#the legend of nezha

[ruibaozha]

The Inconsistency of Nezha's Age, a Short Introduction.

Put very bluntly, Nezha’s age varies greatly depending on which story you’re reading and who’s retold it. He is not always a child or an adult depending on retelling, though my intention here is to highlight the sheer variety available first and foremost - and perhaps shine a light on the Indian dieties which may have influenced him. If these varied images are unwanted, please keep scrolling.

I happened to stumble upon a timeline error where Nezha’s brother Muzha is described to be using martial arts weapons referred to as “Hooks of Wu” which were specific to the 1800s, quite a long time after Canonization of the Gods was published, but also originating from a time period where numerous varied editions of that story were in circulation. Upwards of twenty different versions exclusive to the 19th century, actually.

The problem arises that Canonization of the Gods is meant to be occurring during the Zhou Shang conflict, that I will generously assume to be in 1045BCE, centuries before the Hooks of Wu would actually exist. It’s completely possible that the version Gu Zhizhong translated was one of these later editions as is makes no chronological sense for Muzha to have those kinds of weapons to begin with. So I have been on somewhat of a rabbit chase trying to pin down the edition Gu Zhizhong used.

Bearing such errors in mind, it’s easy to see where the confusion of Nezha’s age can come from. Before his origin story was integrated within Canonization of the Gods he would be roughly three to seven days old when his conflict with Ao Guang and the Lady Rock Demoness would occur - whereas within Canonization of the Gods he’s actually 6 or 7 years old.

Outside of that, a definitive age isn’t actually provided. Genuinely, within the scope of Chinese folklore and mythos it’s very rare to assign someone an exact age - which I do believe contributed heavily to the known discourse surrounding Nezha’s age to begin with.

He was imported as an adult from India, a child form not seeming to exist for a while until stories of Krsna were integrated to how the Chinese envisioned Nalakubara. Krsna, being an infantile disguise for the notorious Vishnu, also displays supernatural human strength and is actually successful in killing his father figure (1) — unlike Nezha.

As children, both Krsna and Nezha are able to wield heavenly bows and subjugate water spirits (2) while also being known to be dragon tamers (3). The inclusion of these stories to Nezha predates the sculpting of the Quanzhou Pagoda’s (which have been discussed briefly here) and are arguably the earliest evidence of Nezha being a dragon tamer.

Speculatively a child god combination of both Nalakubara and Krsna named Nana is likely where a majority of Nezha’s child attributes come from, based in the Scripture of the Supreme Secrets of Nana Deva - which would see translations within China during the Northern Song period of 960AD-1127AD. Nana would be described thus:

At that time there was a Deva called Nana. His appearance was exceptionally handsome, and his face beamed with a gentle smile. He was holding the sun, the moon, and various weapons. His numerous treasures and abundant jewelry shone more brightly than the sun and the moon. He made himself a luoye robe (4) from the dragons Nanda and Upananda, and a belt from the dragon Taksaka (5). He possessed the same strength as Narayana (i.e. Visnu). He too came to the assembly and sat down facing the Buddha … At that time the Buddha emanated great light from his dharma body of meditation. The light covered the entire Buddha Universe, reaching all the great evil yaksas, the various types of raksasas and pisacas (6) and all the evil dragons as far as the heavenly constellations. When the Buddhas light shone upon them they all awoke to the truth. The Buddhas light returned to him and, after encircling him three times, entered his head. It then reissued in seven colors from his brow, entering Nana-Deva’s head. When the Buddha light penetrated his head, Nana Deva displayed an enormous body like Mt. Sumeru. His facial expression alternated between terrifying anger and a broad smile. He had a thousand arms, and he was holding a skull (7) and numerous weapons. He was handsomely adorned with a tiger skin robe and skulls. [Mightily Strong] He emanated blazing light and terrifying strength. When Nana Deva displayed this divine body, the great earth shook, and all who beheld him were terrified.

Both Nana and Nezha share the same residence of Vaisravana’s palace, are known dragon tamers, and both were known to use belts. The Supreme Secrets of Nana Deva predate all known connections between Nezha and dragons, perhaps lending to Nezha many more elements than initially believed.

