❗CORRECTION❗: At 3:20, the team only has Wukong and Tang Sanzang, Pigsy and Sandy have not joined the team yet. My bad y'all. So Wukong was trying to protect his master, there were no brothers at the time yet. All the explanations in the video and my own interpretation are based on the book Journey To The West, its TV adaptations, and other sources. If you have another way to interpret it, feel free to share in the comment!!
Ever since I started playing the game Ive wanted to read the book. Is there an English translation that you recommend? I want to read the original story.
This is what you call quality content. In the world filled with reels and shorts. You have done an awesome job explaining the videos. Keep them coming. Great research. All the best.
In the third animation. Yellowbrow purposely destroys the ships to force people to rely on him rather than fishing. hence another push from yellowbrow. I think this animation goes to show that people inherently arent evil but are pushed to it by everything that surrounds them.
😢😢😢😢If you read the character descriptions Yellowbrow has killed thousands of people and guais for amusement or control . He was as bad as u can imagine.
@@GL-iv4rw They are the same Chinese characters "妖怪". Yaoguai is the chinese mandarin pronunciation, while yokai is the Japanese pronunciation. Japnese uses kanji which literally means "Han's characters". And Han Chinese is the ethnic group comprising the majority of the Chinese population.
Out of all the animations, the third chapter was my favorite. Gods debating on humanity, and one god doing whatever he can to prove his point. This game just has such beautiful animation, and those short story videos were so interesting. This game was so fun to experience, really hope we see more games like these that explore such interesting stories. Chinese mythology is so cool.
Yes I believe you are correct. Yellow brow did indeed pull that young man in to attack him. Excellent description of these scenes. My favorite was the 3rd. I laughed when you called Yellowbrow’s materialized form a “soft shell turtle” 😂😂😂😂
Actually he didn't If you read the character descriptions Yellowbrow has killed thousands of people and guais for amusement or control . He was as bad as u can imagine.
As a chinese myself, i truly appreciate the effort you put in to clearly explain everything so more people could understand and enjoy the game. Kudos to you!
For the first story, it's important to note that the little boy was catching a frog to earn money. It actually cost money to be a monk, and the boy was likely earning money for that. Though I think that the image of the frog jumping past a dead palm is a symbolism, that 1) many had suffered or perished trying to grasp for the elusive fortune and 2) the boy's seeking of fortune is a path that ultimately lead to death and despair.
Also, for the facts you mentioned in the end. I prefer to say it in this way that the cutscenes in the game were not mentioned in the original novel. And it is these blank spaces in the novel that give the developers a space or enlightenment to create new stories to fill these blank. I have to say it is a good re-creation though. Well done game science!
@@yakunyangI remember when I read the comic version of the novel as a kid about the group finally visited the Buddha agreed to provide them the scripts. The 2 monks asked for bribe before giving them. Then I was shocked to see that Buddha didn’t punish his monks but said that!’s normal in the World! I beg your pardon, isn’t that the preaching that monks have to give up their private properties and bid farewell to all matters on Earth before they take their vows to become monks? 😂 Then I knew this is not a simple story!🤣
In the animated depiction of Zhu Bajie, the rapid flashback sequences show how Zhu Bajie and Zizhu'er perceive each other. Zhu Bajie feels guilty and sad for Zizhu'er, who has transformed from a fairy into a spider. However, as Zizhu'er looks at Zhu Bajie's pig-like appearance, she still sees him as the General who Curtains he once was. In her heart, no matter what form Zhu Bajie takes, he remains the same to her. To fully appreciate the animation of Chapter 4, it should be viewed in conjunction with the lyrics. In the duet section of the lyrics, the two characters sing different lines, reflecting their individual perspectives on the relationship. Yet, despite these differing viewpoints, both are shown to be sacrificing for the other. Chapter 2: The Fox's Tale - Chapter Two itself embodies a Rashōmon-like narrative, where multiple forces each hold their own version of the truth, and there exists no definitive correct answer. The animation in this chapter serves to illustrate that people always believe what they want to believe, regardless of the actual truth.
This is such an well researched, in depth coverage of the storyline. I love the cultural context you were able to provide. The 80s tv show shots were informative and so deliciously camp. It feels like it really fills in alot of missing pieces. Thank you.
when the game came out, i was most intrigued by the cutscene animation for chapter 5. you are the only one amongst all the other youtubers who has explained it so clearly with all the underlying nuances. kudos to you
This is amazing content theres so many people outside of japan and china that want to learn about the 2 races i hope you cover more games and explore content like this could really hope to grow your channel
I personally don’t think bull king misunderstood what wukong said. That was simply the view wukong thought was true during the journey, he didn’t know the true nature of celestial court yet.
Very nice video, thank you. I recently ended the game and a lot of things in the story was very confusing to me, especially around Bull King and Wukong with Bajie seems like a bad guys in Ch 5 animation. I would like to know more about PingPing and I bet many people would like to know too 😁 is she even real or just inspired or created for the game purpose
I am enjoying the game and I really appreciate you taking the time to make this video to speak on the actual backstories of the cutscenes. Very well done. Keep up the good work!
this vid was amazing. Super insightful and helpful, not just with understanding wukong and journey to the west but also the nuance of Chinese mythology.
@@nuraolblast1721 Actually it’s the opposite. I saw the interview of the founder, they took inspirations from other media adaptations of Journey to the West. For example, Bajie is not handsome in his human form. It comes from an online Chinese novel, and in that book Bajie is handsome and dating goddess of the moon.
Considering that the owner wrote almost all the lyrics of the songs in the game, he is no slouch himself when it comes to literacy. I’m sure his skills play a part in shaping the narratives in the game.
@@yugenelhcActually besides the animation in the game Baije looks at himself in the past-echo mirror to get needle pricked with by the spider out, but as he looked in the mirror he appeared to be handsome. So the scene confused me when I so his form in the animation. I don’t know if you can explain those two different forms??
@@zaynefarious The mirror reflects the soul. The animation simply adopted a different art style. The point was he was wrongfully banished from heaven and turned from a handsome deity into an animal.
Thank you so much for your video and explaining the mythology of Wukong. I very glad you enlightened us on the story of the Bull King. When I finished the chapter, I was saddened and said to myself, this character's story is beyond tragic. I wanted to avenge him, but I was struggling to understand who is good and who is evil. So many philosophies and different outlooks in this story. Sometimes I struggled to understand Wukong's actions and why he was so rebellious. I remember Bull King being by Wukong's side while Wukong was wounded and dying. I was trying to understand that as well. This is such a phenomenal tale and fantastic game.
in the book, journey to the west, Guanyin told wukong that yaoguai and gods are the same... meaning that lies are created to create classes and discrimination, even being immortal does not mean the gods can live forever hence they needed to secure resources to ensure their longevity and lengthen their lifespan. when Wukong was on their side, he was called a Buddha, once he revolted, they called him a yaoguai. You could read in detail and you will realise that the celestial beings and Buddha created sufferings by "accidentally" releasing their yaoguai to the human realm, The aim was to spread Buddhism and gain more worshippers when the party of Sanzang and wukong save the human beings. Black myth is indeed really dark and sinister. But Wukong knew that he cannot side with them, you can see what happens to those yaoguais after attaining their so-called god status, in truth they are still being used and abandoned. Due to spoilers, i will not reveal the names here, but the only way is to defeat and create a new world order in which Erlangshen etc are working in shadow, Just want to add something, im also a Buddhist. There is a someone here who keeps arguing about who is right and wrong. Game and reality is different. Would you even study the whole bible based on a game world? And as a Buddhist, we practice mindfulness and obviously, behaving this way creates more misunderstandings and hatred between people. Karma and Dharma - 我执
Nah. As a Buddhist, i strongly disagree with u. Buddhism taught us how to end suffering. And u said Buddha deliberately created suffering and yaoguai... Totally against the teaching. A sentient being own suffering is created by its own karma, not by Buddha, celestial beings and anyone. Why is Buddha called The Awakened One because he has realised Enlightenment which affliction of all kinds is to be got rid of. If he harbours thoughts on creating suffering, then how could he achieve what he had learnt? You may ask isn't chasing after happiness and Enlightenment affliction too. Buddha has said one should use means to achieve these without putting an emphasis on the enjoyment. That means all these factors of achieving what one wants are only means to an end. After achieving it, one should not linger on it. That is emptiness.
