The Mightiest Gods Of Chinese Mythology | The Gods Of China | The Mightiest Gods Series 1

in the beginning there was nothing the universe was formless void and in chaotic darkness then the chaos gathered into a cosmic egg and incubated for 18 000 years while this time passed the opposing forces of yin and yang constantly battled each other until they achieved perfect harmony and balance from the union of yin and yang a primordial being was formed as this being grew in size the space inside the cosmic egg became too little for him after eighteen thousand years the egg hatched and out of the egg a hairy giant emerged panko the furry titan the very first of the gods the embodiment of the cosmic creation force pangu began crafting the universe as he saw fit with the swing of his giant axe he separated yin from yang yin becoming the murky earth and yang becoming the clear skies to keep them separated pangu stood between them pushing up the skies for another 18 000 years some say he was aided in this arduous feat by four ancient beasts the turtle the phoenix the killin and the dragon the skies grew 10 feet higher each day the earth 10 feet thicker and pangu 10 feet taller after the 18 000 years had passed pangu became exhausted from his task laying down to sleep to awaken no more he died in his sleep pangu's breath became the mists the winds and clouds his voice became thunder his sweat became rain his left eye became the sun and his right eye the moon his head became the mountains the hair on his face became the stars his fur became the bushes and forests and the fleas on his fur became animals his blood became the rivers and oceans his muscles became fertile land his bones became the minerals of the earth and his bone marrow became the precious jewels pangu sacrificed himself to create the universe he is also called panku and had no children or family except for the company of his celestial friends the dragon the phoenix the turtle and the kilin pangu lived in solitude for his entire existence when the universe was created by pangu and the world born from his death a new set of gods began to manifest with the demise of the great titan there had to be other celestial forces that would oversee the creation and ensure the universe remained in order however as the immortals emerged so did monsters so did demons the demons grew stronger each day the monsters ravaged the lands while the gods and immortals grew helpless and terrified the world was slowly descending back into chaos to liberate the world from terror and sufferings one of the immortal ones the jade emperor went into retreat and meditation to harness the powers of light passing 3200 trials each trial lasting three million years but to ensure the world remained in darkness one of the demons also went into retreat and meditation to increase its power also passing 3200 trials and each trial equally lasting 3 million years at the end of the retreat the jade emperor and the demon king returned light and darkness reappeared the two more powerful than ever they battled for the fate of the universe and in the end light emerged victorious not by might but by benevolence with the demon king defeated the rest of the demons were scattered by the gods while the jade emperor was proclaimed the supreme ruler for his noble deeds the jade emperor presided over the celestial realms of china he was the ruler of the heavens the earth and the underworld the emperor of the universe and lord of the imperial court he is also called tian gong which means hedley grandfather now while it is believed that the jade emperor manifested from pangu there are few stories that say different that he was once human before he ascended into godhood in one version the jade emperor was a clever soldier called deng lai who fought and died in a bloody civil war during the joe dynasty when he woke up in the afterlife he found himself in the celestial court where his commander was awarding positions of honour to all the great soldiers who died in the war the commander awarded all the men positions in the celestial court all except denglai as the commander was about to crown himself the jade emperor reflecting on the huge responsibility he would be taking on and to save at the moment he paused and said the word dang lie which meant hold on a moment seeing this is a great opportunity the clever denglai stepped forward for he had heard his name pretending to be ignorant of what his commander really meant denglai accepted the position of jade emperor the commander was left speechless but nothing could be done he had indeed called denglai's name so denglai was blameless in the other version the jade emperor was born of a virgin mother a chaste queen prayed for a son to succeed the throne of her old and dying husband and as she slept one night she had a vision after which she became pregnant when the baby was born he was already able to speak and walk growing to be so just and kind the boy assumed the throne at his father's death and dedicated himself to helping the poor the kingdom flourished throughout his reign and when he grew tired of the mundane world he