Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
Creation of the Gods: Nezha Reborn
哪吒重生
Creation of the Gods: Nezha Reborn (哪吒重生, Nézhā chóngshēng) is a story from Creation of the Gods, the Chinese classic by Xu Zhonglin, retold in simple Mandarin as a 5-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 2 (Elementary).
Retold from the Ming novel Creation of the Gods: Nezha comes home in a new lotus body, finds his temple smashed, and chases his father across the hills until an old immortal and a golden pagoda make peace.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — An old storyteller who tells Nezha's tale plainly, the way it is told to children all over China.
- Nezha · 哪吒 — A seven-year-old boy in a new lotus body: brave, stubborn, and fiercely loyal to the people he loves.
- Li Jing · 李靖 — Nezha's father, the strict general of Chentang Pass, who is afraid of not being a good father.
- Lady Yin · 殷夫人 — Nezha's gentle mother, who can never quite say no to her youngest son.
- Taiyi Zhenren · 太乙真人 — A jolly Taoist immortal who built Nezha's new body and is his teacher.
- Randeng Daoren · 燃灯道人 — A calm old immortal with a blue lamp, who keeps a golden pagoda that cools angry fire.
- Jiang Ziya · 姜太公 — A wise old fisherman-minister who fishes with a straight hook.
5 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: Home Again
回家
Nezha flies home in his new body, and his mother cries with joy. But his father is cold, and then he says something that shocks Nezha.
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Chapter 2: The Broken Temple
坏了的庙
Nezha finds his little temple in pieces and storms to his father's hall, where a hard truth comes out and a spear rises.
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Chapter 3: The Chase
追爸爸
Li Jing runs, Nezha flies after him, and neither will stop until they reach a quiet cave and an old man with a lamp.
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Chapter 4: The Golden Pagoda
金色宝塔
A little golden pagoda calms Nezha's fire, and his father finally says the words he needed to hear. But Taiyi brings news of a new journey.
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Chapter 5: The Old Man by the River
河边的老人
Nezha meets a wise old man with a straight hook and learns the hardest trick of all. Then drums roll over the hills.
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Key words in Creation of the Gods: Nezha Reborn
Behind the story
Nezha's story comes from Fengshen Yanyi, or Creation of the Gods, a long Ming dynasty novel about gods, immortals and the fall of the Shang dynasty. In it Nezha is reborn from lotus flowers and later fights beside the wise strategist Jiang Ziya.
Today Nezha is one of the best-loved figures in Chinese culture. Temples honor him in many places, and the golden pagoda that Li Jing carries has made him known as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. Chinese films, cartoons and operas retell the tale of the boy with the fiery spear and the Wind Fire Wheels.
Did you know?
- Nezha is sometimes called the Third Lotus Prince because his new body was made from lotus.
- The Wind Fire Wheels are two wheels that let Nezha fly, and the Fire-Tipped Spear is his main weapon.
- Li Jing, called the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, is shown with a small pagoda in his hand in many temples.