Fang Brothers

The Fang Brothers, Fang Bi (Chinese: 方弼; pinyin: Fāng Bì) and Fang Xiang (Chinese: 方相; pinyin: Fāng Xiàng), are two palace guards under King Zhou of the Shang dynasty featured within the famed classic Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods (more commonly known as Fengshen Yanyi).

In Fengshen Yanyi

At one point in time, following the cruel death of Queen Jiang, every high-ranking official would discuss matters with Huang Feihu -- the Fang Brothers being included. Soon enough, the brothers would spout the words, "King Zhou is vicious and mindless. He killed his queen, and now he wants to kill his two sons! We are rebelling! We the brothers are taking these two princes to East Lu State to seek help." Thus, the two brothers charged through the gates each with a prince under their arms; with their great brute strength, no one was able to stop them. Once Huang Feihu attained the Dragon-Phoenix Sword to supposedly subdue the Fang Brothers, he would instead meet up with them and plan their resolved route. Soon enough, it had been decided that Fang Xiang would go to the Grand Duke of the South and ask for troops to avenge the death of the queen, while Fang Bi brought the two young princes to the Grand Duke of the East. In the end, Jiang Ziya granted divine titles to Fang Bi and Fang Xiang after defeating the enemy. Fang Bi was honored as the 'God of Manifestation', while Fang Xiang was honored as the 'God of Opening the Path'.^[1]^[2]

Worship

Throughout history, they were venerated as door gods by the people, establishing themselves as the original folk door gods even before the Tang dynasty. They also stood out as among the earliest door gods depicted with their real names, a tradition that would later be adopted by figures such as Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong. This underscores the immense reverence in which Fang Bi and Fang Xiang were held by the people, to the extent that they were revered as divine figures.^[3]^[4]

References

^ 中国古代小说大全集 (in Chinese). Beijing Book Co. Inc. 1 January 2019. ISBN 978-7-999008-08-8.
^ 封神演義（封神榜）: 媲美哈利波特的超凡想像力，更勝哈利波的曲折鬥法 (in Chinese). 谷月社. 28 April 2015.
^ "民艺-赏析-方弼、方相". 湖北美术社简 (Hubei Fine Arts Society) (in Chinese).
^ "年画重回春节十八家国家级传统年画齐聚北京迎春纳福-中国经济网". www.ce.cn (in Chinese).

Investiture of the Gods chapter 8

[1] 中国古代小说大全集 (in Chinese). Beijing Book Co. Inc. 1 January 2019. ISBN 978-7-999008-08-8.

[2] 封神演義（封神榜）: 媲美哈利波特的超凡想像力，更勝哈利波的曲折鬥法 (in Chinese). 谷月社. 28 April 2015.

[3] "民艺-赏析-方弼、方相". 湖北美术社简 (Hubei Fine Arts Society) (in Chinese).

[4] "年画重回春节十八家国家级传统年画齐聚北京迎春纳福-中国经济网". www.ce.cn (in Chinese).

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