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- Note: Due to Monkie Kid not being a direct representation to Journey to the West,[1] this article will be primarily about Tang Sanzang's appearance within Monkie Kid. For information about him in Journey to the West, click here.
Tang Sanzang, also known as the Great Monk, was a Buddhist monk and cousin of the Emperor of China that journeyed with the Pilgrims to find ancient Buddhist sacred texts.
History[]
When Tang Sanzang studied the mystical arts, he was disconnected from other people to focus on his studies. Finding friendships and earthly connections a distraction and a burden.[2][3]
Journey to the West[]
During the 7th century, Tang Sanzang was sent on a journey to the west to deliver sacred texts from India to China.[3] Shortly after he started his journey from Chang'an, he was quickly kidnapped by two Village Demons, who tried to eat to become immortal,[4] although he was able to magicall shield himself by using his Khakkhara, he was eventually rescued by Liu Boqin, who offered the monk to lodge at his house, unknowingly to Tang Sanzang, Liu and his wife Jing had lured him in their house to help Liu's grandfather's ghost to move on to the afterlife, a task Sanzang noblely accepted.
Later on, Tang Sanzang travelled to the Five Phases Mountain, and liberated the Monkey King from his imprisonment, Wukong became Tang Sanzang's first disciple, and was given a circlet that would tighten when activated.[5] When the two were crossing a bridge, they began two argue, but they were interrupted by a Ao Lie, the White Horse Dragon then decided to join the pilgrims.[6] Eventually, the Great Monk was able to convince the demons Zhu Ganglie and Sha Wujing to join them on their quest.
During the journey, Tang Sanzang performed in a ritual with Monkey King, Ne Zha, and the Demon Bull King to extract the Samadhi Fire from Red Son. During the ritual, a small fragment of the Samadhi Fire nearly hit Tang Sanzang, but Ao Lie shielded him.[7]
One day, Tang Sanzang, and the other pilgrims came across Lady Bone Demon. Monkey King planned on destroying Lady Bone Demon after defeating her, but Tang Sanzang spared her, having the demon be imprisoned in a tomb until she could see the error of her ways.[8]
Eventually, Tang Sanzang, along with the rest of the pilgrims were sent by the Celestial Realm to destroy Camel Ridge and imprison the Azure Lion, the Golden-Winged Peng and Yellowtusk the Wise in the Scroll of Memory.[9]
Legacy[]
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Personality[]
Tang Sanzang was a dedicated monk and a pacifist, who believed in giving people second chances. He also greatly detested violence, even violence used to protect his life.
Before his pilgrimage, he decided to cut off friendships to focus on his studies and skill, thinking such connections would get in the way of his studies and spiritual center and becoming cold, condescending, and aloof as a result. He originally derided friendships as distracting earthly connections that harmed one's search for enlightenment. He eventually came to see the value of having interpersonal relationships during his pilgrimage with his allies.
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Appearance[]
Overview[]
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Attire[]
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Minifigures[]
| Minifigure | Show | Minifigure's description |
|---|---|---|
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Tang Sanzang's minifigure lacks the beads and red detailing on his crown. He wears black shoes with white socks. |
Weapons & Accessories[]
Khakkhara[]
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Tang Sanzang wielded a khakkhara, which was gifted to him by the Heavens.
Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Circlet Tightening Spell - A spell gifted to him by the Heavenly Host. It is a spell that allows the user to create a circlet on the head of the receiver. The circlet can be tightened to cause immense pain.
- Sealing - Tang Sanzang can make impressive seals that can hold back destructive forces such as the Lady Bone Demon and the Samadhi Fire for centuries. These seals continue to work many centuries even after the Journey to the West and his death.
- Unsealing - Tang Sanzang can also break powerful seals such as the seal on Five Phases Mountain that imprisoned Monkey King for five hundred years.
