10 Chinese Myths to Know Before Visiting China

Top 10 Chinese Myths and Folktales to Know Before Visiting China

While there is certainly no shortage of material, it is challenging to write a list of “top 10” Chinese myths. There are two reasons for this:

1. The best-known, most interesting legends and folktales in Chinese mythology are not myths in the Western definition of the word. Instead, many stories are written works of fiction that became so popular and enduring that the Chinese started regarding them as legends. Many characters in these stories have also been deified and are actively worshiped today.
2. Many characters in Chinese mythology have actual historical counterparts. This creates the curious situation of there being a historical version of things (i.e., the insipid version) and a mythical, magical version. Naturally, this list focuses on the latter.

Without further ado, here are 10 Chinese myths and folktales useful for anyone visiting China. These tales and their protagonists are frequently referenced in Chinese art, architecture, and cultural performances. You would also encounter such references all over China or in any community with a significant Chinese population:

1. Journey to the West
2. Hou Yi, Chang'e, and the Rabbit of the Moon
3. Investiture of the Gods
4. Madam White Snake
5. The Eight Immortals Cross the Eastern Sea
6. Yu and the Great Flood
7. The Lotus Lantern
8. Pangu Creates the World
9. Nüwa Heals the World
10. The Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors

1. Journey to the West (西游记 Xiyouji)

Easily the most famous of all Chinese myths, Journey to the West narrates the many adventures of the legendary Monkey King Sun Wukong (孙悟空), one of the most beloved characters in Chinese mythology.

Written in the 16th century by Wu Cheng’en (吳承恩), the story was inspired by the historical pilgrimage of Tang Dynasty Monk Xuanzang (玄奘), who traveled to the Western Regions, i.e., India in search of Buddhist scriptures. According to researchers, Xuanzang had various pets during his journey. Under Wu’s pen, these pets became Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie (猪八戒), and Sha Wujing (沙悟净).

Together, the magical trio defended Xuanzang against numerous demons, many of which sought to feast on the holy monk to achieve immortality.

In total, Xuanzang and his disciples weathered a total of 72 calamities before reaching the West; in the process, battling and defeating tens of demons. Interestingly, the most well-known parts of Journey to the West are also not these events but the earliest chapters, which focused on the solo adventures of Sun Wukong.

In these chapters, Sun Wukong wreaked havoc on heaven after achieving great power through magical cultivation. He was further empowered by the magical Ruyi Bang (如意棒), a wondrous cudgel that could morph into any size. Sun stole the artifact from the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea.

Sun was only subdued after he failed a challenge issued by Gautama Buddha. The Buddha invited Sun to somersault out of his palm, which the arrogant Monkey King thought nothing of as he could traverse thousands of miles in a leap. In the end, Sun Wukong couldn’t even leave the heart of the Buddha’s palm.

As punishment for his mischief, Sun was imprisoned for 500 years under a magical mountain formed by the Buddha’s fist. His final atonement after release was then to accompany and protect Xuan Zang during the latter’s pilgrimage. This mission, in turn, sets the premise for the rest of the saga.

Interesting to know:

• Zhu Bajie, Xuanzang’s second disciple, had the head of a pig. He was also lazy, greedy, and lascivious, with a recurrent joke of the saga being Zhu always getting into trouble because of his many shortcomings. In practically all cases, he needed the resourceful Sun Wukong to bail him out.
• Several modern Chinese sayings originated from Journey to the West. For example, “the inability to escape from the mountain of my hand” (逃不出我的五指山 tao bu chu wo de wu zhi shan). This saying came from how Su Wukong, despite his formidable abilities, could not even leap out of the hand of the mighty Buddha.
• In 1942, Arthur Waley published a translated version titled Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China. In Waley's version, the protagonists were given the anglicized names Tripitaka, Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy.
• Many Chinese today worship Sun Wukong as the Fighting Buddha (斗战胜佛 dou zhan sheng fo) or the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. The latter is based on Sun’s official Taoist title in the story. (齐天大圣 qi tian da sheng)
• Over the years, Journey to the West inspired many movies and television series, including Western productions such as Netflix’s The New Legends of Monkey.
• Likewise, the Adventures of the Monkey King is classic repertoire in Chinese opera.
• The real-life sutras brought back to China by the historical Xuanzang are currently kept at the Great Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an. This ancient structure is one of the top tourist attractions of the ancient capital.