Though without concrete evidence stating one way or another, I can only present this information speculatively - especially as it seems difficult for some to understand that Nezha does enjoy a known adult and child form. This answer has already become quite long, so if there’s still confusion regarding this please feel free to ask for more details.

Bibliography:

(1) Goldman, “Fathers, Sons and Gurus,” pp.350, 364; Masson, “Childhood of Krsna”; Ramanujan, “The Indian ‘Oedipus’”; Silk, Riven by Lust, pp. 164-170.

(2) Harley, “Krishna’s Cosmic Victories”; Matchett, “Taming of Kaliya”.

(3) It’s worth comparing Matchett’s “Taming of Kaliya” p.116 with Canonization of the Gods 12.103. Nezha is five days old within the Ming era Sanjiao yuanliu shengdi fozu sou shen daquan, p. 326.

(4) Luoye is the Chinese term for a garment Indian men tied under the armpit, leaving their right shoulder bare. See Xuanzang, Da Tang Xiyu ji, T. 2087, 51: 876b, and Li Rongxi’s translation, Great Tang Dynasty Record, p.53.

(5) Nanda, Upananda, and Taksaka appear in various Buddhist lists of the eight dragon kings; see Foguang da cidian, pp. 6378,6405.

(6) The rakasas and pisacas are two types of Hindu ogres, who Buddhists demonology incorporated. Both types feed on human flesh. See Foguang da cidian, pp6673-6674 and 3851; Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English dictionary, pp. 871 and 628; and Strickman’s survey of Buddhist demonology in his Chinese Magical Medicine, pp. 62-68.

(7) Geboluo appears frequently within the contemporaneous Chinese translation of the Hevajra Tantra (Foshuo dabeikong zhi jin’guang dajiaowang yigui jing), no. 892 volume 18: 587-601.

(8) Zuishang mimi Nana tian jing, no. 1288, 21:358b-c. hi

#nezha #li nezha #lmk nezha #monkie kid nezha #the legend of nezha #nezha 2019 #nezha reborn #nezha lego monkie kid #third lotus prince #lego monkie kid

[mstrchu]

bestie.. 🤲

#professional nezha enablers hehehoho #nezha reborn #i forget what nezha 2019's tag is ahuh... also does '03 have a tag.. #nezha birth of the demon child #the legend of nezha #?? #i fulfilled my full body and background quota at the beginning of the year so now headshots for the rest of 2023 #art tag

[the-monkey-ruler]

Okay so i have been trying to get info on who longnv is and what her role is jttw because i always see tags and i saw a particular post on tumblr where i was scrolling through the jttw tag and i saw her but when i went to search on the jttw character list she wasnt there so now im like "wait...what?"

So pls if its not much of a hassle can you just pls tell who she is and what her role is in the story cause i have been trying to find stuff about her but end up fruitless

I’m surprised you haven’t found much information about her… She has a Wikipedia page so if you were looking in English, she would’ve come up.

But honestly, she isn’t really referenced in Xiyouji because she doesn’t really have a role in the story besides being an assistant. She’s Guanyin's other disciple besides Muzha but since Muzha is doing all the work, and has all the lines as the go-between got GuanYin and other characters Longvu is only really mentioned in passing standing next to GuanYin in certain scenes.

As you can see she IS mentioned but she doesn't SAY anything really.

As for history, she has a whole background of lore in Buddhist mythos as she has a long history. I talked a bit about her here and here when talking about Gaunyin and who she is a bit. So simply to say she’s not really a “character” within the story as she doesn’t have any dialogue or actions, but rather she has a lot of lore surrounding her that just isn’t referenced in Xiyouji as it’s not needed for the narrative. She is still mentioned within the novel just never interacted with! So it’s kind of like the novel references her more so!

Put it simply the most common lore I see about it is that she is the granddaughter of The Dragon King and the daughter of Ao Guang, the same dragon king of the East that Wukong took his staff and armor from and the same dragon king that has his son’s, Ao Bing, spine ruled out by Nezha in his legend. Needless to say, the east dragons have a lot of people messing with them. There are more legends of her that I haven't really gone into but she def has been around for a long time in Buddhist lore.

