“My fate is determined by me, not by heaven!”

Ne Zha is a legendary character from the 16th century Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi (The Investiture of the Gods), which combined history and mythology. Ne Zha, who was initially portrayed as a disobedient child born in an unusual situation, battles against the Dragon King and other oppressive powers. This project examines how the character has been reimagined for modern audiences by contrasting that traditional narrative with its contemporary reinterpretation in Ne Zha 2.

Intro to the Original Story

One of the best-known Chinese mythological characters is Nezha. He did not enter the world in the usual manner during the Shang dynasty. Instead, his mother gave birth to a large ball of flesh after more than three years’ gestation. When his father, General Li Jing, cut it open because he believed it was a monster, Nezha, already a walking, talking boy, jump out!

Nezha had a forceful personality and special abilities. He once unwittingly woke the Dragon King of the East Sea while cooling off in a river. This caused a battle in which Nezha killed Ao Bing, the son of the Dragon King. The Dragon Kings were so enraged that they threatened to flood Nezha’s hometown. Nezha killed himself and returned his body to his parents as a way of repentance in order to save his village and family. Then, Nezha asked his mother in a dream to build a temple for his ghost. The temple became highly popular after she secretly constructed it. However, his father, still angry at all the disasters Nezha had caused, destroyed the temple when he found out. Nezha later sought revenge for that.

Fortunately, the teacher of Nezha used lotus roots to build him a new body and brought him back to life. Nezha continued to battle his father when he gave him some awesome new weapons. Nezha eventually reconciled with his father who became the Pagoda-Wielding Heavenly King with the help of powerful gods. Nezha, in the face of injustice and self-denial for the benefit of the community, became the Chinese legendary hero in spite of his stormy life.

Global Retelling: Ne Zha 2.

How Ne Zha 2 Reinterprets the Myth

When Nezha 2 was released, it attracted a large number of audiences with its unique modification and innovation. It is no longer a simple copy of the original story with modern animation effects. This movie is trying express Nezha’s story from a more down-to-earth and relatable approach as the characters from the original story were too noble and unrealistically out of touch with reality.

In this movie, Nezha is no longer the little hero who was born with justice, but has become a little devil who is the reincarnation of a magic pill. His parents, Li Jing and Madam Yin, have been worried about him. They were afraid of that he cannot be accepted by the people. Nezha has been locked up in their house since he was a child and cannot go out, which makes his character rebellious and lonely. And Ao Bing is no longer the simple third prince of the East China Sea. He has become the reincarnation of a spirit bead and shoulders the responsibility of revitalizing the dragon clan.

Nezha and Ao Bing, who were pure enemies in the original story, have become both enemies and friends in the movie. The interaction and emotional entanglement between them have become a major twist of the movie. The plot of the movie is also very different from the original. The reason why Nezha caused trouble in the sea was no longer a simple conflict caused by him cooling off, but because his identity as a magic pill was misunderstood by everyone, and his inner loneliness and anger made him vent at the seaside, thus causing a conflict with the dragon clan.

Moreover, many new characters and plots were added to the movie, such as the villain Shen Gongbao, whose conspiracy and tricks promoted the development of the whole story. There was also the battle between Nezha and Ao Bing at the birthday banquet, which made the audience feel very satisfied about their fighting scene thanks to the modern animation technologies and 3D visual effects.

Critiques from the old audience

In the minds of old audiences, Nezha is the innocent and righteous little hero. Every action and expression of his is cute. But in Nezha 2, Nezha becomes a little devil with foul language and extremely weird behavior. Although this image has its unique charm, it is really hard to accept for the audience who grew up watching the old version of Nezha.

