Immortal, God, Demon, Devil, Ghost. Definitions, Similarities, Differences.

[@tattfeiho172]

For Chinese, Immortal, God, Ghost, Devil and Demon each is different entity. Immortal - a person/monster gain enlightenment and transcended to immortality. (Sun Wukong is a monster transcended to immortal) God - an entity born from the manifestation of Qi and Will and transcended. Ghost - there are 2 kinda ghost, 1 is the dead spirits while another would be the entity guarding the spiritual realm of the afterlife (hell). Devil - Devil is more related to spiritually. Usually devil is used more on entity with human appearance but devil nature. Demon - Usually use to represent monster with evil nature. To be a demon, the most basic requirement is to have a face which is utterly disgusting or terrifying. This is according to my understanding of Chinese mythology

[@Anonymous_Belle]

Oh thank you. Is this also related to drama series *legend of a white snake* ? I still do not understand why demon is beautiful and good in some character in *legend of a white snake* ... I still keep looking the true meaning of demon in Chinese culture.

[@MrKoraboras]

@@Anonymous_BelleTranslators usually use 'demon' as a translation for yaoguai-type creatures. Yaoguai are animals, objects, plants or ghosts, who cultivate qi, thus gaining supernatural abilities, such as shapeshifting. In fiction, you'll generally find that the more powerful/advanced in their cultivation a yaoguai is, the more perfect their human disguise is - I mean that in the 'can't differentiate it from a human' sense, as the weaker ones tend to have leftover traits of their animal species or are completely human, but have exaggerated features that betray their nature. Although the strong ones often shapeshift into more monstrous forms during combat as well. As for the beauty, depends. It might be because the villains cultivate yin qi, thus warping their bodies, as opposed to the regular cultivators, who prefer either a balance of yin and yang or just pure yang. Might be because a yaoguai's nature shows in their human disguise, thus the bad ones will be ugly. Might be because the yaoguai follows a 'Demonic Path' and it shows. Might just be a stylistic choice, in order to tell you 'oh that one's the baddie' the moment they enter the scene. Either way, can't tell, so pick one as your headcanon, or make your own. :)

[@MrKoraboras]

​@Abbas Alqattan On average, no, since all demons are cultivators, while not all humans cultivate. Aside from that, there's differences in power between original forms of the yaoguai - can be anything from an ancient samurai ghost, through a literal onion to even a flood dragon. Humans can reach the same levels of power though - and even greater ones - through cultivation. And demons can advance their cultivation to become stronger and stronger too. So basically, it varies from individual to individual. Depends on their cultivation levels, techniques and knowledge.

[@shitou10]

Ki or Qi comes from chinese language Word 氣. Means a hidden power of body energy . Be use in jp comic dragon ball z .

[@francisestillore2574]

The description is also accepted in majority of Asia

[@KaiserAfini]

If you watched this and became curious about reading I Shall Seal The Heavens, then DO IT ! Its an incredibly good story, plus you learn a lot about Chinese culture and mythology from Deathblade's notes.

[@matiasjoaquintucci4506]

I´m in chapter 65 XD

[@elusivellama]

Hell yeah! It's also known as 'ISSTH', is authored by Er Gen and can be found on the wuxiaworld site, translator is Deathblade (this channel's owner).

[@2thomask]

@@matiasjoaquintucci4506 the first hundred capters are tge setup and world building chapters and looking back now are both the least eventful and some of the most important later in the novel its a great story and you will not be disapointed

[@matiasjoaquintucci4506]

I still haven´t reach the 100 XD and I don´t know how many time will take me to read all the chapters... but I will be sad when I finish :(

[@KaiserAfini]

@@matiasjoaquintucci4506 Yes, you will, I know I was. That being said, it will have been an incredibly complete and memorable journey, and the ending suits the story perfectly, it left me pondering it for a few days. But from here to there a long time will pass, no rush, enjoy the journey. Plus there are other Er Gen novels to read after you finish, another very famous one is Xian Ni / Renegade Immortal, and Deathblade is translating the newest one, called A Will Eternal, which I heard is quite good.

[@elusivellama]

I see you're cultivating the secret level of the Undying Codex - Luxuriant Beard.

