Erlang Shen

This article is about a deity in the Chinese pantheon. For other uses, see Erlang.

Erlang Shen
Relief of Erlang at a temple in Perak, Malaysia
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	二郎神
Simplified Chinese	二郎神
Literal meaning	Second-Son God
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Èrláng Shén Wade–Giles Êrh-lang Shên
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Nhị Lang Thần
Chữ Hán	二郎神
Korean name
Hangul	이랑진군
Hanja	二郞眞君
Japanese name
Kanji	二郎神
Hiragana	じろうしん
Katakana	ジロウシン
Transcriptions Romanization Jirōshin

Erlang Shen, or simply Erlang, is a god in Chinese folk religion and Daoism, associated with water and subduing demons. He is commonly depicted as a young man with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead, wielding a three-pronged polearm.

The origin of Erlang is complex. He is most commonly believed to be the deification of Li Erlang, the second son of Li Bing, a hydraulic engineer of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Later stories identify him as the deification of Yang Jian, the nephew of the legendary Jade Emperor. He is also identified with several other folk heroes associated with controlling floods.

In the Ming semi-mythical novels Creation of the Gods and Journey to the West, Erlang Shen is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. In the former, he assists the Zhou army in defeating the Shang. In the latter, he is the second son of a mortal and the Jade Emperor's sister Yaoji. In the legend, he is known as the greatest warrior god of heaven.

Names

Erlang (二郎) is an ancient name for boys, meaning "second male" or "second son". This comes from Li Erlang, the primary historical figure that Erlang is thought to be based on. Shen (神) means "god".

Since Li Erlang was from Guankou, Sichuan, the god Erlang is also known by the epithets Chuanzhu (川主 "Lord of Sichuan") and Guankou Erlang (灌口二郎 "Erlang of Guankou").

Depiction and powers

Erlang on a Soushan scroll, a genre of paintings depicting him searching the mountains for demons. Ming dynasty, 15th century

Erlang is usually portrayed as a young, handsome man with a three-pointed spear, though in older paintings he is sometimes portrayed as an older man with a beard and sword. He has a third eye in the middle of the forehead, which is called the "eye of heaven" (天眼 tianyan). It lets Erlang see through deceptions and disguises. In some stories, his third eye can also fire destructive blasts of light or divine fire.

As a god, Erlang is a noble and powerful warrior who vanquishes demons and monsters, and embodies justice and righteousness. He possesses vast, superhuman strength, being able to cleave through an entire mountain in one stroke.

His main weapon is a polearm called the Sanjian Liangren Qiang (三尖兩刃槍 "Three-pointed, Double-edged Lance"). This is usually depicted as a flat, broad spear with three tips, and two cutting edges of a saber. This spear is powerful enough to penetrate and cleave through steel and stone like wool.

Erlang is almost always accompanied by his faithful dog, the Xiaotian Quan (嘯天犬 "Howling Celestial Dog"), which has the ability to viciously attack, maul, and subdue demons and evil spirits.

In some legends, Erlang possesses a unique ability known as the Jiuzhuan Xuangong (九轉玄功 "Nine Turns Divine Skill"), which turns him nearly invincible against conventional weapons and most forms of magic. In the novel Investiture of the Gods, this ability turns him completely impervious to attacks from mystical weapons that have proven capable of injuring or even killing other immortals. Some stories state he is capable of 72 transformations (sometimes 73), meaning he can transform into virtually anything he wants.

In some folk beliefs, he was a filial son that entered Diyu, or hell, to save his deceased mother from torment. After being deified, he punishes unfilial children by striking them with thunder as a punishment, hence the traditional saying, "being smitten by lightning for being unfilial and ungrateful" towards unruly children.

Origin

Erlang's origin comes from a combination of historical and legendary figures. Generally, he is believed to be the deification of Li Erlang, the second son of Li Bing. However, he is also identified with several other folk heroes, which may have influenced his portrayal. He originated as a local god of Guankou, Sichuan, where Li Erlang was from. During the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127 CE), the cult of Erlang spread to the rest of China.

