[DBZ] Clueless newbie on Gokuu's name
Dr. Briefs
I'm getting too lazy to even try to explain to this guy about what
"Gokuu" means...
Just to fill anyone interested in, please observe my sig--which contains
a translated quote from a Chinese movie ("The New Monkey King"). So
this guy sends in a ballot to the voting booth section of my page, and
after sending a confirmation e-mail to him, he replies back, saying that
"Goku" never said such things, there's no "New Monkey King," and that
the name "Goku" (that was the form of romanization he used in that
message) means "Monkey King."
So I basically told him that "Gokuu" _doesn't_ mean "Monkey King," and
he should try to correct someone on a quote when he doesn't even know
where the quote comes from, and this is the e-mail message I got back:
>Return-Path: <Elpoo...@aol.com>
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> for <br...@ix.netcom.com>; Mon, 2 Feb 1998 17:48:12 -0800 (PST)
>From: Elpoo...@aol.com
>Received: from Elpoo...@aol.com
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>Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 20:24:10 EST
>To: br...@ix.netcom.com
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>Subject: Re: [DBZ] Favorite Character
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>
>Sorry to say, Mrs. Wang, but I have proof that Gokuu's name means either of
>the following: THE ORIGINAL MONKEY KING or SAVER OF LIVES. On the 1st episode
>of DB, Gokuu explains to Bulma what his name means. He said it meant SAVER OF
>LIVES. In the site by Akira Toriyama(The Dragon World), it says in one of the
>hypertext links that his name meant THE ORIGINAL MONKEY KING. And how can you
>assume that I don't know what the ------Monkey King is in the first place? If
>you want proof of the name, check the search engine for the words "THE DRAGON
>WORLD. And I ----well know what the ------Monkey King is and where the quote
>comes from. Thank you Ms. Wang.
Come to think of it, maybe he's just another troll.
--
Glenn Wang <br...@ix.netcom.com>, http://www.netcom.com/~brief/
Proud member of #SAS# and Co-Founder of #WASHU#
***********************************************************************
"Once there was true love in front of me, but I didn't know to treasure
it, now all I have is remorse; such a thing is one of the greatest
tragedies in life. If I could go back and redo it all, I would tell
her I love her. If I am forced to place a time limit for this love, I
wish for it to be--Ten thousand years." -The New Monkey King
Bruce Tomlin
In article <34D6B738...@ix.netcom.com>, br...@ix.netcom.com,
Elpoo...@aol.com wrote:
> I'm getting too lazy to even try to explain to this guy about what
> "Gokuu" means...
Well, you got my interest up. I happen to have the kanji in front of me.
孫 悟空
Now looking them up in the EDICT dictionary files I get...
son -- grandchild, descendants
go -- enlightenment, perceive, discern, realize, understand
kuu -- empty, sky, void, vacant, vacuum
Whatever it means, it has NOTHING to do with monkeys, kings, or saving lives.
(I didn't have to look up kuu=sky... it's a kiddie kanji.)
>Come to think of it, maybe he's just another troll.
Yep.
Sain-Zee Ueng
Um. Actually, Gokuu's name has a lot to do with the monkey king.
Literally, his name doesn't have anything to do with monkey or kings.
However, this name, Son Goku, is derived from a book in Chinese,
"Journey to the West" (I'm not sure of exact translation in English).
It's a classic Chinese novel, considered one of the greats. It describes
a priest's voyage from China to the west in search of Buddhist
teachings. Along the way he picks up 3 students. One of the them, the
most powerful one, was a monkey named Son Goku. He was a monkey king who
learned magic, so to speak. Another one of the students was a pig.
Most Chinese (which I am) and probably some Japanese people would know
of this tale, which is what DB seemed to emulate at the beginnig. I'm
not sure about the saving of lives and I don't know about the New Monkey
King so I won't comment on that.
--
***************************************
Sain-Zee Ueng
sain...@cory.eecs.berkeley.edu
***************************************
Bruce Tomlin
In article <34D7C7...@cory.eecs.berkeley.edu>, Sain-Zee Ueng
<sain...@cory.eecs.berkeley.edu> wrote:
> teachings. Along the way he picks up 3 students. One of the them, the
> most powerful one, was a monkey named Son Goku. He was a monkey king who
> learned magic, so to speak. Another one of the students was a pig.
