Journeying West

She/ her. Writer of words. Here are some of them! https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuima11/works This blog is primarily for and about the classical Chinese novel XiYouJi

[tuima11]

this isn't an ask tbh, but I think it's really important to tell you this. it's really personal though! so, apologies in advance if that makes you uncomfortable. I completely understand, and will not take offense

your fic, "How To Train Your Monkey", made me want to save myself.

I was so young but I was so, so tired. everything was just. I didn't want to deal with it anymore. when I saw Tripitaka going through a similar situation as me it really resonated with me. (with some notable differences of course- i'm not being kidnapped on occasion and thank goodness for that)

so. after I finished reading chapter 9, I looked up and let the tears fall for a solid ten minutes. I don't think I ever considered going out of my way to love someone. to be loved? too many times. but never to actually love. It seemed to work for Tripitaka, so I figured it was worth a shot.

after, say, 2 or 3 years, i'm happier. the circumstances in my life aren't perfect, but that's not what it's about. it's about giving love, and finding that it was already there for you.

and that probably wouldn't have happened, if I never came across "How to Train Your Monkey". IM NOT SAYING THAT IF YOU STOP WRITING, BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN NO NO NO (although I love your writing, it is so peak)

what i'm trying to say, I guess, is that I see how much love and care that you've poured into this fic, and how understanding you were to Tripitaka. I am so, so happy that, despite the lingering exhaustion, he has found someone, and eventually, people to live for. and by extension, so have I.

thank you for that

So, I've mentioned that I've been very sick for a few years now. Mostly I've been dealing pretty well--I've always had titanium-strength optimism--but this last month I've had to seriously confront the idea that I might be stuck in bed for the rest of my life.

Cue depression.

Quite a lot of my angst has been about feeling like I can't contribute anymore like I used to. I was very much an Acts of Service kind of person, and I did a lot of babysitting and house cleaning and elaborate cooking for my loved ones. I can't do that anymore; I may never be able to again.

But I got this lovely letter in my Tumblr inbox right in the middle of a personal pity-party, and it kind of shook me up. When I started writing fic it was for myself (possibly because I related entirely too well to Tripitaka feeling like a burden/ Wukong panicking about being needed). But now, when I'm feeling lowest, I got this reminder that, just like Anon, my circumstances ain't perfect but that's not what it's about. I can still make a difference.

So, uh, thanks Anon, I really needed this. And thanks to all you lovely awesome people in this truly fantastic JttW fandom. You make a real difference. Go find someone to love on; you will certainly find that love is there waiting for you, too.

[freelynecroticblizzard]

Sun Wukong has a title: Jingong

Jingong① stands for innate positive vitality, human essence energy and lung’s metal energy②. Its traits: tough, decisive in fighting, quick-witted, restless and unwilling to be controlled. Such personality makes him a perfect hero.

The character “Jin” in Jingong① means Wukong belongs to Metal in Five Elements②. Metal matches the Earthly Branch Shen③, which links to monkey. (Check the chart below for details.)

Shen③ decides Wukong’s natural temperament: free-spirited, martial, hot-tempered.

The Metal element② forms five core personalities of him: firm and decisive, unyielding, outspoken with sharp personality, irritable, diligent and always on the move.

Three concepts are used here: Earthly Branches③, Five Elements② and Chinese Zodiac.

Readers unfamiliar with these will miss lots of fun while reading the original Journey to the West. (Few people know where to find the original book though.)

Below is the fixed matching list:

子(zǐ)｜水(shuǐ)water｜鼠(shǔ) Rat

丑(chǒu)｜土(tǔ)dirt｜牛(niú) Ox

寅(yín)｜木(mù)wood｜虎(hǔ) Tiger

卯(mǎo)｜木(mù)wood｜兔(tù) Rabbit

辰(chén)｜土(tǔ)dirt｜龙(lóng) loong

巳(sì)｜火(huǒ)fire｜蛇(shé) Snake

午(wǔ)｜火(huǒ)fire｜马(mǎ) Horse

未(wèi)｜土(tǔ)dirt｜羊(yáng) Sheep

申(shēn)｜金(jīn)gold｜猴(hóu) Monkey

酉(yǒu)｜金(jīn)gold｜鸡(jī) Rooster

戌(xū)｜土(tǔ)dirt｜狗(gǒu) Dog

亥(hài)｜水(shuǐ)water｜猪(zhū) Pig

Besides, Jingong① refers to lead in Taoist inner alchemy terms. So we can joke that Sun Wukong is like a chunk of lead.(just kidding)

① Jingong[金公|jīn gōng]：a unique terminology from traditional Chinese Taoist inner alchemy, a special nickname for Sun Wukong in Journey to the West.