@@k.phoebe6578 If you talk about Celestial beings harbouring ill thoughts, it is still possible because they haven't attained Enlightenment though innately they are good beings otherwise they won't be born as' immortal 'but if as what u say it is a story and so Buddha could create' bad karma', that is totally unacceptable because that is like deliberately spreading untruth even it is a story. You have to know this game also teaches us moral lesson so what this game potray about Buddha intentions must be a benign one and follows the teachings . If it is not, then this story is completely illogical. Btw, i have go through the game story, it is only the Celestial beings that harbour ill intentions against Wukong.
Thanks for doing the ground work on interpreting the actual book and Game science's creative adaptation. Growing up without having Journey to the west book and only knows a bit from 1986's TV adaptation that I missed a lot of episodes, it's nice to see someone on UA-cam to comprehensively explained
Thank you so much for this video! Your explanations of the cutscenes in Black Myth: Wukong are clear and really captivating. Your analysis helped me better understand the story and enjoy the game even more. Keep up the great work!
Great brief explanation based truly on JTTW and not just perception of their own. Also, it's so good of you to have chinese phrases from the book translated in english been put to display for anyone who's intrigued to know full picture. Waiting for your 2 endings video.
Thanks you a lot for your explanation ! I really loved this game and cutscenes, even if I didn't understand everything I managed to cry because of the beauty of symbolism... what a great story 🥲
Thank you so much for this video clarifying the lore and mythology. I really love and have enjoyed learning about Chinese mythology through this game and you!
The juxtaposition between the endings is fascinating In chinese methology, yaoguai are animals which through centuries of meditation, achieved their own means of enlightnment. In the first story, for his "sin" of enabling the monks vices, the bear yaoguai now ends up in a life of servitude as guanyins guard. In the second ending, despite showing humanity and mortality, the man treats the fox yaoguai as a lower being and kills it out of suspicion. The position is immediately flipped in the third ending, which showed that despite supposedly aligned to heaven, humanity is just as dark as any yaoguai
I would like to point out an error: it is not only animals that can cultivate（修炼）(which you referred to as meditation). The concept of cultivation originates from Taoism, where it is a very important practice. Humans are considered to be born with an innate spirituality, and through cultivation, they can attain immortality or even become immortals. Additionally, animals and non-living entities can also cultivate to gain spirituality and ascend to godhood. I am Chinese, so the above passage was translated for me by ChatGPT, which might lead to some ambiguity. Please excuse any potential misunderstandings.
There's a reference to the book in early chapter 5... the Red boy disguised as Ping Ping, tied himself up to a tree and beg for help, which is exactly the trap he used in the book. And you can identify actual Ping Ping by her hair on ears, white hair is her and black hair is the Red Boy
@@sketchysketches381there is. At the end of the chapter, there is a painting for interaction. At the bottom, there’s a fox figure, and it says the daughter is missing. I hope both the fox daughter and the 4th spider sister stories can be filled in the DLC
@@sketchysketches381 when Red Boy removes his disguise he asks what gave him away the BDK says unlike him she never fake respect, Red Boy then says once he's done her he'll go and kill her. so yes in the game there is a daughter but it is unknown if the real one appears or if its just Red Boy transformed
This video is great, just to point out one mistake. 16:51 The author of Journey to the West WuCheng’en is from Ming dynasty. Although stories in his book happened in Tang dynasty, the book was a stinging satire on the government of Ming dynasty which is dark in his time.
i felt so stupid after not recognize the girl at Old Gao Village is Gao Cuilan , i watch the 1986 tv show like 20 times...thank you for open my mind !!!
15:29 to answer your question the pig was sent to the mortal realm to be reborn and never finding love. He eventually turned into a pig where he ran into the spider
Him turning into a pig didn’t happen as fast as there showing it. But in one of his lives he turned into a pig after there marriage and the wife left him
The only real confusion I had was why the game chose specifically that story for chapter 2's ending. Everything else wasn't so bad to figure out even without complete familiarity of Journey to the West. Game Science did a good job flexing their creativity around the book.
Bodhisattva Lingji (in the game) is not a good guy. He thinks he is superior because he’s a Buddha, yet he is also the one who got mad at people not worshiping Buddha so he cursed the land to have the wind havoc. On the other hand it’s the Yellow Wind Sage, a yaoguai who fixed it to protect the people
I think the story of the fox isn’t meant to be taken literally. While the man does show back up as a disciple of Yellowbrow in chapter 3, it’s more of a study of philosophy. To show once again, that the immortals neither understand mortals nor really care for them. “You’re a fox? You’re an yaoguai? You’re untrustworthy. You’re beneath us. You will never be more than a snarling beast at the end of the day.”
@@yugenelhc Yeah, Bodhisattva Linji was not all that good once you read the journal entries related to him. And to think I liked his singing when he was headless. Meanwhile, other entries almost makes me feel guilty for killing them. Anyways, the confusion was more of why the other music videos relate back to the chapters they were from, while ending 2 decided to go with Non Void and the fox instead of anything from chapter 2. It was an interesting choice to show that story.
Yes there is a Chinese saying only help those with urgent needs and not help those who are poor and help those stupid but not those who are lazy. 救急不救穷 帮笨不帮懒
Yellowbrow had so many different ways he could have helped and uplifted those people. He could have educated them, showed how to build better fishing boats, any number of ways instead of making them dependent upon him. But he didn’t, because his goal wasn’t to help them, not even a little bit. He just wanted to prove Golden Cicada wrong, so he cheated and manipulated the test.
That's not being capitalist. That's just being an asshole. Capitalist states in the modern age have been the biggest donators. Look at how much the US donates to non profits vs Russia. Even China lifted people out of poverty with capitalism whereas everyone was poor when they were communist. Stop trying to politicize your story.
@@yugenelhc yes but with condition. If they are not willing to help themselves and just depend on you to help them it will be endless. Giving them fish is not as good as teaching them how to fish on their own. These are the wisdom ancestors that taught us.
Thank you for making this vid! It was very informative! This video has been one of the best lore vids i've seen lately! Can't wait for the true ending vid!
After watching this and another summary of journey to the west(and completing the game myself) I really find it interesting as to how buddhism is shown in chinese mythology. I am from India and was taught about Gautam Buddha in a completely different way. I also love the way you pronounce rakshasi maitreya yaksha moksa and many other words from sanskrit. We also have a very famous monkey man named Hanuman in our mythology with many of the stories of how he got his powers and weapons similar to wukong's. I have heard that the writer was inspired by this character but I have no idea if it is true but does seem too similar to not be true. I love the grand characterizations of buddhism in chinese mythology as we got a very quaint version of buddhism in our side of history. BTW thank you for explaining the bull king drama as that is literally the reason I was here. I got confused since I remember bull king and wukong having a gang of yaoguais together in their early years. I did not understand why bull king would go against wukong when the celestial court stood up against him.
