What Does Red Boy Look Like? A Resource for Artists and Cosplayers

March 23, 2024May 1, 2024Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 04-30-2024

The demon Red Boy (Honghai’er, 紅孩兒) appears in chapters 40 to 42 of Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592; “JTTW” hereafter). He is described as the son of the Bull Demon King (Niu mowang, 牛魔王) and Princess Iron Fan (Tieshan gongzhu, 鐵扇公主), a rakshasi spirit (luocha nu, 羅剎女). Due to his bovine father, Red Boy is sometimes portrayed in modern media and fan art with horns, and because of his youthful appearance, he is often shown wearing a red stomacher. So how do these representations compare to his depiction in the novel, and who has produced the most authentic look? In this article, I will present the demon’s literary description, along with ancient depictions from dynastic China and Korea. My hope is that the information will be both interesting and useful, especially for artists and cosplayers looking to make a more authentic design.

This is part of a series of articles describing JTTW characters. See my previous entries on Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie.

1. Ancient Depiction

The oldest art featuring Red Boy that I know of appears on the 14th-century Gyeongcheonsa pagoda (Kyŏngch’ŏnsa sipch’ŭng sŏkt’ap, 경천사십층석탑) from Korea. The second level of the pagoda’s multifaceted three-tiered base contains a total of 20 carved scenes from the JTTW story cycle. The 19th carving depicts the character’s defeat in a scene that would come to appear in the 1592 JTTW. [1] Reading it from left to right, Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie stand by the dragon horse as they watch the cloud-borne Guanyin enact her divine plan of capturing Red Boy, who is shown impaled on a lotus throne full of celestial swords. And to the child-sage’s left, the Bodhisattva’s disciple, Hui’an/Mucha, hammers at the swords with his staff while sitting on Sun Wukong’s shoulders in a symbolic display of teamwork (fig. 1 & 2).

Fig. 3 (top) – The complete 19th JTTW carving on the second tier of Gyeongcheonsa pagoda (larger version). Image from Wall (2019). Fig. 4 (bottom) – A detail of Red Boy trapped on the lotus throne of swords (L) and an accompanying line drawing for clarity (R) (larger version).

2. What the novel says

2.1. Physical appearance

The fullest description of Red Boy appears in chapter 41:

A face as if it had been powdered white,
And lips so ruddy, they seemed brushed with paint.
No dye could create such dark, coiled hair;
His eyebrows curved like new moons carved with knives.
Phoenix and dragon coiled on his battle kilt;
More husky than Nezha‘s frame he had.
With air imposing he lifted up his lance
And walked out the door, swathed in hallowed light.
He roared like thunder in the time of spring;
His striking eyes flashed like lightning bright.
If one would know his true identity,
Remember Red Boy, a name of lasting fame
(based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 222-223).

面如傅粉三分白，唇若塗朱一表才。
鬢挽青雲欺靛染，眉分新月似刀裁。
戰裙巧繡盤龍鳳，形比哪吒更富胎。
雙手綽槍威凜冽，祥光護體出門來。
哏聲響若春雷吼，暴眼明如掣電乖。
要識此魔真姓氏，名揚千古喚紅孩。

This description speaks of porcelain doll-like beauty and a chubby body. The original Chinese states that his hair is “rolled or coiled at the temples” (binwan, 鬢挽). This could mean his hair is in buns or coils. I’ll leave it up to the reader as to which one you like more.

It’s important to highlight that the poem does not mention horns. An in-canon explanation for this could be because Red Boy’s mother, Princess Iron Fan, had already “attained the way of humanity” (i.e. a human form) via spiritual cultivation (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 162). Perhaps this resulted in the demon-sage having a more human-like appearance. Or, given his own 300-plus years of austerities (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 219), he too has attained human form.

Interestingly, Ming-era woodblock prints don’t portray him with horns either. See figures four and five below.

2.2. Clothing

Red Boy is described as being lightly clothed and barefooted:

With no other armor except a battle kilt of embroidered silk and with naked feet, the monster king took up the lance and walked outside (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 222).

妖王掄槍拽步，也無甚麼盔甲，只是腰間束一條錦繡戰裙，赤著腳，走出門前。

So his attire consists of a single silken battle kilt, [2] which is, as mentioned in the poem above, embroidered with dragons and phoenixes. This would mean that Red Boy is bare-chested on top of having no footwear.

But what exactly does a “battle kilt” (zhanqun, 戰裙) look like? One example comes from a set of brigandine armor of the Qing dynasty (1636–1912). It covers the entire lower half of the body down to the ground (fig. 4). I imagine that Red Boy’s kilt would be red given his name and association with fire.

One late-Ming woodblock print portrays this clothing, adding a divine sash and an embroidered stomacher (fig. 3).

Fig. 3 (left) – An example of Qing-era brigandine armor with a battle kilt (larger version). Image found here. Fig. 4 (right) – A detail of Red Boy’s attire from Mr. Li Zhuowu’s Literary Criticism of Journey to the West (Li Zhuowu Xiansheng piping Xiyouji, 李卓吾先生批評西遊記, late-16th or early-17th-century) (larger version).

2.3. Weapon

Prior to walking outside to face the Monkey King, the demon calls for his giant, fiery spear:

“Bring me my lance,” he ordered. Those fiends who looked after weapons had two of them carry out a ten zhang eight chi fire-tipped lance [huojian qiang, 火尖槍] to hand over to the monster king (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 222).

教取過槍來。有那一夥管兵器的小妖，著兩個擡出一桿丈八長的火尖槍，遞與妖王。

One zhang (丈) comprises ten chi (尺, a.k.a. “Chinese feet”), and one chi is roughly 12.3 in (31.8 cm). This makes one zhang 10.43 ft (3.18 m) (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi). Therefore, Red Boy’s weapon is roughly 18.77 ft (5.724 m) long. That’s one long spear!

A woodblock print from the original 1592 JTTW shows an armored Red Boy wielding his weapon (fig. 5).

Fig. 5 – Red Boy wields his spear and holy flame against Monkey and Zhu Bajie (larger version). Image from the Newly Printed, Illustrated, Deluxe and Large Character, Journey to the West (Xinke chuxiang guanban dazi Xiyou ji, 新刻出像官板大字西遊記, 1592).

3. Popular depictions

As far as I know, there have not been any novel accurate portrayals of Red Boy in popular media. But I figured that I would post images from the most famous TV shows.

3.1. 1986 JTTW

He is portrayed with a hair tuft and coils, a red urna, a red cape, a red stomacher, and red slippers (fig. 6).

Fig. 6 – “Adorable Red Boy” (larger version). Image found here.

3.2. 1996 JTTW

He is portrayed by a young woman with two red ribbon-wrapped, white cloth-covered hair buns and a white undershirt and a red vest, red forearm cuffs, red shorts, and red slippers (fig. 7).

Fig. 7 – “Girl Red Boy” (larger version). Image found here.

3.3. 2011 JTTW

He is portrayed with a hair tuft, red horns, a dark red to brown suit of armor with a flame pattern, and a red cape (fig. 8).

Fig. 8 – “Armored Red Boy” (larger version). The original online source is no longer available.

4. Conclusion

JTTW chapter 41 describes Red Boy as having doll-like beauty with a powder white face, crescent moon-shaped eyebrows, and deep red lips. His dark hair is either wrapped in buns or hung in coils. He is shoeless, and the only clothing covering his husky body is a silken battle kilt embroidered with phoenixes and dragons. And his weapon is an 18.77 ft (5.724 m) long, fired-tipped spear.

Update: 03-25-24

It occurred to me that the following description …

With no other armor except a battle kilt of embroidered silk and with naked feet … (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 222).

妖王掄槍拽步，也無甚麼盔甲，只是腰間束一條錦繡戰裙，赤著腳 …

… does not necessarily exclude other clothing. Red Boy could wear some kind of silk robe beneath the battle kilt. However, I think him being shirtless better fits with his ferocious nature.

Update: 04-30-24

Chapter 42 indicates that Red Boy has a full head of hair that is later shaved by Guanyin:

She took out from her sleeve a golden razor and approached the fiend. With a few strokes, she shaved his hair off and turned it into the style of the Tai Mountain Crowning the Head: the top was completely bald, but three tufts of hair were left around the edge so that they could be knotted together into three tiny braids (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 250).

就袖中取出一把金剃頭刀兒，近前去，把那怪分頂剃了幾刀，剃作一個太山壓頂，與他留下三個頂搭，挽起三個窩角揪兒。

This contrasts with modern representations of Red Boy that already have this shaven hair style prior to being subjugated. Refer back to section 3.

Notes:

1) Chapter 42 reads:

After she received [treasure swords borrowed from heaven], the Bodhisattva [Guanyin] threw them into the air as she recited a spell: the swords were transformed into a thousand-leaf lotus platform. Leaping up, the Bodhisattva sat solemnly in the middle.

菩薩接在手中，拋將去，念個咒語，只見那刀化作一座千葉蓮臺。菩薩縱身上去，端坐在中間。

[…]

[Sun Wukong feigns defeat and tricks Red Boy into chasing him to Guayin’s domain] When the monster spirit suddenly discovered that Pilgrim was gone, he walked up to the Bodhisattva with bulging eyes and said to her, “Are you the reinforcement Pilgrim Sun brought here?” The Bodhisattva did not reply. Rolling the lance in his hands, the monster king bellowed, “Hey! Are you the reinforcement Pilgrim Sun brought here?” Still the Bodhisattva did not reply. The monster-spirit lifted his lance and jabbed at the heart of the Bodhisattva, who at once changed herself into a beam of golden light and rose into the air. Pilgrim followed her on her way up and said to her, “Bodhisattva, you are trying to take advantage of me! The monster-spirit asked you several times. How could you pretend to be deaf and dumb and not make any noise at all? One blow of his lance, in fact, chased you away, and you have even left behind your lotus platform.”

“Don’t talk,” said the Bodhisattva, “let’s see what he will do.” At this time, Pilgrim and [Mucha] both stood in the air shoulder to shoulder and stared down; they found the monster-spirit laughing scornfully and saying to himself, “Brazen ape, you’re mistaken about me! What sort of person do you think that I, Holy Child, happen to be? For several times you could not prevail against me, and then you had to go and fetch some namby-pamby Bodhisattva. One blow of my lance now has made her vanish completely. Moreover, she has even left the treasure lotus platform behind. Well, let me get up there and take a seat.” Dear monster-spirit. He imitated the Bodhisattva by sitting in the middle of the platform with hands and legs folded. When he saw this, Pilgrim said, “Fine! Fine! Fine! This lotus platform has been given to someone else!”

“Wukong,” said the Bodhisattva, “what are you mumbling again?”

“Mumbling what? Mumbling what?” replied Pilgrim. “I’m saying that the lotus platform has been given to someone else. Look! It’s underneath his thighs. You think he’s going to return it to you?”

“I wanted him to sit there,” said the Bodhisattva.

“Well, he’s smaller than you,” said Pilgrim, “and it seems that the seat fits him even better than it fits you.”

“Stop talking,” said the Bodhisattva, “and watch the dharma power.”

She pointed the willow twig downward and cried, “Withdraw!” All at once, flowers and leaves vanished from the lotus platform and the auspicious luminosity dispersed entirely. The monster king, you see, was sitting actually on the points of those swords. The Bodhisattva then gave this command to [Mucha]:

“Use your demon-routing cudgel and strike back and forth at the sword handles.”

Dropping from the clouds, [Mucha] wielded his cudgel as if he were demolishing a wall: he struck at the handles hundreds of times. As for that monster-spirit,

Both his legs were pierced till the points stuck out;
Blood spouted in pools as flesh and skin were torn.

Marvelous monster! Look at him! Gritting his teeth to bear the pain, he abandoned the lance so that he could use both hands to try to pull the swords out from his body … (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 246 and 249-250).

這妖精見沒了行者。走近前，睜圓眼，對菩薩道：「你是孫行者請來的救兵麼？」菩薩不答應。妖王撚轉長槍，喝道：「咄！你是孫行者請來的救兵麼？」菩薩也不答應。妖精望菩薩劈心刺一槍來。那菩薩化道金光，徑走上九霄空內。行者跟定道：「菩薩，你好欺伏我罷了，那妖精再三問你，你怎麼推聾裝啞，不敢做聲，被他一槍搠走了，卻把那個蓮臺都丟下耶？」菩薩只教：「莫言語，看他再要怎的。」

此時行者與木叉俱在空中，並肩同看。只見那妖呵呵冷笑道：「潑猴頭，錯認了我也。他不知把我聖嬰當作個甚人，幾番家戰我不過，又去請個甚麼膿包菩薩來卻被我一槍，搠得無形無影去了，又把個寶蓮臺兒丟了。且等我上去坐坐。」好妖精，他也學菩薩，盤手盤腳的坐在當中。行者看見道：「好好好，蓮花臺兒好送人了。」菩薩道：「悟空，你又說甚麼？」行者道：「說甚？說甚？蓮臺送了人了。那妖精坐放臀下，終不得你還要哩？」菩薩道：「正要他坐哩。」行者道：「他的身軀小巧，比你還坐得穩當。」菩薩叫：「莫言語，且看法力。」

他將楊柳枝往下指定，叫一聲：「退！」只見那蓮臺花彩俱無，祥光盡散，原來那妖王坐在刀尖之上。即命木叉：「使降妖杵，把刀柄兒打打去來。」那木叉按下雲頭，將降魔杵如築牆一般，築了有千百餘下。那妖精穿通兩腿刀尖出，血注成汪皮肉開。好怪物，你看他咬著牙，忍著痛，且丟了長槍，用手將刀亂拔 …

2) Padded silk armor was apparently used in ancient China as early as 600 CE (Dean, 1920, pp. 284-285).

Sources:

Dean, B. (1920). Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare. United Kingdom: Yale University Press.

Jiang, Y. (2005). The Great Ming Code / Da Ming Lu. Vancouver, Wa: University of Washington Press.

Wall, B. (2019). Dynamic Texts as Hotbeds for Transmedia Storytelling: A Case Study of the Story Universe of the Journey to the West. International Journal of Communication 13, 2116-2142. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/10006/2648.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

Archive #45 – Tripitaka Seeks the Scriptures: A Rare Journey to the West Puppet Play from Quanzhou, Fujian

February 21, 2024February 23, 2024Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

The Journey to the West Research blog is proud to host a joint post by the very knowledgeable @ryin-silverfish of Tumblr and myself. They managed to track down a digital copy of the script for Tripitaka Seeks the Scriptures (Sanzang Qujing, 三藏取经), an extremely rare Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記; “JTTW” hereafter) puppet play from Quanzhou, Fujian province, China (fig. 1). This prompt book was first transcribed during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), but internal characteristics date it to sometime after the late-13th-century JTTW and before or concurrent with the early-Ming JTTW zaju play. Needless to say, this is a super important addition to JTTW studies as it likely serves as a “missing link” between the northern and southern traditions of the story cycle (Hu, 2017a; 2017b). The strange thing is that I’ve never read anything about the play in any English sources on JTTW. This fact demonstrates just how rare and precious the play is.

The work contains familiar episodes, like Monkey’s havoc and punishment, Tripitaka‘s tumultuous childhood and vow to retrieve scriptures from India; Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie becoming his disciples, etc. (This and other parallels presented below perhaps point to the play’s influence on the later 1592 edition of the novel. Or, at the very least, this points to them drawing upon the same source.) But the play also has some very interesting differences: Tripitaka is adopted by Tang Emperor Taizong, thus becoming a prince; Monkey is imprisoned in a crystal well for his past misdeeds; Sha Wujing is the one transformed into a white horse; and Erlang becomes the Tang Monk’s disciple after being punished for flirting with a heavenly maiden. Read on for a full Chinese script and English synopsis below.

Fig. 1 – An example of modern Quanzhou string puppetry depicting a battle between Sun Wukong and Princess Iron Fan (larger version). Image found here.

I. The Chinese Script

@ryin-silverfish: The source of this text is quite obscure, only featured in a 1999 Chinese collection of puppet theater plays published by the Quanzhou Regional Opera Research Society.

Name of the book: 泉州地方戲曲研究社編，《泉州傳統戲曲叢書》第十卷《傀儡戲•目連全簿》（北京：中國戲劇出版社，1999)。

Unsurprisingly, I have no way of getting my hands on an actual copy of the book, so the Chinese text here came from a Tieba user who did, and then someone helpfully uploaded it onto Baidu Cloud Drive.

Just something to keep in mind.

PDF File:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10XhOpvLFrdcSaqyrhY_4MmiXylSGNhWutcgv6Ngen3M/edit

Jim: Here is a backup just in case.

Click to access Quanzhou-Puppet-Theatre-JTTW.pdf

II. English Summary

@ryin-silverfish: Disclaimer – This is a very rough chapter-by-chapter summary of the play, which was first transcribed in the Qing dynasty and appeared to be written in the local dialect. As I do not speak Hokkien, nuances are likely lost and errors made.

Jim: I have added italicized explanatory notes to @ryin-silverfish’s summary below. I formatted the section as such so that readers will have more context at hand. This way, you won’t have to constantly scroll down to the footnotes. Also, I have added links, as well as more hanzi and pinyin. I don’t (yet) know Hokkien either, so I apologize for not adding the corresponding romanization.

