What does Erlang Shen mean by "listen to the tune but not the announcement"?

Listen to the tune but not the announcement? It’s actually very simple. To put it bluntly, it means: if something happens, just send a message and I will help you. If nothing happens, don't come over to bother me, and I won't fawn over you.

01. Erlang Shen was originally a ruthless character who caused trouble in the Heavenly Palace. He had a grudge against the Jade Emperor

Erlang Shen seemed to have powerful powers and noble status, but in fact he was only half-human. The body of a god was originally a young boy living in the mortal world.

This matter has to start with the life experience of Erlang Shen. His mother is Yao Ji, the sister of the Jade Emperor. Yao Ji felt that life in the Heavenly Palace was too boring, so she went to the mortal world and had several children with a man named Yang. Yang Jian was the second among them, so he was called Erlang.

When the Jade Emperor learned that his sister had violated the rules of heaven and fell in love with a mortal, he became really angry and turned a peach into a peach mountain, and pressed Yao Ji under the peach mountain. In order to save his mother, Yang Jian practiced magic and used the power of a divine ax to split Taoshan and rescued his mother. However, he also formed a feud with the Jade Emperor.

02. After Erlangshen returned to heaven, he still disobeyed the Jade Emperor and had very strong autonomy

After Yang Jian brought his friends and had a big fight with the Jade Emperor, the Jade Emperor The emperor still persuaded Yang Jian to surrender because of his personal feelings, and also named him Erlang Xianshengzhenjun of Guanjiangkou, allowing him to continue to enjoy in the mortal world without being bound by the red tape of heaven. No one except the Jade Emperor could control him, and he didn't have to. To meet the Jade Emperor, there is no need to hang around the Jade Emperor all day long.

But on the other hand, although Erlang Shen surrendered to Heaven, there is no guarantee that he would continue to resent the Jade Emperor in his heart. This move also banished Erlang Shen to the edge of power, giving him no chance to enter the inner circle of heaven and get involved in major decisions. In this way, the Jade Emperor's position would not be threatened.

On the other hand, if something happens, the Jade Emperor can also give Erlangshen a formal order to complete it. In this way, using Erlangshen's powerful power to deal with the rebellion on his behalf is a reasonable use of resources. Erlangshen can also be regarded as a strong reserve force cultivated by Tianting.

03. The story of Erlang Shen, who listens to the tune but not the announcement, corresponds to the Ming Dynasty’s “wailing system”.

The story of Erlang Shen, who listens to the tune but not the announcement, comes from the Ming Dynasty’s "Journey to the West", and "Journey to the West" is not just a simple novel. It is based on the background of the time, incorporates elements of gods and demons, and is a bold creation that contains profound irony.

Erlang Shen is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. He actually represents the relative of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In order to prevent the relatives of the Ming Dynasty from interfering in politics (for example, Zhu Di took away the throne of his nephew Zhu Yunwen), the Ming Dynasty stipulated that the princes were not allowed to enter Beijing. Let them enjoy themselves outside (Guanjiangkou) and not interact with the important officials in the court (the gods in heaven).

Having said that, Erlang Shen, a relative, can be regarded as a representative figure of courage and scheming. Facing the powerful Sun Wukong, he was willing to work hard, and used the Eight-nine Mysterious Techniques to restrain the monkey, and let Xiao Xiao The Celestial Dog bit Sun Wukong, and finally successfully suppressed the rebellion and maintained the dignity of Heaven. It was much better than the relatives of the Ming Dynasty.