About your question in the end, in the game, Bull King built up the hatred because Wukong “betrayed” him by going on a pilgrimage mission, beat up his kid and brother and Wukong seemed to do better than him. In the book, Bull King also built up some hatred as well for beating up his kid and brother, and trick his wife and concubine
Chinese Buddhism (Han Buddhism) and Indian Buddhism are different. Chinese Buddhism is 3 religious combinations 1 . 三教合一 . ( 道Taoism+儒Confucianism+釋Buddhism ). China retains the content of the Buddhist scriptures. Simple Indian Buddhist ? ancient Chinese do not accept it From its inception, " Chinese Buddhism" has been influenced by native Chinese religions and philosophy, especially Confucianism and Taoism, but also Chinese folk religion. Before the emergence of Buddhism, the Chinese did not have the concept of hell. So when the Chinese described hell, they would quote Buddhism. "Taoism" has formed Chinese culture and Chinese philosophy. (Heaven) "Confucianism" regulates the moral concepts and etiquette of the Chinese. (Human world) "Buddhism" affects the concept of life and death of the Chinese. (hell)
Journey to the West. Although the protagonist goes to obtain Buddhist scriptures, the content is a story with Taoist culture as the main body.Heaven is Taoism and Chinese ancestors, and monkeys come from Chinese opera stories. The original form of (india)Buddha is in hell, in charge of death. In Journey to the West, Chinese Buddha (the incarnation of consciousness) is placed in the sky. He is governed by Chinese Taoism gods and becomes a member of little god. In Chinese Buddhism (Han Buddhism), anyone as long as anyone opens wisdom (let go of desire). He can become Buddha. There is a saying in China: " 放下屠刀立地成佛 A butcher becomes a Buddha the moment he drops his cleaver. "人人都是佛 Everyone is a Buddha. 滿街都是聖人The streets are full of saints.". In history, many ancient Chinese have become Buddhas. So many Buddha statues of different images in China are those ancient Chinese (most of them are monks).
@@yugenelhc By any chance could you do the major miss translations from Chinese to English in Wukong. I really did not like the Eng VA and loved the Chinese VA. I am pretty sure the subtitles were not perfect since many a times they did not make sense if possible could you?
Finished Wukong and was very curious over the chapter cutscenes in the game and what they further meant. Thanks so much for posting this video! I'm considering picking up the audio book for Journey to the West to check out further. Amazing how a game has gotten me so interested in Chinese stories and myths.
I believe Lingji was just testing the Destined One/Wukong. He says, "Am I right, Sun Wukong?" This is NOT a rhetorical question. He is trying to make the monkey question "destiny." IMO, the message of Linggji's tale is that one's karma is a result of one's choices--nothing to do with "destiny"...the so-called destiny is just a dream. This is in accordance with Buddhist doctrine.
In the Chinese subtitle, it can be interpreted into many meanings. One of them that impressed me is that “human, beast, Buddhas, yaoguais”(“人也兽也，佛也妖也” )can be interpreted as human can also have beasts’ nature, Buddhas can also have yaoguais’ nature, which corresponds to the story in the game that the yellowrat actually save the sand kingdom by expelling the bug guai sent by the Buddhas, who wants to maintain their religious influence in the sand kingdom, and as punishment, Buddhas made people in the sand kingdom become rats.
It's quite clear that Lingji, together with many gods in this game, are just using the destined one to achieve their evil purposes. The entire journey of reviving Sun Wukong was so that there will be a new Monkey King under their control (bad ending). You can tell Lingji was lying because he accused Yellow Sage of stealing one of the six senses but in reality the six senses were distributed to the Yaoguai Kings by Erlang Shen.
About English edition i cant tell, but the screen adaptation is definitely the 1986 TV series , but consider the rudimentary filming technology of 1986, maybe you won't like it. Anyway, if you want to try it out, you can just search Journey to the West 1986 on UA-cam
In the book journey to the west, what happened to wukong and the gang after they got the Sutra? Did they reach Nirvana and became Bodhisatvas and then happy ending or does wukong rebelled again like in the game?
The novel ends well after they got the Sutra,happy ending indeed.Wukong is the Victorious of Fighting Buddha, Tang Monk is the Candana Merit Buddha, Bajie is the Altar Cleaner Envoy, I forget what Wujing is, The White Dragon Horse is the Bodhisattva of the Eight-Part Dragon with Vast Power. Many of this game's Settings were actually related to their failed predecessor many years ago,has nothing to do with the novel, literal the creator's new creation.
this is the exact line bailie said from the original novel. But might be too controversial for modern English audience. She already turned back to fox form after death, nothing really sexual here.
It’s nice to hear some one get the mandarin pronunciation right 👏 Just some additional notes and a little correction tho for the first story of Elder Jinchi’s greed. It was only Sun Wukong, Tang San Zang and Bai Long Ma (the horse) who went to Guanyin temple, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing had not joined yet. You can see the silhouettes at 2:07, only Wukong is walking and Tang San Zang riding the horse. During the fire, Wukong got the fireproof mantle from one of the Four Heavenly Kings (originally a fireproof cage), and put it over the building they were staying in. Tang SanZang slept through the whole ordeal. Wukong, who was still unruly and uneducated at that time, can be seen at 03:19 admiring his handy work bcos he discovered Elder Jinchi intentions and exposed him for it, thinking he had done right by his master, but in actual fact Wukong had instigated Elder Jinchi’s greed by showing off the kasaya and asking Tang to lend it to him, which Tang reluctantly agreed, sensing that Elder Jinchi was already a greedy and materialistic individual when he asked Tang to show him something valuable despite his status as a monk who should be indifferent to material possessions. This was at beginning of their journey and their first stop. The game itself is based off the first journey to the west series from 1986, which all episodes can be found on UA-cam. Elder Jinchi story is episode 6
You know that is one of the many versions of Bajie. In 1996 Journery to the West TV show made by Hong Kong, Bajie is condemned to go through 1000 love sufferings. So he is destined to fall in love 1000 times, and never has a good love story ending.
@@yugenelhc About bias towards the other argument Yellowbrow (allegedly) here, calls out the monk for having a desire to win the bet himself, by trying to dismiss Yellowbrow's method of winning and claiming it proves nothing. (even though it does prove that humans are unable to truly overcome their desires) I challenge the claim that Yellowbrow pushed the poor man to take the evil action. Sounds like a poor excuse (e.g. Satan made me do it) When I was watching this cinematic in-game, the moment the beast's eyes widen symbolized a moment of realization rather than causation. He knew the poor man would act, but didn't cause it. Nothing personal though, I enjoyed the video. I simply smirked when that sentence was cut out :D
Did you miss the part where his jacket was pulled? Yellowbrow did give him a nudge. And furthermore, he also manipulated the people from the very start. He never uplifted them out of their poverty. Is it truly evil to dangle a fish in front of starving man and condemn him when he snatches it to eat?
@@mondenkindqueen I think what Yellowbrow did was indeed a proof about humans nature. In normal circumstances people behave, but he created such temptation, that they give in. It was not a necessity to get all those treasures from him, it was pure greed. And even buddhists who should have been trained against greed give in. And i think this is more than just a story, it is heavily inspired by reality, and i know real stories when such things happened. Im pretty sure it wouldnt have worked on fair people, no matter what tricks he used, and would have turned away once it became clear he is evil. Even if he killed them all he would be left humiliated. What the other guy condemned was Yellowbrow went too far to prove his point by destroying the entire village, just to win the debate, because he was goodhearted, and valued the villagers more than the debate i think.
@@lapimano2I disagree, in Chinese version,Jinchanzi(other monk ) called out that what yellowbrow did is “倒果为因” which means “purposely create an end but claim it is the proof of cause.” For example if i murdered someone you love, to force you on revenge,when you took action, I accused you to be a merciless person. And that is exactly what yellowbrow did,if the villagers was evil they could kill him when he revealed there's treasures inside him. But they didn't and proceed to feed and worship him,which already proved people aren't inherently evil. But yellowbrow wouldn't take the L and he continues to add more temptation and interference until he finds the one could cause the chaos after. It's like you want to test a vase to see will it break,but when you already determined it will, to prove you point,in the end it will certainly break. Which means whatever happens it is your own doing thus you proved nothing.