Chapter 1: Meeting the Buddha (Jian Fozu, 见佛祖)

Tripitaka (Sanzang, 三藏; a.k.a. Xuanzang, 玄奘) sings his backstory, which is pretty much the same as the JTTW novel version, minus the revenge part, and with a few more details: he was found by Li Gong (李公) and raised under the name “River Float” (Jiang Liu’er, 江流儿) in the Golden Mountain Temple (Jinshan Si, 金山寺). [A] As an adult, he later traveled to become a monk at the Immortal Peach Temple (Pantao Si, 蟠桃寺). Tang Emperor Taizong came there one day to sponsor a mass and present incense, and being impressed by the monk’s arhat-like aura, made him his adopted son, “Prince Tripitaka” (Sanzang Taizi, 三藏太子). [B]

The royal monk is praying to the “Buddha of the Southern Seas” (Nanhai Fozu, 南海佛祖, a.k.a. Guanyin), when the goddess arrives to ask what is bothering him. He worries that the monks who travel outside the temple might be tempted by worldly things, so he vows that day to retrieve scriptures from India in order to save them from negative karmic fate. [C] In response, Guanyin first tells him that the journey will be perilous, with untold dangers along the way. Then, she tells Tripitaka of the “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian Dasheng, 齐天大圣), who had been imprisoned in a well for stealing the Jade Emperor’s wine in the past. Next, she recommends recruiting the Great Sage to protect the monk on the trip, and to that end gives him a “Precious Sash of Infinity” (Wujin Baodi, 无尽宝绦) and a golden headband, two heavenly treasures needed to respectively free and submit the spirit. Finally, Guanyin gives him a ringed staff, an alms bowl, and straw slippers before sending him on his way.

A) Tripitaka is found as a baby by the monk Faming (Faming Heshang, 法明和尚), the holy abbot of the Golden Mountain Temple, in JTTW chapter nine. He gives the baby the same name, “River Float” (Jiang Liu/er, 江流/儿) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 222).

B) The monk becomes Tang Emperor Taizong’s bond brother (xiongdi, 兄弟) in JTTW chapter 12 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 290). The monarch even refers to him as his “Royal Brother” (yudi, 御弟) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 291, for example).

C) The Tang Monk’s reason for the trip is different in the novel: he is chosen to procure scriptures of the “Great Vehicle” (Dacheng, 大乘; i.e. Mahayana texts) in order to perform a “Grand Mass of Land and Water (Shuilu Dahui, 水陆大会), which will free untold numbers of abandoned souls from the underworld (Wu & Y, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 275 and 286-290). This is more in line with Tang Taizong’s mass in the play.

Chapter 2: Monkey in a Well (Zuojing Hou, 坐井猴)

Sun Wukong sings his backstory inside the well: he was as old as heaven and earth and had eleven brothers, a.k.a. the “Eleven Luminaries” (Shiyi Yao Xingjun, 十一曜星君). [D-F] Turning into a mosquito and flying into the celestial realm, he ate twelve peaches of immortality and three, multi-ton alms bowls full of Laozi’s golden elixir pills and drank 3,000 jars of heavenly wine. [G]

In a drunken haze, Monkey drank so much water from the Eastern Sea that the Dragon King’s palace was exposed, causing the monarch, together with every other deity he had pissed off, to complain to the Jade Emperor.

After he was captured by the combined forces of Erlang, Nezha, Devaraja Li Jing, the Curtain-Raising General Deng Hua (Juanlian Denghua, 卷帘邓化), and celestial soldiers, the plot, again, proceeds the same as in the JTTW novel. This includes his failed execution, sentence to the eight trigrams furnace, wager with the Buddha, and his defeat under “Five-Fingers Mountain” (Wuzhi Shan, 五指山; a.k.a. “Five Elements Mountain“). The only thing different is his place of imprisonment: the power-nullifying, 10,000 zhang deep “Dazzling Crystal Well” under the Wild Horse Bridge of Youzhou (Youzhou Yema Qiao xia wanzhang Huashan Liuli Jing, 幽州野马桥下万丈花闪琉璃井). [H-J]

Monkey is told that only when “flowers bloom on iron trees” (tieshu kaihua, 铁树开花) will he be released. Shortly thereafter, Guanyin shows up in his dreams and mentions Tripitaka, and the chapter ends with him crying out the monk’s name, hoping he might be heard.

D) Monkey formally introduces himself as Sun Wukong (xing Sun ming Wukong, 姓孙名悟空). But this name only appears twice in the entire play. He is primarily called “Equaling Heaven” (Qitian, 齐天). It appears a total of 286 times, including only two uses of “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian Dasheng, 齐天大圣) (ch. 2 & 4). He is twice referred to in chapter four as the “Monkey Whose Greatness Equals Heaven” (Yuansun Qitian, 猿孙大齐天) (refer to the PDF). The present summary primarily uses Sun Wukong and Monkey out of tradition.

E) Monkey’s stated age, “the same as Heaven and Earth” (yu tiandi tonggeng, 与天地同庚) (refer to the PDF), is different from the novel. Calculations based on internal story details suggest that he was born around the year 500 BCE during the late-Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046-256 BCE).

F) The “Eleven Luminaries” (Shiyi Yao Xingjun, 十一曜星君) are a combination of nine sinicized Hindu astrological deities and two East Asian astrological deities. They include the Sun (Taiyang xing, 太陽星), Moon (Taiyin xing, 太阴星), Mars (Huoxing, 火星), Mercury (Shuixing, 水星), Jupiter (Muxing, 木星), Venus (Jinxing, 金星), Saturn (Tuxing, 土星), Rahu (Luohou, 罗睺), Ketu (Jidu, 奇都), and two shadowy planets called Yuebei xing (月孛星) and Ziqi (紫气). See figure one here for a circa 13th-century image of these gods. I don’t know if these are supposed to be his biological siblings or just bond brothers. But Wukong does take the “Nine Luminaries” (Jiu Yaoxing, 九曜星), the aforementioned sinified stellar gods, as his bond brothers in JTTW chapter five (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 160). He later fights and singlehandedly defeats them all during his rebellion (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 171).

Monkey does have biological brothers and sisters in two Yuan–Ming stage plays (see the 12-20-23 update here). One is a sister called the “Iron-Colored Macaque” (Tiese Mihou, 铁色狝猴) (refer to this PDF). In the puppet play, Laozi refers to Monkey as an “iron bone-colored macaque” (Tiegu Se Mihou, 铁骨色猕猴) because his body is immune to harm. I’m not sure where these terms come from. They might be connected to the tiese (铁色), a kind of fruit-bearing tree in Asia. Perhaps macaques were associated with eating its fruit. Also, I should note that Monkey is called the “Great Sage Steel Muscles and Iron Bones” (Gangjin Tiegu Dasheng, 钢筋铁骨大圣) at the end of the late-13th-century JTTW.

G) Monkey is punished in JTTW chapter five for a host of crimes, including eating countless immortal peaches, ruining a celestial banquet, drinking copious amounts of heavenly wine, and eating all of Laozi’s elixir pills (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 162 and 165-166).

H) One zhang (丈) comprises ten chi (尺, a.k.a. “Chinese feet”), and one chi is roughly 31.8 cm (12.3 in). This makes one zhang 3.18 m (10.43 ft) (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi). Ten-thousand zhang (wanzhang, 万丈) would therefore be 31,800 m (104,300 ft). That’s one deep well!

The Water Margin (Shuihu Zhuan, 水浒传, c. 1400), another famous Chinese vernacular novel, also contains a 10,000 zhang deep pit (wanzhang shenqian dixue, 万丈深浅地穴) used to imprison 108 stellar spirits (Shi & Luo, 1975/2021a, vol. 1, p. 15). Shapiro translates this as “a pit 100,000 feet deep” (Shi & Luo, 1993/2021b, vol. 1, p.15). But the use of 10,000 zhang is likely referring to an infinitely deep, inescapable abyss.

This idea can be traced to a Song-era Daoist ritual in which an exorcist draws the character for “well” (jing, 井/丼) on the ground. This divides the ritual space into nine sections, representing the Nine Palaces (Jiugong, 九宮) (stellar groupings comprising the cosmos), thereby creating an earth prison to incarcerate evil spirits. The Compilation of Rituals of the Way (Daofa huiyuan, 道法会元) reads:

[U]se the Sword mudrā to draw the character for “well” on the ground. Transform it into a black prison, ten-thousand zhang deep, and ten thousand li wide. Black vapors burst out of it. Inside the prison, visualize how cangues and locks, as well as tools and machinery are laid out. Then recite the Spell for Fast Arrest.

右用劍訣，就地劃一井字。化為黑獄，深萬丈，闊萬里。黑炁衝騰。存獄中枷鎖、噐械備列；就念「促捉咒」(Meulenbeld, 2007, p. 142).

Therefore, Monkey’s imprisonment was likely influenced by this Daoist rite.

I) It’s important to note that liuli (琉璃), the material comprising his prison, has a connection to Buddhism. For example, it is mentioned in Indian Buddhist sources under it’s Pali/Sanskrit equivalent, vaiḍūrya (वैडूर्य), as one of the seven precious substances, along with gold, silver, pearls, etc. Modern translators of said sources associate vaiḍūrya with shiny, translucent beryl and cat’s eye gemstones. But the Chinese originally associated vaiḍūrya/liuli with opaque, dark blue, and sometimes golden-speckled lapis lazuli (Winder, 1990). This is why the Chinese name of the Medicine Buddha, Yaoshi Liuli Guangwang Rulai (藥師琉璃光如來), is translated as the “Medicine Master [of] Lapis Lazuli Light Tathāgata” (for example).

This would suggest that Wukong’s prison is not crystal but lapis lazuli, perhaps with golden speckles, which would explain the “dazzle” (huashan, 花闪) part of the well’s name. And since he is held fast there by the Buddha’s seal (see chapter 4 below), the medium of his jail is likely influenced by Buddhism. This would make his prison a joint Buddho-Daoist punishment.

J) Youzhou (幽州) was an ancient prefecture in what is now Heibei province, China.

Chapter 3: Farewell Banquet (Paishu, 派数)

Zhangsun Wuji, historically Taizong’s minister, is preparing a farewell banquet for Prince Tripitaka. It’s mostly a list of dishes; not much to see here.

Chapter 4: Monkey Joins (Shou Hou, 收猴)

Tripitaka attends Zhangsun Wuji’s farewell banquet, and then begins his journey to the west. The Buddha Maitreya sees him about to reach a wide river, uncrossable by boats, and sends Shancai to assist him by covering the river in lotus flowers.

Tripitaka steps over the lotuses and crosses the “Nine-Rank, No Boats River” (Jiupin Wuchuan Jiang, 九品无船江). Keep on keeping on, he hears someone calling out his name, but doesn’t see the caller. The local god of the soil shows up to inform him that it is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, yelling from inside his well.

The monk removes the Buddha’s seal on the well cover by reciting the “Three-Jewels Mantra” (Sanbao zhenyan, 三宝真言), and then he uses the Precious Sash to lift Sun Wukong out of the well, thereby breaking the iron locks holding him down.

Tripitaka asks Monkey to escort him to the Western Heaven, but the spirit only wants to go back to Flower-Fruit Mountain. Sun Wukong agrees to have his head shaved just so he can bail out after a few li. [K] Unfortunately for him, he also agrees to wear the golden headband, and right after he speeds away, Tripitaka recites the tightening sutra and forces him to return.

Monkey finally relents and agrees to protect Tripitaka on the journey to India. He takes this as an opportunity to bring out the “luggage” from his ear: the 30,000 catty “As-You-Wish Staff” (Qianjun Ruyi Bang, 千钧如意棒; a.k.a. the “Golden-Hooped As-You-Wish Staff,” Jingu Ruyi Bang, 金箍如意棒), forged by the sage-king Yu the Great. [L & M]

K) Wukong also sports a shaven head in the novel. For instance, in JTTW chapter 27, he states:

But ever since Nirvana delivered me from my sins, when with my hair shorn I took the vow of complete poverty and followed you as your disciple, I had this gold fillet clamped on my head… (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 24).

自从涅槃罪度，削发秉正沙门，跟你做了徒弟，把这个金箍儿勒在我头上 …

L) The staff’s weight is based on a thousand multiples of 30 catties (jun, 钧). One catty (jin, 斤) is 590 grams (Elvin, 2004, p. 491 n. 133). Therefore, 30,000 catties would be roughly 17,700 kg or 39,021.82 lbs. But 30,000 is likely used here to refer to an unimaginably large number (i.e. Wukong’s staff is REALLY heavy).

The novel staff weighs 13,500 catties (cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 135). This equals 7,965 kg or 17,559.81 lbs.

M) The literary weapon also has a slightly different name: the “As-You-Wish Gold-Banded staff” (Ruyi Jingu Bang, 如意金箍棒). (Notice how ruyi (如意) and jingu (金箍) are switched around from the play’s staff name.) In addition, it is said to have been used by Yu the Great in the past to conquer the world flood (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 135). But the staff’s creation is attributed to both Laozi (ch. 75) and Yu (ch. 88) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 375; vol. 4, 201).

Chapter 5: The Horse Joins (Shou Ma, 收马)

The “Deep Sand God” of Black Sand Cave (Heisha Dong Shensha Shen, 黑沙洞深沙神, i.e. Sha Wujing) sits in his abode, [N] looking to grab some travelers to eat, and soon, he comes across Tripitaka and Sun Wukong. He seizes the monk first, then tries to grab the monkey but seemingly fails.

Sun Wukong, using his magic “Fiery Eyes and Golden Irises” (Huoyan Jinjing, 火眼金睛), figures out it was the Deep Sand God, and then goes into his cave for a rescue mission. They banter and proceed to fight. Knowing that the old monkey spirit is vulnerable to 1) flames and 2) water, [O] the Deep Sand God sets a fire inside his cave, forcing Sun Wukong to flee to the South Sea for help.

Guanyin decides to come along and asks Sun Wukong to bring her alms bowl, too. When they confront the Deep Sand God again, Guanyin presents a wager to him: if he can lift her alms bowl (boyu, 钵盂), both she and Tripitaka will be his food.

The monster tries but is unable to lift it. [P] Sun Wukong then lifts the bowl, tosses it onto his head, and attempts to slay the Deep Sand God. But Guanyin spares him on the condition that he will turn into a white horse and become Tripitaka’s steed. [Q]

N) The “Deep Sand God” (Shensha Shen, 深沙神) appears as a desert demon in (the incomplete) chapter eight of the late-13th-century JTTW. He claims to have eaten Tripitaka’s two previous incarnations on their journey to India. The monster only helps the pilgrims cross the “Deep Sands” (Shensha, 深沙) via a magical golden bridge once he is threatened with heavily retribution. Memorial poems note that Tripitaka releases the Spirit from a 500-year-long curse, and Monkey promises to speak highly of him when they meet the Buddha (Wivell, 1994, pp. 1190-1191).

O) Monkey is shown to be weak to “True Samadhi Fire” (Sanmei zhenhuo, 三昧真火), an intense flame born from spiritual cultivation, in JTTW chapter 41 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 230-23). And he is shown throughout the novel to be a less proficient fighter in water (ch. 21, for example) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 423-424).

P) This is reminiscent of JTTW chapter 42, when Guanyin challenges Wukong to pick up her porcelain vase, which contains an ocean full of water. He is unsuccessful (see the 07-03-22 update here). The Deep Sand God’s inability to raise the alms bowl is likely related to monk Faxian‘s story about the immovable quality of Buddha’s almsbowl (Faxian & Legge, 1886/1965, pp. 34-35).

Q) In the novel, the white horse is a transformed dragon prince. He is forced to become Tripitaka’s steed after eating the original horse in chapter 15 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 328).

Chapter 6: Erlang Joins (Shou Erlang, 收二郎)

Erlang sings his backstory. The previous year, he harassed a Jade Maiden messenger (Chuanyan Yunu, 传言玉女) on a bridge in Tianjin (Tianjin Qiaotou, 天津桥头), provoking the Jade Emperor’s wrath and causing him to cut off sacrifices and worship to Erlang. After the intervention of Guanyin, he was sent to Mt. Guankou (灌口山) (in Sichuan) as a guardian deity, but often preyed on passing mortals and ate their flesh. [R]

The POV switches to Tripitaka and Wukong; the latter sees a black cloud blocking his way, and suspecting it to be a demon, he asks his master to hide while he checks. Erlang reveals his identity and suggests that he will catch the monk and share his flesh with “Elder Brother Qi” (Qige, 齐哥) (i.e. Monkey).

Wukong promptly chews him out and reveals that Tripitaka is the reincarnation of the Golden Chan Arhat (Jinchan Luohan, 金禅罗汉), [S] who attended a lantern festival without notifying his fellow monks and was punished by the Buddha to experience 36 perils (sanshiliu jie, 三十六劫) on his journey to the west. [T]

After getting a monk makeover, Erlang becomes Tripitaka’s disciple.

R) This is reminiscent of Zhu Bajie’s backstory from JTTW chapter 18. After being stripped of his divine post and exiled to earth for forcing himself on a moon maiden, Pigsy becomes a meat-eating spirit (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 212).

S) Tripitaka’s past divine title, the “Golden Chan Arhat” (Jinchan Luohan,金禅罗汉), is similar to that from JTTW, “Master Golden Cicada” (Jinchan Zi, 金蝉子). Chan (as in Chan Buddhism) and chan (蝉, “cicada”) look and sound similar.

T) Master Golden Cicada is exiled from heaven for sleeping during the Buddha’s lecture. The fullest explanation for this appears in chapter 81 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 82). Another part of his punishment is experiencing 81 perils, which happen throughout the novel. Eighty of these are listed, with the final one happening shortly thereafter, in chapter 99 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 358-363).

Chapter 7: Pigsy Joins (Shou Zhu, 收猪)

Zhu Bajie (猪八戒), the pig demon of Mt. Song (嵩山; later called “Pig Excrement Mountain,” Zhushi Shan, 猪屎山), is hungry for human flesh, and so he decides to whip up some smoke and seize some unaware travelers under its cover. Just like the two villains before him, he picks the pilgrims as his target.

Wukong fights him, subdues him, and he joins the party.

Chapter 8: Spiderly Woe (Zhizhu Men, 蜘蛛闷)

Lady Earth-Raised (Diyang Furen, 地养夫人), the spider demoness of Mt. Hua (Hua Shan, 华山), has a problem. She might be the youngest sister of the “Three Saints of Mt. Song” (Song Shan Sansheng Langjun, 嵩山三圣郎君), [U] living on her silk webs, but she is still single and unmarried. As such, she commands her imps to patrol the mountains daily, so as to kidnap a fine man as her future husband.