In the original novel, the plot of Nezha making trouble in the sea is simple and direct. It is because he disturbed the East China Sea by taking a bath, and he had a conflict with Ao Bing, and then killed Ao Bing. But in the new movie, too many complex backgrounds and character relationships are added. Old audiences feel that such an adaptation makes an originally simple and pure story too complicated. Moreover, the relationship between Nezha and Ao Bing in the movie has changed from hostility to both enemy and friend, which makes many old audiences difficult to understand. In their opinion, Nezha and Ao Bing are natural enemies, and this relationship cannot be easily changed, just like cats and mice. If you suddenly make them good friends, you always feel that something is wrong.

Some of Nezha’s lines in the movie are full of modern Internet slang. Although they sound funny, they always feel out of place with that mythological era.

Impact on young and global audiences

From the perspective of the film industry, adapting classic works is a common way of creation. It can give new vitality to old stories and attract more audiences of different ages and backgrounds. Nezha 2 is a good example. It successfully attracted a large number of young audiences to the cinema through a unique adaptation. These young audiences may not be familiar with the original story Fengsheng Yanyi, but through this movie, they have become interested in the story of Nezha, and thus have the possibility to read the original novel, which has a positive effect on spreading Chinese culture.

Moreover, adaptation also gives creators more room to play. They can innovate and adjust the story according to the preferences and market needs of the current audience. In Nezha 2, the creators added a lot of modern themes such as family affection, friendship, and self-identity to make this ancient myth closer to the lives of modern people. For example, the complex emotions between Nezha and his parents, he longed for his parents’ recognition, and his parents tried their best to protect him. This portrayal of family affection resonated with many audiences. There is also the friendship between Nezha and Ao Bing. When facing the challenges of fate, they understand and support each other, and this friendship is also touching.

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Water Margin The Novel Plot Summary

A very brief overview of the full novel plot

What the film covers:

Water Margin by the Shaw Brothers covers one of the more notable 4 chapters of the original novel, chapters 64 through 68. The plot covers how the “Jade Unicorn” Lu Junyi became one of the bandits.

The film starts with an ambush by Shi Wengong on the leader of the bandits, Chao Gai, which ends up killing him. The two bandits that end up as the leaders of the Bandits, Song Jiang and Wu Yong, decide to try and avenge Chao Gai’s death. To properly avenge Chao Gai’s death, they need a skilled martial artist, so they seek out Lu Junyi, who is the former student of Shi Wengong, and his servant Yan Qing.

To seek out Lu Junyi, Wu Yong, disguises himself as a fortune teller and sneaks into the Northern Capital with his assistant Li Kui. Wu Yong, maintaining his fortune teller guise, tells Lu Junyi he must travel southeast to avoid personal tragedy. Yan Qing can see through the fortune teller’s disguise and the pair’s fight, with Wu Yong and Li Kui handily losing. Wu Yong managed to talk Lu Junyi into releasing them, but their presence in the capital was reported to the authorities by Li Gu, who also happens to be having an affair with Lu Junyi’s wife. Li Gu reports the bandits and their release as a way to frame Lu Junyi and steal his money. Lu Junyi’s assistant, Yan Qing, then embarks on a journey to try and free Lu Junyi. Along the way, he meets another bandit, Shi Xiu, who also tries to free Lu Junyi. Eventually, Yan Qing gathers a large group of Liangshan bandits, and through well-planned strategic attacks, can free Lu Junyi. Lu Junyi then kill the man who was sleeping with his wife, and his assistant kills his wife.

The outlaws then leave the northern capital, and upon their exit, run into She Wengong. There is a large final battle scene which leaves She Wengong gravely injured. Upon seeing Lu Junyi as the new leader of the Liangshan bandits, She Wengong commits suicide, and the bandits return to their stronghold.

