"
The Devil of Nezha is Born" (哪咤传奇之魔童降世) is a famous folktale adapted from the Chinese mythology and tells the story of Nezha's growing experience of "being born to be a devil" but "fighting against the sky to the end".
Nezha (哪咤) is the reincarnation of
Mo Wan (魔丸), son of Li Jing (李靖). Because of his reincarnation status, he faced discrimination, exclusion, ridicule, and hostility by the people of Chen Tangguan (陈塘关). As a result, he felt lonely,
indifferent,
rebellious, stubborn,
cynical, and he created trouble for the people of
Chen Tangguan, so that no one could live peacefully. Under the cynical appearance, Nezha is more lonely than anyone else is, and he is constantly eager for social approval. As such, Nezha was supposed to be a hero. However, he became the great demon king of the world.
The book has 11 chapters in the following order:
Chapter 1: The Birth of Lingzhu (第一章：灵珠出世)Chapter 2: Li Jing and Wife (第二章：初见李靖夫妇)Chapter 3: Reincarnation of Mo Wan (第三章：魔丸转世)Chapter 4: Reincarnation of Lingzhu (第四章：灵珠转世)Chapter 5: Nezha in Trouble (第五章：哪吒到处惹祸)Chapter 6: Apprentice Nezha (第六章：哪吒拜师)Chapter 7: The Immortal Path (第七章：哪吒学仙法)Chapter 8: Nezha and Ao Bing (第八章：哪吒出图，认识敖丙)Chapter 9: Nezha and Ao Bing Become Friends (第九章：哪吒和敖丙成为朋友)Chapter 10: Nezha Invited Ao Bing to Birthday Feast (第十章：哪吒邀请敖丙参加生辰宴)Chapter 11: Changed Life of Nezha (第十一章：哪吒逆天改命)
The current book volume, Chinese Short Stories 10, is a Level 1 Chinese reading practice book. It would introduce you to the famous Chinese story, The Devil of Nezha is Born (哪吒之魔童降世). The 10th volume in the Selected Chinese Short Story Series (中国短篇小说精选) includes both the Chinese text (simplified characters) and pinyin Romanization. With about over 500 unique Chinese characters, the volume would be suitable for the beginners, lower intermediate and advanced level Chinese language learners (HSK 1-6). Overall, the reading series offers you a variety of elementary level books (Level 1/2/3/4/5/6) to understand China as well as practice Chinese reading fast.
