Ten Brothers is a Chinese legend known to be written around the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644). It has been told and spun off in various adaptations and remains popular since it is one of the oldest Chinese legends to feature characters in a superhero fashion.

Story

The more modern version of the story has a married couple finding ten magical pearls; the wife swallows all ten pearls in one gulp and gives birth to decuplet sons. Each one of the ten brothers possesses a different supernatural power, though they develop their gifts as the story progresses. At the end, the brothers battle some form of an antagonist and they only win by working together. However, if the ten brothers come into contact with limestone, their powers disappear and they become helpless.

Characters

The number of brothers varies among Chinese ethnicities: the Yi people have nine brothers; the Zhuang people have eight brothers; the Han people have five brothers; and the Li people have 10 brothers.

Adaptations

Film

The story has been adapted many times in Asian films and TV series, most notably in China and Hong Kong:

Literary