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Book - Library

Summary
The Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi ????; also called Fengshen bang ???) Attributed to Xu Zhonglin ??? (d. 1566) or to Lu Xixing ??? (d. 1601), this novel of the type of a historical romance is a great fantasy about the overthrow of the bad, depraved ruler Zhou ? of the Shang dynasty by king Wu of Zhou ???. The sources for this novel include oral and written material about Taoist heroes and gods, monsters and spirits that assist king Wu in subduing the bad ruler or help bad king Zhou to resist the heaven appointed rebel. Inspired by his fox-ghost concubine Daji ?? (not Danji!), king Zhou murders his loyal ministers and even his own son. After the downfall of Shang, the suicide of king Zhou and the exorcism of Daji by Jiang Ziya ???, king Wu enfeoffs all his followers with a part of the kingdom, creating the Zhou feudal system. The deceased and killed heroes (the "gods" of the title), even the enemies, are invested with a heavenly constellation. The novel is well-composed and organized in an endless sequence of battles between the heroes that are not only fighting with weapons but also with words, trying to persuade the opponent to follow the justified side. The monotony of the endless battles makes the book a quite boring lecture, even if the author tries to introduce unexpected elements like suddenly joining Taoist or even Buddhist heroes.[
Title
The Investiture of the Gods
Author
Publisher
Date
Object ID
2001.046.005.369