Character List:

• Lu Junyi (Talent martial artist the bandits are trying to recruit)
• Yan Qing (Servant or student of Lu Yunji)
• Chao Gai (Former leader of the Bandits)
• Shi Wengong (Villain)
• Song Jiang (Interim leader of Bandits)
• Wu Yong (Interim leader and face fortune teller)
• Li Kui (Wu Yong’s servant)
• Li Gu (Adulator)
• Shi Xiu (Bandit)
• Li Chong (Bandit)
• Hu Sanniang (Bandit)
• Wu Song (Bandit)

Film Review and Analysis:

Without having read the full original novel, the film Water Margin, released by the Shaw Brothers in 1972, is entertaining. While only covering four chapters of the novel, the film feels complete (maybe even a little long). Each character has a distinct personality, almost in a caricature-like sense. The individual traits are emphasized through the character choices and facial expressions. The expressions come across as particularly exaggerated, which can take away from scenes that may otherwise be serious. Despite the goofiness, the larger-than-life personalities are engaging. The film brings the characters’ personalities to the forefront in a way a novel doesn’t quite have to ability to. 

A unique feature of the film is the scale. The film has a large cast, using almost all actors employed by the Shaw brothers at the time. Almost all the actors engaged in martial arts choreography. The film starts and ends with a large fight scene that features a series of one-on-one duels. The middle of the film has a series of martial arts fights that are on the scale of ten versus two. The choreography for both types of fight scenes is precise and well portrayed. The film moves through a series of locations, from city to countryside, which adds to the perception of a large world. The film’s scale was unique for the time and created the foundation for future blockbusters.

The number of characters made the beginning of the film confusing for the casual viewer. Many characters are only briefly shown before the plot quickly starts bouncing between characters and locations. The quick dive into the plots helps build a rich storyline, that keeps the viewers attention. The movie emphasizes the journey, rather than the movie being a means to an end. The focus on the story was an innovative idea at the time of production.

Another fascinating aspect of the film is the music and sound effect choices. The sound effects don’t quite make sense with the action scenes, which adds a comedic feeling to the action shots. The music choices also stand out because it’s a unique blend of traditional Chinese sound and Western music. Bringing a more culturally mixed set of music choices changed the sound of the film and gave a modern feel to a classic storyline. The music choices, along with the release by a massive film company, helped spread the Water Margin story beyond China and increased the audience.

The film stays relatively true to the storyline in the novel, which was made possible by the small portion of the text the film was aiming to cover. The do to the feature explained previously, the film takes on a more humorous and entertaining note than the novel and focuses more on entertainment than the messaging of average people fighting a corrupt government. The movie was a good basis to expand upon and build the foundations for future adaptations. The film does a good job of giving all the individual characters personality, which is an important feature of the novel. The director took some creative liberty in building the personalities of the characters through the actor selections and the screenwriting. As one of the earliest film adaptations of Water Margin, the film did a good job of highlighting what could be possible using the stories and characters from the novel.

Other Adaptations of Water Margin:

• (Movie )All Men Are Bothers – Shaw Brothers (Sequel to Water Margin)
• (TV) The Water Margin 1998 – CCTV
• (Video Game) Suikoden 1995 – Konami

What Other viewers had to say:

“I get the feeling that Chang Che just absolutely loves these original books, to the point where he simply cannot adapt them for shit” – threepenny (Letterbox)

“So if you want to see virtually ALL of your early Shaw Brothers favorites in one movie, The Water Margin will treat you right.” – Will (Silver Emulsion Film Reviews)

Brief History of the Shaw Brothers:

The Shaw Brothers were a wildly successful Hong Kong-based Film company. The company was founded in 1920, and initially they were purchasing cinemas. The Shaw Brothers began movie-making in 1925. In 1961 they created the Movietown studio in Hong Kong, which at the time was the biggest privately owned studio. The Show brothers remained prominent filmmakers through the 70s and 80s. Throughout the organization’s time, the Shaw Brothers produced over a thousand films.

The company worked with many prominent actors and directors of the era. The company produced a wide range of genres, but the Shaw Brothers are most widely known for their martial arts action movies. The company was one of the first big-budget action studios, and the company structure served as an example for the now popular style that is Hollywood blockbusters.

