Why does Zhu Baije wield a rake as a weapon? Is there some sort of symbolism, or did some ancient Chinese guy just think it'd be cool?
That's a good question. My guess is that the storytellers who developed Zhu Bajie thought it would be funny to associate a farm animal with a farming tool.
The rake imagery goes back to the Yuan dynasty, as evidenced by this Cizhou ware ceramic pillow.
The kind of rake that he carries is similar to the "hand yarrow" (yundang (耘盪), a bamboo-handled rake with metal teeth designed to weed rice crops. It appears in The Book of Agriculture (Nongshu, 農書, 1313), which was written in response to the devastation that the Mongols had wrought on China during the Song and Yuan dynasties. So the featured tools were meant to help make life easier for farmers toiling away in the fields (Bray & Needham, 2004, pp. 59-60).
What's interesting is that published dynastic sources depict Zhu's rake differently. For instance, the original 1592 edition of JTTW illustrates it as a war rake.
And Mr. Li Zhuowu’s Literary Criticism of Journey to the West (late-16th-c. or early-17th-c.) depicts it as a toothed club:
By the way, I saw your prior question. I don't know much about the subject. Sorry.
Source:
Bray, F. & Needham, J. (2004). Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 6, Biology and Biological Technology; Part 2 – Agriculture. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.
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Uh
Maybe creepypasta boys getting confessed to on leap day?
Please?
Sure
Jeff:
You confess shyly and he finds it fucking adorable
He’ll accept your feelings but won’t look at you when he does because he looks like a tomato
He’ll act mean, but it’s actually cute aggression
Masky/Tim and Hoodie/Brian:
You confess bluntly
Tim just gives you a thumbs-up
Brian is very flustered about it, but accepts your feelings
He’ll get annoyed at Masky for being rude to their new boyfriend
Toby:
You confess quietly, but he hears you just fine
He’s confused on why you confessed, and then EJ explains leap day to him
He is a very goofy but caring+loving boyfriend
Slender Brothers + Zalgo:
Slender:
You confess in a frightened way
He accepts your feelings, and assures you he won’t do anything to hurt you
He then says he would kiss you, but he has no face
Offender:
You leave him a note by his pillow
You were reading, then all of a sudden you had white tentacles curled around your midsection
He only leaves enough time to let you know he feels the same before he
Splendor:
He finds out because the girls forget he was in their gossip session
He flamboyantly(Uzui?) accepts your feelings by scooping you up in a massive bear hug, and snuggling you for a very long time
Trendor:
You were acting as a mannequin for him, and you mumbled it
He paused his work, long enough to nuzzle you, then returns to fitting you a new outfit
You feel as though that was his way of saying he felt the same
Zalgo:
You don’t even get past a few words before you’re on his lap, and getting a very passionate kiss from the demon lord
Bonus of the day-
Practice confessions with Smile.dog + Grinny Cat + Rake
Smiledog:
He gives you well-pointed criticism, and tries to stand on his hind legs to make it more realistic
Grinny:
Doesn’t give a fuvx
Keeps turning his rear end to you to say he doesn’t care
Rake:
He doesn’t move
He just stares at you with a creepy smile
You eventually give up on him
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Here is the Secret Santa gift I made for the Jane and the Dragon Discord Server gift exchange for @zodiacbiologist, where Rake and Pepper are celebrating their wedding with their friends!
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Pale 18.z, Avery's items Deer, Antlers and Rake, also featuring Antlers in alt. colors. Rake has been given a hockey stick in place of a lacrosse racket as I do not acknowledge or respect lacrosse.
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