Oogway and Kai's scroll

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Oogway and Kai's scroll refers to the scroll that documents Oogway and Kai's history with one another five hundred years prior to Kung Fu Panda 3. It is read right to left^[1] and, in Oogway's words, describes his younger days as an army general alongside Kai, meeting the ancient pandas of Panda Village, learning chi, and eventually defeating Kai.^[2]

The scroll is featured in Kung Fu Panda 3, when Shifu reads it to Po and the Furious Five in order to learn about Kai. After the scroll room's destruction, Tigress delivers the scroll to Po at Panda Village, where Li also reads it.

Description[]

The scroll is very unique among the others. The scroll’s case is green and appears to be rolled up in order for it to be read. The Chinese text written on the scroll is, in the film's context, written by Oogway and spoken word-for-word by Shifu.^[2] In its original concept art, however, the text is revealed to be poetry that "relates to storytelling." Art director Max Boas notes that "it is not literal, but rather just another layer, visually appealing in general but best appreciated by our Chinese audience."^[1]

The various stamps exhibited on the scroll represent the insignias of "past owners to suggest the many hands it has encountered and lives it has touched throughout its years of existence."^[1]

Inscription[]

I was an ambitious young warrior leading a great army. Fighting by my side was Kai, my closest friend. One day, we were ambushed. I was badly wounded. My friend carried me for days looking for help, until we came to a secret village high in the mountains. An ancient place of healing. A village of pandas who used the power of chi to heal me. They taught me how to give chi. But Kai wanted the power all to himself. He saw that what could be given could also be taken. I had to stop him. Our battle shook the earth, until, finally, I banished Kai to the spirit realm. Should he ever return to the mortal realm, he can only be stopped by a true master of chi.^[2]

History[]

In Kung Fu Panda 3[]

KFP3-Shifu-Five-scrolls — [Add a caption]

After realizing the name Kai was familiar, Shifu went digging in the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu and found the scroll. At first when he opened it, he first saw it was blank but he realized he did unravel it enough. Shifu and the Five realize it was written in Oogway’s handwriting and learned more about his past as a general.

Later after Kai destroyed the Jade Palace, Tigress took the scroll with her to the secret village. After Po’s did a run down of his plan he started to inspect the scroll in attempt to learn to master chi and saw his father doing the same.

Trivia[]

The artistic way this scroll is presented in Kung Fu Panda 3 (termed as "scroll vision") was inspired by the historic Chinese scroll Along the River During the Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145).^[1]
Most of the art created by the film's concept and visual development artists ended up being featured in the final version of the film nearly unaltered, which according to production designer and one of the concept artists Raymond Zibach is "a rare opportunity and extremely fulfilling for the artists."^[1]