Tenshu

“

[gasp] Nooo! Ohhh! The legendary Urn of Whispering Warriors. Said to contain the souls of the entire Tenshu army!...

—Po while exploring the Hall of Warriors, Kung Fu Panda

"Tenshu" is a name of unknown origin given to an army called the Tenshu Army.

History

Background

File:UrnOfWarriors.jpg

The legendary Urn of Whispering Warriors, the current resting place for the souls of the Tenshu Army

It is unknown whether Tenshu was a person or a place, but the legend behind the name tells the story of the Tenshu Army:

The five hundred warriors of Tenshu were called upon to defend an isolated village of peaceful potters from the attack of ten thousand demons of the Scarlet Moon. Though outnumbered twenty to one, the valiant warriors held the dark horde back for a hundred days, fighting shoulder to shoulder in formation and whispering to each other, "hold fast, brothers, hold fast" to keep up their courage.

They fought to their last breath and successfully drove the assassins back. The grateful village worked together to make the most perfect ceramic vase they had ever created, molded from the clay of the battlefield and moistened with their tears.

It is said that the souls of the noble warriors of Tenshu live on inside the vase, waiting to be called on again in a time of need. If you are very quiet and still, you may hear them whispering, "hold fast, brothers, hold fast..."

In Kung Fu Panda

Po listening for whispers from the souls of the Tenshu Army contained in the urn

After Po was declared the Dragon Warrior, he was carried to the Hall of Warriors to meet with Master Shifu. Before doing so, he gawked at the historical artifacts on display in the sacred hall.

One of the last he looked at (he regretted) was the Urn of Whispering Warriors, briefly mentioning how it is said to contain all the souls of the entire Tenshu army. Knowing of the legend behind the urn, he whispered a greeting into it and placed his ear over the top to see if he could hear them whisper back. He was shocked at first to get a response, but then he abruptly turned when it was Master Shifu speaking. This caused him to accidentally bump into the urn's stand and knock the urn onto the floor, shattering into pieces.

Zeng gluing back the urn

It was supposedly glued back together, piece by piece, by Zeng, as shown in the end credits.

Trivia

• A tenshu is known to be the main keep of a castle in Japanese architecture. It is unknown if this is related to the Tenshu army, but the name makes the story an anachronism to the franchise's kung fu motif.