i really love all the mothers in erha; despite not having many scenes, their presence lingered throughout the story through the impact they left on their sons. particularly hua gui and duan yihan’s impact on hua binan and mo ran, respectively, and the contrast between the legacies they left behind, which we saw being realized in chapter 278.
on the fateful night when shi mei plants the flower of everlasting hatred, we see that it was two mothers’ wishes that stirred things to unfold the way they did — shi mei takes the the first solid step towards hua gui’s plan to liberate their people by using the flower she nurtured with her blood; the flower is meant for chu wanning’s heart, but mo ran enters the scene and catches shi mei in the act.
the reason why mo ran came to the red lotus pavilion was to apologize to chu wanning and mend the rift between them and stop the misunderstanding from festering further, that was him staying true to his mother’s last wish: to repay kindness and not hold grudges or seek revenge.
while the flower is taking root inside his heart, mo ran starts mourning the fact that after this day he’ll never be able to repay kindness again, he won’t be able to honor his mom’s dying wish. the flower would ultimately alter his psyche from the inside out, turning him into a blade in shi mei’s hand. his sacrifice was his final act of selflessness and the last act of love he could offer chu wanning.
mo ran had been looked down on for most of his life, and even after joining sisheng peak, he never truly felt whole. he even says that the warmth and care he received from the xues felt “stolen” because he’d always known he wasn’t their real nephew. but becoming chu wanning’s disciple was the first experience that felt real and authentic to him, the only thing that felt his.
chu wanning never looked down on mo ran, and his kindness was neither conditional nor performative. mo ran recognized this and by sacrificing himself to protect chu wanning’s kindness and prevent the flower from feeding on it and distorting it beyond recognition, he was, in a way, repaying that kindness chu wanning had shown him. he wanted to preserve the first true warmth he had ever received after his mother.
that was his final act of gratitude, and the only thing he could do at the time. he was powerless and helpless, he possessed nothing and could only protect chu wanning with his own body.
that scene is so gut wrenching but also incredibly well written. i loved that we could see two sons realizing their mothers’ wishes, because those women’s experiences and the traumas they went through definitely played a role in shaping the sons. these motherly wishes are in fact the driving forces of erha that propelled characters into action and shaped the story’s narrative and plot.
it goes without saying that hua gui and duan yihan aren’t the only mothers in erha who impacted their sons. we also have madam wang and rong yan, who are amazing characters and deserve more recognition and more discussion. i might make another post exploring them in more depth; but in this one, i wanted to focus on chap 278 and how hua gui and duan yihan had an underlying presence in it.
what hurts the most about shi mei’s betrayal is how intimate it is. imo the book captures it best with the hedgehog metaphor.
shi mei was taken under xue zhengyong’s wing and tucked beneath chu wanning’s soft protective belly. and so the stab came from within: breaking the wing and piercing the hedgehog in its most tender spot.
— xue zhengyong
xue zhengyong is absolutely terrible at giving names, yet when he rescued frail little orphan shi mei, the first name he gave him was “xue ya” with the same xue (薛) as his own name as a way of protecting him with the sect leader name.
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xue zhengyong took shi mei under his wing, gave him a place to belong and cared for him as a member of his sect sisheng peak; which makes shi mei’s eventual betrayal and everything he ends up doing to xue zhengyong, his family, and his sect, all the more bitter. a true snake in one’s bosom.
— chu wanning
chu wanning showed shi mei his selflessness and kindness when he shielded him from the rain at the cost of getting his own shoulder drenched (we all know how sensitive chu wanning is to the cold). yet he didn’t utter a word and made sure shi mei went back to his place safely.
he displayed strong morals when he refused to treat the bbbfs as objects. he recognized them as human and was angry when shi mei repeated what that book said, hence him giving shi mei permission to enter the library that was reserved only for registered disciples under a shizun, and later accepting him as his own disicples despite knowing his weak cultivation. to chu wanning that didn’t matter, what mattered was that shi mei stayed on the right path and had a fair chance to read books and earn correct, accurate knowledge just like everyone else. chu wanning would always, always help if he had the chance and the means to do so, no matter the circumstances.