[@alphahuiplaminecraft]

As a Chinese here are some of my thought on these definitions (they may not be in line with the way portraited in the traditional sense but from what I think after reading some amount of xianxia manhua) 仙xian the immortals- the person who has got dao 得道成仙. one key aspect in Chinese culture is that god/immortals is not that holy and divine that us human cant become, normally the xian was also a human before but after getting dao they have leave the human world (?)擺脫紅塵世俗 神sheng god - basically another way of saying xian but can also refer to the gods who have created world like pangu 盤古開天 nvwa 女媧做人 etc(i am not sure whether yuhuandadi 玉皇大帝was human or not ). of course when combined with other words can mean something different e.g 神情 the look and feeling(?) 神獸 legendary monsters 鳳凰 麒麟 etc 魔mo demon? - normally people who practice the evil way or ways that is not so bright in Chinese culture e.g through having "relationships" with opposite-sex 採陰補陽 雙修之法 they may not be necessarily evil but some faster method to gain their power(?) 修為 it can also be referred to some of the monsters with the magical power that normally the people hunt for to get the materials 魔獸 妖魔 妖 yao devil - normally they are just another race that is half-monster and half-human or some monsters who have cultivated years and being able to change their appearance 化成人形 or have wisdom as a human 開靈智 but the important point is that they are not necessarily evil but only a race apart from human(as there is some stories with the yao being just like human or yao and human living together) Of course in some stories they are also seen as a threat to human 鬼gui ghost - the spirits of the dead person . they may not be evil and may also be able to cultivate 鬼修 traditionally speaking ghost is evil only when they have not fulfill their last wishes and is left at the human world for a long time (not brought to hell（hell地府/黃泉 is not a burning devil living place in Chinese sense but a place where the spirits go after they are dead and are reincarnated ）) and become 厲鬼 ligui the bad/evil ghost * in some manhua when a person reaches a high enough level (e.g golden core 金丹 sprite baby (????) 元嬰) they can die and control their soul 魂魄 and get control of a living person and continue to live by killing the soul of that person 奪舍（literally means taking over the house(being the body in this context)） no matter how their name gives you the impression of them being in the good or bad side in some more deeper stories they are all the same with their own bad and good side For example, mo xiu魔修 the demons can be just people who live in their own way and don't want to follow the rules and the good guys 正道 normally have to follow many rules of helping the poor but not in their own will so some times these good people can also be portraited as arrogant and stubborn the aforementioned is only some of my own views and combined with some knowledge of the Chinese culture ,so please take it with a grain of salt as I may not be right and have some misinterpretations. but sure to say there is more fascinating content in the Chinese culture with these xian xia manhua like 七魂六魄 仙丹 佛修 妖修 苗術 神獸 etc

[@KaiserAfini]

Seeing the more in depth breakdown of the meaning makes me appreciate how much Er Gen nailed the theme of each one.

[@2thomask]

if you haven't read issth DO IT, JUST DO IT

[@ethenjo5406]

2thomas k what is “issth”？

[@joelf6301]

It stands for I Shall the Heavens.

[@ethenjo5406]

I see. THX

[@joelf6301]

@Nij Jin wow completely missed it haha

[@elkhiderbabiker4383]

@Nij Jin lol actually it's I shall SEAL the heavens

[@17thatman]

Spoiler alert: The main character of ISSTH is greedy.

[@ab5242]

He can't match up to Uncle Bai :-D

[@anuazureazuredreamsky9977]

Hoho!!!!

[@nndayo6408]

@@ab5242 yeh. Innocently greedy loll

[@AstairVentof]

Deathblade please have a video on the actual characteristics of each of these entities. I get a general gist of what they are from the novels but a more comprehensive definition would be much appreciated.

[@n_e_y_o]

yeah I didn't really understand

[@helios300k]

Thanks for the video DB! when you got to the pronunciation of "devil", it sounded familiar! Mogui = mogwai. The Gremlins movies!

[@moss_toxic]

Dude, what's wrong with your beard? It's kind of lifestealing... In my opinion, you should stop messing with all the techniques of sealing your life force in your beard ...

