Ryu Zhong's Blog, page 2
November 15, 2023
Qingbao, a Beautiful Maiden
The true identity of Qingbao, the one who captured the heart of the wandering komuso monk named Sogi Zaemon, remains a mystery. Fate led Qingbao and Zaemon on separate paths, and it took a considerable amount of time before fortune smiled upon the lovers.
Another fortunate coincidence was Qingbao’s striking resemblance to the late mother of Duke Bao-Zhu. Thanks to this, Qingbao found herself as a guest in the duke’s residence. It was in this garden that something happened, making the duke, perhaps for the first time in his dukey life, regret the size of his belly.
If you want to learn a little more about Qingbao, you must read her page on Makipedia.
Another fortunate coincidence was Qingbao’s striking resemblance to the late mother of Duke Bao-Zhu. Thanks to this, Qingbao found herself as a guest in the duke’s residence. It was in this garden that something happened, making the duke, perhaps for the first time in his dukey life, regret the size of his belly.
If you want to learn a little more about Qingbao, you must read her page on Makipedia.
November 11, 2023
Sogi Zaemon, a Komuso Monk
Sogi Zaemon — that’s the name of a wandering komuso monk who traveled through Chinayindu in search of weredemons. He was accompanied on his journeys by two large wolves: one white as the first snow, and the other gray like roadside dust.
The early life of Zaemon remains mostly unknown to the readers of ‘Takuan from Koto.’ We will only say that he encountered many hardships, and among them was parting with his beloved.
However, if you want to know a little more about Zaemon, you must read his page on Makipedia.
The early life of Zaemon remains mostly unknown to the readers of ‘Takuan from Koto.’ We will only say that he encountered many hardships, and among them was parting with his beloved.
However, if you want to know a little more about Zaemon, you must read his page on Makipedia.
November 7, 2023
Bricabrac, a Clumsy Sorcerer
Bricabrac was the name of the unlucky sorcerer who traveled through the land of Chinayindu in search of magic. He arrived from the distant land of Yurasiu, following the powerful sorcerer Alastar Lupin.
While Alastar adopted a new name upon arriving in Chinayindu and resorted to considerable cunning, Bricabrac didn’t even bother changing his name. Needless to say, luck was not on Bricabrac’s side.
His robe quickly fell into disrepair, and his short stature and disproportionate width gave the sorcerer an even more unworthy appearance. His face, resembling a rat’s snout, did nothing to improve his looks.
If you want to know a little more about Bricabrac, you must visit his page on Makipedia.
While Alastar adopted a new name upon arriving in Chinayindu and resorted to considerable cunning, Bricabrac didn’t even bother changing his name. Needless to say, luck was not on Bricabrac’s side.
His robe quickly fell into disrepair, and his short stature and disproportionate width gave the sorcerer an even more unworthy appearance. His face, resembling a rat’s snout, did nothing to improve his looks.
If you want to know a little more about Bricabrac, you must visit his page on Makipedia.
November 4, 2023
Bing Lieu, the Evil Sorcerer
Bing Lieu, or Alastar Lupin, as his real name was, brought a lot of trouble to Takuan and his companions.
The sorcerer dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of power. His diligence and talent attracted the attention of the Dark Lord himself, who appeared before the sorcerer and entrusted him with a mission to travel to Chinayindu and acquire magical items. In return, the Dark Lord promised Alastar Lupin power that could only be matched by the celestial beings.
If you want to know a little more about Bing Lieu, you must visit his page on Makipedia.
The sorcerer dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of power. His diligence and talent attracted the attention of the Dark Lord himself, who appeared before the sorcerer and entrusted him with a mission to travel to Chinayindu and acquire magical items. In return, the Dark Lord promised Alastar Lupin power that could only be matched by the celestial beings.
If you want to know a little more about Bing Lieu, you must visit his page on Makipedia.
September 24, 2023
Soliang, the Temple Monk
Soliang, that was the name of one of the temple monks living in the monastery of Brocade Mountain. He didn’t possess extraordinary bravery, but he was diligent and, in addition to that, quite handsome.
For this, or perhaps for something else, the Goddess of the West took notice of the monk. Late at night, she appeared before him and entrusted him with a task of such importance that the next morning the monk set off on a journey.
This journey is recounted in the second book of ‘Takuan from Koto’ titled ‘Hunters of Weredemons.’
If you want to know a little more about Soliang’s and those who accompanied him on his journey, you must read Soliang’s page in the Makipedia.