Aha. A character name from a classic story. Makes some sense.
> Most Chinese (which I am) and probably some Japanese people would know
> of this tale, which is what DB seemed to emulate at the beginnig. I'm
> not sure about the saving of lives and I don't know about the New Monkey
> King so I won't comment on that.
Well, apparently the idiot in question thought that anything having to do
with a "Monkey King" must be related to DBZ and nothing else. An
extremely simple-minded line of thinking, if you ask me.
Dr. Briefs
Bruce Tomlin wrote:
>In article <34D7C7...@cory.eecs.berkeley.edu>, Sain-Zee Ueng
><sain...@cory.eecs.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>>teachings. Along the way he picks up 3 students. One of the them, the
>>most powerful one, was a monkey named Son Goku. He was a monkey king who
>>learned magic, so to speak. Another one of the students was a pig.
>Aha. A character name from a classic story. Makes some sense.
Yes. "Dragon Ball" had many references to that novel. Of course, had
the person in question even bothered to read the DB/DBZ FAQ (the "Major
Attraction" of my homepage), he would've found that this information was
clearly stated in the very first question.
>>Most Chinese (which I am) and probably some Japanese people would know
>>of this tale, which is what DB seemed to emulate at the beginnig. I'm
>>not sure about the saving of lives and I don't know about the New Monkey
>>King so I won't comment on that.
As I've stated, it was from a Chinese movie (official English title of
the movie being "A Chinese Odyssey"), which is based on the same Chinese
novel that Dragon Ball was based on. In said movie, Wukung (Chinese
pronounciation of Gokuu) made this statement near the end.
>Well, apparently the idiot in question thought that anything having to do
>with a "Monkey King" must be related to DBZ and nothing else. An
>extremely simple-minded line of thinking, if you ask me.
He is sadly confused and think that Ian Kelly's webpage (Dragon World)
is done by Akira Toriyama, and that "Gokuu" MEANS "Monkey King." The
worse part of it is, he thinks that he is absolutely right, and refuses
to acknowledge his mistake, or apologize for his initial (and
subsequent) rude e-mail.
Dr. Briefs
Sain-Zee Ueng wrote:
>Um. Actually, Gokuu's name has a lot to do with the monkey king.
While that is true, it has nothing to do with the meaning of the name.
>Literally, his name doesn't have anything to do with monkey or kings.
Which, unfortunately for the guy trying to correct me, is the exact
opposite of what he said, and I quote:
"Gokuu's name means either of the following: THE ORIGINAL MONKEY KING
or SAVER OF LIVES."
How I wish people would just read the FAQ, so that I would not get more
stupid messages from the likes of <Elpoo...@aol.com> *sigh*
jillian
yep, goku's name doesn't literally translate to monkey king but it does
refer to the monkey king/god in the chinese epic "journey to the west" or
xi you ji.
the stick that he carries in the early parts of the story was also used by
the monkey god as well as that cloud he has...and i think there has been a
drawing of him in the monkey god's getup in the manga
Lukas Mariman
Bruce Tomlin wrote in message ...
>In article <34D6B738...@ix.netcom.com>, br...@ix.netcom.com,
>Elpoo...@aol.com wrote:
>
>> I'm getting too lazy to even try to explain to this guy about what
>> "Gokuu" means...
>
>Well, you got my interest up. I happen to have the kanji in front of
me.
>
>孫 悟空
>
>Now looking them up in the EDICT dictionary files I get...
>
>son -- grandchild, descendants
>go -- enlightenment, perceive, discern, realize, understand
>kuu -- empty, sky, void, vacant, vacuum
>
>Whatever it means, it has NOTHING to do with monkeys, kings, or saving
lives.
>(I didn't have to look up kuu=sky... it's a kiddie kanji.)
From what I have read about it (some years ago, don't remember where
exactly)
"Son Goku" means something as "object that has fallen from the sky",
which would make sense, because it was the name the old man Son Gohan
gave him when he found him in the crashed capsule.
Wei-Hwa Huang
"Lukas Mariman" <gd3...@glo.be> writes:
>>Now looking them up in the EDICT dictionary files I get...