In later stories, Erlang is the deification of Yang Jian, son of the goddess Yaoji, and nephew of the legendary Jade Emperor. This portrayal as Yang Jian is most common in popular media.

As Li Erlang

Statue of Erlang inside Erwang Temple, at Dujiangyan, Sichuan

Li Erlang was the second son of Li Bing, a hydraulic engineer from the Qin dynasty.

According to the "Story about Li Bing and His Son in Harnessing the Rivers" in the Records of Guansian, Li Erlang assisted his father in the construction of the complex irrigation system that prevented the Min River from flooding and irrigated the Chengdu Plain. In thanks for the prosperity that this brought to them, the local people elevated the father and son to gods and dedicated the Two Kings Temple in their honor.

Legend states that Li Bing sent his son out to discover the source of the flooding. He spent a year exploring the county without success. One day whilst sheltering in a cave, he encountered a tiger which he slew and seven hunters who had witnessed this bravery agreed to join him in his quest.

The group finally came to a cottage on the outskirts of Guan County (modern Dujiangyan City). From within they heard the sound of an old woman crying. The woman was Grandma Wang and she told them that her grandson was to be sacrificed to an evil dragon who was the local river god. Li Erlang reported this to his father who devised a plan to capture the dragon.

The eight friends hid in the River God Temple and jumped out on the dragon when it arrived to claim its offering. The dragon fled to the river pursued by Li Erlang, who eventually captured it. Grandma Wang arrived with an iron chain and the dragon was secured in the pool below the Dragon-Taming Temple, freeing the region from floods.

Another legend tells of Li Erlang suppressing a fire dragon that lived in the mountains north of Dujiangyan by climbing to the top of Mount Yulei, turning into a giant and building a dam with 66 mountains then filling it with water from Dragon Pacifying Pool.

As Li Bing

Stele dedicated to Erlang Shen, from Beijing, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)

Li Bing himself has been thought of as inspiration for Erlang. For stopping the floods of the Min River by constructing Dujiangyan, he was turned into a folk hero who defeated a river god in order to save his prefecture from being flooded. He was then portrayed as the new river god that protected the local people in the area from floods. However, a discrepancy comes up that even though Li Bing/Erlang was known as Guankou Shen, the river that he is associated with is in Qianwei and not Guankou. Another discrepancy is that Li Erlang had never appeared in any of the tales related to stopping the Min River. The first appearance of Li Erlang was in Zhishui ji (治水記) by Li Ying (李膺) of the Liang dynasty (502–557 CE).

Historically, Li Bing was conferred an official title until the Five Dynasties period under the rule of the Shu kingdom. He rose to political power when the great flood that occurred on the twenty-sixth day of the eighth month in 920 AD was reported to the emperor by Daoist Du Guangting.

As Yang Jian

Erlang Shen portrayed by a Beijing opera actor

Many legends and novels describe Erlang as Yang Jian, a nephew of the Jade Emperor. According to an ancient text, Erlang Baojuan, Yang Jian's mother was Princess Yaoji, the Jade Emperor's sister, who was imprisoned under Mount Tao because she violated the Heavenly Rules by marrying a human named Yang Tianyou. Many years later, her son Yang Jian cleaved Mount Tao using his axe, hoping to set his mother free. He did successfully rescue his mother after he chased away the sun by carrying a mountain on his back.

In the Tang dynasty story The Magic Lotus Lantern, Erlang's mother, Princess Yaoji, was the goddess of the realm of desire in heaven. Her job was to limit the gods' mortal urges such as love, affection, greed, and ambition. When she pursued an evil dragon who broke free of its heavenly prison into the mortal realm and was injured by it, she fell in love with Yang Tianyou, a mortal scholar, who saved her life by giving her his own heart to replace the one the dragon damaged. They had three children: Yang Jiao, Yang Jian (Erlang Shen), and Yang Chan (Holy Mother of Mount Hua). When the Jade Emperor discovered her marriage, he sent his armies to kill her family and capture her. Only Erlang and his sister Yang Chan survived.