This may have just been an interpretation but I read somewhere that Violet spiders part was played from her woman form to spider form, and Bajies was played from pig to human, to show how in the journey to the west Violet spider traveling to the mortal realm and having herself turned into a spider to chase after Bajie turned away from her "humanity" and descended becoming a true monster. While Bajie on his journey wjth wukong, as a monster began regaining his humanity as he got closer and closer to heaven, leaving Violet spider behind.
more like violet spider's innocence was slowly polluted by coming down to mankind, the montage is very detailed. You can see her clothes and hair getting more ragged and her face went from innocent (smiling or in shock) to a more melancholy face -> to indifferent -> to an evil smile -> to blood on her face -> to slowly shredding her need to keep who she was (a celestial maiden)... in fact if you know chinese culture, her clothes also changes to a different time era after a while, and somewhere in the middle you can see her hair is fixed like a sex worker... so the many reincarnation of her life was always tough and cruel. The JTW story happens in centuries if not millennia, remember even from the time wukong challenged the celestial court to the monk tang recruited him, just that part was over 500 years of a time skip.
Thanks for the explanation. I know have a better understanding of the Black Myth: WuKong characters back story. Side note, am definitely looking forward to play the DLC when it releases.
Yeah, it's basically a reversal of the story line of the novel, and if you look at that animation in reverse it's the basic story of Journey to the West
No it's NOT JUST a recap of JTTW, it's 98% recap of it in reverse, and 2% at the end, when the yellowish scene turn to blueish scene, that's hinted from past memory back to current reality, the reincarnated real WuKong is back, and he is walking out alone, planning to turn the celestial courts up side down.
My interpretation of Bajie and the lady is that the lady embraced the fall from grace with the celestial court whereas Bajie’s desire was to work his way back to celestial court’s good graces. Basically, she wants to find happiness where she is now and Bajie wants to find happiness in where he was.
@@florenthemepineda4114 English doesn’t have a word to translate “师兄弟” （Shi xiong di). So if you study something under the same master, you guys can call each other brothers and sisters. Yea there’s no way I can translate that
@@yugenelhc It's my understanding that Pigsy and Sandy are not part of the Journey at that time. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. who is the other brother ??
❗CORRECTION❗: At 3:20, the team only has Wukong and Tang Sanzang, Pigsy and Sandy have not joined the team yet. My bad y'all. So Wukong was trying to protect his master, there were no brothers at the time yet.
All the explanations in the video and my own interpretation are based on the book Journey To The West, its TV adaptations, and other sources. If you have another way to interpret it, feel free to share in the comment!!
You are missing one, its from the true ending of chapter 6 and is the most crucial animation for the plot of black myth.
@@zerase84 I’m writing that script right now. Was gonna edit it with this video but it’s way too much work so I split it 😂
True end?
@@yugenelhcare elder monkey in beginning chapter & ending stage are Guanyin in disguise?
Ever since I started playing the game Ive wanted to read the book. Is there an English translation that you recommend? I want to read the original story.
its amazing that one game can make me interested of the whole story of wukong and chinese myth aswell.
what a game
It's made with so much artistry. FINALLY animation that isnt AI.
@@Tamikawashere What AI animation that's even close to digestable, let alone compared to this level?
Agreed I just started the book
Here we are :D
Especially after seeing the secret animated ending....I want to see them do the anime now, lol
This is what you call quality content. In the world filled with reels and shorts. You have done an awesome job explaining the videos. Keep them coming. Great research. All the best.
這部影片真的很用心製作，想必花了很多時間去考據還有剪接，整個描述也很有邏輯與系統，很感謝您讓外國人更了解了中華文化
In the third animation. Yellowbrow purposely destroys the ships to force people to rely on him rather than fishing. hence another push from yellowbrow. I think this animation goes to show that people inherently arent evil but are pushed to it by everything that surrounds them.
😢😢😢😢If you read the character descriptions
Yellowbrow has killed thousands of people and guais for amusement or control .
He was as bad as u can imagine.
@@jacksmith-mu3ee What's the difference between yaoguai and yokai?
@@GL-iv4rwyokai are Japanese
@@GL-iv4rw They are the same Chinese characters "妖怪". Yaoguai is the chinese mandarin pronunciation, while yokai is the Japanese pronunciation. Japnese uses kanji which literally means "Han's characters". And Han Chinese is the ethnic group comprising the majority of the Chinese population.
@@thedarklordx what about yaoguai?
Finally, I have been looking for a Chinese person to break down the animations of each chapter ❤😭😭😭💯
讲的真棒！🎉 这么长视频肯定做起来肯定很不容易，感谢你花时间精力为大家讲解的这么细致！
Out of all the animations, the third chapter was my favorite. Gods debating on humanity, and one god doing whatever he can to prove his point. This game just has such beautiful animation, and those short story videos were so interesting. This game was so fun to experience, really hope we see more games like these that explore such interesting stories. Chinese mythology is so cool.
next year ,wukong chapter 7-13
@@rickosiagian5006if theres 7 more chapters they better be short but quality cause the games already 140gbs
Those two kinda reminded me of Philemon and Nyarlathotep from Persona 2.
Holy smokes this was super helpful. I've become obsessed with the lore of this game and Journey to the West. Thank you!
Yes I believe you are correct. Yellow brow did indeed pull that young man in to attack him. Excellent description of these scenes. My favorite was the 3rd. I laughed when you called Yellowbrow’s materialized form a “soft shell turtle” 😂😂😂😂
tecnhically it is , this is the animal of yellowbrow : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trionychidae
It is though
Actually he didn't
If you read the character descriptions
Yellowbrow has killed thousands of people and guais for amusement or control .
He was as bad as u can imagine.
You can clearly see him smiling after he was attack by people
说个更好笑的，原著中，黄眉的武器是--“软短狼牙棒”😂😂😂
在西游记中，“金箍棒”，“水帘洞”，都是明确的性暗示😅。这部16世纪的通俗小说少不了娱乐大众的段子（相对时代而言，当时中国的识字率很高，因此印刷小说贩售是门好生意）。
Everyone who played the game should watch this. It really adds another layer of subtlety and nuance to it. great vid!
As a chinese myself, i truly appreciate the effort you put in to clearly explain everything so more people could understand and enjoy the game. Kudos to you!
我从一个叫B站的地方看到了你的视频，虽然我不知道是否已经经过你的允许转载，但是十分感谢你，对动画的详尽解释，这让那些不太熟悉《西游记》背景的国际友人也能了解 黑神话到底讲了什么样的故事
B站频道叫什么名字？准备去一键三联表示支持~
@@yizhouxiao4477
如果你真的是自己 人 我想你很容易找到 這個視頻 還有我們一般不說 哪個頻道
For the first story, it's important to note that the little boy was catching a frog to earn money. It actually cost money to be a monk, and the boy was likely earning money for that. Though I think that the image of the frog jumping past a dead palm is a symbolism, that 1) many had suffered or perished trying to grasp for the elusive fortune and 2) the boy's seeking of fortune is a path that ultimately lead to death and despair.
In the Chinese context, frogs （青蛙）or toads（蟾蜍） are often used to represent wealth or money.
10/10 you delivered BEAUTIFULLY!! Thank you for taking the time to inform me of this.
I really appreciate your efforts of explaining the background information to the English speaking community. It means a lot!❤❤❤
Also, for the facts you mentioned in the end. I prefer to say it in this way that the cutscenes in the game were not mentioned in the original novel. And it is these blank spaces in the novel that give the developers a space or enlightenment to create new stories to fill these blank. I have to say it is a good re-creation though. Well done game science!
