Shen Gongbao (申公豹) is a major character featured within the famed classic Chinese novel

Investiture of the Gods ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...

. Shen Gongbao is a disciple of

Yuanshi Tianzun Yuanshi Tianzun (), the ''Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning'' or the ''Primeval Lord of Heaven'', is one of the highest deities of Taoism. He is one of the Three Pure Ones () and is also known as the ''Jade Pure One'' (). He resides ...

Jiang Ziya Jiang Ziya ( century BC – century BC), also known by several other names, was a Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China. Following their victory at Muye, he continued to serve ...

's junior fellow apprentice.

Background

Shen Gongbao is good at communication, persuasion, and magic arts in general. He first appeared as a Yaojing terrorizing the Mysterious Fog Mountain. Then one day,

Hongjun Laozu Hongjun Laozu () lit. "Ancestor of the Great Balance" is a deity in Chinese folk religion and Taoism, teacher of the Three Pure Ones in Taoist mythology. ''Hongjun'' is a graphic variant of ''hungjun'' () "primordial nature", as used in the ...

arrived and defeated him. He then took Shen Gongbao to Yuanshi Tianzun at Kunlun Mountain to practice Taoism so he could become a god. Later, Shen Gongbao left Kunlun Mountain to assist

King Zhou of Shang King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu (wikt:紂, 紂) also refers to a ...

to battle the Eastern Kingdom (Xiqui) and regarded Jiang Ziya as his enemy. Finally, Shen Gongbao was arrested by his master

. Shen Gongbao was appointed as the General of East Sea () in the end. The General of East Sea is one of the gods who manage the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

Background

Film and television

Chinese television

Chinese film

Japanese television

References