>>son -- grandchild, descendants
>>go -- enlightenment, perceive, discern, realize, understand
>>kuu -- empty, sky, void, vacant, vacuum
>>Whatever it means, it has NOTHING to do with monkeys, kings, or saving
>lives.
>>(I didn't have to look up kuu=sky... it's a kiddie kanji.)
>From what I have read about it (some years ago, don't remember where
>exactly)
>"Son Goku" means something as "object that has fallen from the sky",
>which would make sense, because it was the name the old man Son Gohan
>gave him when he found him in the crashed capsule.
That's an interesting story, but definitely false. Son Goku's name is
from a old Chinese epic story called "Journey to the West" or "Monkey",
depending on the English translation you use. The kanji are exactly
the same.
The story has a main character who is a monkey turned Bhuddist monk. As
was though common in the time the story took place, monks kept their surname
but adopted a Bhuddist name.
Sun is a common Chinese surname (You may have heard of "Sun-Tzu's Ancient
Art of War", or revolutionary Sun Yat-sen -- this character is
read "son" in Japanese, and means "grandchild").
As you can see, "Goku" is a particularly Bhuddist-sounding name.
--
Wei-Hwa Huang, whu...@ugcs.caltech.edu, http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~whuang/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...he put a wire in his cap and called himself Marconi."
Steven J Simmons
In alt.fan.dragonball Wei-Hwa Huang <whu...@ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
> "Lukas Mariman" <gd3...@glo.be> writes:
> >>son -- grandchild, descendants
> >>go -- enlightenment, perceive, discern, realize, understand
> >>kuu -- empty, sky, void, vacant, vacuum
> The story has a main character who is a monkey turned Bhuddist monk. As
> was though common in the time the story took place, monks kept their surname
> but adopted a Bhuddist name.
> Sun is a common Chinese surname (You may have heard of "Sun-Tzu's Ancient
> Art of War", or revolutionary Sun Yat-sen -- this character is
> read "son" in Japanese, and means "grandchild").
> As you can see, "Goku" is a particularly Bhuddist-sounding name.
For those of you who can't see it, the monkey spent a good deal of time in
meditation and study. In time, he gained a unique awareness, not of what
exists, but of what is _not_ there, which is an understanding highly
valued in a number of Buddhist sects. His master at the time, upon
realizing the monkey's great gains in his spiritual progression, gave him
his name accordingly, using the characters that mean "Aware of Emptiness,"
with the reading "Gokuu."
Mark Verrey
> > Art of War", or revolutionary Sun Yat-sen -- this character is
You know, he graduated from my high school. One of our big claims to fame, him and Guy
Kawasaki.
------------------------------------------
Mark Verrey a.k.a. Elrod a.k.a. Takeshi
/\/| / Support free software!
/ | / Find out more at
|/ http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/
Xavier Guilbert
On Tue, 03 Feb 1998 23:32:39 -0800, "Dr. Briefs" <br...@ix.netcom.com>
wrote:
>Bruce Tomlin wrote:
>>In article <34D7C7...@cory.eecs.berkeley.edu>, Sain-Zee Ueng
>><sain...@cory.eecs.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>>>teachings. Along the way he picks up 3 students. One of the them, the
>>>most powerful one, was a monkey named Son Goku. He was a monkey king who
>>>learned magic, so to speak. Another one of the students was a pig.
>>Aha. A character name from a classic story. Makes some sense.
FYI, there is a pachinko house in Shinjuku (that's in Tokyo),
which name is "Goku" (written in romaji, so that's why I spotted it)
and which features right under the name a little monkey dancing on a
treasure chest full of gold.
Seems that it could qualify as a "monkey king" ...
--
XaV The French Letters : http://www.mygale.org/00/frenchl/
"When you say words a lot they don't mean anything. Or maybe
they don't mean anything anyway, and we just think they do."
-- Delirium, Brief Lives
[je vote OUI a la creation de f.rec.arts.bd.comics !]
Jourdan M. Bickham
Wasn't there another anime based on the same chinese story as DBZ?
Ja ne
-J
Japan Homepage http://www.wfu.edu/~bickhjm5
willy
"Jourdan M. Bickham" <bick...@wfu.edu> wrote:
>Wasn't there another anime based on the same chinese story as DBZ?
