She/ her. Writer of words. Here are some of them!
https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuima11/works
This blog is primarily for and about the classical Chinese novel XiYouJi
Jingong① stands for innate positive vitality, human essence energy and lung’s metal energy②. Its traits: tough, decisive in fighting, quick-witted, restless and unwilling to be controlled. Such personality makes him a perfect hero.
The character “Jin” in Jingong① means Wukong belongs to Metal in Five Elements②. Metal matches the Earthly Branch Shen③, which links to monkey. (Check the chart below for details.)
The Metal element② forms five core personalities of him: firm and decisive, unyielding, outspoken with sharp personality, irritable, diligent and always on the move.
Three concepts are used here: Earthly Branches③, Five Elements② and Chinese Zodiac.
Readers unfamiliar with these will miss lots of fun while reading the original Journey to the West. (Few people know where to find the original book though.)
Below is the fixed matching list:
子(zǐ)｜水(shuǐ)water｜鼠(shǔ) Rat
丑(chǒu)｜土(tǔ)dirt｜牛(niú) Ox
寅(yín)｜木(mù)wood｜虎(hǔ) Tiger
卯(mǎo)｜木(mù)wood｜兔(tù) Rabbit
辰(chén)｜土(tǔ)dirt｜龙(lóng) loong
巳(sì)｜火(huǒ)fire｜蛇(shé) Snake
午(wǔ)｜火(huǒ)fire｜马(mǎ) Horse
未(wèi)｜土(tǔ)dirt｜羊(yáng) Sheep
申(shēn)｜金(jīn)gold｜猴(hóu) Monkey
酉(yǒu)｜金(jīn)gold｜鸡(jī) Rooster
戌(xū)｜土(tǔ)dirt｜狗(gǒu) Dog
亥(hài)｜水(shuǐ)water｜猪(zhū) Pig
Besides, Jingong① refers to lead in Taoist inner alchemy terms. So we can joke that Sun Wukong is like a chunk of lead.(just kidding)
① Jingong[金公|jīn gōng]：a unique terminology from traditional Chinese Taoist inner alchemy, a special nickname for Sun Wukong in Journey to the West.
② Five Elements[五行|wǔ xíng]：the ancient Chinese philosophical classification system dividing all matters into Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth.
③ Earthly Branch[地支|dì zhī]：12 traditional Chinese symbolic characters used in zodiac, calendar and ancient fortune culture.
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Comic strip + low effort doodles I did a while ago but never posted it
I've started an extensive amount of comic strips as I've been reading the series and I was waiting to finish more of them to do a big art dump, but I just keep starting more (and not finishing them) LMAO 😭 so I thought I might as well post some stuff I did from months ago already 🥀
Hello fellow pilgrims! Happy Monkey King Monday to those who celebrate, and here is some hopefully good news.
It has now been a good long while since the first pilgrimage through Xiyouji came to an end. Since that time, I have watched with pleasure as the follower count on this blog continued to rise, and am as such left wondering if there is interest among some of you to start a new reading journey.
I did, as such, want to send out a tentative ask to see how many current followers might want to embark on a brand-new reading pilgrimage, and if so, in what form. If there is sufficient interest, I am thinking of organizing either:
A) a repeat of the first reading journey, i.e. asking participants to read a chapter every week and then submit their thoughts, comments, memes, art, etc. about that chapter on the Sunday of that week, or
B) hosting a more informal reading space, i.e. letting participants mosy along the journey at their own pace, and submit their responses to the journey from art to memes to everything in between to this blog at any time they please, OR
C) A combination of the two, so that reading pilgrims of both paces can enjoy Xiyouji in the way they like best.
I also want to note that thanks to the archival work and research of the ever-helpful @journeytothewestresearch, we not only have digital copies of Journey to the West in multiple languages, but have both the abridged and the full copy of the Anthony C. Yu English translation. As such, I would like to also see if you folks would prefer for this next tentative reading journey to be based on the full Yu translation, the abridged copy, or for this journey to be more of a come-as-you-will sort of affair. Remember that there is no wrong answer! At this stage I just want to get a general sense of how people are feeling so as to best organize the next potential read-through.
So let me know what you're thinking, what you're feeling, and here's hoping that this reading group can embark on another pilgrimage soon!
Ive been getting my ass kicked by both depression and a cold but ive had these litle wukong doodles sitting in my sketch book and i wamna share em, so here ya go
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Okay but like for most species of monkeys males have no part in raising the infants, so young are cared for entirely by their mothers and the other females in the troop and see that would mean Wukong has no instinctive/ingrained cultural understanding of paternal affection and while he does call Tripitaka his father figure in human terms that wouldn't translate neatly back into monkey terms because as I said before they don't have father figures and what I'm getting at here is that Wukong probably subconsciously understands Tripitaka to be his mother.
Vivid figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas carved in the rock on the Flying Peak, Feilai Feng (飛來峰石窟) in the Wulin Mountains (武林山), Zhejiang.
Their cheerfulness in no way contradicts the solemn and misty ambiance of the Feilai Feng Grottoes themselves. Limestone peak looks alien in the surrounding mountain landscape, so there is an opinion that it flew here by the power of Buddhist wonder-workers. The main cave is dedicated to the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Due to a natural crack in the ceiling, a radiant halo surrounds the statue.
The carvings are from different periods and date from the Tang to the Ming.
