#erlang shen reference

[sketching-shark]

Having a blast with 1996 Sun Wukong so far <3

[amazingdeadfish]

Hi there, I hope you're having a wonderful day.

Can you please give us some wukongxerlang? 🥹

Season 6 Erlang, I beg of you, please be a fun side character.

[jester-xx]

We could've been... Us

Shadowhound angst because until that motherfucker shows up in the actual show I make my own food

[ryin-silverfish]

Lotus Lantern: The Summaries, Part 1

I grew up watching the Lotus Lantern TV shows, both of which have a special place in my heart. However, this particular tale is kinda one that thrives in operas and modern media adaptations, while the written texts of the story remain mostly out of reach for average audiences, being compiled in an 1957 book named 董永沉香合集.

As such, I've decided to make an informal summary of all versions of Chenxiang's stories from this particular book and maybe some more, for anyone wanting to learn about Lotus Lantern beyond the TV show.

This series is a WIP; each post features the summary of a single version of the legend. For Part 1, it will be——

Chenxiang Baojuan("The Precious Scroll of Chenxiang",1847/1907)

-This story took place in the Han dynasty. Son of a rich landlord, the scholar Liu Xiang(刘向) was on his way to the imperial examination (which didn't exist in the Han dynasty, but okay), and decided to stop at the temple of the Lady of Mt. Hua(华岳娘娘) for prayers.

-However, she was attending a party in the Celestial Realm, and her attendants——ghostly judges and pawns——didn't know how to answer when Liu asked if he'd succeed in the imperial examination, so they just threw him a blank wooden slip (used in divinations).

-Feeling cheated, the scholar angrily swept open the curtain covering the goddess's idol, and was instantly charmed by her beauty, so much so that he wrote a poem on the walls asking for her hands in marriage.

-As King Zhou's story in FSYY has told us, this was a very bad idea. The Lady of Mt. Hua was not amused upon her return, and went after the scholar with a sword in hand, but was also instantly charmed by his good looks.

-After a quick confirmation from the Old Man Under the Moon(月下老人) that their relationship was, in fact, Fated to Be, she used her magic to create a beautiful mansion, then, a huge storm, to force Liu to seek shelter there.

-She proposed to him inside the mansion, and Liu Xiang was like “I'd love to, but I gotta go to my exams and take care of my parents back home, so…later?”

-The Lady took it with characteristic grace, by which I mean she kicked him out of the mansion, then sicc demonic tigers and snakes on him and forced him to come back.

-Anyways, they married each other, and the Lady gave him three treasures as tribute to the ruling emperor: a luminous pearl, a pearl belt, and a crystal bowl, before sending him on his way to the imperial examination.

-Unfortunately for Liu, a corrupt minister saw those treasures and wanted to take them for himself, so he falsely accused Liu of stealing and threw him into prison.

-Just when Liu was about to be executed, his divine wife saved him again by whipping up a storm; Liu cleared his name in front of the emperor, and all was well…but not for long. 

-The brother of the Lady of Mt. Hua is a guy called True Sage Xuanmiao(玄妙真君), but later, the text also referred to him as Erlang Shen.

-While at the Peach Festival, he teased He Xian'gu(何仙姑), one of the Eight Immortals, about her (nonexistent) husband, and she mocked back: "Well I don't have a husband, but your sister sure does! That's why she isn't at the party."  

-Xuanmiao got really mad, rushed home to fight his pregnant sister, and sealed her under Mt. Hua. She gave birth while imprisoned, and sent Chenxiang to his father via a ghostly official/Yaksha. 

-After learning about his mother's imprisonment, 12 years old Chenxiang left to pursue studies of the Taoist arts. He met the Gold Star of Venus, who led him to some divine pills and peaches that granted him superpowers. That wasn't quite enough, however, and when he went to fight Erlang, he was soon losing and being chased around.

-Luckily for Chenxiang, the White Crane Boy(白鹤童子), a divine messenger, was passing by and helped him get reinforcements; the "Eight Cave of Immortals, the Great Immortal of Penglai, the Mystic Lady of the Nine Heavens, Fourth Sister of the Hundred-Flowers"（八洞仙人、蓬莱大仙、九天玄女、百花四姐）. In return, the True Sage summoned legions of celestial soldiers, Sir Thunder and Lady Lightning(雷公电母), and the Four Heavenly Generals (Ma, Wen, Zhao, Guan, not to be confused with the 4 devarajas).

-The battle became so heated that it alerted Guanyin, who went and informed the Jade Emperor, causing him to send the Gold Star of Venus down there and order both sides to quit fighting. With that taken care of, Chenxiang cleaved open the mountain and saved his mom, but the imprisonment had done a number on her: her form was skeletal, her hair was a mess, her gaze was unfocused, and she was more or less catatonic.

-It would be really depressing if the story ended here, so the Mystic Lady of the Nine Heavens gave her a magical pill that returned her to full health, and the family went on to enjoy their happy ending.