For this, or perhaps for something else, the Goddess of the West took notice of the monk. Late at night, she appeared before him and entrusted him with a task of such importance that the next morning the monk set off on a journey.
This journey is recounted in the second book of ‘Takuan from Koto’ titled ‘Hunters of Weredemons.’
If you want to know a little more about Soliang’s and those who accompanied him on his journey, you must read Soliang’s page in the Makipedia.
September 1, 2023
Magical Bulbs
From the magical perspective, demons (and other being beyond mortals) are kept — most often, imprisoned — in magical crystal bulbs.
The bulbs are about a size of a tennis or ping-pong balls — somewhere in between those two sizes. They are comfortably held by one held, though holding several bulbs in one hand is cumbersome.
When a bulb is held in a hand, the owner of the hand feels tingling, like if something trying to get into the skin.
The bulbs are fragile. If they are thrown against a wall, or dropped to a hard floor, they are smashed, and the content of it is released.
Certain magical powers are required to capture a demon into such a bulb. Common mortals or even celestials can't do that; some gods, however, can (not that they would do it). Yanwang is given powers to hunt demons and capture them in bulbs.
If you want to know the meaning of different colours of the bulbs, you must visit the Makipedia’s page about them.
The bulbs are about a size of a tennis or ping-pong balls — somewhere in between those two sizes. They are comfortably held by one held, though holding several bulbs in one hand is cumbersome.
When a bulb is held in a hand, the owner of the hand feels tingling, like if something trying to get into the skin.
The bulbs are fragile. If they are thrown against a wall, or dropped to a hard floor, they are smashed, and the content of it is released.
Certain magical powers are required to capture a demon into such a bulb. Common mortals or even celestials can't do that; some gods, however, can (not that they would do it). Yanwang is given powers to hunt demons and capture them in bulbs.
If you want to know the meaning of different colours of the bulbs, you must visit the Makipedia’s page about them.
August 23, 2023
Weredemons
Demons are just as sentient beings as deities and gods. They are not inherently evil, nor are they necessarily good (the same can be said about gods). However, humans usually depict them as evil, often due to the demons’ inherent selfishness.
Demons reside in the Under Realm, from where they can breach into other realms. Like deities, demons do not possess mortal bodies; they only possess celestial forms. In order to remain in the Earthen Realm, they require a body or a sacred vessel, much like the gods.
What Drives the Demons
Demons are driven by primal, animalistic passions. For instance, weredemons are always hungry, angry, and greedy. Demons are born from the depths of human passions, from the ‘three roots of evil.’ These passions cannot be completely satiated; they can only be dulled. Hence, passions guide the actions of demons.
Attitude towards Death
Demons are creations – creatures that were never born. They crave mortality and, at the same time, cannot endure it. Therefore, they cannot stay in the Earthen Realm for long and destroy the bodies they possess. Their insatiable thirst for death fuels their hunger, anger, and greed – especially towards mortals who possess what demons can never attain.
Now, Weredemons
When demons manifest in corporeal form (typically by possessing someone’s body), they take on a bestial shape, such as giant bears, wolves, badgers, and so on. They appear as a blend of human and animal, akin to werewolves.
One can envision weredemons as animals that have escaped from Heavens. They always assume a bestial form and give themselves animal names, such as Brother Leopard or Brother Jackal.
If you want to know a little more about different supernatural beings of the Anno Ruini universe, you must visit the Makipedia’s page on ‘Gods, demons, and others’.
Demons reside in the Under Realm, from where they can breach into other realms. Like deities, demons do not possess mortal bodies; they only possess celestial forms. In order to remain in the Earthen Realm, they require a body or a sacred vessel, much like the gods.
What Drives the Demons
Demons are driven by primal, animalistic passions. For instance, weredemons are always hungry, angry, and greedy. Demons are born from the depths of human passions, from the ‘three roots of evil.’ These passions cannot be completely satiated; they can only be dulled. Hence, passions guide the actions of demons.
Attitude towards Death
Demons are creations – creatures that were never born. They crave mortality and, at the same time, cannot endure it. Therefore, they cannot stay in the Earthen Realm for long and destroy the bodies they possess. Their insatiable thirst for death fuels their hunger, anger, and greed – especially towards mortals who possess what demons can never attain.
Now, Weredemons
When demons manifest in corporeal form (typically by possessing someone’s body), they take on a bestial shape, such as giant bears, wolves, badgers, and so on. They appear as a blend of human and animal, akin to werewolves.
