#Shancai | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-monkey-ruler · 1 year

Note

Hope this isn’t too odd of a question but is there like, a minor theme of the villains being like evil versions of certain gods/allies? Like, the most obvious is the Six Eared Macaque, who impersonated Sun Wukong, but there’s also Red Boy, who’s compared to Nezha in appearance and also uses a spear and fire, Lady Earth Flow, who called herself the Half Guanyin, and I heard that Princess Iron Fan had an origin of being a goddess before becoming a demon, and I heard that the Queen Mother of (1)

Well like I said before when it comes to the antagonists in Xiyouji... there can be many different types of interpretations that can be drawn from. But I don't think that there is a real 'evil versions' of deities going on from there.

Red Boy being a good example as he has a history in Buddhism before Xiyouji was made.

I think something that people forget or don't know is that Wu Cheng'en's version of Journey to the West, wasn't really the 'first' or rather is wasn't something that he created all from his own imagination. The story of Xuanzang's pilgrimage has been told many times at this point and there were many stray stories with different demons or challenges that were either for pure entertainment value or did have great allegorical meanings.

What gave Wu Cheng'en that edge that made 'his' version of the story was not only did he drawn from many of the most popular stories, interpretations, and took the most charming (or humane) aspects of the characters and was able to make a large, long decently cohesive story that people in either lower class or higher class can draw enjoyment from.

So that being said... taking EVERY allegorical possibility of each antagonist, with each demon having a tie to either Buddism, Daoism, or Chinese folklore, or even a mix of two or all three... is RESEARCH PAPER level kind of study and I am not qualified to answer in a tumble post ;_;

But that being I said I don't think Red Boy is just evil Nezha (who has his own lore and history) as when he turns into the Child of Wealth he becomes Shancai which has a rich history all on its own.

Red Boy takes greater inspiration from the Buddhist history of this disciple than of Li Nezha.

Lady Earth Flow another example only calls herself 'Half Gaunyin' because she stole precious Candles from vulture peak. There are a lot of demons in Xiyouji that show their power or clout rather by having a connection to Buddisht lore, like the Scorpion Queen claiming she was able to injure Tathāgata and that the Golden Wing Peng is his uncle because his mother the Peacock ate him and he escaped giving 'birth' to him and was promoted to his godmother hence the connection.

These connections are more about giving credibility to the antagonists' power and even giving more insight into perhaps where these stories or such are connected.

Princes Iron Fan being a Taoist Goddess is a thing but that happens moreso in the Yaun Dynasty in which is before Xiyouji was written and in zaju she is presented as a sister of Lishan Laomu (who funny is enough is ALSO the sister of Sun Xingzhe in Zaju Xiyou ji so that is interesting) but left heaven due to a dispute with the Queen Mother at a banquet. However, it looks like in Wu Cheng'en's Xiyouji I have seen her being described as a Rakshasa which is connected to Hindu lore. I do now know if the intended meaning was to erase the Taoist backstory she has but perhaps making this a lot like Red Boy in giving the character a new background for the sake of the narrative. Or perhaps it is to show how multiple different inspirations can be used to create a single character and that while it is not really a 'canon' it would have been realizing known who the character is at that point and would not cause much confusion.

As for the Queen Mother being a demon, I personally do not think that the version seen in Wu Cheng'en would have that connection due to the fact that the image of the Queen Mother was greatly changed by that point. Her interpretation in the Zhou dynasty where they give her the title of a goddess of death and later she is influenced by Taoism and is given further elements such as immorality and longevity. But even in that interpretation, she is an immortal, not a demon, and perhaps the re-writings of her lore make it so that when he was more integrated with Taoism she was given a different backstory as well. I cannot say for certain as this is more of a case of a change of legends that she had ties showing of being connected to being a feline/tiger demon that was later changed within her own legend.

However when it comes to a lot of antagonists in Xiyouji having heavenly backgrounds I think there is more discussion there, than trying to compare them to any other existing deities as the doppelganger trope isn't played that much.

