#Sanzang

[journeytothewestresearch]

Rare JTTW Puppet Play

I am proud to host a guest post by @ryin-silverfish about a rare JTTW puppet play from Quanzhou, Fujian province, China. The play is roughly from the Yuan to early-Ming period, meaning that it predates the 1592 edition of the novel. There are parallels with the finished work, pointing to a possible influence, or at the very least, they borrowed from the same source. But there are many differences as well. The most surprising for me are:

Sha Wujing is the one who transforms into a white horse.

Erlang becomes one of Tripitaka's disciples after being demoted for flirting with a heavenly maiden.

An example of modern Quanzhou string puppetry depicting a battle between Sun Wukong and Princess Iron Fan.

[reginleif-valkyrie]

Okay, here it is. Get ready for cuteness. The last pic I’m posting from The Monkey King by Chaiko Tsai

You ready?

Here it comes!

[great-hon-equal-to-pot-pie]

I made an extremely messy and rough little jttw pmv a few days ago bc the Wukong-Tripitaka brainrot absolutely got to me lol!! Wasn't planning on posting it but I thought I should treat ya'll :P

(The song is Snow and Ice by Sophia Anne Caruso)

Explanation under cut:

I think a lot of people don't acknowledge the fact that the whole theme of jttw is growth and change. And I honestly I can go as far to say that the concept of healing (from your past) is a theme too. Wukong is such an excellently executed character in my opinion. When he achieves his goal it feels genuinely rewarding because you watched him EARN it throughout the story. You watched him do his best, you watched him learn, you watched him struggle. He's supposed to be a sort of "guardian angel" figure to Tripitaka; there to help him "lead the path". And as much as Wukong's a protector and guardian to Tripitaka - Tripitaka is equally that to Wukong. Their connection is so charming - they don't get along perfectly, they don't agree on everything. Despite that I still like to imagine that Tripitaka still holds such hope for Wukong, even if he doesn't always outright show it. That despite everything Wukong will still be able to change - and he does. He isn't a creature of evil - just human pleasure and the human mindset that he gained when stepping into "our world" corrupted him. What THEY did to you. And Tripitaka believes deep, deep down that Wukong is just broken - but everything that's broken CAN be fixed. Wukong can once again be a peaceful creature, responsible for his own choices and emotions and the emotions of others. His light will shine again.

[idrawprettyboys]

Sanzang redesign. 🪷

[hasmashdoneanythingwrong]

Context:

[the-monkey-ruler]

Hello! So... @journeytothewestresearch recommended you for maybe having the answer on my question for them. I would like to know how old was Tang Sanzang on the start of the journey? Journeytothewestresearch guessed that Tang is in early 20's and I believe that. They said that they vaguely remember Tang telling someone he's age but not sure about it. So they told me that you perhaps know about it. I don't mind if it's not a specific number, I'm just curious about it. You could even ignore this, I don't really mind since I know that Tang may be in he's early 20's and I'm satisfied with that since it could lead to headcanons for my imaginative mind.

Lucky for you I just answered that when he @'ed me!

We leave Sanzang's story when he turns 18 however we do not know the time between him finding his family and Gaunyin coming to look for something to go to the west. It is assumed that a time skip happened and by then Sanzang has worked his way up to being one of the best monks in the Tang Empire.

Personally, I think that he is 27 all things considered but I know some people go as young as 21 as Bajie has said he waited three years with the Gao's for Gaunyin, thus as minimum Sanzang is argued to be 21, or at most 30 at Sanzang does said that he is 40 8-9~ into the journey but could be pushed to 10 years into the journey since the arcs are hard to pinpoint.

[merlin-being-merlin]

Finally, time for my Gong to shine.

Second round, 3 turn 90+ node

[philautiad]

Royal Icing on Sanzang is a big sexy

[zaiofender]

— Grief, is perhaps the last and final translation of love.

[theghostshost]

Golden Cicada

[journeytothewestresearch]

PDFs of Foreign Language Journey to the West Translations

I’m happy to host a number of foreign language translations of the noted Chinese classic Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592 CE). This archive currently houses the following editions:

English

French

German

Hungarian

Italian

Romanian

Russian

Spanish

Thai

Vietnamese

As of this writing, I don’t yet have a modern Japanese translation. But you can read an original copy of the 1835 translation here.

I have also included translations of the unofficial sequel, A Supplement to the Journey to the West (Xiyoubu, 西遊補, 1640), in the following languages:

English

Hungarian

I will add more languages as they become available. Please let me know if you have access to other editions.

[reginleif-valkyrie]

I’m just going to leave this here.

The context only explains Wukong’s eyes.

Journey to the West 1980s.

[great-hon-equal-to-pot-pie]

Some doodles of my Sanzang/Tripitaka design from my physics notebook lol^^

[digitalagepulao]

monkey love language

i absolutely adore just how aggressively physical monkeys can be with affection. they just fully press their heads into each other, lots of tugging and pulling, almost throwing themselves at each other when they want attention. i bet it takes Wukong some adjustment so he doesn't use his full force when he gets grabbed by the need to just squeeze someone lmao, but just as much as the others need time to get used to a monkey perched on them every now and then. plus grooming is often a bargaining chip and a way to build relationships and a show of affection and trust. so, a bit of monkey love for each of the group! :D

aaaand Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing face reveal!! working on a fullbody lineup to show off their heights as well, so consider this a teaser ;3

Bajie is half wild boar, half babirusa. I love the four-tusk situation babirusa have going on, but his bristled mane is too iconic to handwave away. plus, pigs that go feral grow tusks and thicker fur, so i wanted to capture some of that with the half-and-half design.

as for Wujing, he's a complicated one to explain, but for his face i really wanted his beard to stand out as well as the six skulls necklace. i'm going for a "intermittent waters" concept with him, since he's originally connected to a desert before being made into a river demon, so i'm drawing on mudskippers for his ear fins and face spots.

[spoopdeedoop]

there was a stunning lack of mk and tang content in the show. unacceptable

[swkbiggestdefender]

something about wukong love for the pilgrims keeps him in pain no matter how many times have past he can't stop wishing they were here with him, he never even talk about them that much properly because he still grieving them

I think that's why he didn't want to get closer with anyone in the first seasons especially tang, pigsy, and sandy It's probably awkward and painful to be around them sometimes

And this is a bit of a personal headcannon but I think wukong gives all the love he feels to mk

Mk is all he have right now he doesn't really try to get closer to anyone else at least not right now