The Dragon Warrior

by Katie Zhao

  “I’ve had mine longer than you’ve had yours!”

  As the deities bickered, Erlang Shen’s words ran through my head.

  An uprising. A rebellion. A war on Heaven. It sounded dangerous, like something Ye Ye would never approve of, that Liu Bo would run toward. It sounded like certain death. But it also sounded like stopping the Jade Emperor and Xi Wangmu from destroying humanity. And it sounded like a chance to prove to Alex that he was truly my brother and belonged at my side.

  “I’m in,” I said.

  “You are?” Ren echoed.

  “Yeah. And you are, too.”

  “I am?”

  “Let’s kick some Jade Emperor butt.”

  Erlang Shen’s grin widened. He rubbed his hands together. But a voice interrupted him before he could speak.

  “It’s the deities!”

  We all turned around to see a shabby-looking man come out of a nearby rundown temple. He wore a tattered long-sleeved white shirt and long, black pants. Other men and women peeked out nervously from behind him, streaming out of the temple.

  I was stunned. They were warriors, but not the homogeneous Chinese warriors I was so accustomed to seeing. This was a diverse group of people who hailed from all walks of life. Men and women with complexions ranging from pale white to dark brown. Girls carrying swords and other weapons alongside the boys.

  Xiao Tian Quan barked. He leapt from Erlang Shen’s side and landed on the ground, his tail wagging. The people in the crowd began whispering. But for the moment, I had eyes only for the man who stood in front of the New Order warriors.

  He looked different from the last time I’d seen him. Different from the only picture I had, too. His hair was longer and whiter, tied back into a short ponytail. His beard had grown out, and there were far more wrinkles and cuts on his face than there had been in his portrait.

  On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the gods took my grandfather from me. On the last day, they took my grandfather a second time—along with my brother.

  But in doing so, they’d returned someone else.

  “Ba,” I whispered.

  DEMONS AND DEITIES THROUGH THE DYNASTIES

  A Glossary

  Hello! Author here. I want to preface this glossary by saying that I drew the below definitions and interpretations of Chinese mythology from my own research and experience, including the stories I learned growing up. Primarily, I drew from the classical Chinese text Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en and the guidebook Chinese Mythology A to Z by Jeremy Roberts. There are other versions of Chinese folklore out there, so this is not by any means a comprehensive guide. But I do hope it will teach you a little bit about the mythology that appears in The Dragon Warrior—and make you want to learn more!

  DEITIES

  Chuangmu: Chuangmu is the goddess of love, sleep, and those who love sleeping. Many pray to her for a good night’s rest. And she’s sure to grant plenty of rest to those who ask—as long as you don’t annoy her.

  Dragon Kings: The Chinese believe in five Dragon Kings, four who rule over the seas and one who commands them all: the Dragon King of the North Sea, the Dragon King of the South Sea, the Dragon King of the East Sea, the Dragon King of the West Sea, and the Dragon King of the Center. Hmm … I’m seeing a pattern in their names. These beings live in crystal palaces beneath the water. The Dragon Kings don’t just own pearls and jewels, they eat them. Sounds like an expensive grocery list. They’re powerful enough that they watch over the seas, move mountains, and create massive tidal waves. Plus, every year the Jade Emperor relies on them for reports about the seas.

  Erlang Shen: Erlang Shen’s official title is “True Lord, the Great Illustrious Sage,” which is pretty apt since he’s an epic warrior. He’s the god of war and waterways. He’s also the nephew of the Jade Emperor. Erlang Shen has a third, truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead that can sense if a man is honest or not. The eye also gives him X-ray vision, not to mention a surefire way to mess with humans and demons alike. In many stories, his loyal dog, Xiao Tian Quan, never leaves his side. Don’t mistake Erlang Shen for a dog-loving softie, though. Those two combined have and will really mess things up in Heaven. Xiao Tian Quan may be small, but he’s fierce and powerful, and he helps Erlang Shen subdue evil spirits.

  Guanyin: Guanyin is commonly worshipped as the goddess of mercy. In some traditions, she’s considered male, but in others, she’s considered female to better represent the qualities of mercy, compassion, and purity; traits customarily thought of as feminine. Many pray to this goddess in the hopes that she will relieve suffering or provide help to others.