[coming-for-them-kneecaps]

Monkie Destiny Challenge with Yang Jian

[angstandhappiness]

LMAO, ACCURATE

And then he got his ass handed to him by Tenshinhan.

[yunsound]

Chinese Mythology: The Four Dragon Kings

Does anyone remember Ao Guang? Or the other three Dragon Kings? Or did anyone watch Ne Zha 2025?

You may then know of the Four Dragon Kings of Ancient China (四海龙王). 

Historically all four of them are male- some recent adaptations will show one (or more) of them as female just for fun. China, even in ancient times, did not have four seas around it- the four dragon kings each correspond to a body of water in the cardinal directions. 

Ao Guang

The big guy, Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East, does have a “sea”: the East China Sea. 

A carving of Ne Zha fighting Ao Guang (we all remember how that went, right?)

We know and love Ao Guang since he’s the one who got Ne Zha killed (after both he and his son got their asses beat) and is also the guy who gave Sun Wukong his mythical weapon, the Ruyi Jingu Staff (maybe will make a post on mythological weapons at some point).

His third son, Ao Bing, is famous for getting his tendons plucked out by Ne Zha.

Subtitles: I'll pull your tendons out, see if you can still hurt anyone after this! (sorry for Ne Zha being kind of naked, he's a kid who was just taking a bath)

Ao Guang is the biggest, most powerful Dragon King.

In the Fengshen Yanyi (Investiture of the Gods post here), he’s a big dickhead who forces people to give him offerings or he’ll bring them drought and disaster. He’s very powerful, and is the leader of the Four Dragon Kings.

He’s also the sexy dragon dilf dad in Ne Zha 2. 

I just cannot get over this character design, oh my goodness.

Ao Run

Ao Run, pronounced Ow Rwen (also sometimes called Ao Ji) is the Dragon King of the West. 

He does not have a “sea”: in fact, he rules over the biggest lake in China, Qinghai Lake. It’s big enough that we consider it a sea, I guess. It used to be considered an actual sea (like, connected out to the open ocean) probably because it’s huge, but it was probably never actually a sea. 

Lake Qinghai has shrunk a lot. You can tell in this picture: right now it’s about the size of Trinidad.

See all that dry land? Used to be lake.

It’s very blue, which is why it’s called Qinghai 青海 (blue sea). Qing generally refers to a bright blue-teal shade. 

Ao Run’s son, Ao Lie, is the dragon that is sentenced to death by the Jade Emperor for setting fire to Ao Run’s palace accidentally and destroying a whole bunch of stuff. In the end, Guanyin Pusa spares Ao Lie’s life and sends him on the Journey to the West with Wukong, Tangsen, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. You may recall that Tangsen had a big fancy white horse- that’s Ao Lie!

You may notice in this picture everyone else's names are labeled except for the horse. It's kind of sad- he's a little irrelevant.

A huge downgrade, from being a fancy dragon prince to a horse, but you can’t say he didn’t deserve it. 

He's also featured in Fei Ren Zai (a very funny comic/animation series about mythical figures in modern-day also featuring Ne Zha, Wukong and Erlang Shen).

You may remember Ao Run from Ne Zha 2, 2025 as the sexy dragon lady with the killer sky-splitting manicure. 

Sorry, she did things to me when I first saw her appear in her human form.

Ao Shun

Ao Shun, pronounced Ow Shwen, is the Dragon King of the North.

He also does not have a “sea”, like Ao Run. His patron body of water is what’s now known as Lake Baikal (Wikipedia better not fail me, I actually had no idea where the North China Sea was supposed to be). 

Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, it’s right up there in the south part of Siberia. North enough for you?

Back when the Han dynasty was fighting the Xiongnu (the Huns in Disney’s Mulan, basically), they beat the Xiongnu in a battle here. They saw this huge-ass lake, and decided they’d refer to it as the North China Sea. Lake Baikal is larger than Belgium. A little scary, no?

In Ne Zha 2, he was the freaky purple-green guy with blades all over his body. You may remember him fighting Ao Bing in a very exciting battle sequence. I’m not aware of any myths where he’s of any significance. 

A hard pass. Sorry, second uncle. Your big brother and younger sister are much hotter.

Ao Qin

Ao Qin, pronounced Ow Chin (敖钦) is the Dragon King of the South.

The South China Sea of recent geopolitical tension fame is in fact a sea. Other than Ao Guang, he’s the only one with an actual sea. There’s not much to say about Ao Qin, he’s not that relevant.

If you remember him from Ne Zha 2, he’s the big red one who’s dumb as bricks..

The Four Dragon Kings are really not that important aside from Ao Guang and Ao Run. Ao Guang is a key mythological figure- he appears in many myths, and is a semi-major character in Journey to the West.

Ao Run contributes mainly by giving Tangsen a horse in the form of his son. Poor Ao Lie. 

In the 1979 Ne Zha Conquers the Sea, they are all seen briefly scheming with Ao Guang to go Karen-style and ask for the manager (Jade Emperor).

