Heng and Ha

Heng and Ha at Erwang Temple, in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China.

Heng and Ha (simplified Chinese: 哼哈二将; traditional Chinese: 哼哈二將; pinyin: Hēng Hā Ėr Jiàng) are two generals of the Shang dynasty in Chinese mythology, featured within the famed classic Chinese fantasy novel Investiture of the Gods written by Ming dynasty writers Xu Zhonglin and Lu Xinxing in the late 16th century and early 17th century.[1] They are also guards (Buddha's warrior attendant) of Buddhist temples in China.[2]

Novel

In the Investiture of the Gods, the Heng (哼) or Hengjiang (哼将; "General Heng") is named Zheng Lun (郑伦; 鄭倫) and the Ha (哈) or Hajiang (哈将; "General Ha") is named Chen Qi (陈奇; 陳奇), both are officials of guarding the grain in the Shang dynasty. Finally, Jiang Ziya canonized and added them to Feng Shen Bang's list (封神榜).[1]

Buddhism

In Chinese Buddhism, Heng and Ha are two guards of Buddhist temples. They are usually placed on both sides of the Shanmen. They hold Vajras (short metal weapon that has the symbolic nature of a diamond), namely "Nryana" (Buddha's warrior attendant) or "Yakasha Deity" (夜叉神) or "Zhi Jin Gang" (执金刚; 執金剛) in Chinese. The Vajra originally refers to the short metal weapon of king of all heavenly deities Indra in Indian Buddhist deities and symbolizes solidness and sharpness in Buddhism. Nryana is a Dharmapala who protects Buddhism with his Vajra in his hand.[2]

Originally, there is only one Nryana in Buddhism, after the introduction of Buddhism from India to China, it have a profound influence on Chinese traditional culture and folk customs. In order to meet Chinese custom of being in pairs, Chinese people cast two Nryana to safeguard the Shanmen of Buddhist temples. They are wearing crowns, ethereal clothes with their upper bodies exposed, with well-developed muscles and short skirts. They have widely open eyes and protruding noses, holding Vajras in their hands, and glaring the ground awesomely and angrily. The right one, has its mouth open to pronounce the sound "a", while the other has it closed to utter the sound "heng". The symbolism is the same already seen. The generic name for statues with an open mouth is Ha (哈; "a" shape), that for those with a closed mouth Heng (哼; "heng" shape"). The two sounds are the start and end sounds in Sanskrit, symbolizing the basis of sounds and bearing the profound theory of Dharma.[2] It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in Japan and Korea. In Japan, Heng and Ha are called A-un.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Xu Zhonglin & Lu Xinxing (2005), p. 709–718.
  2. 1 2 3 Zi Yan (2012), p. 25–26.

Bibliography

  • Zi Yan (2012-08-01). Famous Temples in China. Beijing: Time Publishing and Media Co., Ltd. ISBN 978-7-5461-3146-7.
  • Xu Zhonglin; Lu Xinxing (2005). 《封神演义》 [Investiture of the Gods] (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House. ISBN 7-5325-3927-X.

Further reading

  • Zhang Yuhuan (2012). 《图解中国佛教建筑》 [Illustration of Buddhist Architecture in China] (in Chinese). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5154-0118-8.
  • Wang Guixiang (2016-06-17). 《中国汉传佛教建筑史——佛寺的建造、分布与寺院格局、建筑类型及其变迁》 [The History of Chinese Buddhist Temples] (in Chinese). Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. ISBN 9787302427056.


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