[@Deathblade]

MDB hates it so I'll cut it off soon haha

[@kiwifruitkl]

When European stories get translated into Chinese, Chinese terms are used to describe them. 妖精 may be used to describe the European Tinkerbell-like "fairy". 精灵 may also be used to describe the European Tinkerbell-like fairy. That may be why 妖精 is associated with "fairy", even though 妖精 in Chinese stories refer to something completely different. They are similar in that they both are human-like and play mean tricks on humans.

[@Alex_Tavera]

D': deathblade!!!! You look so old now!!!! Wow... Reality hit me hard just now. I hope you continue to live for a long time

[@Deathblade]

Yeah, I've gotten a lot older. Having a 2-year-old certainly is not easy haha

[@Alex_Tavera]

It's okay, Deathblade. Being old can sometimes be a good thing. They say that age is sexy

[@nefricedre4]

let us hope he can reach a breakthrough by the time his lifespan runs out.

[@anantsingh5107]

NefriCedre hope he can breakathrough to xiantian to expand his life to 500 years and saint lvl is impossible😂😂😂

[@joseloayza502]

Difficult topic A book can be immortal, a stone can be immortal, an atom can be immortal, an ant, a snake, a bear, a human, a planet, a solar system, a galaxy, a universe.(Pangu) The Chinese mythology is like Xenofiction especially because of the kalpas and because everything can be immortal in some way, be it dying and reincarnated or studying and training or even stealing or with simple luck. But with all the mix of the Buddhas, even rules of the undead are broken as Overlord has been Japanese but his Elder Lich is more western, in Journey to the West is the White Bone Demon that died not reincarnated and his bones became immortal being similar to the Japanese giant skull, but with a magical power of a Western Elder Lich, in addition to the fact that eating meat and souls also gives you immortal or simply stealing Ki. Magic or Ki violent, dark, natural, divine, strong, loving, full of anger and as broad as green lantern, limit of a genius and as always do not disturb what has Ki and higher authority. And as you mention the definition of immortal varies, which makes it even more complicated, but an easy way would be ''different types of Merlin'' But since everything is alive, as such it does not have rules I suppose because even the fauna that is seen in Journey to the West, mythology like the Garuda that go out ISSTH and in Mount Sumero that is, the Elves, Valar, there are more Deva than all the mythology of Tolkien together and are the lower class and while other mythologies should have so many do not have, representations and Olympics are examples, Victoria, Justice, Law, Zeus, Hades, are many but they are a single species, a single hierarchy, in Sumero mundos with Los Tengu, Peng, Gran Peng (Garuda) and other two more than with all Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism and more make Mount Sumeru superior to Olympus despite being the Lower class, low low, I only have one Hindu image but good the idea is how is shared mythology. The Immortals to be born as immortal or military civilians like Hou Yi or The Jade Emperor does not have as much merit in spite of his powers, unfamiliar dragons as 500-year-old snakes in the shape of a Western-Eastern dragon until they win magic and if he has Being the Dragon King that deserves more merit. sadhanahispano.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/339340_247239418656686_100001118895031_698323_175456113_o.jpg Image, I say Hindu-Tao-Buddhist because some Hindu are talking about the Three Pure Ones and Shiva, Brhama, Visnu and other gods and their similarities with Buddha and Laozi, The Jade Emperor / Yellow among others when I share it, It is a global map, despite Hindu, basically encompasses all of Asia. Many in the West are immortal only of longevity, while Chinese Immortal is more authority or magical power, in addition the immortal of the West always die like Dorian Gray, while death is usually just another step for more immortality.

[@sujahrazhid3714]

Lmao

[@masterroshi3300]

This guy have such a good posture and looks very happy and fulfilled.

[@eccentricli9515]

Great video, Im also very interested in the very nature of the God, Devil, etc titles in the book and how it reflects their character

[@raini0705]

lol I just use the romanizations xian, shen, muo, yao, gui. So much easier!! It's also fun to throw in a few chinese words people aren't used to seeing in other fantasies, introduce new words that get used over and over again, readers eventually learn their meaning through context. It can be hard though, since the names alone are hard to pronounce, plus there's going to be a bunch of clan/school names and geographical names readers have to soak in. That's why reading chinese fantasy novels seems like a daunting thing. I think anime and drama is much easier to absorb due to there being more visual clues.

