#Shen Gongbao

[stalkyarsen-ebook]

me being obsessed with FSYY content rn makes me realizes two things :

Taiyi (not Taiyi) bringed Nezha back to life Frankenstein style

Bi Tao is based of Shen Gongbao, one of it's interpretation is my fave character. I hate Bi Tao even more.

[the-monkey-ruler]

New Gods: Yang Jian (2022) 新神榜：杨戬

Director: Zhao Ji Screenwriter: Wang Wei Starring: Wang Kai / Ji Guanlin / Li Lihong / Li Lanling / Zhao Yi / Liu Xiaoyu / Wen Jingyuan / Tang Shuiyu / Xingchao / Qiu Qiu / Yang Tianxiang / Meng Yu / Yang Mo / Zhao Mingzhou / Li Nan / Lin Qiang / Liu Cong / Jin Li / Shen Liangjun / Zhao Ji / Hu Yajie / Han Le Genre: Action / Animation / Fantasy / Adventure Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2022-08-19 (Mainland China) Duration: 127 minutes Also known as: New Gods: Yang Jian IMDb: tt19757204 Type: Reimanging

Summary:

Fifteen hundred years after the War of Shang and Zhou, the world of heaven declined, and Yang Jian, who had been wronged and downtrodden, made a living as a bounty hunter. One day, Yang Jian accepted a reward from a mysterious visitor to hunt down a young man, and unexpectedly discovered that the young man was his nephew Liu Chenxiang. Chenxiang is determined to find the lotus lantern and cut down the mountain to save her mother, but this will lead to a catastrophe. Yang Jian embarks on a journey to find Chenxiang and uncover the dusty past...

Source: https://en.hkcinema.ru/film/47909

Link: https://www.dandanzan.com/dianying/108153.html

[ryin-silverfish]

if you are answering fsyy questions. I wanted to ask, I was reading an article, and it is said that Yuanshi Tianzun pushed Shen Gongbao to complete his destiny (because Shen's actions were necessary), so would that be a betrayal or manipulation of an immortal master to his student?

I know that most immortal teachers look out for their students, and at least try to get them out of trouble (master Puti seems like the exception to me but that's jttw). I think you also said that the immortals had committed crimes and broken the rule of not killing long before the events of fsyy, does that mean that Yuding Zhenren and Taiyi Zhenren committed crimes but they are never specified?

Interesting. I'd like a link to the article, but from a brief skim, the source that claim is based on probably came from Chapter 72:

看官：元始天尊岂不知道要此人收聚“封神榜”上三百六十五位正神，故假此难他，恐他又起波澜耳。

Context: after sending all those troubles in Jiang Ziya's way, he ambushed Jiang Ziya and tried to kill him, but was stopped and captured by Ju Liusun, who brought him to Yuanshi Tianzun for judgement.

He scolded Shen Gongbao for his petty grudge against Jiang Ziya, then commanded his subordinate warrior to trap him under the Qilin Cliff, to be kept there until the War of Investiture is over.

It was at this moment that the narrator suddenly informed us that yes, Yuanshi Tianzun knew this guy was vital in filling the 365 empty job positions in the Celestial bureaucracy, and was just...throwing that threat out as a test or something.

Shen Gongbao, of course, protested and was spared on account of his promise to never bother Jiang Ziya again, else his body would be stuffed into the "Eye of the North Sea".

He didn't intend to keep his promise, but the very act of making one set his fate in stone and meant the consequences of breaking it could not be avoided.

This sort of "fatefully binding statements/vows" is a trope that can also be found in other God-Demon novels, like JTTN. In fact, previously on Chapter 37, Jiang Ziya had broken one such promise to never stop and talk to anyone on his way to deliver the Investiture, and was almost talked into burning the Investiture by Shen Gongbao, thus Xi Qi was fated to fight 36 invading armies.

Now, to most modern readers, all these Fate and Destiny stuff probably sounds like bullshit, and characters using that as a rationale or motive, sketchy as hell/manipulative.

But it is important to remember that people in the past usually believe their own religion, and unlike JTTW where you can make a reasonable argument of satire, FSYY, in general, took Daoism and Confucian ideals more seriously.

So yes, from a modern reader's perspective, it would seem like Yuanshi Tianzun just let Shen Gongbao be a petty plotting asshole in order to complete ancient China's bloodiest pantheon recruitment program.

