#Journey to the North

[the-monkey-ruler]

Didn’t jttw’s publisher see the book’s success and wanted to replicate it with north, east, and south? I thought I read that somewhere but it’s been a while.

I can't say I know anything about that, or at least I haven't heard about it. If you find the link to where you read that I would love to see it! The story of Xiyouji was popular before Wu Cheng'en's version, hence why there were so many different versions around it, just that it was theorized that Wu Cheng'en was able to connect multiple of the one-off tales of them fighting demons and finally put it together in a coherent narrative. Wu Cheng'en's version started to become the 'canon' because of its popularity but that doesn't discredit the popularity or notoriety of previous Xiyouji media.

Xiyouji was based on The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures 大唐三藏取經詩話 which was released around the late-13th-century, giving a good few centuries for the story to rise in popularity before the Wu Chengen's 1592 cut. From there we do see other versions of the story, such as the early-Ming Journey to the West zaju play 西遊記雜劇 which was created between these productions.

If we want to see when the other novels were created it's just a matter of trying to put them in order.

Late-13th-century ~ The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures 大唐三藏取經詩話

Early-Ming ~ Journey to the West zaju play 西遊記雜劇

1522-1526 - Journey to the East 東遊記 by Wu Yuantai

1566 ~ Journey to the West: The Biography of Tang Sanzang 西游唐三藏出身传 by Yang Zhihe

1570s-1580s - Journey to the South 南遊記 by Yu Xiangdou

1592 - Journey to the West 西遊記 by Wu Cheng'en

1602 - Journey to the North 北遊記 by Yu Xiangdou

I think that considering how close the publication dates (even the estimates) that it would be fair that most of these pieces of media were either inspired by previous interpretations of Xiyouji and it took some time before Wu Cheng'en's version finally became popular enough to be considered the 'canon' as it is referred to as today. I can't say how fast the spread of literature was back in the 16th century but I assume it would be much slower by today's standards at least.

[ryin-silverfish]

I remember that a while ago it had been discussed as if the children of the nine-tailed fox in Jttw could be something that is not explained/loophole because if they were biological children, then heaven accepted children of a demon that is implied, eats humans (so most JTTW adaptations, they are considered adopted). But my biggest question was, does heaven have some kind of rules as to who can be part of heaven? If the son of a Yaoguai or mortal human who did bad cultivation could not enter heaven because of what his parents did even though the son did not follow the same way of cultivation?

I understand that there are certain crimes that the pilgrims were forgiven, but I wonder in the case of families and descendants.

I mean...I don't think yaoguais were denied entry into the Celestial Bureaucracy on the sole basis of being yaoguais, or having done bad stuff.

Sure, the ones that did do bad stuff were usually admitted under very specific context——getting their asses kicked by a more powerful god/immortal and becoming their new employees.

For example, in his non-JTTW mythos, Numinous Official Wang of the Thunder Bureau was once a yaoguai/demonic deity subdued by one of the Four Daoist Heavenly Masters, Sa Shoujian.

JTTN is basically about Emperor Zhenwu kicking demon asses and taking names, though the demons he subdued were often forced into servitude via water/fire pills that would corrode/ignite their insides whenever they tried to rebel.

As for families and descendants...I don't think there would be any formal bans against them entering the Celestial Bureaucracy?

They still had to find a master and cultivate themselves up to a level where they'd catch the attention of the Celestial Host, or, in the case of foxes, pass Bixia Yuanjun's fox cultivation exams.

(I love the fox cultivation exam in Qing folklore collections. Like, it seems to be a fox specific thing, but nothing's stopping you from extending that to the rest of yaoguai-kind in mythos-inspired works and fanworks.)

Like, it's still gonna be very difficult. Going by the Zhong-Lv classification system of immortals, what differentiates a Divine immortal from a Heavenly immortal is basically a formal appointment from the Celestial Host, and to get that appointment, you usually have to accumulate a lot of merits through preaching the Daoist Way + acts of great virtues.

As a result, Lv Dongbin said in the text that "Being a Ghostly immortal was undesirable, and a Heavenly one, unrealistic/beyond one's hopes..." Which suggests it isn't the ultimate goal every cultivator should strive for, since the power of appointment is not in their hands.

HC-wise, I feel like yaoguais and their descendents are still gonna face prejudice, won't have a lot of upwards mobility, and can be subjected to collective punishments if their family members did something bad.

However, they are not outright barred from the Celestial Bureaucracy by virtue of their yaoguai blood either.

[deadmotelsusa]

Journey's End Motel's journey has come to an end. It has been replaced by a strip mall. Located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Source

[adhamabbas]

Your love is like the waves of the sea, it has no end in my heart.

[warriors-official-art]

Title: Ivypool's Heart

Arc: Super Edition

Type: map

Country: North America

Source: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warriors-super-edition-ivypool-s-heart-1

[frutia]