One can envision weredemons as animals that have escaped from Heavens. They always assume a bestial form and give themselves animal names, such as Brother Leopard or Brother Jackal.
If you want to know a little more about different supernatural beings of the Anno Ruini universe, you must visit the Makipedia’s page on ‘Gods, demons, and others’.
August 1, 2023
Tiel Ulenspiegel and Takuan
Till Eulenspiegel is a protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero, but a background in earlier Middle Low German folklore is likely. The character may have been based on a historical person.
The literal translation of the High German name ‘Eulenspiegel’ is ‘owl mirror’ (hence owle-glasse). It is both innocuous and indicative of his character and has been explained as a garbled form of an expression for ‘wipe-the-arse’.
Till is depicted as trickster who plays practical jokes on his contemporaries, at every turn exposing vices, greed and folly, hypocrisy and foolishness. Although craftsmen are featured as the principal victims of his pranks, neither the nobility nor the pope is exempt from being affected by him.
It’s a great reference for Takuan whose vocation is to expose and exploit vices: ignorance, anger, and greed.
To learn more, visit the Makipedia.
The literal translation of the High German name ‘Eulenspiegel’ is ‘owl mirror’ (hence owle-glasse). It is both innocuous and indicative of his character and has been explained as a garbled form of an expression for ‘wipe-the-arse’.
Till is depicted as trickster who plays practical jokes on his contemporaries, at every turn exposing vices, greed and folly, hypocrisy and foolishness. Although craftsmen are featured as the principal victims of his pranks, neither the nobility nor the pope is exempt from being affected by him.
It’s a great reference for Takuan whose vocation is to expose and exploit vices: ignorance, anger, and greed.
To learn more, visit the Makipedia.
July 7, 2023
Wang-Zhu Leizu, a Wandering Warrior
Wang Leizu, nicknamed ‘Zhu,’ which means ‘pig,’ catches Takuan's eye in the middle of ‘The Prince of Blue Flowers,’ but his story began long before the events described in the book.
A distinguishing feature of Wang-Zhu Leizu is his nose, which resembles a boar’s snout. Together with his completely bald head and pointed ear tips, the nose of the wandering warrior became the cause of his derogatory nickname.
This nose caused concern to its owner not only due to its appearance but also because, like many forest animals, it was the most sensitive and therefore the most painful spot for Leizu. If he was struck on the nose in the heat of another fight, he would become so furious that his eyes would be veiled in blood, and green smoke would emanate from his ears.
If you want to know a little more about Wang-Zhu Leizu, you must visit his page on the Makipedia.
A distinguishing feature of Wang-Zhu Leizu is his nose, which resembles a boar’s snout. Together with his completely bald head and pointed ear tips, the nose of the wandering warrior became the cause of his derogatory nickname.
This nose caused concern to its owner not only due to its appearance but also because, like many forest animals, it was the most sensitive and therefore the most painful spot for Leizu. If he was struck on the nose in the heat of another fight, he would become so furious that his eyes would be veiled in blood, and green smoke would emanate from his ears.
If you want to know a little more about Wang-Zhu Leizu, you must visit his page on the Makipedia.
June 10, 2023
Seven Lucky Gods
In Chinayindu, the Seven Gods of Luck are revered above all others, even more so than the wise and beautiful Goddess of the West. It is thanks to the Gods of Fortune that people were freed from the domination of weredemons who took over the Middle Realm after the Storm.
The Lucky Gods bestowed upon the Jade Emperor three hundred bottomless bags containing magical seeds. The Emperor himself distributed these bags among three hundred mountain monasteries, instructing the monks to plant a Fortune seed for each of the inhabitants.
The Lucky Seeds were not powerful enough to drive the weredemons out of the Earthen Realm, but those who had such a seed under their protection were no longer easy prey for the demons.
If you want to know a little more about these gods, you must visit their page on Makipedia.
The Lucky Gods bestowed upon the Jade Emperor three hundred bottomless bags containing magical seeds. The Emperor himself distributed these bags among three hundred mountain monasteries, instructing the monks to plant a Fortune seed for each of the inhabitants.
The Lucky Seeds were not powerful enough to drive the weredemons out of the Earthen Realm, but those who had such a seed under their protection were no longer easy prey for the demons.
If you want to know a little more about these gods, you must visit their page on Makipedia.