  Jade Emperor: If you thought the Jade Emperor seemed intense at the Lunar New Year banquet, wait until you hear more about him. His full official title is “Peace Absolving, Central August Spirit Exalted, Ancient Buddha, Most Pious and Honorable, His Highness the Jade Emperor, Xuanling High Sovereign.” The fancy title isn’t just for show. He rules all of Heaven, Diyu, and Earth.

  Becoming the Jade Emperor was no easy task, though. Once just an ordinary immortal, he hid in a mountain as he passed more than three thousand trials, each lasting three million years. There he cultivated his Tao—the Way, or the process of things coming together while transforming. Wild, right?

  The Jade Emperor finally emerged strong enough to defeat the mega-powerful demon that had been wreaking havoc on Earth. Everyone was in awe of the Jade Emperor, mostly because his beard had grown super long while he was busy passing all those trials. Anyway, after he got rid of the demon, the deities named him their supreme ruler.

  Nezha: Some of Nezha’s many titles include “Third Lotus Prince,” “Third Prince Lord,” “Marshal of the Central Altar,” and “Marshal Zhong Tan.”

  Basically, the story of Nezha goes like this: Nezha’s mother was pregnant with him for three and a half years, which was understandably concerning. One day, she finally gave birth—not to an adorable Chinese baby, but to a lotus (or in some versions of the tale, a ball). So Nezha’s father, Li Jing, like any good, gentle parent, whipped out a sword and sliced the lotus wide open to reveal a boy wearing a flaming bracelet on his right wrist. Totally normal birthing process in ancient China. A priest stopped by the family’s house and told the parents to name the boy Nezha.

  When he grew up, Nezha used two weapons: his spear and cosmic rings. They were so gobsmackingly powerful that when he swam in the sea with them, they shook the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. The Dragon King of the East Sea didn’t like that, so he sent a messenger to wrestle the weapons away from Nezha. Well, Nezha didn’t like that. He retaliated with one blow of his rings and defeated the messenger. The Dragon King liked that even less, and he sent his third son, Ao Bing, to teach Nezha a lesson. Once again, Nezha struck with his cosmic rings, and Ao Bing shrunk from a vicious dragon into a puny human. They had a giant battle, and eventually Ao Bing lost, because Nezha’s just that epic. From then, Nezha was revered/feared as one of the strongest warriors in the land. So I guess the moral of the story is, really long pregnancies can give babies dragon-defeating powers.

  Wenshu: Wenshu is known as the god of wisdom, and he speaks with a boom-y, echo-y, holier-than-thou voice. Don’t think he’s all brains and no brawn, though. Wenshu rides a big, fierce green lion and carries a double-edged flaming sword in his right hand that symbolizes wisdom’s sharpness. In his other hand he holds a blue lotus flower that contains the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, which he can also use to defeat enemies by reading from it and boring them to death.

  Xi Wangmu/Queen Mother of the West: Xi Wangmu is the wife of the Jade Emperor. She is associated with the phoenix, the complement to the Jade Emperor’s symbol of the dragon. Many stories depict Xi Wangmu as the guardian of the immortal peaches, which is no easy task, because everyone and their grandmother always tries to steal them. Sick of chasing thieves away for eons, Xi Wangmu was bound to grow cranky and kind of evil. Who can blame her?

  Yulong: Yulong is the third son of the Dragon King of the W
est. After he accidentally destroyed his father’s great pearl, Yulong was sentenced to death. However, Guanyin, goddess of mercy, took pity on Yulong and saved him from execution—but under one condition. Yulong had to become a horse and accompany a monk on a dangerous journey west to obtain some Buddhist holy scriptures. After helping him complete the mission, Yulong was deified.

  DEMONS AND CREATURES

  Dragon: Since ancient times in China, many Chinese have believed that they are “龙的传人” (lóng de chuán rén), which translates to “Descendants of the Dragon.” According to this belief, the Chinese evolved from dragons. Pretty cool origin story, right? A dragon is thought to be a symbol of luck and wealth and is often associated with jade. They are also portrayed as powerful and mighty, which explains why thunder and lightning accompany them when they fly. Dragons can do pretty much anything: swim, fly, guard the gods and their treasure, make it rain (literally and figuratively), become a convenient form of transportation … you name it, they’ve got you covered.