left the throne to a worthy successor embarking on the path of meditation and philosophy he achieved enlightenment after many years of study and gaining the secret to immortality he became a powerful being he became the jade emperor the emperor of emperors his fairness and benevolence serving as an example to all emperors of china once upon a time a strong wind blew upon the magical rock of mount wagou and behold a peculiar monkey was born from the rock great golden beams of light shot out of his eyes when he first opened them and even as a baby monkey he was already able to walk and speak his name was sun wukong wukong found and lived with other monkeys in the forest where he became king of the monkeys shortly after the monkeys had decided to play a game that whoever was brave enough to jump through the waterfalls and find its source would be named the king of monkeys with the speed of light wukong traveled through the falls and found the stream source earning himself the title monkey king wukong went on to battle numerous demons and monsters he had extraordinary strength and abilities he could transform himself into 72 different animals and objects he could manipulate the elements and each strand of his hair possessed transformative powers when time came for the kings of hell to collect wukong's soul the monkey would not give him he erased his name from the book of life and death along with the names of other monkeys then tricked the god of death and the underworld yan wang into allowing him to return to earth without reincarnation yen wang reported this incident to the heavens to the jade emperor for wukong was disrupting the balance of life the jade emperor invited wukong to dwell in heaven with the other gods but assigned him to the lowest rank to guard the heavenly horses he was excluded from all important ceremonies and knowing the other gods would not see him as an equal because he was a monkey wukong became rebellious he caused trouble after trouble in heaven and each time the jade emperor sent an army of celestials to arrest him wukong defeated them all seeing that the monkey was more powerful than he imagined the jade emperor promoted him to the guardian of the heavenly peaches of immortality but wukong was not satisfied having always sought immortality and also in an act of rebelliousness wukong ate the peaches he did not just eat a few peaches no he ate them all all the peaches emptying the entire celestial garden infuriated the jade emperor again sent an army of 100 000 celestials to subdue wukong but as usual wukong defeated them all frustrated the emperor implored the help of the buddha to punish this pain of a monkey the buddha banished wukong from the heavens imprisoning him under a great mountain for 500 years so he would reflect on his mischievous deeds after 500 long years a buddhist monk named tang sanzang found the trapped monkey king and offered to release him if only he wukong would repent and become his disciple not wanting to spend another second underneath the mountain wukong agreed but to ensure wukong stayed true to his word the goddess of mercy guanyin gifted the buddhist monk a magical headband that gave him control over the monkey king thus the freed wukong travelled with sanzang from china to india in search of the holy texts protecting the humble monk from harm and demons who sought his soul throughout the journey at last the monkey king achieved enlightenment through the teachings of the monk his new master putting an end to his mischievous and angry ways in japan son wukong is known as son goku erlang shen the miraculous sage of the red city the greatest warrior of heaven the one who defeated the invincible monkey king erlang shen was one of the seven elite sages of heaven he was the nephew of the jade emperor the commander of the celestial army and also capable of many transformations when no one seemed a worthy opponent for the monkey king erlang shen proved to be a match when no one could outsmart the monkey king erlang shen did once upon a time sun wukong the monkey king wrecked so much havoc in heaven that all the celestials were eager to see him arrested every time the jade emperor sent an army of 100 000 celestials against him wukong single-handedly defeated them all time and time again alas when wukong ate all the heavenly peaches of immortality all hell broke loose the peaches of immortality were the sacred peaches of the goddess zee wang mo which ripened only once every three thousand years and were served to mortals who lived heroic lives to grant them immortality in the afterlife now because wukong had eaten all the peaches no immortals could be made for another 3000 years do you see the gravity of wukong's offense the jade emperor ruler of the heavens did not take this outrageous act lightly and once again sent an army of 100 000 celestials 28 constellations and four heavenly lords to subdue the monkey king but this time he also sent the warrior sage erlang shen and the teenage god najar along with the troops just as expected wukong again easily defeated the celestial troops until only erlang shen was left when