And Longvu works under Gaunyin and works with Muzha. And I don’t know if you are aware, but Muzha is the older brother of Nezha… so she is working with the sibling of the guy that ripped out her older brother’s spine.

Which I think is hilarious personally.

Also, that would make her Bailong's cousin too!

Small Heavens.

But yeah! We don’t get to see her lot in media. I think I’ve only ever seen a depiction of her when she gets actual lines in the 1999 series where she and Muzha interact with Red Boy when Gaunyin comes to recruit him. Also in Fei Ren Zai Non Human! I haven’t read all or watch that series yet but I know she is depicted quite often there as well with Gaunyin and Muzha and Red Boy (now Shancai). Also possible in the Nezha tv series from the early 2000s? Haven’t seen that one, but I do know there is a Dragon Girl that he befriends in the series!

If anytime knows more media she is in please chime in!!

So it’s no trouble at all!! She has more lore outside Xiyouji so I would suggest looking beyond that scope!

Here are some links to help you read about her! I hope this helps!

#anonymous #anon #anon ask #jttw #journey to the west #xiyouji #long nu #longnv #longnu #love this gal #little dragon girl #Guanyin #bodhisattva guanyin #fei ren zai #nonhuman #the legend of nezha #jttw99 #ask

[lotus-duckies]

great job everyone

#this is a sht show #nezha #li nezha #yang jian #erlang shen #the legend of nezha

[introverted-ghost]

Episode thirteen: the seven year old protagonist of this children’s show kills himself

#like what #the legend of nezha #nezha #li nezha #fucking rambling #suicide mention

[arzzyxi]

Quality is so bad 😭

I draw him so grumpy and sad all the time..

That one dog and nezha petting it so cursed I'm so sorry

THIS TOOK LIKE AN HOUR TO SEND... MY INTERNET IS SO BADD

#the legend of nezha #nezha fanart #nezha #nezha lmk #nezha monkie kid #lmk nezha #monkie kid nezha #sun wukong #lmk sun wukong #lmk fanart #lmk art #lmk #traditional drawing #traditional art #fanart #bad quality #idk what else to tag

[somie]

Nezha (2003)

#nezha fanart #nezha #the legend of nezha #nezha 2003 #he #been rewatching the childhood classic #xiaolongnu is the goat #my art

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

cosplay of daji妲己, a famous ancient chinese beauty transformed from the famous chinese yaoguai, jiuweihu九尾狐, i.e. nine tail fox (coser is shiba chongchuan十八重川)

#china #fashion #chinese fashion #video #hanfu #fun #douyin #styling based on 2003 chinese anime legend of nezha #chinese netizens comment that she's the best daji for her demeanor fits perfectly #chinese cosplayers will invite the audience to interact with them #female cosplayers will only interact with female audience #male cosers usually also interact only with female audience don't ask me why it's just cosplay culture there #that's why on douyin you see many cosers put their face or jaw on audience's hands willingly #including some physical contact #and in some individual cases #cosers will kiss on the cheek or hands of audience or something like that(only female coser to female audience) #just a brief on cosplay culture popular in china

[lxh-arts]

秋 || Autumn

#year: 2023 #the 24 solar terms #solar terms 8 #qingning #nezha #wuxian #luozhu #ziluolan #xiaohei #xuanli #madam xia #panjing #lxh #羅小黒戦記 #罗小黑战记 #luo xiao hei zhan ji #legend of hei #lanxi zhen

[lem0nn-juice]

Shout of to these specific Nezhas gotta be my favourite genders

#lemon rambles #lego monkie kid #lmk nezha #legend of luo xiaohei #legend of luo xiaohei nezha #no I will not shut up about him #you will be froced to hear mu rambling/lh

[quitealotofsodapop]

Different SWK's react to "I want a baby" text:

I imagine these convos are between the different SWK and their LEMs, but it works in general too.

