Kuan-Ti

Like Cheng-Huang, Kuan-Ti was a god based on a real man. According to the story, he was born poor and when he was a child he sold tofu for a living on the street (but historians say tofu was not actually invented until the Sung Dynasty, hundreds of years later). He was a famous general during the Han Dynasty (about 200 BC-200 AD). Kuan-Ti is always shown as a red-faced man dressed in green. He was a war god, who also protected people from evil demons, and from anything that was unfair. He's different from other war gods like the Greek god Ares because Kuan-Ti never starts wars, he only defends you when someone attacks you. He also could tell you the future.

To find out more about Chinese gods, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:

The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China, by Leonard Everett Fisher (2003). For kids. One page for each god, with lots of pictures and some historical context.

Five Heavenly Emperors: Chinese Myths of Creation, by Song Nan Zhang (1994). Stories for kids.

Chinese Mythology A to Z, by Jeremy Roberts (2004).

Dragons and Demons : Myths of China, by Stewart Ross (1998). A few Chinese stories, retold for kids.

Dragons, Gods and Spirits from Chinese Mythology, by Tao Sanders (1983). More of a child's encyclopedia.

Main Chinese gods page
Main Chinese religion page
Main China page