Gods and demons fiction or Shenmo fiction () is a

subgenre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of Chinese

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

that revolves around the

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, immortals,

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

s and

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

s of

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

. The term ''shenmo xiaoshuo'', coined in the early 20th century by the writer and literary historian

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

, literally means "gods and demons novel". Representative works of ''shenmo'' fiction include the novels ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'' and ''

Investiture of the Gods ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese titles () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major Written vernacular Chinese, vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Min ...

''.

History

''Shenmo'' first appeared in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

as a genre of vernacular fiction, a style of writing based on spoken Chinese rather than

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...

. The roots of the genre are found in traditional folktales and legends. Plot elements like the use of magic and

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

were derived from Chinese mythology and religion, including

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, popular among Ming intellectuals. '' The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt'' (, ) is an early gods and demons novel attributed to

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese novelist who lived during the Ming dynasty. He is also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo Guanzhon ...

. In the story, Wang Ze begins a rebellion against the government with the aid of magic. The '' Four Journeys'' (, ) 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'' (, ), a

Daoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

novel from the same period, also shares this supernatural theme but contains heavier religious overtones. The most well known examples of ''shenmo'' fiction are ''

'' (, ) and ''

'' (, ). ''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.

Comedic ''shenmo'' of the Ming and Qing dynasties

Later works of gods and demons fiction drifted away from the purely fantastical themes of novels like ''Journey to the West''. ''Shenmo'' novels were still ostensibly about monsters and gods, but carried more humanistic themes. During the late

and early

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, a subgenre of comedic ''shenmo'' had emerged. 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 Tang Sanzang is a Buddhist monk and pilgrim who is a central character in the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West'' by Wu Cheng'en. His birth surname name was Chen (), but having been found in a river as a baby--he was abandoned after bir ...

, 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 Mahjong (English pronunciation: ; also transliterated as mah jongg, mah-jongg, and mahjongg) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played ...

. ''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

. The genre also influenced the science fantasy novels of the late Qing.

20th century

''Shenmo'' literature declined in the early 20th century. The generation of writers following the

May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response ...

rejected fantasy in favor of

literary realism Literary realism is a movement and genre of literature that attempts to represent mundane and ordinary subject-matter in a faithful and straightforward way, avoiding grandiose or exotic subject-matter, exaggerated portrayals, and speculative ele ...

influenced by the trends of 19th-century European literature. Chinese writers regarded fantasy genres like ''shenmo'' as superstitious and a product of a feudal society. Stories of gods and monsters were seen as an obstacle to the modernization of China and scientific progress. The writer

Hu Shih Hu Shih ( zh, t=胡適; 17 December 189124 February 1962) was a Chinese academic, writer, and politician. Hu contributed to Chinese liberalism and language reform, and was a leading advocate for the use of written vernacular Chinese. He part ...

wrote that the spells and magical creatures of Chinese fiction were more harmful to the Chinese people than the germs discovered by

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...

. Stories of the supernatural were denounced during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, an era when " Down with ox-ghosts and snake-spirits" was a popular Communist slogan. ''Shenmo'' and other fantasy genres experienced a revival in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, Hong Kong, and, later, in

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

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.

Etymology

The term ''shenmo xiaoshuo'' was coined by the writer and literary historian

in his book '' A Brief History of Chinese Fiction'' (1930), which has three chapters on the genre. The literary historian Mei Chun translates Lu Xun's term as "supernatural/fantastic". The term was adopted as a convention by the generations of Chinese literary critics that followed him. In their 1959 translation of Lu Xun's book, Gladys Yang and Yang Xianyi translate ''shenmo '' as "Gods and Devils". Lin Chin, a historian of Chinese literature, categorized the fantasy novels of the Ming dynasty as ''shenguai xiaoshuo'', "novels of gods and strange phenomenon".

Notable adaptations

The 1986 television adaptation of ''Journey to the West'' is one of the most well-known adaptations of the novel. From 1996 to 2000, Ryu Fujisaki published '' Hoshin Engi'' in Weekly Shonen Jump. The story and characters were based on ''

.'' In August 2024, a Chinese company released '' Black Myth: Wukong'', a video game featuring characters based on ''

''.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Horror fiction Ming dynasty literature Qing dynasty literature Chinese literature Chinese literary genres Fantasy genres Film genres Television genres Chinese mythology in popular culture