengthened by him, and he can save the world. The ruler of the three realms and the deities of the five elements, they all realize the truth body (or the true body), and they fully transmit the original sound, the Dragon King obeys his command, and the Heavenly Emperor fears his power.

一以鳥形環僂。一以法禁迦持…降之際專注地水火風空亦如之翻覆互用。龍尚被制。其餘可知…萬神所依。四生彼仰。具悲慜心。演拔濟法。以為迦樓羅傍生。羽族攝伏若斯憑之增修。可以救世…三界之主。五大之神。具成真身。俱傳本音。龍王受令。天帝懼威

(Jialouluo ji zhutian miyan jing迦樓羅及諸天密言經 T 21, No. 1278)。

Through the text comparisons made above between Garuda and Deng’s image attributes analysis (see

Table 1. Image-Based Comparison of Garuda and Deng Bowen.

Comparison from Images
Aspect	Garuda	Deng Bowen	Similarity Comparison
Face	With a crown adorned with décor and flowing hair A nose resembling an eagle’s beak, and a green color. 寶冠發鬘…鼻若鷹嘴而作綠色	Red hair, golden crown, three-eyed blue face. 赤髮金冠，三目青面	Precious crown/golden crown.
Beak and wings	With a nose resembling an eagle’s beak and a green color, wings like a bird spread out in both directions. 鼻若鷹嘴而作綠色，翅如鸟而两向舒	Phoenix beak and fleshy wings. 鳳嘴肉翅	Bird beak, bird wings/fleshy wings.
Yingluo (瓔珞)	Adorned with Yingluo and celestial robes. Entirely golden. 環釧天衣瓔珞。通身金色	A bare red body wrapped by vermilion Yingluo. 赤體朱纏絡	Adorned with Yingluo.
Hands and Hand Décor	With precious décor, flowing hair, and adorned on the shoulders, arms, and wrists, all with precious décors... Extending five fingers in a gesture of granting wishes, his beak, shin, and claws are with colorful diamond treasures. 寶冠發鬘披肩臂腕皆有寶冠… 舒五指施願勢，其嘴脛及爪皆是彩金剛寶所成	All limbs have five claws, adorned with golden rings. 手足皆五爪，上帶金環	Limbs with 5 claws of fingers/Limbs with décors.
Hands and gesture	With four arms, two hands form a great seal. The fingers of both hands interlock, pressing left against right. The open palms meet at the heart center. The other two hands hang down. 四臂二正手結大印。兩手指頭相交左押右。虛心合掌以印當心。餘二手垂下	Holding a drill in the left hand, while a hammer in the right hand. 左手執鑽， 右手執槌	Both hands are in function, but the images are not totally equal one to another.

) and divine functions analysis (see

Table 2. Comparison of the Functions between Garuda and Deng Bowen.

Comparison of the Functions
Garuda	At the moment of descent, he focused on water, fire, wind, and earth; it is also as if they are inverted and interchanged. 降之際專注地水火風空亦如之翻覆互用
Deng Bowen	Deng swiftly moves thunder and lightning, raises winds and spreads clouds, shaking with tremendous thunderbolts. He implements rain and sunshine as he pleases. He makes symbols and proclamations everywhere, while winds and fires obediently follow... One humbly requests the heavenly fire of the Thunder Emperor, windy fire from the earthly God, the yang fire as well as the yin fire of the Thunder God, the true fire of the earth. With the flowing golden fire bell, the god can cast fire for thousands of miles, suppressing and controlling evil spirits. One can pray for clear skies and rain, rescue the dead, and save the living. 疾速運雷掣電，起風布雲，大震霹靂。晴雨隨意寫入 符檄到處，風火奉行…謹請天雷帝火，地雷風火，陽雷神火，陰雷金火，土雷真火，流金火鈴，擲火萬里，威制魔靈。祈晴禱雨，濟死度生

and the description followed), it becomes evident that both deities share many similarities. Although their hands are equipped with different items, both are in function.