They're all siblings (since they have the same last name, Ao), with Ao Guang being the oldest brother. The order of ages past that is a little harder to figure out- from what I know, their ages are

Ao Guang

Ao Shun

Ao Qin

Ao Run

I actually don't know where Ao Run is in the ranking, I just know Ao Qin is younger than Ao Shun. As such, Ao Run could be either the youngest, the second youngest or the third youngest.

[3m0t10nal-cr1s1s]

I NEED MORE INFO ON YOUR OUBING AU PLS ITS SO PEAK

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE I AM SECRETLY A YAPPER AT HEART. HERE ARE SOME RANDOM THINGS ABOUT MY AU THAT I CAN'T FIT ANYWHERE ELSE BUT IM DEPOSITING HERE:

Please understand nothing I say here is canon to actual mythology, I'm just playing with my Legos here:

Ao Bing doesn't think of himself highly, as in his eyes, he's pretty mediocre compared to everyone around him and he's not good at anything. He doesn't voice this much but he does worry about dragging people down

As per a previous post, Ao Bing does now own a cell phone. He's not very good at working it yet but he'll get the hang of it. He doesn't understand anything Mei sends him though

While Ao Bing isn't exactly mad at Nezha for his death, he understands that it happened when they were both young and Nezha had less control of himself and his strength back then, he does hurt a bit inside whenever he thinks about everything he missed. The weddings of his cousins, Ao Lie and Longnü growing up, the birth of Ao Lie's daughter. Late at night, he wonders what could've been if he was allowed to grow up alongside them all and see everything he's heard from second hand accounts himself

If Ao Bing hadn't died when he had and grew up in the East Sea, under Ao Guang's care, I can assure you he'd be a completely different person

Macaque's ears are actually colour changing! They're different everyday and it's not something he has control over. Bai He and Ao Bing think it's super cool though!

I think I'll colour Macaque's ears some shade of pink most often due to them being described as 'lotus shaped' ears

Erlang Shen and Cinxin are both on vacation right now and that's why nobody has seen them in a while (I'm not satisfied with Cinxin's design, I need to go redo it soon...)

While Ao Bing and Nezha's relationship doesn't have a conventional label, Nezha does own a promise ring given to him by Ao Bing. Made by Ao Bing's own hand with his hardest scale and a sapphire, Nezha keeps it on a necklace tucked safely under his armor. They do want to be married some day

Ao Bing is great with kids, he had no problem being a foster father to Bai He since he's wanted children of his own since he was young

For a long time, Bai He was actually really insecure about the white in her hair until she realized that the white made her look more related to Macaque and Ao Bing

Bai He does still go to school. She and Macaque live in his dojo, with her going to train at the Demon Bull Residence on weekends and holidays. She stays there with Ao Bing whenever Macaque goes to check on his other kid (MK) and inevitably gets wrapped up in some shit MK and his crew are a part of

Even though he has a new body made out of lotus paste, Ao Bing still has chronic pain. It's not so bad most days but there are times he can't get out of bed. I guess that's just what happens when your spine gets ripped out, the pain just follows you

Rainy days are often bad, 'ouch, everywhere hurts' days for both Macaque and Ao Bing

Tianchan Shihou is Sun Wukong's real name. Just like Liu'er Mihou is Macaque's. Tianchan is what Macaque used call Wukong when they were 'young and dumb'

Liu'er is also a name Sun Wukong used to call Macaque. No one uses it anymore, just like no one uses Tianchan to refer to Sun Wukong

Macaque does have a name he's chosen for himself, like Tianchan Shihou = Sun Wukong. Only a select few people know it, however

There actually is a pretty common misconception in the demon world that Macaque and Ao Bing are together together since they're raising a child

4 is Nezha's unlucky number. He avoids it as much as he can

Xiaojiao is Mei's real name. She goes by Mei as a nickname, which is funny, since Ao Lie actually named his daughter Ao Mei

Bai He still has nightmares about the whole LBD incident. She often goes to seek out one of her dad's after one

DBK actually is a bit judgy when it comes to how Ao Bing and Macaque parent Bai He, saying that they, "spoil her too much" and "she'll become soft at this rate" but he also spoils Red Son in his own quiet way so who's to say what's what

Bai He's powers are ones of metal, thanks to the purple colour stone. This is because the White Tiger represents metal and also I was influenced by the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU

With her new powers, Bai He often bothers Red Son in his workshop to see how she can help (she can't most of the time)

Bai He's cat's name is Xinyi (心怡), the one that ran away from her and is currently missing is named Chengyu (橙语)

Macaque would never admit it out loud but he quite adores Bai He's cats the same way he used to love the little monkies on Flower Fruit Mountain

Ao Bing actually feels really bad about his extended stay at the Demon Bull Residence. He wants to ask Nezha if they could move in together, but Ao Bing isn't thrilled about the prospect of living in heaven. Nezha though already has a plan for them to move in together, but they haven't discussed it yet

Ao Bing has a fear of Li Jing just like how Nezha fears Ao Guang

While Princess Iron Fan and Macaque are sworn siblings, Ao Bing isn't. He's family sure, and Red Son calls him uncle just like he does with Macaque, he doesn't really have a proper title, if that makes sense

Macaque does know and is in contact with the other two celestial monkeys. Those two, he does call them by their birth names, which is; Tongbi, short for Tongbi Yuanhou also known as the Long Armed Gibbon, and Chikao, short for Chikao Mahou also known as the Red Buttocked Horse Monkey

Sun Wukong is definitely not jealous that Macaque calls the other celestial primates by their real names instead of him. Definitely not

I'm making the dragon tails in Ao Bing's and the other dragon's human forms optional since I don't want to draw them all the time. I also often forget... Same with their face scales. Let's just say they're retractable okay?

