DEITIES
Dragon Kings: The Chinese believe in five Dragon Kings, four who rule over the seas and one who commands them all: the Dragon King of the North Sea, the Dragon King of the South Sea, the Dragon King of the East Sea, the Dragon King of the West Sea, and the Dragon King of the Center. Hmm … I’m seeing a pattern in their names. These beings live in crystal palaces beneath the water. The Dragon Kings don’t just own pearls and jewels, they eat them. Sounds like an expensive grocery list. They’re powerful enough that they watch over the seas, move mountains, and create massive tidal waves. Plus, the Jade Emperor relies on them for reports about the seas every year.
Erlang Shen: Erlang Shen’s official title is “True Lord, the Great Illustrious Sage,” which is pretty apt since he’s an epic warrior. He’s the god of war and waterways. He’s also the nephew of the Jade Emperor. Erlang Shen has a third, truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead that can sense if a man is honest or not. The eye also gives him X-ray vision, not to mention a surefire way to mess with humans and demons alike. In many stories, his loyal dog, Xiao Tian Quan, never leaves his side. Don’t mistake Erlang Shen for a dog-loving softie, though. Those two combined have and will really mess things up in Heaven. Xiao Tian Quan may be small, but he’s fierce and powerful, and he helps Erlang Shen subdue evil spirits.
Guanyin: Guanyin is commonly worshipped as the goddess of mercy. In some traditions, she’s considered male, but in others, she’s considered female to better represent the qualities of mercy, compassion, and purity, traits customarily thought as feminine. Many pray to this goddess in the hopes that she will relieve suffering or provide help to others.
Jade Emperor: If you thought the Jade Emperor seemed intense at the Lunar New Year banquet, wait until you hear more about him. His full official title is “Peace Absolving, Central August Spirit Exalted, Ancient Buddha, Most Pious and Honorable, His Highness the Jade Emperor, Xuanling High Sovereign.” The fancy title isn’t just for show. He rules all of Heaven, Diyu, and Earth.
Becoming the Jade Emperor was no easy task, though. Once just an ordinary immortal, he hid in a mountain as he passed more than three thousand trials, each lasting three million years. There he cultivated his Tao—the Way, or the process of things coming together while transforming. Wild, right?
The Jade Emperor finally emerged strong enough to defeat the mega-powerful demon that had been wreaking havoc on Earth. Everyone was in awe of the Jade Emperor, mostly because his beard had grown super long while he was busy passing all those trials. Anyway, after he got rid of the demon, the deities named him their supreme ruler.
Meng Po: Meng Po, or the Lady of Forgetfulness, serves Five-Flavored Tea to the dead in Diyu. She makes them forget the memories of their past lives. That way, spirits can reincarnate into their next lives without any burdens, like paying back student loans.
Nezha: Some of Nezha’s many titles include “Third Lotus Prince,” “Third Prince Lord,” “Marshal of the Central Altar,” and “Marshal Zhong Tan.”
Basically, the story of Nezha goes like this: Nezha’s mother was pregnant with him for three and a half years, which was understandably concerning. One day, she finally gave birth—not to an adorable Chinese baby, but to a lotus (or in some versions of the tale, a ball). So Nezha’s father, Li Jing, like any good, gentle parent, whipped out a sword and sliced the lotus wide open to reveal a boy wearing a flaming bracelet on his right wrist. Totally normal birthing process in ancient China. A priest stopped by the family’s house and told the parents to name the boy Nezha.
When he grew up, Nezha used two weapons: his spear and cosmic rings. They were so gobsmackingly powerful that when he swam in the sea with them, they shook the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. The Dragon King of the East Sea didn’t like that, so he sent a messenger to wrestle the weapons away from Nezha. Well, Nezha didn’t like that. He retaliated with one blow of his rings and defeated the messenger. The Dragon King liked that even less, and he sent his third son, Ao Bing, to teach Nezha a lesson. Once again, Nezha struck with his cosmic rings, and Ao Bing shrunk from a vicious dragon into a puny human. They had a giant battle, and eventually Ao Bing lost, because Nezha’s just that epic. From then, Nezha was revered/feared as one of the strongest warriors in the land. So I guess the moral of the story is, really long pregnancies can give babies dragon-defeating powers.
Wenshu: Wenshu is known as the god of wisdom, and he speaks with a boom-y, echo-y, holier-than-thou voice. Don’t think he’s all brains and no brawn, though. Wenshu rides a big, fierce green lion and carries a double-edged flaming sword in his right hand that symbolizes wisdom’s sharpness. In his other hand he holds a blue lotus flower that contains the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, which he can also use to defeat enemies by reading from it and boring them to death.
Xi Wangmu/Queen Mother of the West: Xi Wangmu is the wife of the Jade Emperor. She is associated with the phoenix, the complement to the Jade Emperor’s symbol of the dragon. Many stories depict Xi Wangmu as the guardian of the immortal peaches, which is no easy task, because everyone and their grandmother always tries to steal them. Sick of chasing thieves away for eons, Xi Wangmu was bound to grow cranky and kind of evil. Who can blame her?
DEMONS AND CREATURES
Bull Demon King: In Journey to the West, the Bull Demon King is the husband to Princess Iron Fan and the father of the Red Prince. Long ago, he also became sworn brothers with the Monkey King and six other demons. His true form is an enormous white bull. In The Fallen Hero, the Bull Demon King reveals himself to be the long-lost father of Ashley and Jordan. The siblings are less than enthused by this turn of events.
Dragon: Since ancient times in China, many Chinese have believed that they are “龙的传人” (lóng de chuán rén), which translates to “Descendants of the Dragon.” According to this belief, the Chinese evolved from dragons. Pretty cool origin story, right? A dragon is thought to be a symbol of luck and wealth and is often associated with jade. They are also portrayed as powerful and mighty, which explains why thunder and lightning accompany them when they fly. Dragons can do pretty much anything: swim, fly, guard the gods and their treasure, make it rain (literally and figuratively), become a convenient form of transportation … you name it, they’ve got you covered.
Fenghuang/phoenix: Originally, the term “Fenghuang” referred to two divine birds who often appeared in Chinese mythology. “Feng” refers to the male, and “huang” refers to the female. In translations, “Feng” and “huang” became combined and known to some as a phoenix. But while Fenghuang looks like a Western phoenix, it’s actually a divine bird that symbolizes peace, prosperity, virtue, fortune, the harmony of male and female, and yin and yang. It’s often paired with a dragon in Chinese mythology and imagery, with Fenghuang as the female and the dragon as the male. Fenghuang is also, of course, the name of the coolest weapon around: the Heaven Breaker’s spear.
Horse-Face and Ox-Head: These guys are the two main guards of Diyu. They have animal heads and human bodies, which is just as demonic-looking as it sounds, and they bring souls down to the Underworld.
King Yama: The ruler of Diyu, the Chinese Underworld, King Yama’s job is to sit at a desk all day in front of a line of recently dead humans, perusing his book of Life and Death. Based on how they lived their past lives, he’ll sort them into the different parts of Diyu, like the Mountain of Knives, the Chamber of Mirrors, etc. He’s like Judge Judy, only a lot uglier.