♥️The Hidden Story of Yaoliu ♥️

“Lost You Forever” — Lifting the Fog, Searching for the Truth (Thirteen): The Metaphors of ‘Monkeys’ and ‘Ears’

At the entrance of Huichun Hall hangs garlic; layer by layer its skin is peeled away, gleaming white like jade — it is both ruthless calculation and pure food.

In this section, we will explore what exactly the repeatedly appearing “monkey” and “ear” refer to. This part is rather abstract and not very straightforward, but it is exquisitely crafted; it is the innermost layer of garlic skin, closest to the core.

To understand the core, the “monkey” and the “ear” are very important.

Let us continue to look at it from the author’s perspective:

Tong Hua said that the 2012 version of Lost You Forever was the most mature work in terms of her writing skills at that time. After the 2019 revision, she also made up for some regrets. ——Indeed, she borrowed and incorporated all the good elements from the great classics.

Earlier, we mentioned how Tong Hua borrowed plotlines and philosophies from Dream of the Red Chamber and The Nine-Colored Deer. Here, we will see how she drew from Journey to the West.

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The content of Journey to the West is rich and also contains mature theories.

One of the more mainstream views is…

The scripture-seeking team is actually a depiction of one person divided:

Tang Seng is the body, Sun Wukong is the mind, the White Dragon Horse—the horse is intention, Zhu Bajie—the pig is desire, Sha Seng—the fish is action.

In the application within Lost You Forever, here are a few examples:

After the wedding snatching and the return, the “body” was separated, but the “heart” was always together, highlighting the theme of Lost You Forever.

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Fangfeng Yiying is Xiaoyao’s “Yi /intention,” and the only two preserved mounts, the Heavenly Horse of the Fangfeng clan, emphasize the relationship between “Yi/intention” (意) and “Ma/horse” (马).

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The pig represents “yu (欲, desire),” and Cangxuan is linked with the pig’s head. First, it is a jest, calling Cangxuan a pig’s head; second, it means that Cangxuan’s “yu (欲, desire)” is something he does not let Anian see.

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Zhu Bajie carrying his wife — Cangxuan’s “yu (欲, desire)” toward Xiaoyao grows.

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After Xiaoliu first encounter, he told Shiqi to imagine her as a talking pig. From that moment, he began wanting to poison Xiangliu — thus arose “yu (欲, desire).”

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Fish represents “action.” Tushan Hou drives and commands the fish demon, digs out its heart, and controls the fish demon’s “action.”

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This alludes to Jing using Xiaoyao to control Xiangliu, and using Xiangliu to control Xiaoyao. In the previous passage, it was already stated — “If you save her, you fall into my trap; if you don’t save her, you will watch her die.” Xiangliu’s choice was to save her.

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In Journey to the West, the monkey represents the “heart.”

This is the “True and False Monkey King” episode. Sun Wukong devoted himself wholeheartedly to protecting Tang Seng on the pilgrimage for scriptures, but Tang Seng repeatedly drove him away. Resentful and angry, Wukong gave rise to a “divided heart.”

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The monkey represents the heart. The true heart resides within one’s own body, while the additional “monkey,” the Six-Eared Macaque, is the “second heart,” also called the “deluded heart./false heart”

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The deluded heart confuses the true heart, therefore, the Six-Eared “Mí” Monkey.

Explanation:

• 妄心 (wàng xīn) = deluded / false heart.

• 迷 (mí) = confused, lost, or deceived.

• 六耳“迷”猴 = “Six-Eared ‘Mí’ Monkey” → a metaphor for the deluded heart that misleads the true heart.

In essence: the false heart confuses the true heart, giving rise to the “Mí Monkey” as a symbol of confusion or deception in the heart.

“Left ear” and “right ear”

The “Six Ears” represent the “six faculties”: joy, anger, love, thought, desire, and worry.

The left ear represents “joy, anger, and love,” while the right ear represents “thought, desire, and worry.”

Joy and anger arise from love. The few special depictions of Xiangliu’s laughter and anger after his feelings awaken in Qingshui Town represent the “left ear” born from love.

The boy in the death arena had no left ear. After gaining freedom, Xiaoyao gave him the name “Left Ear.”

Fangfeng Bei, when dissected character by character, contains both a left ear and a right ear. When Fangfeng Bei died, Xiangliu lost the left ear, leaving only the right ear.

Xiangliu shot and killed Fenglong. Breaking down the characters “丰” and “隆”: three generations in sequence, left ear, another life.

—The boy in the death arena killed the slave master once again, and after gaining freedom, he began a new life with a left ear. Taking a wife and children, traversing rivers and lands, he merged into the ordinary, mundane world of human life.

—The everyday life of the mortal world soothes ordinary hearts the most. The left ear and right ear — joy, anger, love, thought, desire, and worry — are the firewood, rice, oil, and salt of human life, the sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy of this world.

The metaphor and philosophy of the “monkey”
The extra monkey represents a person’s “deluded heart (妄心).”

Those who experience joy, anger, love, thought, desire, and worry inevitably give rise to a “deluded heart.” A person’s greatest enemy is oneself; growth is not only self-improvement but also self-correction.

Sun Wukong struck and killed his own “second heart,” and from then on, the “mind-monkey” returned to its proper place, with the “true heart” overcoming the “deluded heart.”

Let us now examine the metaphor of the “monkey.”