during chu wanning’s septennial seclusion, he loses his spiritual energy and becomes no stronger than a regular human. he trusts no one within his barriers except xue zhengyong and his three disciples, one of whom is shi mei.
chu wanning entrusted shi mei with guarding his powerless mortal body, and it’s precisely that trust that gave shi mei the perfect chance to plant the flower of everlasting hatred in his heart, which would cling to chu wanning’s insides, alter him and his psyche from the inside out, and give shi mei a controlling vice grip on him.
— mo ran
when mo ran sacrifices himself and offers his heart as the root for the flower instead, shi mei’s “does it hurt? what does it feel like, my dear shidi?” is unbearably cruel. it not only emphasizes shi mei’s betrayal of the sanctity of the shidi/shixiong bond, but also mocks the brotherhood they should have shared as fellow disciples.
“my dear shidi” comes off as mocking and is a perversion of affection; what should have been warmth and care between a shidi and a shixiong now drips with venom.
shi mei could have never had access to hurt chu wanning, xue zhengyong or his family without the kindness they had shown him.
i like to think of the flower of everlasting hatred as a symbolic reflection of shi mei/his betrayal: outwardly delicate and beautiful yet conceals a dangerous core.
both have to be close to the heart (literally in the case of the flower, metaphorically in shi mei’s case i.e. the trust people had in him which granted him access to betrayal) in order to inflict their harm.
like the flower, which feeds on the very heart that hosts it and gives it life; shi mei turns against those who nurtured him and took him in, weaponizing their care and trust from within.
i think shi mei foils mo ran regarding how they repay their benefactors.
mo ran, even as taxian-jun, repaid everyone at wubei temple with gold (which was ironic and so so tragic because he had been tormenting his savior-gege the whole time); hbn bit the hand that had rescued him, using xue zhengyong, his nephew, his family, and the people of his sect as mere tools and sacrificing them to pave the way for his own goals with their blood and bodies.
neglecting my exam prep so i can focus on writing meta and getting things off my chest because there’s no way i can focus with all these thoughts crowding my mind...
so i’ve seen before the take that erha is mo ran’s healing journey rather than his redemption story, and i 100% agree. in what follows i will discuss how one of the key ways we see this through is mo ran’s perception of food.
as a child, mo ran would often say he was full (even tho he wasn’t) just so his mama could have the rest of the stale bread because he didn’t want her to sleep on an empty stomach. this was an act of selflessness, a small but pure expression of love.
initially, food for him was a tool for connection and sharing it was an act of love, it was him mirroring his mama’s care for him.
food was something deeply tied to bonding for him. his mama was sacrificing her own comfort to feed him and make sure he had enough. he felt and knew this and because of it, he saw food as a way to share love and care with others, as his mama did with him.
all until a rich young guy refused to give mo ran his dumpling skins (literally his leftovers) and gave them to the dog instead. it made baby mo ran realize that a dog was seen more valuable than him, simply because he was poor.
this moment caused a crack in his perception of food, it showed him that food could be something other than just an offering of love. it could be something to be picky about, something scarce.
he realized that food was something that, in a way, could determine his worth.
later when ranwan first met, the rice congee cwn offered to mo ran was a lifeline, literally his only means of survival at that point. the memory of that meal was rooted so deeply inside of him that not even the flower was able to erase it, and as an emperor he rewarded everyone at wubei temple out of gratitude. the heat of this irony is scorching, cause the whole time his savior was in his bed.
after he came to ssp, when he received food for his birthday, he forced himself to finish it, pushing past his limits and through the nausea of having too much just so that nothing would go to waste. i’m sure at one point he couldn’t even taste what he was eating anymore but he kept going anyway. food was still tied to survival, he didn’t see it as something to enjoy or savor yet, it was still an obligation, a necessity. it absolutely could not go to waste.
