Malaysia / China: Carving of the god Erlang Shen, depicting his role in the 16th...

The Chinese god Erlang Shen, or sometimes Yang Jian, has various differing origin stories. In some, he is a deified folk hero who helped regulate China's torrential floods, in others he is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. Whatever his origin, Erlang Shen is known as the greatest warrior god of heaven, equpped with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead, and is titled 'Divine Immortal of Purity and Decency'. Erlang makes various appearances in Chinese folk mythology and writing, from 'Journey to the West' to 'Fengshen Yanyi'. In the former, he is titled 'Illustrious Sage' and is sent by his uncle, the Jade Emperor, to subdue Sun Wukong for causing havoc in heaven, eventually defeating the trickster monkey through teamwork with several other gods. In 'Fengshen Yanyi', he is first seen fighting demons known as the Diablo Brothers alongside noble and sage Jiang Ziya. He later fights on the side of the Zhou army against the Shang army, helping to overthrow the Shang Dynasty. Erlang is almost always portrayed as a noble and righteous warrior god, exceptionally powerful and capable of 72 Transformations, and is worshipped as a filial deity for rescuing his deceased mother from torture in the Chinese underworld. Editor: Anandajoti