② Five Elements[五行|wǔ xíng]：the ancient Chinese philosophical classification system dividing all matters into Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth.

③ Earthly Branch[地支|dì zhī]：12 traditional Chinese symbolic characters used in zodiac, calendar and ancient fortune culture.

[igallbladder]

[shrimpymoonnoodles]

Comic strip + low effort doodles I did a while ago but never posted it

I've started an extensive amount of comic strips as I've been reading the series and I was waiting to finish more of them to do a big art dump, but I just keep starting more (and not finishing them) LMAO 😭 so I thought I might as well post some stuff I did from months ago already 🥀

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Time to Organize Another Read-Through?

Hello fellow pilgrims! Happy Monkey King Monday to those who celebrate, and here is some hopefully good news.

It has now been a good long while since the first pilgrimage through Xiyouji came to an end. Since that time, I have watched with pleasure as the follower count on this blog continued to rise, and am as such left wondering if there is interest among some of you to start a new reading journey.

I did, as such, want to send out a tentative ask to see how many current followers might want to embark on a brand-new reading pilgrimage, and if so, in what form. If there is sufficient interest, I am thinking of organizing either:

A) a repeat of the first reading journey, i.e. asking participants to read a chapter every week and then submit their thoughts, comments, memes, art, etc. about that chapter on the Sunday of that week, or

B) hosting a more informal reading space, i.e. letting participants mosy along the journey at their own pace, and submit their responses to the journey from art to memes to everything in between to this blog at any time they please, OR

C) A combination of the two, so that reading pilgrims of both paces can enjoy Xiyouji in the way they like best.

I also want to note that thanks to the archival work and research of the ever-helpful @journeytothewestresearch, we not only have digital copies of Journey to the West in multiple languages, but have both the abridged and the full copy of the Anthony C. Yu English translation. As such, I would like to also see if you folks would prefer for this next tentative reading journey to be based on the full Yu translation, the abridged copy, or for this journey to be more of a come-as-you-will sort of affair. Remember that there is no wrong answer! At this stage I just want to get a general sense of how people are feeling so as to best organize the next potential read-through.

So let me know what you're thinking, what you're feeling, and here's hoping that this reading group can embark on another pilgrimage soon!

[icaros-fell]

Ive been getting my ass kicked by both depression and a cold but ive had these litle wukong doodles sitting in my sketch book and i wamna share em, so here ya go

[thecinnamoncheese]

Okay but like for most species of monkeys males have no part in raising the infants, so young are cared for entirely by their mothers and the other females in the troop and see that would mean Wukong has no instinctive/ingrained cultural understanding of paternal affection and while he does call Tripitaka his father figure in human terms that wouldn't translate neatly back into monkey terms because as I said before they don't have father figures and what I'm getting at here is that Wukong probably subconsciously understands Tripitaka to be his mother.

I.

I think about this a lot.

[thecinnamoncheese]

Doing a journey with Māma Master

I'm sorry this painting is kind of full of mistakes but I don't have the time to make anything more polished rn

[loki-the-silly]

uhh yeah I guess you could say I’m having a good time

[yebreed]

Laughing Buddhas From The Flying Peak

Vivid figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas carved in the rock on the Flying Peak, Feilai Feng (飛來峰石窟) in the Wulin Mountains (武林山), Zhejiang.

Their cheerfulness in no way contradicts the solemn and misty ambiance of the Feilai Feng Grottoes themselves. Limestone peak looks alien in the surrounding mountain landscape, so there is an opinion that it flew here by the power of Buddhist wonder-workers. The main cave is dedicated to the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Due to a natural crack in the ceiling, a radiant halo surrounds the statue.

The carvings are from different periods and date from the Tang to the Ming.

Photo: ©俊灵-

[incorrectjttw]

JTTW characters on a roller coaster ...

Tripitaka: *throws up* Èrláng Shén & Nézhā: *bored out of their minds, because their moduls of travel are cooler* ¬_¬ Zhū Bājiè: *screaming his lungs out* Shā Wùjìng: *a bit woozy by the end of the ride* Bái Lóng Mă & Liù'ěr Míhóu: *having the time of their lives* Sūn Wùkōng: *banned because he's too short* >:(

[singeamon-arts]

New disciple acquired!

[nbaffy]

@relmint SUN WUKONG! finally got the chance to finish this guy!! 

full ver under the cut 

Keep reading

[wkz123]

just restin', sweetheart.

[cosmicdisorder2026]

"Thank you for your sacrifice."

Warnings! Disturbing Skull Imagery and Potential Eye Strain

Finished!! if anyone got the reference, you get a cookie

now, a very long and organized rant about the fuck ton of symbolism I put into this art piece (with some foreshadowing for this AU)

The Red Circle- Originally, it was going to be the same size as the Yellow Circle but I accidentally made it too big. at first I was irked, but soon realized it worked very well for what I'm trying to convey.

