Shunfeng'er
| Shunfeng'er | |||||||||
A statue of Shunfeng'er at Longde Temple in Tainan
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| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||
| Literal meaning | Wind-following Ear(s) | ||||||||
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| Wanli'er | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||
| Literal meaning | Myriad-Mile Ear(s) | ||||||||
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| Shi Kuang | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Shùnfēng'ěr |
| Wade–Giles | Shun-fêng-êrh |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Wànlǐ'ěr |
| Wade–Giles | Wan-li-êrh |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Shī Kuàng |
| Wade–Giles | Shih K‘uang |
Shunfeng'er is a Chinese sea and door god. He usually appears with Qianliyan as a guardian of the temples of the sea goddess Mazu.
The name "Shunfeng'er" literally means "He with Ears that Follow the Wind" in reference to his ability to hear any sound carried upon the wind. The unusual idiom is translated variously as "Ears that Hear with the Wind", "Ears that Hear what Comes on the Wind", "Ears that Hear the Sounds Taken with the Wind", "Wind-Accompanying Ears", "Downwind Ears", or even "Sharp Ears", "Far-Hearing", or "All-Hearing". The god's role in helping sailors distinguish favorable winds also prompts the translations "Fair-Wind Ears" and "Favorable-Wind Ears".
It also appears as Shunfeng Er and Shen Feng Er. His partner Qianliyan's name similarly means "Sharp-Eyed" or "All-Seeing".
Under the Ming, Shunfeng'er was also known as Shi Kuang. He is also sometimes known as Wanli'er, which has similar meaning, as the Chinese word wàn—like the English "myriad"—simultaneously means the number 10,000 and "innumerable" or "uncountably vast".
Shunfeng'er is first attested in the early-16th century novel Journey to the West, where he appears as the personified form of the Taoist Jade Emperor's ears and one of his lieutenants. There is, however, an earlier depiction of him in a Sichuan cave which has been dated to the Southern Song. The Chinese folk tale about the Ten Brothers also probably long predates its first publication during the Ming Dynasty; in it, the eldest two brothers have powers just like those of Qianliyan and Shunfeng'er.
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