Etymology[]
Tang Sanzang means "Three Baskets of the Tang Dynasty". Táng (唐) refers to his brotherhood with the Tang Emperor and Sānzàng (三藏, Three Baskets) is the Chinese term for the Buddhist texts. [10]
Appearances[]
| Monkie Kid: A Hero is Born | ||||||||||||
| Opening sequence: | Absent | |||||||||||
| Episodes | ||||||||||||
| "Monkie Kid: A Hero is Born": | Illustration | |||||||||||
| Sets | ||||||||||||
| 80006 White Dragon Horse Bike: |
Absent | 80007 Iron Bull Tank: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80008 Monkie Kid's Cloud Jet: |
Absent | 80009 Pigsy's Food Truck: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80010 Demon Bull King: |
Absent | 80011 Red Son's Inferno Truck: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech: |
Absent | 80013 Monkie Kid's Team Secret HQ: |
Absent | |||||||||
| Season 1 | ||||||||||||
| Opening sequence: | Absent | |||||||||||
| Episodes | ||||||||||||
| 1. "Bad Weather": | Absent | 2. "Duplicatnation": | Absent | |||||||||
| 3. "Coming Home": | Absent | 4. "Noodles or Death": | Absent | |||||||||
| 5. "Calabash": | Absent | 6. "The Great Wall Race": | Absent | |||||||||
| 7. "Impossible Delivery": | Absent | 8. "Skeleton Key": | Absent | |||||||||
| 9. "Macaque": | Pictured | 10. "The End is Here!": | Absent | |||||||||
| Sets | ||||||||||||
| 80014 Sandy's Speedboat: |
Absent | |||||||||||
| 80015 Monkie Kid's Cloud Roadster: |
Absent | 80016 The Flaming Foundry: |
Absent | |||||||||
| Season 2 | ||||||||||||
| Opening sequence: | Absent | |||||||||||
| Episodes | ||||||||||||
| "Revenge of the Spider Queen": | Cameo | |||||||||||
| 11. "Sleep Bug": | Absent | 12. "Dumpling Destruction": | Absent | |||||||||
| 13. "Pig Pong Panic": | Absent | 14. "Sweet 'n' Sour": | Absent | |||||||||
| 15. "Minor Scale": | Absent | 16. "Game On": | Video game | |||||||||
| 17. "Shadow Play": | Absent | 18. "To Catch a Leaf": | Absent | |||||||||
| 19. "72 Transformations": | Absent | 20. "This is the End!": | Absent | |||||||||
| Sets | ||||||||||||
| 80018 Monkie Kid's Cloud Bike: |
Absent | 80019 Red Son's Inferno Jet: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80020 White Dragon Horse Jet: |
Absent | 80021 Monkie Kid's Lion Guardian: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80022 Spider Queen's Arachnoid Base: |
Absent | 80023 Monkie Kid's Team Dronecopter: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80024 The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain: |
Absent | 80025 Sandy's Power Loader Mech: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80026 Pigsy's Noodle Tank: |
Absent | 80028 The Bone Demon: |
Absent | |||||||||
| Season 3 | ||||||||||||
| Opening sequence: | Appears | |||||||||||
| Episodes | ||||||||||||
| 21. "On the Run": | Mentioned | 22. "Great Grand Dragon of the East": | Absent | |||||||||
| 23. "Smartie Kid": | Absent | 24. "The Winning Side": | Absent | |||||||||
| 25. "Amnesia Rules": | Illustration | 26. "The First Ring": | Flashback | |||||||||
| 27. "Cooking With Chang'e": | Absent | 28. "Benched": | Absent | |||||||||
| 29. "The King, the Prince, and the Shadow": | Absent | 30. "The Samadhi Fire": | Flashback | |||||||||
| Embrace Your Destiny | ||||||||||||
| 31. "This Imperfect World": | Absent | 32. "The Corrupted King": | Statue | |||||||||
| 33. "Time to Be Warriors": | Illustration | 34. "Destiny Fulfilled": | Absent | |||||||||
| Sets | ||||||||||||
| 80030 Monkie Kid's Staff Creations: |
Absent | 80031 Mei's Dragon Car: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80032 Chang'e Moon Cake Factory: |
Absent | 80033 Evil Macaque's Mech: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80034 Nezha's Fire Ring: |