food didn’t have anything that could be appreciated, except its presence and availability.
as an emperor, we see him sitting on his throne, casually peeling grapes. the way this scene was written is exquisite and luxurious, but it also showed his detachment and indifference towards the grapes.
as an emperor he could have anything he wanted, it wasn’t about survival anymore. now it was a luxury, a symbol of his status but that’s all it was. it didn’t hold the same meaning it once did for him. he now had food and delicacies simply because he could.
food was a way of proving his worth and solidifying his position, but none of that mattered anymore; not when he was about to end his own life. everything had dulled in a world without chu wanning.
and so he buried himself under the tree where he had met chu wanning, next to a bowl of wontons.
chu wanning’s wontons, the wontons that changed everything. at that time shi mei offered him the bowl, mo ran wasn’t even hungry. he was feeling wronged. he was hurt and disappointed, with a heart bleeding from rejection. at that moment, the food offered to him was an act of kindness and consideration, someone had really taken the time to prepare him wontons from scratch! with a spicy broth too, just the way he liked, and they went as far as pouring the wontons into a thick bowl to prevent the heat from escaping. it was an act of kindness poured straight out of chu wanning’s guilty heart, right into shi mei’s thieving hands.
after his rebirth, we see 1.0 mo ran recalling the smallest details about how chu wanning liked his food (vols 1,2) all while claiming that he “hated him”. it showed just how closely mo ran had always been paying attention in his first lifetime, it proved that he cared on a way deeper level than he realized. he remembered how cwn liked his food down to the smallest details which was a level of intimacy that went beyond simple observation, it had been his subconscious absorbing everything it could about chu wanning.
cwn as xia sini asked elder xuanji how he could appear more approachable to his disciples, the answer he received was simple- he should show them that he cared. and so he tried.
during a meal with mo ran, cwn reached for his favorite dish, but instead of serving himself, he picked the first meatball and placed it on mo ran’s plate- thanking him for taking care of him over the past few days. he was trying to show mo ran gratitude and display kindness in the way he knew how, and in the way that felt safest for his thin face. he was showing he cared through food.
the gesture took mo ran by surprise; it was his first time after years seeing food being an act of care, something that was once familiar to him through his mom but so strange and so distant and far away now. he couldn’t make sense of it, since it was coming from chu wanning, and since he himself hadn’t seen food this way for years (with how his happy moments with his mom had been distorted by the flower).
in vol 4, when mo ran placed the plate closer to chu wanning than to shi mei that one time the three of them shared a meal, to me it was a subtle metaphor showing where his heart was leaning now. he was desperate to give chu wanning a good experience so he ordered the best meal the restaurant offered that he knew would appeal to him. mo ran started trying to subtly fix chu wanning’s unbalanced diet, going as far as using tricks to make him eat a balanced meal every time.
in vol 6 he even made a whole batch of soup dumplings specially for wanning. mo ran was finally beginning to see food as more than just a means of survival or something mandatory to stay alive, he started to use it as a way to show care for his beloved, even though he hadn’t yet realized it.
but imo, one of mo ran’s most profound acts of love is when he changed his diet to stop eating spicy food. this was a sacrifice for cwn. he had grown up without the luxury of being picky, yet now as an adult, he had the choice. but instead of choosing something for himself, he chose to adapt to chu wanning’s diet. this wasn’t about just being “picky”, it was about aligning with someone he loved. he wanted to share meals, to have the tips of their chopsticks touch as they dipped into the same pot, as if it were their hearts meeting. he wanted their hands to reach for the same dish, resulting in cwn’s ears turning red and cute (and biteable). he wanted to bask in the joy of eating together, it returned to being an act of selflessness again. it was a sign that he had finally learned to enjoy food for the pleasure of companionship, just like he had once had with his mother. back when sharing simple humble meals had been enough to bring him satisfaction as long as he had her with him.
