The Last King of Shang, Book 5: Based on Investiture of the Gods by Xu Zhonglin, In Easy Chinese, Pinyin and English

Jiang Ziya unites the Zhou rebels and leads them in a series of epic battles as they struggle to overthrow the corrupt Shang dynasty. Facing formidable foes, powerful magic and deadly traps, they find themselves allied with legendary immortals like Laozi, the founder of Daoism. Heaven and earth clash, and the fate of the human world hangs in the balance.

This book, the fifth in the series, is based on chapters 68 through 84 of the legendary Chinese novel The Investiture of the Gods. It is a compelling tale of honor, ambition, and divine struggles, with rich storytelling and vivid imagery. This high-stakes saga explores the clash between gods and humans, and the painful dilemmas of those who must choose between loyalty to the king and their own honor.

Jeff Pepper and Xiao Hui Wang have retold this epic story to make it accessible to Chinese readers of all levels, using a limited vocabulary, simpler sentences, and fewer proper nouns. Each page of Simplified Chinese is also shown in phonetic pinyin. Words not included in the HSK4 list of commonly used words are defined where they first appear. A full English translation and glossary are included in the back of the book. A free audiobook is available.