#i would rec NOT trying to pinpoint timelines in chinese mythos

[the-monkey-ruler]

So, my understanding is that FengShen Yanyi is before Journey to que west. My question is, are the events of Lotus Lantern before Sun Wukong wants a place in heaven? I know those three stories the most, but I don't know if there are any others that I should know. I also wanted to ask where Chang'e's story falls between these stories.

Shang Dynasty: c.1750 B.C. - c.1066 B.C.

The Investiture of the Gods, also known by its Chinese names Fengshen Yanyi (Chinese: 封神演義) story is set in the era of the decline of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC) and the rise of the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC).

Zhou Dynasty: Western Zhou: 1066 B.C. - 221 B.C.

Chang'e first appeared in Guicang, a divination text written in Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC - 256 BC).

Qin Dynasty: 771 B.C. - 206 B.C.

Wukong bursting out of the stone (Warring States Period)

Han Dynasty: 206 B.C. - 220

Wukong Dies (at the age of 342)

Wukong Trapped Under Five Element Mountain

Liu Xiang (Liu Chenxiang's father), a scholar of the Han Dynasty (first draft)

Three Kingdoms: Wei: 220 - 280

Western Jin: 265 - 316

Eastern Jin: 317 - 420

Sixteen Kingdoms: 304 - 420

Southern and Northern Dynasty: 420 - 581

Sui Dynasty: 581 - 618

Tang Dynasty: 618 - 907

Journey to the West (Chinese: 西遊記) is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang

The Magic Lotus Lantern is a Chinese fairy tale from the Tang dynasty (618–907). (recreation in Qing Dynasty)

Five Dynasties: 907 - 979

Song Dynasty: 960 - 1279

Liao Dynasty: 907 - 1125

Western Xia Dynasty: 1032 - 1227

Jin Dynasty: 1115 - 1234

Yuan Dynasty: 1279 - 1368

Ming Dynasty: 1368 - 1644

Qing Dynasty: 1644 - 1911

I'm taking this from when the legends are either first mentioned OR have said IN THE TEXT when they are to take place. Chang'e was first mentioned in the Zhou Dynasty, but I am not sure if the story is meant to be even earlier depending. I have also seen that the story of Chang'e first appeared in the Shang Dynasty hexagram "Gui Zang ". The complete story of Chang'e flying to the moon was first recorded in "Huainanzi·Lanmingxun" of the Western Han Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the relationship between Chang'e and Yi was established, and Chang'e turned into a toad that made medicine after entering the moon palace. After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the image of Chang'e returned to being a woman. In Han Dynasty portraits, Chang'e has the head of a human and the body of a snake. Her hair is in a high bun, she wears a long jacket with wide sleeves, and her long tail is decorated with short, barb-shaped feathers. After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Chang'e was portrayed as a peerless beauty. 

Xiyouji is also very much in the Tang dynasty and is even said to have prolonged the Tang dynasty within the novel. Wukong’s birth and creation is to be sometime in the Warring States period and to be guessed in the Qin Dynasty. Lotus Lantern ALSO was created in the Tang Dynasty and from my understanding and its first interaction is when Liu Xiang (someone said Liu Xi) is a scholar of the Han Dynasty and went to Beijing to take an exam (this is the version of lotus Lanter were he gets remarried) He passed by the Huashan Temple and wrote a poem in the temple. He teased the temple deity, the Sanseng Mu of Huayue. Sanseng Mu was so angry that they wanted to kill him but fell in love with him in the end. I cannot say that if the original version is meant to be before or after the Wukong has been punished by heaven and is under the mountain but considering that Wukong mentions Erlang's mother and not his nephew that would be a good suggestion that is after in this version. It is in the Qin Dynasty do we see the version that Lotus Lantern being definitively placed after Wukong going on his journey in Tang Dynasty, making the legends VERY recent in comparison to others. This is the version where Chengxiang's father doesn't get remarried and is the more popular of the two honestly.