There are several manga and anime titles based on the same story, each with
their own spin. Some manga titles include: Boku wa Son Gokku and Saiyuki
by Osamu Tezuka. Some anime titles include SF Saiyuki Starzinger, Son Goku Ga
Hajimaru Yo, Goku No Dai Boken, Songoku Silk Road Tobu, Chuka Ichiban, Super
Saiyuki, Midnight Eye Goku, etc.
Allan Tabilas <mailto:wi...@netaxs.com>
Son Gohan's Page <http://songohan.simplenet.com>
Ethan Hammond
Jourdan M. Bickham wrote:
>
> Wasn't there another anime based on the same chinese story as DBZ?
>
Maybe Midnight Eye Goku might have been I dunno for sure.
--
All Purpose Cultural Homepage
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/ethangwo/
Allen
I think there's one released through Orion Home Video under the title
Alakazam the Great.
On Thu, 12 Feb 1998 23:52:58 -0500, "Jourdan M. Bickham"
<bick...@wfu.edu> wrote:
>Wasn't there another anime based on the same chinese story as DBZ?
>
>Ja ne
>
Jourdan M. Bickham
Bingo... give the man a cookie.. he got the sixty million dollar question.
I had seen it once before, but I totally forgot the name... thanks.
adam.geist
>>"Son Goku" means something as "object that has fallen from the sky",
>>which would make sense, because it was the name the old man Son Gohan
>>gave him when he found him in the crashed capsule.
>
>That's an interesting story, but definitely false. Son Goku's name is
>from a old Chinese epic story called "Journey to the West" or "Monkey",
>depending on the English translation you use. The kanji are exactly
>the same.
>
>was though common in the time the story took place, monks kept their
surname
>but adopted a Bhuddist name.
>
>Sun is a common Chinese surname (You may have heard of "Sun-Tzu's Ancient
>
>As you can see, "Goku" is a particularly Bhuddist-sounding name.
>
I don't know about Definitions about Syllables in names and what they have
to do with monkeys or whatever, but The Monkey explanation sounds more like
a show you saw/read when you were a kid that you are fixated on and
resembles the Dragon Ball Series. Object that has fallen from the sky makes
perfect sense, Not some monkey and a bunch of monks going west or whatever.
Marisa Price
Actually, the person who posted about the old Chinese epic story
"Journey to the West" is one hundred percent CORRECT. The entire series
of Dragonball is based on that story, which is about a monkey boy who
runs into a group of characters that very much resemble Bulma (a girl),
Oolong (a shape changing pig), Yamcha (a desert bandit), Kuririn (a
buhddist monk), and in that order. Later Toriyama changed the story,
obviously, but this is the root of Son Gokuh's same and the overall
original basis for Dragonball.
If you don't believe me, I believe there was an article which mentions
this in the American Publication:
_Animerica. Viz Communications, Inc. Vol. 4, No. 11, Nov. 1996_
Here's a good informational page:
http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~pkeller/OC_DBZ.html
"SO WHAT'S DRAGON BALL ABOUT?
Dragon Ball revolves around the legend that when the seven magical
Dragon Balls are brought together, the dragon Sheng Long Will appear and
grant the person responsible a wish. The main character, Son Goku, is
based on Chinese legends of the Monkey god Son and his magical staff.
The story follows Goku's life, and the friends and foes he encounters in
his quests. "
I can provide other, Japanese, references if required.
hope this makes all clear!
-mp
Marisa Price
min...@aino.com
Anime Anime Online
http://www.aino.com
Steven J Simmons
> If you don't believe me, I believe there was an article which mentions
> this in the American Publication:
> _Animerica. Viz Communications, Inc. Vol. 4, No. 11, Nov. 1996_
> Here's a good informational page:
> http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~pkeller/OC_DBZ.html
It's been well over a year and a half since I posted this. Here is my
research paper on the subject. Note that it was written in 1995, which
dates some of the information.
Copyright (C) 1995 by Steven J. Simmons. All Rights Reserved.