There are about 4 fallen Celetials if we are not including Princess Iron Fan being Yellow Robed Demon, Golden Horned King, Silver Horned King, and Yellow Brows King and about 12 heavenly animals (I will not name them all) that have escaped heaven and each one gives their own varies of reasons from being personal gain or that they were ordered to just to be trails specifically for the pilgrims to overcome. Some wanted revenge, love, glory, or just for their own sake.

Personally, I think that having so many heavenly creatures fall from heaven to be demons was to show that both heaven and earth are not perfect and that even in the highest authority there are still cracks in the system that must be held accounted for. Bajie and Wujing being two big examples as they themselves were fallen celestial soldiers on earth as a punishment while other celestials saw it as a way of freedom and escaping their responsibilities. It makes an interesting argument of how the heaven's view of Yaoguai and their origin influence their judgment, Wukong being the only Yaogaui without a background tied to the heaven beyond being made of Yin and Yang but his fellow disciples once had stood there.

I think there is a lot to be said on how the treatment of Yaoguai changes when the antagonist is from a heavenly origin as they are rarely if never killed, rather being subdued and sent back to heaven for trial or just punishment. As much as Wukong does kill a lot of demons, he also sends a lot of them to court for their crimes which I do find to be an interesting take, especially with yaoguai that Wukong wishes to personally punish.

The relationship between heaven and yaoguai is something I think could really be delved into with how there almost seems to be double standards when it comes to how yaoguai are to be treated when they cultivate on their own verse if they eat humans to cultivate verse if 'cheat' by skipping their reincarnation cycle and going straight from animal to humanoid using heavenly objects. From there that almost distracts whether they are able to go back to their original forms to cultivate for their next life to be a human or if they are to be killed and try again in the next life.

But no matter what the case is, yaoguai is seen as both a punishment by the heavens but also seen as a chance for individuals to escape their current status and strive for their own goals, as selfish as they are.

Long story short.

It is that deep.

https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jletters/article/download/251848/171700/942171

#sun wukong #queen mother #red boy #journey to the west #jttw #xiyouji #more allegories #anonymous #anon #anon ask #just a lot to unpack #lady earth flow #albino rat demon #princess iron fan #shancai #ask

20 notes · View notes

alicenowonderland · 2 years

Text

F4 FEVER ✨

Okay, can we all agree that our childhood is not complete if we do not have a crush on one of the F4s or if we did not watched Hana Yori Dango adaptations. Who does not imagine herself being the female lead falling for the rich, handsome, toxic male lead? Or falling for the second male lead who wears in all white or any white in it? Just kidding! But I know we all loved the series.

So before I get into my point, I would like to remind you, my dear readers, that the things I will discuss here is based on my opinions. Everything that I will be put here is based on my point of views and own understanding.

Please do not forget to give me comments and please be gentle when giving one. I would love to meet other people who has the same insterests.

So… let’s get started!

🌸 THE F4 and their story 🌸

First let us know who are the F4 and their story.

F4 or also known as the 🌸 FLOWER FOUR 🌸 is a clique of young, handsome, rich men who rules the school just because they are rich and most popular. F4 came from the manga, Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) , which is written by a Japanese writer and illustrator, Yoko Kamio.

The story revolves around Makino Tsukushi who came from a middle class family. She studies at Eitoku Gakuen (academy) where the F4 rules. Tsukasa Domyouji, Rui Hanazawa, Sojirou Nishikado and Akira Mimisaka. All four of them are friends since Kindergarten and causes the bullying inside the school whenever someone gets in their way. They bully the students by the means of the RED CARD. When Tsukushi helped her friend from Tsukasa’s bullying, she stood up against him and kicked him, making Tsukasa interested on her because she was the only girl who stands up to them. Tsukushi fell in love with Rui while Rui is still waiting for Shizuka Todou, Rui’s first love. Then there was Tsukushi’s mom who is against their love because Tsukasa comes from a rich family and we know the rest.