References

Anchi Hoh. (2017, July 13). The Story of Water Margin (水滸傳) | 4 Corners of the World: International Collections and Studies at the Library of Congress. Loc.gov. https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2017/07/the-story-of-water-margin-%E6%B0%B4%E6%BB%B8%E5%82%B3/

Shaw Scope: A History of the Shaw Bros. Studio – Harvard Film Archive. (2008, May 30). Harvard Film Archive. https://harvardfilmarchive.org/programs/shaw-scope-a-history-of-the-shaw-bros-studio

The Water Margin (1972). (2025a). Letterboxd.com; Letterboxd. https://letterboxd.com/film/the-water-margin/

The Water Margin (1972). (2025b). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069265/mediaviewer/rm4294774272/

Where to begin with the Shaw Brothers. (2021, December 21). BFI. https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-shaw-brothers

Will. (2013, September 13). The Water Margin (1972). Silver Emulsion Film Reviews. https://www.silveremulsion.com/2013/09/13/the-water-margin-1972/

“The Monkey King knows no master… not even Heaven itself.”

Among the countless figures of Chinese mythology, no figure is as vibrant, mischievous, or enduring as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Born from a magical stone on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, which was nourished by the energies of heaven and earth, the Monkey King has been a rebel of Heaven, and eventually a companion on a sacred pilgrimage, Sun Wukong has transcended the pages of the 16th century classic Journey to the West into countless retellings across film, opera, animation, and now a cutting-edge action video game—Black Myth: Wukong. This project brilliantly recreates a centuries-old character through immersive storytelling and beautiful visuals, bringing ancient myths onto the screens of a global audience. 

Who is Sun Wukong?

Sun Wukong makes his first appearance in Journey to the West (西游记), written by Wu Cheng’en during the Ming Dynasty. The translation we read in class masterfully blends adventure, philosophy, and satire into one of the greatest and most impressive literary works of Chinese history. Wukong is introduced as a magical monkey born from a stone. He quickly distinguishes himself amongst his fellow monkey brethren as the Monkey King by mastering powerful martial and magical arts, such as learning to transform into 72 different forms, and acquiring a magical staff that can change size at will.

Perhaps most memorable, however, is his unyielding and boisterous spirit. Wukong disrespects the Jade Emperor, eats the peaches of immortality, and wreaks havoc in Heaven before being imprisoned under a mountain as punishment by the Buddha. Eventually, he is released to accompany the monk Tripitaka on a pilgrimage to India to retrieve sacred scriptures. Throughout this journey, Wukong grows from a rebellious trickster to a loyal protector.

Sun Wukong’s appeal lies in his contradictions: he is a figure of blatant disrespect and great power, and is both chaos-bringer and guardian. These contradictions make him ideal for reinterpretation—and Black Myth: Wukong does just that.

Wukong Reimagined: Black Myth

Black Myth: Wukong is the first video game title from Chinese indie developer Game Science. Announced in 2020 with a stunningly beautiful gameplay trailer, the game instantly attracted international attention for its cinematic-like presentation, fluid combat, and beautiful visuals. Obviously inspired by Journey to the West, the main playable character is a mysterious “Destined One”, a monkey warrior very like Sun Wukong. However, this isn’t a direct retelling of Wukong’s story. Instead, the game presents the player with lots of Chinese myth and folklore, creating a dark world filled to the brim with legendary beasts, ancient deities, and stunning landscapes.

The gameplay is very similar to one of my favorite combat games ever: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019).

As you can see, it clearly draws inspiration from Sekiro, and the combat of both games can feel like a dance. However, Black Myth: Wukong’s heart lies in its cultural storytelling. From the design of enemies to the music score, Black Myth pulls the player into a world deeply rooted in Chinese beliefs, Taoist symbols, and Buddhist philosophy. Wukong’s signature abilities, such as flying on clouds, shape-shifting, and staff-wielding are all present here, and they translate into souls-like combat mechanics that are incredibly satisfying.

