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Gods and demons fiction or Shenmo fiction () is a subgenre of Chinese fantasy fiction that revolves around the Chinese gods, immortals, and yaoguai of Chinese mythology. The term shenmo xiaoshuo, coined in the early 20th century by the writer and literary historian Lu Xun, literally means "gods and demons novel". Representative works of shenmo fiction include the novels Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods.
The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt (三遂平妖傳, ) is an early gods and demons novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. In the story, Wang Ze begins a rebellion against the government with the aid of magic. The Four Journeys (四遊記, ) is another early shenmo work composed of four novels and published during the dynasty as a compilation of folk stories. The Story of Han Xiangzi (韓湘子全傳, ), a Taoism novel from the same period, also shares this supernatural theme but contains heavier religious overtones.
The most well known examples of shenmo fiction are Journey to the West (西遊記, ) and Investiture of the Gods (封神演義, ). Journey to the West in particular is considered by Chinese literary critics as the chef-d'œuvre of shenmo novels. The novel's authorship is attributed to Wu Cheng'en and was first published in 1592 by Shitedang, a Ming publishing house. The popularity of Journey to the West inspired a series of shenmo copycats that borrowed plot elements from the book.
The grotesque exposés of the Qing dynasty ( qiangze xiaoshuo) reference the supernatural motifs of shenmo xiaoshuo, but in the Qing exposés, the division between the real and unreal is less clear cut. The supernatural is placed outside conventional fantasy settings and presented as a natural part of a realistic world, bringing about its grotesque nature. This trait is embodied in the Journey to the West and other shenmo parodies of the late Qing dynasty. In A Ridiculous Journey to the West ( Wuli qunao zhi xiyouji) by Wu Jianwen, the protagonist Bare-Armed Gibbon, a more venal version of Sun Wukong, aids the Vulture King once he is unable to wring any money out of a penniless fish that the vulture had caught and dropped in a puddle.
The monkey returns in another Wu Jianwen story, Long Live the Constitution ( Lixian wansui), and bickers with other characters from Journey to the West over a constitution for Heaven. The four main characters of Journey to the West, the monkey, Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, travel to modern Shanghai in the New Journey to the West ( Xin xiyouji) by Lengxue. In Shanghai, they mingle with prostitutes, suffer from drug addiction, and play games of mahjong. Journey to the West was not the only gods and demons novel lampooned. New Investiture of the Gods ( Xin Fengshenzhuan) is a parody of Investiture of the Gods by Dalu that was published as a guji xiaoshuo comedy.
Novels in this subgenre include an expanded revision of The Sorcerer's Revolt, What Sort of Book Is This? ( Hedian), Romance of Devil Killing ( Zhanggui zhuan), and Quelling the Demons ( Pinggui zhuan). Instead of focusing only on a supernatural realm, shenmo comedies used fantasy as a social commentary on the follies of the human world. Lu Xun theorized that the shenmo genre shaped the satirical works later written in the Qing dynasty. The genre also influenced the science fantasy novels of the late Qing.
Shenmo and other fantasy genres experienced a revival in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and, later, in Mainland China after the Cultural Revolution ended. Having returned to Chinese popular culture, fantasy has populated film, television, radio, and literature. Contemporary writers frequently use supernatural themes to accentuate the otherworldly atmosphere of their works.
From 1996 to 2000, Ryu Fujisaki published Hoshin Engi in Weekly Shonen Jump. The story and characters were based on Investiture of the Gods.
In August 2024, a Chinese company released , a video game featuring characters based on Journey to the West.
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