Erlang Shen
Erlang Shen, also known as Erlang, is a god in Chinese folk religion and Daoism. He is associated with water (flood control), justice, warriorhood, hunting, and demon subdual. He is commonly depicted as a young man with a third, truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead, wielding a three-pronged spear, and being accompanied by his loyal hunting dog, Xiaotian Quan.
↻ synthesized from 7 sources
When
- First attested
- 221 BCE
- Attested period
- -221 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Potentially deified from Li Erlang of the Qin dynasty or Yang Jian, nephew of the Jade Emperor.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Xiaotian Quan, Li Bing, Princess Yunhua, Yang Tianyou, Yang Chan, Golden Fleece Lads, Princess Longji, Zhang Wulang, Haotian Shangdi, Yaochi Jinmu, Muzha, Shā Wùjìng, Zhao Yu, Yunhua, Emperor Xiyue, Guanyin, Buddha, Zhu Bajie, Tang Sanzang, Queen Mother of the West
- enemy of
- Sun Wukong, Seven Monsters of Meishan, Yuan Hong
- allied with
- Sun Wukong, Six Brothers of Meishan, Laozi, Seven Sages of Meishan
- syncretized with
- Yang Jian, Huashan Erlang
- serves
- Jade Emperor
- sibling of
- Huayue Sanniang
- child of
- Yunhua
- student of
- Yuding Zhenren
- manifested by
- Deng Xia
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“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”
#21240 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Erlang Shen is her cousin since he is the Jade Emperor’s nephew.”
#21570 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“where Erlang Shen becomes the sworn brother of six brothers from Mount Mei, forming a group retroactively set in the Spring and Autumn period...The duel between Yang Jian and Yuan Hong in Investiture of the Gods”
#21605 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“Wukong also mentions being sworn brothers with Erlang Shen.”
#21724 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“Over time, Zhao Yu's identity merged with that of Erlang Shen, a powerful god in the Chinese pantheon with similar attributes, particularly as a vanquisher of demons and controller of floods. The legend of Zhao Yu slaying the flood dragon became a key narrative for the Erlang Shen.”
#21896 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001