So what it represents is the nature of martyrdom and death. This is just my opinion, but I think volunteered death of the sorts, elevates a person. They are remembered for it. It's their legacy. The Red Circle being bigger than the Yellow Circle also shows how this glorified death may catch up to Tripitaka; he is the tenth and final reincarnation but that does not mean he isn't potentially doomed for such a legacy (that was never his choice) to catch up to him. That doesn't mean it will, persay, but that doesn't mean it won't, if that makes sense. Y'all can place your bets whether or not he dies.

The Yellow Circle- A design choice inspired by the reference, that inspired this whole art piece. A domino effect.

The Yellow Circle radiates an ethereal aura, to show that this humble monk is a holy man, undertaking a divine mission from the Buddha himself. The reason why I had it obscuring his face however is to show how his holiness objectifies him to both demons and people alike. It is meant to take away his individuality as a person, and to expose how he is simply an object that represents the idea of immortality and redemption to others.

The Alms Bowl- This was more of an afterthought tbh, but still glad I included it.

This is a nod to the Golden Cicada, who was punished for dropping a single grain of rice. Tripitaka holding it represents how he is meant to carry that burden as his reincarnation. I guess this would correlate with a generational burden, in a way?

The Nine Skulls- A lot of this were happy coincidences, and my favorite part of this art piece.

I interpreted the skulls in a more gnarly manner because I took inspiration from images I found of drowned human skulls, but I greatly exaggerated it.

A reason (excuse lmao) for this is because in Journey to the West, it states that Sandy actually played with the skulls before Tripitaka came along. I would imagine that he would handle them too roughly, hence their battered state. Also, fun fact! The original vision I had in mind for some of the skulls was for their jaws to be agape in a silent scream. However, I failed to execute that because of the odd angle and they look like they're laughing instead. Which, is actually perfect. I think Sandy would fashion the skulls to seemingly laugh, to cope with the guilt of murdering and devouring human flesh. If they're happy, then why be so glum?

Another thing I want to point out with the skulls is that I accidentally drew them foreshadowing the fate of some of the characters in this AU. I think some are obvious, but it's absolutely hilarious to me how they aligned this perfectly.

I feel like it's kind of obvious, but the Nine Skulls represent Tripitaka's past 9 lives, and their ultimate demise at the River.

The River- I'm not sure if it's very obvious, but at the bottom of the art piece you can see cattails and flowers that one might find at the edge of the river.

There's a twist of irony I find when comparing the deaths of Tripitaka's past reincarnations', and the life of Tripitaka himself. The past lives had all died at the Sand River, drowned by its murky waters by the same river demon. However, Tripitaka's life as a baby is saved by a river, and the same river demon that consumed his past lives is now his disciple. Not to mention, they use the skulls of his past life to fashion a makeshift boat to cross the river to continue their journey to the west. It's as if the sacrifice of the past lives was necessary, required, for this life to make it. There's something awfully poetic about that, yet cruel.

The purpose of this art piece was to explore a core component of Tripitaka's character: suffering.

Tysm for reading all of this! If you have your own interpretation of this art piece or your own speculation you'd like to share, go ahead! I'd love to read your thoughts :)

[tuima11]

When the Chosen One realizes that what he was Chosen for is "suffering."

[dipchit-with-a-golden-headband]

"The Great Sage was shedding tears when he heard noises on top of the brazier, and suddenly saw light."

Chapter 7 of jttw, my guy really went through it in there huh. Tried for a more moody piece with this one, although it's not exactly what I had in mind, it gets the point across I think?

[tuima11]

Guanyin and her beloved pet Goldfish-Man

You were warned. I warned you guys. This coloring book is dead set on making everyone The Most Beautiful. To my bafflement and lasting hilarity, this includes the freaking Goldfish Demon.

why is the goldfish sexy. who wanted this. who thought this was acceptable. This man should be in an underwater tower somewhere dangling his hair into the current for a prince to swim up. Instead, he is stuck in the Fish Basket for Naughty Child-Eating Demons. XD XD XD

Basket merman: [you] obviously cannot barter/trade this large of a basket!

Guanyin: Why not? Isn’t that such a comfortable bath?

Guanyin being unbothered and serene in the moonlight while her pet commits atrocities in the World Below.

[emo-and-dumb]

I was watching the little Krishna series and I tought to myself:

"Oh i bet Tang Sanzang would fall in love with mangos if he tried one in india! Or were there mangos avaliable in china trough the Tang dynasty?"

AND LOOK!!!!!

If Tang Xuanzang loved mangos them I want to believe Tang Sanzang loved mangos as well