No matter how long and what year, we always bing watch and rewatch the series because it gives us different kinds of story-telling which makes it interesting no matter how many adaptations we watched.

🌸 THE F4 and their adaptations 🌸

Hana Yori Dango has an anime adaptation as well as a movie which first aired in 90s. The first ever television series was aired in Taiwan on year 2001 where we met Dao Ming Xi, Huaze Lei, Xi Men, Mei Zou and of course… Shancai. Yes, METEOR GARDEN. It was released in 2001 and popularized since then.

Meteor Garden Taiwan has two parts. Just so we thought Shancai and Azi have their happy ending, that is where Azi had amnesia on Season 2 and we met Princess Ye Sha and things just go crazier.

The second country to adapt it into a TV series is no other than Japan. I do not know if they really intended it then Taiwan did it first or they decided to have live-action series after the success of Meteor Garden.

Hana Yori Dango was released in 2005 and yes we all loved Domyouji! *heart eyes with drools* We cannot deny how handsome and charismatic Jun Matsumoto is even when we first saw him as an Arashi singer. The series had a part 2 also which is pretty similar to the Taiwanese version. I do not know if the Japanese stick with the manga (bec I haven’t read the manga yet) but there are things that are not similar to other adaptations. There is also a Hana Yori Dango Final: The Movie with the same casts but the story revolves around the engaged life of Tsukushi and Tsukasa.

In 2009, South Korea’s Kdrama was sky-rocketing when they released the TV series Boys Over Flowers, the Korean adaptation. This is where it was popularized again not just in Asia but all over the world. In this show we met Lee Min Ho and Kim Bum whom we gushed over a hundred times because why not. *raining hearts* *heart eyes* A lot of fans became nostalgic when they watched the show. It lasted for 25 episodes with super catchy OST. Almoooost paradiseeeee~

After 17 years, China released their own METEOR GARDEN. It was year 2018 when Cdramas are being popular and of course they have to have a remake of Meteor Garden. *for youuuuuuu ooohhh ooohhh~* We cannot deny the love we had for the new casts especially to Dylan Wang, Darren Chen and Shen Yue.

The lastest adaptation that we loved and one of the most awaited adaptations is the F4 Thailand on 2021. We cannot deny how beautiful they changed the story but still the same plot is there. We loved Bright, Dew, Win and Nani on their Thai Series but we loved them more on portraying the infamous F4. They gave us new stories to the series and we cannot help but to delve deeper into their stories. We cannot wait for a week just for the next episode to be released. Let us admit it, we missed the F4! The show was 16 episodes and kuddos to the writer, director and crew staffs for being so creative on the story-telling. How I miss Gorya and Thyme and of course… Ren! *hearts everywhere*

I was shocked when I knew that Indonesia, USA and India had their own adaptations too but as a web series. I stumbled upon it when I am searching about the topic and saw it. It is unlicensed/unofficial adaptations but it is where it came from. Siapa Takut Jatuh Cinta (Indonesia) was released on 2002 and had another adaptation on 2017. Boys Before Friends (USA) on 2013 and Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan (India) on 2014. China has also an entry called entitled Meteor Shower that was released on 2009.

🌸 The F4 and their differences 🌸

Same plot, same story line but different scenes. Maybe that is the reason why we loved these adaptations and it does not matter if we know the start to the end of the story because of its variations.

On Meteor Garden Taiwan since it is the first to have a TV series, it became a little bit detailed and has 27 episodes on the first season and 31 on the second season. We cried, we laughed and we feel what we need to feel on every scenes. Even there was a point where we chose Huaze Lei over Dao Ming Xi for hurting Shan Cai. We watched how their feelings grew and how they fought against all odds. It has also a side story of the F4 which is the Meteor Rain where we knew about Xi Men’s first love and Mei Zou’s love story. We do not know more about the F4’s family but we know that they are born with silver spoon and that they are spoiled rich kids who rule the Ying De Academy.