@@yakunyangI remember when I read the comic version of the novel as a kid about the group finally visited the Buddha agreed to provide them the scripts. The 2 monks asked for bribe before giving them. Then I was shocked to see that Buddha didn’t punish his monks but said that!’s normal in the World! I beg your pardon, isn’t that the preaching that monks have to give up their private properties and bid farewell to all matters on Earth before they take their vows to become monks? 😂 Then I knew this is not a simple story!🤣
In the animated depiction of Zhu Bajie, the rapid flashback sequences show how Zhu Bajie and Zizhu'er perceive each other. Zhu Bajie feels guilty and sad for Zizhu'er, who has transformed from a fairy into a spider. However, as Zizhu'er looks at Zhu Bajie's pig-like appearance, she still sees him as the General who Curtains he once was. In her heart, no matter what form Zhu Bajie takes, he remains the same to her.
To fully appreciate the animation of Chapter 4, it should be viewed in conjunction with the lyrics. In the duet section of the lyrics, the two characters sing different lines, reflecting their individual perspectives on the relationship. Yet, despite these differing viewpoints, both are shown to be sacrificing for the other.
Chapter 2: The Fox's Tale - Chapter Two itself embodies a Rashōmon-like narrative, where multiple forces each hold their own version of the truth, and there exists no definitive correct answer. The animation in this chapter serves to illustrate that people always believe what they want to believe, regardless of the actual truth.
good take
This is such an well researched, in depth coverage of the storyline. I love the cultural context you were able to provide. The 80s tv show shots were informative and so deliciously camp. It feels like it really fills in alot of missing pieces. Thank you.
when the game came out, i was most intrigued by the cutscene animation for chapter 5. you are the only one amongst all the other youtubers who has explained it so clearly with all the underlying nuances. kudos to you
I loved all of this!!! Any chance you're going to have more content about this game or maybe any others?
what...a...video...
thanks a lot for taking the time to explain this, I hope your journey through youtube goes well for you from now on
This is amazing content theres so many people outside of japan and china that want to learn about the 2 races i hope you cover more games and explore content like this could really hope to grow your channel
I personally don’t think bull king misunderstood what wukong said. That was simply the view wukong thought was true during the journey, he didn’t know the true nature of celestial court yet.
Very nice video, thank you. I recently ended the game and a lot of things in the story was very confusing to me, especially around Bull King and Wukong with Bajie seems like a bad guys in Ch 5 animation.
I would like to know more about PingPing and I bet many people would like to know too 😁 is she even real or just inspired or created for the game purpose
I am enjoying the game and I really appreciate you taking the time to make this video to speak on the actual backstories of the cutscenes. Very well done. Keep up the good work!
The best explanation i’ve seen on youtube.
This is an awesome video! Very informative. Thank you for taking the time to do this.
Amazing video! Thank you for your time and hard work!
Thank you for your detailed explanation, even as a Chinese myself, I wasn’t aware of the many stuff you have spoken about in this video! 😃
Extremely helpful video, I had a difficult time understanding the story as a whole and now I have a much better understanding. Thank you!
First 30 minute video I’ve ever watched in entirety haha nice 🔥
this vid was amazing. Super insightful and helpful, not just with understanding wukong and journey to the west but also the nuance of Chinese mythology.
So,basicaly, the creator of the game is an angst fanfic writer.
No wonder I love this game so much! We are kin! lmao!
@@nuraolblast1721 Actually it’s the opposite. I saw the interview of the founder, they took inspirations from other media adaptations of Journey to the West. For example, Bajie is not handsome in his human form. It comes from an online Chinese novel, and in that book Bajie is handsome and dating goddess of the moon.
Considering that the owner wrote almost all the lyrics of the songs in the game, he is no slouch himself when it comes to literacy. I’m sure his skills play a part in shaping the narratives in the game.
@@yugenelhcActually besides the animation in the game Baije looks at himself in the past-echo mirror to get needle pricked with by the spider out, but as he looked in the mirror he appeared to be handsome. So the scene confused me when I so his form in the animation. I don’t know if you can explain those two different forms??
@@zaynefarious The mirror reflects the soul. The animation simply adopted a different art style. The point was he was wrongfully banished from heaven and turned from a handsome deity into an animal.
Thank you so much for your video and explaining the mythology of Wukong. I very glad you enlightened us on the story of the Bull King. When I finished the chapter, I was saddened and said to myself, this character's story is beyond tragic. I wanted to avenge him, but I was struggling to understand who is good and who is evil. So many philosophies and different outlooks in this story. Sometimes I struggled to understand Wukong's actions and why he was so rebellious. I remember Bull King being by Wukong's side while Wukong was wounded and dying. I was trying to understand that as well. This is such a phenomenal tale and fantastic game.
Thanks from Brazil! That is the best video explaining how the book and game relate that I have watched so far. And I have seen a lot!
in the book, journey to the west, Guanyin told wukong that yaoguai and gods are the same... meaning that lies are created to create classes and discrimination, even being immortal does not mean the gods can live forever hence they needed to secure resources to ensure their longevity and lengthen their lifespan.
when Wukong was on their side, he was called a Buddha, once he revolted, they called him a yaoguai. You could read in detail and you will realise that the celestial beings and Buddha created sufferings by "accidentally" releasing their yaoguai to the human realm, The aim was to spread Buddhism and gain more worshippers when the party of Sanzang and wukong save the human beings. Black myth is indeed really dark and sinister. But Wukong knew that he cannot side with them, you can see what happens to those yaoguais after attaining their so-called god status, in truth they are still being used and abandoned. Due to spoilers, i will not reveal the names here, but the only way is to defeat and create a new world order in which Erlangshen etc are working in shadow,
Just want to add something, im also a Buddhist. There is a someone here who keeps arguing about who is right and wrong. Game and reality is different. Would you even study the whole bible based on a game world? And as a Buddhist, we practice mindfulness and obviously, behaving this way creates more misunderstandings and hatred between people. Karma and Dharma - 我执
Original journey to the west is dark, it is what the daily life in the old days. (maybe also now?)
@@linjunhalida 要看您怎么看这个问题了，我认为我们曾经出现过无数个孙悟空，最近的那个你应该知道我说的是谁吧
Nah. As a Buddhist, i strongly disagree with u. Buddhism taught us how to end suffering. And u said Buddha deliberately created suffering and yaoguai... Totally against the teaching. A sentient being own suffering is created by its own karma, not by Buddha, celestial beings and anyone. Why is Buddha called The Awakened One because he has realised Enlightenment which affliction of all kinds is to be got rid of. If he harbours thoughts on creating suffering, then how could he achieve what he had learnt? You may ask isn't chasing after happiness and Enlightenment affliction too. Buddha has said one should use means to achieve these without putting an emphasis on the enjoyment. That means all these factors of achieving what one wants are only means to an end. After achieving it, one should not linger on it. That is emptiness.
@@中華傲訣 im talking about black myth wukong and the game story not the real buddhism which exists in our world.
@@k.phoebe6578 If you talk about Celestial beings harbouring ill thoughts, it is still possible because they haven't attained Enlightenment though innately they are good beings otherwise they won't be born as' immortal 'but if as what u say it is a story and so Buddha could create' bad karma', that is totally unacceptable because that is like deliberately spreading untruth even it is a story. You have to know this game also teaches us moral lesson so what this game potray about Buddha intentions must be a benign one and follows the teachings . If it is not, then this story is completely illogical. Btw, i have go through the game story, it is only the Celestial beings that harbour ill intentions against Wukong.
Thanks for doing the ground work on interpreting the actual book and Game science's creative adaptation.
Growing up without having Journey to the west book and only knows a bit from 1986's TV adaptation that I missed a lot of episodes, it's nice to see someone on UA-cam to comprehensively explained
I too also grew up with the 1986's JTTW haha
Thank you so much for this video! Your explanations of the cutscenes in Black Myth: Wukong are clear and really captivating. Your analysis helped me better understand the story and enjoy the game even more. Keep up the great work!
Btw Game Science CEO, Feng Ji wrote the lyrics of all the animations in this game.
