Chinese Mythology & Legends

Illustrated bestiary of mythical beasts, deities and folk legends

An illustrated guide to Chinese mythology and legends: Shan Hai Jing beasts, the four directional creatures, Taoist and Buddhist deities, creation and love legends, each with source texts, traits, stories and East-West comparisons.

Fuxi, God of Civilization — The Ancestor Who Opened the Heavens with a Single Stroke

Fuxi, God of Civilization — The Ancestor Who Opened the Heavens with a Single Stroke

After Pangu split the heavens from the earth and Nüwa created humanity, humans f

Gonggong, God of Water and Chaos — The Violent Water God Who Smashed the Pillar of Heaven in Rage

Gonggong, God of Water and Chaos — The Violent Water God Who Smashed the Pillar of Heaven in Rage

Gonggong, God of Water and Chaos

Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy — Great Compassion, Hearing Cries and Saving Suffering

Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy — Great Compassion, Hearing Cries and Saving Suffering

Draped in white robes, face like a full moon, kind brows and gentle eyes, holdin

Guan Yu (Lord Guan) — The Martial Saint and Divine Emperor of Unwavering Righteousness

Guan Yu (Lord Guan) — The Martial Saint and Divine Emperor of Unwavering Righteousness

Green Dragon Crescent Blade — weighing eighty-two jin, its blade engraved with a

Hou Yi, The Divine Archer — The Peerless Bow That Shot Down Nine Suns

Hou Yi, The Divine Archer — The Peerless Bow That Shot Down Nine Suns

If you had to pick the most tragic hero in Chinese mythology, Hou Yi would defin

The Jade Emperor — Sovereign Lord of the Three Realms

The Jade Emperor — Sovereign Lord of the Three Realms

The Jade Emperor

Wearing an imperial crown with twelve beaded strands hanging before his face, cl

Jiang Ziya, The Prime Minister of the Gods — The Grand Duke Who Wielded the Whip to Shape Heaven and Earth on the Investiture of the Gods

Jiang Ziya, The Prime Minister of the Gods — The Grand Duke Who Wielded the Whip to Shape Heaven and Earth on the Investiture of the Gods

Jiang Ziya, The Prime Minister of the Gods

Lü Dongbin — Pure Yang Sword Immortal, Leader of the Eight Immortals

Lü Dongbin — Pure Yang Sword Immortal, Leader of the Eight Immortals

Pure Yang Sword — also known as the Heaven Escaping Sword, a divine weapon for s

Meng Jiangnu, The Woman Who Cried Down the Great Wall — An Eternal Tale of Chaste Devotion

Meng Jiangnu, The Woman Who Cried Down the Great Wall — An Eternal Tale of Chaste Devotion

Meng Jiangnu, The Woman Who Cried Down the Great Wall

Milefo, The Laughing Buddha (Maitreya) — A Big Belly That Embraces All, a Smile That Never Fades

Milefo, The Laughing Buddha (Maitreya) — A Big Belly That Embraces All, a Smile That Never Fades

Milefo, The Laughing Buddha (Maitreya)

Nanji Xianweng (The Old Immortal of the South Pole) — The Old Immortal of the South Pole, Bestower of Longevity and Blessings

Nanji Xianweng (The Old Immortal of the South Pole) — The Old Immortal of the South Pole, Bestower of Longevity and Blessings

Nanji Xianweng (The Old Immortal of the South Pole)

Nezha — The Lotus Rebel Who Returned His Bones to His Father

Nezha — The Lotus Rebel Who Returned His Bones to His Father

A youth born of a lotus, with three heads and six arms (battle form), treading o

Niú Láng Zhī Nǚ, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl — An Eternal Love That Meets Once a Year Across the Milky Way

Niú Láng Zhī Nǚ, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl — An Eternal Love That Meets Once a Year Across the Milky Way

Niú Láng Zhī Nǚ

Niú Láng Zhī Nǚ, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

Nüwa — The Chinese Mother Goddess Who Created Humanity from Clay

Nüwa — The Chinese Mother Goddess Who Created Humanity from Clay

After Pangu transformed his body into the sky, earth, and all things, the world

Pangu — The Creation Giant Who Split Heaven and Earth

Pangu — The Creation Giant Who Split Heaven and Earth

Before everything and anything, there was no light, no sound, not even the conce

Queen Mother of the West — Mistress of the Yao Pond Who Guards the Immortality Peaches

Queen Mother of the West — Mistress of the Yao Pond Who Guards the Immortality Peaches

Queen Mother of the West

If the Jade Emperor is the CEO of the Three Realms, then the Queen Mother of the

Rulai, The Buddha (Tathagata) — The Supreme Venerable of Buddhism

Rulai, The Buddha (Tathagata) — The Supreme Venerable of Buddhism

With a golden body sixteen feet tall, a conch-shell topknot, and a treasure-mark

Shennong, God of Agriculture and Medicine — The Ancestor of Medicine Who Tasted a Hundred Herbs

Shennong, God of Agriculture and Medicine — The Ancestor of Medicine Who Tasted a Hundred Herbs

Shennong, God of Agriculture and Medicine

Suiren, God of Fire — The Civilizing Spark of Drilling Wood for Fire

Suiren, God of Fire — The Civilizing Spark of Drilling Wood for Fire

If Pangu gave humanity heaven and earth, Nüwa gave humanity life, and Fuxi gave

Sun Wukong (The Monkey King) — The Immortal Legend from Stone Monkey to Victorious Fighting Buddha

Sun Wukong (The Monkey King) — The Immortal Legend from Stone Monkey to Victorious Fighting Buddha

The golden-haired Monkey King, wearing a phoenix-feather purple-gold crown, clad

Taishang Laojun, The Grand Supreme Elder — The Supreme Alchemy Ancestor of Daoism

Taishang Laojun, The Grand Supreme Elder — The Supreme Alchemy Ancestor of Daoism

Taishang Laojun

Taishang Laojun, The Grand Supreme Elder

Weituo, The Guardian of Dharma — The Fierce-Eyed Vajra Protector of Buddhism

Weituo, The Guardian of Dharma — The Fierce-Eyed Vajra Protector of Buddhism

Weituo, The Guardian of Dharma

Xingtian, The Headless Warrior — The Unyielding Battle Spirit That Fights On Without a Head

Xingtian, The Headless Warrior — The Unyielding Battle Spirit That Fights On Without a Head

Xingtian, The Headless Warrior

Yue Lao, The Old Man Under the Moon — The Elder Deity Under the Moon Who Ties the Red Thread

Yue Lao, The Old Man Under the Moon — The Elder Deity Under the Moon Who Ties the Red Thread

Yue Lao, The Old Man Under the Moon