Akira Toriyama's Dragonball and its roots
in Wu Cheng'en's Hsi Yu Chi
In 1993, 2.25 billion comic books and magazines, or manga, were
sold in Japan, and now represent 36% of total sales in the Japanese
publishing market (Pictorial 19). If it can be expressed, it can be (and
usually is) expressed in manga. Everything from popular novels to
avant-garde to pornography is available in comic-strip form, and the
market is still growing (Hashimoto 137). It's not surprising, then, that
Hsi Yu Chi, one of the most popular stories of China, should meet up with
the fastest-growing literary form of Japan to create a story that would
entertain people throughout the world. The name of the Japanese adaptation
is "Dragonball," and in this paper, I will analyze the similarities
between the Chinese fable and the Japanese weekly serial.
Wu Cheng'en and Hsi Yu Chi
The Hsi Yu Chi (or "Record of the Journey to the West") fable was
written in the 16th century by the Chinese author and satirist Wu
Cheng'en. It is based on the real-life account of the Buddhist monk Hsuan
Tsang, who in 628 AD made a long and dangerous pilgrimage to India, where
he studied the Buddhist canons, and eventually returned to present these
texts to the court of the Tang Dynasty. His story was handed down for many
generations, picking up its share of embellishments along the way. It was
the inspiration for other stories. Over time, parts of these other stories
found their way into Hsuan Tsang's account. According to Wu Zuxiang, most
prominent among these additions is the appearance of ". . . Friar Monkey
who, with his great magic powers and skill in both literature and military
arts, helps the monk to overcome the perils along the way, assisted in
this by the God of the Deep Sand who also possesses supernatural powers"
(201).
When Wu Cheng'en wrote his 100-chapter Hsi Yu Chi, however, he
made the monkey the main character. The first seven chapters deal
exclusively with the monkey, detailing his birth, his quest for
immortality under the tutelage of an ancient master, his mastery of
magical arts, his unparalleled stubbornness and subsequent misbehavior in
Heaven, and his eventual fall from grace at the hand of Buddha himself.
During these episodes, the monkey undergoes trials that make him
physically very strong. He also comes to possess a magical iron staff,
which grows and shrinks at his command, and uses it as his weapon (Waley
11-77). The monkey is imprisoned by Buddha for 500 years for his crimes,
until he is released by Hsuan Tsang, who is already en route to India.
Hsuan Tsang had received a divine appointment to go to India to
receive the Tripitaka of the Big Wheel, a set of scriptures that was not
available in China. Unlike his legendary predecessors in folklore,
however, this Hsuan Tsang was the weak-hearted son of a famous scholar,
and was prone to complain about his lot in life. The monkey becomes Hsuan
Tsang's disciple and bodyguard, and promises to see their quest through to
atone for his past misdeeds. Along the way, they are joined by an amorous
pig-like troll and a sand ogre, both of whom have also had unfortunate
pasts and become disciples of Hsuan Tsang. The foursome encounter many
obstacles in their journey, by which they grow spiritually and purify
themselves. In the end, our heroes come out on top, and the disciples are
exonerated of their crimes (Waley 290-305).
Akira Toriyama and Dragonball
Akira Toriyama is one of the most popular manga artists in Japan
today, and the author of the Dragonball manga. His first successful strip,
Dr. Slump, set new records in Japanese publishing. In 1981, after only
five weeks of press, Toei's television division decided to produce a
weekly Dr. Slump cartoon, with a feature film released that same year. By
the time the sixth volume of the weekly strips was published, Dr. Slump
was so popular that the initial printing of that volume was for two
million copies, a record in Japanese publishing history at the time. The
series also earned Toriyama a record $2.4 million in 1981. His work in
manga has been so remarkable that it is the subject of a six-museum
exhibition tour currently on display in Japan through August, 1995
(Hoffmann n.p.).
Toriyama ended the Dr. Slump strip in February, 1984, and in
November, started Dragonball, about a nave young boy with incredible
strength, which ran until May, 1995. Like Dr. Slump, it was an immediate
success. A television show debuted in February, 1986, and to date there
have been 12 feature films, 40 paperback volumes published, and over half
a dozen video game cartridges based on the strip's characters. An English
version of the television series is scheduled to debut in America this
fall in syndication, bringing most Americans who tune in their first
exposure to the Hsi Yu Chi tale. (Seagull n.p.)