That's correct. I would do the same if I were in the same position lol
@@yugenelhc He literally said to his music team"I made this company just so I can write lyrics." And all the staff be like "WaHt????"
Great brief explanation based truly on JTTW and not just perception of their own. Also, it's so good of you to have chinese phrases from the book translated in english been put to display for anyone who's intrigued to know full picture. Waiting for your 2 endings video.
This is VERY well explained, thanks for this
Awesome video! This game has me very interested in Chinese mythology. Thank you for the explanation!
This is such an INCREDIBLE explanation! Thank you!
Thanks you a lot for your explanation ! I really loved this game and cutscenes, even if I didn't understand everything I managed to cry because of the beauty of symbolism... what a great story 🥲
Can’t wait to see your explanation of the 2 ending cutscenes 😃
Or I should say I CAN, but am looking forward to seeing the video! 😊
妳做的太棒了，感謝妳這麼詳細的解說
Thank you so much for this great video. Appreciate all the (extensive) effort that went into this!
Very helpful and I’m glad that my feelings from the second chapter video were justified.
10:06 被鯊魚群啃食的是一匹馬，而不是狗，而馬怎麼出現在海裡，表示黃眉的大黿不該出現在這漁村中
16:50他是諷刺小說沒錯，但諷刺的是明朝而不是唐朝，吳承恩寫作年代是明朝，藉由神話玄奘取經故事小說暗諷明朝官場的腐敗與黑暗，且明朝確實是中國朝代歷史上鬥爭最凶的時代，而玄奘所處的唐太宗時期，反倒是中華歷史上少有的清明盛世
整篇解析的真的很棒喔！讓非華語玩家能理解中國神話與背後禪意
雖然中間有一兩個我覺得小錯誤之處，但瑕不掩瑜，已按讚
是的，西游记是借古讽今，讽刺的是当时的明朝
Thank you so much for this video clarifying the lore and mythology. I really love and have enjoyed learning about Chinese mythology through this game and you!
Excellent work. Thank you for making this.
Hope this video gets a broader reach, your channel blows up and more people are invested in the game and these stories.
I saw other channels explaining this but your way to tell is the best! Please continue!
THIS WAS EVERYTHING I NEEDED! THANK YOU!!
The juxtaposition between the endings is fascinating In chinese methology, yaoguai are animals which through centuries of meditation, achieved their own means of enlightnment. In the first story, for his "sin" of enabling the monks vices, the bear yaoguai now ends up in a life of servitude as guanyins guard. In the second ending, despite showing humanity and mortality, the man treats the fox yaoguai as a lower being and kills it out of suspicion. The position is immediately flipped in the third ending, which showed that despite supposedly aligned to heaven, humanity is just as dark as any yaoguai
I would like to point out an error: it is not only animals that can cultivate（修炼）(which you referred to as meditation). The concept of cultivation originates from Taoism, where it is a very important practice. Humans are considered to be born with an innate spirituality, and through cultivation, they can attain immortality or even become immortals. Additionally, animals and non-living entities can also cultivate to gain spirituality and ascend to godhood.
I am Chinese, so the above passage was translated for me by ChatGPT, which might lead to some ambiguity. Please excuse any potential misunderstandings.
Super informative video jam packed with tid bits and lore. You deserve a like and sub 🙏
There's a reference to the book in early chapter 5... the Red boy disguised as Ping Ping, tied himself up to a tree and beg for help, which is exactly the trap he used in the book. And you can identify actual Ping Ping by her hair on ears, white hair is her and black hair is the Red Boy
Wait, there's an actual daughter? I thought it was just a convoluted ruse. I thought red boy was their only child in the game
@@sketchysketches381there is. At the end of the chapter, there is a painting for interaction. At the bottom, there’s a fox figure, and it says the daughter is missing. I hope both the fox daughter and the 4th spider sister stories can be filled in the DLC
@@sketchysketches381在西游记中，牛魔王
@@sketchysketches381 when Red Boy removes his disguise he asks what gave him away the BDK says unlike him she never fake respect, Red Boy then says once he's done her he'll go and kill her.
so yes in the game there is a daughter but it is unknown if the real one appears or if its just Red Boy transformed
Tge woman doing tge vid said they didn't have a daughter
These explanations make a lot more sense, I love this video
This video is great, just to point out one mistake. 16:51 The author of Journey to the West WuCheng’en is from Ming dynasty. Although stories in his book happened in Tang dynasty, the book was a stinging satire on the government of Ming dynasty which is dark in his time.
然而恰恰是明朝的开放包容，才出了这么《天马行空》的一本书。反观清朝文字狱，连反抗朝廷的内容都不敢说吧？曹雪芹写《红楼梦》，他奶奶是皇帝奶娘，家族是江南四大家之一的富商，奶奶一死，他爹连家族都守不住，风雨飘摇，一夜之间全家入狱，作者骂皇帝的方式够隐蔽了吧？世人说康乾盛世，曹雪芹怎么写的？江南富裕的家庭，一户人家一年的花销才几两银子，还不够他奶奶那会一个菜钱，这叫TM康乾盛世？盛你大爷，江南地区，清朝镇压太平天国时期人口减少一半，至少一亿人口没了，你告诉我明朝黑暗？难道明朝不剥削百姓有错？还是让文化人免赋税，然后文化人垄断财富和土地，但不回报社会不回报国家，然后像你一样反咬一口，你明朝太黑暗？
@@xwqi怪汉人无能没血性不好战、文化腐烂，被从屎坑发迹的野蛮民族臭满鞑屠杀、侮辱、统治了3百年
Really good explanations :D
Thank you! It really clears up a lot!
i felt so stupid after not recognize the girl at Old Gao Village is Gao Cuilan , i watch the 1986 tv show like 20 times...thank you for open my mind !!!
People thought the fox spirit was a dog? (There was a whole side quest with the animal). I can tell this video will probably blow up.
I did think so at the beginning. But once she turned into a woman I just assumed it’s fox cause that happens all the time in Chinese mythology 😂
But the one with Erlang is dog. He literally said it’s a dog.
@@S3ymira …. Yes, the dogs that follow Erlang are indeed dogs. Wukong even call them “mutt”. I am somewhat confused by this comment
@@S3ymira what does Erlang's dog has anything to do with the fox guai cinematic?
No... They just think the Fox Spirit was a House Fox
Love the video, great work :)
Very good explanation! Asian approved!
😂 That means a lot
Enjoyed the video while having dinner, wish u all the best for the future !
15:29 to answer your question the pig was sent to the mortal realm to be reborn and never finding love. He eventually turned into a pig where he ran into the spider
Him turning into a pig didn’t happen as fast as there showing it. But in one of his lives he turned into a pig after there marriage and the wife left him
@@memoryxdisaster9205 Correct. Bajie did not fall down from the heavens and instantly became a grown man
b站来的，分析的非常好，特意来点个赞，希望有更多喜欢这个游戏的玩家能看到这个视频❤
The only real confusion I had was why the game chose specifically that story for chapter 2's ending. Everything else wasn't so bad to figure out even without complete familiarity of Journey to the West. Game Science did a good job flexing their creativity around the book.
The ending quote of the animation could also be in relation to the rats and cats overstepping there roles and havoc ensuing
Bodhisattva Lingji (in the game) is not a good guy. He thinks he is superior because he’s a Buddha, yet he is also the one who got mad at people not worshiping Buddha so he cursed the land to have the wind havoc. On the other hand it’s the Yellow Wind Sage, a yaoguai who fixed it to protect the people
I think the story of the fox isn’t meant to be taken literally. While the man does show back up as a disciple of Yellowbrow in chapter 3, it’s more of a study of philosophy. To show once again, that the immortals neither understand mortals nor really care for them. “You’re a fox? You’re an yaoguai? You’re untrustworthy. You’re beneath us. You will never be more than a snarling beast at the end of the day.”
