Investiture of the Gods

The Investiture of the Gods, also known by its Chinese titles Fengshen Yanyi and Fengshen Bang, is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular works in the gods-and-demons genre, written during the Ming dynasty and consisting of 100 chapters. It was first published in book form between 1567 and 1619, though another source claims a finalized edition appeared in 1605. The story is set in the era of the decline of the Shang dynasty and the rise of the Zhou dynasty, and intertwines elements of Chinese mythology, folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, including deities, demons, immortals and spirits. The work combines elements of history, folklore, mythology, legends and fantasy, and its authorship is attributed to Xu Zhonglin; it is generally regarded as one of the most important works of Chinese gods-and-demons fiction, comparable in status to Journey to the West.