The respective scriptures mentioned above offer some signs suggesting that there was an exchange and interdependent development of Deng Bowen and Garuda in terms of their iconographies and divine functional role. The growing prominence of Tantric Buddhism in China during the Tang Dynasty exerted an influence on Daoism, potentially paralleling a reciprocal relationship between Buddhism and Daoism dating back to earlier dynasties. This phenomenon suggests a parallel path of influence, mirroring the interdependence observed between Tantric and Daoist deities.

Thus, if we go back to the iconographical analysis, how did the image of Deng, blended with Garuda’s figures during the Tang Dynasty, develop thereafter following the Song Dynasty? In my view, Daozi’s Ink Treasures (道子墨寶) played a crucial role as intermediaries in this process.

Daozi’s Ink Treasures is a set of elaborate-style paintings (工筆畫) realized with meticulous ink and outline drawings on paper, depicting figures from Daoist and Buddhist narratives. The entire set comprises 50 pages, and it is believed to be the work of Wu Daozi (吳道子 685–758) from the Tang Dynasty or his artistic lineage in later dynasties. However, experts like Mr. Wang Zhongxu from the Palace Museum and Professor Jin Weinuo from the Central Academy of Fine Arts have pointed out that Daozi’s Ink Treasures was created during the Song Dynasty (Jin 1980, pp. 19–22, Wang 2013, p. 23).

Regarding the artistic style of Daozi’s Ink Treasures, in my opinion, the art set’s style may date back to that of the Tang Dynasty. That is to say, it was created by artists who followed the earlier style of Wu Daozi from the Tang Dynasty, representing the aesthetic influence of the Tang Dynasty on a Song Dynasty painting. Within this art set, the image of Deng Bowen is portrayed with a bird’s beak, human head, and fleshy wings. He grips a hammer with his left hand and a drill with his right (see Figure 10). Overall, Deng’s image shows the influence of the bird–human-formed Thunder God image as well as Garuda since the Tang Dynasty. However, the name “Deng Bowen” does not appear in any Tang Dynasty texts; this deity emerged in the form of images and texts only since the Song and Yuan Dynasties.

As aforementioned, Deng Bowen has fleshy wings, while Garuda has bird wings. Meanwhile, some early studies assumed that Garuda is characterized by bat fleshy wings. In the silk scroll Painting of Vaisravana dating back to the Tang period, the earliest depiction of the bat-like deity with fleshy wings appeared, which was considered as Garuda by Marc Aurel Stein (1862–1943), as he described Garuda as a figure that may be safely identifiable and targeted to be shot in the air (Stein 1980) (See Figure 11, which can be found as pl.LXXII, pp. 942–943 in Serindia). This description implies a possibility that bird–human-shaped Thunder Gods, including Deng, were transmitted with the fleshy wings from Garuda since the Tang period.

Furthermore, in Daozi’s Ink Treasures, there is also an image of Zhang Yuanbo, who has a human head with a bird’s beak, holding an axe in his right hand and a tablet in his left, carrying a thunder drum on his back, and sporting fleshy wings (see Figure 12). From a visual perspective, Zhang Yuanbo appears to be another example of transmitting and preserving the Tang Dynasty’s tradition of the bird–human-bodied Thunder God. To support this, we can find confirmation in a later period text that might follow this iconography. The Key of Jade Pivot scripture (Yushu jing yue玉樞經鑰, edited in 1845) describes Zhang Yuanbo as “holding a thunder axe in his right hand and a thunder drill in his left, or else, holding a flag in his right hand and a written tablet in his left” (Yao 1994, pp. 787–88). This description corresponds to the image of Zhang Yuanbo in Daozi’s Ink Treasures.

4. The Image of Deng Bowen: The Mutual Proof between Ritual Text and Fieldwork Evidence

As aforementioned, Deng Bowen is a member of the Three Thunder Marshals, among whom Deng showed his attributes in Daozi’s Ink Treasures. If Deng Bowen is present in living traditions today, it will provide some complementary proof, from an ethnographical perspective, for this study.

The Leizhou area was an important location in the Tang Dynasty where the Thunder God Chen Wenyu was personalized and revered. Its distinctive features today enable connections to be made with developments during the medieval period. The existing field phenomena concerning Leishou (Thunder Chief 雷首) in the Leizhou region, along with the worship of the Thunder God since the Tang Dynasty, can corroborate the evolutionary portrayal of Deng Bowen as outlined in the preceding arguments.