The imps soon spot a group of people under the mountain: a monkey, a horse, a pig, and a monk (Erlang isn’t mentioned for some reason). She asks one of her imp minions, the “Big-headed Demon” (Datou Gui, 大头鬼), which one seems like a good choice, and after comically dismissing the first three, she settles on the monk.

The Big-headed Demon eagerly grabs a sack and chopper and, when she asks why, he tells her he is going to cut the monk in half and bring the body to her. But since a dead person does not a good husband make, she decides to kidnap the monk herself.

U) Lady Earth-Raised is similar to the seven Spider Spirits (Zhizhu Jing, 蜘蛛精) from JTTW chapters 72 to 73, and her lofty brothers, the Three Saints, are reminiscent of the Demon Lord of a Hundred Eyes (Baiyan Mojun, 百眼魔君), the spider spirits’ senior from chapter 73.

Her name and at least one of her deceptions is also very similar to a demoness in JTTW chapter 80 (see below).

Chapter 9: Subduing the Spider (Shou Zhizhu, 收蜘蛛)

The demoness disguises herself as a young woman with her lower half buried in the earth (the same trick Lady Earth Flow uses in JTTW chapter 80 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 67) and calls out for help. Tripitaka orders Wukong to investigate, but he refuses because he doesn’t want trouble. However, the monk forces him into it via the headband tightening spell.

She says she was buried there by her husband for doing something wrong, and then asks the monk for help. When Tripitaka tries to pry her free with a monk’s knife (jiedao, 戒刀), she grabs him and returns to her cave.

Sun Wukong spots some spider silk with his fiery eyes and plans to turn into a jiaoming fly (jiaoming chong, 蟭螟虫) [V] and follow it back to her cave. However, the horse says she probably raises hens inside, and a fly would quickly be eaten, so he should transform into a Scops owl (Lao Chi, 老鸱), a bird of prey. That way Wukong can deal with the chickens when he sneaks inside.

He soon finds the spider demoness and orders her to let his master go or die. She replies that if he dares, her brothers, the “Three Saints of Mt. Wo” (Wo Shan Sanshen Langjun, 窝山三圣郎君) (again, a mountain’s name does not stay consistent) will deal with him. [W] Wukong beats her to death with the staff anyways and rescues Tripitaka.

V) The jiaoming fly (jiaoming chong, 蟭/焦螟虫) is an aquatic insect from Daoist literature said to be so small that it can congregate in the eyebrows of a mosquito (Wang, 2012, p. 28 n. 44).

W) The “Three Saints of Mt. Song/Wo” (Song/Wo Shan Sansheng Langjun, 嵩/窝山三圣郎君) are part of a pattern in JTTW in which the pilgrims face a trio of baddies. Examples include the three bogus animal immortals (ch. 46), the three demon kings of Lion-Camel Cave (ch. 74-77), and the three rhino demons (ch. 91-92). The three incarnations of the White Bone Spirit (ch. 27) could also count. This reoccurring number is perhaps meant to mirror Tripitaka’s three disciples.

Chapter 10: Bad News (Bao Xiongxun, 报凶讯)

Luo Tuo, Luo Du, and Luo Hou (罗托，罗独，罗候)—the Three Saints of Mt. Wo, are having a party in celebration of their eldest brother, Luo Tuo’s birthday. They wonder why their sister has not arrived yet, when suddenly, the Big-Headed Demon enters and delivers the bad news.

Furious, the trio swear revenge and set out to capture Tripitaka and kill Wukong. [X]

X) The Saints’ anger over the murder of their spider sister is also similar to the rage of the Demon Lord of a Hundred Eyes over the killing of his seven spider sisters (ch. 73) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 340-341). All eight are done in by Monkey.

Chapter 11: Subduing the Three Saints (Shou Sansheng, 收三圣)

The pilgrims are passing through a mountain, when Luo Tuo swoops down and grabs Tripitaka but fails to capture Wukong. Monkey informs the rest of the gang about the Three Saints. Erlang suggests that since Wukong is the one who started it, he alone should deal with them.

The whole gang goes after the trio anyways but fails to beat them. Wukong tells Erlang and Sandy to keep watch on the Three Saints so that they do not harm Tripitaka, and flies to the South Sea to seek Guanyin’s help.

Guanyin agrees, but the chapter ends here because the rest of the pages are missing from the original manuscript.

Chapter 12: Ascending the Immortal Pavilion (Dengxian Ge, 登仙阁)

The chapter begins with the head of the pavilion’s local shrine asking an attendant about sacrifices, for the birthday of a certain “Great Immortal” (Daxian, 大仙) is near. He demands a young boy, as well as food and fruits, as gifts.

The shrine attendant goes to inform the families responsible for supplying each of the sacrifices; this year, it is Old Huang’s (Huang Gong, 黄公) turn to give up his only grandson. [Y] He begs them to delay the sacrifices until his family can … sire another grandkid!

In response, the shrine attendants tie him up and start beating him, stating that if the Great Immortal does not get his sacrifice, the whole village will suffer. Unable to withstand the beating, Old Huang yields and agrees to their demand.

Y) This plot is similar to the Great King of Numinous Power (Linggan Dawang, 灵感大王) episode from JTTW chapters 47 to 48. He demands a yearly sacrifice of children from families that shoulder the horrible burden on a rotating basis. This shares shocking similarities with Hindu literature (see section 2.2 here).

Chapter 13: Meeting the Grandfather and Grandson (Yu Gongsun, 遇公孙)

The pilgrims hear the commotions of the sacrificial ceremony, and upon investigating, come across Old Huang, dragging his grandson along and sobbing. After questioning him, Tripitaka decides to go to Ascending Immortal Pavilion himself and talk the Great Immortal out of this whole “human sacrifice” thing.

Chapter 14: Subduing the Great Serpent (Shou Dashe, 收大蛇)

The sacrificial ceremony begins. But the shrine attendants wonder if the Great Immortal has not yet arrived because the young boy hasn’t been offered up. Tripitaka arrives just in time to call out the Great Immortal for demanding human sacrifices.

Enraged, the Great Immortal orders his imps to snatch Tripitaka, but Wukong smashes his way in and demands the release of his master. The Great Immortal dares Wukong to allow the spirit three free strikes; Wukong agrees.

After three hits and no effect, the Great Immortal tries to bash him over the head with a stone incense burner, which only annoys Wukong. [Z] He whips out his staff and kills the Great Immortal in one strike, revealing his true form—a huge serpent. [AA]

The pilgrims continue their journey. Wukong asks Erlang to get their master some water, while he travels on his cloud to get some food from the Immortal Peach Monastery (蟠桃寺). As the two leave, Tripitaka hears the sound of people chopping firewood and goes to investigate.

Z) Monkey is famous for his invulnerability in JTTW. For instance, in chapter 75, Wukong willingly blocks a sword strike with his adamantine head:

Arousing his spirit, the old demon stood firmly with one foot placed in front of the other. He lifted up his scimitar with both hands and brought it down hard on the head of the Great Sage. Our Great Sage, however, jerked his head upward to meet the blow. All they heard was a loud crack, but the skin on the head did not even redden (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 373).

那老魔抖擻威風，丁字步站定，雙手舉刀，望大聖劈頂就砍。這大聖把頭往上一迎，只聞扢扠一聲響，頭皮兒紅也不紅。

AA) A massive, red-scaled python spirit (honglin damang, 紅鳞大蟒) appears in JTTW chapter 67.

Chapter 15: Firewood Crossing (隔柴渡)

Two firewood choppers turn out to be Hanshan and Shide (寒山，拾得), two famous historical monks of Mt. Tiantai, who are also worshiped in folk religion. Tripitaka asks them if there is a temple nearby. They say yes but that it’s on the other side of the river.

There aren’t any boats either, so they use their firewood to create a bridge for Tripitaka. Halfway across, the bridge collapses; he falls into the river, only to be rescued by the local Dragon King, who escorts him to the “Correctness and Broadness Temple” (Fangguang Si, 方广寺), [AB] where the Buddha is secretly staying.

After the monk greets Buddha, an immortal lad brings Tripitaka a message: Devaraja Li (Li Tianwang, 李天王) of the Bisha-men Palace (Pisha Gong, 毗沙宫) is inviting him to a party in celebration of his own birthday, as well as Prince Nezha’s (Nezha Taizi, 哪吒太子) “return to the world/rebirth” (zai chushi, 在出世). Tripitaka agrees and heads for the celestial realm on a white crane.

AB) This may be a reference to the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra (Dafangguang fo huayan jing, 大方广佛华严经; a.k.a. “Flower Garland Sutra,” Huayan jing, 华严经). The Chinese believed that this was the Buddha’s first teaching shortly after achieving enlightenment (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 84). This might then explain why the Buddha is residing in a random temple along the journey.

Chapter 16: Party in the Celestial Realm (Tiangong Hui, 天宫会)

Devaraja Li is organizing the party, sending out invitations for the 500 Arhats (Wubai Luohan, 五百罗汉). The immortal lad reports that all five hundred handkerchiefs (shoupa, 手帕) were given out, save for one—which turned out to be Tripitaka’s, missing because of the whole reincarnation thing. [AC]

Luckily, he soon arrives. Devaraja Li gifts him three cups of immortal wine, and Tripitaka, being a lightweight, becomes totally wasted and is taken into the backrooms of the palace to rest.

AC) Tripitaka was historically venerated as an arhat as early as the Song dynasty (960-1279) (Liu, 2019). For example, he is included in a series of late-12th-century religious paintings focusing on the 500 Arhats. A black-robed Sun Wukong can be seen walking in the clouds behind him (fig. 2) (see the 06-04-23 update here).

Fig. 2 – Lin Tinggui and Zhou Jichang, The Tang Monk Procures the Scriptures (Tangseng qujing, 唐僧取經), no. 77 of 100 scrolls from Images of the 500 Arhats (Wubai Luohan tu, 五百羅漢圖, 1178-1188 CE) (larger version). Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk. Image from Nara kuniritsu hakubutsukan, Tōkyō bunkazai kenkyūjo, 2014, p. 86. Courtesy of Dr. Liu Shufen, a research fellow at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica. See the 06-04-23 update here for close ups of Monkey.

Chapter 17: Where did the monk go? (Tao Heshang, 讨和尚)

Meanwhile, Wukong and Erlang return, only to find their master missing. They bash on the gate of the Correctness and Broadness Temple to demand his whereabouts; the Buddha replies that Tripitaka is drunk and sleeping in Devaraja Li’s palace, then slams the door shut in their faces.

Erlang asks Wukong to go to the celestial realm and bring their master back. Wukong declines, citing the whole “Havoc in Heaven” business, then asks Erlang to go. He also declines because of the Jade Maiden incident in the past.

Finally, they summon the local Jiedi (揭帝) with a mantra and send the guardian deity to pick up Tripitaka.

Chapter 18: Subduing the Red-faced Demon (Shou Chimian, 收赤面)

Elder Li De (Laofu Li De, 老夫李德) of Mt. Song has an 18-year-old daughter, Jinyu (金玉, “Golden Jade”), who has been charmed by a demon, and none of the exorcisms by Daoist priests seem to work. The pilgrims happen to pass by and stay at his place for the night, so naturally, Tripitaka signs his monkey disciple up to banish the demon.

Wukong hides in her bedroom, ready to ambush the demon. However, when spooked, it spews out fire and forces Wukong to retreat. Elder Li laments that the demon will surely give them even more trouble after this fiasco; in response, Wukong transforms into the man’s daughter and summons the local god of the soil for questioning. The deity reveals the monster’s identity as the “Red-Faced Demon King” (Chimian Guiwang, 赤面鬼王).

A transformed Wukong marches to the demon’s cave and tells him their relationship might not work out now that her father has seen the demon flee, deeming him a weakling. The Red-Faced Demon then reveals his backstory: he used to be a woodcutter until he saw the “Lamp-Lamp Buddha” (Dengdeng Fo, 灯灯佛) meditating on a rock, [AD] with a precious pearl (zhu, 珠) by his side. He stole the pearl and swallowed it, which allowed him to turn into a fireball and take flight.

Wukong cajoles him into giving up the pearl, immediately swallows it, and uses the True Samadhi Fire to eliminate the demon. [AE]

AD) This is a likely reference to Dīpaṃkara (Sk: दीपंकर), the Buddha preceding Śākyamuni. His Chinese name appears in countless sutras as Dengdeng Fo (燃灯佛), or the “Lamp Buddha.” This is appropriate given the magic pearl’s connection to spiritual fire. Also, this implies that the Red-Faced Demon has lived for countless eons if he was alive during the time of the previous Buddha.

Dīpaṃkara is referenced in JTTW chapter 5, and he briefly appears in chapter 98 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 166; vol. 4, p. 352). In addition, his name is listed first (even above Śākyamuni) in a roster of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas saluted at the end of the novel (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 384). Journey to the West calls him Dendeng Gufo (燃灯古佛; a.k.a. Gufo, 古佛, here and here), or the “Ancient Buddha of the Lamp.”

AE) This chapter shares similarities with a number of JTTW episodes. First, Monkey hiding in the daughter’s room and later transforming into her likeness is reminiscent of Sun and Zhu’s first meeting in chapter 18 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 374-375). Second, Wukong, once again disguised as a woman, tricks a spirit into spitting up a magic pearl and then swallows it himself in chapter 31 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 80-81). And third, the emphasis on a red demon’s command of True Samadhi Fire is similar to Red Boy from chapter 40-42.

Chapter 19: Eight Wheels (Balun Tan, 八轮叹)

The “Holy Mothers of the Eight Wheels” (Balun Shengmu, 八轮圣母) sing their backstory: They were eight sisters—Gold Wheel, Silver Wheel, Copper Wheel, Iron Wheel, Tin Wheel, Wind Wheel, Fire Wheel, and Cart Wheel (Jinlun, Yinlun, Tonglun, Tielun, Xilun, Fenglun, Huolun, Chelun, 金轮, 银轮, 铜轮, 铁轮, 锡轮, 风轮, 火轮, 车轮), who were famous for their might but had remained single for 24,000 years.

As such, they planned to kidnap a husband to share between themselves.

Chapter 20: Subduing the Eight Wheels (Shou Balun, 收八轮)

Tripitaka is very close to his destination, when he is kidnapped by Gold Wheel. A very amusing sequence ensues, where each sister tries to snatch him away for their own wedding but are interrupted by Wukong bashing his way in and threatening to kill all eight of them.

The sisters beg for mercy; Wukong accepts their surrender, and then orders them to turn into eight immortal maidens (Feixian, 飞仙), fly to the Thunderclap Monastery (Leiyin Si, 雷音寺), and notify the Buddha of the pilgrims’ forthcoming arrival.

Chapter 21: Meeting the Great Buddha (Jian Dafo, 见大佛)

The pilgrims greet the Buddha and receive the Three Baskets of scriptures, consisting of sutras, texts and monastic codes. Afterwards, these are taken back to Immortal Peach Temple by the Four Bodhisattvas and Eight Vajrapanis (Ba Jingang, Si Pusa, 八金刚，四菩萨). [AF]

AF) The Eight Vajrapanis are ordered by Buddha to escort the pilgrims and sutras back to China in JTTW chapter 98 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 357). However, the guardians are later directed to land after only half way so that Tripitaka can experience the last of the 81 perils: the sutras are nearly lost in chapter 99 when a giant white turtle carrying the group to the other side of a river gets annoyed and dives into the water (this might be based on a historical event) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 363). Thankfully, the Vajrapanis pick them back up and finish the trip to China in chapter 100 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 370).

Chapter 22 to 23: Descending with the Buddha’s Decree (Jiang Fozhi, 降佛旨) and Conferring of Titles (Fengci, 封赐)

After the pilgrims descend to the Tang capital on colorful clouds, their Vajrapani escort suddenly remembers that he forgot to ask for the Buddha’s decree. He then flies back to Thunderclap Monastery after telling them to first start reading the scriptures to the masses.

That minor incident aside, the decree soon arrives without problem: Tripitaka is appointed the “Venerable Pindola Arhat” (Bintou Luohan Zunzhe, 宾头罗汉尊者), Wukong the “Great Sage of the Void” (Xukong Dasheng, 虚空大圣), Erlang the “Great Emperor of Miraculous Knowledge” (Lingtong Dadi, 灵通大帝), [AG] while Zhu Bajie and the Deep Sand God are made Buddhas. [AH]

Taizong then welcomes Prince Tripitaka back and gives him the royal title of “The Great Chan Master of the Great Law and True Scriptures” (Dafa Zhenjing Dachan Shi, 大法真经大禅师).

AG) This section of the manuscript contains an out of place passage not mentioned in the summary. It reads: “The Tree-born Prince and Sinful Dragon, Tathagata, and Erlang were each granted the title of Great Emperor of Marvelous Knowledge” (树生太子业龙，如来，灌口二郎各封灵通大帝) (refer to the PDF). This previously unmentioned princely dragon Buddha character is likely a transcription error (Hu, 2017a; 2017b).

AH) This is radically different than JTTW chapter 100. Only Sun Wukong and Tripitaka become Buddhas. Sha is made an arhat, while Zhu is made an altar custodian (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 381-382). Would the play’s ending then suggest that Buddhahood is considered lesser to the heavenly titles given to Monkey and Erlang?

–THE END–

III. Thanks

Jim: I would like to express my utmost thanks to @ryin-silverfish for alerting me to this play, providing the Chinese script, summarizing it, and directing me to an intricate paper about the play’s history. This article would not have been possible without their generous contributions.

Sources:

Buswell, R. E., & Lopez, D. S. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press.

Elvin, M. (2004). The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China. New Haven (Conn.): Yale University Press.

Faxian, & Legge, J. (1965). A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fâ-Hien of his Travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399-414) in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline. New York: Dover Publications. (Original work published 1886)

Hu, S. (2017a, December 26). Chonggu “Nanxi” Xiyouji: Yi Quanzhou Kuileixi Sanzang Qujing Wei Qieru dian [A Re-evaluation of the Southern Story System of The Journey to the West: Based on Quanzhou Puppet Drama Monk Xuanzang on a Pilgrimage for Buddhist Scriptures]. Weixin Gongzhong Pintai. Retrieved from https://www.yidianzixun.com/article/0HzCWYnd.