  Fenghuang/phoenix: Originally, the term “Fenghuang” referred to two divine birds who often appeared in Chinese mythology. “Feng” refers to the male, and “huang” refers to the female. In translations, “Feng” and “huang” became combined and known to some as a phoenix. But while Fenghuang looks like a Western phoenix, it’s actually a divine bird that symbolizes peace, prosperity, virtue, fortune, the harmony of male and female, and yin and yang. It’s often paired with a dragon in Chinese mythology and imagery, with Fenghuang as the female and the dragon as the male. Fenghuang is also, of course, the name of the coolest weapon around: the Heaven Breaker’s spear.

  Hú lì jīng: The hú lì jīng, or nine-tailed fox, is a demonic and cunning fox spirit that must consume ten human hearts every century to grow a new tail. Once the hú lì jīng grows the ninth tail, it reaches the ultimate level: gaining the ability to be … a human. Seems like a letdown to me. If I put that much work into growing nine tails, I’d better transform into a dragon, the Jade Emperor, or something equally spectacular!

  Nián: Nián means “year.” It also happens to refer to a big, fearsome demon.

  The nián plays a big role in Lunar New Year celebrations. The story goes that a long, long time ago, a bunch of scary monsters dominated Earth. Those creatures included the nián. Every Lunar New Year eve, the nián would do annoying things like mess up the festivities and eat humans, which made it kind of hard for people to enjoy themselves. One Lunar New Year, when the nián was doing its mass-destruction thing in a particular village, an old man came along. He saw the panic, and he asked why everybody was running around screaming. After the villagers explained, the old man showed the nián his red underclothes. For some reason this scared the monster more than anything the humans had threatened it with, like weapons, animal patrols, and mass pollution. (I’m kidding. It was actually the color red that had scared the beast.) The villagers took the old man’s lead and flashed the nián with their underclothes, too. The nián stopped its rampage and ran away.

  Red became the lucky color of the Lunar New Year. People put red paper on their doors every Lunar New year since, and they beat red drums and set off red firecrackers to make a racket and scare off the nián. And in case you’re wondering, yeah, the mysterious old man was probably a god in disguise.

  Pí xiū: A pí xiū is an epic winged creature that’s a mash-up of the coolest animals you can think of: it has the body of a lion and the head of a dragon. Females have two antlers, and males have one. I’m pretty sure these creatures could take over the world easily if they wanted to, but they’re way more interested in eating money (yes, I said eating) and protecting the wealth of their masters.

  Red Prince/Red Boy: Known as the “Red Boy” in Journey to the West, the demonic Red Prince has also been called the Boy Sage King and is the son of the Bull Demon King and Princess Fan. He cultivated his fire-controlling powers for more than three hundred years, and he reigns over the Fiery Mountains. Like most demons, he’s not exactly the biggest admirer of humans.

  Yāo guài: The term “yāo guài” refers to demons in general. They’re usually evil animal spirits or vengeful celestial beings that practice Taoism, a philosophy developed from Laozi’s teachings centered around humility and religious piety, to hone their magical powers. With this power, they do fun stuff like plot total world domination. Often, their greatest goal in demon-life is to achieve immortality and become deified into gods.

  FAMILY TERMS/HONORIFICS

  Ba (or bà ba): Ba means father. Related: “dad,” “paternal figure.”

  Dì di: dì di is a respectful term for younger brothers that older sisters should use, unless those brothers are behaving badly.

  Ér zi: ér zi is a term of endearment for a son. It is also a term for less-than-endearing sons.

  Jiě jie: Jiě jie is a respectful term for older sisters that all little brothers should use, with no exception.

  Niáng niang: Niáng niang is a term of respect for mother figures, usually those who hold high status, like empresses and goddesses (yes, even the ones with evil tendencies).

  Sūn nǚ er: Sūn nǚ er means “granddaughter.”

  Sūn zi: Sūn zi means “grandson.”

  Ye Ye: Ye Ye means paternal grandfather.

  OTHER TERMS

  Ǎn ma ne bā mī hōng: A complicated mantra that can’t really be translated into a simple saying. Many Buddhists believe that speaking these words or writing them down will grant attention, blessings, and compassion from the gods.

