Investiture of the Gods
The First Complete English Translation
Heaven trembles. Dynasties crumble. Immortals descend.
In one of China’s grandest mythic epics, the mortal world becomes the chessboard of gods.
About the Book
At the twilight of the Shang dynasty, tyranny, magic, and destiny collide. The cruel King Zhou plunges the empire into chaos until the wise strategist Jiang Ziya - guided by the will of Heaven - rises to restore cosmic order and invest the gods who will rule the celestial hierarchy for ages to come.
Across one hundred chapters, warriors, demons, and deities fight battles that shape both Heaven and Earth. The novel unfolds as a sweeping tapestry of war, prophecy, loyalty, and transformation - combining historical legend with supernatural wonder.
It is a mythic bridge between The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West - an immortal tale of ambition, enlightenment, and divine justice.
About This Edition
This is the first complete English translation of Investiture of the Gods - rendered with precision and poetic resonance through a trilingual process by Valentin Sarić, working across Classical Chinese, Croatian, and English to capture the novel’s rhythm, humor, and timeless allegory.
Sarić’s translation preserves the grandeur of Ming-dynasty prose while ensuring natural readability in modern English. It invites both new readers and scholars of myth, religion, and literature to experience this cornerstone of Chinese civilization in full for the first time.
Themes & Legacy
- The rise of the Zhou dynasty and the fall of Shang’s corruption
- The creation of China’s divine pantheon - the gods, immortals, and spirits
- The conflict between duty and destiny, humanity and Heaven
- The eternal cycle of cosmic justice
For readers who love
Journey to the West • Romance of the Three Kingdoms • The Iliad • The Mahabharata • The Silmarillion
“A cosmic saga where mortals become gods and gods reveal their mortality - finally told in full English for the first time.”
At a glance
About the series
Rediscover the great epics, mysteries and chronicles of dynastic China: gods and generals, swindlers and scholars, courtesans, ghosts and emperors, in complete English translations.