he had given up spicy food but the heat never disappeared. this time the warmth of the meal filled him with something way more intense than the burn of any spicy food he had once craved, and this heat was one not even water could quench. it settled and lingered in his chest, warming him from the inside out.
in many asian cultures (including my own, but i’m not sure about the chinese perspective on this) sharing food from the same plate is seen as an act of love, care and bonding. it’s a connection that goes beyond just the meal itself. when mo ran chose to share food with chu wanning, he chose to share his life with him, and this act of sharing is a symbol of his growing love and bonding.
i’ve tried to cite the events as they happened chronologically in the story. there’s a clear pattern that meatbun followed here. i don’t think it was a coincidence or an attempt to insert some filler moments, but it was to display how mo ran’s perception of food evolved in tandem with his love for chu wanning, and how it became a mirror of his healing. food, which used to be a warm moment that connected mo ran with his mom once, lost its meaning. but eventually it became a symbol of connection and love again, something to cherish and appreciate.
when 1.0 mo ran was sleeping next to cwn that one morning and asked him to get up and make him some congee (after kissing him lol), it made it clear that he had asked chu fei to cook for him often (even though we all know he’s not that good at cooking sksjdju).
then we have corpse!txj coming into the second timeline and for the first time in years asking hbn if he could regain his sense of taste, simply to be able to taste the porridge made by chu wanning, even though as a corpse, he didn’t need to eat to stay alive.
that’s the point i was trying to make earlier; as an emperor he could acquire delicacies but he never really found any meaning in them. and during his time as a corpse (which literally spanned years), he never asked for food because he didn’t need it and it had held no meaning for him. but when he reunited with his wanning, he craved it, though he could no longer taste it again.
and finally, we have mo ran eating chu wanning’s porridge as his last meal. not only that, but he also fed chu wanning the best part of the fish iirc. even at his worst, even when he knew these hours were his last and this meal was his final one, he still chose to give the best part of the fish to cwn. emphasizing his selflessness and the depth of his love for him.
this time, food was something that comforted him, something that made him feel at home.
it was a meal that brought them together for one last time.
i wrote this just to get it off my chest, as it’s been burning and tossing around in there for quite some time now haha. i cited all of these moments based solely on my somewhat shaky memory, so if anything’s inaccurate or if i remembered something wrong, show me some grace (I BLAME THE MTL!) 😭 feel free to correct me though, or add anything i might’ve overlooked.
I'm obsessed with the moments Chu Wanning spent with Mo Ran as Xia Sini. He let himself be a child for a bit and it was very sweet.
The flashbacks we get of Chu Wanning as a child with Master Huaizui paint a very sad picture, however. Chu Wanning was full of wonder and joy when he was young, and comparing those moments to when he lets loose as Xia Sini, we can see how his experiences since then have shaped him.
Chu Wanning's first clue that the world wasn't all smiles and laughter was when he found Mo Ran on the side of the road, covered in dirt, mud, injuries, and weaker than a newborn. He'd lived in an idyllic, happy world until then, and the proof that there were people who needed help was enough to convince him that his efforts would be best spent trying to serve them.
Unfortunately, his choice to leave the monastery to help the less fortunate was met with his father figure and most trusted person asking him to cripple, and potentially kill himself as "payment" for the time spent raising him, damaging his relationship with the man and dousing him in cold water as he realized that even those closest to him were capable of cruelty.
After nicking his core in an effort to comply with his Shizun's request- also acting as a defiant gesture meant to sever their relationship- Chu Wanning finds refuge at the Rufeng Sect where he's given food, shelter, and offered a teaching position. It seems too good to be true, and it turns out that people can ask horrible things of you if you're unfortunate enough to think well of them when they commit atrocities.
It makes sense that Chu Wanning is a little jaded. He was so young when he was smacked with the reality of the cruelty people are capable of. All he wanted was to help people, and instead he watched men with the means to make a difference acting as though it had nothing to do with them- as though they were above it all, Rulers of it all, above consequences and kindness. And by people he thought he was close to, even.