The story revolves around the character of Son Gokuu, who at the
start of the series is a boy of 11 with a long brown tail and great
physical strength. He was found as an infant and raised by Son Gohan(1), a
reclusive elderly martial arts master, far from civilization. After Gohan
is accidentally killed, Gokuu is left only with his foster grandfather's
Nyoi Bo, a staff that grows and shrinks at his command, and a small
crystal ball with four stars inside that his foster grandfather kept
(Nakama, 20).
Son Gokuu / Sun Wukong
"Son Gokuu" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese "Sun
Wukong." It is the Buddhist name the monkey is given by his first mentor,
an immortal master, meaning "Aware of Vacuity" (Waley 19). Both Gokuu and
Wukong carry a magic size-changing staff. They are both born in an
extraordinary way; Wukong "hatched" from a rock (Waley 11). Gokuu, as we
find out much later in the series, was sent here in a small round pod as
an infant from another planet just before it was destroyed, in much the
same way the Superman story originated (Katsutenai 69-72). He also comes
fully equipped with a monkey-like tail, which has a unique characteristic„
when Gokuu sees a full moon, he turns into a giant, uncontrollable King
Kong-variety "Were-monkey," destroying everything in his path until either
his tail is removed from its place, or the moon is. Here we see Toriyama
borrowing a page from some western folklore, as well (Kiken 136-161).
Neither Wukong nor Gokuu are very good about manners or etiquette.
While Wukong doesn't prostrate himself and speaks out of turn before the
Jade Emperor (Waley 44), Gokuu has difficulty using the appropriate
personal pronoun or polite forms of verbs when addressing someone of
higher status than himself (Nakama 50-51).
When Gokuu stops to help a lost sea turtle find its way back to
the ocean, he is rewarded as the turtle shortly returns from across the
sea with an elderly man standing on its back. This Kamesennin, or
"Turtle(2) Hermit" was about to grant Gokuu immortality, but discovers
he is unable to--his pet phoenix with the ability to bestow eternal life
had died of food poisoning a short time before. Instead, he gives Gokuu
Kinto Un ("Somersault Cloud"), a magic cloud that one may ride upon, but
only if their heart is pure (Nakama 64-66).
Early in Wukong's history, he also visited an immortal figure in
his own quest for immortality. It was also this immortal figure that
taught him how to somersault, or ride on clouds, among other tricks (Waley
26).
After his first quest is completed, Gokuu returns to the Turtle
Hermit (who turns out to be the martial arts master that taught his foster
grandfather), in order to further his own training in the martial arts.
Additionally, turtles are seen in both tales as a means of transportation
across water--Hsuan Tsang and company cross over the river Styx on the
back of a turtle (Waley 277).
Oolong and Pigsy
In Hsi Yu Chi, soon after Wukong joins Hsuan Tsang's quest, they
come upon a farm where they wish to spend the night. Kao, the head of the
household, told them of his son-in-law, a troll whose face bore a strong
resemblance to that of a pig, who kept his wife (Kao's daughter) out in
the barn, and mistreated her badly. Wukong offered to drive the troll
away, as it would let him practice his skills. He disguised himself as
Kao's daughter, and took her place when the troll was away. When he
returned home, Wukong revealed his true identity and chased him into
submission. As luck would have it, the troll, or "Pigsy," as he is
nicknamed, had received a divine call many years earlier to join Hsuan
Tsang's quest, and Hsuan Tsang gave him the Buddhist name of "Wuneng,"
meaning "Pig of Eight Vices." He was given this name as a reprimand,
because after he received his call, he was supposed to have remained
celibate, but married anyway. He is also quite gluttonous, as might be
expected of a pig (Waley 149-152).
Further along in their own quest, Gokuu and his partner Bulma come
across a village where the daughters have been gradually kidnapped by a
shape-shifting monster named Oolong. Gokuu dresses up as one of the
remaining daughters, and when Oolong returns to claim a new bride, manages
to defeat him. Oolong can only hold his transformations for five minutes,
and when his true form, that of a small piglet, is exposed, he returns the
daughters to the village in disgrace. The villagers are so pleased that
they give Bulma the Dragonball in their possession. Bulma then convinces
Oolong to accompany them on their quest, as his shape-shifting ability
could be useful to her (Nakama 78-103).
