Ryu Zhong

Poetry of ‘Takuan from Koto’

While the ‘Journey to the West’ is very poetic, ‘Takuan from Koto’ ventures into the poetic worlds only briefly. Most of the verses are following the waka and tanka (see below) traditions whenever it is possible with the translation. Tanka consist of five units (often treated as separate lines when

Robert Lynn Asprin and Another Fine Myth

Robert Lynn Asprin was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, known best for his humorous series ‘MythAdventures’ and ‘Phule’s Company’. His books are noted for and popular for their whimsical nature, myriad characters, and liberal use of puns. The ‘Myth Adventures’ series is fast-moving story

Flambeau, Chesterton’s Trickster

Hercule Flambeau is a fictional character created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton, who appears in 48 short stories about the character Father Brown. A master criminal, his surname ‘Flambeau’ is an alias, the French word for a flaming torch. Flambeau himself lives to his alias by committing his crimes

Brer Rabbit, an Afro-American Trickster

Brer (Brother) Rabbit is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean, notably Afro-Bahamians and Turks and Caicos Islanders. He is a trickster who succeeds by his wits rather than by brawn, provoking authority figures and

Nasreddin Hodja, a Muslim Trickster

Nasreddin Hodja is a character in the folklore of the Muslim world from the Balkans to China, and a hero of humorous short stories and satirical anecdotes. He is portrayed as a wise fool, clever simpleton, or instructive prankster. The oldest manuscript of Nasreddin dates to 1571, which is coincidental

Sung-Guan, a Boy with a Tail

Sung-Guan makes an appearance in the pages of ‘Takuan from Koto’ only towards the end of the second book, ‘Hunters of Weredemons.’ Let’s not discuss how it happened, but Sung-Guan became the victim of an unlucky sorcerer named Bricabrac, who, perhaps for the only time, found himself blessed with

Four Heavenly Kings

The Four Heavenly Kings, Tamon-ten, Jocho-ten, Jikoku-ten, and Komoku-ten, were assigned by the Jade Emperor to guard the heavens from all four directions. Tamon-ten was assigned the north, Jocho-ten the south, Jikoku-ten was directed to guard the eastern gates, and Komoku-ten the western gates. Each King wields one of the

Jade Emperor Himself

The Jade Emperor sits on the throne, located in the heart of the Jade Palace. In his hand, he holds a jade scepter, through which he governs the three realms: the Heavens, the Earthen Realm, and the Under Realm. In ancient times, he, along with his brother, managed to ascend

Shu Wuzing, a Sand Demon

Once upon a time, one of the Gods of Fortune named Ebisu received a magical fishing rod as a gift. With its help, he awakened a demon who had peacefully slumbered in the depths of the sea sand. This demon was called Shu Wuzing, and upon awakening, he set off

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

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

Bricabrac, a Hapless 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’

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

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

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

Weredemons and Other Demons

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

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

Prince Danian Arra-ö

Prince Danian from the Arra kin arrived in Chinayindu from a distant land called Yurasiu, from a kingdom whose name we will keep unknown for a short while. The Arra family had ruled the kingdom since ancient times, and in memory of this, representatives of this lineage were respectfully referred

Duke Bao-Zhu

The ruler of the Four Rivers province, duke Bao, was aptly nicknamed Bao-Zhu. ‘Zhu’ translates to pig, and the duke earned this nickname due to his appearance and gluttony, which alienated not only close friends but also acquaintances. Bao-Zhu was the son of duke Bao Gun and the beautiful Xue

Wang-Zhu Leizu

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. Once upon a time, in the dawn of time, he was an entirely ordinary, albeit hefty warrior who traveled

Roots of Evil

Three roots of evil nestled in every person: ignorance, greed and anger. As soon as one of these roots touched the human mind, the gaze of that person became foggy and bleary, leaving him open to believing everything that nourished this evil. Tradition, the primary religion of the world of

Jin the Fox Cub

In the White Mountain monastery, Takuan acquired a fox cub that thereafter followed him everywhere. This fox cub turned out to be so clever and cunning that Takuan gave him the nickname ‘Jin,’ which means ‘human,’ because, according to Takuan, the fox cub was not inferior to any human in

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.