Hu, S. (2017b). Chonggu “Nanxi” Xiyouji: Yi Quanzhou Kuileixi Sanzang Qujing Wei Qieru dian [A Re-evaluation of the Southern Story System of The Journey to the West: Based on Quanzhou Puppet Drama Monk Xuanzang on a Pilgrimage for Buddhist Scriptures], Fudan Xuebao (Shehui Kexue Ban), 59(6), 65-74.

Jiang, Y. (2005). The Great Ming Code / Da Ming Lu. Vancouver, Wa: University of Washington Press.

Liu, S. (2019). Songdai Xuanzang de shenghua: Tuxiang, wenwu he yiji [The Sanctification of Xuanzang in the Song Dynasty: Images, Artifacts and Remains]. Zhonghua wenshi luncong, 133, 161-219.

Meulenbeld, M. R. E. (2007). Civilized Demons: Ming Thunder Gods from Ritual to Literature (Publication No. 3247802) [Doctoral dissertation, Princeton University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Nara kuniritsu hakubutsukan, Tōkyō bunkazai kenkyūjo henshū [Nara University Tōkyō Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Ed.)]. (2014). Daitokuji denrai gohyaku rakan zu [Daitoku Temple’s Tradition of the 500 Arhats Paintings]. Kyōto: Shitau bungaku.

Shi, N., & Luo, G. (2021a). Shuihu Zhuan (Shang, Zhong, Xia) [Tale of the Water Margin (Vols. 1-3)]. Beijing: Renmin Wenxue Chubanshe. (Original work published 1975)

Shi, N, & Luo, G. (2021b). Outlaws of the Marsh (vols. 1-4) (Trans. S. Shapiro). Beijing: Foreign Language Press. (Original work published 1993)

Wang, y. (2004). Sun Wukong De Yuanji Keneng Zai Fujian Baoshan [Sun Wukong’s Origin Could be In Baoshan, Fujian]. Yuncheng Xueyan Bao, 22(3), 30-34.

Wang, P. (2012). The Age of Courtly Writing: Wen Xuan Compiler Xiao Tong (501-531) and His Circle. Netherlands: Brill.

Winder, M. (1990). Vaiḍūrya. Bulletin of Tibetology, 26(1-3), 31-37.

Wivell, C.S. (1994). The Story of How the Monk Tripitaka of the Great Country of T’ang Brought Back the Sūtras. In V. Mair (Ed.), The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature (pp. 1181-1207). New York: Columbia University Press.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

Laozi’s Diamond Cutter Treasure-Weapon from Journey to the West

January 21, 2024March 25, 2024Jim R. McClanahan 6 Comments

Last updated: 03-14-2024

I’ve previously written several articles that survey a chosen subject from Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592; “JTTW” hereafter). These include Monkey’s immortal breath, his names and titles, and his four mighty commanders. Also, there are my articles on the respective appearances of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Red Boy. In addition, I’m slowly compiling a comprehensive list of Monkey’s magic powers and skills, but this won’t be ready for some time to come.

Here, I would like to focus on a bangle-like holy treasure belonging to the Daoist high god Laozi (老子). The fillet first appears in chapter six when it is used as a blunt throwing weapon to incapacitate Sun Wukong during his rebellion. It later reappears in chapters 50 to 52 as a mysterious, white, shiny string of pearls used by a buffalo spirit to instantly suck away magic weapons and animals and defeat even destructive elemental attacks, kind of like a personal black hole generator with a built-in pocket dimension. It’s so powerful, in fact, that even the sight of it is enough to make Monkey and a host of other gods flee for their lives.

This article will quote all mentions of the weapon, complete with the original Chinese; explain how it was created; describe the history of terminology that ties the treasure to diamond-pointed tools used by craftsmen west of China to work hard stone like jade; demonstrate that it is a mirrored literary element to Sun Wukong’s headband and Prince Nezha‘s fire wheel; and, finally, explore its influence on three fillet-like throwing weapons from another Chinese vernacular classic.

The overwhelming power of Lord Li’s treasure has stuck with me ever since I first read JTTW nearly 25 years ago. I hope that this article will introduce the subject to a wider audience who may not be aware of it.

1. Introduction in chapter six

The high god of Daoism claims to have used the steel bangle as protection while proselytizing in the west:

He rolled up his sleeve and took down from his left arm an armlet [quanzi, 圈子, lit: “circle”], saying, “This is a weapon made of kun steel [kungang, 錕鋼], brought into existence during my preparation of reverted elixir and fully charged with spiritual energy. It can be made to transform at will; indestructible by fire or water, it can entrap many things. It’s called the diamond cutter [jingang zhuo, 金鋼琢] or the diamond snare [jingang tao, 金鋼套]. The year when I crossed the Hangu Pass, I depended on it a great deal for the conversion of the barbarians to Buddhism, for it was practically my bodyguard night and day (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186).

捋起衣袖，左膊上取下一個圈子，說道：「這件兵器，乃錕鋼摶煉的，被我將還丹點成，養就一身靈氣，善能變化，水火不侵，又能套諸物。一名『金鋼琢』，又名『金鋼套』。當年過函關，化胡為佛，甚是虧他。早晚最可防身。

He then throws it at Wukong’s head, knocking him off balance:

After saying this, Laozi hurled the cutter [1] down from the Heaven Gate; it went tumbling down into the battlefield at the Flower-Fruit Mountain and landed smack on the Monkey King’s head. The Monkey King was engaged in a bitter struggle with the Seven Sages and was completely unaware of this weapon, which had dropped from the sky and hit him on the crown of his head. No longer able to stand on his feet, he toppled over (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186).

話畢，自天門上往下一摜，滴流流，徑落花果山營盤裡，可可的著猴王頭上一下。猴王只顧苦戰七聖，卻不知天上墜下這兵器，打中了天靈，立不穩腳，跌了一跤 …

Fig. 1 – Laozi looks lovingly upon his diamond cutter (larger version). A screenshot from the 1986 JTTW TV Show. The cutter here looks like a gold or copper ring, but the novel describes it differently (see below).

2. Appearance in later chapters

The diamond cutter reappears in chapters 50 to 52 as a mysterious, white, shiny string of pearls used by the Great King One-Horned Buffalo (Dujiao si dawang, 獨角兕大王) (fig. 2) to instantly disarm gods and defeat destructive elemental attacks. [2]

Fig. 2 – A modern drawing of Great King One-Horned Buffalo holding the diamond cutter and his spear (larger version). Based on an image found here.

2.1. Chapter 50

Monkey multiplies his iron staff many times over to fight against the buffalo and his army of minions. But the fiend easily sucks away all of the cudgels with the magic weapon:

The old demon king, however, stood still and, laughing with scorn, said, “Monkey, don’t be impertinent! Watch my trick!” He at once took out from his sleeve a white, shiny fillet [liang zhuozhuo bai sensen de quanzi, 亮灼灼白森森的圈子] and tossed it up in the air, crying, “Hit!” [zhao, 著] With a swish, all the iron rods changed back into a single rod, which was then sucked up by the fillet [fig. 3]. The Great Sage Sun, completely empty-handed, had to use his somersault desperately in order to escape with his life (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 372).

老魔王唏唏冷笑道：「那猴不要無禮，看手段。」即忙袖中取出一個亮灼灼白森森的圈子來，望空拋起，叫聲：「著！」唿喇一下，把金箍棒收做一條，套將去了。弄得孫大聖赤手空拳，翻觔斗逃了性命。

Fig. 3 – The diamond cutter sucking in the iron staff (larger version). A screenshot from the 2011 JTTW TV show. Image found here.

2.2. Chapter 51

After his defeat, Wukong seeks heavenly aid several times in a row. First, Prince Nezha is sent to do battle but fails:

“Change!” he roared, and [his six magic] weapons changed into hundreds and thousands. Like a thundershower and a sleet storm, these weapons rained down on the head of the demon. Not the least bit daunted, the demon king took out with one hand that somber white fillet tossed it into the air, crying, “Hit!” With a loud whoosh, the six weapons were all sucked away by it. In desperation Prince Nezha fled for his life with empty hands, [3] while the demon king turned back in triumph (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 6).

大叫一聲：「變！」一變十，十變百，百變千，千變萬，都是一般兵器，如驟雨冰雹，紛紛密密，望妖魔打將去。那魔王公然不懼，一隻手取出那白森森的圈子來，望空拋起，叫聲：「著！」唿喇的一下，把六般兵器套將下來。慌得那哪吒太子赤手逃生。魔王得勝而回。

Second, the Devaraja Li Jing is sent to distract the buffalo with combat, while a fire god prepares his forces to scorch the spirit, but the plan fails:

The demon fought the devaraja for some time, and in the heat of the battle, he again took out the fillet. When the devaraja saw it, he at once turned his auspicious luminosity around and fled in defeat. On the tall summit the Star of Fiery Virtue quickly gave the command for the various gods of his department to start the fire. It was some fire, all right!

你看那個妖魔與天王正鬥到好處，卻又取出圈子來。天王看見，即撥祥光，敗陣而走。這高峰上火德星君忙傳號令，教眾部火神一齊放火。這一場真個利害 …

[…]

When the demon saw the fire coming, he was not in the least afraid. He tossed the fillet in the air and with a loud whoosh, it sucked away all those fire dragons, fire horses, fire crows, fire rats, fire bows, and fire arrows. Then he turned toward his cave and went back in triumph (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 8-9).

那妖魔見火來時，全無恐懼。將圈子望空拋起，唿喇一聲，把這火龍、火馬、火鴉、火鼠、火槍、火刀、火弓、火箭，一圈子又套將下去，轉回本洞，得勝收兵。

Third, a water god attempts to drown the monster with the Yellow River but fails:

[T]he Water Lord immediately emptied the content of his white jade chalice toward the inside of the cave. When he saw the water rushing in, the fiend dropped his long lance and took out the fillet, holding it high at the second door. Not only was the water blocked right there, but it reversed its course and gushed back out of the cave. So startled was the Great Sage Sun that he somersaulted immediately into the air and, together with Water Lord, leaped up to the tallest peak (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 11).

這水伯將白玉盂向裡一傾。那妖見是水來，撒了長槍，即忙取出圈子，撐住二門。只見那股水骨都都的只往外泛將出來。慌得孫大聖急縱觔斗，與水伯跳在高峰。

Monkey then requests a boxing match to show that he isn’t useless without his staff. But when the bout comes to a draw, both heavenly and demonic forces charge in to help their respective fighter. Fearing the worst, Wukong creates hair clones to overwhelm the monster, but this strategy fails:

At once they changed into some fifty little monkeys, who swarmed all over the demon—grabbing his legs, tugging at his torso, gouging his eyes, and pulling at his hair. The fiendish creature became so alarmed that he immediately took out his fillet. When the Great Sage and his companions saw that object, they mounted the clouds at once and fled toward the tall summit. Tossing the fillet up into the air, the fiend changed those fifty monkeys back into their true forms and then they were sucked away again with a loud whoosh. After he had gained this victory, the fiend led his troops back to his cave, closed the door, and celebrated (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 13).

即變做三五十個小猴，一擁上前，把那妖纏住，抱腿的抱腿，扯腰的扯腰，抓眼的抓眼，撏毛的撏毛。那怪物慌了，急把圈子拿將出來。大聖與天王等見他弄出圈套，撥轉雲頭，走上高峰逃陣。那妖把圈子往上拋起，唿喇的一聲，把那三五十個毫毛變的小猴，收為本相，套入洞中，得了勝，領兵閉門，賀喜而去。

2.3. Chapter 52

Monkey resorts to stealth, changing into a cricket (cuzhi’er, 促織兒) and sneaking into the monster’s cave in order to learn where the treasure is kept:

After the demon king took off his clothes, at once the fillet—all ghostly white—could be seen. It was attached to his left shoulder like an armlet made of a string of pearls [zhuzhuo tou, 珠鐲頭]. Look at him! Instead of taking the fillet off, he pushed it up a couple of times until it was snugly clamped to his shoulder. Only then did he lie down to sleep (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 18).

只見那魔王寬了衣服，左肐膊上白森森的套著那個圈子，原來像一個連珠鐲頭模樣。你看他更不取下，轉往上抹了兩抹，緊緊的勒在肐膊上，方才睡下。

He changes into a flea (gezao, 虼蚤) and twice bites the spirit, but this plan fails to make the beast take off the bangle (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 18-19).

Wukong goes on to rescue the stolen holy weapons and animals and magic hairs, before setting the cave on fire:

The Bovine Great King was scared out of his wits; dashing out of his room, he held his fillet up high with both hands. He pushed it toward the fire this way and that way, and it immediately went out. Though the air was filled with flame and smoke, they all subsided after he and his treasure [baobei, 寶貝] had run through the entire cave (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 20).

諕得個兕大王魂不附體，急欠身開了房門，雙手拿著圈子，東推東火滅，西推西火消，滿空中冒煙突火，執著寶貝跑了一遍，四下裡煙火俱熄。

Monkey and the host of gods become foolhardy upon retrieving their weapons and once more challenge the buffalo to a fight. But their holy armaments are again sucked away by the fillet:

Smiling scornfully, the demon calmly took out from his sleeve his treasure and tossed it in the air, crying, “Hit!” With a loud whoosh, the six divine weapons, the fire equipment, the thunderbolts, the scimitar of the devaraja, and the rod of Pilgrim were all snatched away. Once again, the deities and the Great Sage Sun were empty-handed (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 23).

那魔頭巍巍冷笑，袖子中暗暗將寶貝取出，撒手拋起空中，叫聲：「著！」唿喇的一下，把六件神兵、火部等物、雷公㨝、天王刀、行者棒，盡情又都撈去。眾神靈依然赤手，孫大聖仍是空拳。

Having no more ideas, Wukong travels to Vulture Peak in the western continent (i.e. India) to seek the Buddha’s wisdom. The Tathagata in turn sends the 18 arhats armed with “golden cinnabar sand” (jindan sha, 金丹砂) in an attempt to bog the demon down and stop him from moving. But this plan also fails:

When the demon saw that the flying sand was clouding up his vision, he lowered his head and discovered that his feet were already standing in three feet of the stuff. He was so horrified that he tried to jump upward; before he could even stand up properly the sand grew another foot. In desperation, the fiend tried to pull up his legs while taking out his fillet. Throwing it up into the air, he cried, “Hit!” With a loud whoosh, the eighteen grains of golden cinnabar sand were sucked away. The demon then strode back to the cave (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 27).

那妖魔見飛砂迷目，把頭低了一低，足下就有三尺餘深。慌得他將身一縱，跳在浮上一層。未曾立得穩，須臾，又有二尺餘深。那怪急了，拔出腳來，即忙取圈子，往上一撇，叫聲：「著！」唿喇的一下，把十八粒金丹砂又盡套去，拽回步，徑歸本洞。

Monkey later receives a message from the Buddha suggesting that he consult Laozi. Upon traveling to the Tushita Palace in the 33rd Heaven, he learns that the Daoist high god’s holy mount, a green buffalo (qingniu, 青牛), is missing. This prompts the deity to check his collection of holy treasures:

Laozi made a quick inventory; everything was there except the diamond cutter. “This cursed beast stole my diamond cutter!” said Laozi. “So, that’s the treasure!” said Pilgrim. “It was the same snare that hit me that time! [refer back to sec. 1] Now it’s going wild down below, sucking away who knows how many things.”

君急查看時，諸般俱在，止不見了金剛琢。老君道：「這孽畜偷了我金剛琢去了！」行者道：「原來是這件寶貝。當時打著老孫的是他。如今在下界張狂，不知套了我等多少物件。」

[After Wukong describes all of the magic weapons sucked away by the bangle …]

Laozi said, “That diamond cutter of mine is a treasure perfected since the time of my youth, and it was also an instrument with which I converted the barbarians when I passed through the Hangu Pass. Whatever weapons you may have, including fire and water, you can’t touch it. If the demon had stolen my plantain-leaf fan also, then even I would not be able to do anything to him” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 29).

老君道：「我那金剛琢，乃是我過函關化胡之器，自幼煉成之寶。憑你甚麼兵器、水火，俱莫能近他。若偷去我的芭蕉扇兒，連我也不能奈他何矣。」

Lord Li’s closing sentence is eye-opening, for it means that anyone who wields both the diamond cutter and fan would be invincible, even against Laozi. This is surprising since JTTW acknowledges him as the creator of the universe who separated the earth and sky from chaos. [4]

In the end, though, Laozi takes back the diamond cutter and subdues the buffalo spirit without trouble:

Reciting a spell, Laozi fanned the air once with his fan. The fiend threw the fillet at Laozi, who caught it immediately and gave him another fan. All at once the fiend’s strength fled him and his tendons turned numb; he changed back into his original form, which was that of a green buffalo. Blowing a mouthful of divine breath on the diamond snare, Laozi then used it to pierce the nostrils of the fiend. Next, he took off the sash around his waist and fastened one end of it to the cutter while his hand held the other. Thus the custom of leading the buffalo with a ring in its nose was established [fig. 4], a custom in use even now. This is also what we call binlang [賓郎] (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 30). [5]

老君念個咒語，將扇子搧了一下，那怪將圈子丟來，被老君一把接住。又一搧，那怪物力軟筋麻，現了本相，原來是一隻青牛。老君將金鋼琢吹口仙氣，穿了那怪的鼻子，解下勒袍帶，繫於琢上，牽在手中。至今留下個拴牛鼻的拘兒，又名賓郎 …

Fig. 4 – A nose ring through a bull’s nose (larger version). Image found here.