@@yugenelhc Yeah, Bodhisattva Linji was not all that good once you read the journal entries related to him. And to think I liked his singing when he was headless. Meanwhile, other entries almost makes me feel guilty for killing them.
Anyways, the confusion was more of why the other music videos relate back to the chapters they were from, while ending 2 decided to go with Non Void and the fox instead of anything from chapter 2. It was an interesting choice to show that story.
@@yugenelhcwasn't the bodhisattva lingji in novel extremely honorable?
Great video, thank you very much for this explanation. It's fascinating
I saw ending 3. And there was a capitalist Noman Who even commented:I quote
"This is why I don't want to help poor people"
And I was so mad at him
Yes there is a Chinese saying only help those with urgent needs and not help those who are poor and help those stupid but not those who are lazy. 救急不救穷 帮笨不帮懒
😮 well, it depends on how you help people I think
Yellowbrow had so many different ways he could have helped and uplifted those people.
He could have educated them, showed how to build better fishing boats, any number of ways instead of making them dependent upon him.
But he didn’t, because his goal wasn’t to help them, not even a little bit. He just wanted to prove Golden Cicada wrong, so he cheated and manipulated the test.
That's not being capitalist. That's just being an asshole. Capitalist states in the modern age have been the biggest donators. Look at how much the US donates to non profits vs Russia. Even China lifted people out of poverty with capitalism whereas everyone was poor when they were communist. Stop trying to politicize your story.
@@yugenelhc yes but with condition. If they are not willing to help themselves and just depend on you to help them it will be endless. Giving them fish is not as good as teaching them how to fish on their own. These are the wisdom ancestors that taught us.
Thank you for making this vid! It was very informative! This video has been one of the best lore vids i've seen lately! Can't wait for the true ending vid!
After watching this and another summary of journey to the west(and completing the game myself) I really find it interesting as to how buddhism is shown in chinese mythology. I am from India and was taught about Gautam Buddha in a completely different way. I also love the way you pronounce rakshasi maitreya yaksha moksa and many other words from sanskrit. We also have a very famous monkey man named Hanuman in our mythology with many of the stories of how he got his powers and weapons similar to wukong's. I have heard that the writer was inspired by this character but I have no idea if it is true but does seem too similar to not be true. I love the grand characterizations of buddhism in chinese mythology as we got a very quaint version of buddhism in our side of history.
BTW thank you for explaining the bull king drama as that is literally the reason I was here. I got confused since I remember bull king and wukong having a gang of yaoguais together in their early years. I did not understand why bull king would go against wukong when the celestial court stood up against him.
About your question in the end, in the game, Bull King built up the hatred because Wukong “betrayed” him by going on a pilgrimage mission, beat up his kid and brother and Wukong seemed to do better than him. In the book, Bull King also built up some hatred as well for beating up his kid and brother, and trick his wife and concubine
Chinese Buddhism (Han Buddhism) and Indian Buddhism are different.
Chinese Buddhism is 3 religious combinations 1 . 三教合一 . ( 道Taoism+儒Confucianism+釋Buddhism ). China retains the content of the Buddhist scriptures.
Simple Indian Buddhist ? ancient Chinese do not accept it
From its inception, " Chinese Buddhism" has been influenced by native Chinese religions and philosophy, especially Confucianism and Taoism, but also Chinese folk religion.
Before the emergence of Buddhism, the Chinese did not have the concept of hell. So when the Chinese described hell, they would quote Buddhism.
"Taoism" has formed Chinese culture and Chinese philosophy. (Heaven)
"Confucianism" regulates the moral concepts and etiquette of the Chinese. (Human world)
"Buddhism" affects the concept of life and death of the Chinese. (hell)
Journey to the West. Although the protagonist goes to obtain Buddhist scriptures, the content is a story with Taoist culture as the main body.Heaven is Taoism and Chinese ancestors, and monkeys come from Chinese opera stories.
The original form of (india)Buddha is in hell, in charge of death.
In Journey to the West, Chinese Buddha (the incarnation of consciousness) is placed in the sky. He is governed by Chinese Taoism gods and becomes a member of little god.
In Chinese Buddhism (Han Buddhism), anyone as long as anyone opens wisdom (let go of desire). He can become Buddha.
There is a saying in China: " 放下屠刀立地成佛 A butcher becomes a Buddha the moment he drops his cleaver.
"人人都是佛 Everyone is a Buddha. 滿街都是聖人The streets are full of saints.".
In history, many ancient Chinese have become Buddhas. So many Buddha statues of different images in China are those ancient Chinese (most of them are monks).
@@yugenelhc By any chance could you do the major miss translations from Chinese to English in Wukong. I really did not like the Eng VA and loved the Chinese VA. I am pretty sure the subtitles were not perfect since many a times they did not make sense if possible could you?
@@barbiebarbie1813你说的不完全对，在中国神话中，佛教并不在道教的掌控中，因为佛不在“三界五行”中，是脱离因果报复和世界轮回的存在。
This is suuuuper interesting. Thank you for the effort!
This video deserve at least a like
I really like the stop motion animation
Same that’s my favorite
从b站找过来特意给你点个赞
Finished Wukong and was very curious over the chapter cutscenes in the game and what they further meant. Thanks so much for posting this video! I'm considering picking up the audio book for Journey to the West to check out further. Amazing how a game has gotten me so interested in Chinese stories and myths.
I believe Lingji was just testing the Destined One/Wukong. He says, "Am I right, Sun Wukong?" This is NOT a rhetorical question. He is trying to make the monkey question "destiny."
IMO, the message of Linggji's tale is that one's karma is a result of one's choices--nothing to do with "destiny"...the so-called destiny is just a dream. This is in accordance with Buddhist doctrine.
In the Chinese subtitle, it can be interpreted into many meanings. One of them that impressed me is that “human, beast, Buddhas, yaoguais”(“人也兽也，佛也妖也” )can be interpreted as human can also have beasts’ nature, Buddhas can also have yaoguais’ nature, which corresponds to the story in the game that the yellowrat actually save the sand kingdom by expelling the bug guai sent by the Buddhas, who wants to maintain their religious influence in the sand kingdom, and as punishment, Buddhas made people in the sand kingdom become rats.
It's quite clear that Lingji, together with many gods in this game, are just using the destined one to achieve their evil purposes. The entire journey of reviving Sun Wukong was so that there will be a new Monkey King under their control (bad ending). You can tell Lingji was lying because he accused Yellow Sage of stealing one of the six senses but in reality the six senses were distributed to the Yaoguai Kings by Erlang Shen.
Bro ,don't belive even a word Lingji said
Maybe. I see there are other NPCs also said something like "this monkey doesn't know what destiny he is on". So it's possible
@@yakunyang What's the difference between yaoguai and yokai?
That's a nice explanation! Thanks a lot!
What edition of Journey to the West would you recommend for English readers, and what’s your favorite screen adaptation?
I’m not the best person to answer this because for the English version I just googled “Journey to the West PDF” 😂
Close to the story. With english sub
ua-cam.com/video/K3KNpyKILHM/v-deo.html&pp=iAQB
About English edition i cant tell, but the screen adaptation is definitely the 1986 TV series , but consider the rudimentary filming technology of 1986, maybe you won't like it. Anyway, if you want to try it out, you can just search Journey to the West 1986 on UA-cam
Awesome explaination 👌✌️
In the book journey to the west, what happened to wukong and the gang after they got the Sutra? Did they reach Nirvana and became Bodhisatvas and then happy ending or does wukong rebelled again like in the game?
The novel ends well after they got the Sutra,happy ending indeed.Wukong is the Victorious of Fighting Buddha, Tang Monk is the Candana Merit Buddha, Bajie is the Altar Cleaner Envoy, I forget what Wujing is, The White Dragon Horse is the Bodhisattva of the Eight-Part Dragon with Vast Power.
