Wu-Kong
From MegatenWiki
Contents |
[edit] Games
| Game | Cate. |
|---|---|
| Shin Megami Tensei | Tenma clan |
| Shin Megami Tensei II | Hakashin clan |
| Shin Megami Tensei if... | Hakashin clan |
| Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne | Fury clan |
| Devil Summoner | Hakashin clan |
| Soul Hackers | Hakashin clan |
| Persona 1 | Chariot arcanum |
| Persona 2 | Chariot arcanum |
| Persona 3 | Tower arcanum |
| Digital Devil Saga | Beast race |
[edit] Hanji in simplified Chinese
- Qi-Tian-Da-Sheng (Chinese) / Seitentaisei (Japanese): 齐天大圣
- Sun Wu-Kong: 孙 悟空
[edit] About
Sun Wu Kong (Son Goku in Japanese) is the main protagonist in the 1590s classic Chinese novel by Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West. He was a monkey born from a stone made of primal chaos, and was first named Mei Houwang (meaning handsome monkey king) for his bravery by the other monkeys after he lept through a waterfall and discovered the water-curtain cave. He then set out on a raft in his search for immortality, where he finally met with Buddha's disciple, Subhuti.
At first Houwang was rejected by Subhuti due to his arrogance, however his determination and intelligence finally impressed Subhuti enough that he accepted Houwang as his student and gave him the name Sun Wu Kong (meaning aware of emptiness). Subhuti taught him the mystic arts of shape-shifting, cloud-traveling, and the seventy-two earthly methods of transformation, allowing him to take the shape of any earthy person or object. It was not long before Wu Kong's natural arrogance had him boasting to Subhuti's other disciples and soon Subhuti became angry. Subhuti and Wu Kong parted ways, but before Wu Kong left, Subhuti made him promise to never tell anyone who taught him, as he was certain he would very quickly get into trouble.
Wu Kong traveled onward, and eventually met with Ao Guang, keeper of the golden-banded staff, the Ru Yi Bang. The staff was originally used by Da Yu in his efforts to prevent flooding in the land, and had the ability to shrink as small as a needle and grow as tall as the heaven, multiply and act intelligently. The staff was said to be so heavy that only the gods could lift it, and, knowing this, Wu Kong bet Ao Guang that if he could lift the staff then he could keep it. Ao Guang, who did not realise Wu Kong's true strength agreed to the bet, and lost. Wu Kong was given the Ru Yi Bang along with a phoenix-feather cap, golden chain mail, and cloud-walking boots by Ao Guang for winning the bet.
Wu Kong's actions on Earth did not go unnoticed, and the Jade Emperor invited him to the Heavenly Kingdom in the hope that a promotion would make him more manageable. However when he is only given a lowly position and excluded from a royal banquet, Wu Kong becomes angry and rebellious, first eating Empress Xi Wangmu's "Peaches of Immortality", then eating Lao Tzu's "Pills of Longevity", and he continued to act as a nuisance to all those within the Jade Emperor's palace, refusing to leave. Eventually the Jade Emperor sent the Army of Heaven to subdue him, but Wu Kong defeated all ten thousand soldiers, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the warrior deities Erlang Shen and Nezha. Wu Kong was finally captured however, and sentenced to be distilled into an elixir by the trigram cauldron's sacred flames. He cooked in the cauldron for forty-nine days, but then the cauldron exploded and Wu Kong jumped out, more powerful than ever and with the new ability to see evil in all its forms.
With Wu Kong once again running amok, the Jade Emperor and his followers were left with no option but to call for help from Buddha himself. Hearing the Jade Emperor's plea, Buddha arrived in an instant, and bet Wu Kong that if he could jump out of his hand, he could stay in Heaven, if not, he would be punished for his many misdeeds. Wu Kong smugly agreed, as he was able to leap over 108,000 li in one bound. He stood on Buddha's hand and took a great leap, and landed in what seemed to be the very end of Heaven, where nothing stood but five great pillars. To prove that he had traveled there, he wrote "The Great Sage, equal to Heaven, was here!" on the middle pillar, and urinated between the first and second to mark the spot, after which he leaped back. Buddha grinned and asked Wu Kong to turn about, where he was shocked to see the five pillars, that were in fact Buddha's fingers. Wu Kong had lost, and tried to escape, but Buddha dropped a mountain on him, pinning him down.
Wu Kong remained pinned under the mountain for five-hundred years until the great Tang Priest, Xuan Zang happened to meet with him. Wu Kong offered his services to Xuan Zang if he agreed to free him. Xuan Zang, knowing of Wu Kong's trickery from Guan Yin, fooled him into wearing a magical headband that would tighten and cause Wu Kong great pain should he ever disobey or displease him. And so Wu Kong became Xuan Zang's faithful guard and traveled west with him to retrieve the Buddhist sutras from India, eventually redeeming himself and achieving Buddhahood for his great service and strength.
The story of Wu Kong has inspired many works in modern art throughout the world from movies, to cartoons, to video games, although he is known best in the west simply as "The Monkey King". Some scholars suggest that Wu Kong was based on the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman.
[edit] Abilities
- Shin Megami Tensei: Mahazanma (マハザンマ), Zanma (ザンマ), Tsukumo-hari (つくも針)
- Shin Megami Tensei II: Zanma (ザンマ), Mahazanma (マハザンマ), Tobigeri (飛び蹴り), Fire Breath (ファイアブレス)
- Shin Megami Tensei if...: Zandyne (ザンダイン), Mahazandyne (マハザンダイン), Tobigeri (飛び蹴り), Fire Breath (ファイアブレス), Makakaja (マカカジャ)