Masterpost | First | Previous | Next

[the-cinnamon-snail]

Okay. Here's what I don't get. So here the nine headed demon has nine snakes on his head. All fine and dandy, makes sense, nine heads (ignoring his actual head because yeah I get it for character design.)

But here? He has 8 snakes, and the demon bird thing head.

Now, if we ignore the middle head like we do for the more humanoid form, what does this mean?

Well, maybe it could be a reference to how in actual mythology and the like, The Nine Headed Demon had one of his heads bitten off by the celestial howling dog, Erlang Shen's companion, Xiaotian Quan.

Is this just being said because I want to see Erlang in LMK? Yes. Yes it is. But also because I love NHD

[ryin-silverfish]

Lotus Lantern: The Summaries, Part 2

Part 1

Xinbian Shuochang Chenxiang Taizi Quanzhuan ("The Epic of Prince Chenxiang", 1822), 

-In this version, the family tree gets a little more...interesting.

-The Lady of Mt. Hua had three siblings: the Mystic Lady of the Nine Heavens, Red Boy——who was also Erlang (???), and Fourth Sister Zhang the Hundred-Flower. She, too, was unable to attend the Peach Festival because of her pregnancy, but Erlang's wife discovered it first during a visit.

-Now, her sister-in-law didn't tattle, but He Xian'gu did by accident, just like before. When Erlang rushed back and shamed her for copulating with a mortal, the Lady of Mt. Hua retorted: "And how's that your business? Don't you also have a wife?" That really pissed him off, and into the mountain she went.

-In this version of the story, Chenxiang had a childhood friend called Qiu'er(秋儿). When the son of a minister mocked the 12 years old Chenxiang and called him a bastard, the duo beat the young master to death in a fit of rage.

-Chenxiang's dad, however, wanted Qiu'er to take full responsibility for the crime, since Chenxiang still had to save his mom, and despite Qiu'er's mom disagreeing with it, he still ended up being the fall guy.

-Here, the Gold Star of Venus only pointed Chenxiang to the Eight Immortals, and He Xian'gu took him in as her disciple to make up for what happened back then. 

-One divine elixir + peach power up sequence later, the uncle-nephew battle commences. On Chenxiang's side, we have the Eight Immortals, their associates, Chenxiang's other two aunts, Sir Thunder and Lady Lightning, as well as some heavenly soldiers. On Erlang's side, we have 4 Vajrapani, 8 Bodhisattvas(四大金刚，八大菩萨), the Four Heavenly Generals, "Commander Zhang", "Sword-wielding General Guo"...and Sun Wukong? And Nezha?

-They are heavily nerfed in this adaptation, tho, and lost to the Eight Immortals one page later, while Erlang and Chenxiang were having your classic shapeshifter duel. Anyways, Guanyin got involved, Jade Emperor ordered a cease-fire, mountain cleaved, mom saved, happy ending.

-Oh, and just when Qiu'er was about to be decapitated for murder, Chenxiang whipped up a whirlwind and saved his childhood bro, which is very nice of him. 

[mikka-minns]

MY LORD OH GOD

Ci Sha - Yang Jian / Erlang Shen (Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms)

[quitealotofsodapop]

Wukong had been holding Xiaotian when his strength had left him, and he lost consciousness. Had Macaque not quickly moved, some instinct warning him to grab the baby, the cub would have been dropped. Even so, his attention was only on Wukong. On how his breathing stopped and his heartbeat slowed, his arms and face became limp as the light in his eyes became dull and faded as they closed. He watched as his Sun began to set and fade away as the Queen Mother and fellow gods began to panic as reality set.

The babe was born safely and healthy, but the mother was at risk! Wukong had warned them of the risky nature of his pregnancy, but in their celebration of the new life they had forgotten. And now they may lose the Monkey King if they don't work fast! For a time Macaque was silent, numb to the world with only the weight of his newborn cub to ground him, but then Tieshan gently took the cub from him to shush the baby and continue where Wukong had left off in little Xiaotiansm's first feeding and Nez Ha tried to carefully move him out of the way.

That had snapped Macaque from his trance as he let out of scream, roaring his grief and terror to the heavens and beyond as he begant to struggle against the Lotus Prince and Erlang Shang as they tried to drag him from his mate's side, screaming for Wukong. For his Peaches!