Game Science has been careful about showing the beautiful complexity but also strangeness of Chinese mythology to a global audience. This can be seen in not just the art, but in the narrative of the game, too—mysterious, philosophical, and sometimes morally grey. Unlike many other adaptations that merely turn Wukong into a caricature (League of Legends, Dragon Ball), Black Myth brings back a sense of awe and power to the character.

Tradition Meets Tech: Globalizing the Monkey King

What makes Black Myth so significant is how it navigates the space between being faithful to its origins and balancing creative innovation. This is not just a simple case of “East meets West”. Instead, it’s a new version created in China that’s meant to be shared with the world. The developers, who are based in China, are taking control of their mythological narratives and choosing how to present it on their own terms. The result is a game that doesn’t just “borrow” Chinese culture—it builds from within it.

At the same time, the game does adapt its storytelling for a global audience. The visuals, so beautiful at times, can also be very gritty and moody, and moral ambiguity as a trope has been used many times before. But these elements add to symbolism that is still very authentically Chinese. For example, many characters are drawn from Buddhist iconography, and landscapes often show temples and mountainous regions from Daoist art.

However, mixing these cultures creates new and deeper meanings. Wukong (or whoever we play as) is no longer just a rebellious trickster defying the celestial order for kicks and giggles—he is a tragic hero who is trying his best to navigate a broken world, which we can all identify with. His struggle is not just to attain freedom, but to find his identity, fate, and transcendence. This is particularly relatable for younger audiences, both inside as well as outside of China, who are starting to question tradition as well as authority.

Why Wukong Still Matters

Sun Wukong has been reimagined many times—as a cartoon in Havoc in Heaven, a kung fu legend in The Forbidden Kingdom, and a pop culture icon in Leauge of Legends and Dragon Ball (though, notably, he mainly serves as inspiration for the last two). What makes Black Myth: Wukong special is its stubborn refusal to dilute or change its source material. Instead of simplifying the myth of Wukong, the developers have chosen to deepen it—inviting players to explore the darkness along with the light of a story that has captivated us for centuries. 

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The sources to the images used can be found below:

https://sm.ign.com/t/ign_za/review/b/black-myth/black-myth-wukong-review_u4qn.1200.jpg

https://wallpapercave.com/black-myth-wukong-wallpapers

https://www.outregallery.com/cdn/shop/files/JedHenry-TheDestinedOn1.jpg?v=1730171536

https://www.screenslate.com/sites/default/files/2021-08/Havoc-In-Heaven.jpg

https://i0.wp.com/www.flixist.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/KFC_Forbidden_006.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1

https://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/MonkeyKing_0.jpg

https://japanesegallery.com/pub/media/wysiwyg/mgzbuilder/Blog/JGKP1119.jpg

(The phrase “Born from a magical stone on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, which was nourished by the energies of heaven and earth” was found in the google search below)

https://www.google.com/search?q=sun+wukong+born+from+a+rock&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS1097US1097&oq=sun+wukong+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggCEEUYOzIOCAAQRRgnGDsYgAQYigUyDggBEEUYJxg7GIAEGIoFMgYIAhBFGDsyDAgDEAAYQxiABBiKBTINCAQQABiRAhiABBiKBTIMCAUQLhhDGIAEGIoFMgwIBhAAGEMYgAQYigUyDAgHEAAYQxiABBiKBTIMCAgQABhDGIAEGIoFMgcICRAAGI8C0gEINDU5OWowajGoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

草船借箭 (Cǎo Chuán Jiè Jiàn, or “Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boat”) is one of many stories within the larger narrative of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The story starts with a war meeting called by the general Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu does not trust Kong Ming (also sometimes referred to as Zhuge Liang), an allied strategist, and attempts to set him up for failure by requesting him to prepare 100,000 arrows for an attack within ten days– a completely unrealistic task, since there is no way for Kong Ming to produce so many arrows. It is even more shocking when Kong Ming offers to complete this impossible task within only three days.

