Category Zhu Bajie

Origin of the White Turtle River Crossing Accident From Journey to the West Chapters 98 and 99

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 09-05-2025

Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592; “JTTW” hereafter) chapter 98 sees the pilgrims sent back to China on a cloud to hasten the completion of their mission and subsequent return to paradise. However, shortly after their departure, Guanyin realizes in chapter 99 that Tripitaka has only experienced a total of 80 tribulations during his life, which is just shy of the perfect, sacred number (9 x 9 = 81). Therefore, she orders the eight Dharma guardians piloting the cloud to prematurely drop them off somewhere before reaching their stated destination. Sha Wujing reasons that this was done because they are going too fast (Wu & Yu, vol. 4, pp. 357-361).

The companions find that they have been deposited along the western bank of the “Heaven-Reaching River” (Tongtian he, 通天河), the same body of water where a giant, white turtle-spirit (baiyuan, 白黿) had ferried them across in chapter 49 (fig. 1). This same reptile appears and offers to carry them to the eastern bank (i.e. in the direction of China), but when he learns that the clerics had failed to keep their promise to ask the Buddha when the turtle’s long years of cultivation would result in him achieving human form (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 359), the angry spirit dives into the water, dunking the clerics, the dragon horse, and the hard-won scriptures. Thus, the 81st tribulation is achieved (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 362-363).

Fig. 1 – A statue of the pilgrims crossing the Heaven-Reaching River on the back of the giant river turtle (larger version). The reptile is presented here as a dragon-turtle. Statue in the author’s personal collection.

This episode is likely based on a historical accident that resulted in the real Xuanzang (玄奘, 602–664) (on whom Tripitaka is based) losing 50 scriptures to the drink. I first learned about the real world event from Brose (2021) and made the connection to JTTW chapters 98 and 99 on my own. Here’s a twitter post from 2022 attesting to that. But when I recently revisited the idea for a possible article, a cursory search didn’t turn up much information about the accident in Xuanzang’s historical travelogue, A Biography of the Tripitaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monastery (Datang Daci’en si Sanzang Fashi Zhuan, 大唐大慈恩寺三藏法師傳, 7th-century; T2053; “A Biography” hereafter). Luckily, I found the answer in Brose (2023), where he states: “Xuanzang does not recount the accident in his Record; he mentions it only briefly in the letters he later wrote to monks in India requesting copies of the lost texts” (p. 147). The provided citations led me to the correct sections of A Biography.

The end of one letter presented in scroll seven (of ten) reads:

[…] Of the scriptures and commentaries that I have brought back, I have already translated the Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra and other long and short texts, making a total of over thirty works. The translation of the Abhidharmakośa Śāstra and the Abhidharmanyāyānusāra Śāstra is not yet completed, but it will be finished this year. The reigning Emperor of the Great Tang Empire is enjoying every felicity, with peace prevailing throughout his land. With the compassion of a Cakravartin King, he has spread the edification of the Buddha, composed a preface with his Divine Pen to all the Chinese translations of the scriptures and commentaries, and also ordered the authorities to copy them for circulation in the country. Thus even neighboring states also follow and study them. Although we are now at the end of the Image Period, the brilliance of the Dharma is still as genial and as glorious as when it was taught in the Jetavana Garden in Śrāvastī. I hope you will take note of the above information. When I was crossing the Indus [on my way back home], I lost a pack of scriptures (emphasis added). I am now sending you herewith a list of the lost texts, of which I request that you send me new copies by some convenient messenger (Huili & Shi, 1995, pp. 232-233).

玄奘所將經論，已翻《瑜伽師地論》等大小三十餘部，其《俱舍》、《順正理》，見譯未周，今年必了。即日大唐天子聖躬萬福，率土安寧，以輪王之慈，敷法王之化，所出經論，並蒙神筆製序，令所司抄寫，國內流行，爰至隣邦亦俱遵習。雖居像運之末，而法教光華，邕邕穆穆，亦不異室羅筏誓多林之化也，伏願照知。又前渡信渡河失經一馱，今錄名如後，有信請為附來。(source)

This is admittedly anticlimactic, but a fuller, more exciting version of the event appears in scroll five:

After travelling for more than twenty days, he reached the country of Takṣaśilā and revisited the place where King Candraprabha had sacrificed his head a thousand times in his previous lives. Fifty yojanas to the northeast of this country was the country of Kaśmīra. The king sent an envoy to invite the Master [i.e. Xuanzang]; but as he was riding on an elephant and had luggage with him, he was unable to go. After staying there for seven days, he proceeded northwest again for three days and reached the great Sindhu [i.e. Indus] River, which was five or six li broad. His scriptures and images were loaded in a boat with his companions to sail across the river, while the Master waded through the river on his elephant [fig. 2]. He had appointed a man in the boat to take care of the scriptures and some seeds of different kinds of rare Indian flowers. When the boat sailed to midstream, a turbulent gale suddenly arose. The waves tossed the boat and almost overturned it. The man who was asked to look after the scriptures was so frightened that he fell overboard, but was rescued by the other passengers. Fifty bundles of scriptures and flower seeds were lost, while his other property narrowly escaped damage.

