Erlang Shen
Strict ½ demigod under the dominant literary tradition (Yáojī + Yáng Tiānyòu); the Li Erlang variant (Li Bing's son, mortal-mortal) is recorded as secondary. Canonical narratives: cleaves Mount Tao with the Heaven-Splitting Axe to free his imprisoned mother (the foundational mountain-cleaving template that the Chen Xiang cycle later reproduces); subdues Sun Wukong during the Havoc in Heaven (Xiyou Ji 6-7); assists King Wu of Zhou in the Investiture of the Gods Shang-Zhou transition campaign. Distinctive iconography: vertical third eye in forehead, three-pointed double-edged blade, the Howling Celestial Dog, the Heaven-Splitting Axe. Post-deeds canonization as Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun installs him in the Daoist celestial bureaucracy under his uncle the Jade Emperor — the demigod-to-deity transition is recorded in the lifecycle array. Per Investiture of the Gods (c. 1605); Journey to the West (1592); Erlang Baojuan; Bao Lian Deng.
Parentage
Domains
- celestial warriorship
- hunting
- flood control
Powers
- shape shifting
- Shapeshift via the seventy-two transformations
- See truth through the heavenly third eye
Epithets
- 清源妙道真君
- 二郎神
- 灌口二郎
Relations
- enemy: Chen Xiang
- sibling: Sanshengmu
- rival: Sun Wukong
Sources
- Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi, attributed Xu Zhonglin / Lu Xixing, c. 1605); Journey to the West (Xiyou Ji, Wu Cheng'en, 1592) ch. 6-7; Erlang Baojuan (Ming precious-scroll genre); Bao Lian Deng (Tang folk-cycle, Yuan-Ming dramatic tradition)
- Erlang Baojuan; Bao Lian Deng tradition
- Sichuan local cult; Yi-jian Zhi
- Song-dynasty imperial enfeoffment; Daoist canonization