  Diyu: The Chinese version of the underworld or afterlife, Diyu is ruled by a deity named King Yama. It’s where both average Joes and bad guys go in the afterlife. So rather than being just a place of punishment, this realm is also a purgatory where souls await reincarnation into the next life. Imagine being in a waiting room for a really, really, really long time, listening to endless moaning and wailing, and eventually being greeted with scary demons wielding sharp, painful tools. Basically, it’s like the dentist’s office.

  Firecracker: Traditionally, firecrackers are set off during the Lunar New Year. Here’s the tale behind this zany little invention. Long ago, a bunch of monsters dominated a mountain. They were pretty hideous and awful, and everyone was better off with them out of sight.

  One day, a wandering merchant came by, and the Mountain Monsters attacked him. The merchant fought back and managed to escape, even capturing one monster along the way. He wanted to take the creature back home and show him off as a souvenir to his family and friends. (There weren’t exactly souvenir shops around in those days, so bringing back a monster was the equivalent of buying a T-shirt.)

  Another passing traveler saw the merchant with his captured monster and was pretty alarmed. The traveler told the merchant that ensnaring a Mountain Monster was bad luck. Sure enough, the merchant began to feel sick. The two built a fire out of bamboo sticks so the merchant could rest. This whole time, the other Mountain Monsters had been preparing to get their friend back by ambushing these two travelers. But then the bamboo pieces crackled and made exploding noises as they caught fire. This scared the living daylights out of the Mountain Monsters, and they ran away as fast as they could. The men learned that unless they wanted to end up in more origin stories maybe they needed to stop traveling around mountains … Oh, and burning bamboo scares off demons and monsters. So from then on, people used firecrackers to chase away demons during the Lunar New Year.

  Hóng bāo: Hóng bāo are red packets filled with money that family elders give to younger family members during the Lunar New Year. The envelopes are usually bestowed in even numbers, because even numbers are more auspicious.

  Lunar New Year: The Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, is just about the most important (not to mention longest) celebration in Chinese and other Asian cultures. It starts on the first day of the first lunar month and continues for fifteen days. During that time, everyone wears red and eats lots of traditional food, like dumplings, Chinese cabbage, and fish. I
t’s also important to say nice things to relatives, friends, the weird barefoot uncle who’s always sleeping through family gatherings, and everyone else who will stand still long enough to listen.

  Nián gāo: Nián gāo literally translates to New Year Cake, but I think of it as “the yummiest dessert of Heaven, Diyu, and Earth.” Many eat this sticky cake during the Lunar New Year. People will bake nián gāo with sweet red bean paste filling, jujube paste filling, or no filling at all. You can also eat this cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—just don’t let anyone catch you.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Writing a book is a scary quest, and doing so as an #ownvoices diaspora author is both an extra privilege and an extra responsibility. Just like the dragon warrior, Faryn Liu, I couldn’t have completed this quest without a group of amazing people in my corner.

  First, to my incredible editor Hali Baumstein. Hali, where do I begin? You saw the heart of this story so clearly from day one, and worked endlessly to challenge me to shape it into a better book than I could’ve even imagined it to be. Thank you for your kindness, your wisdom, your support, and your enthusiasm for my writing. I couldn’t imagine crafting my stories with anyone else!

  To my superhero of an agent, Penny Moore. My life changed when you offered me representation in early February of 2018. You are not only a dream agent, but a dream maker, a sharp and wise mentor, and a true champion for your authors. Thank you for always seeing the heart of my stories so well, and for being a fierce advocate for diverse representation in kid lit. You’ve changed so many lives, including mine, and will change many more. I truly could not have asked for a better agent!

  To the publishing team at Bloomsbury, whose overwhelming support and enthusiasm for my book has been more than I could have ever asked for: Diane Aronson, Erica Barmash, Liz Byer, Danielle Ceccolini, Phoebe Dyer, Beth Eller, Courtney Griffin, Melissa Kavonic, Erica Loberg, Cindy Loh, Donna Mark, Elizabeth Mason, Brittany Mitchell, Annette Pollert-Morgan, Sarah Shumway, Lily Yengle, and Sarah Yung. And thank you to Vivienne To for the beautiful cover art. Thank you all so, so much for believing in a story about a Chinese American girl who saves the world. It means everything to me.