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Erlang Shen, or simply Erlang, is a god in Chinese folk religion and Daoism, associated with water (flood control), justice, warriorhood, hunting, and demon subdual. He is commonly depicted as a young man with a Third eye in the middle of his forehead, wielding a three-pronged spear, and being accompanied by his loyal hunting dog, Xiaotian Quan.
The origin of Erlang is complex. He is most commonly believed to be the deification of Li Erlang, the second son of Li Bing, a hydraulic engineer of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Later stories identify him as the deification of Yang Jian, the nephew of the legendary Jade Emperor. He is also identified with several other folk heroes associated with controlling floods.
In the Ming dynasty-era semi-mythical novels Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West, Erlang Shen is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. In the former novel, he assists the Zhou dynasty army in defeating the Shang dynasty. In the latter, he is the second son of a mortal and the Jade Emperor's sister Yunhua, as well as an enemy-turned-ally of Sun Wukong. In his legends he is known as the greatest warrior god of heaven, and was a disciple of Yuding Zhenren, who taught him fighting and magical skills such as the 72 Earthly Transformations.
Since Li Erlang was from Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, the god Erlang is also known by the epithets Chuanzhu (l=Lord of Sichuan) and Guankou Erlang (l=Erlang of Guankou).
Other bynames of the deity include:
As a god, Erlang is a noble and powerful warrior who vanquishes demons and monsters, and embodies justice and righteousness. He possesses vast, superhuman strength, being able to cleave through an entire mountain in one stroke.
His main weapon is a spear called Sanjian Liangren Qiang (l=Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear), usually depicted as a flat, broad spear with three tips like a trident, and the two cutting edges of a saber. This bladed polearm is powerful enough to penetrate and cleave through steel and stone like wool.
Erlang is almost always accompanied by his faithful hunting dog, the Xiaotian Quan (l=Howling/Barking Celestial Dog), which has the ability to viciously attack, maul, and subdue demons and evil spirits.
In some legends, Erlang possesses a unique ability known as the Jiuzhuan Xuangong (l=Nine Turns Divine Skill), which turns him nearly invincible against conventional weapons and most forms of magic. In the novel Investiture of the Gods, this ability turns him completely impervious to attacks from mystical weapons that have proven capable of injuring or even killing other immortals. Some stories state he is capable of 72 transformations (sometimes 73), meaning he can transform into virtually anything he wants.
In some folk beliefs, he was a Filial piety son that entered Diyu, or hell, to save his deceased mother from torment. After being deified, he punishes unfilial children by striking them with thunder as a punishment, hence the traditional saying, "being smitten by lightning for being unfilial and ungrateful" towards unruly children.
In later stories, Erlang is the deification of Yang Jian, son of the goddess Yunhua, and nephew of the legendary Jade Emperor. This portrayal as Yang Jian is most common in popular media.
According to the "Story about Li Bing and His Son in Harnessing the Rivers" in the Records of Guansian, Li Erlang assisted his father in the construction of the complex irrigation system that prevented the Min River from flooding and irrigated the Chengdu Plain. In thanks for the prosperity that this brought to them, the local people elevated the father and son to gods and dedicated the Two Kings Temple in their honor.
Legend states that Li Bing sent his son out to discover the source of the flooding. He spent a year exploring the county without success. One day whilst sheltering in a cave, he encountered a tiger which he slew and seven hunters who had witnessed this bravery agreed to join him in his quest.
The group finally came to a cottage on the outskirts of Guan County (modern Dujiangyan City). From within they heard the sound of an old woman crying. The woman was Grandma Wang and she told them that her grandson was to be sacrificed to an evil dragon who was the local river god. Li Erlang reported this to his father who devised a plan to capture the dragon.
The eight friends hid in the River God Temple and jumped out on the dragon when it arrived to claim its offering. The dragon fled to the river pursued by Li Erlang, who eventually captured it. Grandma Wang arrived with an iron chain and the dragon was secured in the pool below the Dragon-Taming Temple, freeing the region from floods.
Another legend tells of Li Erlang suppressing a fire dragon that lived in the mountains north of Dujiangyan by climbing to the top of Mount Yulei, turning into a giant and building a dam with 66 mountains then filling it with water from Dragon Pacifying Pool.
Historically, Li Bing was conferred an official title until the Five Dynasties period under the rule of the Shu kingdom. He rose to political power when the great flood that occurred on the twenty-sixth day of the eighth month in 920 AD was reported to the emperor by Daoist Du Guangting.
In the Tang dynasty story The Magic Lotus Lantern, Erlang's mother, Princess Yunhua, was the goddess of the realm of desire in heaven. Her job was to limit the gods' mortal urges such as love, affection, greed, and ambition. When she pursued an evil dragon who broke free of its heavenly prison into the mortal realm and was injured by it, she fell in love with Yang Tianyou, a mortal scholar, who saved her life by giving her his own heart to replace the one the dragon damaged. They had three children: Yang Jiao, Yang Jian (Erlang Shen), and Yang Chan (Holy Mother of Mount Hua). When the Jade Emperor discovered her marriage, he sent his armies to kill her family and capture her. Only Erlang and his sister Yang Chan survived.
