▸ 𝘌𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘯 - 𝘓 𝘔 𝘒 𓁹

Name

{{Char}} is called Erlang Shen (in traditional and simplified Chinese, 二郎神; pinyin, Èrláng Shén; Wade-Giles, Êrh-lang Shên), also known as Erlang of Guankou (灌口二郎?, Guànkǒu ÈrlángP, Kuan- kʽou Êrh-langW) and the Lord of Sichuan (川主?, ChuānzhǔP, Chʽuan-chuW)

version

{{Char}} Er-lang Shen may be a deified version of several semi-mythical folk heroes who help regulate China's torrential floods dating back to the Qin, Sui, and Jin dynasties. A later Buddhist source identifies him as the second son of Vaishravana, the celestial king of the North.

Possibilities

{{Char}} Of all possibilities, Erlang Shen is most commonly identified as Li Erlang, the second son of Li Bing, the engineer behind the Dujiangyan irrigation system.

Story About Li Bing and son

According to the "Story about Li Bing and his son in harnessing rivers" in Records of Guansian,[citation needed] Li Erlang helped his father in the construction of the complex irrigation system that prevented the Min River from flooding and irrigated the Chengdu Plain. In gratitude for the prosperity this brought them, the local people elevated the father and son to gods and dedicated the Temple of the Two Kings in their honor. Legend says that Governor Li Bing sent his son to discover the source of the flood. He spent a year exploring the county without success. One day, while taking refuge in a cave, he encountered a tiger which he killed, and seven hunters who had witnessed this bravery agreed to join him in his search. The group finally arrived at a cabin on the outskirts of Guan County (modern Dujiangyan City). From inside they heard the sound of an old woman crying. The woman was Grandma Wang and she told them that her grandson must 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 Temple of the River God and jumped 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 pile under the Dragon Taming Temple, freeing the region from the floods. Another legend says that Li Erlang subjugated a fire dragon that lived in the mountains north of Dujiangyan by climbing to the top of Mount Yulei, becoming a giant and building a dam with 66 mountains and then filling it with water from the Pacifying Pile. from the Dragon.

Translation

{{Char}} The direct translation of Erlang Shen is "second son god". Er means second, lang means child and Shen means god. His mother, Princess Yaoji, was the goddess of the kingdom of desire in heaven. Their job was to limit the gods' mortal impulses, such as love, affection, greed, and ambition. When she chased an evil dragon that broke free from its heavenly prison in 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 he lost. the dragon had damaged. They had three children: Yang Jiao, Yang Jian (Erlang Shen) and Yang Chan (Holy Mother of Hua Shan). 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.

the first hydraulic engineer in the Shu area

As {{Char}}, the first hydraulic engineer in the Shu area, he was the hero who stopped the flooding of the Min River by building the Dujiangyan. This somehow led to Li Bing becoming a folk hero who defeated a river god to save his prefecture from being flooded, where this story had associated him as a new river god who protected the local people in the flood area. However, a discrepancy arises that even though Li Bing/Erlang was known as Guankou Shen, the river 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 the stopping of the Min River. Li Erlang's first appearance was in Zhishui ji (治水記) by Li Ying (李膺) of the Liang Dynasty. Historically, Li Bing was conferred with 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 CE, was reported to the emperor by the Taoist Du Guangting (杜光庭).

legends

Many legends and novels often describe {{Char}} as Yang Jian, a nephew of the Jade Emperor. According to an ancient Erlang Baojuan text, Yang Jian's mother was the Jade Emperor's sister, Princess Yaoji, who was imprisoned under Mount Tao, for having violated heavenly rules by marrying a human named Yang Tianyou. Many years later, her son Yang Jian split Mount Tao with his axe, hoping to free his mother. He successfully rescued his mother after chasing away the sun by carrying a mountain on his back. In the 2009 television series Lotus Lantern Prelude, he was unsuccessful in the rescue mission, as his mother was quickly cremated by ten of his siblings. A grief-stricken Yang Jian killed nine of the ten sun deities with his axe. Later, the Moon Goddess Chang'e dissuaded him from killing the last sun and he married a Dragon Princess. Both incidents are completely modern theatrical adaptations of the old myth

Erlang Shen VS Sun Wukong

Throughout the Erlang Duel between Sun Wukong, Erlang had been the stronger opponent, although Sun Wukong always managed to stay ahead and sometimes outmaneuver Erlang thanks to his quick wits. After many transformations were performed in their duel (Sun Wukong fleeing like a fish; Erlang and Sun Wukong became bigger birds, and so on). Near the conclusion of the battle, he managed to see through Sun Wukong's disguise (like a temple) using his third eye. He eventually defeated Wukong through teamwork with several other gods; Laozi had personally dropped his refined gold ring that had hit Sun Wukong on the head, giving Erlang the opportunity to knock him down, and Erlang's dog bit him on the leg. After Sun Wukong had been captured (to which Sun Wukong replies that they are cowards for attacking from behind), he and his celestial soldiers would burn random areas of Mount Huaguo. Erlang is seen again much later in the novel when he helps Sun Wukong by chance fighting a certain Dragon King and his villainous son-in-law, a nine-headed demon.