However, from the author's perspective, they were all agents of the Will of Heaven, willingly or unwillingly, thus Shen Gongbao was deified at the end, too, despite his punishment.

As for your second question: "failure to sever the Three Corpses" doesn't mean crimes, though killing probably is. In the former case, they could have just failed to rid themselves of worldly desires and entanglements represented/caused by the three supernatural parasites, believed to reside in the human body and lead to one's eventual death by Daoists.

[journeytothewestresearch]

I think my little sis was obsessed with a TV show that's about the Investiture of The Gods before in the COVID period

So much I remember the damn theme song,more and maybe I would have memorised the actors' names, her fave is Jiang Ziya, I think it's because she likes how his name sounds like in Vietnamese

Her other fave is Shen Gongbao, he's a funny guy in that show,an absolute pervert though, I really like his hair,the highlights are so catchy

I admittedly haven't seen any of the Investiture of the Gods TV shows. I know there are some from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Which one are you referring to?

[m0dernchr0n1cles]

Shen Gongbao's A+ Parenting

[Shen Gongbao is training Ao Bing]

Shen Gongbao: "I knew you were gifted, I just didn't realize how gifted. You have incredible power!"

Shen Gongbao: [to himself] "And I'm the one who will mold that power."

[lanliingwang]

jiang ziya movie's shen gongbao having a huge case of shixiong admiration and concern toward jiang ziya underneath all his grousing is still endearing to me lol

[angstandhappiness]

LMAO FASCINATING

Whatever is going on with Shen Gongbao in New Gods: Yang Jian – I like it. 

Enlightened, wise wandering master……but Evil, and also not really hiding it either. Here to double-cross everyone and act suspicious for no reason. Gonna advise man and god against their best interests and make them believe it. Whisper foul terrible things into young impressionable ears Grima Wormtongue style. There’s a whole character of his name that tells you he’s a feline demon and no one bats an eye. He’s highly educated at the celestial phd level with connections to the lord of heaven, also a beggar who doesn’t own a pair of shoes. Technically a venerable elder who is ranked higher than you and also you have to call him Shisu to show respect. He knows your master personally. He threatens to tell on you with libellous accusations. His yuan shen is blatantly purple. That’s Evil. Not to mention a tiger. Remember Shang dynasty? He ruined it. He’s a geriatric bastard who pounces faster and higher than his pet white tiger to personally beat you up.

[mstrchu]

never not thinking about how the jie dao disciples on the shang side during fengshen were almost all old and already accomplished figures with well-established posts and reputations while a solid chunk of the chan dao disciples on the zhou/west qi side were like. a group of freshly traumatized kids and yang jian, who was also traumatized but just slightly older.

like pov: you're a shang general and your opponents are a group of middle/high schoolers and their exhausted college student TA.

[digitaldoeslmk]

By The Book AU Timeline

[this will be edited as things progress and the au gets more fleshed out]

less of a timeline and more the a brainstorm chart for the plotbeats i have so far

Prince > Little Sage > Pilgrim > Immortal

ACT 1, PRINCE: 2 years, S1 plus some of S2

ep0 special, MK becomes Monkie Kid

Fated Feast (tm) and dealing with it

MK learning how to use his powers

pretty much all the episodes of S1

Beijing Opera sideplot

first New Years is a Lion Dancing competition special

Macaque introduces himself

Spider Queens get exorcised, LBD reveal

Nezha and Muzha introduction

some more filler episodes of Monkie gang dealing with small easy stuff

MK gets invited to meet Guanyin

MK learning the Dao and Dharma, starts cultivation

Macaque causes trouble (basically Shadow Play ep but not), Wukong finds out

spicynoodles start becoming a thing late in the arc

S1 finale special, except it's LBD and some henchmen

Celestial Realm sightseeing moment, introduction to several immortals and gods

ACT 2, LITTLE SAGE: about half a year, part of S2 and a lot of changes

Red Son's investigation gets serious, Nezha is helping

Wukong gets more present to teach MK

most of what's left of S2, with some changes

Yingge and Longnü intro

Tang starts helping MK and Mei with magic

Mei starts training her dragon powers in FFM

Guanyin meets the Monkien gang, reveal of Tang's past reincarnations

MK gets deeper on training with his monkey form and powers

"recollections of red and blue" is set in this arc

DBK and PIF start making amends with Red Son

qpr chimera fully established, Red Son and MK get serious enough to tell their parents about it

more LBD shenanigans

S2 season finale, except not

LBD tries to trap him in a pagoda, everyone joins the fray, MK escapes because Macaque underestimates him, Wukong gets kebabed, Megapolis is lost and the gang flees for their lives