They'll be forced to sedate him, the grief of the shadow monkey and his thrashing proving too strong for them to handle. Nobody blames him, especially with how he had acted when he'd heard or seen someone insult his mate. The Six Eared Macaque and Great Sage Equal to Heaven were devoted to each other, that much had bern certain way back when the king had roared similar cries of grief the day Macaque had first died all those centuries ago, and it's clear now with Macaque unknowingly copying his mate.

Once he's stabilized, Wukong is placed in a comfortable room with Macaque laid on a cot next to him. The shadow monkey doesn't leave that room again unless it is to fetch his cub and care for him.

Referering to this art of a certain scene in the Century Stone Egg au;

Pretty much the entirety of Heaven panics, but none more than the Monkey King's own mate. Macaque is so distraught that while his instincts scream at him to be at his mate's side, he also snarls and bites at anyone who approaches to help.

The fact that it took the combined strengths of both Erlang Shen and the Third Lotus Prince to subdue the Six Eared Macaque spreads across the Realm over the next few days. Lao Tzu was forced to administer a sleeping drug strong enough to knock out a bull rhino just to get the shadow monkey to stop thrashing around.

Soon both The Great Sage Equal to Heaven and the Great Sage Informing Wind are both confined to a recovery room created within the heavenly home once built to house a new orchard attendant. Their baby tended to by both the returned Princess Tieshan and Bodhisattva Guanyin, both women considering themselves family to the couple.

When the Six Eared Macaque awakens, he merely pushes his cot closer to the King's recovery bed. Spending hours just watching his mate's breathe and listening to his heartbeat. The only time he seems animated is when he rises to care for their newborn - a tiny cub deemed to be their "Little Heaven".

Over the next few days, only the Sage's found family are allowed within the sanctum of the recovery room. A mix of demons, mortals, and dragons. The only celestials allowed beyond the doors is Prince Nezha, the afformentioned Princess and Bodhisattva, and the Queen Mother herself - the one who had ultimately greeted the monkeys' infant into the world.

Subjects from the King's island manage to find their way into the Heavenly realm (likely on the wheels of the Lotus Prince) to leave offerings of fresh fruits and lively flowers. The Macaque finds it a bit too similar to the offerrings left for the deceased - though he quickly discovers that their cub happily pulls attention away from the slumbering king onto themselves.

Every being in the Three Realms await with baited breathe for the Monkey King to reawaken once more.

[samadhifired]

In JttW, changing ones name is quite common and usually accompanied by a big changes in their life (mostly for Buddhist reasons). And LMK seems to acknowledge this since they have used both the pre-Journey Zhu Ganglie as well as his later Zhu Bajie names when talking about the Pig Pilgrim.

And with this line of thought: there is no way that Iron Fan is is PIF's birth name.

Not only is it way too on the nose (unless PIF chose/was given her fan because of her name), she also has gone through a huge change in her life: abandoning her life as a Celestial Maiden and marrying DBK.

Which means... There is a huge opportunity for the show (or fanfic) writers to give her a double identity.

And part of me kinda hopes, if canon, that identity will be Yang Chan; the sister of Erlang Shen.

I mean think about it.

As Celestial, she was shown to have an equal standing with nephew and (kinda) grandson of the Jade Emperor. This makes it very likely that PIF is also related to the Jade Emperor in one way or another.

If she is Yang Chan, her mother would be Yunhua (Yaoji?); a goddess whose job by some sources was to "limit the gods' mortal urges such as love, greed, and ambition". Is it just me, or aren't those also major traits of Iron Fan as a character?

You could argue that DBK getting imprisoned under a mountain is loosely inspired by The Magic Lotus Lantern, the main story Erlang's sister is known for (forbidden marriage, parent getting imprisoned under a mountain by their brother, the son getting a weapon linked to Sun Wukong is a key item at freeing the said parent.)

IronBull family has been part of every single season so far. And when the time to choose the next Jade Emperor comes, it would be so easy for the writers to use PIF (who is still Celestial enough for Azure to refer her as such) as an excuse to get them involved in the progress. Double so if it actually turns out that PIF (and Red Son) has a claim for the throne.

The mere idea of Erlang and PIF as siblings is absolutely hilarios

[foxspiritofthewysterias]

I like to believe that after the incident of Lotus Lantern that Erlang Shen made amends with Liu Chenxiang and San Shengmu and despite their displeasure accepted him as family because my man Erlang knows better than to hold grudges against his nephew given he had literally went through the same thing-AND I NEED A HAPPY ENDING FOR THEM THEY'VE GONE THROUGH SO MUCH 😭 LET THEM HAVE THEIR PEACE GOD PLEASE-

(Also maybe unpopular opinion but i think the the Erlang hate in the lmk fandom is insane free my guy he did NOTHING WRONG (other than the Lotus Lantern events ofc but its not like he wanted to do it))

Also a Liu Chenxiang reference in the lmk season 6 would be nice i think (MK and him would so be best bros)

[lmk-aus-galore]