2. Chang’e Ascends to the Moon (嫦娥奔月 Chang E Ben Yue)

In ancient Chinese creation myths and legends, Hou Yi (后羿) was a God of Archery.

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During his time, there was not one but ten suns surrounding the world. The children of the God of the Eastern Heaven, these suns took turns illuminating the world. Each day, one would rise to bestow light upon humanity.

After many years, the suns tired of this rigid schedule and decided to all rise at the same time. Without surprise, the resulting heatwave immediately plunged the world into a deadly drought. To save his people, the Emperor of Ancient China appealed to mighty Hou Yi, who swiftly, effortlessly, shot down nine of the suns.

The mythological hero would have shot down the final sun, too, but the Emperor advised that doing so would forever remove light from the world. The sole surviving sun was thus spared.

Thanks to Hou Yi, the world was saved, but the hero himself gained a terrible enemy. The God of the Eastern Heaven was furious that Hou Yi killed nine of his boys. As vengeance, he banished Hou Yi from heaven. He also stripped the hero of his immortality.

To restore himself, Hou Yi sought the help of the Divine Mother of the West, who pitied the archer after learning of his deeds; she also gave him an elixir of immortality. Sadly, and for reasons that differ depending on the story version, Hou Yi did not immediately consume this elixir. While out vanquishing more monsters, his wife Chang'e (嫦娥) also found the elixir and ate it.

The elixir immediately transfigured Chang'e into an immortal and she ascended to the moon palace. There, she would spend the rest of eternity accompanied only by a rabbit. Hou Yi and Chang’e never met again. The couple was forever separated.

Interesting to know:

• Chang’e is pronounced in Mandarin not as “Chang-yee,” but as “Chaang-er.”
• There are starkly different versions of this myth, although all began with the ten suns scorching the earth. The differences involve Chang’e’s reasons for ingesting the elixir. In some versions, she was forced to do so to prevent Hou Yi’s scheming disciple, Fengmeng, from stealing it. In others, Hou Yi became tyrannical and Chang’e ate the elixir to deny him immortality.
• The Chinese commemorate Chang'e’s ascension by celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, which takes place on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Throughout the eighth lunar month, the Chinese eat mooncakes and offer them as gifts.
• No thanks to NASA’s visit to the actual barren moon in 1969, this Chinese myth is nowadays somewhat of a joke with Chinese people. However, the huge amount of profits involved with making and selling mooncakes keeps the legend alive.
• In Journey to the West, Zhu Bajie was cursed into his awful form as punishment for sexually harassing the Goddess of the Moon. This goddess is assumed to be Chang'e.
• Some traditions also refer to Chang’e as Guanghan Xianzi (广寒仙子). The lunar palace is called Guanghan Gong (广寒宫) in Chinese folktales. Guanghan means “broad cold.”
• Some modern text describes Chang’e as the “Chinese Goddess of the Moon.” However, she is more accurately, a Chinese moon fairy, as she is rarely worshipped.

3. Investiture of the Gods (封神演义 Feng Shen Yan Yi)

Like Journey to the West, Investiture of the Gods was written in the 16th Century Ming Dynasty, with the author believed to be Xu Zhonglin (许仲琳). The inspiration for his masterpiece was the civil war leading to the establishment of the ancient Zhou Dynasty.

The story itself began in the final days of the Shang Dynasty (商朝). The emperor of then, Di Xin (帝辛), was a ruthless, womanizing tyrant. He was also notorious for having an evil concubine named Da Ji (妲己), the concubine said to be the human form of a nine-tailed vixen.

Together, the wicked duo committed many nefarious acts, crimes such as ripping out fetuses to make elixirs and grilling righteous couriers to death with super-heated copper pillars. Their incessant brutality eventually resulted in an uprising spearheaded by the noble House of Ji (姬). Many magical warriors, sages, and even deities subsequently joined the extended struggle.

