Why the Chinese Dissatisfied with Black Myth: Wukong
thechinaacademy.org
Telling Wukong's story is to narrate the story of our times.

According to “Xiaoting Xulu,” Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty ordered Zhang Wenmin to produce a performance, “The Peaceful Raft of Ascension,” depicting the Journey to the West. The script, written by Zhang, was crafted to uphold the idea of “domestic peace,” using the play to reinforce the Qing dynasty’s rule. After Wukong’s defeat by Buddha, the creators added a celebratory scene titled “Taming the Greedy Tiger and Bringing Peace to Heaven.” Wukong, referred to as “the Greedy Tiger,” was portrayed as the disruptive force and enemy of the Qing’s order. The theme of “suppressing the rebellious” ran throughout.

Sounds familiar to Western media tropes regarding revolutionary villains.

  • Belly_Beanis [he/him]
    ·
    2 months ago

    It doesn't have anything political to say. With that said I also think that if it did have much political to say it probably wouldn't be made though. I personally think the chinese games industry is overly restrictive for fear of art being produced that might harm the state and it has a detrimental effect on the art produced overall.

    So does this mean we won't get an FPS out of China where we play as Korean soldiers killing off American invaders?

    😩

    • Awoo [she/her]
      ·
      2 months ago

      Sincerely doubt it. I have a feeling it would be considered to "dishonor the country" to make a videogame because they'd see it as trivialising the death of its soldiers. I don't think that would ever be tested though, I don't think a developer would even risk spending the money to make it to find out that it doesn't get through the regulator for that reason.