Journey to the West states that this very style is the Monkey King’s preferred fighting technique! He uses Short Fist a few times in the novel.
Elixir of immortality dbz series#
Series creator Akira Toriyama partly based the Saiyan’s fighting style on the Wing Chun techniques used by Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan in their respective films. This style falls under the umbrella term “ Short Fist” ( Duan quan, 短拳), a school of martial arts with a low stance and quick, compact punches. Goku’s proficiency in boxing has a fun connection to Sun Wukong. Sun’s staff, the “‘ As-You-Will‘ Gold-Banded Cudgel”, weighs a whopping 17,560 lbs (7,965 kg) and (among other abilities) can magically grow as big or shrink as small as the immortal desires. The latter’s skill is called the “ Cloud Somersault” ( jindou yun, 筋斗雲), which can travel 108,000 li (33,554 mi / 54,000 km), or one and one-third the circumference of Earth, in a single leap. Goku’s monkey tail, flying nimbus cloud, and extending power pole are all based on the respective trait, skill, and weapon of the Monkey King. Therefore, the name Son Goku straddles both Buddhism and Taoism. While referencing Rhesus macaques and “grandsons”, the surname Sun (孫), is also a veiled symbol for the development of an immortal spirit in Taoist elixir arts. The name of the series protagonist, Son Goku (孫悟空), is a Japanese transliteration of Sun Wukong, meaning “Monkey Aware of Emptiness“, an allusion to Buddhist enlightenment. Those interested in a broader discussion on the influences of Dragon Ball should consult the work of Derek Padula. My current interest here is in modern adaptations of Journey to the West.
This is meant to be a very basic primer and not an exhaustive analysis. So I’ve taken the opportunity to gather everything into one spot, including information that I haven’t previously mentioned. It recently occurred to me that I’ve referenced the Dragon Ball franchise in several blog articles.
Immortal immortality highlander Monkey King Sun Wukong Son Goku Goku Journey to the West Xiyouji Saiyuki Dragon Ball Dragon Ball Z Taoism Daoism Buddhism buddha mind taoist elixir elixir eternal youth eternal life Buddha Chinese religion chinese mythology True Immortal Compliant (如意真仙) from the pregnancy episode. My friend and I have created the designations Greater Bogus Immortal (大妖仙) and Lesser Bogus Immortal (小妖仙) to differentiate between powerhouses like Sun Wukong and riffraff like the
There are other bogus immortals in the novel. This is based on the Buddho-Daoist philosophy of Zhang Boduan (張伯端, 987-1082), who believed one must achieve both the Daoist elixir and the Buddha mind to escape the rounds of rebirth and enjoy true immortality.Īs I’ve mentioned before, the Jade Emperor and the Buddha both refer to Monkey as a “bogus immortal” (妖仙), suggesting that they know he hasn’t yet achieved true transcendence. This may support one scholar’s theory that Sun is not a true transcendent-meaning he’s just long-lived and really hard to kill-until he becomes a Buddha at the end of the novel. However, going from hot to cold causes him to pass out, leading to Zhu Bajie to perform emergency resuscitation. Tai (the heaviest thing imaginable in Chinese culture), causing blood to shoot out of his orifices.Īnother example of damage happens when he is engulfed in the supernaturally hot flames of Red Boy’s Samadhi fire, causing him to seek relief in a nearby river. For example, the above episode sees Monkey pinned by Mt. This body is capable of carrying two celestial mountains while running at great speed.īut he is still vulnerable to damage if the force is sufficiently strong enough. However, his practice results in an adamantine physical body. The Daoist practices that Sun Wukong uses to achieve eternal life were historically thought to result in an immortal spirit that left the body.
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