In the Ming dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods (1605), it is mentioned that Princess Longji is the Jade Emperor's daughter, making her Yang Jian's cousin. The Golden Fleece Lads are his disciples.

Other identifications

Erlang Shen is also identified with Zhao Yu, a hermit who lived on Mount Qingcheng and was appointed by Emperor Yang of Sui as Governor of Jiazhou. Zhao Yu is said to have set forth with 1000 men to defeat a flood dragon that had been tormenting the area. Upon reaching the river, Zhao Yu dived into the water with his double-edged sword and emerged holding the dragon’s head. Following his death, according to the Chronicle of Changshu County, the region was once again plagued by flood and he was seen riding a white horse amidst the swirling currents. The locals built a temple enshrining Zhao Yu as the god Erlang and the floods were subdued.

Deng Xia is said to have been a general under Erlang who surpassed his predecessors in valor and defeated a flood dragon, receiving the title "Erlang Shen" and a temple in his honor at Zhongqingli in Hangzhou.

Zoroastrian influence theory

Khotanese panel (top) from Dandan Oilik depicting, from left to right, Ohrmazd, Nana, and Weshparkar. Middle and bottom: representations of the three deities found in Sogdian lands.

In the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms, it is recorded that the Emperor Wang Zongyan of Former Shu was present in a ceremonial procession wearing golden armor, pearl-decorated hat and holding a bow and an arrow. His appearance was compared to that of the Xian (祆, Chinese term for "Zoroastrian") god of Guankou by the crowd. According to the tradition, Erlang Shen was originally a river god in the Guankou district. Professor Li Guotao argued that this "Xian god" has his origins in Zoroastrianism. Furthermore, he also suggested that Emperor Wang Zongyan, as well as the rest of the royal family of the Former and Later Shu were Zoroastrians. He believed that there is great similarity between the appearance of Erlang Shen and that of the Sogdian-Zoroastrian deity Weshparkar, which is able to conclude that Erlang Shen is a localized deity originated in Persia or Zoroastrian Central Asia.

After a detailed comparison of Erlang Shen and the Zoroastrian rain deity Tishtrya in his article for Religious Studies, Professor Hou Hui suggested that Tishtrya is the archetype of the former: "This folk tradition originated in the Sichuan region with a Zoroastrian cultural background, Erlang Shen shares many common features and characteristics with Tishtrya. Therefore, it is speculated that the cult of Erlang Shen should be derived from the worship of the Zoroastrian rain deity."

Representation in Chinese culture as Yang Jian (楊戩)

Fengshen Yanyi

In Investiture of the Gods, Yang Jian (Yang Bliss) is a disciple of Yuding Zhenren, and he learned fighting and magical skills including the 72 earthly transformations. He first appeared during the time of the Diablo Brothers' attack on the Western Foothills. After hearing of the situation, Yang personally took the offensive against the brothers. During his duel against all four brothers, Yang deliberately allowed himself to be consumed by Diablo Long Life's flying mink (some sources say an elephant). Following the battle, Yang Jian suddenly reappeared before Jiang Ziya after killing the mink inside its stomach with his many transformations. To trick the Diablo Brothers, Yang Jian later transformed himself into Long Life's flying mink and stole Diablo Red's Havoc-Umbrella. Thus, Yang was renowned as the true reason for Jiang Ziya's victory over the Diablo Brothers at an overall point.

Journey to the West

Erlang makes an appearance near the start of the classic Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. Erlang, who is titled as being either True Lord or Illustrious Sage, is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. Erlang made his first appearance when he had been ordered by the Jade Emperor (in which Erlang was also with his seven elite sages whom he called his brothers) to subdue Sun Wukong, who was to be punished for his havoc in heaven.