the two engaged in battle the monkey king quickly realized he had met his match with every different animal or object wukong transformed into erlangshen equally transformed yes like wukong erlang shen was capable of 72 different transformations their duel continued for a long time neither of the two agreed to back down erlang shen was obviously stronger but wukong was smarter and quicker and so constantly managed to outwit him seeing he could not defeat wukong alone erlang shen called upon his brothers the elite sages while wukong transformed into a fish and swam away to mount wagu where he then transformed into a temple in an attempt to deceive the approaching sages when the sages got to mount wagu erlang shen used his third eye to see through the monkey king's glamour then another battle began wukong was fierce and strong but the collective power of the seven sages outmatched him this time hurling his golden ring at wukong one of the elite lousy struck him at the head snarling and growling erlang shen's dog bit him at the leg then erlang shen delivered the final blow that brought wukong down alas the fearsome monkey king had finally been subdued what a relief erlang shen had brought to the heavens the ancient one the queen mother of the west the guardian of taoist women she who tended to the peaches of immortality who had control over life and death she who manipulated the occurrence of disasters once upon a time in a dark remote mountain of china there lived a wild female demon who plagued the lands with calamities and disasters after many years of terrorizing the earth the demon grew sorry for the destruction she had caused and repented from her evil ways she achieved enlightenment thereafter and ascended into godhood becoming a powerful goddess this demon is z wang moo and this is how she came to be siwang moo united with the jade emperor in marriage with whom she had numerous children she represented the untamable feminine energy of ian while her husband represented the rational masculine energy of yang the queen mother of the west was a nature goddess who resided in the wilds in the heavenly garden of the jade emperor's palace where she tended to the peaches of immortality the peaches of immortality were very dear to her heart and ripened once every 3000 years so you could imagine her dismay when wukong the monkey king ate all her peaches sparing not a single one just when the peaches were ripe and ready to be plucked just when she was preparing to serve them to deceased heroes who have passed on to the afterlife heroes who would then become immortal dwelling eternally in heavenly paradise as a reward for their heroic deeds z wang moo is also known as chin moon and famously wore a headdress with her deer peaches hanging from it she determined the lifespan of every living being and is a talented weaver who weave the stars into the skies every single night beyond the mists of the skies at the heart of the vast cosmos shines the bright sun illuminating the earth from far above long time ago in the land of china in a time of myths there was not just one sun which gave light to the earth there were ten suns one by one the ten sons crossed the skies each day commanded by the jade emperor that only one could come out at a time lest they burn the earth one fateful day however disobeying the law of the emperor the ten sons came out all at once to play destroying vegetation and scorching the lands plants and animals started to die the waters dried up mankind began to perish the earth was turning into ashes from his celestial throne the jade emperor looked down upon this horror trying to call the sons to their senses all to no avail turning to his immortals he asked which one of them would give up their godhood to save the earth there after a long pause the lord archer stepped forward dressed in animal skin and clad in armor his name was huyi giving up his immortality hu ye became human to save mankind from destruction descending on top of a high mountain hu yi pleaded with the sons to back off but they would not relent he tried to reason with them but they would see no reason with his large bow made from tiger bones and arrows crafted from dragon tendons who ye aimed at the suns and one by one he shot them down until only one was left turning into one-legged ravens the nine fallen sons perished drawing another arrow who ye aimed at the tenth one but the mother of the ten sons cried out in a loud voice begging him to stop for by eliminating the last of the sons the world would be plunged into eternal darkness thus the earth came to have only one son this is the myth of hui and the ten sons the hero wandered the earth slaying monsters and one day he met a very beautiful woman whom he married the woman had skin as pale as snow hair as black as the night and lips as red as rose her name was changey to reward the hero for saving the earth the celestial queen z wang moo gave him the elixir of immortality so he could return to the heavens once again as a god but this only left the hero confused for he loved his wife dearly he could not leave her behind while he returned to