Gatekeeper - Qianliyan

Rare Edition 1 of 1
Chromoluxe Metal Print
Recycled Wooden Frame
Print Size 18 x 25cm
Frame Size 26 x 30cm

Paired with Gatekeeper - Hawkeye 

Qianlinyan aka Hawkeye first appear in chinese folklore int he novel “journey to the west”. Qianliyan's sharp vision is employed to help protect sailors at night and during fog and other inclement weather. Qian Li Yan, 'meaning thousand miles eye', has the gift of incredible vision, with the ability to see across vast distances, as well as, according to some stories, the future.. Qianliyan is most often portrayed as a demon defeated and tamed or befriended by the sea goddess Mazu. Qianliyan typically appears as a green-skinned demon shielding his eyes from the sun's glare. sometimes called the Fine Water General (水精將軍, shui jing jiang jun), referring to the legend that he can drink vast amounts of water, even preventing floods, and thus is often shown with his mouth slightly open and his fangs showing.

He is the older of two brothers, normally appearing together, with the younger brother “Shun Feng Er” depicted with red skin and his mouth closed, with  his supernatural hearing he could hear the enemy generals discussing their war plans and giving orders.

Desperate to counter this advantage, the Zhou had the idea of blocking the brothers' skills, and one day their men were ordered to line up, waving flags and banging drums. When the brothers went to spy on the enemy camp that day, the older one's vision was blocked by the flags, while the younger's hearing was drowned out by the drums. Having lost this crucial source of intelligence, the Shang army was put on the back foot, and the brothers were killed in a bloody battle. The Zhou went on to succeed the Shang as China's next dynasty, and the brothers' violent deaths left their spirits tied to the place of their death, a place called Peach Blossom Mountain (桃花山). They became bored, and their spirits became vengeful, terrorizing the local people.

Hearing of the plight of the brothers' victims, the goddess Mazu (Matzu, 媽祖) decided to help them, so she travelled to the mountain where the brothers lived. Confronting them, her far superior power easily overcame them, and begging for their lives to be spared, the brothers promised to reform, and to serve Mazu. Agreeing to this, Mazu took them as her companions, forbidding them from evil and using their abilities to help her.