With the capital and the imperial army under him, Di Xin initially had the upper hand. However, the House of Ji benefited from the assistance of Jiang Ziya (姜子牙), an elderly sage destined to appoint deities, but never to be one himself.

Through Jiang’s strategy and “connections,” many powerful characters were recruited to fight for the House of Ji. After numerous magical battles, the conflict ended with the conquering of Di Xin’s capital and the tyrant himself being forced to commit suicide. The wicked Da Ji and her demonic sisters were also executed on the advice of Jiang Ziya.

Nezha, the Boy Warrior God

Curiously, and somewhat akin to Journey to the West, most Chinese are only familiar with one of the mini-stories found at the start of Xu Zhonglin’s magnum opus. Specifically, the story of Nezha (哪吒), the third son of one of Di Xin’s leading generals.

Said to be the reincarnation of a divine being, Nezha was birthed with all sorts of fantastic weapons. For example, a golden “universal” ring, a magical brick, and a “heaven-befuddling” armillary sash.

The hot-headed and powerful Nezha also got himself and his family into much trouble, his worst act being his slaying of a son of the Dragon King. To atone for his crimes, Nezha committed suicide before his family and enemies.

He was subsequently resurrected, with his body remade from parts of the lotus. To ensure he behaves, his father, General Li Jing (李靖), was given a fantastical golden pagoda that could magically imprison Nezha and most other lifeforms. Father and son then became major players in the events leading to the downfall of the evil Shang Dynasty.

Interesting to know:

• Chinese artworks nowadays mostly feature Jiang Ziya in his most renowned form. That of a raggedly dressed old man with a fishing rod.
• In a way, Investiture of the Gods was the Chinese mythology version of the Trojan War saga.
• Nezha and his dad appeared in Journey to the West too. Both lost to Sun Wukong during Sun’s battle with heaven.
• Li Jing, with his pagoda, is formally titled Tuo Ta Tian Wang (托塔天王). Those familiar with Japanese myths would immediately notice his physical resemblance to the Japanese guardian, Bishamon.
• Investiture of the Gods was made into several Japanese animes and games. It is one of the most popular and well-known Chinese myths in Japan.
• Many warriors and sages in Investiture of the Gods are Taoist representations of Buddhist Bodhisattvas. This highlights the usually peaceful co-existence of Taoism and Buddhism throughout Chinese history.
• Today, Nezha is worshiped by many Taoists as San Taizi, or the Third Prince. Formally, he is also known as Zhongtan Yuanshuai (中坛元帅). The latter is an epithet that means “the marshal of the central altar.”

4. The Legend of the White Snake (白蛇传 Bai She Zhuan)

Chinese myths and folktales about a magical white snake long existed in oral tradition before they were put into writing. Most historians nowadays believe Feng Menglong’s (冯梦龙) version to be the earliest written one.

In most versions, the story revolves around the marriage of young physician Xu Xian (许仙) to Madam White (白娘子), a white snake spirit in human form. Despite being a spirit, Madam White was kind and caring. Her love for her husband was also deep and true. She often uses her magic or wisdom to help with his medical work.

Sadly, the exorcist monk Fa Hai (法海) strongly disapproved of the marriage— he considered the union a gross perversion of nature. To break up the couple, Fa Hai kidnaps Xu Xian and imprisons him in the Temple of the Golden Mount (金山寺 Jinshan Si). Desperate to rescue her husband, Madam White and her companion Xiao Qing (小青) then assaulted the temple with an army of allies. To force Fa Hai into releasing Xu Xian, they also conjured a massive flood to besiege the temple.

While she did everything out of love, Madam White’s flood ultimately caused the death of many humans and animals. To punish her for her many “sins,” Fa Hai magically defeated Madam White and imprisoned her in the Thunder Peak Tower (雷峰塔 Leifeng Ta).

There, Madam White would languish for many years till the pagoda was destroyed by Mengjiao (夢蛟), her son with Xu Xian. In alternate versions of the story, Xiao Qing was the one who freed Madam White. She accomplished this after strengthening her magic through many years of devoted cultiva