Lego Monkie Kid SWK/"Dawn" + TMKATI au "Peach":

The Monkey King: Hero is Born SWK/ "Dasheng":

The Monkey King Reborn/"Smokey":

The Monkey King (Netflix) 2023/ "Cherry":

New Gods: Nezha Reborn/"Ace":

Meihouwang/"Shihou":

Journey to the West: Legends of the Monkey King (2000)/"Sugar":

Smash Legends/"Starfruit":

I made this as a joke. Add any thoughts you wish.

#memes #wukongverse #lego monkie kid #lmk #monkey king hero is back #monkey king reborn #the monkey king netflix #the monkey king 2023 #new gods nezha reborn #journey to the west: legends of the monkey king #meihouwang #smash legends #fabledconnections #shadowpeach #reboundedheroes #fruitiedads #cherryandolivestones #jackpotshipping #peachbuds #linkedfacade #i want a baby meme #sun wukong #liu er mihou #six eared macaque

[ruibaozha]

I am presently preparing for final exams and wrapping up my final case studies for this semester, but I would like to share an opera that features Nezha outside of the widely known Havoc in Heaven where he is in combat with Sun Wukong. Today, we are going to discuss the opera Chentangguan (陳塘關), known also as The Birth of Nezha (哪吒出世) and Nezha Fights the Sea (哪吒鬧海).

The plot of this opera closely follows the origin story of Nezha as is featured within Canonization of the Gods. A defined year for when this opera was initially performed is unclear, though it was written by Xiao Rongchun and appeared within a registry of operas that featured a 'celebratory ascension' in 1824; an online record of this appears here from the Opera Culture Network.

Outside of Peking Opera, Qin Opera, Hui Opera, and Szechuan Opera also regard the performance as Nezha Fights the Sea whereas Hengqi Opera regards it as Golden Pagoda. The opera is present within Gui Opera, Hunan Opera, Chenhe Opera, and Handiao Erhuang (A form of folk opera exclusive to Shaanxi Province originating in 1807) though it is not as prominent.

This opera alongside it's contemporary art forms also focused heavily on the martial arts aspect of Chinese Opera in regards to Nezha and the varying methods his story was retold. Within this post is a brief taste of how this opera was performed, Nezha himself being played by Xu Yingying in this recording.

The full hour long performance can be found here, though it is not nearly as cinematic and was recorded from a considerable distance.

#nezha #li nezha #lmk nezha #monkie kid nezha #nezha 2019 #the legend of nezha #third lotus prince #nezha lego monkie kid #nezha reborn #chinese opera #beijing opera #peking opera #chinese mythology #chinese folklore #chinese performing arts

[swk-mac]

Other versions of Wukong you know?

Hi anon, ofc ✨

They're all awesome waa <3<3

#there are moore versioons yes #I love him in all of his versions #sun wukong #monkey king reborn #wukong dislyte #nezha reborn #monkey king #mei hou wang #monkey king netflix #monkey king a hero is back #a hero is back #havoc in heaven #monkey king 2009 #monkey king legue of legends

[lotus-duckies]

a stack of sleepies

#where's the post that's like 'they share a bed' they sure do #nezha #li nezha #jinzha #li jinzha #jinzha | gold tactician #muzha #li muzha #muzha | wooden scholar #the legend of nezha

[introverted-ghost]

The theme song was so right he is little nezha

#fucking rambling #the legend of nezha #nezha

[antidotefortheawkward-art]

A little late but happy Trans Day of Visibility!!!

[ID: A monochrome chibi drawing of various figures from Chinese folklore with pride flags painted onto their faces. From left to right are Taibai Jinxing, Sun Wukong, Taishang Laojun, Guanshiyin Pusa, Lan Caihe, Bai Suzhen, and Qing She. Guanyin has nonbinary flags and Lan Caihe has genderfluid flags, but everyone else has trans flags. Above them is written "Happy TDOV 2023!" End ID]

#my art #tdov #tdov23 #chinese mythology #journey to the west #jttw #xiyouji #sun wukong #monkey king #legend of the white snake #bai suzhen #qing she #xiao qing #wanna make it very clear that i am referring to folkloric deity taishang laojun not historical figure laozi. bc thatd be insane gfhdjkfdh #anyways no nezha this year bc i decided to go with only historic and/or reasonably textually supported characters ^-^ #will add details in a reblog