Opinions differ over the origins and function of this popular religion deity. His images have been noted in temples in Hong Kong, Macau and to a lesser extent in South-east Asia [Singapore, Bangkok, Medan, Negri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur] though apart from one image in a small shophouse temple in Kaohsiung, it has not been seen in Taiwan. The title Hua Kuang is recorded on the Eighth Tablet of the Rules of the Triad Society, possibly the best known of Chinese secret societies. Whereas his image has been noted in numerous Cantonese and Hainanese temples, and his titles on plaques in Ch'aochou temples, his image has only once been noted in a Fukienese temple, in Ipoh. However, a mural on the walls of a Fukienese temple in Singapore depicting the Celestial Generals includes Hua Kuang.

It is said nowadays that Hua Kuang is not prayed to for a specific benefit, but because he is a powerful deity and, more specifically, with the ear of the supreme deity, the Jade Emperor. Several temple keepers in Hong Kong explained that Hua Kuang is rarely prayed to by individuals for themselves but rather by the community as he is the God of Fire, protecting them against such perils. He is also regarded as a particularly powerful demon destroyer and again he protects the community rather than individuals against their depredations.

Some Cantonese and Hainanese devotees have claimed that he is the patron of actors and actresses, that he is Erh Lang under a different title [also see below]; or a Buddhist deity, a celestial king better known in Buddhist circles as Sariputra, the right hand aide to Sakyamuni, known to Chinese devotees as Hua Kuang Fu.

In northern and central China, apart from being identified as Chih Hui , one of the principal disciples of Sakyamuni Buddha who died with the Buddha but was destined to return under the title of Hua Kuang, he was also considered to be one of the five Gods of the Five Roads, Wu Tao §≠ πD; a wealth god called Hua Kuang Ts'ai-shen : and in the silk producing areas he was the patron of silk merchants to whom he was the Lord of All the Silkworm Deities.

He is claimed in Hainanese community temples in South-east Asia to be a particular patron of their ethnic group, and in several Hainanese temples Hua Kuang is said to have special powers to cure those who have been bewitched. Also, in Cantonese communities he is the patron of gold and silver smiths, of scaffolding workers, and of incense and funeral paper shops. Some religious paper and funeral paper shops in Hong Kong central display large prints of Hua Kuang as their patron on their shop shrines. A shop keeper in a religious paper shop in Hong Kong explained that it is only with Hua Kuang's guidance that he can prepare and make paper houses, horses, cars and the like which living individuals who do not know what the dead relative really requires and have ordered without being able to give specific instructions. This he does by means of messengers to the Underworld who seek out the soul of the particular deceased to discover what are his or her specific requirements. The messengers are minions of Hua Kuang who help translate their wishes into thoughts within the head of the shop keeper. He added that Hua Kuang is powerful and people who revere him need fear no one. Hua Kuang's protective powers are such that trouble makers and dangerous influences are kept well out of the way of devotees. The temple keeper also explained that the deity's third eye is used for direct communication between the deity and his Lord, the Jade Emperor.

Some believe that he is one of the Twenty-four Celestial Lords and also one of the four Guards of Heaven, the others being Kuan Kung, Wei T'o and Wang T'ien-shih. In South-east Asia he was worshipped by immigrants from Kuangtung province as he was considered to be a guardian against exploitation. In Johore Bahru a temple contains five images each, one is informed, represents a Chinese immigrant ethnic group, and Hua Kuang represents the Cantonese. Several Cantonese devotees have claimed that Hua Kuang is prayed to for a successful marriage, though this belief appears to be limited to Kowloon. His titles appear on several Pearl River boat people's plaques on the junk altars in and around Aberdeen and the island of Lantau in Hong Kong.

It is unusual for such a major deity as Hua Kuang to have so little legend or myth attributed to him. A story told in the Feng-shen Yen-i of a district official by the name of Wu Hsien , under suspicion of being a thief, explained how he proved himself innocent by his good deeds, and was deified with the title of Hua Kuang.

Temple keepers in Hong Kong and Macau have voiced opinions which they have attempted to substantiate with explanatory stories. One said that Hua Kuang had been an actor himself, though he was unable to add to this snippet. The temple keeper claimed that a framed picture or tablet bearing Hua Kuang's title is displayed backstage at all theatricals and prayed to by performers before every performance to request his support during the play or opera, more specifically to avoid such horrors as false steps, memory blocks, etc. No image of Hua Kuang is ever kept backstage, only his tablet. Another temple keeper added to this by suggesting that actors worshipped Hua Kuang not as the patron of actors so much as the God of Fire as theatres, nearly always temporary structures of bamboo, were extremely vulnerable to fire.

In the various fictionalised biographies, such as The Journey to the South [Nan-yu Chi] which describes Hua Kuang’s supernatural career, Hua Kuang is not a particularly sympathetic character. He quarrels with everyone and is a sanctimonious individual.

Bishop Gray in 1878 in his Walks in the City of Canton noted that Hua Kuang in Canton was believed to be one of the five heavenly messengers from the gods, the Wu Hsien , brothers in human guise who visited Earth during the T'ang dynasty. Gray explained that throughout the eighth lunar month in Canton there was rejoicing in honour of Hua Kuang, as the God of Fire, and images of his idols were occasionally borne through the streets of the city. He added that Hua Kuang has three eyes, the middle one was not only able to see near objects but also discern those more than a thousand li away.

Standard images of Hua Kuang have four characteristics which, standing or sitting, together identify him. He is clean-shaven, has a third eye in the centre of his forehead, he holds a pyramidal lump of metal [gold] in his left hand, and a sword or spear in his right. Quite frequently he is to be seen without either the sword or spear, and very occasionally he holds an ingot instead of the 'pyramid', and wears heavily decorated armour. Also, when he does not hold a weapon the first finger on his left hand is crossed over the second finger in a mystic sign as it rests palm down on his knee.