All hope seems lost, but Kong Ming devises a clever plan: he covers 20 boats with bundles of straw, and on the third night when a thick fog sets in, he sets off towards the enemy camp. The enemies, fearing an attack, immediately begin firing into the darkness. Their arrows lodge into the straw bundles, and Kong Ming eventually retreats with each boat carrying five to six thousand arrows, fulfilling his quota and saving himself from execution.

The Three Kingdoms stories contain many instances of strategic brilliance like this– the triumph of intelligence over pure force. This specific story is very well known, and is commonly referenced in modern adaptations. One such adaptation is an art piece made by Cai Guo-Qiang.

Created in 1998, this art installation is constructed from an abandoned boat that Cai Guo-Qiang found in his hometown Chenzhou, which he then covered with 3000 Chinese made arrows, as well as a Chinese flag. In its exhibit at the MoMA, Cai Guo-Qiang explains the artwork’s cultural significance and message.

The boat is, to him, a representation of China (as displayed by the Chinese flag). The arrows, while literally paralleling the famous story, are also symbolic of external forces that have been acting on China ever since their entry onto the global stage. On one hand, Cai explains how each arrow is like one of the many “wounds” China has suffered in a cultural sense, as its ideals and beliefs clash with other nations. On the other hand, however, these “wounds” have also helped to make China stronger. Despite being fully covered, the boat itself remains intact, symbolizing endurance and tenacity. Additionally, through its interactions with foreign nations and cultural and global exchanges, China has grown to become one of the leading superpowers of the world. Just like the enemy’s attacks were repurposed by Kong Ming, China moves forward with arrows lodged into its hull, having only grown stronger from its interactions with external forces, and transforming its struggles into resilience and resources.

At the time of this boat’s creation, these ideas were especially relevant. The end of the 20th century was synonymous with rapid economic and industrial growth within the country, and China was definitely absorbing plenty of arrows from the rest of the world, in the form of modern technology that would greatly aid its development. Additionally, China was facing a lot of external criticism for things like the Tiananmen Square protests less than a decade earlier, or the handover of Hong Kong from just a year before. Due to this, there was definitely a strong idea of “us versus the world”, which made unifying pieces of Chinese nationalism very relevant.

Cai Guo-Qiang also discusses the actual visuals of the art piece. Unlike a traditional boat that sails on water, this boat is suspended in midair. In his words, the feathers of the arrows have transformed into wings, turning the boat into a flying bird. This is a fascinating visual, and gives off a sense of freedom and transcendence. By definition, flight is a way of “rising above”. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that, in person, one would have to look upwards at the exhibit. This could simultaneously be trying to show that China is trying to “rise above” its past struggles, as well as creating a perception of China’s superiority over the rest of the world.

Calling it a “bird” also attaches this inherent idea of life to the artwork. By viewing the work as a “bird” instead of a “boat”, the Chinese metaphor is not just one of endurance and survival, but also evolving and growing, as all living things do.

One final important point of discussion to consider is what is missing from this adaptation. In both this artwork as well as other modern adaptations, Zhou Yu’s role has been removed, and the story has just simply become “Kong Ming needs to get arrows for battle”. It has become a tale much more focused on tactical genius and not so much any form of complex politics. This is somewhat visible in Cai’s work– the sole focus of the piece is the boat, and there is no indication of any external factors. The only thing we should see is the individual brilliance of Kong Ming (and by metaphorical extension, China). This new version emphasizes individual resourcefulness, placing less of a focus on things like deceit. Although the enemy is still being tricked, there is unity from within, just like there should be unity within China.

Overall, Cai Guo-Qiang’s work is a beautiful reframing of a classic Chinese story. In a single work, he is able to showcase all of the important parts of the story, whilst naturally blending in his own meanings and beliefs. It is an excellent piece of Chinese nationalism, perfectly combining the country’s present state of affairs with an important piece of classical culture.

To see the MoMA audio description, go here: https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/182/2432