According to field research conducted by Professor He Xi, the Leizhou region worshipped the Thunder God known as the Thunder Chief, described by her as having bird–human attributes. In the local tradition, he is referred to as Deng Tian (鄧天).

In the village of Shanwei, Songzhu Town, Leizhou area, during the 13th day of the first lunar month, a ritual known as Leinuo (雷儺) is held in the village temple. During this ceremony, Daoist priests invite deities, including the Thunder Chief and the Five Thunder Generals, to bless the New Year. According to He Xi’s ethnographical observations and the text The Thunder Song of Imperial Decree Ship 敕船雷歌 that she cited, in addition to prayers, some deities also participate in the procession of the Leinuo ritual along with the Thunder Chief. Their main function is to purify the environment. The Daoist priests chant a song (歌) which includes verses like:

Thunder Chief Deng Tian holds command, vanquishing demons with mighty force. The Five Thunder Generals from the five directions and the valiant heroes wield their weapons to eliminate evil... By chasing away demons and evil, peace will reign in our village in all seasons... (雷首鄧天兼主令，逐遣妖魔無蠻彈，五方五雷英雄將，奮武威揚征邪蹤，各持軍器皆齊備，追遣災邪一掃完…征去邪魔好得添，四季安寧本村莊…).

(He 2009, p. 157)10

From the photo taken by He, we can find that the Thunder Chief was characterized as “having vermilion eyebrows, blue-faced with a bird-like beak, holding a battle axe high in the left hand, and a drill in the right hand”. (For the Thunder Chief’s image in Leizhou, please refer to He’s relevant studies for further information (He 2009, p. 164).

Through a dual comparison of textual and iconographical attribute evidence in her study, in my opinion, the Thunder Chief in the Leizhou region is highly likely to be the same as Deng Bowen. I will proceed to argue this from the perspectives of name and divine weapons.

First of all, in High and Supreme Divine Methods of Five Thunders for Exorcising (Gaoshang shenxiao yushu zhankan wulei dafa 高上神霄玉樞斬勘五雷大法 (DZ 1220 j. 61, edited in the Northern Song by Wang Wenqing (Hsieh 2023, p. 78), Deng Bowen is described as “Deng Bowen, the Revered Marshal who is supreme and primordial, the Thunder Chief who controls Nine Heavens, the Grand Celestial Marshal, the fiery cloud Lord, and the Grand God who is sage and filial in charge of swift fire and the law of obliteration” (元上玄皇至尊九天雷首欻火律令大仙都天元帥都煙炎雲帝君大忠大孝欻火律令大神鄧伯溫) (DZ 1220 j. 61: Gaoshang shenxiao yushu zhankan wulei dafa 高上神霄玉樞斬勘五雷大法), where the “Leishou” is exactly cited.

Secondly, it is important to note that Deng Bowen’s typical weapons are the thunder hammer and thunder drill, but the thunder axe was actually mentioned in Dong Xuan’s Divine Method for the Great Thunderbolt of Jade Pivot (compiled around the beginning of Ming) (DZ 1220 j. 153: Dongxuan shuyu leiting dafa 洞玄玉樞雷霆大法) and is also considered an important implement (法器) of Deng Bowen. The weapons of Deng are thus correlated to what is used by the Thunder Chief in the Leizhou area such as axe and drill.

The Thunder Chief is totally distinct from the anthropomorphic thunder deity Chen Wenyu, known as the earliest personalized thunder deity. As she observed, in the Leizhou region, there are two Thunder Gods with anthropomorphic characteristics as follows: Chen Wenyu and the local deity Thunder Chief. This phenomenon invoked my curiosity to explore if the coexistence of indigenous Thunder Gods11 and other Thunder Gods could be traced back to the Tang Dynasty.