[@ndril]

From the standpoint of someone who knows some Japanese and not Chinese, these are really interesting. 鬼 in JP is "Oni," a sort of ogre or orc, not at all related to a dead human. And 妖 is most often used in 妖怪 "Youkai" who are typically not malicious, maybe comparable to western beings like mermaids or brownies.

[@IllusionQueen4Eva]

Haha yeah, it's confusing, especially for people who are learning Chinese and Japanese at the same time, with the same character having completely different meanings. And yes, 妖 is often used in 妖怪 in Chinese too, pronounced yaoguai. Depending on the novel/show/movie/game, yaoguai is sometimes just a more derogatory version of yao. A yao is an animal, plant, or inanimate object that gained spiritual awareness, magical powers, and human form. Like Japanese youkai, they are not innately evil either. They can be good or bad, just like humans. Unfortunately there is no English equivalent, and monster/demon/devil kinda makes them sound bad, so I usually prefer to just translate them as yao.

[@dennyskun]

gracias por la novela =) ty for novel

[@redabelkoh3654]

i must not spoil futur readers about the awesomeness of this novel but YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH its pretty awesome and the best part is all of the above mentioned beings are MC's of their own novel in the same overarching universe

[@shlomomo3888]

Loving watching your videos and increasing my context for when reading novels

[@seedsmyth]

Gosh daring your hat xD It keeps peaking out. Also your beard looks great! Do beards hold any significance in Chinese culture?

[@Deathblade]

Most Chinese guys can't grow beards very well so they are usually admired. Mine is kind of scraggly though so not so much... MDB hates it haha

[@stewartbutterfield2661]

Back when I read World of Cultivation the translator used yao and mo to describe the two races that weren't human, and yaomo to describe them together. Was very confusing for a long time till I stumbled across their meaning, probably on a WW article. After that though, is was nicer than demon and devil due to what those words tend conjure in my mind as the first thought.

[@ghostexorcist]

Have you ever seen a novel use 精 for a spirit or monster? I've thinking of 白骨精 from Journey to the West as a historical example.

[@oliverporo3037]

Muy informativo...

[@Thugblader92]

NOT A SPOILER QUESTION: I've been reading Emperor's Domination for the longest time, in the mid part (NOT A SPOILER) there's a lot of mention about a type of expedition and that it's very important. It's been about 500 chapters since it was last mentioned in the arc prior to the current one, but is there something missed in translation with said word? It seems like a campaign where they try to stop something.. Is the author perhaps being mysterious on purpose? Got any insight about the particular meaning? Is there something clandestine with a xianxia/wuxia/chinese expedition in comparison to typical english ones? Thanks!

[@Deathblade]

Sorry, I don't know anything about that novel.

[@kahfeiching6177]

deathblade : In Chinese words is have more meaning to it ..eg. Mo/demon represent Power or/and evil eg. Lu MO is turn to the dark side, something like darkvader , and less of become the Demon Gui/Ghost is more like a mutated being something like human turn to zombies or zombie turn to human yao/devil? is like a master/animal that have brains

[@hunglac7578]

The most correct way for 仙 is transcendent in my opinion because they are the ones who went through all the cultivation to reach that state.

[@Deathblade]

The problem is that in xianxia novels there are many, many cultivation levels. For example, 超脱 or 超越. If you use up "transcendent" on 仙, then how do you translate the higher levels. In ISSTH, that is exactly what happens. 仙 is actually a relatively lower cultivation level.

[@hunglac7578]

@@Deathblade It depends, some of these works have their own vocabulary for those even higher beings. To tell the truth, I've never read ISSTH. I mostly watch either the life action or the donghua adaptations of some of these novels. The only one I've completed was Eternal Life or 永生 which was also my first, and I've heard through most of them via audiobook. After finishing that story, I wanted to follow 择天记 because I saw the donghua but reconsider cuz I didn't know which chapter I should pick up after season 1 of donghua. P.s. Eternal Life wasn't the first one I finished. It was actually 诛仙 cuz I wanted to know why everybody in China was referencing it. That one actually worth the read despite most Western audience doesn't like it. I looked at your sword riding video, it's made me reminiscent about 15 years ago, when Chinese Paladin 1st start it all. I was like wth when I watched the life action series, now you see it everywhere. I seriously recommend you to watch the game playthrough or cutscenes of Chinese Paladin 4, which was considered the best one by fans and 古剑奇谭 1 & 2 if you also like emotional and philosophical stuffs.