When he got cursed by the Heartpluck Willow and became Xia Sini, he was lonely. He'd played games with Huaizui, was given sweets on occasion, and generally was allowed to be a kid in between lessons. After everything he experienced upon leaving the Monastery, he grew up too fast and let the weight of the world sit firmly on his shoulders.
He'd isolated himself largely because the people he got close to seemed to always have a dark underbelly that they kept hidden. Its a miracle that Xue Zhengyong found Chu Wanning and convinced him to teach at his sect, but its obvious that he's earned Chu Wanning's respect over the years. So, when Chu Wanning reverts to Xia Sini, it isn't shocking that he trusts Xue Zhengyong to keep it a secret (although he wasn't planning to tell anyone what happened if he didn't have to).
And finally, as Xia Sini, we can see some of his guard slip. The first person he meets is Xue Meng while he's practicing his sword forms. He can't help but correct Xue Meng's form when he watches it go awry, and it isn't just because Xue Memg was his student, but because he genuinely wants to help. He had every excuse to pretend he didn't know anything, but instead he used the knowledge he possessed to guide Xue Meng despite Xue Meng's disbelief at someone so young being able to help him.
At his core, Chu Wanning is noble and straight-forward, and he doesn't think twice about using everything he possesses to make a positive difference in people's lives. He's still very young at heart, though; he craves companionship while telling himself that he doesn't need it, he hides himself away when he worries that just one look at his face will make someone's day worse, and he takes every task he's given seriously when he knows it can be of use to someone.
None of this changes when he's Xia Sini, but it does allow him to shed the expectations people have of him as the cold and peerless Yuheng Elder. His disciples, in particular, get to know him as he is, instead of as Chu Wanning, and they keep him around, in part because they believe he's very young, but also because his personality meshes well with theirs. They get along, and they enjoy eachother's company- Mo Ran in particular seems to find Xia Sini delightful, even when he's acting like a bit of a brat.
My personal favorite scene is when they're sitting around and chatting, and Xia Sini and Mo Ran both want the last lotus pastry. Xia Sini, without having any expectations of decorum or propriety thrust upon him, snatches it before Mo Ran can and shoves it into his mouth. Its my favorite because it shows that Chu Wanning has let his guard down around them enough that he can let himself do silly things like fight over sweets.
He spends a lot of his time as Xia Sini with his disciples. Its proof that he's human and craves that cameraderie, and that people want to be around him. He isn't cold or aloof, he's just been hurt by enough people that he struggles to make those connections.
As Xia Sini, Chu Wanning can act however he wants, and the consequences will be minimal because everyone views him as a young child. He doesn't use it as an excuse, but instead as an opportunity to let go of the reins and relax. Its one of my favorite parts of the novel, because for a moment we can see what Chu Wanning is made of, what lies within the core of him, and we learn that he isn't so different from the people around him.
At the end of the day, Chu Wanning is very human, and just like all of us, he laughs, he cries, he feels wronged, he argues, he wheedles, and most of all, he loves.
When given the chance to shed the hurt and expectations, we can find liberation. Although that doesn't change how we've been affected by our experiences, we can still choose righteousness, which is a major theme of Mo Ran and Chu Wanning's stories.
Hi! I'm working on a video about Geto right now and I really liked your insight on the term monkey and how it is used in jjk. I was wondering if you would mind at all if I may reference your post in the video (with credit obviously) since your post honestly explained things very simply and was very insightful? If not, completely understandable and that's why I wanted to ask first. Thank you for your time reading this!
hello!
thank you for taking the time to read my post and for appreciating it! i’m flattered that you’d like to reference it in your video.
apologies for the late response, but you absolutely have my permission to use it. thanks for asking beforehand ☺️ when the video’s done, i’d love it if you could send me the link.
the significance of the term “monkey” in Jujutsu Kaisen
when engaging with a show or work from a different culture, it’s important to approach it with an open mind, as words and symbols often carry layers of meaning specific to that culture.
this is especially true here since most people are reading the story through a translation, and a lot of linguistic and literary nuances and philosophical references may be lost in translation, not coming across in English as they were initially intended to in Japanese.
historical background to those who enjoy it:
the philosophy behind the “Three Wise Monkeys” (三猿 romanized: ‘sanzaru’) is rooted in Confucianism and came to Japan from China during the 8th century (Nara period).
by the 17th century, it became a popular depiction on Japanese Buddhist temples, with the most famous one found on the third panel of an eight-panel sculpture on the sacred stable at the Toshogu shrine in Nikko, Japan.
you can read more about the shrine here.