On Hana Yori Dango I guess they really stick to the manga. It has three parts, the last one is a movie about the engagement of Tsukasa and Tsukushi. This is the only adaptation that has a spin-off called Hana Nochi Hare which took place on Eitoku Academy ten years after the F4 graduated. Unlike the Taiwanese version, Rui Hanazawa is a quiet guy and his family owns a large trading firm. Sojiro came from a reputable family who owns a large tea ceremony school at Japan. He has an older brother which is not on other adaptations. Akira came from a family of mafia and has twin sisters which is not said on other adaptations.

On Boys Over Flowers, we had a new taste of the story. We saw how lavish the life of the F4 and how grand Gu Jun Pyo can give gifts to Jan Di, for example is a heart island on Jeju. Talk about money! We also loved the characters of the F4. Jun Pyo who came from a rich family and plays violin just like Huaze Lei of Taiwan adaptation, Jiho who is the grandson of the former President, Yi Jung came from a family of artists and he is skillful on pottery and Woo Bin whose family owns a large construction company and they have connections to the mafias.

Meteor Garden 2018 is a bit of mild compared to other adaptations. The F4 is not really that bad bullies compared to the other adaptations. They are just smart players of their game who ruled Ming De University because they are intellegent and because they give the school numerous awards because if their skills on playing a card game called Bridge (poker). This is the only adaptation with card game like that and that they are in college. All of the adaptations were set in high school. They give joker cards instead of red cards to those people who challenge them. Huaze Lei also plays violin and majors in music unlike the three F4 who majors in business. We do not know much about the other two F4 but we all knew that they are great Bridge players.

Lastly, the F4 Thailand which I can say is the best adaptation. We witnessed on the first seasons how evil Thyme’s Mother is until she became not-so-evil on the end. We saw how MJ cares for his friends and we witnessed how F4 settle their friendship using fists. Hahaha! We witnessed how Thyme changed and how Gorya struggled just so Thyme could remember. We realized that this show could really happen in real life but also how great it is if someone who holds into power like that changed because of love. This is the only adaptation where I saw that the male lead (Thyme) asks forgiveness to everyone he bullied. Talk about character development! We also knew Kavin’s first love and MJ’s KFC love. Hahaha! We saw how Ren got hurt when Mira decided to go abroad and settle. We knew each character, Thyme is possessive to his power at school because of his Mom. Ren who likes to draw and is very artistic came from a family of Doctors. Kavin who is a playboy yet afraid to fall in love again because of Mona came from a family with high ranking positions in the government. His grandmother is also a National Artist because she makes really nice flower garlands. And, MJ who is a handsome hacker and came from a family of mafia. We witnessed different forms of love and how it was portrayed by the different persons because it is what they knew.

I am so sad because I will the shows but happy also because who does not love that story? Who does not love a toxic guy that changes into a good one because of love? Of course no one in real life would like that but because it is very entertaining, we watched it.

I hope other countries would make their own adaptations. What I like it more is it showcases the trends and cultures in each countries. So I really hope Indonesia, India and USA will make a TV series adaptation not only a web-series. I hope Philippines will make one too!

36 notes · View notes

d4rkven0m · 2 years

Text

i just finished the second ep of meteor garden 2018. i am so fucking confused. WHAT IS HAPPENING 💀💀 i thought Lei and Jing liked each other my guy stop being a player

AH SI. STOP BEING A DUMB BITCH AND BE NICE TO SHANCAI.

