Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
Erlang Shen, the God with Three Eyes
二郎神
Erlang Shen, the God with Three Eyes (二郎神, Èrláng Shén) is a Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin as a 4-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 2 (Elementary).
Retold from the Ming-dynasty novel Creation of the Gods and Chinese folk legend: a young hero with a third eye faces seven shape-shifting monsters, and wins by changing into whatever beats each one.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — The storyteller.
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) · 二郎神 — A young warrior with a third eye who can change into anything and loves a good joke.
- Jiang Ziya · 姜太公 — A calm, wise old man who fishes with a straight hook.
- Master Yuding · 玉鼎真人 — Erlang's gentle, joking master, an immortal who lives in Golden Light Cave.
- Zhu Zizhen · 朱子真 — A big pig monster who brags loudly and runs from tigers.
- Chang Hao · 常昊 — A hissing snake monster who tries to wrap people up.
- Yuan Hong · 袁洪 — The proud white ape general who can turn into people.
- Wu Long · 吴龙 — A boastful centipede monster with a hundred legs.
- Dai Li · 戴礼 — A snarling dog monster who is quickly outmatched.
4 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Third Eye
第三只眼
A sleepy boy with a third eye plays a peach-hiding game with his master. Then a white crane brings news that an old fisherman is surrounded by seven shape-shifting monsters.
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Chapter 2: The Fisherman with No Hook
钓鱼的老人
Erlang meets Jiang Taigong, who fishes with a bare hook, and faces the first monster: a pig who is very brave until he sees a tiger.
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Chapter 3: Whatever Beats You
变，变，变
A snake, a centipede and a dog monster each get a surprise from Erlang's changes. Then someone knocks at the tent, and it sounds exactly like Jiang Taigong.
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Chapter 4: The Real Jiang Ziya
真的姜子牙
Two Jiang Taigongs, one white ape, and a hill where every change meets an answer. Can the boy with three eyes catch the cleverest monster of all?
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Key words in Erlang Shen, the God with Three Eyes
Behind the story
Erlang Shen (二郎神) is one of the most popular warrior gods in Chinese legend. He has a third eye on his forehead that sees through every disguise, a three-pointed spear and a loyal hunting dog. In the classic novel Creation of the Gods (封神演义), he appears as Yang Jian (杨戬), a young student of the immortal Yuding, who helps the wise old Jiang Ziya (姜子牙) fight monsters and rebels.
The novel is a long Ming-dynasty adventure about gods and heroes, and its shape-changing battles are some of the best known in Chinese storytelling. Erlang Shen also appears in Journey to the West, where he is the only god who can match the Monkey King change for change. Today his story lives on in operas, comics, cartoons and video games.
Did you know?
- Jiang Ziya is famous for fishing with a straight hook. A Chinese saying about him (姜太公钓鱼) is still used for someone who waits calmly and lets others come to them.
- Erlang Shen's dog is called Xiaotian Quan (哮天犬), which can be translated as the Howling Celestial Dog.
- In Journey to the West, Erlang Shen and the Monkey King fight by turning into animals, each trying to beat the other's shape.