Also, Tang Sanzang solely for unpopular opinion and one thing you wish would've happened in canon. I know how you feel about his character because it's the same for me. š¤
Thank you for giving me the chance to rant about my childhood grudge against this monk, Ruijie uwu
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My unpopular opinion about this character:
OKAY SO I THINK MY UNPOPULAR OPINION IS JUST WHAT I WOULDāVE ANSWERED FOR WHAT I THINK OF HIM GFJDKSLDSD
I donāt think Tang Seng is that good of a person and I donāt think he learned enough on his pilgrimage to warrant enlightenment! Heās flawed, and his flaws arenāt acknowledged enough.Ā
I think his relationship with Wukong is... not fun, not good. With Chinese filial piety culture, the shifu-tudi dynamic, and the fact that Wukongās jail bail is semi-dependent on Sanzangās success, thereās already an uneven power dynamic between him and Wukong, despite Wukongās physical strength. And the way Sanzang chooses to navigate that power dynamic is by using the tightening sutra far too liberally and proving to Wukong again and again that heāll never trust him, despite how Wukongās shown again and again that he wants this journey to go smoothly. He doesnāt really seem remorseful of his actions either, and when he does regret them, it only seems at a level of āI shouldnāt have pushed Wukong away ): What will we do now ): The journey will be so much harderā rather than āMy actions were unfair and harsh.ā
And his habit of playing favorites annoys me. Bai Longma carries him for the entire journey without complaint? Longma who? Sha Wujing is hardworking, dedicated, and respectful? Always looking out for him and the most dedicated to becoming a proper Buddhist monk? Eh, okay, whatever. Sun Wukong tries to learn, scouts ahead, finds food when theyāre not in a place where they can beg for alms, identifies possible threats, disposes of said threats, and saves his life multiple times? Heās a untrustworthy and dangerous monkey! Zhu Bajie lies, tries to get out of work, sleeps on the job, misbehaves overall, and is clearly not invested in the pilgrimage for like half of the journey at least? Yes of course, whatever you say, Bajie :)
And hereās a more petty point, and Iām regurgitating this point from my mom who also hates him, but Sanzangās not even that good of a monk during the journey, and if he grew up as a monk, he really should be aware of this. Heās got a mega powerful horse so he doesnāt even have to walk on his own pilgrimage, heās not even the person who goes begging for alms most of the time, and the 81 hardships really proved to be more hardships for Sun Wukong than him (not to mention he was the one got the group into a lot of those hardships by ignoring Wukongās advice). He preaches being a good holy monk. He recites the teachings but doesnāt really put in the work.Ā āWukong, we were whisked off by a demon for a mile, so we didnāt actually travel that much. We have to go back and retrace our steps for a proper pilgrimage.ā And he proceeds to retrace his stepsĀ by riding on Longma.Ā That is all bark and no bite performance, and he knows this.
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One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:
JTTW is a story about becoming a better person on the road to enlightenment so I wish he had gotten some character development. If the points I stated earlier just happened in the beginning/middle of the story and he had made an effort to improve by the end, then I think Iād like him a lot more. I really donāt think he sees that heās in the wrong, so Iād just like for him to get a wake up call. Maybe someone calls him out on his behavior. Maybe he sees how much more at ease Wukong is with his other sifu Puti, or even Taibai Jinxing since that guy seemed to have a soft spot for Wukong. Maybe he just has a moment of clarity! I just want him to apologize sincerely and to start taking the steps to becoming a better sifu.
Ask game: Give me a character and Iāll tell you my thoughts! (JTTW and Chinese mythology only) :D