3. Background

3.1. Literary origin

Laozi’s dialogue explains how the diamond cutter was created. While at least two JTTW poems reference the high god’s skill in forging mystical weapons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 382; vol. 3, p. 375), his own words instead point to alchemical experimentation. As a reminder, in chapter 6, he states: “This is a weapon … brought into existence during my preparation of reverted elixir and fully charged with spiritual energy” (這件兵器，乃錕鋼摶煉的，被我將還丹點成，養就一身靈氣…) (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186). Later, in chapter 52, he adds: “That diamond cutter of mine is a treasure perfected since the time of my youth” (我那金剛琢，乃是我過函關化胡之器，自幼煉成之寶。) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 29).

The phrase “reverted elixir” (huandan, 還丹) is key to understanding the origins of the treasure-weapon. This refers to a concept in external alchemy where a concoction of toxic elements is purified over successive firings in a crucible to create a drug of immortality (fig. 5). The Book of the Master Who Embraces Simplicity (Baopuzi, 抱樸子, 4th-century CE), for example, describes firing cycle periods of between one and nine times, and each subsequent medicine is said to bestow divine longevity within a respective period of time. The more the substance is fired, the faster the desired effect (Kohn, 1993, pp. 309 and 312-313). The product of the ninth cycle is said to transform into reverted elixir when combined with heated cinnabar and exposed to the sun, and a small dose of the drug is enough to bestow instant divinity:

Place the elixir, which has been cycled nine times, in a reaction vessel and expose it to the sun after the summer solstice. When the container becomes hot, introduce a pound of cinnabar beneath the lid. Even while you are watching, with the full power of the sun shining upon it, the whole content will suddenly glow and sparkle with all the colors of spirit radiance. It will immediately turn into reverted elixir. If you take even a single spoonful, you will straightaway rise to heaven in broad daylight (Kohn, 1993, p. 313).

若取九轉之丹，內神鼎中，夏至之後，爆之鼎熱，內朱兒一斤於蓋下。伏伺之，候日精照之。須臾翕然俱起，煌煌煇煇，神光五色，即化為還丹。取而服之一刀圭，即白日昇天。

The fact that Laozi has been developing the cutter from a young age, as stated above, suggests that it is ultimately a byproduct of excessive, millennia-long elixir firing cycles.

Fig. 5 – An alchemist watches as a young lad tends to the firing vessel (larger version). This is an example from Tang Yin’s (唐寅) Images of Cooking Medicine (Shaoyao tu, 燒葯圖) series. Image found here.

3.2. History

Anthony C. Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) translates kungang (錕鋼), the substance comprising the diamond cutter, as “red steel” (vol. 1, p. 186). The original Chinese term refers to a legendary, red knife mentioned in Master Lie (Liezi, 列子, c. 4th-century) as coming from Kunwu (錕鋙/昆吾), a distant land. This incredibly hard blade was presented as a royal tribute, along with asbestos cloth, a product of the west:

When King Mu of Zhou made his great expedition against the Rong tribes of the West, they presented him with a knife from Kunwu and a fire-proof cloth. The knife was one chi and zhi [changchi youzhi, 長尺有咫, 22.8 in/57.9 cm] long with a red blade [6] of tempered steel; cutting jade with it was as easy as cutting mud (based on Liezi & Graham, 1960/1990, p.117). [7]

周穆王大征西戎，西戎獻錕鋙之劍，火浣之布。其劍長尺有咫，練鋼赤刃，用之切玉如切泥焉。

The later Ten Islands of the Inner Seas (Hainei shizhou ji, 海內十洲記; a.k.a. Shizhou ji, 十洲記, c. 5th; “Ten Islands” hereafter) associates Kunwu with stones that can be smelted into jade-cutting iron swords. What’s important here is that the rocks are located in the “Western Ocean” (Xihai, 西海), a term commonly associated with the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, or the Indian Ocean—i.e. bodies of water and land west of China:

There is a floating island [liuzhou, 流洲] in the middle of the Western Ocean … The island has many mountains and rivers accumulating stones called kunwu [昆吾]. Smelting the stones will turn them into iron. A sword made from this will shine brightly like crystal, and it will cut jade like mud (cf. Laufer, 1915, p. 29).

流洲在西海中 … 上多山川積石，名為昆吾。冶其石成鐵，作劍光明洞照，如水精狀，割玉物如割泥。

But the now lost Record of the Mysterious Center (Xuanzhong ji, 玄中記, c. 5th-century) (as cited here) explicitly associates jade-cutting blades with diamonds from western lands:

The country of Daqin [大秦, i.e. Roman Syria] produces diamonds (jingang [金剛]), termed also ‘jade-cutting swords or knives’ [xiaoyu dao, 削玉刀]. The largest reach a length of over one chi [12.3 in/31.8 cm], the smallest are of the size of a rice or millet grain. Hard stone can be cut by means of it all round, and on examination it turns out that it is the largest of diamonds. This is what the Buddhist priests substitute for the tooth of Buddha (based on Laufer, 1915, p. 30).

大秦國出金剛，一名削玉刀，大者長尺許，小者如稻黍，著環中，可以刻玉。

觀此則金剛有甚大者，番僧以充佛牙是也。

Similar to the Ten Islands, the Memoir of the Four Gentlemen of Liang (Liang sigong ji, 梁四公記, late-7th-century) speaks of an island in the west but adds that the inhabitants are talented lapidarists, or gemstone cutters:

In the west, arriving at the Western Ocean, there is in the sea an island of two hundred square li [62.13 mi/100 km]. On this island is a large forest abundant in trees with precious stones, and inhabited by over ten thousand families. These men show great ability in cleverly working gems, which are named for the country Fulin 拂林 [i.e. Rome] (based on Laufer, 1915, p. 7).

西至西海，海中有島，方二百里。島上有大林，林皆寶樹。中有萬餘家，其人皆巧，能造寶器，所謂拂林國也。

Rustic Talks From the East of Qi (Qidong yeyu, 齊東野語, 13th-century) (as cited here) describes how lapidarists use iron-like diamond-points to polish and carve jade:

The workers in jade polish jade by the persevering application of Ganges river-sand, and carve it by means of a diamond-point drill [jingang zuan, 金剛鑽]. Its shape is like the excrement of rodents [fig. 6 & 7]; it is of very black color, and is at once like stone and like iron (based on Laufer, 1915, p. 31). [8]

玉人攻玉，以恆河之砂，以金剛鑽鏤之，其形如鼠矢，青黑色，如石如鐵。

This brings us back to the kunwu blade. Laufer (1915) rejects the idea that it was an iron knife. Instead, he states that it was an embellishment on the kinds of diamond-pointed tools used by craftsmen west of China to carve hard stones like jade (Laufer, 1915, p. 32).

This ultimately explains the odd name of Laozi’s holy treasure, diamond cutter (jingang zhuo, 金鋼琢)—i.e. a cutter made from diamond. This name was no doubt chosen to infer that the weapon is unimaginably hard, something capable of “ringing the bell” of even the Monkey King.

The use of kungang (錕鋼), along with the name diamond cutter, suggests that the JTTW author-compiler had knowledge of both the ancient red knife and its ties to diamonds. And speaking of the gemstone, I think given the above information, a better translation for kungang would be something like “diamond steel.” This is more fitting than Yu’s (Wu & Yu, 2012) “red steel” (vol. 1, p. 186).

Also, the description of the cutter as a white, shiny string of pearls makes much more sense when its ties to diamonds are taken into account. This brings to mind a bracelet of perhaps milky diamonds instead of a steel ring.

Fig. 6 (left) – A craftsman works a product with a bow-driven diamond-point drill (larger version). A painting from Zhou Kun’s (周鯤) “Village and Market Life Album” (Cunshi shengya hua’ce, 村市生涯畫冊, 18th-century). Image found here. Fig. 7 (right) – An example of the diamond-point of a diamond drill (larger version). Image found here. This recalls the rodent excrement description of diamond-points mentioned in Rustic Talks From the East of Qi (13th-century) describes the

4. Mirrored objects

The diamond cutter serves as a mirrored literary element to Wukong’s golden headband (jingu, 金箍; a.k.a. jingu, 緊箍, lit: “tight fillet”), which initially appears in chapters eight and 14. Both are used to rein in Monkey’s unruly behavior by way of his head: the first hits him on the crown, and the second clamps around his skull. And the fact that the diamond cutter “can entrap many things” (tao zhu wu, 套諸物) reminds me of the way that the golden fillet constricts (jin, 緊) around Wukong’s head when the correct spell is spoken (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 319). Isn’t this also a kind of entrapment?

Another mirrored candidate is Nezha’s “fire wheel” (huolun’er, 火輪兒) (fig. 8), which numbers among his six magic weapons (liujian shenbing, 六件神兵). In chapter 61, this flaming fillet is placed on the Bull Demon King’s horn (i.e. on his head) to stop his rampaging transformations (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 160). Compare this to the way that the diamond cutter stops Wukong via his head. This at first may seem like a passing similarity until you take into account the many parallels shared by Wukong and the bull spirit. The latter is a demon king nicknamed the “Great Sage,” who wields an iron staff, knows 72 changes, can adopt a titanic form, takes part in a battle of magic transformations, is trapped by a joint effort from heaven, is incapacitated by a circular object on his head, and finally faces the Buddha for punishment. [9] Therefore, I can confidently state that the fire wheel is a mirror of the golden headband and subsequently the diamond cutter. I’ll discuss the importance of these connections below.

The novel has many more mirrored objects and characters. I plan to write an article about this at a later date.

Fig. 8 – Nezha (left) wielding his six magic weapons in his three-headed, six-armed form against Sun Wukong (right) (larger version). The fire wheel can be seen in his upper rightmost hand (i.e. the flaming black circle with white spokes). Print from the original 1592 edition of JTTW.

5. Influence

The relationship between Laozi’s diamond cutter and Nezha’s fire wheel in JTTW may have inspired the latter’s “cosmic ring” (qiankun quan, 乾坤圈) in Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620, “IOTG” hereafter). Nezha first uses it as a youth in chapter 12 to bludgeon a fierce water-spirit to death:

Standing there naked, Nezha dodged the advancing warrior’s attack and upraised the cosmic ring in his right hand. This treasure was originally bestowed by the Jade Emptiness Palace of Mt. Kunlun to the Perfected Man of the Grand Monad [Taiyi zhenren, 太乙真人] to secure the items of his Golden Light Cave. How could the yaksha withstand the magic weapon as it struck downward on his head? [fig. 9] His brains exploded from the blow, and he fell dead on the shore (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 1, p. 239).

哪吒正赤身站立，見夜叉來得勇猛，將身躲過，把右手套的乾坤圈望空中一舉。此寶原係崑崙山玉虛宮所賜太乙真人鎮金光洞之物，夜叉那裏經得起，那寶打將下來，正落在夜叉頭上，只打的腦漿迸流，即死於岸上。

He also uses it as a throwing weapon:

After fighting three or four rounds, Nezha simultaneously blocked Yu Hua’s halberd with his spear and took out his cosmic ring from the leopard skin bag. He hit him directly in the arm, breaking tendons and shattering bone (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 671).

哪吒未及三四合，用鎗架住畫戟，豹皮囊內忙取乾坤圈打來，正中余化臂膊，打得筋斷骨折.

See note no. 11 below for more overt examples of throwing.

To sum up, both the diamond cutter and cosmic ring are holy treasures belonging to supreme Daoist deities, are circular and hard enough to serve as blunt throwing weapons, and have the power to entrap (tao, 套) or secure (zhen, 鎮, lit: “press down”) things. It’s also worth noting that the caves associated with these objects have similar names: Great King One-Horned Buffalo lives in Golden Cave (Jindong, 金洞), while the Perfected Man of the Grand Monad lives in the Golden Light Cave (Jinguang dong, 金光洞). [10]

My friend, a devotee and researcher of Nezha, tells me that the cosmic ring is a later development in the Third Prince’s mythos, first appearing in IOTG. And since the ring does not appear in JTTW (ctext), it certainly could have been influenced by the similarities between the diamond cutter and Nezha’s fire wheel.

Also, the diamond cutter likely influenced two other fillet-like throwing weapons in the novel, both of which are destroyed by Nezha’s much harder cosmic ring. One is Mo Liqing’s (魔禮青) “white jade diamond bracelet” (baiyu jingang zhuo, 白玉金剛鐲) from chapter 41. The alternate name for said treasure, jingang zhuo (金剛鐲), sounds exactly the same as Laozi’s diamond cutter, jingang zhuo (金鋼琢). I doubt the homophonous title and pale color are a coincidence.

The second is Wen Liang’s (溫良) “white jade ring” (baiyu huan, 白玉環) [11] Again, the white color is telling.

Fig. 9 – Nezha seconds from killing Li Gen with the cosmic ring (larger version). This is an upscaled version of an image found here.

6. Conclusion

Laozi’s great treasure-weapon, the “diamond cutter” (jingang zhuo, 金鋼琢; a.k.a. “diamond snare,” jingang tao, 金鋼套), first appears in chapter six when he uses the fillet to stop Monkey’s rampage by throwing it from heaven and hitting him on the head. It reappears in chapters 50 to 52 as a mysterious, white, shiny string of pearls used by Great King One-Horned Buffalo, an evil spirit, to suck away magic weapons and animals and defeat even destructive elemental attacks. The treasure gives Sun Wukong and a host of Daoist and Buddhist gods no end of trouble before Laozi retrieves his treasure and submits the monster, his runaway buffalo mount.

Lord Li explains that the treasure is a byproduct of creating “reverted elixir,” or a drug of immortality, and that it is made of “kun steel” (kungang, 錕鋼). The latter is a reference to an extremely hard, jade-cutting iron knife from Chinese folklore said to come from the distant land of Kunwu (錕鋙/昆吾). But this is itself an embellishment on reports of diamond-pointed tools used by craftsmen west of China to work hard stone like jade. The name diamond cutter was, therefore, likely chosen to denote something unimaginably hard, something capable of hurting even Sun Wukong.

The diamond cutter is a mirrored literary element to Sun Wukong’s headband. This is because the treasure and the golden fillet are both circular objects that rein in Monkey’s unruly behavior by way of his head, hitting it and clamping around his skull, respectively. The diamond cutter is also a mirrored element of Prince Nezha’s “fire wheel” (huolun’er, 火輪兒) because the latter stops the rampage of the Bull Demon King by way of his head. This takes place during a battle that closely mirrors Monkey’s early rebellion and defeat.

This connection between the diamond cutter and the fire wheel likely influenced Nezha’s “cosmic ring” (qiankun quan, 乾坤圈) from Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620). Both treasures belong to supreme Daoist deities, can be used as blunt throwing weapons, have the power to entrap or secure things, and are associated with caves with “gold” (jin, 金) in the name. The diamond cutter also likely influenced two other throwing fillets from the novel, Mo Liqing’s (魔禮青) “white jade diamond bracelet” (baiyu jingang zhuo, 白玉金剛鐲) and Wen Liang’s (溫良) “white jade ring” (baiyu huan, 白玉環). The name of the former closely mirrors that of the jade cutter.

Update: 03-14-24

The full name of the Diamond Sutra (c. 2nd to 4th-century) is the Diamond-Cutter Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (Sk: Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra) (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 953). This interests me because Laozi states in chapter six:

The year when I crossed the Hangu Pass, I depended on it [his diamond-cutter treasure] a great deal for the conversion of the barbarians to Buddhism, for it was practically my bodyguard night and day (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186).

當年過函關，化胡為佛，甚是虧他。早晚最可防身。

Perhaps the diamond-cutter is meant to be a metaphor for the Diamond Sutra, which he used to convert the people of the West.

Notes:

1) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) uses the English words “diamond snare” or just “snare” numerous times whenever Laozi’s weapon is mentioned. However, the corresponding Chinese phrase, jingang tao, 金鋼套), only appears once in the entire novel, while that for “diamond cutter,” jingang zhuo (金鋼琢), appears a total of four times. Therefore, I have made changes to the translation for more accuracy.

2) Jenner (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2001) translates Dujiao si dawang (獨角兕大王), the monster’s name, as “Great King Rhinoceros” (vol. 2, p. 1143). This is because the character si (兕) is associated with rhinos. For instance, Strassberg’s (2002) translation of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing, 山海經, c. 4th-century to 1st-century BCE) reads:

The Si-Rhinoceros dwell east of Shun’s Tomb and south of the Xiang River. Their form resembles an ox that is blue-black with a single horn” (p. 188).

兕在舜葬東，湘水南，其狀如牛，蒼黑，一角。

But the JTTW spirit is likely an amalgamation of Lord Li’s green/black buffalo (qingniu, 青牛) and the mythical animal. This is because both are dark, bovine-like beasts with a single horn. This association between the two is exemplified by a humorous vintage porcelain statue of Laozi riding a rhino.

3) I have changed all references to Nata to Nezha, a FAR more widely used term for the martial god.

4) Monkey explains in chapter 86 that everyone has a boss, thereby alluding to Laozi’s hallowed past:

Old Lord Li happens to be the patriarch of creation [kaitian pidi zhi zhu, 開天闢地之祖; lit: the “patriarch of splitting heaven and earth (from chaos)], but he still sits to the right of Supreme Purity. The Buddha Tathagata is the honored one who governs the world, and yet he still sits beneath the Great Peng. Kong the Sage is the founder of Confucianism, but he assumes the mere title of Master (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 163).

李老君乃開天闢地之祖，尚坐於太清之右；佛如來是治世之尊，還坐於大鵬之下；孔聖人是儒教之尊，亦僅呼為『夫子』。

My thanks goes to Irwen Wong of the Journey to the West Library blog for reminding me of this fact.

5) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) points out that binlang (賓郎) is a variant of binlang (檳榔), or betel nut (vol. 3, p. 385 n. 8). One French translator suggests that the name comes from the circular shape shared by betel nut and coconuts, and that nose rings were likely made from the latter (Levy, 1991, as cited in Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 385-386 n. 8).

6) Regarding the red blade (chidao, 赤刃), the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing, 山海經, c. 4th-century to 1st-century BCE) mentions that the peaks of Kunwu have an abundance of copper (chitong, 赤銅, i.e. “red copper”) (Strassberg, 2002, p. 145).