Lmao, for sure. I mean, "he became a deeply protective and caring creature" or whatever they said in Roast of the Monkie Kids, and I sat there like....you mean. you mean the guy Tripitaka often agreed with, *insert some allegorical thing for persuasions of the heart, and that post on their similar nature* the one who get getting Wukong in trouble and stole fights at the end? Mmm, yeah he would push you off a cliff. But bc he's different here, we're contractually obliged (not personally, but when discussing objectively in fandom) to acknowledge those differences. I dislike JTTW Tripitaka, but I understand he's a different dude here. Also woah, didn't know that was something Tripitaka got hate for??? Most Wukong fans I hang around tend to like him. But 100% its genuinely funny Macaque gets the "bUT in jtTW" treatment bc in any other fandom it would never happen. But maybe its exactly because he clicks all the boxes of the fandom's villain fav that there's this push and pull to balance what someone thinks is a "lack of criticism" so they turn to the book and say "well if this was the BOOK he wouldn't be as popular" that is, of course, besides the people who genuinely have their lore all mixed up and with full confidence throw out incorrect facts. Also ughh, Macaque and the monkeys is one of my favorite running gags in this show and I really hope you're right because that means he maaaaay have been there during the Burning of Flower Fruit Mountain, if they keep that in since Erlang Shen is in the show. And it's right after the LBD incident. And yes, it's quite possible. To add on to your points, Wukong says "its time to give back what you stole" in s1 ep 9 and this show loves its parallels. Macaque's eye twitches then, and I wouldn't be surprised if he said that in their 2nd fight as he also stole their supplies. Oooh that IS interesting, I thought the fire sealing happened after the journey. I know a few people theorized that this was an AU where the circlet got taken off sooner, makes you wonder why? Honestly yeah, if they actually grew to get along then makes a whole lotta sense why Wukong would be upset. There's a thousand layers of tragic, because Imma be honest. I really struggle to see Macaque as being possessive or jealous. He'd going to need a serious trigger to do that, and it would have to be either serious resentment over Wukong not being there (FFM burning) or "Because normally you just RUSH to my rescue." being internalized and acted upon when "Monkey! No violence!" happens. The 1st fight def haunts him as it haunts Wukong bc we see him say "I need to stop dragging you into my mess" post s3. "But no! Wukong doesn't listen to anyone, doing whatever he wants and dragging everybody into his mess." Their fight drives me insane bc for the life of me, I can't imagine what motivates Wukong to throw shade like "always had a sidekick kind of vibe." and "on brand for you to have a worse version of everyone else's powers" and "that's a relief. I thought it was somebody important." or why Macaque wanted to kill him so bad "its going to be soo satisfying killing you with your own powers" why always the power reference? because all this over the MONK??? Nah. What caused them to spit hypothetical vitriol in mystery fight 2 so bad their relationship fractured into this. "It's great to see ya, bud!" being mocked again that time implies their 2nd fight had a heavy connection in bringing up the 1st as well if Mac is literally resurrected bothered over it instead of fight number two. "Looks like our own friend, the Lady Bone Demon" (s3 ep 1??) is ALSO weird af phrasing, because it sounds like Macaque was there during the LBD fight when we know he wasn't..........right? with the close timeline of events and her involvement in Mac's revival + the Diyu also freeing Azure + both of them initially hating Wukong, makes you wonder if its orchestrated to get back at him, like literally every villain thus far. Maybe for erasing his name from the book of life and death?

Especially with the trailer out.

I have a feeling the 10 kings are covering up their crime of releasing Azure and blaming it at Wukong.

Which despite it not at all being his fault, there’s too much evidence against him that unfortunately frames him as the one who released Azure or something…especially since all 10 kings are in a position of power.

Maybe this Season is more on trying to prove Wukong is innocent or something?

[yunsound]

My honest review of New Gods Reborn: Yang Jian

Okay!

So I know I made a post on Erlang Shen (Yang Jian is Erlang Shen's real name) and also a post on Chinese animation in general, but prior to both those posts getting made I'd never watched this movie. It was released August 2022 and is a "sequel" (not really, just set in the same cinematic universe) as New Gods Reborn: Ne Zha (which is NOT a good movie).

I mentioned in both the Erlang Shen and Chinese animation posts that the New Gods Reborn: Yang Jian movie is kind of mid. This was not an opinion I held, but rather an opinion I saw on a lot of review sites.

I finally caved and watched it.

Holy shit. It's so good.

Okay!!! Firstly, I see why people call it mid. For people who aren't Chinese (or Chinese people living abroad, or diaspora, or even Hong Kong/Taiwan people), the plot is very, very confusing. It requires a somewhat in-depth understanding of the myths of Erlang Shen and the Magical Lotus Lantern.

Luckily, I've made that post for you! Linked here. As long as you read this post you'll generally understand the movie.

There are some major characters that appear (this doesn't really count as spoilers I think? Since I won't tell you what they do or why) like the Four Heavenly Kings. I haven't made a post on this, but essentially they're important figures in Chinese Buddhism.