His bearing was refined, his visage noble, His ears hung down to his shoulders, and his eyes shone. The hat on his head had three peaks and phoenixes flying, And his robe was of a pale goose−yellow. His boots were lined with cloth of gold; dragons coiled round his socks; His jade belt was decorated with the eight jewels, At his waist was a bow, curved like the moon, In his hand a Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear. His axe had split open Peach Mountain when he rescued his mother, His bow had killed the twin phoenixes of Zongluo. Widespread was his fame for killing the Eight Demons, And he had become one of Plum Hill's seven sages. His heart was too lofty to acknowledge his relatives in Heaven; In his pride he went back to be a god at Guanjiang. He was the Merciful and Miraculous Sage of the red city, Erlang, whose transformations were numberless.

— Description from Journey to the West, Wu Cheng'en

Throughout the course of Erlang's duel between Sun Wukong, Erlang had been the stronger adversary, though Sun Wukong always managed to escape and at times get the better of Erlang thanks to his quick wits. After many transformations that were performed in their duel (Sun Wukong fleeing as a fish; Erlang and Sun Wukong becoming larger birds, and so forth), near the conclusion of the battle, he managed to see through Sun Wukong's disguise (as a temple) using his third eye. He eventually captured Wukong through teamwork with several other gods; Laozi personally had dropped his refined golden ring that had hit Sun Wukong on the head, giving Erlang a chance to bring him down, and Erlang's dog bit him in the leg. After Sun Wukong had been captured (to which Sun Wukong retorts that they are cowards for attacking from behind), he and his heavenly soldiers would burn areas of Mount Huaguo. Erlang is seen again far later in the novel when he assists Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie through chance by fighting against an ancient Dragon King and his villainous son-in-law, a nine-headed bird demon.

Bao Lian Deng

In the tale Lotus Lantern (Bao Lian Deng), Erlang had a sister known as the Holy Mother of Mount Hua (Hua Shan). She married a mortal man, Liu Yanchang, who was a scholar. Together, they had a son by the name of Chen Xiang. She was admonished by Erlang for this unlawful human-deity union and imprisoned under Mount Hua. When Chen Xiang came of age, he split the mountain with an axe to free his mother, but not before facing people who repeatedly tried to undermine his mission, most notably his own uncle Erlang.

In popular culture

Erlang is also introduced as a resplendent, powerful god in Kevin Hearne's Scourged, book 9 of The Iron Druid Chronicles.

Yang Jian/Erlang Shen in film and television

Year	Country	Title	Type	Yang Jian/Erlang Sheng actor
1964	China	Uproar In Heaven 大鬧天宮	Animated Film	Yu Ding
1986	China	Journey to the West 西游记	Television series	Lin Zhiqian
1996	Hong Kong	Journey to the West 西游记	Television series	Joe Ma
1998	Singapore	Legend of the Eight Immortals 东游记	Television series	Wang Yanbin
1999	China	Lotus Lantern 宝莲灯	Animated film	Jiang Wen
2005	China	Lotus Lantern 宝莲灯	Television series	Vincent Chiao
2006	China	The Legend and the Hero 封神榜之凤鸣岐山	Television series	Han Dong
2009	China	Prelude of Lotus Lantern 宝莲灯前传	Television series	Vincent Chiao
2009	China	The Legend and the Hero 2	Television series	Han Dong
2010	China	Journey to the West 西游记	Television series	Yin Xiaotian
2011	China	Journey to the West 西游记	Television series	Feng Shaofeng
2014	Hong Kong China	The Monkey King 西游记之大闹天宫	Film	Peter Ho
2016	Hong Kong China	League of Gods 3D封神榜	Film	Huang Xiaoming
2017	China	A Chinese Odyssey: Love of Eternity 大话西游之爱你一万年	Television series	Hu Yunhao
2018	China	The Taoism Grandmaster 玄门大师	Television series	Han Dong
2019	China	The Gods 封神	Television series	Luo Jin
2020	China	Heroic Journey of Nezha 哪咤降妖记	Television series	Gao Ziqi
2022	China	New Gods: Yang Jian 新神榜：杨戬	Animated Film	Wang Kai
2023	China	Fengshen: Kingdom of Storms	Film	Ci Sha

See also

• Dog in Chinese mythology
• Jiro (given name)
• Rama