The struggle of the two hearts
Some of Tushan Jing’s events are not easy to understand because the plot contains embedded metaphors. Let us examine the meaning of certain events within these metaphors.

Tushan Jing is Xiaoyao’s “monkey.”

Tushan Jing and Xiaoyao are out of sync; he wants to end his life, corresponding to the “monkey.”

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Tushan Jing, this “monkey,” is also the nine-tailed fox demon who imprisoned her.

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There is a person who gives up all love for themselves, a false happiness that comes effortlessly — this is Xiaoyao’s deluded heart (妄心).

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Yet her demands were something even her own mother could not fulfill. By understanding her mother and reconciling with her, Xiaoyao grows, and her deluded heart (妄心) is broken.

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The TV adaptation added the “struggle of the two hearts.”

The Six-Eared Macaque can foresee the future, and the spirit cultivated by Tushan Jing can anticipate danger.

Tushan Jing predicted the danger; to save Tushan Tian, he lured Xiaoyao to Qingshui Town, forcing Xiangliu to assist secretly — otherwise, Xiaoyao would perish alongside him.

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The moment she heard about going to Qingshui Town, Xiaoyao took the bait.

The “Faceless Assassins” killed all of Tushan family’s secret guards, and then, suddenly, these assassins themselves turned into corpses, leaving Xiaoyao completely unharmed.

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Yiying looked sickly. Who killed the assassins? Let us guess…

Xiangliu killed the "Faceless Assassins", marking the end of the deal between Xiaoyao and Tushan Jing.

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—The changes made in the TV adaptation once again emphasize Xiaoyao and Xiangliu working together to overcome Xiaoyao’s “deluded heart,” symbolizing her growth.

In Xiaoyao’s struggle of the two hearts, the “true heart” prevailed.

Tushan Hou is Tushan Jing’s “monkey.”

“Under the same umbrella but with different handles, same person but different fates.” In terms of writing technique, Hou and Jing are the same person, and “Hou” sounds the same as “monkey.”

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Tushan Jing was tormented and humiliated by Tushan Hou. As we mentioned before, the richest man coveted politics and sought to stir up the political situation. In metaphor, the one tormenting him is his own deluded heart.

Tushan Jing’s deluded heart, Tushan Hou, wants everything — wanting everything, insisting “I want this and that, and more.”

Tushan Jing does not want to take revenge on Hou, allowing his deluded heart to grow.

—When Jing duels with Hou, Jing cannot defeat Hou.

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The struggle of the two hearts continues, with neither willing to die nor give up.

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The true heart and the deluded heart — which one is stronger after all?

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Let me point out one plot detail: the fox-tail puppet could deceive everyone except Tushan Hou. Therefore, the one that Tushan Hou had to exert his last strength to kill could not have been a puppet.

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—Tushan Jing struggled so hard to survive, yet he could not overcome the wildly growing “Six-Eared Macaque” within himself, and in the end, he was killed by his own desires, reaping the bitter consequences.

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In Tushan Jing’s struggle of the two hearts, the “deluded heart” killed the “true heart.”

Chishui Fenglong is Xiangliu’s “monkey.”

The Monkey Demon King brews “monkey wine,” and the dragon pearls are made into dice. The Monkey Demon King’s longing, the exquisite dice holding red beans, symbolizes a deep, bone-deep yearning…

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Fenglong and Hou both jumped off the boat to catch fish; they are very similar.

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Xiangliu possesses extraordinary intelligence and the highest combat power; he is the optimal general that every emperor desires.

Which man wouldn’t have the ambition and dreams to traverse the world?

Fenglong is the prince of Chenrong, and Xiangliu is a general of Chenrong.

To stop the war, Xiangliu killed Fenglong, cutting off his own path to fame and success, noble titles, and high office — perhaps even his chance of survival.

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Stopping war is true martial skill.

Those who lay down their weapons are the real brave ones.

In Xiangliu’s struggle of the two hearts, the “true heart” killed the “deluded heart.”

This corresponds to what Jun said: “Fame, wealth, and power cannot tempt you.”

—Throughout the hidden narrative, the fox and the snake are always a contrasting pair. The difference is that in some places it is obvious, while in others it is deeply hidden.

Following the interpretive approach of Journey to the West, the answers to the hidden plot also emerge. If it feels mentally exhausting, blame Tong Hua’s high intelligence.

In the plots of Dream of the Red Chamber and The Nine-Colored Deer, Tushan Jing dies. In Journey to the West, likewise, Tushan Jing dies.

This is a story of growth. Eternal Longing is not a tragedy; it is powerful and warm.

The three main characters: one is forced to grow through hardships, one grows in reverse, and one grows actively and resiliently.

This is also why most people favor Xiangliu.

We’re not done yet. Tong Hua’s entire Classic of Mountains and Seas series tells the story of several generations, who go through eighty-one trials to obtain the “true scriptures,” following the narrative of Journey to the West.

The “True Scripture” is the wish of King Shennong, the lifelong endeavor of Chichen, the passionate and generous declaration of succession by the Grandfather, the lifelong sacrifice of Cang Xuan, and also the result strongly promoted by Xiangliu. It is the victory of class struggle, a world that is unified, peaceful, and equal among humans, gods, and demons, a world where even the son of a lowly person can become a great hero.

Did they ultimately achieve their wishes? We will see slowly.