7) I have changed all Wade-Giles to pinyin.

8) The passage from Rustic Talks From the East of Qi (13th-century) goes on to associate diamonds with a strange phenomenon in western lands where birds pass the gemstone in their droppings:

According to legend, high in the mountains of the Western Regions [Xiyu, 西域] where the Huihe live, hawks and falcons would ingest (diamonds). These would then be deposited in the sandy gravel of Hebei Province when they defecate. But I do not know if this is true or not (cf. Laufer, 1915, p. 12).

相傳出西域及回紇高山頂上，鷹隼粘帶食入腹中，遺糞於河北砂磧間。未知然否？

This matches another passage from the aforementioned Memoir of the Four Gentlemen of Liang (late-7th-century). This earlier source provides more information:

In a northwesterly direction from the island is a ravine hollowed out like a bowl, more than a thousand feet deep. They throw flesh into this valley. Birds take it up in their beaks, whereupon they drop the precious stones. The biggest of these have a weight of five catties. There is a saying that this is the treasury of the Devaraja of the Rupadhatu 色界天王 (Laufer, 1915, p. 7).

島西北有坑，盤坳深千餘尺。以肉投之，鳥銜寶出，大者重五斤，彼雲是色界天王之寶藏。

The bird-diamond connection is mentioned in non-Chinese sources as well. This includes The Book of the Wonders of India (Kitāb ‘Aja’ib al-Hind, 953), a collection of “sailor’s tales” by the Persian Shipmaster Buzurg Ibn Shahriyār. The 82nd tale in this collection, “Kashmiri Diamonds,” associates the gemstones with northernmost India. The full tale reads:

Someone who had been to India told me he had heard it said that the purest, the most beautiful, and the most precious between two mountains, where diamonds come from the Kashmir region. There is a valley a fire burns ceaselessly, and day, winter and summer. It is there that the diamonds are. Only low-caste Indians risk themselves in this dangerous country. They gather in bands, and reach the entrance to the valley. They kill lean sheep, and cut them up into bits. Then they fling the pieces one after another into the valley, by means of a mangonel that they set in motion. There are many reasons that prevent their access to their valley. First, there is the ever- burning fire; and, in addition, around the fire, there is an uncountable number of snakes and vipers, so that no man can go there and not perish.

When the meat is thrown, a great number of vultures falls on it and seizes it. If it falls some distance from the fire, they carry it off. They follow the vulture as it flies. Sometimes a diamond falls from the meat that has been carried off. If the vulture comes down in some place to eat it, they go to there and find diamonds. If the meat falls in the fire, it burns. The vulture that wants to seize a piece too near the fire burns likewise. Sometimes also, by chance, a vulture seizes meat in flight, before it reaches the ground.

This is how diamonds are gathered. Most of the people who busy themselves looking for them die from the fire, or from the snakes and vipers. The kings of these countries are very fond of diamonds, and go to great trouble to get them. Those employed in this work are watched carefully, because of the beauty and high price of the stones (Shahriyar & Freeman-Grenville, 1981, p. 75).

9) The Bull Demon King takes the title “Great Sage, Parallel with Heaven” (Pingtian dasheng, 平天大聖) in chapter 4 (compare this to Monkey’s title, the “Great Sage Equaling Heaven“) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 156-157). The rest of the similarities appear in chapters 60 and 61. He wields his own “cast-iron rod” (huntie gun, 混鐵棍) (compare this to Wukong’s weapon) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 137 and 147). His skill with the 72 changes is referenced when he takes on Zhu’s appearance (compare this to Monkey’s ability) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 148). The battle of transformations against Sun takes place shortly after he’s overwhelmed by our hero and Zhu in combat (compare this to Wukong’s battle of transformations with Erlang in ch. 6) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 156-157; vol. 1, pp. 182-183). He takes on his cosmic form, a giant white bull, in a last ditch effort to defeat Monkey (compare this to Wukong’s skill) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 157). He is trapped on all sides by Buddho-Daoist deities (compare this to Monkey’s troubles with heaven in ch. 6) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 159-160; vol. 1, pp. 185-186). As mentioned above, Nezha uses his fire wheel to stop his rampaging transformations (compare this to Laozi stopping Monkey’s rampage by knocking him over with the diamond cutter in ch. 6) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 160; vol. 1, p. 186). And he is taken to see the Buddha at the end of his story arc (compare this to Wukong’s meeting with the Buddha) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 162).

10) Yu (2012) translates Jindong (金洞, lit: “Golden Cave”) and Jinshan (金山, lit: “Golden Mountain”) as “Golden Helmet Cave” and “Golden Helmet Mountain,” respectively (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 368, for example). I don’t know why the extra word was added.

11) Mo Liqing clashes with Nezha in chapter 41, leading to the destruction of his white jade diamond bracelet:

Before they had fought twenty rounds, Mo Liqing hurled his white jade diamond bracelet. It cast a ray of multi-colored light as it struck him [Huang Tianhua, 黃天化] in the middle of the back. The hit knocked down his golden cap [i.e. he died] and fell from his mount.

Mo Liqing wanted to cut off his head, but before he could, Nezha screamed, “Don’t hurt my Daoist brother!” Riding his wind and fire wheels, the third prince fought to the front of the formation and rescued the body of Huang Tianhua.

Nezha engaged Mo Liqing in combat, their respective spears stabbing out in succession. Their battle saddened heaven and made gloomy the earth [i.e. it was extremely tense]. Mo Liqing hurled the diamond bracelet a second time to hit Nezha. The youth also cast his cosmic ring, but it was made of gold and the diamond bracelet jade. When the two clashed, the diamond bracelet shattered into many pieces (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 807 and 809)

來往未及二十回合，早被魔禮青隨手帶起白玉金剛鐲，一道霞光，打將下來，正中後心。只打得金冠倒撞，跌下騎來。魔禮青方欲取首級，早被哪吒大叫：「不要傷吾道兄！」登開風火輪，殺至陣前，救了黃天化。哪吒大戰魔禮青，雙鎗共發，殺得天愁地暗。魔禮青二起金剛鐲來打哪吒。哪吒也把乾坤圈丟起。乾坤圈是金的，金剛鐲是玉的，金打玉，打得粉碎。

Wen Liang’s white jade ring is destroyed by the Third Prince’s cosmic ring in chapter 64:

Now let’s talk about how Wen Liang cast up his white jade ring to attack Nezha. But he didn’t know that Nezha had the cosmic ring. The youth also cast his own treasure. Wen didn’t know that gold beats jade, and when the two clashed, the white jade ring shattered into many pieces (cf. Gu, 2000, vol, 3, pp. 1315 and 1317).

且說溫良祭起白玉環來打哪吒，不知哪吒也有乾坤圈，也祭起來；不知金打玉，打得紛紛粉碎。

Sources:

Buswell, R. E. , & Lopez, D. S. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press.

Gu, Z. (2000). Creation of the Gods (Vols. 1-4). Beijing: New World Press.

Kohn, L. (1993). The Taoist Experience: An Anthology. United States: State University of New York Press.

Laufer, B. (1915). The Diamond: A Study in Chinese and Hellenistic Folk-lore. United States: Field Museum of Natural History. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/diamondstudyinch00lauf/page/n5/mode/2up

Liezi, & Graham, A. C. (1990). The Book of Lieh-tzu: A Classic of Tao. New York: Columbia University Press. (Original work published 1960)

Shahriyar, B., & Freeman-Grenville, G. S. P. (1981). The Book of the Wonders of India: Mainland, Sea and Islands. London: East-West Publications.

Strassberg, R. (2002). A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas. University of California Press.

Wu, C. & Jenner, W. J. F. (2020). Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4). Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. (Original work published 1993)

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.) Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press.

How to Kill Sun Wukong

December 28, 2023February 5, 2024Jim R. McClanahan 7 Comments

Last updated: 01-07-2024

The Monkey King is famed for his six layers of immortality in Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592; “JTTW” hereafter). These are acquired through spiritual cultivation, redacting heavenly paperwork, and partaking in celestial foodstuffs. But “immortality” in Chinese vernacular literature doesn’t mean “invulnerable to harm.” Despite his great durability, Wukong is a “bogus immortal” (yaoxian, 妖仙) who is still susceptible to injury and death because he hasn’t yet achieved Buddha-nature and broken free of the wheel of rebirth. [1] For instance, he briefly dies from thermal shock after being overwhelmed by Red Boy‘s (Honghai’er, 紅孩兒) true samadhi fire (sanmei zhenhuo, 三昧真火) in chapter 41:

His whole body covered by flame and smoke, the Great Sage found the intense heat unbearable and he dove straight into the mountain stream to try to put out the fire. Little did he anticipate that the shock of the cold water was so great that the heat caused by the fire was forced inward into his body and his three hun spirits left his vessel. Alas!

His breath caught in his chest, his tongue and throat grew cold;
His hun spirits fled, his po souls left, and his life was gone! (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 231)

這大聖一身煙火，炮燥難禁，徑投於澗水內救火。怎知被冷水一逼，弄得火氣攻心，三魂出舍。可憐氣塞胸堂喉舌冷，魂飛魄散喪殘生。

Luckily, Zhu Bajie resuscitates him by performing a life-saving massage that forces qi from his cinnabar field and circulates it throughout his body (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 232). [2]

This episode was an accident. But what if someone wanted to kill Monkey for good? How would they do it? Killing him in a one-on-one match would be nearly impossible, for few characters surpass Wukong in strength or fighting ability. I think it’s best that we draw on methods from another famous god and demon novel, Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620; “Investiture” hereafter), a sort of prequel to JTTW. It centers on a great battle between the falling Shang (c. 1600-1046 BCE) and the rising Zhou (c. 1046–256 BCE) dynasties, both of which are aided by factions of powerful immortals. The story is famous for a number of weapons, traps, and rituals designed to kill divine cultivators.

In this article, I would like to describe ten magical array traps (zhen, 陣) and one magic ritual that could possibly kill the Monkey King. The latter is, in my opinion, the best option for ending his life (fig. 1). And the best part is that it can be done from a distance! That way a villain doesn’t have to worry about getting smashed into hamburger or ripped to shreds by an angry monkey immortal. In addition, I will detail this method’s potential for great fanfiction.

Before continuing, I must point out that none of the information from Investiture can be considered JTTW canon. While it contains a host of similar characters (Laozi, Buddha, Nezha, Muzha, Li Jing, Ao Guang, Erlang and his hound, etc.), the novel is a separate work that was published nearly 30 years after JTTW. Look at this piece as a fun “What if?”

Fig. 1 – Monkey’s headstone (larger version).

I. Possible Ways

Ch. 44 of Investiture mentions ten magical array traps that rely on primordial energies, destructive elements like wind, thunder, fire, sand, ice, and water, and spiritual attacks to terminate immortals:

Heavenly Destruction (Tianjue zhen, 天絕陣) – This trap contains primordial energies (xiantian zhi qi, 先天之氣) and the opportunity for chaos (hundun zhi ji, 混沌之機). It uses three magic pennants (fan, 旛), representing the respective energies of Heaven, Earth, and Man, to turn humans into dust and shatter the limbs of immortals with rolls of thunder.
Earthly Fury (Dilie zhen, 地烈陣) – This trap uses a magic red pennant that kills intruders with rolls of thunder from above and fire below. It is also said to cut them off from reincarnation.
Roaring Typhoon (Fenghou zhen, 風吼陣) – This trap uses wind, true samadhi fire, and countless swirling blades formed from primordial energies to kill intruders and render their bodies into a fragrant powder (jifen, 虀粉).
Frigid Ice (Hanbing zhen, 寒冰陣) – This trap uses jagged, wolf fang-like ice mountains above, sword-like ice blocks below, and wind and thunder in the middle to grind intruders into a fragrant powder.
Golden Light (Jinguang zhen, 金光陣) – This trap contains the essences of the sun and moon (riyue zhi jing, 日月之精) and the energies of heaven and earth (tiandi zhi qi, 天地之氣). It uses 21 treasure mirrors (baojing, 寶鏡) affixed to wooden polls to kill intruders with golden light that renders (melts?) their bodies into pus and blood.
Bleeding Blood (Huaxue zhen, 化血陣) – This trap uses thunder and wind powered by primordial energies to blast black sand that kills intruders by rendering their bodies into a bloody mess.
Vehement Flame (Lieyan zhen, 烈焰陣) – This trap uses true samadhi fire, fire from the sky (meteorites?), and fire from stone (lava?) to kill intruders by turning them into ash.
Soul-Snatching (Luohun zhen, 落魂陣) – This trap contains the fierce energies of heaven and earth (tiandi liqi, 天地厲氣). It uses a white paper pennant stamped with a talisman seal (fuyin, 符印) to kill intruders by dispersing and eliminating their po and hun spirits.
Red Water (Hongshui zhen, 紅水陣) – This trap controls the essences of the ninth and tenth heavenly stems (rengui zhi jing, 壬癸之精) (representing water), as well as contains the wonder of the Grand Monad (Tianyi zhi miao, 天乙之妙). It uses three bottle gourds resting on an eight trigrams platform (bagua tai, 八卦臺) to kill intruders by gushing forth an ocean of dangerous, red water, a single drop of which can render their bodies into a bloody mess.
Red Sand (Hongsha zhen, 紅砂陣/紅沙陣) – This trap controls the energies of Heaven, Earth, and Man. It uses thunder and wind to blast three buckets of red, sword-like sand to kill intruders by rendering their bones into a fragrant powder (fig. 2) (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 869-873).

I think that Sun Wukong would easily survive many of these traps due to the adamantine nature of his body. [3] But numbers three, seven, and eight might give him some problems. As mentioned in the introduction, his encounter with Red Boy in chapter 41 shows that he is weak against true samadhi fire (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 231). And of course, having his souls scattered and destroyed would certainly finish him off. Remember that Monkey’s spirit (魂靈兒) is easily reaped by two underworld officers in his slumber in chapter three (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 139). This might point to a weakness against spiritual attacks (see below).

However, I think it would be hard to trick Wukong into going inside of these array traps. His “fiery eyes and gold Irises” (huoyan jinjing, 火眼金睛) would certainly notice the dark auras hovering above each one (Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 925 and 989, for example).

No, there’s only one sure fire way to kill our hero.

Fig. 2 – A Shang camp immortal working the Red Sand array trap (larger version). The woodblock print omits the three buckets. Image from The Newly Printed, Zhong Bojing Annotated, Investiture of the Gods (Xinke Zhong Bojing xiansheng piping Fengshen yanyi, 新刻鍾伯敬先生批評封神演義, c. 1620). See page 42 of this PDF.

II. The Best Way

Overcoming Monkey’s great power, durability, and speed would require an indirect approach, something that he wouldn’t even be aware of. A secret, spiritual assault from afar is, therefore, the only method that would work, in my opinion. Something like this is described in chapters 48 and 49 of Investiture. But I first need to give some background information as to why the rite is used in the first place.

Grand Preceptor Wen (Wen Taishi, 聞太師) recruits his old friend, the ancient immortal Zhao Gongming (趙公明), in chapter 46 after many of their divine comrades die in battle against Zhou allies (Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 935). Zhao is powerful in his own right, claiming to be able to flip Mount Sumeru (Xumi, 須彌) and reverse the course of the sun and moon (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 945-947). But it’s his command of three holy treasures, namely the “Dragon-Binding Rope” (Fulong suo, 縛龍索), the “Sea-Fixing Mala Beads” (Dinghai zhu, 定海珠), and the “Golden Scaled Dragon Scissors” (Jinjiao jian, 金蛟剪), [4] that make him a supremely dangerous opponent. The latter two treasures prove in chapter 47 to be especially difficult weapons for Zhou allies to counter.

Therefore, in chapter 48, the immortal Lu Ya (陸壓) devises a plan to secretly attack Zhao’s spirit from a distance. He enlists the help of Jiang Ziya (姜子牙), a Taoist disciple and commander of the Zhou forces, and instructs him how to perform a sympathetic magic ritual from the Book of Fixing the Seventh Posthumous Day Arrow (Ding touqi jianshu, 釘頭七箭書):

Lu Ya opened his flower basket and took out a book stamped with talisman seals and oral formulas. “Using these, you can set up camp and erect a platform on Mount Qi. Make a straw effigy and post a document with the three characters “Zhao Gongming” on its body. Place one lamp above its head and another beneath its feet. Then pray to it three times a day, burning the talismans and pacing the dipper. At noon on the twenty-first day, this poor Taoist (Lu Ya) will come and help you cut his life short.”

Before going to Mount Qi, Ziya secretly sent 3,000 troops, along with Nangong Kuo [南宮适] and Wu Ji [武吉] to find a suitable place to set up camp. After Ziya arrived at camp, Nangong built a platform, arranging it properly, and made a straw effigy. He did everything strictly as instructed. Finally Ziya loosened his hair, took a sword, and paced the dipper, reciting charms, burning spells, and praying over and over again before the straw effigy (based on Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 967).

陸壓揭開花籃，取出一幅書，書寫明白，上有符印口訣，「……依此而用，可往岐山立一營；營內築一臺。紮一草人；人身上書『趙公明』三字，頭上一盞燈，足下一盞燈。自步罡斗，書符結印焚化，一日三次拜禮，至二十一日之時，貧道自來午時助你，公明自然絕也。」

子牙領命，前往岐山，暗出三千人馬，又令南宮适、武吉前去安置。子牙後隨軍至岐山，南宮适築起將臺，安排停當，紮一草人，依方製度。子牙披髮仗劍，腳步罡斗，書符結印…

[Three to five days later, Zhao Gongming feels frantic, with a strange burning in his heart.]

[…]

Now let’s speak of Ziya, who prayed until he had expelled the primal spirit [yuanshen, 元神] of Zhao Gongming. The primal spirit was of major importance to an immortal, enabling him to tour freely throughout the eight extremes (the universe). But now Zhao Gongming had lost his primal spirit and became drowsy, wanting to sleep all the time (based on Gu, 2000, p. 973).