ACT 3, PILGRIM: about half a year, S3 in spirit but almost every plot gets scrapped cus its just filler anyway

they aren't on a ""journey to the west"", they are gathering allies and tools to use against LBD and Macaque

plan is, burn the motherfuckers with the Samadhi fire with the help of the four dragon king's armies to spread the fire with rain, and use some artifacts to then control the fire and put it out

drastic measure but it do be drastic times

LBD used the skeleton key to open the gates of the Diyu, so the world is slowly getting overrun by runaway spirits, as well as channeling the waters from it to freeze the land

apparently Macaque wants to consume every living thing he's trapped to fuel something, and nobody is sure what

anyway it's crisis politics time, nobody is having fun, everything sucks

time to check in with the past pilgrims for advice and some tricks they know, Monkie gang power up time

the dragon king of the north and his family are missing, time to find them

Shen Gongbao intro, he's involved but they figure it out

it's also time to draft some immortals, we love owing favors to people in this house amiright??

Mayor starts to think the henchman career isn't for him, time to dip

he fucks a plan cus he uses a pill of immortality to heal himself but oops the gang needed that

Mayor spills the beans on Macaque's plan, MK gets impulsive and runs off to face LBD

S3 special time except not

MK exchanges himself for the girl LBD got possessed, which builds the group time to wrap up lose ends

final battle time, hoards of the underworld versus whatever immortals got convinced to help despite going against the Jade Emperor's decree

MK sends a clone with his staff before he loses control back to the gang

Mei in dragon form fighting possessed MK, so that Red Son and Nezha can take a shot at MK to exorcise LBD out of him, Erlang and Muzha helping to hold Macaque back

MK gets shot with the Samadhi Fire, to explosive results

MK vs Macaque kaiju monkey battle time

Macaque gets nuked, LBD gets carbonized, Mayor dies saving people from the city before the fires get to them

everything is put back where it belongs, but there's a lot of loose ends to wrap up, ends in a bittersweet note

ACT 4, IMMORTAL: two years, S4 solely in name, basically a full overhaul lmao

oh man oh man shits gonna hit the fan lmao

the city is saved and the bad guys are gone; time for Consequences

Jade Emperor isnt very happy with the amount of unauthorized actions taken just now

MK goes to fucking trial for the crime of saving the world, it goes as well as one would think

luckily Guanyin comes in clutch and gets his sentence lightened to "community service"

there is an absurd amount of undead still walking around, which means MK has to get on that

also yknow. the devastating amount of damage in the mortal AND celestial realm

MK is given an assignment in the heavenly bureocracy, to help keep him in check and accountable to stuff. is great innit.

another part of his job is, dealing with Wukong's past sworn brotherhood cus they've been uppity since Macaque's attack and threatening to break the human-demon truce

Qi "two dads nuclear family" Xiaotian learns to deal with distant extended family relations with very specific social cues. again, goes as well as expected

under all that, Red Son still hasn't been able to get the missing memories situation fixed

also turns out even Wukong doesn't remember who MK was but he used to know. he doesn't anymore. and he doesn't know what happened. Red Son did not like learning that.

the celebration of Ulhambana in the Celestial Realm is approaching, and Red Son thinks he can get himself and MK invited to it so they can yknow, ask Buddha wtf is going on

so yknow, time to earn the trust of the Celestial Realm again, in a year. that's doable right? ahahah

and because he doesn't have enough on his plate, MK traded off a lot of his merits in exchange for LBD and Mayor speedrunning their time in hell so they can be reborn under his care

MK becomes An Uncle, what could possibly go wrong!

oh, jumpscare, Macaque is still around but Different

[angstandhappiness]

NICE 😂 VERY NEAT

Realized that in my Immortality Speedrun AU, even though Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing likely wouldn't have had the opportunity to get thrown from Heaven since they'd be working overtime at their posts, Ao Lie very much would still have the opportunity to land himself on death row as a prince, so.... Sun "An enemy of Heaven is an ally of mine" Wukong gets a roommate for buddy comedy reasons

[ID: 1. An illustration of Ao Lie and Sun Wukong. Ao Lie is in his princely attire, but notably disheveled. His green outermost robe is hanging half open, with burnt and ripped hems. The red sash at his waist is hanging in tatters as well. His hair is loose down his back and he's holdining a sword in his right hand. Sun Wukong is in his human disguise, wearing an open checkered daoist's robe. His white inner robe is not tucked into his pants and a red dudou is peeking out from underneath it. He's staring at a book in his left hand while chewing on a piece of willow, his right hand scritching his chin thoughtfully.