Many of this game's Settings were actually related to their failed predecessor many years ago,has nothing to do with the novel, literal the creator's new creation.
@@beautyorchid7372 Thanks for the explanation. It helped a lot. 👍
It has a good ending. Wukong is free to go with no headband
@@yugenelhc Thanks. Nice info. 👍🙏
@@beautyorchid7372wujing become Arhat
Great explanation！Great work ！thank you, lee !
There's something in the chinese dialog that isn't in the english one. Bajie said that he had unclothed the concubine after killing her.
this is the exact line bailie said from the original novel. But might be too controversial for modern English audience. She already turned back to fox form after death, nothing really sexual here.
Yea I saw the Chinese version as well. Think that line is from the book
@@ruocaled remember what bajie and the spider did?
It’s nice to hear some one get the mandarin pronunciation right 👏
Just some additional notes and a little correction tho for the first story of Elder Jinchi’s greed. It was only Sun Wukong, Tang San Zang and Bai Long Ma (the horse) who went to Guanyin temple, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing had not joined yet. You can see the silhouettes at 2:07, only Wukong is walking and Tang San Zang riding the horse. During the fire, Wukong got the fireproof mantle from one of the Four Heavenly Kings (originally a fireproof cage), and put it over the building they were staying in. Tang SanZang slept through the whole ordeal. Wukong, who was still unruly and uneducated at that time, can be seen at 03:19 admiring his handy work bcos he discovered Elder Jinchi intentions and exposed him for it, thinking he had done right by his master, but in actual fact Wukong had instigated Elder Jinchi’s greed by showing off the kasaya and asking Tang to lend it to him, which Tang reluctantly agreed, sensing that Elder Jinchi was already a greedy and materialistic individual when he asked Tang to show him something valuable despite his status as a monk who should be indifferent to material possessions. This was at beginning of their journey and their first stop.
The game itself is based off the first journey to the west series from 1986, which all episodes can be found on UA-cam. Elder Jinchi story is episode 6
You're right. I'm gonna clarify that in my pinned comment
BRO TYSM! I’m Chinese but I was raised in America and I’ve only heard of some tales of Wukong from my parents so this was very helpful.
I think Bajie was cursed to never find love in every reincarnation.
You know that is one of the many versions of Bajie. In 1996 Journery to the West TV show made by Hong Kong, Bajie is condemned to go through 1000 love sufferings. So he is destined to fall in love 1000 times, and never has a good love story ending.
I really enjoy the journey to the West, the game and was intrigued by the cutscenes. Thanks for the explanation
“If not for winning, why debate means and ends.. hahaha”
Leaving that part out is a bit telling, ngl.
A bit telling about what 🤔
@@yugenelhc About bias towards the other argument
Yellowbrow (allegedly) here, calls out the monk for having a desire to win the bet himself, by trying to dismiss Yellowbrow's method of winning and claiming it proves nothing. (even though it does prove that humans are unable to truly overcome their desires)
I challenge the claim that Yellowbrow pushed the poor man to take the evil action.
Sounds like a poor excuse (e.g. Satan made me do it)
When I was watching this cinematic in-game, the moment the beast's eyes widen symbolized a moment of realization rather than causation.
He knew the poor man would act, but didn't cause it.
Nothing personal though, I enjoyed the video.
I simply smirked when that sentence was cut out :D
Did you miss the part where his jacket was pulled? Yellowbrow did give him a nudge.
And furthermore, he also manipulated the people from the very start. He never uplifted them out of their poverty. Is it truly evil to dangle a fish in front of starving man and condemn him when he snatches it to eat?
@@mondenkindqueen I think what Yellowbrow did was indeed a proof about humans nature. In normal circumstances people behave, but he created such temptation, that they give in. It was not a necessity to get all those treasures from him, it was pure greed. And even buddhists who should have been trained against greed give in. And i think this is more than just a story, it is heavily inspired by reality, and i know real stories when such things happened.
Im pretty sure it wouldnt have worked on fair people, no matter what tricks he used, and would have turned away once it became clear he is evil. Even if he killed them all he would be left humiliated.
What the other guy condemned was Yellowbrow went too far to prove his point by destroying the entire village, just to win the debate, because he was goodhearted, and valued the villagers more than the debate i think.
@@lapimano2I disagree, in Chinese version,Jinchanzi(other monk
) called out that what yellowbrow did is “倒果为因” which means “purposely create an end but claim it is the proof of cause.” For example if i murdered someone you love, to force you on revenge,when you took action, I accused you to be a merciless person.
And that is exactly what yellowbrow did,if the villagers was evil they could kill him when he revealed there's treasures inside him.
But they didn't and proceed to feed and worship him,which already proved people aren't inherently evil.
But yellowbrow wouldn't take the L and he continues to add more temptation and interference until he finds the one could cause the chaos after.
It's like you want to test a vase to see will it break,but when you already determined it will, to prove you point,in the end it will certainly break.
Which means whatever happens it is your own doing thus you proved nothing.
This was an awesome video!
This may have just been an interpretation but I read somewhere that Violet spiders part was played from her woman form to spider form, and Bajies was played from pig to human, to show how in the journey to the west Violet spider traveling to the mortal realm and having herself turned into a spider to chase after Bajie turned away from her "humanity" and descended becoming a true monster. While Bajie on his journey wjth wukong, as a monster began regaining his humanity as he got closer and closer to heaven, leaving Violet spider behind.
this make sense too
more like violet spider's innocence was slowly polluted by coming down to mankind, the montage is very detailed. You can see her clothes and hair getting more ragged and her face went from innocent (smiling or in shock) to a more melancholy face -> to indifferent -> to an evil smile -> to blood on her face -> to slowly shredding her need to keep who she was (a celestial maiden)... in fact if you know chinese culture, her clothes also changes to a different time era after a while, and somewhere in the middle you can see her hair is fixed like a sex worker... so the many reincarnation of her life was always tough and cruel. The JTW story happens in centuries if not millennia, remember even from the time wukong challenged the celestial court to the monk tang recruited him, just that part was over 500 years of a time skip.
Ohhhh that makes sense!!
Thanks for the explanation. I know have a better understanding of the Black Myth: WuKong characters back story. Side note, am definitely looking forward to play the DLC when it releases.
So the chapter 6 animation is just a recap fo the journey to the west right?
Yeah, it's basically a reversal of the story line of the novel, and if you look at that animation in reverse it's the basic story of Journey to the West
Yea
No it's NOT JUST a recap of JTTW, it's 98% recap of it in reverse, and 2% at the end, when the yellowish scene turn to blueish scene, that's hinted from past memory back to current reality, the reincarnated real WuKong is back, and he is walking out alone, planning to turn the celestial courts up side down.
Damn bro. You’re the goat for making this vid💯
My interpretation of Bajie and the lady is that the lady embraced the fall from grace with the celestial court whereas Bajie’s desire was to work his way back to celestial court’s good graces.
Basically, she wants to find happiness where she is now and Bajie wants to find happiness in where he was.
That makes sense! I forgot he is trading work his way back up. Good one 👍🏻
loved this! Thanks so much for sharing!!
3:20 his brothers ??
@@florenthemepineda4114 English doesn’t have a word to translate “师兄弟” （Shi xiong di). So if you study something under the same master, you guys can call each other brothers and sisters. Yea there’s no way I can translate that
@@yugenelhc It's my understanding that Pigsy and Sandy are not part of the Journey at that time. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. who is the other brother ??
@@florenthemepineda4114the horse who is actually a dragon, son of Ao Long, the dragon king.
@@florenthemepineda4114 Oh I understand what you mean now. Yea you are right. My bad
Loving the cultural richness in Black Myth Wukong’s story! Immersive Translate made understanding the Journey to the West references much easier.
Can you turn into a fox? 😂😂
Maybe😂
Then I need to study harder