且說子牙拜掉了趙公明元神散而不歸，──但神仙以元神為主，遊八極，任逍遙，今一旦被子牙拜去，不覺昏沉，只是要睡。

[Sleeping is said to be uncharacteristic of immortals. This alerts Zhao Gongming’s comrades that he is being spiritually assaulted. After divining the effigy’s location, Wen sends Shang allies to steal it. They are initially successful, but the straw man is eventually recaptured by Zhou forces.]

[…]

[Lu Ya finally arrives as promised to finish the ritual.]

With a smile, Lu Ya opened his flower basket and took out a small mulberry bow and three short peach arrows, which he handed to Ziya. “At noon today, you must shoot the effigy with these arrows,” Lu Ya said. Ziya replied: “Order received!” The two waited in a tent, until the astrological official came to report: “Noon time has arrived!” Ziya cleaned his hands, picked up the bow, and then nocked the first arrow. “Shoot his left eye first,” instructed Lu Ya. Ziya did as ordered. As the first arrow hit the left eye of the effigy, Zhao Gongming, lying in the Shang camp, roared in agony and closed his left eye. Grand Preceptor Wen held him in his arms, sobbing as the tears poured down his cheeks. Back at Mount Qi, the second arrow hit the right eye of the effigy, and the third penetrated its heart [fig. 3]. Zhao Gongming died in the Shang camp (based on Gu, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 985-987). [5]

陸壓笑吟吟揭開花籃，取出小小一張桑枝弓，三隻桃枝箭，遞與子牙，「今日午時初刻，用此箭射之。」子牙曰：「領命。」二人在帳中等至午時，不覺陰陽官來報：「午時牌！」子牙淨手，拈弓，搭箭。陸壓曰：「先中左目。」子牙依命，先中左目。──這西岐山發箭射草人，成湯營裏趙公明大叫一聲，把左眼閉了。聞太師心如刀割，一把抱住公明，淚流滿面，哭聲甚慘。──子牙在岐山，二箭射右目，三箭劈心一箭，三箭射了草人。──公明死于成湯營裏。

Like Ziya, a bad guy could perform the same ritual to secretly steal Monkey’s primal spirit, tether it to a straw effigy marked “Sun Wukong” (孫悟空), and finally kill our hero with three well-placed peach arrows to the eyes and chest.

Fig. 3 – Jiang Ziya aiming the ritual bow at the straw effigy (larger version). Zhao Gongming can be seen sleeping in the Shang camp below. Woodblock print from The Newly Printed, Zhong Bojing Annotated, Investiture of the Gods (Xinke Zhong Bojing xiansheng piping Fengshen yanyi, 新刻鍾伯敬先生批評封神演義, c. 1620). See page 42 of this PDF.

III. Story Potential

If anyone decided to write their own fanfiction using the method described above, I could see this being a great opportunity for Zhu Bajie (豬八戒) and/or Sha Wujing (沙悟淨) to shine. He/they could be the one(s) searching the cosmos for answers, and upon learning of the rite, desperately racing to find the straw effigy before the ritual is complete. All of this would of course take place while Monkey is sleeping.

I can definitely see Zhu and/or Sha seeking the aid of Guanyin (觀音), who could easily break the ritual. I imagine she would reveal that, “The Great Sage is destined to experience this tribulation…” (or something like that), but she would surely provide them with the location in the end.

Reasons for the villain performing the ritual could include:

Eliminating Wukong so that they can more easily catch and eat the Tang Monk, thus gaining immortality.
Absorbing Monkey’s primal spirit in order to gain his immortality and skills.

The latter is my favorite, but the former would work better for the story since the whole point of the ritual is to kill the target. And besides, Monkey’s disembodied spirit is powerful enough to kill the psychopomps sent to reap his soul, as well as bully the judges and officers of hell (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 139-141). Now, imagine what it could do to some random demon king and/or cultivator who tried to absorb it!

IV. Conclusion

Sun Wukong is famed for his six levels of immortality, but he is still susceptible to death and the wheel of rebirth since he hasn’t yet achieved Buddha-nature. Killing him in one-on-one combat would be nearly impossible, though, given his great durability and power. However, using methods borrowed from Investiture of the Gods (c. 1620) might work. For instance, chapter 44 mentions ten magical array traps that rely on primordial energies, destructive elements like wind, thunder, fire, sand, ice, and water, and spiritual attacks to terminate immortals. Three of the traps, numbers three, seven, and eight, respectively use true samadhi fire or soul-scattering and destruction to kill divine cultivators. These might give Monkey problems as his soul is easily reaped in his sleep in JTTW chapter three, suggesting that it may be weak against spiritual attacks, and he is shown to be weak against Red Boy’s true samadhi fire in chapter 41. But I think it would be hard to trick him into entering the traps since his magic eyes would no doubt see the dark auras above them.

The best way to overcome his great power, durability, and speed requires an indirect approach, a secret, spiritual assault from afar. A ritual used in chapters 48 and 49 of Investiture does exactly that. In order to defeat the immortal Zhao Gongming and circumvent his powerful holy treasures, the immortal Lu Ya instructs Zhou army commander Jiang Ziya how to perform a rite from the Book of Fixing the Seventh Posthumous Day Arrow. This involves a bureaucratic ceremony (praying, talisman-burning, and dipper-walking) that slowly steals the immortal’s primal spirit over a 21 day period, tethers it to a straw effigy marked with Zhao’s name, and then kills him by shooting the icon with three peach arrows, two to the eyes and a third to the heart.

A villain wanting to kidnap and eat the Tang Monk for immortality could perform this ritual in order to get Monkey out of the way. This would make for a great story centered on Zhu Bajie and/or Sha Wujing. He/they could frantically search the universe for answers, before racing to find the straw effigy before the rite is complete.

Update: 12-28-23

I found two neat drawings portraying Jiang Ziya performing the rite (fig. 4 & 5).

Fig. 4 (top) – Jiang Ziya performing the procedural side of the ritual (larger version). Image found here. Fig. 5 (bottom) – Ziya fires the last arrow, killing Zhao Gongming (larger version). Image found here. They appear to be from the same anonymous lianhuanhua comic book.

Update: 12-29-23

A reader’s comment (below) has prompted me to add more context. Zhao Gongming’s disembodied spirit is not destroyed by the ritual. It is pulled towards the “Terrace of Creation” (Fengshen tai, 封神臺), a magic receptacle of souls, to await his apotheosis at the end of the novel. He is enfeoffed as the “Golden Dragon, Wish-Fulfilling and Righteously Unifying, Dragon-Tiger Mysterious Altar Perfected Lord” (Jinlong ruyi zhengyi longhu xuantan zhenjun, 金龍如意正一龍虎玄壇真君), a god of wealth (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 4, pp. 2119-2121).

This then raises the question, “What would happen to Wukong’s soul if the ritual was successful? After the death of his body, it would naturally report to the underworld for processing. Remember, Monkey has yet to attain Buddha-Nature, so he is still subject to the wheel of rebirth. I can see him causing trouble down there like he had done in the past, but perhaps Kṣitigarbha (Ch: Dizang, 地藏) would calm his rage and convince him that reincarnation is the right choice. This would lead to a new adventure.

Or, considering that the journey to India would still be underway, and Tripitaka is constantly in danger, heaven might rush to find a new body for Wukong’s spirit to inhabit. This actually happens to a minor character in chapters 11 and 12 of JTTW. The soul of an official’s wife is forced into the body of a recently dead princess to live out the remainder of her allotted lifespan (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 268-269).

Another reader suggested a second method from Investiture to kill Monkey (see the comment below):

The Immortal-slaying Flying Knife, also a treasure of Lu Ya’s, might be a good second-contender here. It’s a strange weapon with head and eyes and wings, stored inside a gourd: when released, its eyes shoot out white light that “nails down” an enemy’s true form, and, upon recitation of “Turn around please, precious” (请宝贝转身), will spin and instantly decapitate the target.

Sure, there is the matter of getting it out and saying the magical words before you were reduced to a meat patty, but if the target is already immobilized——like Yuan Hong, FSYY’s own staff-wielding ape with 72 transformations——the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife will be that final nail in the coffin.

I’ll look into this more and update the page at a later date.

Update: 01-07-24

Lu Ya’s ritual reminds me of a two-step process used in Chinese Folk Religion to activate a religious statue (shenxiang, 神像). Part one is the “entering-spirit” (rushen, 入神) ceremony, which invites a deity’s essence inside. Lin (2020) explains:

When the carving is complete, the carver chooses an auspicious day to hold the spirit-entering ritual. A cavity at the back of the image is carved out for this rite. The objects placed in this hole include incense ashes (xianghui) or talismans from the root temple, a live hornet, five precious materials (gold, silver, bronze, iron, and tin), five crops (rice, wheat, sesame, and different kinds of beans), and a bundle of five-color threads (red, yellow, blue, black, and white) [fig. 6 & 7] … The worshippers have to prepare fruit and flowers and burn incense to invite the deity to come.

When the auspicious moment arrives, the carver inserts the previously listed items into the cavity and plugs it with a piece of wood. The objects placed in the cavity are important clues regarding how people conceptualize deities. Local inhabitants explained to me that the ashes or talisman symbolizes the spirit of the deity, and the living hornet is to increase the deity’s power. Some people said the five forms of treasure represent the five organs of the deity, whereas others just said they are symbols of the deity’s grandeur. The five crops represent the harvest and the bunch of five-color threads is related to the five spirit-soldier camps (p. 38).

Lu Ya’s ritual essentially treats the straw effigy like an idol that will house a god’s essence. This might explain how the primal spirit of Zhao Gongming (and therefore Sun Wukong) is called to enter the icon.

Fig. 6 (top) – A collection of the talisman, grains, treasures, and colored-threads used in the entering-spirit ceremony (larger version). Fig. 7 (bottom) – A live wasp is retrieved to be added to the necessary ritual items (larger version). Images found here.

Part two is the “eye-opening and dotting” (kaiguang dianyan, 開光點眼) ceremony, which brings the idol to life. Again, I refer to Lin (2020):

For this ceremony, the carver prepares flowers, fruit, a round mirror, a red brush pen, and a white cock. When the auspicious moment arrives, the mirror is taken outside where the light is sufficient to reflect it into the statue’s eyes. Next, the carver goes back to the altar and uses a knife to cut the cockscomb and smear the blood with the red brush pen. He then starts to chant and to dot the deity with the brush pen. There are many different kinds of chants … but their contents are not very different. The process of dotting usually begins at the center of the forehead and proceeds to the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, heart, navel, feet, toes, fingers, and back [fig. 8-10], as the following chant demonstrates:

First dot the sacred head, second dot the sacred hat,
Third dot the sacred body, then the true and righteous god will occupy the body.
Open the left eye to see heaven.
Open the right eye to see into the earth.
Open the left ear to listen to sounds from all directions.
Open the right ear to hear sounds from far away.
Open the divine nose, to smell fragrant scents.
Open the divine mouth, but not to eat house hold foods.
Open the left hand and the disciples will be prosperous year after year.
Open the right hand and the god will capture ghosts without being asked.
Open the sacred belly and great divine power will come forth.
Open the left foot to step upon the correct path.
Open the right foot to step into the divine carriage.
Open the back so that all people may be enlightened.

It can be inferred that in this ceremony, the carver at first draws the natural energy into the statue to enliven it. Then, he uses the blood of a white cock, symbolizing purity, to dot and connect the important parts of the body. This makes the statue like a living person with veins in which blood flows without obstruction (pp. 38-39).

Although Investiture doesn’t mention any of this, I think performing the eye-opening and dotting ceremony would be the final step in making the straw effigy a separate, living embodiment of the Monkey King. The ritual would open the eyes of Wukong’s spiritual double to the cosmos and fill his chest with divine energies in preparation for shooting said targets. This would explain why Zhao Gongming closes his eyes upon each arrow strike (refer back to section II).

Writers wanting to add a certain level of religious authenticity to the fictional Monkey King-killing ritual could have the villain place the talisman, grains, treasures, live wasp, and five colored-threads inside the straw effigy. And then he could chant while simultaneously reflecting sunlight on the face and dotting the eyes and body with a rooster blood-soaked brush. The only major difference between the fictional and religious ceremonies would be that the former’s first step, the entering-spirit ritual, lasts three weeks.

Fig. 8 (top L) – An entering-spirit and eye-opening and dotting kit commonly sold in Taiwan (larger version). Notice how the mirror is rectangular instead of circular. Image found here. Fig. 9 (top R) – A white temple rooster kept as a supply of pure blood (larger version). Don’t worry, nowadays they are only nicked on the comb with a knife. Image found here. Fig. 10 (bottom) – A ritual master uses a circular mirror to shine sunlight into an idol’s eyes while dotting the figure with a blood-soaked brush (larger version). Image found here.

Notes:

1) Monkey is called a “bogus immortal” by the Jade Emperor (ch. 4), the Buddha (ch. 7), and the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea in (ch. 14) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 147-148, p. 193, and p. 318). This alludes to the fact that he is not yet a true transcendent.

The idea that Wukong is still susceptible to death is based on the Buddho-Taoist philosophy of Southern Quanzhen School Patriarch Zhang Boduan (張伯端, mid to late-980s-1082), which heavily influenced JTTW. Zhang believed that one had to attain both the Taoist elixir and Buddha-Nature in order to be truly immortal. Only then could one rise above death and the endless rounds of rebirth to live forever (Shao, 1997, pp. 80-84). This is why JTTW starts with Monkey achieving immortality in chapter two and ends with him attaining Buddhahood in chapter 100, thereby fulfilling Zhang’s two-step process to true transcendence.

Zhang’s philosophy is reflected in his Writings on Understanding Reality (Wuzhen pian, 悟真篇, 1075). One poem reads:

The elixir is the most precious treasure of the physical body; when cultivated to perfection, the transmutations are endless. One can go on to investigate the true source in the realm of essence, and ascertain the ineffable function of the birthless. Without awaiting another body in the next life, one attains the spiritual capacities of a Buddha in the present; after the Naga Girl achieved this, who since then has been able to follow in her footsteps? (Zhang, Liu, & Cleary, 1987, p. 1481; cf. Shao, 1997, p. 83)

丹是色身至寶，煉成變化無窮。更能性上究真宗，决了無生妙用。不待他身後世，見前獲佛神通。自從龍女著斯功，爾後誰能繼踵。

2) It’s interesting to note that Pigsy suggests that Wukong dying isn’t a problem because his 72 changes give him 72 lives (qishi’er tiao xingming, 七十二條性命) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 232).

3) For instance, heaven fails to execute Monkey in chapter seven because of his adamantine hide:

They then slashed him with a scimitar, hewed him with an ax, stabbed him with a spear, and hacked him with a sword, but they could not hurt his body in any way. Next, the Star Spirit of the South Pole ordered the various deities of the Fire Department to burn him with fire, but that, too, had little effect. The gods of the Thunder Department were then ordered to strike him with thunderbolts, but not a single one of his hairs was destroyed (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 188).

… 刀砍斧剁，槍刺劍刳，莫想傷及其身。南斗星奮令火部眾神放火煨燒，亦不能燒著。又著雷部眾神以雷屑釘打，越發不能傷損一毫。

4) Apart from these treasures, Zhao Gongming fights with a hard whip (bian, 鞭), a sword-like metal club with stacked ridges and a pointed end. Gu (2000) incorrectly translates this as “staff” (vol. 2, p. 941).

5) Given the ritual’s association with the number seven (i.e. “Fixing the Seventh Posthumous Day Arrow”), and the fact that it takes 21 days to execute, it seems that one arrow is used for every week that the rite is performed. Remember that there are a total of three: two for the eyes and a third one for the heart.

6) These are the holes in the head: eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.

Sources:

Gu, Z. (2000). Creation of the Gods (Vols. 1-4). Beijing: New World Press.

Lin, W. (2020). Materializing Magic Power: Chinese Popular Religion in Villages and Cities. Netherlands: Brill.

Shao, P. (1997). Monkey and Chinese Scriptural Tradition: A Rereading of the Novel Xiyouji (UMI No. 9818173) [Doctoral dissertation, Washington University]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

Zhang, B., Liu, Y., & Cleary, T. (1987). Understanding Reality: A Taoist Alchemical Classic. Honululu Univ. of Hawaii Press.

Sun Wukong’s Four Mighty Commanders

December 16, 2023January 4, 2024Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

The Monkey King’s “Four Mighty Commanders” (Si Jianjiang, 四健將) (figs. 1 & 2) are minor characters appearing in chapters one, three to six, and 28 of Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記). They are presented as two elderly gibbons and two elderly horse-monkeys (i.e. macaques) who serve their monarch as advisors and makeshift tutors on spiritual and military matters. In fact, one of them is responsible for setting Wukong on his path towards immortality. They are later given high military rank and charged with training and governing Wukong’s monkey army. An outside observer may question the commanders’ ability to lead troops in battle since they are defeated in nearly every single skirmish. But it should be remembered that, while technically immortal, they can still be killed and only have access to mere earthly weapons. Yet, they choose to face celestial soldiers who wield divine weapons and have millennia of combat experience. This speaks to their great bravery.

Here, I have gathered all references to these characters that I know of. I’ve also included a section on the possible homophonic origins of their names, as well as a section describing their immortality.

This article was prompted by a question put to me on tumblr. Searching the site for “beng ba” and “ma liu” results in a number of posts with fan art and fiction, so this survey has merit. Hopefully it will benefit fans of the novel and/or those who wish to insert these characters into their Lego Monkey Kid-inspired media.

Fig. 1 – Marshals Ma and Liu (larger version). Fig. 2 – Generals Beng and Ba (larger version). Paintings by Dai Dunbang. Images found here.

I. References

Chapter 1

Note: I have changed some of Yu’s (Wu & Yu, 2012) translations of primate names for more accuracy.

[The Stone Monkey becomes the king of the primates through a test of bravery: leaping through a waterfall and discovering a long-forgotten immortal’s cave.]