#anyways #sorry for the rant #meteor garden #meteor garden 2018 #shancai #daoming si

11 notes · View notes

shade713 · 2 years

Text

Why they got my girl looking like Shancai? 😩

#kpop #twice #hirai momo #meteor garden #shancai

3 notes · View notes

wlddrama · 2 years

Text

Drama 51

Meteor Garden I saw the trailer for this, and since I loved the South-Korean version from 2009 (Boys over Flowers) I wanted to give it a try, even though there are 49 episodes! I enjoyed it, even though it was a little bit long, and there are bits I think could have been skipped, but hey. There are some differences from the version I like the most, still it is a good run. I like the actors and they bring in some fun moments and even though there are quite many people to keep track of, they all have their moments. Title: Meteor Garden / Liúxīng Huāyuán Director: Lin Helong Watched language: Chinese Genre: Romantic comedy Network: Hunan Televison / Netflix Episodes: 49 (on Netflix) Release year: 2018 Synopsis: The story centers around an ordinary girl, Dong Shancai, who is accepted into the most prestigious university in the country, Ming De University. Shancai is a girl from a family that barely makes ends meet. Due to the nature of her personality, she immediately clashes with F4, an elite clique composed of the four most popular boys in the institution, especially its spoiled, rich and arrogant leader - Daoming Si. Gradually, Daoming Si falls deeply in love with Shancai, only to realize that she is in love with one of his best friends, Huaze Lei. Eventually, the four boys begin to acknowledge Shancai's unyielding personality that is like her namesake: a weed that can never be brought down. Shancai begins to see the good in the boys, paving the way for friendships and an eventual romance. However, Daoming Si's mother strongly disapproves of Shancai due to her social status and family background, thus the former doing all things in order to break Shancai and Daoming Si's relationship.

#meteor garden #daoming si #shancai #F4 #chinese #drama #wlddrama #hunan television

3 notes · View notes

valdrama · 2 years

Text

i wish shancai could learn to take initiative and stand up for herself the way xiaoyou did

#dong shancai #shancai #xiaoyou #ximen #valdrama #cdrama #chinese drama #c drama #meteor garden #chinese meteor garden

3 notes · View notes

creators-island · 1 year

Photo

For some reason i didn't publish this before soooo, ooopsies

SpicyNoodles Speedpaint

Noodle Shop Speedpaint

#lmk fanart #spicynoodleshipping #lmk spicynoodles #lmk red son #lmk freenoodles #lmk shadowpeach #lmk mk #lmk traffic light trio #lmk red boy #lmk shancai #lmk mei #lego monkie kid #lego monkey kid fanart #lmk macaque #lmk wukong #lmk #lmk pigsy #lmk tang

877 notes · View notes

journeytothewestresearch · 6 months

Note

So, what IS the Samadhi Fire/True Fire of Samadhi? It can't be an average flame if it can take out Sun Wukong himself in JttW and the name sounds like it means something, but I can't find any context when I look it up.

Journey to the West states that Samādhi fire is not like earthly or heavenly flame. It is something more. Part of a poem in chapter 41 reads:

(Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 225)

The general concept of Samādhi (Sk: "concentration"; Ch: sanmei, 三昧) refers to an advanced level of meditation where one can "establish and maintain one-pointedness of mind on a specific object of concentration" (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 743). Some Hindu and Buddhist sources associate it with a spiritually cleansing flame. One example comes from the Gaṇḍavyūha section of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra (Ch: Dafang guangfo huayan jing, 大方廣佛華嚴經; compiled by the 3rd or 4th-century CE).

Sudhana (Ch: Shancai tongzi, 善財童子; i.e. Red Boy), the holy work's protagonist, seeks out 53 teachers in the course of his spiritual cultivation. His ninth instructor, a learned Brahmin named Jayoṣmāyatana (Ch: Shengre poluomen, 勝熱婆羅門; lit: "Victorious Heat Brahmin") is said to have achieved "the light of the concentration [i.e. Samādhi] of adamantine flame" (jingang yan sanmei guangming, 金剛焰三昧光明) (Clearly, 1993, p. 1218). The fire that he produces is so powerful that it scares even the gods and demons. Though, the point of the flames appears to be incineration of the ego and desires and illumination of the mind. Sudhana follows his instructions by throwing himself into the fire, thus gaining a higher level of spiritual knowledge.

Here is a translation of that section of the sutra (warning: it is wordy):