2. A sketched comic, with Ao Lie in teal and Sun Wukong in orange. In the first panel, Ao Lie bursts into a cave in a rush. In the second panel, Sun Wukong is sitting on the floor of the cave next to a table, looking at Ao Lie at the cave's entrance. SWK says, "Uh. Hi? This cave is already occupied." In the third panel, Ao Lie attempts to pull otu his sword in surprise, crying out "Stay back!" before he's interrupted by Sun Wukong casting a freezing spell "定!". In the fourth panel, Sun Wukong has a cheerful but annoyed facial expression as he approaches the frozen Ao Lie. He says, "LOL Nice try, punk- Now what the hell are you doing in my cave?", then, "Wait a min-". In the fifth panel, Sun Wukong is looking up at Ao Lie with a surprised and incredibly amused expression, exclaiming, "Wait- You're the Ao kid who managed to set his father's palace on fire underwater!". Ao Lie looks back at him with a tense expression, saying, "Please don't tell me you're gonna hand me in." To which Sun Wukong replies, "Hell no I won't!"

3. A sketched comic, again with Ao Lie in teal and Sun Wukong in orange. In the first panel, Sun Wukong is reading some plans in the foreground and Ao Lie is in the background. Sun Wukong says, "Xiao Long, could you head out and fetch me some lingzhi? I'm fresh out. In the second panel, Ao Lie responds, "I'm a prince who has an active warrant out for his arrest, and you're just some rogue brewing illegal immortality. Wouldn't it make more sense to go out yourself?" In the third panel, an unimpressed Sun Wukong presses a basket to Ao Lie's chest. Sun Wukong says, "I've got arrest warrants for crimes you wouldn't even imagine. Plus, it's my magic and my cave keeping you hidden, so pull your weight, Princey." Ao Lie rolls his eyes and has his hands up in a mock defeated pose. End ID]

[zoguy1]

So. Every June, I try to challenge myself by posting something for Pride Month. For the past couple years, it's been ships with cute little pride flags. This year, the priority focus will be on the Trolls Summer Gift exchange. But at the very least I'd like to show ya'll the ones I've made in the past.

2022 bundle:

Bi Hiccup x Gay Jack. Fun fact: This was the first gay couple I've ever laid my eyes on as a young child. I saw this ship and thought "I want that kind of relationship."

Bi Tony x Gay Rudolph Watching the 2017 movie, these two reminded me of Luca and Alberto so much.

Aro Merida You get it? Cuz she's an archer. It's funny. Laugh.

Bi Nan Fang x Ace Fu Yao The headcannon was based off of a fanfic I read a while ago.

Demi Ace Xie Lian x Gay Hua Cheng. I sevearly enjoyed the series. I occasionally eat fics of these two as comfort foods.

Pan Xu Xuan x Trans Xiao Bai White snake was basically 2 hours of "What you are doesn't matter, it's who you are that matters", THEE Pansexual anthem, and then the second movie Turned Blanca into a guy? This is cannon.

Ace Liu Qingge x Bi Shen Yuan Imma be honest. I didn't like SVSSS very much. Yandere's are not my cup of tea. And I was really hoping Shizun would have gotten with Liu-shidi instead.

Gay Luca x Gay Alberto I'm so glad Luberto was actually confirmed to be somewhat cannon. Though Nowadays I see Luca as bi, cuz if we're counting the concept art as apart of the lore, then Luca had a crush on both Alberto and Giulia.

Gay Jade x Gay Katie. Kate is the first character I actually felt scene as a queer person.

Genderfluid Shi Qingxuan I freaking love them so much. Easily my favorite character.

Aro Nezha This kid knows chaos and only chaos.

Pan Adam x Gray Ace Freddy I saw this crossover on DA and thought they made so much sense together. Adam the literal personification of nature, and Freddy the unification of humanity and animals.

Non-Binary Merz x Lesbian Alice These two are OCs of mine.