-end of historical background-
now, here comes the question:
why was this philosophy depicted by monkeys?
it’s actually a play on words, in Japanese the proverb is
“見ざる、聞かざる、言わざる”
見ざる (romanized: mizaru) literal translation: see not
聞かざる(romanized: kikazaru) literal translation: hear not
‘zaru’ which is present in all 3 words: mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru— is an archaic suffix used to negate a verb. it sounds very similar to the Japanese for monkey, which is ‘saru’ (猿).
while the literal translation is “see not, hear not, speak not” the Buddhist concept behind the phrase is “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” which emphasizes the Buddhist ethics and teachings on mindfulness, right speech, right action and right livelihood.
the Three Wise Monkeys— iwazaru, covers its mouth, speaking no evil; mizaru covers its eyes, seeing no evil; kikazaru, covers its ears, hearing no evil;
Geto’s take on this—
Geto takes the literal meaning of the proverb and applies it on non shamans. non sorcerers are unable to see curses (mizaru— see not), unable to hear curses (kikazaru— hear not) and naturally, you can’t speak accurately of what you can’t see or hear, so they speak not (iwazaru.)
he uses ‘monkey’ as a term that references the Wise Three Monkeys, to refer to non shamans’ ignorance about their world.
the monkey who’s covering its ears in the panel, is haunted by a cursed spirit but it’s ignorant of what that is because it can’t hear or see it (can also be seen as a sign of fear since naturally, people tend to be scared of the unknown.)
in JJK0 he says “those monkeys want to avert their eyes from the existence of those who are better than them” which can be a direct reference to the ‘mizaru’ monkey.
Toji’s take on this—
it’s worth pointing out that Toji was the first to refer to himself as a ‘monkey’ and Geto got it from him.
Toji here was pointing out the irony of defeating the “strongest duo” even while being unable to see or hear curses (he was able to “sense” them thanks to his HR but not “see” them like a regular jujutsu sorcerer, which was the reason he was rejected from the jujutsu society.)
now this is how i personally see it, i think Toji parallels “Sun Wukong” from the classic Chinese novel “Journey To The West”.
Sun Wukong was known as the “Monkey King”
[note: Journey To The West is a classic Chinese novel, it’s significant in the context of Buddhism but its importance is more cultural than doctrinal.]
the story of Sun Wukong:
Sun Wukong possessed many abilities, he had supernatural strength and was incredibly fast. he was a skilled fighter and was capable of defeating the best warriors of heaven.
Wukong was seen as lesser than a monkey but he was still stronger than most gods. the heavens gave him the lowest position just in order to keep an eye on him and monitor his activities.
when Sun Wukong found out about that he wanted to surpass the heaven and rebel against them. and he succeeded in doing so, he was stronger than them all but despite all of that they continued to look down upon him.
no one was able to stop him, except the Buddha.
doesn’t all of this sound familiar?
due to Toji lacking CE, the Zenin clan and the whole jujutsu society looked down upon him. even though with his HR, he was stronger than most sorcerers, and was able to defeat Gojo and Geto, the strongest sorcerers at the time. he acknowledged this by referring to himself as a “monkey.”
Gojo was able to gain a new understanding of CE, to reach enlightenment because of his “first” death.
“throughout heaven and earth, only i am the honored one” is a direct quote from the Buddha that Gege gave to Gojo.
Gojo was the Buddha who defeated the Monkey King, aka Toji.
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