In order to rescue his mother, Yang Jian became a disciple of Yuding Zhenren at Jinxia Cave in Yuquan Mountain. By the age of seventeen, he had cultivated powerful abilities that allowed him to stand proudly in the world. His martial skills progressed remarkably, especially after he obtained the Three-Pointed Two-Edged Blade. Driven by his deep desire to save his mother, he used his blade to split open Peach Mountain and rescued her. This legend has also become an important origin for the "filial piety" culture along the banks of the Guan River.
In the Ming dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods (1605), it is mentioned that Princess Longji is the Jade Emperor's daughter, making her Yang Jian's cousin. The Golden Fleece Lads are his disciples.
Deng Xia is said to have been a general under Erlang who surpassed his predecessors in valor and defeated a flood dragon, receiving the title "Erlang Shen" and a temple in his honor at Zhongqingli in Hangzhou.
The Seven Monsters of Meishan are the main adversaries of Yan Jian and were summoned from their home on Mount Mei to help defend Mengjin Pass on behalf of the Shang dynasty against the advancing Zhou army. With their formidable magical powers and demonic abilities, they inflict heavy losses on the Zhou forces, defeating several of its generals. Because they are highly cultivated demons, ordinary weapons often fail to kill them permanently. However, Yang Jian's third eye, known as the "Eye of Heaven", allows him to see through their disguises and perceive their true forms. He then systematically defeats them by exploiting the natural weaknesses of their original animal forms.
Throughout the course of Erlang's duel between Sun Wukong, it was proven that they are equally matched. After many transformations that were performed in their duel (Sun Wukong fleeing as a fish; Erlang and Sun Wukong becoming larger birds, and so forth), near the conclusion of the battle, he managed to see through Sun Wukong's disguise (as a temple) using his third eye and with the assistance of another God. It should be noted, however, that Wukong fleeing was for his monkeys' safety. Erlang eventually captured Wukong through teamwork with several other gods; Laozi personally had dropped his refined golden ring that had hit Sun Wukong on the head, giving Erlang a chance to bring him down, and Erlang's dog bit him in the leg. After Sun Wukong had been captured (to which Sun Wukong retorts that they are cowards for attacking from behind), he and his heavenly soldiers would burn areas of Mount Huaguo. Erlang is seen again far later in the novel when he assists Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie through chance by fighting against an ancient Dragon King and his villainous son-in-law, a nine-headed bird demon. Wukong also mentions being sworn brothers with Erlang Shen. Erlang has six other sworn brothers known as the Six Sages of Meishan from Plum Mountain (Meishan).
| +Yang Jian/Erlang Shen in film and television !Year !Country !Title !Type !Yang Jian/Erlang Sheng actor | ||||
| 1964 | China | Uproar In Heaven 大鬧天宮 | Animated Film | Yu Ding |
| 1986 | China | Journey to the West 西游记 | Television series | Lin Zhiqian |
| 1996 | Hong Kong | Journey to the West 西游记 | Television series | Joe Ma |
| 1998 | Singapore | Legend of the Eight Immortals 东游记 | Television series | Wang Yanbin |
| 1999 | China | Lotus Lantern 宝莲灯 | Animated film | Jiang Wen |
| 2005 | China | Lotus Lantern 宝莲灯 | Television series | Vincent Chiao |
| 2006 | China | The Legend and the Hero 封神榜之凤鸣岐山 | Television series | Han Dong |
| 2009 | China | Prelude of Lotus Lantern 宝莲灯前传 | Television series | Vincent Chiao |
| 2009 | China | The Legend and the Hero 2 | Television series | Han Dong |
| 2010 | China | Journey to the West 西游记 | Television series | Yin Xiaotian |
| 2011 | China | Journey to the West 西游记 | Television series | Feng Shaofeng |
| 2014 | Hong Kong China | The Monkey King 西游记之大闹天宫 | Film | Peter Ho |
| 2016 | Hong Kong China | League of Gods 3D封神榜 | Film | Huang Xiaoming |
| 2017 | China | A Chinese Odyssey: Love of Eternity 大话西游之爱你一万年 | Television series | Hu Yunhao |
| 2018 | China | The Taoism Grandmaster 玄门大师 | Television series | Han Dong |
| 2019 | China | The Gods 封神 | Television series | Luo Jin |
| 2020 | China | Heroic Journey of Nezha 哪咤降妖记 | Television series | Gao Ziqi |
| 2022 | China | 新神榜：杨戬 | Animated Film | Wang Kai |
| 2023 | China | 封神第一部：朝歌风云 | Film | Ci Sha |
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