[@ooftedanimal6909]

If demon was translated as “beast” or smth similar would not make the novel any better or worse but would add some more difference between demon and devil

[@sabotin1156]

There's another creature type that appears often (maybe not in Er Gen's novels, though) - Godfiend. What's that supposed to be? Going by the usual descriptions they kinda remind me of titans from Greek mythology or maybe even dinosaurs; large, strong-bodied, ancient/primordial... Or is it refering to something more China-specific?

[@Deathblade]

I'm pretty sure that is a combination between the characters for "god" and "devil". Such combinations show up a lot in various novels, and don't necessarily correlate to traditional mythological creatures. One of these days hopefully I can go into more details on how these things are used traditionally, and maybe talk a bit about the combinations of characters.

[@pablotomasllodra4423]

Demon God?

[@mikkigaanan3993]

LOL! What an intro! Sect Mother Madam Deathblade rules!

[@ardentwombat3465]

Ghost does sound kinda neutral while spectre sounds malevolent.

[@americandragonist]

Big bro DB could make a similar video to this one but talking the meaning of each characters story wise if you get what I mean ?

[@Deathblade]

You mean with Er Gen's works? I might be able to do that eventually.

[@americandragonist]

@@Deathblade yeah, like all of er gen's protagonist have one of those titles, I only only know that meng Hao is the demon. Would be a nice subject to talk about when got the time.

[@yous2244]

What was the translator app you're using called again?

[@Deathblade]

It's a dictionary app called Pleco

[@yous2244]

@@Deathblade Thanks a lot!

[@nefricedre4]

God I want to read AWE so much but Im waiting for more chapters because I know when I catch up I will be depressed that there is no more. I think I will wait atleast until he reaches the second step.

[@Deathblade]

It's already passed the halfway point. The whole novel will be available for free by early next year. Sponsors will get it a few months before that.

[@RambutanLaw]

Here's my take on 仙(xian)，神(shen)，魔(mo)，鬼(gui)，妖(yao), in the context of fantasy writing. The definitions are not clearly defined even in Chinese. 仙(Xian) usually refers to a being that obtained celestial powers via the 'natural/righteous cultivation method. Therefore, a Xian is usually good. But just as the real world has bad cops, in the fantasy world, there can be bad Xians. The natural cultivation method is hard to explain, it means any stable cultivation method that will not cost your soul in other to gain progress in cultivation. Unnatural cultivation usually involves scarifies in terms of souls or your sanity in return for powerful abilities or fast track progression in cultivation. The term is usually translated to immortals or deities. 神(shen) usually refers to the most powerful superbeing in certain fields. For example, a Xian who specialized in swords can be called a Sword Xian. But only the most powerful among them can be called Sword Shen. When Shen is used alone in the fantasy world, it means the Xian is very powerful in almost any aspect. The term is usually translated to god or deities. 魔(mo) usually is the opposite of Xian, beings that obtained celestial powers via the 'unatural/wrong' cultivation method, e.g. human sacrifices. A Xian can turn into a Mo if the person switches their cultivation method from the natural way to the unnatural way. Sometimes a Xian can be turned into a Mo if there are accidents in the cultivation process (走火入魔). Since fallen angels can be called as demon, I would think demon (think Mo as a fallen Xian) is a fair translation. 鬼(gui) refers to the soul after the person is dead. I think ghost and fiend is a good translation for this term. 妖(yao) are non-human beings that gained at least human-level cognitive abilities. They do not have to have celestial powers. A talking cat is qualified to be a Yao. A yao could be a Xian or Mo, based on its cultivation method. I think the translation has to be based on context, e.g. monsters or spirits.

[@guagua7572]

死侍的帽子，暴击可爱

[@user-wt4qq3hw8z]

妖魔鬼怪 神仙精灵 确实比较难翻译 因为我们也经常会一起说 比如狐妖也是狐狸精

[@KhmerTarotReading]

Er Gen novels when those words mentioned in the title

[@nikrul]

I NEED THAT CAP :o

[@user-lv9bf2or5h]

Ok

[@manos1933]

I have read ISSTH and thinking about starting renegade and if I can find if they exist the rest of the novels for the universe. Opinions?

