The character in the 1986 TV series, Journey to the West. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Varied versions

With the emergence of important god-and-demon novels such as Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods, the literary image and story of Nezha was standardized and became popular. In the Investiture of the Gods, he is depicted as the son of Li Jing, a general guarding the Chentang Pass, and his wife Yin Shiniang. Nezha is an adorable, slender and elegant child with magical powers, incarnated from a magical gemstone, the treasure of a Taoist immortal sect. His destiny is written in the stars — he has to die before becoming a deity.

With two magical weapons: Qiankun Quan, or the universal ring made of gold that can shrink or grow in size, and Huntian Ling, a red armillary sash that floats around his body and can be used to immobilize or strangle rivals and regenerates if torn, Nezha goes to take a bath in an estuary of the East Sea on a hot day when he is 7.

He starts playing with Huntian Ling and splashes around in the water. Instantly, the sash turns the East Sea Dragon Palace upside down. The Dragon King Ao Guang sends a Yaksha to find out what has happened. Nezha kills the Yaksha using his ring. Then Ao Guang's son Ao Bing offers to fight the child, but is also killed. Ignorant of his wrongdoings, Nezha removes Ao Bing's dragon tendon and plans to give it to his father as a belt.

To seek justice and revenge, the East Sea Dragon King unites with the dragon kings of the West, South and North seas to flood the Chentang Pass. To save the people and placate the dragon kings, Nezha dissects his body, returning his flesh to his mother and his bones to his father. Later, his mother builds a temple with a gilded statue for his soul to dwell in and be worshipped for three years before he is reborn, as his destiny requires.

However, his father, still angered by these deeds that might ruin his career, breaks the statue and burns down the temple. Nezha's mentor, a Taoist immortal Taiyi Zhenren uses lotus roots to re-create his body and resurrects him. After being reborn, Nezha wants to kill his father, who escapes narrowly several times and is given a magical pagoda by another Taoist immortal to subdue Nezha.

For hundreds of years, Nezha's stories have been adapted into countless works of art. In the above-mentioned paper, Liu writes, "gods are products of society, evolving with the times". In this case, Nezha is intertwined with the spirit of the times.