Tripitaka: *throws up*
Èrláng Shén & Nézhā: *bored out of their minds, because their moduls of travel are cooler* ¬_¬
Zhū Bājiè: *screaming his lungs out*
Shā Wùjìng: *a bit woozy by the end of the ride*
Bái Lóng Mă & Liù'ěr Míhóu: *having the time of their lives*
Sūn Wùkōng: *banned because he's too short* >:(
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Warnings! Disturbing Skull Imagery and Potential Eye Strain
Finished!! if anyone got the reference, you get a cookie
now, a very long and organized rant about the fuck ton of symbolism I put into this art piece (with some foreshadowing for this AU)
The Red Circle- Originally, it was going to be the same size as the Yellow Circle but I accidentally made it too big. at first I was irked, but soon realized it worked very well for what I'm trying to convey.
So what it represents is the nature of martyrdom and death. This is just my opinion, but I think volunteered death of the sorts, elevates a person. They are remembered for it. It's their legacy. The Red Circle being bigger than the Yellow Circle also shows how this glorified death may catch up to Tripitaka; he is the tenth and final reincarnation but that does not mean he isn't potentially doomed for such a legacy (that was never his choice) to catch up to him. That doesn't mean it will, persay, but that doesn't mean it won't, if that makes sense. Y'all can place your bets whether or not he dies.
The Yellow Circle- A design choice inspired by the reference, that inspired this whole art piece. A domino effect.
The Yellow Circle radiates an ethereal aura, to show that this humble monk is a holy man, undertaking a divine mission from the Buddha himself. The reason why I had it obscuring his face however is to show how his holiness objectifies him to both demons and people alike. It is meant to take away his individuality as a person, and to expose how he is simply an object that represents the idea of immortality and redemption to others.
The Alms Bowl- This was more of an afterthought tbh, but still glad I included it.
This is a nod to the Golden Cicada, who was punished for dropping a single grain of rice. Tripitaka holding it represents how he is meant to carry that burden as his reincarnation. I guess this would correlate with a generational burden, in a way?
The Nine Skulls- A lot of this were happy coincidences, and my favorite part of this art piece.
I interpreted the skulls in a more gnarly manner because I took inspiration from images I found of drowned human skulls, but I greatly exaggerated it.
A reason (excuse lmao) for this is because in Journey to the West, it states that Sandy actually played with the skulls before Tripitaka came along. I would imagine that he would handle them too roughly, hence their battered state. Also, fun fact! The original vision I had in mind for some of the skulls was for their jaws to be agape in a silent scream. However, I failed to execute that because of the odd angle and they look like they're laughing instead. Which, is actually perfect. I think Sandy would fashion the skulls to seemingly laugh, to cope with the guilt of murdering and devouring human flesh. If they're happy, then why be so glum?
Another thing I want to point out with the skulls is that I accidentally drew them foreshadowing the fate of some of the characters in this AU. I think some are obvious, but it's absolutely hilarious to me how they aligned this perfectly.
I feel like it's kind of obvious, but the Nine Skulls represent Tripitaka's past 9 lives, and their ultimate demise at the River.
The River- I'm not sure if it's very obvious, but at the bottom of the art piece you can see cattails and flowers that one might find at the edge of the river.
There's a twist of irony I find when comparing the deaths of Tripitaka's past reincarnations', and the life of Tripitaka himself. The past lives had all died at the Sand River, drowned by its murky waters by the same river demon. However, Tripitaka's life as a baby is saved by a river, and the same river demon that consumed his past lives is now his disciple. Not to mention, they use the skulls of his past life to fashion a makeshift boat to cross the river to continue their journey to the west. It's as if the sacrifice of the past lives was necessary, required, for this life to make it. There's something awfully poetic about that, yet cruel.
The purpose of this art piece was to explore a core component of Tripitaka's character: suffering.
Tysm for reading all of this! If you have your own interpretation of this art piece or your own speculation you'd like to share, go ahead! I'd love to read your thoughts :)
"The Great Sage was shedding tears when he heard noises on top of the brazier, and suddenly saw light."
Chapter 7 of jttw, my guy really went through it in there huh. Tried for a more moody piece with this one, although it's not exactly what I had in mind, it gets the point across I think?
You were warned. I warned you guys. This coloring book is dead set on making everyone The Most Beautiful. To my bafflement and lasting hilarity, this includes the freaking Goldfish Demon.
why is the goldfish sexy. who wanted this. who thought this was acceptable. This man should be in an underwater tower somewhere dangling his hair into the current for a prince to swim up. Instead, he is stuck in the Fish Basket for Naughty Child-Eating Demons. XD XD XD
Basket merman: [you] obviously cannot barter/trade this large of a basket!
Guanyin: Why not? Isn’t that such a comfortable bath?
Guanyin being unbothered and serene in the moonlight while her pet commits atrocities in the World Below.
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Saw your post about this, would just like to add that there are many ways of referring to yourself in Chinese:
我 is the ”normal” way of saying it, the closest equivalent to the English Me/I
Wukong doesn’t do that.
Wukong calls himself 俺老孙.
俺 is a character which among other things is the stereotypical gangster/low class way of referring to oneself, carrying a connotation of bragging all the time. It’s essentially him calling himself “your old friend” to everybody he meets.
The only other character to regularly not use 我 in the novel like this is Erlang.
Erlang uses 吾- effectively “this noble one”.
Which really just tells you all you need to know about these two characters as relevant to their foil with each other.
This is AMAZING, my life is enriched knowing this XD