Aro Lesbian Isabela and Aro Lesbian Elsa. I ship this in a sort of queer platonic way. Like a "we don't really want to date people, but everyone thinks we're dating, and we just don't care enough to correct them." kind of way.

Genderfluid Camilo I want the ability to shapeshift so badly.

Pan Ao Bing x Bi Xiao Jiu Ya'll get brownie points if you know which Ao Bing this is and double points if you know who Xiao Jiu is. Lol. It was a random crossover ship I made because the company liked to crossover their medias for advertisements, and we see the adults interacting and having fun, and Nezha joins them. But we don't see the two teenagers interact at all.

Bi Verta x Bi Li Yunxiang Another crossover ship I made up cuz I didn't see a lot of Nezha Reborn and White Snake crossovers. Which surprised me, especially after Green Snake.

Gay Jiang Ziya x Gay Shen Gongbao These two lived in the same house together for 10 years and adopted a daughter together. I am convinced these two are a married couple.

Bi Mirabel There was a little bisexual rainbow on her dress. That's proof enough for me. Lol.

Lesbian Amaya x Lesbian Janai I loved seeing their dynamic in the show.

Non-Binary Kazi I love them. I'm glad they got more attention in the show.

Lesbian Susie x Trans Noelle "Why does Noelle have antlers. Is she trans? The Null the Null the Null the Null..."

Non-Binary Kris I love them. They literally never said a word, and I love them.

AroAce Krel Based on a comic I made.

Aro Blaze Another OC.

Aro Douxie Idk why, but I get that vibe from him.

2023 Pack:

Furry Omni Toby x Furry Demigirl Darci The moment Darci said she didn't want people to like her just because she was a girl, I felt that in my soul.

Bi Steve x Pan Aja I am not convinced Steve is straight.

Pan Simon x Gay Ao Bing This ship was inspired by a youtube video that had a list of crossover ships, this being on of them. And I freaking love it.

AroAce Sun Wukong and AroAce Tang Sanzang In Monkey King Reborn, out of everyone in the friend group, you can just tell that these two cared about each other the most. And I think that's just sweet.

Fuck. I can only have 30 images per post. I'll reblog with the rest of the 2023 pack.

[the-monkey-ruler]

I was reading some Chinese texts and stories, and I have seen that while the immortals have their magic, they despise sorcery. Why is sorcery seen as negative by immortals and why are they different? (like, I think it's mentioned that Shen Gongbao relied more on sorcery even thought he has an immortal teacher)

I'm afraid I don't quite understand the English difference of how 'sorcery' and 'magic' are different things let alone how the translator from what you read translated the original characters. I have never seen any king of cultivation in Daoism being translated as 'sorcery' so I can't say what really say what the original characters could be talking about. It could be talking about 巫术 which I think sometimes include blood rituals but never seen in stories as something ‘bad’ or even acknowledged in Daoist stories. If anything, I think they were more regarded as doctors with unusual methods and fairly good with technology. But I really only seen it to describe Western wizards/witches the most so I cannot say how mush it is used in Daoist stories.

As far as I have been aware Shen Gongbao uses cultivation just as any other immortal and I do not think that he has ever killed/taken his cultivation from any other living creature. That is the only thing I can assume would be 'bad' as it is feeding off another's life force or perhaps even just meaning 'using cultivation for trouble.' I recall that most of his 'evil' deeds come more from Shen Gongbao's ability to manipulate people are his words and being a vengeful man rather than anything dark with his cultivation.

The best guess I can give you is that Shen Gongbao in your translation is the bad guy of the narrative and thus the term 'sorcery' has negative implications in Western term and that is why it is used. Similar to how 'fairy' is used for 仙 when 'immortal' is more proper but this chance depends on whether the immortal is a woman or not.

You can take a read yourself but I think it is just a translation preference.

"Taoism branched from witchcraft. During the Jin and Tang dynasties, due to the participation and compilation of literati and the absorption of a large number of Buddhist scriptures and theories, the original religious form of witchcraft and Taoism became theorized, and Taoism developed a large distance from witchcraft. Taoism has since risen to the level of the upper ruling class, while shamanism has continued to flow among the people. Since the ruling class in history banned witchcraft and " obscene sacrifices" from an orthodox position, the survival of witchcraft has become very difficult. Therefore, witchcraft began to seek survival and a way out. First of all, it was to get closer to Taoism. So that the people also agree that they belong to Taoism. As this development continued, witchcraft and Taoism gradually merged, forming a form of shamanism consisting of both witchcraft and Taoism, and the "two gates of Taoism and Law", namely internal witchcraft and external Taoism.