Oolong is not very cooperative at first, and tries to run away on
a number of occasions. After recovering him the first time, Bulma gives
him a piece of hard candy to eat, which he eagerly accepts. Unfortunately
for Oolong, the candy was an invention of Bulma's. After trying to
run away a second time, Bulma started to chant "Pi pi pi pi," and Oolong
came down with an acute case of spastic diarrhea. He quickly returned with
his tail between his legs, so to speak (Nakama 109-113).
There is a parallel to this episode in Hsi Yu Chi, but it involved
the monkey character rather than the pig. Wukong also had difficulty
receiving orders from others, and was also given the device by which he
would be controlled. In Wukong's case, it was the hat that Hsuan Tsang got
from the Bodhisattva (the Buddhist equivalent of Saint) and gave him to
wear. From that time forward, whenever the monkey got out of line, all it
took was Hsuan Tsang reciting the spell he received from the Bodhisattva
to make the hat shrink, causing terrible pain and giving Wukong the
motivation he needed to behave himself. In essence, he put his own leash
on without knowing what it was or what it was for (Waley 136).
Gyu Ma Ou / Niou Mo Wang ("Ox Demon King")
Along their way to India, our Hsi Yu Chi heroes encounter The
Flaming Mountain, whose fires are so hot as to be impassable. The local
residents tell them that Niou Mo Wang has the magical Bajiao San
("palm-leaf fan") that is capable of blowing out the flames for a season.
Wukong knew Niou Mo Wang from his days in Heaven, but they had their
differences after an episode earlier in the quest, in which Niou Mo Wang's
son was accosted by the monkey. There was a terrible struggle in order to
get the fan away from Niou Mo Wang long enough to cool the mountain and
let Hsuan Tsang pass (Yang 135-199).
Gokuu and company share a similar adventure in their quest. Their
next Dragonball is located at the top of Frypan Mountain, site of the
castle of the nasty Gyu Ma Ou. The mountain is on fire to keep looters out
of the castle, and the Dragonball they are looking for is inside. The
flames are too hot for Gokuu to penetrate, and after failing to get
inside, they encounter Gyu Ma Ou himself. He confronts them until he sees
Gokuu's flying cloud and recognizes it as the one Son Gohan possessed
(Nakama 175). As it happens, Gyu Ma Ou was also a student of the Turtle
Hermit, and he and Gohan were classmates. Gyu Ma Ou had lost track of his
former master, and had been trying to find him for some time. The Turtle
Hermit owns the Basho Sen, a fan with mystical powers made from a kind of
palm tree. Gyu Ma Ou is hoping that the gale-force winds generated by this
fan will be enough to extinguish the fire around his castle, and sends
Gokuu off to borrow it (Kiken 8-30). The fire is put out and the
Dragonball is recovered.
Other References
After all but one of the Dragonballs are found, they are stolen by
an evil troll named Pilaf, who has the remaining Dragonball and imprisons
Gokuu and friends. Pilaf summons the dragon, and just as he is about to
make himself the ruler of the world, Oolong (who had changed his shape to
allow him to escape through a whole in the prison wall) thwarts Pilaf's
plans. The group then escapes from their cell with Gokuu's help, split up
and go their separate ways (Kiken 169-173). By this time, the characters
are developed enough and the story popular enough for Toriyama to take the
story in new directions, and the references to Hsi Yu Chi become farther
and farther apart. There are still a few ties to the Chinese story that
continue to sprout up, though.
Gokuu eventually sacrifices his life to defend the earth from
Raditz, an alien invader who claims to be Gokuu's older brother. When
Gokuu discovers that Raditz is too strong to tackle alone, he wrestles him
from behind long enough for one of his teammates to shoot him through the
chest, killing them both. Like Wukong, who meets up with Yama, the Emperor
of Death in his journeys back and forth from the Jade Emperor's presence
(Waley 39), Gokuu encounters Yama on his way to further training after his
death (Piccolo 14-15). Yama is the judge who keeps track of a person's
karma, determining if one goes to Heaven or Hell when they die. Gokuu
meets him again on his way back to the land of the living, when his
friends on earth use the Dragonballs to wish him back to life.