Absent | 80035 Monkie Kid's Galactic Explorer: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80036 The City of Lanterns: |
80037 Dragon of the East: |
Absent | ||||||||||
| 80038 Monkie Kid's Team Van: |
Absent | 80039 The Heavenly Realms: |
Absent | |||||||||
| Season 4 | ||||||||||||
| Opening sequence: | Appears | |||||||||||
| Episodes | ||||||||||||
| 35. "Familiar Tales": | Absent | 36. "New Adventures": | Absent | |||||||||
| 37. "The Great Tang Man": | Memory | 38. "Pig-Napped!": | Absent | |||||||||
| 39. "Court of the Yellow Robed Demon": | Pictured | 40. "Show Me the Monster": | Absent | |||||||||
| 41. "Pitiful Creatures": | Visualized | 42. "The Brotherhood": | Memory | |||||||||
| 43. "Roast of the Monkie Kids": | Flashback | 44. "The Jade Emperor": | Absent | |||||||||
| The Emperor's Wrath | ||||||||||||
| 45. "A Lifetime of Mistakes": | Memory | 46. "The Plan Man": | Absent | |||||||||
| 47. "Rip and Tear": | Absent | 48. "Better Than We Found It": | Absent | |||||||||
| Sets | ||||||||||||
| 80040 Monkie Kid's Combi Mech: |
Absent | |||||||||||
| 80041 Mei's Dragon Jet: |
Absent | 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout: |
Pictured | 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech: |
Appears | |||||||||
| 80046 Monkie Kid's Cloud Airship: |
Absent | 80047 Mei's Guardian Dragon: |
Absent | |||||||||
| 80048 The Mighty Azure Lion: |
Absent | 80049 Dragon of the East Palace: |
Absent | |||||||||
Names in other languages[]
| Language | Name | Translation, etymology, and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 三蔵法師 | Japanese reading of Táng Sānzàng. |
| Korean | 삼장법사 | Korean reading of Táng Sānzàng. |
| Mandarin (China) |
唐三藏 | Translates to "Three Baskets of the Tang Dynasty". |
Behind the Scenes[]
- Tang Sanzang in Journey to the West is based on the real-life Tang Dynasty monk, Xuanzang.
- His birth name is Jiāng Liú (江流 "River Current") and his original surname was Chen (陳).
- He is a reincarnation of Golden Cicada, a disciple of the Buddha.
Trivia[]
- In the credits for "Game On", his name was incorrectly spelled "Tang Sanzeng". But in Season 3, his name was spelled "Tang Sanzang".
- He is also sometimes known as "Tripitaka" , this is the Sanskrit term that is the root of the Chinese "Sanzangjing", both meaning "Three Baskets", a term for Buddhist scriptures.
Gallery[]
 Click here to view the gallery. |
References[]
- ↑ Adams, Jeremy. It is not a direct 1:1 representation to JTW by design. It gives us more freedom with stories and characters and hopefully points people to search and experience JTW themselves (Reply). Archived from the original on August 28, 2022.
- ↑ Harper, Sarah. "Roast of the Monkie Kids". Monkie Kid. Season 4. Episode 43.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Devlin, Deirdre. "The Great Tang Man". Monkie Kid. Season 4. Episode 37.
- ↑ Adams, Jeremy; Kai, Yin. "Amnesia Rules". Monkie Kid. Season 3. Episode 25.
- ↑ Breen, David. "A Lifetime of Mistakes". Monkie Kid. Season 4. Episode 45.
- ↑ Harper, Sarah. "Roast of the Monkie Kids". Monkie Kid. Season 4. Episode 43.
- ↑ Adams, Jeremy; Kai, Yin. "The Samadhi Fire". Monkie Kid. Season 3. Episode 30.
- ↑ Adams, Jeremy; Breen, David; Harper, Sarah; Kai, Yin. "Time to Be Warriors". Monkie Kid. Season 3. Episode 33.
- ↑ Breen, David. "The Brotherhood". Monkie Kid. Season 4. Episode 42.
- ↑ As his legend grew, an embellished story cycle began referring to him as the Tang monk Tripitaka (Tang Sanzang, 唐三藏; lit: “Three Baskets of the Tang Dynasty“) The Monk Tripitaka and the Golden Cicada on journeytothewestresearch.com