Tien Shinhan Saga

Honor is tested when old rivalries ignite a tournament that changes everything.

This arc centers on the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, held three years after the previous one, and introduces formidable new rivals trained by Master Shen.

Quick Facts

Primary antagonists: Crane School (Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Master Shen)

Lore & Background

The conflict stems from Master Shen, formerly Roshi's rival, who sends his star pupil Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu to enter the Tenkaichi Budōkai to prove his students' superiority. Tien begins as an arrogant, but talented martial artist, antagonizing Goku, Krillin, and especially Yamcha. He first fights Yamcha in the tournament, whose leg he ruthlessly breaks to win. Upon learning that Goku killed Tao Pai Pai, the younger brother of Master Shen and a mentor of Tien's, he decides to kill Goku in revenge.

He fights Master Roshi (disguised as Jackie Chun) in his next match, and Roshi shakes his resolve to kill Goku. In the final fight, he battles Goku and brutally beats him down early in the fight, before Goku uses his full power, making the fight more even. Chiaotzu interferes with the fight by using his psychic powers to paralyze Goku without Tien's knowledge or consent, but once Tien realizes that Chiaotzu is cheating, he defies his master and refuses to kill Goku.

Tien wins the tournament after destroying the stage with the powerful but potentially life-threatening Kikōhō, and after abandoning Master Shen with Chiaotzu.

Reader's Guide

The saga kicks off as Goku and his crew arrive at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, only to discover their world has been upended by a new, terrifying power: Master Shen's Crane School. Alongside silent prodigy Tien Shinhan and the diminutive Chiaotzu, Shen's disciples display lethal precision and a chilling lack of mercy.

Did You Know?

Tien Shinhan is named after tenshindon, a chūka dish consisting of a crabmeat omelet over rice, and Toriyama said he based the name on a well-known Chinese food just to be 'silly.'
Tien is loosely based on Erlang Shen from Journey to the West, a three-eyed Taoist deity who first appears as an adversary of Sun Wukong, later becoming his ally and rival.
Tien is notable for being the first person in the series to fly using Bukū-jutsu (舞空術; lit. 'Air Dance Technique') and to use the Taiyōken (太陽拳; lit. 'Fist of the Sun', 'Solar Flare' in Funimation's anime dub) technique.
Tien was voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki in most media, except for episodes 82 and 84 of Dragon Ball Z, where he is voiced by Kōichi Yamadera.
In the Funimation dub of the series, Tien is voiced by Chris Cason and John Burgmeier.