the heavens and changie herself could not bear to see her beloved husband go so the couple decided to hide the elixir away till they came up with a good use for it one day however when huyi was out hunting a monster broke into their house in search of the immortality potion changee could not fight this gigantic monster yet she could not let him get his evil hands on the potion dashing to the place they hid the elixir changi quickly took the jar and drank its contents as soon as she did this changi began rising in the air with gentle white light radiating from her floating figure there she ceased being mortal she ceased being flesh and blood she had become a deity changi drifted far into the skies onto the moon where she became known thenceforth as the moon goddess who ye was saddened by this incident when he returned he could no longer come home to the loving embrace of his wife but he knew her transformation was for a good cause not wanting to remain on earth anymore the hero rose into the skies and built his palace in the fiery sun on the 15th day of every lunar month the husband and wife meet again ooh ye traveling from his palace in the sun to the moon palace where his wife now lived this is the story of hui and changi nija the third lotus prince the teenage god of youthfulness and all its misdemeanors the patron deity of drivers the god of quick travels once upon a time in the shang dynasty a godly child was born the wife of a military commander had been pregnant for a very long time and after three years and six months of pregnancy she gave birth to something unusual the woman was known as lady yin and her husband's name was li jing lady yin went into labor on a fateful day and lo she gave birth to a red meaty ball of flesh fearing his wife had just brought forth a demon li jing took up his sword and slashed the ball of flesh with the sword in an attempt to kill this demon but as soon as the sword cut the ball open behold a full-grown boy leapt out of it greeting his startled parents with a gentle bow his name was nija nija's parents were too shocked to move or say anything just staring at their newborn son with fear and uncertainty there a buddhist monk an immortal sage named taeyes and ren who had helped in the child delivery stepped in assuring the startled couple that there was nothing to fear for they had been blessed with an extraordinary child a deity made flesh nija was the youngest of three children his elder brother was called mujah and the eldest jinja a godly child indeed nija was he had extraordinary strength and speed he could already speak and walk at birth he was bright and brilliant but he was also unruly and carefree to inculcate in him good virtues and conduct the buddhist monk zen ren took him under his wing as a disciple one day nija was playing in the sea when he saw a little dragon prince who asked to play with him how excited nija was for none of the children in the land would play with him due to his strange birth so of course he was happy to play with his little dragon prince whose name was our bang and who was the child of the east sea dragon king aguang they started a mock battle a play fight and unaware of his extraordinary strength nija accidentally killed his dragon friend infuriated by the death of his son the dragon king of the east sea poured down rain from the heavens threatening to drown all of china if nija was not put to death for what he had done to save his people and to pay for his crime nija killed himself and gave his remains to the dragon king after which the dragon king was appeased and the flood stopped however nija's spirit found he could not cross into the afterlife he was trapped in the mundane world and roamed the lands restless he appeared to his mother and asked her to build a temple in his name so he could find a resting place in that temple happy her son was not really gone lady yin did as she was told constructing a temple where nija's spirit quickly inhabited but nija's father felt he had brought too much shame and dishonor to the family and so destroyed the temple thereby stranding the little spirit again restless once more nija's spirit was filled with rage and swore to kill his father meanwhile the sage zen ren who had grown so fond of the young nija found a way to bring him back to life by putting his soul into a body made from the roots of lotus thus nija was reborn and back to life the monk gifted him a spear with a fiery tip to use for battle and a pair of wheels of wind fire to travel at great speeds then he set out to carry out his murderous intent to kill his father when li jing saw nija coming the old man fled for his dear life he set up his second son mujah to defend him from his pursuer but nija easily killed his elder brother and continued for his father nija cornered his father till he had no more place to hide as he was about to kill the old man two buddhas appeared before him when shukuang for and random darin the buddha's appealed to nija to have mercy on his father for killing one's parent was a grave grave sin nija listened and spared his father's life he realized there was no honour