⭐️a little rant on the north node&south node axis for those who care⭐️

the people who guided me and from whom i received advice had placements on my north node, while the people from whom i received emotional support had placements on my south node. you cannot play the north node game without the south node. the south node consists of people who understand, listen to, and support you amidst all the world's worries. the people in your north node are those who help you grow and improve. i have moon, sun, mercury, and venus conjunctions with my mother, father, boyfriend, and closest friends on my south node. meanwhile, saturn and the sun of my favorite teacher in this life are on my north node, and another person's ascendant, whose advice i value so much, is in conjunction with my north node. they help me improve my worldview with their worldview. rather than saying that the people in your south node are the ones who hold you back, i think they are the "piston power" people who say, "come onnnn buddy, you won't give up like that! you can do it, you can succeed, you got this" pushing you forward to achieve your goals yk. whenever you can't succeed or make progress, they will still be there, always supporting and encouraging you. they will help you start again. when you complete your north node journey successfully and look back, you will see each and every valuable person who helped you along the road and contributed to your success. "loyalty" is the key word of the south node. the people in your north node are not specifically obligated to be loyal to you. on the contrary, you keep them in your life because they help you grow. they do not benefit from you, you benefit from them. however, the people in your south node are those who have seen your lowest moments and who will always be by your side. they are the people who remain loyal to you. with all the people who conjuncted their sun, moon, or even mars with my south node, i had the most fun times; we shared secrets, we laughed, and i felt alive. this is even more accurate if your ketu is strong in your chart, like mine. my ketu is in scorpio in the 12th house. when i say ketu connections have always been binding in my life, i mean it.

if you are among those who believe that the south node connections in synastry are wicked, i hope this writing has allowed you to think from a different perspective.

[allgirlsareprincesses]

I'm so proud of this episode recorded with Mike of Thunderquack podcast! If you enjoyed Prey (I mean, who didn't?) or just like mythic/feminist stories in general, please check it out! We cover all kinds of topics, including how this tale reflects star stories of Indigenous Americans:

I'd love to share a lot more of my thoughts about this movie some day! Such an unexpectedly gorgeous film!

[thegreatyin]

caeru patch notes:

accidentally went missing for a month

it's long hair swag time

[jude-shotto]

A redraw of the C&C zine Jericrew w/ Leo!

This is also for the Leo Surprise Birthday Party Event, ending tomorrow (Leo's birthday)!

If you want to see more Leo content you can check out the event @detroitbhappy and on Twitter, wherein you can win an art prize when you share or make Leo content with the event tag #LeoSBDP and submit he URL on this form! 

[bloggin-by-zama]

tunisia, north africa.

[journeytothewestresearch]

I know the asker mistook part of Yuebei xing's name for a surname, but I wanted to note that the original astrological deity is associated with the family name Zhu (朱) due to her red clothing or body. The late-Yuan to early-Ming scripture Secret Practice of the Primordial Lord Yuebei (Yuanhuang Yuebei mifa, 元皇月孛祕法) states:

姓朱, 諱光, 天人相, 披髮裸體, 黑雲掩臍, 紅履鞋, 左手提旱魃頭, 右手杖劍, 騎玉龍, 變相青面���牙, 緋衣, 杖劍, 駕熊。 Surnamed Zhu [Vermillion] with the honorific title of Guang [Luminous]. In the form of a celestial human, their hair is let down over their naked body. Their mass of black hair covers the navel. Red sandals. Their left hand holds the head of a drought demon. Their right hand holds a blade. They ride a jade dragon. In their modified form, [they display] a blue face with long fangs, a crimson garment and blade, while driving a bear (Kotyk, 2017, p. 62).

In addition, an idol carving pattern sheet from 1970's Singapore lables her as the "Vermillion Comet Inspiring Goddess, Heavenly Lord of the Moon Comet" (Zhuli(bei?) fu niang Yuebei tianjun, 朱李(孛?)孚娘 月孛天君). This is similar to the way it’s listed among the 36 celestial generals of the Journey to the North (Beiyou ji, 北遊記, 1602), the "Vermillion Comet Godess, Heavenly Lord of the Moon Comet" (Zhubei wei Yuebei tianjun, 朱孛娘為月孛天君).

I previously suggested a headcanon where Yuebei xing's mother is the "Great Yin Star" (Taiyin xing, 太陰星), the moon goddess. But, given her surname in religious literature, I'm sure someone could think of a reason to connect the literary monkey demoness with the Zhu family name.

Source:

Kotyk, J. (2017). Astrological Iconography of Planetary Deities in Tang China. Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies, 30, 33-88, Retrieved from http://enlight.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BJ001/bj001575268.pdf

I wanted to ask and I will sound ignorant. But I understand that Chinese surnames come at the beginning, why does Yuebei have her last name at the end? I understand that her name is Yuebei and Xing is her last name from her mother or is it not?

Oh, I never took it as Xing being her last name. Like she would be a Sun but it would be more 孙月孛星 like Xing is just part of her given name. Like Yue Bei Xing, each character. Her name means "Moon Comet Star" all one term of meaning so if Xing was her surname it would be 星月孛 which takes away that clear term. Yuebei Xing is just her full name.

And we never get a mother from Journey to the South so that wouldn't be a solid explanation for the last character of her name. That and she would still have her father's surname as unless she was fatherless then the child shouldn't get their mother's surname. If she even has a mother.

So just a misunderstanding. She has no mother and Xing is not her surname.

[grecoromanyaoi]

omg I thought you knew this already but basically the polish soldiers napoleon sent to suppress the haitian revolution ended up siding with the rebelling slaves instead, so they became the only white people welcome there and the government officially classified them as noir (black)

HUH. interesting.

[that-scorpio]

.

[hopefulkidshark]

Northern Explorer Train, Auckland, New Zealand: Journey from Auckland to Wellington... The Northern Explorer is a long-distance passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail between Auckland and Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Three services operate per week in each direction between Auckland's The Strand Station and Wellington railway station. Wikipedia

[fitforestfairy]

British Countryside 🍃

[adhamabbas]

You are my only passion, my last hope, your love is always there, my chain of suffering, your place is so deep in my heart.