When it comes to the worship of the Thunder God since the Tang Dynasty, according to Wang Chengwen’s analysis, the animal-shaped Thunder God from Northern China emerged in Leizhou during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (713–41) as a result of contemporary societal changes in the southern coastal regions of Lingnan. This transition was influenced by the constraints and suppression imposed by the central authority of the Tang Dynasty. The decline in worship of the Thunder God by the Chen clan, who governed Leizhou and revered Chen Yi as the local Thunder God, coincided with the erosion of their political privileges. Consequently, people adopted the animal-shaped Thunder God from Northern China in the Leizhou Peninsula, leading to a coexistence of Chen Yi and the Northern Thunder God with animal features (Wang 2018, pp. 924–25).

The bird-figured deity now known as the Thunder Chief, worshipped in a side hall of the Thunder Ancestral Hall 雷祖閣 of the Thunder Ancestral Temple雷祖祠 and is a product of this evolutionary process, reflecting the trend of Thunder God representations with animalistic attributes observed across China during the Tang Dynasty (Wang 2018, p. 953). Based on this rationale, it is plausible to hypothesize that a fusion of avian Thunder Gods with humanoid Thunder Gods occurred in Leizhou during the Tang Dynasty. This fusion likely represented a turning point in the evolution of Deng Bowen’s image.

Building on previous discussions regarding both the bird-shaped Thunder God and the portrayal of Deng Bowen, it is reasonable to suggest that Thunder Chief could indeed be Deng Bowen. Considering my earlier argument establishing a strong connection between Deng Tian (Thunder Chief) and Deng Bowen (also known as Deng Tianjun), it is conceivable that Deng Tian might be an alternative identity of Deng Bowen, emerging in the Leizhou region during the Tang Dynasty. While tangible evidence of the name “Deng Bowen” in Tang Dynasty texts has yet to be uncovered, exploring potential interconnections between Garuda and Deng through this avenue could be a promising direction for my future research endeavors.

5. Conclusions

The Tang Dynasty was a significant period for the development of the Chinese Thunder God’s image which laid an important foundation for the image and functions of the Chinese Thunder Gods. During this era, on the one hand, the Thunder God iconographically received and developed the core elements of a traditional Thunder God image of more ancient China. On the other hand, thanks to the case of Chen Wenyu, the emergence of the contemporarily personalized Thunder God during the Tang Dynasty paved the way for the human-formed formation of the Thunder God pantheon in the Song Dynasty and the later eras.

As mentioned before, Thunder Gods in the Tang Dynasty had various animalistic forms. Among these forms, the human–bird-shaped one absorbed, during the inter-religious fusion of Daoism and Tantric Buddhism, the religious interaction of images and functions from earlier Thunder Gods and Tantric Buddhist deities. In the Song Dynasty (it can possibly date back to Tang), Daoism (especially the Divine Empyrean lineage) chose Deng Bowen’s image as an important vehicle to preserve and propagate the absorption and transmission result both from Tantric divinities and from ancient Chinese Gods. By analyzing as such, we can elucidate the evolutionary progression of the image of the Chinese Thunder Gods depicted in human–bird form, among which Deng Bowen represents a typical case of Chinese Thunder Gods.

This study can be concluded with a logical outline of Deng’s iconographical transmission as follows: Deng’s image traces its roots to the Chinese bird-shaped Thunder Duke’s representation predating the Tang Dynasty. It assimilated a blend of inter-religious images and functions from earlier Chinese Thunder deities and Tantric Buddhist deities during the Tang period. Significantly, Garuda played a pivotal role as a source in Deng’s image development, with Boruoli translating his image interpretation, which gained recognition during the Tang period. Additionally, Deng was shaped by the personalization of the Thunder God during the Tang era and its personalized form endured through preservation and continuation in Daozi’s Ink Treasures from the Tang to the Song. The propagation of Deng’s image was significantly influenced by his crucial status as one of the Three Thunder Marshals, as affirmed by the Divine Empyrean lineage since the Song. Consequently, Deng Bowen’s image has developed and steadily evolved to its present form, involving textual and iconographical interpretations. The contemporary ethnographic evidence from the Leizhou region suggests that a probable merging of avian Thunder Gods with humanoid Thunder Gods might have taken place in Leizhou during the Tang Dynasty.