The Last King of Shang, Book 6

The Last King of Shang, Book 6

Based on Investiture of the Gods, In Easy Chinese, Pinyin and English

The fox demon Daji leads the King of Shang deeper into madness and depravity. Meanwhile, the Zhou army, led by Jiang Ziya, grows ever stronger as the nation’s nobles join their cause. The army approaches the capital city of Zhaoge, but the Shang king still has powerful allies in heaven and earth, and both sides clash in fierce battles. Amid shifting alliances and supernatural duels, the Zhou army enters the royal palace. Prophecies are fulfilled, and hundreds of new gods take their places in the heavens.

This book, the last in the series, is based on chapters 85 through 100 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 on YouTube.