Chinese Lore Podcast

Marking a decade since I first started doing this.

The Zhou army meets its first real resistance on its march East.

Some quick background on two minor characters whose pacifist message fell on deaf ears.

The Zhou army gets a timely visit from a helpful but uppity Buddhist friend in their fight against Kong Xuan.

What looked like an easy victory for the Zhou turns into a bit of a nightmare.

A member of the Chan sect discovers that there's no such thing as friendly competition with those jerks from the cow college down the road.

One of the Zhou's officers discovers that his powers aren't so unique after all.

A Shang commander learns the pros and cons of letting your kids talk to random beggar monks.

The Chan and Jie Sects stop pretending they're frenemies and start acting like straight-up enemies.

King Zhou gets literal and puts a figure of speech into practice, with predictably disastrous results.

Politics turn blood relations into blood enemies.

Jiang Ziya gets help from a guy with eye-popping powers.

The author recycles plot again as the Zhou forces encounter another pestilence-wielding sorcerer.

Members of the Chan Sect upgrade their transportation options at the expense of their Jie Sect rivals.

A Daoist elder shows up and tells the sect leaders, "I don't care who started it (though Grandmaster of Heaven clearly started it)! Now swallow these magic poison pills!"

The Shang forces at Lintong Pass were holding their own thanks to a macabre banner, but then the worst possible thing happened -- their king sent reinforcements.

It's a whirlwind of fortunes for the Zhou forces as they continue their march.

Casualties continue to mount on both sides as the siege of Mianchi County drags on, while King Zhou gets help from some shady characters.

King Zhou takes an interest in human physiology, much to the chagrin of his people.

A quick dive into the backstory of one of Jiang Ziya's top Daoist warriors.

The Zhou forces find themselves stymied by a pair of new enemy recruits who seem to be always a step ahead of them.

As one demon buddy after another show their true form, the Shang commander keeps telling his human comrades that, "I had no idea those guys were snakes and pigs and goats. I swear!"

Yang Jian gets some divine assistance as he attempts to slay a slippery simian foe.

With the enemy closing in, King Zhou is reduced to putting out "Help Wanted" posters to find anyone willing to fight for him.

The rebel forces come face to face with their chief enemy, and Jiang Ziya's got receipts.

With his back against the wall, King Zhou opts for a dramatic exit.

A new day dawns for the kingdom, which is good news to everyone except Jiang Ziya's ex-wife.

A quick look at Jiang Ziya the historical figure vs. Jiang Ziya the fictional character.

In one afternoon's work, Jiang Ziya expands the pantheon of Chinese folk religion, and he's not too particular about who makes the cut.

A look at the real historical figures of the Zhou Dynasty's father-and-son founding duo.

Some listener questions and closing thoughts on Investiture of the Gods.

A brief introduction to Journey to the West, the next novel we'll cover.

An immaculate conception shakes heaven and earth, and an anarcho-syndicalist commune gives itself over to a king.

The Monkey King gets a name and some special treatment from his teacher.

Sun Wukong goes looking for a weapon befitting his newfound powers.

A trip to Hell nets Sun Wukong a visit to Heaven.

The Jade Emperor decides to take a different approach to try to keep Sun Wukong under control.

Sun Wukong proves to be such a handful that heaven has to go get a hero from another novel to take him on.

Sun Wukong makes a high-stakes wager with heaven's latest mediator.

The Buddha shows how far he would go (or make someone else go) to avoid paying to ship some scriptures to the East.

The blind regains sight, and the dead rises. Is it a miracle ... or a zombie apocalypse?

We embark on a three-episode mini-arc to find out why the Tang emperor was convening a big gathering of monks.

Guanyin crashes the emperor's Buddhist party and tells all the monks of the East what she really thinks of their scriptures.

Somehow a trip to the underworld adds decades to the Tang emperor's life.

Everybody kept telling me how dangerous the journey to the West was, but seriously how bad can it possibly ... oh my god what are those things and what are they doing to my men?!!!

All's well that ends well, except for the princess whose soul gets dragged out of her mortal coil and hustled off to hell.

Sun Wukong and his new master have a difference of opinion on when it's ok for a Buddhist monk to spill someone's brains and loot their clothes.

Sun Wukong returns to his master and finds a nasty little surprise waiting for him.

The scripture pilgrims seek lodging at a monastery whose residents might need a refresher on the tenets preached by their patron deity.