Without knowledge on these Kings (most Chinese will recognise them, they're very iconic figures), the audience will be confused as to why they're here and who they are.

I will probably make a post on them at some point. Stay tuned.

It also requires knowledge of some other scattered myths, most of which are widely accessible to people who grew up in China, but are utterly unfamiliar to everyone else. So for a wider international audience, it's not a good choice.

But for me, who does know all the references it's making (and consequrently, when someone in the movie is lying because I know the original myth), it's a very good movie.

First off: the animation is absolutely fucking gorgeous. Without spoiling too much, there's a scene in which the entire movie goes from 3d animation to 2d animation to reflect being within a painting.

(I don't think I mentioned this in my weapons post, or maybe I did, but the 山河社稷图 Divine Mountains and Rivers Painting or the 太极图 Taiji Painting is a mythical painting which can trap anyone inside it.)

It's absolutely breathtaking.

The most impactful parts of the movie involve Yang Jian (Erlang Shen) awakening his Heavenly Eye, or Tianyan. This may look just cool to outsiders, but in China, Erlang Shen is one of the most powerful deities of all time.

He's on a whole different level. He's incredibly OP, basically- maybe even stronger than Sun Wukong. What this means is that when he is at his full power, practically no one can stop him.

The plot is still kind of weird- I wouldn't call the story the main attraction. The story is a little all over the place, and the plot itself has some major flaws, but the beauty of this movie is undoubtedly the character design.

Not only are the models very well-done, but every single character is well-fleshed out. Everyone is sympathetic (except for the villains, I guess). Yang Jian is the main character, and his personality and motivations are not only likeable but understandable. But neither is he perfect all the time. He feels real.

Even for the side characters, their arcs feel very well-rounded. So the overall plot is kind of bad, but each character's journey feels well-done.

Regardless of these flaws, I'd recommend anyone who wants to get some insight into Chinese culture or mythology watch this movie. It was very, very impactful and also quite entertaining.

What I will applaud though, is the sheer spectacle, scale and beauty of this movie. First off, the models are very well-made. This movie wasn't exactly indie the same way Ne Zha 1 and 2 were since the studio behind them was big, but animation never quite reaches the same expectations.

I was honestly a little blown away by the quality of the animation. It's much, much better than I was expecting. I'm not saying it's Oscar-winning (although after watching Godzilla Minus One win the Oscar for best visual effects, I'm inclined to believe differently- those effects were terrible) but it's very, very good.

Most importantly, it feels unequivocally Chinese. The 2D ink-painting style that appears, the unapologetic references to Chinese mythology- it is very much a movie not at ALL made for international audiences. It expects you to know. It's only for the mainland Chinese.

Does this make the movie worse or better? I honestly don't know. In terms of pros, it doesn't waste time explaining the myths. In terms of cons, literally no one who's not Chinese can understand the full scale of this movie.

Is it as good as Ne Zha 2? Probably not- that movie is still so good, I've seen it multiple times in theatres. It's definitely as good as Ne Zha 1, if not better. It's WAY better than New Gods Reborn: Ne Zha. After enjoying Yang Jian more than I expected, I sat down and forced myself to watch New Gods Reborn: Ne Zha.

My goodness. Don't watch it, I'm being serious. The Yang Jian one is way better.

This movie, when it came out, was very big in China- not as big as Ne Zha 1/2 were, but big. Mainly because Yang Jian is HOT. Chenxiang (Yang Jian's nephew) is also hot, and the female main character (I won't spoil but you'll know) is ALSO HOT.

The main joke I see on DY and XHS is the scriptwriters should be carrying the animators and modellers to work everyday on a handheld sedan, because of how good the animation is and how mid the story is.

In essence- if you're Chinese or have a good understanding of Chinese mythology, this movie will be absolutely amazing IF and ONLY IF you manage to suspend disbelief for the entire time and pretend you have no critical brain. If you DO find yourself thinking critically, the plot will make 3/10 sense but it'll still be a good movie.

If you're not Chinese or have a very basic understanding of Chinese mythology, you can still watch this movie! Just follow these steps so you won't be confused ASF:

Read my Yang Jian/ Erlang Shen post (ehehe self promo). Seriously, though. If not my post, then at least read the Wikipedia page for the Magical Lotus Lantern and Erlang Shen. You'll be incredibly confused if not.

Read up on the Four Heavenly Kings. I don't have a post for this regrettably, and the Wikipedia page is unhelpful and I doubt linking a Chinese source will help. There are probably blog posts from other people on this, though- some Googling will probably be enough.

I've explained the Taiji Painting here and the Magical Lotus Lantern in the Erlang Shen post, but I recommend doing a bit more reading on the Magical Lotus Lantern anyway.

OKAY! Now onto my discussion of the plot itself. Beware: there are spoilers, so if you don't mind, read, but if you DO mind, you can come back after you've watched it. I'm not going to lie, spoilers don't really matter since there's no plot twists that are SUPER impactful, but be wary, I guess.

