Nezha
Protection deity reborn from lotus, slayer of dragons.
Last updated
He is widely worshipped as the tutelary god of professional drivers, who place his statue in vehicles for safe travel.[1]
Quick Facts
- Born
- Shang dynasty, as a ball of flesh after three years and six months of gestation
- Died
- Committed suicide by carving up his own flesh and dismembering his bones to save his family
- Field
- Protection deity in Taoism
- Buddhism
- Confucianism
- and Chinese folk religion
- Known for
- Slaying the Dragon King's son Ao Bing
- resurrected with lotus roots
- wielding Wind Fire Wheels and Fire-tipped Spear
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
According to the novel Fengshen Yanyi, Nezha was born during the Shang dynasty as the incarnation of Lingzhu Zi, destined to assist King Wu of Zhou.[2] After killing himself to save his parents from the Dragon Kings, Nezha was resurrected by his teacher Taiyi Zhenren using lotus roots.[2] In the Yuan dynasty text Sanjiao Soushen Daquan, Nezha is described as a great immortal with three heads, nine eyes, and eight arms.[2] The 1979 film Nezha Conquers the Dragon King increased the character's popularity and was screened at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]
The 2019 film Ne Zha set box-office records, becoming the highest-grossing animated film from outside the United States.[5] Nezha battled his father Li Jing on multiple occasions, but ultimately the deity Randeng Daoren compelled Nezha to yield to his father.[2]
What the cited sources add
The Google Doodle Archive confirms that Nezha Conquers the Dragon King was the first Chinese-language animated film screened at Cannes.[4] A Catsuka news item reports that Nezha appears in the 2025 sequel The Legend of Hei 2.[6][7] The Open Library record for Handbook of Chinese Mythology (2005) supports the publication date and publisher for a source cited on the 2003 TV series.[8][9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Nezha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Associated News", Associated News (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Nezha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ctext.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Nezha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "35th Anniversary of Nezha Conquers the Dragon King", Google Doodle Archive (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "35th Anniversary of Nezha Conquers the Dragon King", Google Doodle Archive. facts only, no text reused. doodles.google
- Wikipedia, "Nezha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Amidi, "American Audiences Don't Have To Wait Long To See The Chinese Blockbuster Ne Zha In Theaters", Cartoon Brew, August 16, 2019; Fu, "China's 'Ne Zha 2' Shatters Box Office Records With $1.2 Billion", The New York Times, 2025-02-11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Nezha VS Wuxian (The Legend of Hei 2) - News/Brève Catsuka", www.catsuka.com. facts only, no text reused. catsuka.com
- Wikipedia, "Nezha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nezha VS Wuxian (The Legend of Hei 2) - News/Brève Catsuka", www.catsuka.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 157607806X ("Handbook of Chinese mythology"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
- Wikipedia, "Nezha" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Legend of Nezha (2003)", IMDb; Yang, "Handbook of Chinese Mythology", ABC-CLIO, 2005, p. 51; Macdonald, "Animation in China: History, Aesthetics, Media", Routledge, 2016, p. 227 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Nezha (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Mythological & Legendary Figures
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Nezha (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced