Tag Archives: journey to the west

A Self Called Erewhon

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Nathan

Erewhon and Erewhon Revisited, by Samuel Butler – The son of an Anglican priest, Butler spent some years as a sheep farmer in New Zealand, and both of those things influenced this work. “Erewhon” is almost “nowhere” spelled backwards, making … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Anglicanism, Authors, Book Reviews, Chinese, Christianity, Current Events, Humor, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Politics, Prejudice, Religion, Rick Riordan, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Robot Mastery

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Nathan

Mega Man Robot Master Field Guide, by David and Nadia Oxford – The Mega Man series is pretty difficult (I could never get much of anywhere in any of them, although I watched my brother win the first seven), but … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Chinese, Focus on the Foes, Food, Japanese, Mega Man, Mythology, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Wages of Sin

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Nathan

Snuff Fiction, by Robert Rankin – While Rankin often employs dark humor, this one is even darker than most, focusing on the narrator’s unfortunate friendship with tobacco magnate, terrorist, and generally underhanded guy Doveston. He’s constantly helping out Doveston with … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Characters, Chinese, Conspiracy Theories, Humor, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Robert Rankin, Roman, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Tom Holt | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Turtle Whirl

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Nathan

I was looking for information on the Black Tortoise of Winter who played a significant role in Grace Lin’s When the Sea Turned to Silver, and it turns out that he’s pretty closely tied to a god called Xuanwu, a … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Chinese, History, Mythology, Religion, Taoism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hyrule on the Hog

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Nathan

Years ago, I wrote a post on how common people turning into pigs is in mythology and fantasy. More recently, this post on Power of Babel also addressed the theme of pig-people, specifically that of orcs with the heads of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Authors, Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoons, Chinese, Dragon Quest, Fairy Tales, Focus on the Foes, Games, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Mythology, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dragon-Infested Waters

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Nathan

Dragons are pretty common in Chinese mythology, serving as the protectors of various aspects of nature. Four of them are regarded as the rulers of the seas, and are known as the Long Wang, implying that they know how to … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese, Jared Davis, Jeff Rester, L. Frank Baum, Marcus Mebes, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Wheels of Fire

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Nathan

I wanted to feature some aspect of mythology associated with fireworks, what with the Fourth of July and all. The best I could come up with through Google was the Chinese hero and deity Li No-Cha, or Nezha. He fought … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Jaded Monarch

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Nathan

The Jade Emperor is a significant character in Journey to the West, in which Sun Wukong challenges his rule over the universe for no real reason other than because he wanted recognition. He’s more or less the head of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Chinese, L. Frank Baum, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Taoism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Monk and the Monkey

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Nathan

Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng’en, translated and edited by Anthony C. Yu – This classic of Chinese literature, first published in the sixteenth century, is quite loosely based on the real-life pilgrimage of the seventh-century Buddhist monk Xuanzang … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Buddhism, China, Chinese, History, India, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Religion, Taoism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Yama Yama Man

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Nathan

It’s pretty well known that Buddhism started in India, but eventually became much more popular in eastern Asia. Also, while Siddhartha Gautama apparently started Buddhism as an alternative to Hinduism, it came to take on many aspects of the earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in Buddhism, Chinese, Hinduism, Mythology, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments