In just over 3 months, the livestream account "Journey to the West, Brotherhood" has increased by more than 4.7 million followers, one broadcast attracted a total of 2.63 million views. The program is likened by netizens to "Journey to the West version 2026" and quickly became a fever.
In fact, this is an outdoor livestream program. The operating team transforms into 4 Tang Sanzang masters and disciples according to the design of the 1986 "Journey to the West" version, but the content mainly revolves around humorous interactions.
They temporarily set up a thatched tent in a small forest in Tho Quang (Shandong, China) for live broadcasting. Familiar scenes are Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie cooking with simple makeshift stoves, Tang Sanzang sitting resting, Sha Seng standing next to him serving, occasionally there is also the appearance of characters such as Bach Long Ma or Queen Nu Nhi Quoc.
Although imitating the original, the characters are all built with completely new personalities.
Tang Sanzang becomes a master who likes to "draw cakes" (gives far-fetched promises to encourage others), often manipulates his disciples' psychology and is a leader who often nags.
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong is built into a "master against manipulation", speaks sharply and is ready to argue with his master. Zhu Bajie both follows the Great Master Brother to work and continuously joins in to "pour more fuel into the fire". And Sha Seng is still honest and hardworking, sometimes using umbrellas, sometimes fanning his master.
Throughout the livestream, they did not have a fixed script or prepared lines, all based on the improvisation ability of the actors, constantly creating funny lines.
For example, Tang Sanzang complained that in the past he should not have saved Sun Wukong from Mount Wu Han, and was immediately retorted by Sun Wukong: "Have you begged for help from me?". Zhu Bajie stood next to him continuously igniting the fire, while Sha Seng was just busy serving his master and watching the excitement.
The exchanges mixing ancient costume elements and modern language made the audience unable to hold back their laughter.
According to media reports, the reason this livestream group receives a lot of love is not only because of its interesting content but also because of its ability to transform into characters very convincingly, the result of a process of learning and training over many years.
The person who played Sun Wukong was Wang Wei, who started learning to act as a monkey from the age of 12, and at the age of 16 learned the art of Nhi Nhan Chuyen and performed everywhere.
Gia Huy, who played Tang Sanzang, joined the art troupe at the age of 18, used to be an MC, perform skits and musicals, in recent years switched to livestreaming and began to transform into Tang Sanzang.
Sun Wu, who played Zhu Bajie, has been associated with this role for 19 years, and is also the 4th generation successor of the art of khẩu kỹ, recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in China.
As for Dai Tuong, who played Sa Tang, he is the only member without acting experience. After being discharged from the army, he switched to e-commerce business but still cherished the dream of becoming an actor.
Of course, not everyone accepts this way of entertaining a classic work. Some netizens believe that the group has ruined the original and defamed the image of Tang Sanzang and his 4 disciples.
However, with "Journey to the West, Brotherhood", the most worrying thing is the risk of copyright.
Although the novel "Journey to the West" is already within the scope of public property, their image and performance style closely follow the 1986 television version. From a legal perspective, this poses a risk of copyright infringement for the television series.
Another issue that is also of concern is how to maintain long-term appeal after becoming famous in a short time.