Gods and Celestials

Gods and celestials are creatures that dwell in the Heavenly Realm. The distinction between them is not always clear. Gods are sometimes referred to as celestials, but not all celestials are gods. However, all of them reside in the Heavenly Realm, either in the Jade Palace itself, with countless rooms

Takuan from Koto

The runaway from the monastery, Takuan, appears before the reader as a teenager of around thirteen or fourteen years old, with red hair that he sometimes shaves off to pass himself off as a monk. From a very young age, Takuan possessed cunning and restlessness, and during his time in

Hungry Spirits Yokai

Yōkai (妖怪, ‘strange apparition’) are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. In ‘Adventures of Takuan from Koto’, yokai are referenced in the books only once, in the context of demons ravaging the Earthen Realm during and after the Great Storm. They hunted people, caught them and

Sung Hatsukoi, the Protagonist

Hatsukoi is the protagonist of the ‘Prince of Blue Flowers’ and of the rest of the ‘Adventures of Takuan from Koto.’ The full story bears his monastic name which he got in the monastery on the Mount White. Hatsukoi, like the celestial marten Ta-Guan, is a trickster. His monastic name

Three Realms

The universe of ‘Takuan’s Adventures’ is built as most fairy-tale universes are. It follows the Vedic tradition, where the Universe — Trailokya — is divided into three parts: Urdhva loka (heavens), Madhya Loka (human realm), and Adho Loka (infernal regions). The Christian Universe follows the same pattern of Heaven, Earth, and

Yanwang Umma-ö, Ruler of the Under Realm

Yanwang Umma-ö appears before us as a stern ruler of the Under Realm and a hunter of weredemons. Yanwang’s brother, the Jade Emperor himself, instructed the ruler of the Under Realm to catch all the demons who annoyed both mere mortals and celestials. The reader is introduced to Yanwang

Xiwanmu, Goddess of the West

The Most Beautiful and Eternally Wise Goddess of the West lives in the Heavens, but sometimes descends to the Middle Realm, where her temple and peach garden are located on the top of Mount Gunlun. Xiwanmu is the first of the celestials that the reader meets. As befits a goddess,

Takuan’s Journey to the West

Recently, we released the second volume of ‘Takuan’s Adventures,’ which goes by the title ‘Hunters of Weredemons.’ In the book, it becomes apparent that ‘The Adventures’ have lots in common with one of the four classic Chinese novels. ‘Journey to the West’ is the title of that novel, and

Ta-Guan, Celestial Marten

Ta-Guan isn’t a simple northern marten. She was born from a stone egg. A little later, she mastered the human language; and then she ended up in the Heavens. In ‘Adventures of Takuan,’ the celestial marten is one of the main tricksters. She does not sit still; she is

Hunters of Weredemons

The second volume of the ‘Takuan from Koto’ trilogy is published on Amazon. Google and Barnes&Noble will follow soon. Here is the first chapter of the book on the Anno Ruini website. Links to all shops where the book can be bought are listed here. Tomorrow, a virtual blog

Three-act Play on the Future of AI

My first essay for Postdigital.tech — ‘Life after Search’. I was challenged to write on the future of AI, but proper philosophical essays aren’t my strongest cup of tea. So I opted for a play. If you want to know the story of brothers Gabriel and Gideon, their foster

Post on Postdigitalism.

Finally, our Post-Digital Collective has released the website. I have contributed only the Manifesto so far, though another post is in the works (I won’t spoil it for now). Close friend of mine, Niko, has published two essays from the last year: one about the differences between the internet

Writing.

Writing novels and poetry, writing papers and emails, writing on a whiteboard, and a writing on the wall. Who are we if not the writings we leave behind? A secret note left for those who might stumble upon it. Once, websites and blogs were a thing. Newsletters were another. Now,