First of all, shamanism must identify Taishang Laojun , the ancestor god of Taoism , as its leader to confirm that shamanism also belongs to "Laojun's religion" or "Laojun's sect". So based on the legend of Laozi , I compiled the origin of Taishang Laojun, thinking that witchcraft became the original version of Taoism. In addition to moving Taishang Laojun, Zhang Tianshi , Sanqing , Sanyuan, Sanguan, Wuyue , Sidu , Xuantian God and many Taoist gods were also moved into the witch altar, and they were named "Taishang Wuling Laojun" Or "The Supreme Three-Yuan Heart Zhengfa", "The Supreme Five Thunder Purple Micro Thunder Court" and other titles were listed on it, and they absorbed a large number of Taoist scriptures such as "The Supreme Sutra of Changing Purity", "The Supreme Xuantian Miao Sutra", "Tai Shang Zi Wei Treasure Repentance", "Tai Shang Laojun Xing Treasure Repentance", "Three Officials Sutra", "The Three Officials of Heaven, Earth and Water to Eliminate Disasters and Sinless Confessions", "Eleven Days", "South Dou Sutra", The Beidou Sutra and other sutras and confessions are enriched in the witchcraft and Taoist altar with Taoist rituals.

- "A Discussion on the Formation of Witch-Tao Culture in the Symbiosis Cultural Circle" by Ye Mingsheng

[ryin-silverfish]

I wanted to ask. Is Shen Gongbao a Yaoguai? I have seen that some portray him as a leopard or black panther(?) Yaoguai and in others he is just a human. I know wikipedia is the least reliable source but It says that he was a Yaoguai who caused disasters until he was later stopped and taken as a student or so I remember. I understand that the animal serves as his mount, but I have seen that some versions usually portray him as a Yaoguai.

No, in FSYY proper, Shen Gongbao has never been described as anything other than a human disciple. The Wikipedia source of that statement comes from a simplified version of the novel for children and teenagers, which are not the most reliable source and frequently reduct uninteresting bits/put their own spin on things.

(This isn't the only time Wikipedia is being a clown when it comes to Chinese mythology. Like, Nvwa's entry said according to FSYY, she was JE's daughter, when there isn't a single line in the novel connecting these two together nor citation for the ridiculous claim.)

On top of that, his mount isn't even a leopard: it's a tiger. The frequent portryal of him as a Yaoguai in adaptations likely comes from the last character of his name, 豹, which means "leopard/panther"...

But personally, I feel like the portrayal of Shen Gongbao as a Yaoguai in adaptation becomes hugely popular because, well, it adds to his complexity as a character.

See, FSYY proper never quite explains why he supports the Shang, tries to cheat Jiang Ziya into burning the Investiture, or goes out of his way to be the inciting incident of the next dozen arcs, other than "He's a sore loser and jealous asshole".

But making him a yaoguai is kinda a convenient way for adaptations to explain what would otherwise be just petty asshole behavior for the sake of conflict and plot progression.

Why would he support the Shang and have so many Jie Sect friends to call on, despite being a Chan disciple? Because the rival sect is a lot more friendly towards his kind.

Why is he so jealous of Jiang Ziya receiving the Investiture? Because, despite his (self-perceived) talent and prowess, Yuanshi Tianzun still chooses a 72-years-old human who had spent 40 years cultivating and made little progress over him, a decision that could easily be seen as prejudiced.

Why did Jiang Ziya trust him enough to fall for his ruse, and spare his life when the Old Man of the South Pole advised against it? Because, on some level, he can understand why his junior brother felt wronged, and they might have even genuinely bonded over their shared feelings of inadequecy before——that, no matter how hard they work, they'd always be the least of the disciples because of their meagre talent/beastly origin.

Of course, these explanations can also work without Shen Gongbao being a yaoguai, but it is a quick and easy startpoint to add more complexity to his character, as well as relatability for modern audiences.

[journeytothewestresearch]

I know this question has nothing to do with the monkey king, but do you know why did some immortals go against Jiang Ziya in the investiture of the gods? I was always confused about the conflict between the immortals.