[@Deathblade]

Renegade Immortal doesn't really touch on this. It's more of a prequel. If you want more about the Immortal, God, Demon, Devil, Ghost you should read A Will Eternal.

[@manos1933]

@@Deathblade Thanks. Wanted to read it anyways and now I have one more excuse

[@Deathblade]

@@manos1933 Sure thing. Just keep in mind the crossover elements don't come until much later in the novel. have fun.

[@manos1933]

@@Deathblade to tell you the truth I don't really care about crossover stuff until I read about the vast expanse. If I don't, I'll just enjoy a good story

[@absoluteburst6611]

Hey, What you said is wrong!!!!!!!! Demon Meng hao is not bad, He is BADASS!!!!!

[@chickknightgreenleaf820]

how about 妖怪 and 妖精, those two will be fun to translate

[@Deathblade]

My current translation has virtually all of the combinations, and treats them as unique entities. So yeah... fun

[@franciscojanco7539]

Subs on spanish?

[@Deathblade]

I have community contributions enabled, so if anyone wants to add spanish subtitles they can

[@jevonscantlebury9834]

Now what is a fiend ?

[@Deathblade]

An alternate translation for demon, devil, or ghost? I think RWX often translates "devil" as "fiend"

[@italoeduardo4173]

Aaaaa scrrr, sou BR e não tem legenda pra português, queria ver essa introdução.

[@macemaker123]

Sorry, I really can't get into A Will Immortal. It was good in maybe the first 50 chaps, but up to where I stopped, around 250, he just got so goofy that it seems unnatural to me. As if the comedy aspects of ISSTH were transplanted to AWE without any of the other plot elements.

[@macemaker123]

On another note, thanks for the translations and videos! The videos are informative.

[@Deathblade]

The plot in AWE is much more complicated and sophisticated than ISSTH, and you won't scratch the surface of it in the first 250 chapters.

[@praveshagarwal2549]

Yes, I must agree with Deathblade on this. (Sorry for barging in) While you do feel its a bit too much, its much more fun to laugh at as you understand the character when you go on reading.

[@bquillaguyd2940]

I think the chinese need to start explaining their mythology better, In Dungeons and Dragons a difference between Demon and Devils are that Devils are evil creatures that like to dominate others, while Demons want to Destroy others. The difference being in that one is Lawful, while the other is Chaoitc. Both being evil.

[@xiwang9765]

1、名字里带“神”的都是杂鱼，比如土地神、夜/日游神、巨灵神2、跟你们西方不一样，中国的神没有至高无上这一说，他们必须为人服务，否则就没有存在的意义，就算是玉皇大帝也不例外，比如文曲星负责考试、月老负责姻缘、送子观音负责生育、福禄寿三星等等3、真正的大神是盘古伏羲女娲这种圣人和三清，其他的四御五老之类的，只是官职比较大，算不上真正的大神。

[@Deathblade]

谢谢

[@xiwang9765]

@@Deathblade 4、与其他神系一样，中国也有雷神，不过中国的雷神不是一位神，而是一个类似于行政部门的团队，他们的boss叫九天应元雷声普化天尊，注意“天尊”这两个字，名字里有这两个字的一般都是地位很高的神，玄幻和洪荒小说里经常会出现这个称呼。5、西方神生而伟大，中国的神是因为伟大所以才有资格成为神。例如：玉皇大帝，我们中国人也叫他老天爷，作为至高无上的众神之王，他经常被中国人调侃吐槽甚至被骂，但是他历经一亿三千二百劫，为世界和人类做了数不尽的好事，才有资格成为NO.1的神王（顺带一提，虽然是众神之王，但是比他厉害的神有很多，而且并不把他放在眼里，比如女娲、元始天尊、太上老君之类的，还有孙悟空）6、如果你对中国文化有了解，应该听过“天”的概念，它并不是具体的某个神，而是代表宇宙自然世界一切事物的真理，任何人都不能违背，包括神也不行，比如树叶会枯萎、春去冬来、生命有终点