in his actions and let go of his murderous rage he reached enlightenment and attained full godhood no longer the unruly child they once knew nija became the protector of teenagers new wire the half-snake half-woman deity the great goddess of order the mother and creator of mankind the patron of marriage fertility and childbirth the elder gods came into existence when the death of pangu brought forth the universe and nuwar was one of these gods after spending a while in the heavens she came down to explore the young empty earth because there was no life form on earth aside vegetation nuoi became lonely shortly after she laid down by a pool one day and began to create creatures that looked like herself out of clay and water for the first six days she created six different animals the chicken the dog the ball the sheep the cow and the horse while on the seventh day she began to create humans nua realized it took a great deal of time and effort to mold enough humans that would populate the earth so she took a nearby rope some say a branch dipped it into the mud and flung it around her as the droplets of mud touched the ground they transformed into little men coming to life the humans crafted by newar's hands would become the rich the lords the kings and the emperors while those born from the droplets would become the poor the ordinary the lowlifes and the average satisfied with her creation nuoi returned to the heavens but to her dismay all would not be well she looked down one day to see the roaring waves of the seas clashing with the raging flames of fire the waters tried to stuff out the flames and the fiery flames tried to dry up the waters it was a battle between two elemental gods gong gong a water god and jurong a fire god the water god lost the battle and furious at his defeat he bashed his head against the mythical mountain of bazoo alas the buzu mountain was no ordinary mountain for it was one of the four great pillars that held up the universe and because the water god had shattered it while throwing a tantrum one side of the heavens burst open and fell unto the earth releasing the wildest fires the most ferocious monsters and the greatest floods the world had ever seen many lives were lost some of them burnt by the fires some of them drowned by the floods and some of them eaten by monsters newar swung into action before all her children and creation would be wiped out using the five elements of water earth fire air and wood she created a magical mixture which she used to patch up the skies but it wasn't enough she visited the ancient giant turtle to seek his advice this giant turtle was one of the four friends of the ancient pangu and one of the oldest beings in the universe the turtle thought for a while then in an act of selflessness he gave up his legs to replace the pillar the water god had destroyed with the pillar restored the goddess slew some of the attacking monsters scaring off the rest then she burned a huge quantity of reeds using the ashes to stop the raging floods new wow went into deep sleep afterward a state of eternal rest saving her children had drained so much of her life force they say the goddess had an assistant some say it was her brother and husband his name was fushi fushi was the god of creativity the god of civilization and innovation the benefactor of mankind after nua repaired the heavens and saved her children the humans from destruction fushi blessed them with the gifts of creativity invention and innovation he gave them civilization and taught them how to fend for themselves some say fushi came from pangu while others say he was a first-generation human being that existed at the creation of the world once upon a time in this alternate story of the first generation humans they say human beings already came into existence just after the world was created by pangu here nua was not a god but one of these humans she was not an immortal but flesh and blood a mere mortal alas these first humans drew the ire of the heavens with their atrocious acts thus when they could no longer be tolerated a great flood was sent to wipe out all of mankind nua and fushi were the only survivors of this great flood they got to the mythical mountains of kunlun to seek the advice of the heavens on whether they should get married and repopulate the earth with a new set of human beings they lit two fires on two different mountains one far apart from the other if their smoke went up straight it meant their union was not approved but if their smoke intertwined it meant their union was approved the smoke from the two fires intertwined sonu and fushi got married bringing forth an offspring thereafter they cut up the child and scattered the pieces across the world and men and women began to emerge from the pieces a new human race had been born guanyin the all-seeing the all-hearing the embodiment of compassion the goddess of mercy she who hears the voices of the suffering call upon her in the time of despair and fear and thou shall see guan yin will come forth although a female she could take on the form of a male when she pleased and before she became a