Deng Chanyu (Chinese: 鄧嬋玉) is a character in the classic Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi. An assertive and highly skilled Shang female warrior in martial arts, she eventually fights alongside her father Deng Jiugong in the Zhou army.[1][2]
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In Fengshen Yanyi
editDeng Chanyu was the daughter of Shang general of the Three Mountains Pass, Deng Jiugong. She possessed exceptional skills in sword fighting and the mysterious ability to conjure golden pebbles, which she used to inflict harm upon her adversaries. Armed with a longsword, she accompanied her father during the siege of West Qi.[3]
After her father sustained a severe injury during the initial attack, Deng Chanyu fearlessly approached the city gates the following day, challenging her enemies to a duel. Nezha and Huang Tianhua accepted her challenge, confident they could easily overpower her. She used five-light stones to swell Nezha and Huang Tianhua's faces. Despite their initial confidence, both of them suffered defeat on separate occasions. On the third day, she faced a formidable opponent who possessed skills similar to her own, known as Dragon Beard Tiger. The fierce battle ended with Deng Chanyu emerging as the victor. However, before she could deliver the final blow, Yang Jian intervened. Unaffected by her powerful pebbles, he commanded his Celestial Hound to bite her neck, compelling Deng Chanyu to retreat to her army's camp.[4][5]
She and her father received magical healing from Earth Traveler Sun, a previously low-ranked member of their troops. The boy possessed mystical remedies, artifacts, and incredible speed that granted him an advantage over the mystical army at West Qi. After successfully capturing Nezha and Hiang Tianhua, Earth Traveler Sun was honored at a banquet.[6]
Deng Jiugong, in a state of inebriation from many hours of wine consumption, made a promise to the young man. He vowed to give him his daughter's hand in marriage if he could conquer West Qi. Earth Traveler Sun took this pledge to heart and embarked on a mission to subdue King Wu of Zhou's city single-handedly. Yang Jian, using his shape-shifting abilities, deceived the young man and captured him.[6]
During the initiation of negotiations between the involved parties, Deng Jiugong was suddenly reminded of his imprudent promise to Earth Traveler Sun. Jiang Ziya had prophesied that the union of the two young individuals was fated to occur. Enraged by Jiang Ziya's meddling in his daughter's marital affairs, Deng Jiugong reluctantly agreed to employ cunning and subterfuge as a means to thwart the impending marriage. He pretended to endorse her apparent consent, intending to use this pretense to assassinate Jiang Ziya.[7]
However, Jiang Ziya was not deceived by this artifice. He counteracted with an ambush of his own and instructed Earth Traveler Sun to seize Deng Chanyu immediately upon hearing the sound of a cannon, which Deng Jiugong had employed as a signal for his own planned ambush. When these stratagems were set in motion, Deng Chanyu was abducted, and Deng Jiugong's military forces were significantly depleted.[7][8]
Faced with the prospect of marrying the amorous Earth Traveler Sun, Deng Chanyu wept profusely but ultimately consented to the marriage to honor her father's wishes. After her night with Earth Traveler Sun, Deng Chanyu sought permission to speak with her father and persuade him to surrender. Recognizing Deng Jiugong's waning morale and wanting to avert any future defection from his new wife, Jiang Ziya granted her request. Accompanied by a substantial contingent of Zhou troops, she gained entry to her father's encampment.[9][10]
There, she divulged her marriage to Earth Traveler Sun and presented a compelling argument that the anticipated Shang reinforcements would not arrive in time. Weighing the bitterness and humiliation of their predicament, Deng Jiugong conceded to his daughter's rationale and chose to surrender to West Qi. Both father and daughter pledged their loyalty to King Wu.[9]
Deng Chanyu often accompanied her husband when the Shang army came under attack from Su Hu's loyal general, Zheng Lun. During one such confrontation, when Earth Traveler Sun found himself incapacitated by their adversary's powerful beams, she managed to evade capture by inflicting an injury on Zheng Lun using one of her magical pebbles. Her unwavering commitment led her to continue fighting in King Wu's army until she became the final casualty, ultimately falling into the hands of General Zhang Kui and his wife, Gao Lanying.[11] After Deng Chanyu's courageous sacrifice for her nation, Nezha sought revenge on her behalf. Following Gao Lanying's killing of Deng Chanyu, the Zhou army launched a large-scale assault on Shanchi. While defending the city, Gao Lanying was struck in the neck by Nezha's Golden Ring and subsequently met her demise. In significant recognition of her valor and dedication, when Jiang Ziya was naming gods, she was honored as the Goddess of the Six Combinations Star (六合星).[12]
In popular culture
editDeng Chanyu is the featured one of the main characters in the upcoming second part of the hit Chinese film Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, portrayed by Nashi (那爾那茜).[13]
References
edit- ^ Chen, Fan Pen Li (21 June 2007). Chinese Shadow Theatre: History, Popular Religion, and Women Warriors. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 978-0-7735-7599-8.
- ^ Yesen, Sun (1998). "今日"土行孙"". Shandong People's Congress Work 6: 58.
- ^ Creation of the Gods. New World Press. 1992. ISBN 978-7-80005-135-7.
- ^ 封神榜•神界大地圖: 神仙妖怪才知道《封神榜》怎麼玩 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 讀書共和國╱野人. 26 October 2022. ISBN 978-986-384-794-6.
- ^ 封神榜 (in Chinese). 四川文艺出版社. 1990.
- ^ a b 跟著廟口說書人看廟趣: 聽！郭喜斌戲說彩繪╳剪黏╳交趾╳木雕╳石雕經典裝飾故事 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Morning Star Publishing Inc (晨星出版有限公司). 5 December 2021. ISBN 978-626-320-040-1.
- ^ a b 傳世藏書: 西游记, 封神演义, 平妖传, 绿野仙踪 (in Chinese). 海南国际新闻出版中心. 1996.
- ^ Feng shen bang (in Chinese). Xing zhou shi jie shu ju. 1974.
- ^ a b Arts, University of Hong Kong Department of Fine (1995). 中國民間藝術: 版畫・繪畫・刺繡 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong. ISBN 978-962-8038-04-6.
- ^ 京剧剧目辞典 (in Chinese). 中国戏剧出版社. 1989. ISBN 978-7-104-00087-7.
- ^ Zimmer, Thomas (18 December 2008). Der chinesische Roman der ausgehenden Kaiserzeit (in German). Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-598-44111-0.
- ^ 封神演义 (in Chinese). Beijing Book Co. Inc. 1 September 2019. ISBN 978-7-5455-4857-0.
- ^ "《封神》彩蛋解锁，闻太师、四魔将、邓婵玉亮相，更加期待第二部". 360kuai (in Chinese (China)). 22 July 2023.