At the beginning of the film, the setting is in a pseudo-cyberpunk post-apocalyptic world, in which Yang Jian has had his heavenly eye sealed. I don't mind this at all- it's just that even without his heavenly eye, Yang Jian is still incredibly powerful.

It's not like he's weak in the movie- he does incredibly well, and is still an extremely talented fighter. But all the enemies he comes up against should still be easy pickings for him, to the point where he should just be smiting them with a flick of his finger. He shouldn't really be struggling at all, to be honest. For story purposes, though, this isn't that important.

They make up a backstory for Chenxiang and Yang Jian that makes Yang Jian not the cold ruthless warrior he is in the original myth. Instead of trapping his little sister (Chenxiang's mother) under the mountain for marrying a mortal man, instead their whole family is the victim of a generational bullshit curse where the mothers are forced to sacrifice themselves to seal off a mountain (in order to keep monsters and demons trapped underneath) and the sons are fated to split open the mountain to save their mother, thus releasing the monsters and dooming the next generation of women to sacrifice again.

It IS acknowledged in the movie that this curse is bullshit, and that it's simply the whims of powerful people sacrificing women (yes, the misogyny aspect is also acknowledged) to keep themselves safe. I like that they acknowledged this, and that everyone agrees this is bullshit.

I do also like that Yang Jian is much more relatable and agreeable in this film. However.

In the original myth, he is ruthless and cold-blooded- that's what makes him so well respected. In this version, he loses some of that gravitas. Don't get me wrong, he still has a lot of "aura", but... he loses some of what makes Erlang Shen so terrifying- that pseudo-sadistic, I don't give a shit attitude.

Also, during his time being trapped inside his painting, he's forced to go through a series of terrifying hallucinations. Not only do these hallucinations confuse HIM, they also confuse US, the audience.

Usually when this sort of stuff happens we're aware that he's the one hallucinating, but the animators leaned a little too heavily into it that I was just like "what the fuck" the whole time. I get that it's for immersion purposes, but they could've dialed the whole thing back just a little.

Also... Shen Gongbao's character is... strange, to say the least. He has literally nothing to do with Erlang Shen/Yang Jian or Chenxiang in the original myth, so him appearing out of nowhere is SO confusing. He could've just been replaced with someone else, like Sun Wukong (who's Chenxiang's teacher originally).

I get that they had to kill Shen Gongbao for plot reasons and Sun Wukong wouldn't have died so easily, but I feel like there's ways around that.

The villain's motivations also feel kind of weird. Like...what? None of what you're trying to do makes any sense.

MAJOR SPOILER:

Yuding Zhenren (Master Yuding, Yang Jian's teacher) being the big villain also makes no sense. Like, he can be the villain, sure, but he needs to have some proper motivations. Wuliang Xianwen (Master Wuliang in Ne Zha 2) being the villain wasn't a bad choice because his motivations were clear- make the Chan Sect more dominant.

But WTF is Yuding Zhenren trying to get at? I have no idea.

Additionally... there are parts of the movie that just don't need to be there. Like Yang Jian getting put in jail, for example. I know it's for cool purposes, but huh?? Their explanation of the Magical Lotus Lantern also felt very meh, like just "ignore the details and believe".

ALSO! I love their take on the Howling Celestial Dog (Xiaotian Quan 啸天犬). She's so cute and so funny and SO doglike without being gimmicky or weak! Additionally she also doesn't feel like "waifubait", which is somewhat important to me. (I'm not usually against waifubait, as a woman who loves women, but.... not sure Xiaotian Quan is the best option for that).

I like this movie a lot- it's definitely going on my "watch in the background while I do other things" list, which is a pretty high honour for me, at least. I do wish I'd seen it in theatres, but if it reran in theatres I probably wouldn't go watch it, just because the plot isn't that good.

In my opinion, one of the major flaws of Chinese animated movies is the storytelling. The animation is usually very good, but the story sometimes suffers. Even with my favourite Chinese animated movie, Ne Zha 2, there are noticeable plot points that I found myself wrinkling my brow at on my second/third watch.

I might outline that in a different post.

This was the case for New Gods Reborn: Yang Jian. It was also the problem with 30,000 Miles from Chang'an (which had a beautiful soundtrack and was very touching but the overarching story was meh) as well as Deep Sea, which again, had gorgeous animation and a touching story but the OVERALL plot is just okay (not bad! Just not amazing).

In my personal experience, Chinese animated movies (and Chinese movies in general) do either great visuals or great storytelling. Usually Chinese movies are GREAT at getting you to cry- the saddest movies I've EVER watched are Chinese- but once you've let a few days go by between the initial emotions and the initial hype you find yourself wondering "why"?

I will probably do a list of my favourite NON animated Chinese movies. In recent years, quite a few have been absolutely incredible, in terms of both plot and emotion. The Oscars are bullshit, we all know, and I've never expected any of these films to even get nominated, but if the Academy was fair I think each of these movies deserves at the VERY least a nomination. That's coming either today or tomorrow.