goddess she was once a young girl whose name was maoshan once upon a time little maoshan was born to king zhuang of chu and his wife lady yin as soon as she learned how to speak she started to chant buddhist sutras when she had grown into a lady her father arranged her marriage to a wealthy lord but maushan had no desire to marry she wanted to become a buddhist nun her father insisted yet mao shan remained adamant saying she would only agree on three conditions that her marriage would alleviate the suffering of the sick the suffering that comes with age and the suffering of death her conditions could not be met and so mao shan was allowed to join a buddhist temple where her father instructed the monks to give her the hardest chores allowing her no rest also she would change her mind but maushan went about her work happily and diligently she became so loved that all the forest animals began to help her with her numerous chores furious that his plan didn't work her father ordered that the temple be burned down but mao shan went forth and put off the burning flames with her bare hands now afraid his daughter was some kind of demon the king condemned her to death but on the day of execution even their weapons would not hurt moushan as the executioner brought down his axe upon her neck the axe broke into pieces when he tried to impale her with his sword the sword shattered into a thousand shards and when he shot at her with his arrows the arrows all flew off course the executioner became frustrated and afraid if he couldn't kill the girl it would mean his own death seeing the executioner's dilemma mao shan forgave him and allowed herself to be executed she then absorbed his karma so he would not have to pay for his crimes in the afterlife when she got to the underworld the gloomy realm came to life and light blossoming all around with beautiful flowers as she saw the poor souls condemned forever in the underworld mao shan released all the good karma she had accumulated cleansing the souls of their damnation and freeing them from hell the king of hell yan wang was bewildered by this incident and afraid mao shan would put an end to his gloomy kingdom he quickly sent her back to earth where she became an enlightened being where she became guanyin guanyin continued her acts of compassion healing wisdom and mercy her earthly father would later fall sick with jaundice which all medicine would fail to cure she would heal him of his sickness and ashamed of his ways the old man would beg for her forgiveness building her a magnificent temple on the fragrant mountain afterward while on earth guan yin would come to have two disciples shanghai and long nu she was always worshipped as the patron of sailors and fishermen for from the heights of the mountains where she meditated she would always calm the raging seas whenever boats and ships were threatened by the angry waves after she had gone to the heavens she would gift the buddhist monk tan sanzang a magical crown to subdue the monkey king sun wukong the marquis of hanshaw village the great god of war wielding the green dragon crescent blade he stood at a height of 9 chi and had two long beard his face was the color of a dark soul with lips that were red and plump his eyes were like those of a crimson phoenix and his eyebrows resembled reclining silkworms he had a dignified air and looked majestic his name was guanou guanyu was a military general who served under his good friend and warlord lupe during the late eastern han dynasty of china he was known for his might and battle skills when guanyu rode onto the battlefield he conquered any foe he vanquished their armies guanu won many wars for his state and province his strength and skills were unlike any other they had ever seen that even when captured in a war a rival would dare not kill this man recognizing how mighty he was they would give him control of their armies and charge him with defending their territories instead when guanyu fought no other would stand the victory was his the spoils were for his province a loyal friend he also was for he defended his comrade lupe till his dying days guanyu lived and died like a true warrior he was after many victories and exploits and when old age began to tell on him he would be captured in a war and executed afterwards but that mattered little it was not the end for guanou for his great achievements would forever immortalize him as the chinese god of war you

Channel: Mythology - Folklore A-Z

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Keywords: mythology, pangu, jade emperor, sun wukong, monkey king, erlang shen, xiwangmu, hou yi, chang'e, hou yi and chang'e, nezha, nuwa, fuxi, nuwa and fuxi, guan yu, guanyin, legend of miao shan, the gods of china, the 12 mightiest gods of chinese mythology, the elder gods, the 12 elder titans of greek mythology, erlang shen and the monkey king, journey to the west, hou yi and the 10 suns, chinese mythology explained, legend of nezha, greek mythology, greek mythology stories, greek gods

Id: VrkOHV65ot0

Length: 39min 56sec (2396 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 22 2020