The animated blockbuster Nezha 2 has recently captivated global audiences with its stunning visuals and dynamic storytelling, sparking renewed interest in the legendary hero Nezha. Yet, Nezha’s enduring appeal stretches back centuries.
A prime example is the Qing Dynasty ink painting “Fengshen Zhenxing Tu.” This two-volume masterpiece from the classic Investiture of the Gods vividly portrays 55 major figures—including Nezha, alongside deities and heroes like Taishang Laojun, Yuan Shi Tianzun, and King Wen of Zhou. Executed with exquisite brushwork and traditional “blue-green landscape” techniques, the work transports viewers to a realm where myth and history converge.
In this ancient depiction, Nezha exudes the same fierce determination and youthful vigor celebrated in Nezha 2. Both the timeless ink painting and the modern animated film underscore themes of heroism, transformation, and defiance against all odds.
By revisiting “Fengshen Zhenxing Tu,” we not only honor a rich artistic tradition but also gain fresh insights into Nezha’s legendary spirit—a force that continues to inspire and resonate across generations and media.
“Investiture of the Gods,” commonly known as Fengshen Bang and also titled The Complete Biography of the States of Shang and Zhou, The Extra History of King Wu’s Campaign against Chou, or simply Fengshen Zhuan, is an ancient Chinese shenmo novel. It was written by Xu Zhonglin (though some attribute it to Chen Zhonglin) during the Ming Dynasty and is believed to have been completed in the Longqing and Wanli periods. The work comprises one hundred chapters.
Its origins can be traced back to the Southern Song period’s Wu Wang Fa Chu Pinghua (“The Plain Account of King Wu’s Conquest of Chou”), and it may have also drawn upon earlier texts such as Shang Zhou Yan Yi (“The Interpretation of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties”) and Kunlun Baxian Dongyou Ji (“The Eastern Journey of the Kunlun Eight Immortals”). Set against the historical backdrop of Jiang Ziya’s assistance to the Zhou dynasty (under King Wen and King Wu) in overthrowing the tyrannical Shang regime, the novel depicts how the immortals of the Chan and Jie sects engage in battles of wit and valor—breaking enemy formations and decapitating generals as they bestow divine offices.
Rich in folk legends and myth, the narrative presents vivid and distinctive characters such as Jiang Ziya, Nezha, and Yang Jian, and culminates with Jiang Ziya’s investiture of the gods and King Wu’s enfeoffment of his feudal lords.
Unveiling the Brief History of Nezha: Earliest Textual Records Date Back to the Tang Dynasty
According to Hou Yingguo, the earliest written records of Nezha in China date back to the Tang Dynasty, after which his story gradually grew richer and more vivid. By the Yuan Dynasty, Nezha had already evolved into a deity embodying both Buddhist and Taoist elements, and Ming novels like Investiture of the Gods further refined the details of his legend, earning him widespread popular veneration. Classic works inspired by Nezha—such as Nezha Conquers the Dragon King—and even the currently popular film Nezha: The Devil’s Birth have built upon these Ming foundations, adding new brilliance to his image.
A Song Dynasty Zen Buddhist historical record, Wudeng Huiyuan: The Dharma Successors of Master Yuan from Suizhou, records: “Prince Nezha dismembered his body—returning the flesh to his mother and the bones to his father. Then he reappeared in his true form, wielding mighty divine power to preach the Dharma to his parents.”
In Hong Mai’s Yijian Zhi from the Southern Song Dynasty, a priest named Cheng is said to have invoked the “Nezha Fireball Incantation” to battle a black stone spirit—a clear precursor to the later Ming story in which Nezha battles the Stone Cliffs Goddess. The prominent late Qing scholar Yu Yue, in his Xiao Fumei Xianhua, argued that the fireball later became the basic prototype for Nezha’s Wind-Fire Wheels.
According to the Sanjiao Sou Shen Daquan, originally printed in the Yuan and later in the Ming Dynasty, Nezha was originally a Great Luo Immortal under the Jade Emperor, standing six zhang tall, wearing a golden wheel on his head, with three heads, nine eyes, and eight arms. Because the world was rife with demons, the Jade Emperor ordered him to descend and vanquish evil. Thus, he was conceived through the womb of the wife of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, becoming Li Jing’s third son. Not long after his birth, while bathing in the Eastern Sea, he provoked the Dragon King—killing the Dragon King’s crown prince and even shooting down the son of Stone Ji, the leader of the demons, which greatly angered Li Jing. Consequently, Nezha dismembered himself, returning his flesh to his mother and his bones to his father, and then sought complete renewal from the Buddha by embracing the true spirit. The Buddha revived him by using lotus root to form his bones, lotus flesh for his body, and lotus leaves for his clothing, and bestowed upon him secret doctrines along with the title “Wooden Changzi.” From that moment on, Nezha could alter his size at will, traverse rivers and seas, and even shift stars and constellations. Later, the Jade Emperor enfeoffed him as the foremost commander among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals, charged with guarding the Heavenly Gate for eternity.
Today, the familiar image of Nezha—as an object of folk veneration and worship—largely derives from the Ming novels Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West. For example, Macau is home to a famous Nezha Temple that is listed as a World Cultural Heritage site, and Sichuan Province boasts the renowned Nezha Xinggong. This association arose because, following the Ming Dynasty, as folk legends developed, people began to believe that Nezha was born in Chengtangguan in Sichuan.