I'm not very knowledgeable in Investiture of the Gods. I've only read a really bad English translation once, and because there are so many characters and events, fully understanding the story demands multiple readings. I had to consult this English language summary of the novel, as well as read through the book to reacquaint myself.

Early chapters do mention immortals swooping in to save various characters at different points. But Grand Tutor Wen began bringing in Taoist disciples to fight Zhou forces in chapters 38, 40, and 43. The famous ten array traps are mentioned in chapter 43, and their creation was spurred on by Shen Gongbao. He apparently went to the ten immortals to request help to fight Zhou forces after his infamous encounter with Jiang Ziya in chapter 37. It just snowballs from there.

[hel-the-growl]

Nezha Reborn annotations - Part 3

Part 1｜Part 2

Who is Cai Yun? Monkey explains that she is a disciple of the demoness Shiji. 3000 years ago, 7-year-old Nezha accidentally shot and killed Shiji’s gatekeeper and Caiyun’s sister - Biyun - while playing with the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan’s Qiankun bow from 1000 miles away. Seeking revenge, Shiji overpowered Nezha before being killed by Nezha’s master Taiyi Zhenren. After her death, she was canonized at the Investiture Altar as Yue Youxingjun (月遊星君 "Star of Moon Voyage"). Apparently Caiyun has held onto that grudge since that day.

Chentang Pass was Nezha’s birthplace and the residence of Nezha’s family. Two treasures - the Qiankun bow and Three Sky-shaking Arrows that the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan used to kill his rival Chiyou (the Yan Emperor) - were kept there.

The most epic scene.

“But you’re Sun Wukong, the Great Sage who wreaked havoc in heaven”.

It was right here where Wukong obtained his magic staff, Ruyi Jingu Bang. Roughly 2000 years ago, it was sitting in the crystal palace as a piece of scrap metal. Wukong came here to seek the dragon king for a weapon. After none of the celestial weapons satisfied him, the dragon king’s wife suggested that if Wukong could lift the 13500-catty (6.75 tonne) Ruyi Jingu Bang, then it would be his. Not only was Wukong able to pick it up with ease, he could also make it grow and shrink to his command.

The REAL dragon ball.

When Yunxiang tugged on the Ribbon, the earth shook. It is a reference to an incident in IOTG: After taking a dip in a stream, Nezha was drying himself with the Sky Ribbon. Unbeknownst it him, it caused the ground beneath to shake violently each time it touched the water’s surface.

Ao Guang digging into Yunxiang’s guts is also a reference to how Nezha once broke his own bones, slit his belly and gouged out his intestines to appease the dragon king. 

If she’s a doctor, her first instinct should be chest compressions right???

The ribbon encasing Yunxiang like the lotus symbolizing Nezha's rebirth. The visual metaphor is incredible.

These four large triangular flags are nearly always an integral part of Peking opera, used to adorn the performers’ backs. They have their roots in the small flags Chinese generals would use to signal their subordinates. Journey to the West also has its own peking opera play.

Mid credits scene:

The mink is Mo Lishou’s familiar. The other items in the room are Mo Lihai’s pipa, Mo Lihong’s havoc umbrella. Nezha’s wind and fire wheels sit inside the box.

Names from IOTG’s list of gods swirling around the cauldron include Shiji (石矶娘娘), Shentu (神荼), Shen Gongbao (申公豹), Fang Bi (方弼), Jinling Shengmu (金灵圣母), Bo Yikao (伯邑考), Zhao Gongming (赵公明), Li Gen (李艮), Chong Houhu (崇侯虎), Chong Heihu (崇黑虎), Mo Liqing (魔禮青), Mo Lihai (魔禮海), Huang Tianhua (黄天化), Ao Bing etc...

Finally ending in the words “Investiture of the Gods”

Post credits scene:

This is a teaser for the second New Gods instalment - New Gods: Yang Jian.

As Yunxiang rides his motorbike down the street, he is stopped by a white dog. The dog is Xiaotian, and her owner is the formidable three-eyed god, Yang Jian.

Although Yang Jian doesn't end up in Donghai in that movie (yet), Light Chaser did tease an eventual crossover on their youtube channel.

Stay tuned for New Gods: Yang Jian!

Part 1｜Part 2 | New Gods: Yang Jian breakdown

[lanliingwang]

rewatched a good chunk of the jiang ziya movie...still gets me in the feels