Creation of the Gods (often also "Investiture of the Gods," orig. 封神演義) | translation by Gu Zhizhong

Without Grand Tutor Wen by his side, King Zhou is seduced by a fox sprite into letting his wickedness run wild, dooming the Shang Dynasty to end. But a dynasty that's lasted for well over 500 years doesn't fall in an instant. Over a span of 28 years, we witness the King fall more and more into depravity, his enemies unite on one front, and the army of the Zhou,¹ led by Jiang Ziya, march on Zhaoge.

Filled with some historical and many mythological characters and events, this is a leading work in the Chinese shenmo (gods and demons) genre. As such, it has been a significant influence on Chinese media, like the recent New Gods films, or the highest-grossing animated film of all time, Ne Zha 2 (2025), as well as operas and plays, which aren't as available to a Western audience. Despite its importance, the author remains unknown.²

Outside of China, the text is not widely available. Most translations are incomplete, often not even spanning half of the chapters, sometimes making up for it by at least including summaries of the missing chapters. Gu Zhizhong's 1992 translation is the only complete English version of the text and has been out of print for decades. Online, copies are offered for triple-digit prices, but there are also some digital versions floating around.

Are we in the West missing out on something? Well, the story itself is a compelling blend of history, myth, and fantasy. There is the real historical context of the end of the Shang Dynasty. The tyrannical King Zhou was actually the last ruler of the Shang, and his story did end as described in the novel. General Jiang Ziya was similarly a real person, and while historians are not sure about his long life before he became a general, the account in this novel is one version that's circulated.

This historical context is then enriched with mythological and fantasy aspects: characters use magic like traveling on the elements, possession, magical healing and revivification, or use magic items that release pests, reveal people's true nature, or simply knock an enemy unconscious. Similarly, important figures of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism show up to join the fight on both sides. But with over 400 characters in this novel, there are few—if any—that a Westerner might recognize and appreciate their inclusion. Still, quite a handful will merit looking up on Wikipedia for some interesting additional context.

During such research, the reader will also quickly identify that the split into "historical" and "fantastical" elements I have undertaken above is only accurate at first glance. As the Shang Dynasty came to an end, there was a huge PR push to frame King Zhou in the worst light possible, to make him the tyrant he is in this novel. Similarly, the Zhou Dynasty, starting with King Wen and King Wu, was framed as incredibly virtuous.³ And while Confucianism didn't even exist at the time the novel takes place, the way it places the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism) next to each other has become "historical" canon in parts of Chinese philosophy.

So, at its best, this novel really is incredibly rich in form and content. There are some plot devices unusual to Western storytelling, many jumping-off points for deeper research, intriguing themes below the surface, and equally provocative themes on the surface: fate (the "will of Heaven"), patriotism and loyalty, and (poetic) justice.

But at its worst, this can be a real slog, mostly due to its repetitiveness. Many things happen again and again in quite similar ways. Especially the battles from chapter 38 onward are all much the same.⁴ With 400 characters, obviously not everyone can get enough characterization to make them memorable, but a lot of them aren't even more than a name. The magic items are similarly not described beyond their names and their "being used." Different characters repeat the same pieces of dialogue over and over. And while I can't judge the accuracy of the translation, I can say that some vocabulary feels suspiciously out of place.

In all, I would not recommend a Western audience read this novel. The latter two thirds just sag too much. The beginning is strong and varied and might be worth reading on its own.⁵ But if you're really interested, I'd recommend listening to this story on the Chinese Lore Podcast. John Zhu takes his time to go through the novel without any abridgment, staying very close to this translation. He occasionally adds some snarky remarks, which work well to lighten up the monotony of the later parts, and he provides some additional historical and cultural context to close the gap between a Western and a Chinese audience.

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