The wicked schemes of the monks at the Guanyin Monastery backfire calamitously.

The Black Bear Demon finds out that it doesn't feel so good to have a monkey swimming in your stomach.

The pilgrims spend the night with a family experiencing major buyer's remorse about their son-in-law.

Everybody is delighted at San Zang gaining a new traveling companion, especially his host.

The pilgrims encounter a foe with a predilection for skinning himself.

Sun Wukong's rescue plan hits a snag when he discovers that his foe really blows.

We find out that San Zang isn't the first scripture pilgrim. So what happened to his predecessors?

The pilgrims ask for a night's stay and get offered something much more.

Zhu Bajie discovers that more potential wives means more problems.

The perfect heist blows up in everybody's faces.

Sun Wukong and Master Zhenyuan trade wits, barbs, and magic.

Sun Wukong overlooks the most obvious solution in his quest for a magical cure to bring the ginseng fruit tree back to life.

San Zang and Sun Wukong have a disagreement over whether the latter is demon hunter extraordinaire or just a cold-blooded murder-happy fiend.

Dismissed by San Zang for his killing spree, Sun Wukong decides to let out some steam with ... a killing spree.

The pilgrims press their luck against Yellow Robe not once, but twice.

In a series of tabloid talk-show moments, San Zang's host meets a son-in-law he never knew he had and is informed that someone at his court is not who he seems to be, while Zhu Bajie makes a shocking discovery about a member of his traveling party.

Sun Wukong comes to the rescue … by victim-shaming and murdering children.

The pilgrims get a warning about the dangers that lie ahead, and one of the disciples begrudgingly goes on ahead to check it out.

A demon in disguise finds the straw (or mountain) that breaks the monkey's back.

Sun Wukong offers his would-be captors a deal that's too good to be true.

Sun Wukong keeps the demon lords off balance with forgeries of everything -- fake gourds, fake rope, fake minions, fake mother ....

Sun Wukong faces off against the demon kings of Lotus Flower Cave and their extended family.

After San Zang gets snubbed while seeking lodging, Sun Wukong insists on having a word with the manager.

San Zang delivers a small package and a big bombshell to the prince of the Wuji Kingdom.

Zhu Bajie goes diving for treasure, and comes away with more than he bargained for.

Zhu Bajie gets even with Sun Wukong, and then gets some help with the luggage.

A child gives the pilgrims the runaround.

Sun Wukong tells the villain who abducted his master that long-lost relatives were visiting, but demon boy is nonplussed.

Shenanigans abound as Sun Wukong and Red Boy engage in a battle of wits.

Guanyin shows how she's all about mercy and compassion ... after she impales you with 36 knives.

Sun Wukong visits the Dragon King of the West Sea and tells him to go collect his nephew.

Sun Wukong and his brothers have a little fun with the local Daoists.

The pilgrims get into a duel of magic against the local Daoist priests.

Things escalate quickly in the battle of magic between Daoists and Buddhists.

Sun Wukong goes head-to-head against the last remaining demon Daoist priest of the Slow-Cart Kingdom.

The pilgrims discover their hosts' woeful backstory and offer to help.

San Zang throws caution to the wind and hits the road under questionable circumstances.

San Zang's disciples finally do what they should've done from the get-go in their quest to tame the demon of the Heaven-Penetrating River.

Dissatisfied with the speed of their food delivery service, San Zang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Zeng go out of their way to find trouble, and succeed.

Wukong pulls out all the stops in his fight against the Rhino King.

Sun Wukong discovers that his foe the Rhino King isn't really a rhino at all.

Comedic fun, or 16th-century Chinese rumination on the yin and yang of abortion access?

The queen of the Kingdom of Women puts on the full-court press for a man who has sworn to never touch women.

The more San Zang resists, the more irresistible he seems to the women who have him in their power.

An encounter with a group of robbers reignites some long-simmering relationship issues between San Zang and Sun Wukong.

San Zang does the "I don't want you around anymore!" routine again, but this time, Sun Wukong refuses to take it lying down.

A monkey melee has heaven and hell all in a tizzy, and not even Guanyin can sort this one out!

The pilgrims encounter a problem that can be solved with the wave of a fan, but things get complicated when Sun Wukong finds out who owns that fan.

Sun Wukong finds himself knee-deep in his former sworn brother's relationship drama when all he wants is to borrow a fan for 15 minutes.

Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King have it out in a clash of titans.