There's also a small bit of philosophy that Gokuu picks up on his
way to meet Kamisama (or "God"). He is told that "There [is] always
someone [who will be] stronger than you" (Saranaru 109), a sentiment that
Hsuan Tsang echoes in his statement that "Strong though he be, there is
always a stronger" (Waley 129). Through it all, Gokuu, his companions and
his rivals just keep getting stronger and stronger, putting that saying to
the test.
Beyond Hsi Yu Chi
Dragonball has long since outgrown its roots in the Hsi Yu Chi
fable, and has gone on to become somewhat of an epic all its own. One
theme has remained constant in its long run, though, and that is the quest
to make oneself stronger and push oneself farther in order to overcome
seemingly insurmountable obstacles, an idea that has its foundation in Hsi
Yu Chi and other ancient Chinese hero myths.
(1) "Gohan" is the Japanese word for "rice" or "a meal." There are many
such name puns that take place in Toriyama's strips.
(2) Note that turtles are famous for their longevity.
Works Cited
Hashimoto, Osamu "Manga," The Sun, No. 386. Tokyo: Heibonsha, August 12,
1993.
Hoffmann, Curtis H. "Akira Toriyama exhibit." Usenet News, rec.arts.anime,
February 3, 1994
Pictorial. "A Half Century of Art and Information the Manga Way." Japan
Pictorial, Vol. 18 No. 1. Tokyo: NTT Mediascope, 1995.
Seagull Entertainment Inc. Advertisement. Broadcasting and Cable, December
12, 1994: inside back cover.
Toriyama, Akira. Doragonboru Kiken Ippatsu, Dragonball Vol. II. Tokyo:
Shueisha, 1986.
---Katsutenai Kyoufu, Dragonball Vol. XVII. Tokyo: Shueisha, 1989.
---Saranaru Hiyaku, Dragonball Vol. XIV. Tokyo: Shueisha, 1988.
---Son Gohan to Piccolo Daimao, Dragonball Vol. XVIII. Tokyo: Shueisha,
1989.
---Son Gokuu to sono Nakama-tachi, Dragonball Vol. I. Tokyo: Shueisha,
1985.
Wu, Cheng'en. Monkey. Trans. by Arthur Waley. New York: Grove Press, 1943.
---Pilgrimage to the West. Trans. by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang. Beijing:
Panda Books, 1981.
Wei-Hwa Huang
Steven J Simmons <dai...@xmission.xmission.com> writes:
>It's been well over a year and a half since I posted this. Here is my
>research paper on the subject. Note that it was written in 1995, which
>dates some of the information.
<snip>
>submission. As luck would have it, the troll, or "Pigsy," as he is
>nicknamed, had received a divine call many years earlier to join Hsuan
>Tsang's quest, and Hsuan Tsang gave him the Buddhist name of "Wuneng,"
>meaning "Pig of Eight Vices." He was given this name as a reprimand,
"Wuneng" means "Understanding of Ability". You may be thinking
of "ZhuBaJie," which does indeed mean "Pig of Eight Vices." This was
his common name, which was translated into "Pigsy". His Buddhist name
is not used often.
>chest, killing them both. Like Wukong, who meets up with Yama, the Emperor
>of Death in his journeys back and forth from the Jade Emperor's presence
>(Waley 39), Gokuu encounters Yama on his way to further training after his
>death (Piccolo 14-15). Yama is the judge who keeps track of a person's
>karma, determining if one goes to Heaven or Hell when they die. Gokuu
This may not be a Xi You Ji reference; the "Yama" character is
a commonly believed supernatural entity in China.
Steven J Simmons
> >submission. As luck would have it, the troll, or "Pigsy," as he is
> >nicknamed, had received a divine call many years earlier to join Hsuan
> >Tsang's quest, and Hsuan Tsang gave him the Buddhist name of "Wuneng,"
> >meaning "Pig of Eight Vices." He was given this name as a reprimand,
> "Wuneng" means "Understanding of Ability". You may be thinking
> of "ZhuBaJie," which does indeed mean "Pig of Eight Vices." This was
> his common name, which was translated into "Pigsy". His Buddhist name
> is not used often.
Thank you for the clarification. Nice to know someone actually reads this
stuff.