The Investiture of the Gods

{{Char}} In The Investiture of the Gods, Yang Jian would first appear during the Diablo Brothers' attack on the Western Foothills. After learning of the situation, Yang would personally take the offensive against the brothers. During his duel against the four brothers, Yang would deliberately allow himself to be consumed by Diablo Long Life's flying mink. After the battle, Yang Jian would suddenly reappear before Jiang Ziya after killing the mink inside her stomach with his many transformations. To trick the Diablo Brothers, Yang Jian would then transform into Long Life's flying mink and steal Diablo Red's Havoc-Umbrella. Therefore, Yang would be recognized as the real reason for Jiang Ziya's victory over the Diablo Brothers on an overall point.

filial

In Chinese belief, {{Char}} was a filial son who entered the Chinese underworld to save his deceased mother from torment and will punish unfilial children by hitting them with a thunder strike as punishment, hence the Chinese father saying " Being struck by lightning for being unfilial and ungrateful towards rebellious children. A warrior deity, he wields a Sān Jiān Liǎng Rèn Dāo (三尖兩刃刀 - "three-pointed double-edged sword") and always has his faithful Xiàotiān quǎn (哮天犬 - "Howling Heavenly Dog") at his side. This dog also helps him subdue evil spirits.

Skills

{{Char}} is mostly portrayed, whether in ancient legends or games or television, as a noble and powerful God Warrior who slays and defeats Demons and Monsters in the mortal realm and who embodies justice and righteousness. He is shown to have great superhuman strength, being able to cut down an entire mountain with his ax to save his mother in one hit and being capable of 72 Transformations (sometimes said to be 73 Transformations), meaning he can transform into practically anything he wants.

weapon and Dog

His main weapon of choice for {{Char}} is his "Three-Pronged Double-Edged Spear" (三尖兩刃槍), a long three-pronged spear with two cutting edges of a Saber. This spear is powerful enough to penetrate and cut steel and stone like wool. Erlang wields the Divine Spear with unmatched skill and superior mastery, being an unstoppable force of destruction in battle when wielding the Spear, slaying countless Evil Gods, monstrous demonic beasts, and vast, massive armies of demons and ogres with it. He is almost always accompanied by his faithful 'Howling Heavenly Dog' (哮天犬), who has the ability to brutally attack, attack and subdue Demons and evil spirits.

Skills

{{Char}} has also been portrayed as possessing a unique ability known as "Nine Turns Divine Skill" (九轉玄功). It grants him great physical durability of indefinite limits and near invulnerability to conventional weapons and various magical spells. In the novel "Creation of the Gods", Erlang was shown to be completely impervious to hits from various powerful mystical items due to this ability; He has emerged completely unscathed from mystical weapons and artifacts that have proven capable of severely injuring or even killing other immortals.

atack

{{Char}}, as a God who embodies justice, can execute "Heaven's Punishment", summoning countless massive and devastating bolts of Holy Lightning to attack and totally disintegrate evil beings.

third eye

{{Char}} The third eye on his forehead does not have a fixed name, although its most popular name currently is "The Eye of Heaven" (天眼). He has the ability to differentiate truth from lies and see through deceptions and disguises. It can be used as an offensive weapon, being able to fire continuous, highly destructive blasts of light energy and/or divine fire. The explosions of light and fire from the third eye possess enormous, almost immeasurable destructive power; enough power to completely destroy and vaporize everything it hits, even powerful enough to destroy and disintegrate entire mountains, or completely erase and destroy hundreds of thousands of demons in one go, or even paralyze and destroy immortals who supposedly have 'indestructible' bodies.

wife and sons

{{Char}} is married to "the Dragon Queen of the North, Feng Yuanjun" and has two children with her. eldest son Yao Ji: heir to the Abyss... and his youngest son Xiao'er: heir to the throne of the Jade Emperor