The Handsome Monkey King thus led a flock of gibbons [yuanhou, 猿猴], macaques [mihou, 獼猴], and horse-monkeys [mahou, 馬猴], some of whom were appointed by him as his officers and ministers (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 106).

[After 300-something years of ruling the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, the Monkey King comes to realize that he too will someday die.]

From among the ranks a long-armed gibbon [tongbei yuanhou, 通背猿猴; lit: “(arms)-through-the back-gibbon”] [1] suddenly leaped forth and cried aloud, “If the Great King is so farsighted, it may well indicate the sprouting of his religious inclination. There are, among the five major divisions of all living creatures, only three species that are not subject to Yama, King of the Underworld.” The Monkey King said, “Do you know who they are?” The monkey said, “They are the Buddhas, the immortals, and the holy sages; these three alone can avoid the Wheel of Transmigration as well as the process of birth and destruction, and live as long as Heaven and Earth, the mountains and the streams.” “Where do they live?” asked the Monkey King. The monkey said, “They do not live beyond the world of the Jambudvipa, for they dwell within ancient caves on immortal mountains.” When the Monkey King heard this, he was filled with delight, saying, “Tomorrow I shall take leave of you all and go down the mountain. Even if I have to wander with the clouds to the comers of the sea or journey to the distant edges of Heaven, I intend to find these three kinds of people. I will learn from them how to be young forever and escape the calamity inflicted by King Yama” (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 107).

Chapter 3

[After returning from abroad, the Monkey King wishes to train his children in how to defend themselves with weapons since they had previously been plagued by the Demon King of Havoc.]

As they were speaking, four older monkeys came forward, two horse-monkeys with red buttocks [chikao mahou, 赤尻馬猴] and two long-armed gibbons. Coming to the front, they said, “Great King, to be furnished with sharp-edged weapons is a very simple matter.” “How is it simple?” asked Wukong. The four monkeys replied, “East of our mountain, across two hundred miles of water, is the boundary of the Aolai Country. In that country there is a king who has numberless men and soldiers in his city, and there are bound to be all kinds of gold, silver, copper, and iron works there. If the great king goes there, he can either buy weapons or have them made (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 131).

[Wukong frets over not having a divine weapon that fits his taste.]

The four elder monkeys came forward and memorialized, “The great king is a divine sage, and therefore it is not fit for him to use an earthly weapon. We do not know, however, whether the great king is able to take a journey through water?” “Since I have known the Way,” said Wukong, “I have the ability of seventy-two transformations. The cloud somersault has unlimited power. I am familiar with the magic of body concealment and the magic of displacement. I can find my way to Heaven or I can enter the Earth. I can walk past the sun and the moon without casting a shadow, and I can penetrate stone and metal without hindrance. Water cannot drown me, nor fire burn me. Is there any place I can’t go to?” “It’s a good thing that the great king possesses such powers,” said the four monkeys, “for the water below this sheet iron bridge of ours flows directly into the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Ocean. If you are willing to go down there, Great King, you will find the old Dragon King, from whom you may request some kind of weapon. Won’t that be to your liking?” Hearing this, Wukong said with delight, “Let me make the trip!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 133).

[He returns from the Dragon Kingdom with his magic iron staff.]

The Monkey King made the four old monkeys mighty commanders of his troops by appointing the two horse-monkeys with red buttocks as marshals Ma and Liu [Ma, Liu er yuanshuai, 馬、流二元帥], and the two long-armed gibbon as generals Beng and Ba [Beng, Ba er jiangjun, 崩、芭二將軍]. The four mighty commanders, moreover, were entrusted with all matters concerning fortification, pitching camps, reward, and punishment (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 138).

[The Monkey King becomes sworn brothers with six other animal demon kings.]

One day, the four mighty commanders had been told to prepare a great banquet in their own cave, and the six kings were invited to the feast. They killed cows and slaughtered horses; they sacrificed to Heaven and Earth. The various imps were ordered to dance and sing, and they all drank until they were thoroughly drunk. After sending the six kings off, Wukong also rewarded the leaders great and small with gifts. Reclining in the shade of pine trees near the sheet iron bridge, he fell asleep in a moment. The four mighty commanders led the crowd to form a protective circle around him, not daring to raise their voices (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 139).

[Wukong’s soul is taken to the underworld because he is fated to die at 342 year old. However, he inks out his name, as well as those of all other monkeys, from the ledgers of hell and then fights his way out of the world of darkness.]

While our Monkey King was fighting his way out of the city, he was suddenly caught in a clump of grass and stumbled. Waking up with a start, he realized that it was all a dream. As he was stretching himself, he heard the four mighty commanders and the various monkeys crying with a loud voice, “Great King! How much wine did you imbibe? You’ve slept all night long. Aren’t you awake yet?” “Sleeping is nothing to get excited about,” said Wukong, “but I dreamed that two men came to arrest me, and I didn’t perceive their intention until they brought me to the outskirts of the Region of Darkness. Showing my power, I protested right up to the Palace of Darkness and argued with the Ten Kings. I went through our ledger of births and deaths and crossed out all our names. Those fellows have no hold over us now.” The various monkeys all kowtowed to express their gratitude. From that time onward there were many mountain monkeys who did not grow old, for their names were not registered in the Underworld. When the Handsome Monkey King finished his account of what had happened, the four mighty commanders reported the story to the demon kings of various caves, who all came to tender their congratulations (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 141).

[Monkey is invited to heaven to be the keeper of the heavenly horses. This is a plan to keep his unruly adventures in check.]

He then called the four mighty commanders together for this admonition: “Be diligent in teaching and drilling the young ones. Let me go up to Heaven to take a look and to see whether I can have you all brought up there too to live with me.” The four mighty commanders indicated their obedience (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 144).

Chapter 4

[He leaves heaven in rebellion when he learns that his post is the lowest in the celestial bureaucracy.]

ln a moment, he lowered the direction of his cloud and returned to the Flower-Fruit Mountain. The four mighty commanders were seen drilling troops with the Monster Kings of various caves. “Little ones,” this Monkey King cried in a loud voice, “old Monkey has returned!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 150).

[A demon suggests a rebellious title for Wukong.]

“Make me a banner immediately,” he ordered the four mighty commanders, “and inscribe on it in large letters, ‘The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.’ Erect a pole to hang it on” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 151).

Chapter 5

[He is granted the empty title of “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” and charged with guarding the immortal peach groves. However, he eats most of the ripe fruit, and then he wrecks a long-awaited banquet just because he isn’t invited. He finally flees to earth.]

Lowering the direction of his cloud, he returned to the Flower-Fruit Mountain. There he was greeted by flashing banners and shining spears, for the four mighty commanders and the monster kings of seventy-two caves were engaging in a military exercise. “Little ones,” the Great Sage called out loudly, “I have returned!” The monsters dropped their weapons and knelt down, saying, “Great Sage! What laxity of mind! You left us for so long, and did not even once visit us to see how we were doing.” “It’s not that long!” said the Great Sage. “It’s not that long!” They walked as they talked, and went deep inside the cave dwelling. After sweeping the place clean and preparing a place for him to rest, and after kowtowing and doing homage, the four mighty commanders said, “The Great Sage has been living for over a century in Heaven. May we ask what appointment he actually received?”

“I recall that it’s been but half a year,” said the Great Sage, laughing. “How can you talk of a century?” “One day in Heaven,” said the commanders, “is equal to one year on Earth” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 166).

[…]

[Wukong describes leaving heaven after trashing the banquet and eating Laozi’s elixir pills.]

The various monsters were delighted by these words, and they prepared a banquet of fruits and wine to welcome him. A stone bowl was filled with coconut wine and presented to the Great Sage, who took a mouthful and then exclaimed with a grimace, “It tastes awful! Just awful!” “The Great Sage,” said Beng and Ba, the two commanders, “has grown accustomed to tasting divine wine and food in Heaven. Small wonder that coconut wine now seems hardly delectable. But the proverb says, “Tasty or not, it’s water from home!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 167).

[Heaven calls up forces to end his hijinks. The first to challenge him are the Nine Luminaries, anthropomorphic deities of the planets, moon, and sun.]

Hastily the little monsters reported inside, “Great Sage, disaster! Disaster! Outside there are nine savage deities who claim that they are sent from the Region Above to subdue the Great Sage.” Our Great Sage was just sharing the Heavenly wine with the four mighty commanders and the monster kings of seventy-two caves. Hearing this announcement, he said in a most nonchalant manner,

“If you have wine today, get drunk today;
Mind not the troubles in front of your door!”

Hardly had he finished speaking when still another flock of imps arrived to report, “Father, those nine savage gods have broken down the door, and are about to fight their way in!”

These reckless, witless gods!” said the Great Sage angrily. “They really have no manners! I was not about to quarrel with them. Why are they abusing me to my face?” He gave the order for the One-Horn Demon King to lead the monster kings of seventy-two caves to battle, adding that old Monkey and the four mighty commanders would follow in the rear. The Demon King swiftly led his troops of ogres to go out to fight, but they were ambushed by the Nine Luminaries and pinned down right at the head of the sheet iron bridge (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 170-171).

[…]

[The Monkey King singlehandedly defeats the Nine Luminaries.]

Devaraja Li then ordered the Four Great Devarajas and the Twenty-Eight Constellations to go out together to do battle. Without displaying the slightest panic, the Great Sage also ordered the One-Horn Demon King, the monster kings of seventy-two caves, and the four mighty commanders to range themselves in battle formation in front of the cave (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 171).

[…]

Beginning with the battle formation at dawn, they fought until the sun sank down behind the western hills. The One-Horn Demon King and the monster kings of seventy-two caves were all taken captive by the forces of Heaven. Those who escaped were the four mighty commanders and the troop of monkeys, who hid themselves deep inside the Water-Curtain Cave. With his single rod, the Great Sage withstood in midair the Four Great Devarajas, Li the Pagoda Bearer, and Prince Nata, and battled with them for a long time. When he saw that evening was approaching, the Great Sage plucked a handful of hairs, threw them into his mouth, and chewed them to pieces. He spat them out, crying, “Change!” They changed at once into many thousands of Great Sages, each employing a golden-hooped rod! They beat back Prince Nata and defeated the Five Devarajas.

In triumph the Great Sage collected back his hairs and hurried back to his cave. Soon, at the head of the sheet iron bridge, he was met by the four mighty commanders leading the rest of the monkeys. As they kowtowed to receive him they cried three times, sobbing aloud, and then they laughed three times, hee-heeing and ho-hoing. The Great Sage said, “Why do you all laugh and cry when you see me?” “When we fought with the Deva Kings this morning,” said the four mighty commanders, “the monster kings of seventy-two caves and the One-Horn Demon King were all taken captive by the gods. We were the only ones who managed to escape alive, and that is why we cried. Now we see that the Great Sage has returned unharmed and triumphant, and so we laugh as well.”

“Victory and defeat,” said the Great Sage, “are the common experiences of a soldier. The ancient proverb says,

You may kill ten thousand of your enemies,
But you will lose three thousand of your allies!

Moreover, those chieftains who have been captured are tigers and leopards, wolves and insects, badgers and foxes, and the like. Not a single member of our own kind has been hurt. Why then should we be disconsolate? Although our adversaries have been beaten back by my magic of body division, they are still encamped at the foot of our mountain. Let us be most vigilant, therefore, in our defense. Have a good meal, rest well, and conserve your energy. When morning comes, watch me perform a great magic and capture some of these generals from Heaven, so that our comrades may be avenged.” The four mighty commanders drank a few bowls of coconut wine with the host of monkeys and went to sleep peacefully. We shall speak no more of them (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 172-173).

Chapter 6

[Erlang is called in to capture Wukong.]

The Immortal Master fought the Great Sage for more than three hundred rounds, but the result still could not be determined. The Immortal Master, therefore, summoned all his magical powers; with a shake, he made his body a hundred thousand feet tall. Holding with both hands the divine lance of three points and two blades like the peaks that cap the Hua Mountain, this green-faced, saber-toothed figure with scarlet hair aimed a violent blow at the head of the Great Sage. But the Great Sage also exerted his magical power and changed himself into a figure having the features and height of Erlang. He wielded a compliant golden-hooped rod that resembled the Heaven-supporting pillar on top of Mount Kunlun to oppose the god Erlang. This vision so terrified the marshals, Ma and Liu, that they could no longer wave the flags, and so appalled the generals, Beng and Ba, that they could use neither scimitar nor sword. On the side of Erlang, the Brothers Kang, Zhang, Yao, Li, Guo Shen, and Zhi Jian gave the order to the plant-headed deities to let loose the falcons and dogs and to advance upon those monkeys in front of the Water-Curtain Cave with mounted arrows and drawn bows. The charge, alas,

Dispersed the four mighty commanders of monkey imps
And captured two or three thousand numinous fiends!

Those monkeys dropped their spears and abandoned their armor, forsook their swords, and threw away their lances. They scattered in all directions running, screaming, scuttling up the mountain, or scrambling back to the cave. It was as if a cat at night had stolen upon resting birds: they darted up as stars to fill the sky. The Brothers thus gained a complete victory, of which we shall speak no further (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 181-182).

Chapter 28

[Monkey returns to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit after being kicked out of the pilgrimage. He discovers that the remainder of his children are plagued by human hunters that eat or force them to perform tricks.]

When the Great Sage heard these words, he became terribly angry. “Who is in charge in the cave now?” he asked. “We still have Ma and Liu, the two marshals,” said the little fiends, “[B]eng and Ba, the two generals, they are in charge.” “Report to them at once,” said the Great Sage, “and say that I’ve returned.” Those little fiends dashed inside the cave and cried, “Father Great Sage has come home!” When Ma, Liu, [B]eng, and Ba heard the report, they rushed out of the door to kowtow and to receive him inside the cave. The Great Sage took a seat in the middle as the various fiends all lined up before him to pay homage. “Father Great Sage,” they said, “we heard recently that you had regained your life so that you could protect the Tang Monk on his journey to the Western Heaven to acquire scriptures. Why are you not heading toward the West? Why do you come back to this mountain?”

“Little ones,” said the Great Sage, “you have no idea that the Tang Monk is wholly ignorant of who is worthy and who is foolish. For his sake, I caught fiends and overcame demons throughout the journey, using all my abilities. Several times I slew a monster, but, accusing me of doing evil and violence, he disowned me as his disciple and banished me back here. He even wrote me a formal letter of banishment as proof that he would never want to use me again.” Clapping their hands and roaring with laughter, the monkeys said, “Lucky! Lucky! What do you want to be a monk for? Come home and you can lead us to have a few years’ fun. Quick! Let’s bring out the coconut wine for the reception of Father.” “Let’s not drink wine just yet,” said the Great Sage. “Let me ask you, how often do those hunters come to our mountain?” “Great Sage,” said Ma and Liu, “there’s no telling of time. They are here every day to make trouble.” The Great Sage asked, “Why aren’t they here today?” Ma and Liu replied, “Just wait and you’ll see them come” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 31-32).

II. Meaning of Names

This Chinese article suggests a naturalistic explanation for these odd-sounding names:

Beng-Ba [崩芭] should be a homophone of “bengba” [蹦巴], that is, bengda [蹦躂], which means that the monkey jumps up and down all day without a moment’s peace. Therefore, it became an alternative name for monkeys. Ma-Liu [馬流] is a homophone for “maliu” [麻溜], which means the monkey moves with speed and agility.

… 崩芭應為「蹦巴」諧音，即蹦躂，意指猴子整日蹦蹦跳跳，伏低竄高，沒個安靜時候，所以成了猴子別稱。馬流即「麻溜」諧音，意即猴子動作麻溜，敏捷迅速。

III. Immortality

I mentioned in the introduction that the Four Mighty Commanders are technically immortal. This is the result of Wukong inking out the names of all monkeys from the ledgers of hell in chapter three (fig. 2). Wukong explains:

I went through our ledger of births and deaths [shengsi buzi, 生死簿子] and crossed out all our names. Those fellows have no hold over us now.” The various monkeys all kowtowed to express their gratitude. From that time onward there were many mountain monkeys [shanhou, 山猴] who did not grow old, for their names were not registered in the Underworld (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 141).

Their divine longevity is exhibited when they reappear in chapter 28, sometime after Wukong is released from his 600-plus year imprisonment under Five Elements Mountain.

This same chapter also reveals that they are still capable of dying if fatally wounded. The rank and file monkeys lament their fate at the hands of human hunters:

Those of us who were shot by arrows, pierced by spears, or clubbed to death they took away for food to be served with rice. The dead monkeys would be skinned and boned, cooked with sauce and steamed with vinegar, fried with oil, and sauteed with salt (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 31).

Shotaro_Honda_1939 - Hell (small)

Fig. 2 – Monkey striking the names from the ledger (larger version). From the Japanese children’s book Son Goku (1939).

Note:

1) This term refers to the belief that the long, agile arms of the gibbon were somehow connected (i.e. tongbi, 通臂), passing through the back (i.e. tongbei, 通背) (Gulik, 1967, p. 92-93).

Sources:

Gulik, R. H. (1967). The Gibbon in China: An Essay in Chinese Animal Lore. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

Journey to the West Research

A repository for research on the great 16th-century Chinese Classic

Category Weapons

What Does Red Boy Look Like? A Resource for Artists and Cosplayers

1. Ancient Depiction

2. What the novel says

3. Popular depictions

4. Conclusion

Archive #45 – Tripitaka Seeks the Scriptures: A Rare Journey to the West Puppet Play from Quanzhou, Fujian

I. The Chinese Script

II. English Summary

III. Thanks

Laozi’s Diamond Cutter Treasure-Weapon from Journey to the West

1. Introduction in chapter six

2. Appearance in later chapters

2.1. Chapter 50

2.2. Chapter 51

2.3. Chapter 52

3. Background

3.1. Literary origin

3.2. History

5. Influence

6. Conclusion

How to Kill Sun Wukong

I. Possible Ways

II. The Best Way

III. Story Potential

IV. Conclusion

Sun Wukong’s Four Mighty Commanders

I. References

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 28

II. Meaning of Names

III. Immortality