Note that a number of Chinese are quite certain that Hua Kuang is another title for the deity Yang Chien, the nephew of the Jade Emperor. Yang Chien, though also known as Erh Lang, is also confused in many minds, though the preponderant view amongst temple keepers is that they are three different deities with similar functions and several characteristics in common. It has to be remembered that Yang Chien [i.e. Erh Lang] has a dog whilst Hua Kuang does not. Erh Lang, like Hua Kuang, has three eyes, holds a spear in one hand and a 'shoe' of gold in the other but is accompanied by his small dog, the Celestial Dog who obeys all his wishes. This is the same animal seen with the deity Chang Hsien who is armed with a bow and fires arrows at the, in this instance evil dog, to prevent it from devouring new born children.


Hua Kuang's image has been identified in more than forty temples in Malaysia and Singapore, and although never as the main deity in the temples within the two former Colonies. it has been noted in at least 17 temples in Hong Kong and six in Macau. In Hong Kong he is, however, the main deity on a secondary altar, stage left of the main deity, and in one of the temples in Macau he is attended by two demonic youths bearing, one a spear and the other a gourd, the latter containing medicine to cure deformed children. Hua Kuang in this latter temple is widely known for his ability to cure children with congenital mental defects and brain damage. Also, although there is a tablet dedicated to Hua Kuang in a shrine in the main hall of a kung-fu club in central Macau where he is considered to be their patron. Sadly no one was able to explain why.

In Mantin in central Malaysia his image, alone on a secondary altar, is portrayed standing with one foot on a cockerel and the other on a snake, and in Macau a main deity on a secondary altar is portrayed as a young man with three eyes, sitting side saddle on a recumbent mythological animal. Hua Kuang Ta-ti is the main deity in a small temple in Brisbane, Australia, with somewhat surprisingly, Ch'ien-li Yen and Shun-feng Erh flanking his image as his aides.

In Szechuan province Ma Hua Kuang , depicted in a temple as a general clutching a knotted whip or sword in one hand and a lump of gold with an eye in another. He was known locally as Ma Ling-kuan . His poverty stricken mother died when he was still only a child, before she had time to earn merit for the afterlife. As she was dying she told her son that a host of demons was about to bear her off to the worst of hells, and so after her death her young son, mourning and filial, wondered how best he could help her. He sat day after day weeping when suddenly an old man appeared and told him that if he wished to save his mother the boy should study and become an Immortal. The boy followed the Tao and was finally accepted by the Jade Emperor who, on account of his extraordinary filial piety and behaviour presented him not only with a gold brick, a third eye, and also an eighteen-foot long snake spear but also with a number of other magic objects and permission for the son to seek out his mother in the Underworld. There he heard his mother's cries of agony under torture in the worst of hells; he begged for her release but was refused, so he threw the gold brick which broke open the doors of hell, killed the demons tormenting his mother and carried her back to Earth. He was deified with the title of Wu Hsien Ling-kuan §≠ ≈„ ∆F ©x . This story is a Taoist version of the Buddhist story about Mu Lien and his mother.

Hua Kuang's birthday is generally celebrated by devotees on the 28th of the ninth lunar month; however, in some places his annual festival is held on the 27th of the ninth, the double fifth [Kaohsiung], and in Malaysia in at least five temples on the 4th of the eighth lunar month.

In 1843, so the story goes, an English army officer brought a statue of Hua Kuang from Chin-chiang Fu to Macau where he presented it to a lady. Before she moved to India she auctioned her furniture and amongst the goods for sale was the image. A Chinese, attracted by it, realised from its eyes that it had been consecrated, bought it for HK $30 and installed it over a shop. A public meeting was called and resolutions passed to improve the propitious opportunity to obtain and preserve the protective power of so powerful a deity. A pavilion was erected and later a small temple on a small island off Macau where the image of Hua Kuang was enshrined amidst theatrical entertainment and great celebrations, with a man hired to keep the image and the temple in good order.


Hua Kuang is known by several titles, some straight forward but others are confused and ambiguous: [beware of confusing Hua Kuang with an entirely different deity, Wu Hsien Ta-ti §≠ ≈„ §j ´“ ]

Wu Hsien Wei-ling Hua Kang Ta-ti full title [Tambun : Malaysia]


Wu Hsien Ling-t'ung [or Kuan] Hua Kuang Ta-ti

Hua Kuang T’ien-wang

Hua Kuang Hsien-shih

Hua Kuang Ti-chün

Hua Kuang Tsu-shih

Hua Kuang Fu



Note: Confusion with a separate deity, Erh Lang [Yang Chien] as described above

Whilst Hua Kuang has little legendary background Erh Lang is an Immortal capable of marvellous feats which were a great asset during the wars between the Shang and Chou described in the legendary novel the Feng-shen Yen-i.

In a small temple in Singapore Hua Kuang Ta-ti, said to be the same deity as Erh Lang, was described as a demon destroyer with a military version, Erh Lang with his dog, and dressed in armour as the civil version. Hua Kuang is portrayed sitting in the robes of a scholar-official and holding his pyramid of gold.
who formerly reigned in the Potala in Xizang.
Berkowitz, Brandauer and Reed : Folk Religion in an Urban Setting : Hong Kong : 1969
Gray J H : the Archdeacon of Hong Kong : China : London : 1878
See also the story of Guan Yin with a beard, also attracting men.
see Linshui Furen for another legend about the bridge over the Luoyang.
Guan Yin’s oracles transmitted to devotees and to priests in dreams has been a comparatively common occurence.
Lewisohn Wm and Arlington L C : In Search of Old Peking : 1935