At that time the king of Kapiśā who was already in the city of Uḍakhāṇḍa heard that the Master was arriving and went personally to the riverside to greet him. He inquired, “I heard that you lost your scriptures in the river. Did you bring any seeds of Indian flowers and fruits with you?” “Yes, I did,” was the reply. The king said, “That was the cause of the gale that stirred up the waves and almost overturned your boat. Since ancient times, those who brought flower seeds to cross this river have always had the same trouble.” Then he returned to the city with the Master, who lodged in a monastery for more than fifty days. As he had lost some of his scriptures, he sent a man to the country of Udyāna to copy the Tripiṭaka of the Kāśyapīya school (Huili & Shi, 1995, pp. 156-157).

如是二十餘日行，至呾叉尸羅國，重禮月光王捨千頭處。國東北五十踰繕那即迦濕彌羅國，其王遣使迎請，法師為象行輜重不果去。停七日，又西北行三日至信度大河，河廣五六里，經像及同侶人並坐船而進，法師乘象涉渡。時遣一人在船看守經及印度諸異花種，將至中流，忽然風波亂起，搖動船舫，數將覆沒，守經者惶懼墮水，眾人共救得出，遂失五十夾經本及花果種等，自餘僅得保全。

時迦畢試王先在烏鐸迦漢茶城，聞法師至，躬到河側奉迎，問曰：「承師河中失經，師不將印度花果種來？」答曰：「將來。」王曰：「鼓浪傾船，事由於此。自昔以來，欲將花種渡者，並然。」因共法師還城，寄一寺停五十餘日，為失經本，更遣人往烏長那國抄寫迦葉臂耶部三藏。(Source)

And lastly, scroll two associates the Indus River with greedy water-spirits that capsize boats in order to gain the treasures therein:

From the city of Uḍakhāṇḍa, the Master crossed the Indus to the south. The river was three or four li wide, and the water was very clear and flowed rapidly. Many venomous dragons and evil animals dwelt in it. Anyone crossing the river with Indian precious gems, rare flowers, or relic bones would often have his boat overturned (Huili & Shi, 1995, p. 60).

自烏鐸迦漢茶城南渡信渡河，河廣三四里，流極清急，毒龍惡獸多窟其中，有持印度奇寶名花及舍利渡者，船輒覆沒。(source)

Connecting the three passages presents a complete picture of the event: Xuanzang and his servants attempted to cross the Indus River with precious scriptures and the seeds of rare Indian flowers, but one or more river dragons called up a powerful wind that capsized the boat carrying his treasures just so it/they could get their scaly mitts on them. This/these beast(s) and their crime eventually made it into the 1592 JTTW in the form of the giant white turtle-spirit and his grudge against the scripture-seekers.

Fig. 2 – Xuanzang riding an elephant (larger version). From a lianhuanhua pocket comic about the monk’s travels. Image found here.

Update: 09-05-25

Maria Josey, a friend of the blog, told me that she saw a statue of the pilgrims riding the turtle in a temple from Phuket, Thailand (fig. 3). She explains:

This story featured heavily in the chosen design of the temple grounds … [T]he monument is quite high up, on a mound, then a huge boulder. Cannot have been easy to build, I imagine, but it must have meant a lot to whoever did make it.

Fig. 3 – The statue (larger version). This photo was taken “a few years ago.” Copyright Maria Josey. Used with permission.

Sources:

Brose, B. (2021). Xuanzang: China’s Legendary Pilgrim and Translator. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Brose, B. (2023). Embodying Xuanzang: The Postmortem Travels of a Buddhist Pilgrim. United States: University of Hawaii Press.

Huili, & Shi, Y. (1995). A Biography of the Tripitaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty (R. Li, Trans.). Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Retrieved from https://www.bdkamerica.org/product/a-biography-of-the-tripitaka-master-of-the-great-cien-monastery/.

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

The Crow’s Nest Chan Master of Journey to the West

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last Updated: 04-12-25

The end of Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記; “JTTW” hereafter) chapter 19 contains a strange, seemingly throwaway character called the “Crow’s Nest Chan Master” (Wuchao chanshi, 烏巢禪師) (fig. 1). Having met the Buddhist sage in the past, Zhu Bajie describes him as an accomplished cultivator who lives in a nest atop a juniper tree on Pagoda Mountain (Futu shan, 浮屠山), just beyond the border of Tibet (Wusizang, 烏斯藏). [1] Zhu also claims to have been invited by him to jointly practice austerities, but the pig-spirit passed on the opportunity (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 388).

The pilgrims soon thereafter run into Crow’s Nest on their trek through his mountain, and following a brief chat, he orally passes on the Heart Sutra (Mohe bore boluomiduo xinjing, 摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經) to Tripitaka (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 389-390). This lesson is referenced a few times in later chapters. [2]

The narrative seems to indicate that Crow’s Nest and Zhu first met before the latter converted to Buddhism in the past. This is because he recognizes the pig-spirit not by his original Dharma name, Wuneng (悟能), but by his secular name: ”Aren’t you the Zhu Ganglie [豬剛鬣, “Stiff-Bristles Hog”] of the Fuling Mountain?” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 389). [3] The association between these two figures in JTTW may be based on homophonous surnames (see below).

Fig. 1 – A woodblock print of the Crow’s Nest Chan Master (larger version). From the Newly Annotated Journey to the West With Illustrations (Xinshuo Xiyouji tuxiang, 新說西遊記圖像, 1888).

1. Interesting facts

1.1. Powers

The first thing that interests me about the Chan Master is his supernatural abilities. He demonstrates his clairvoyance by reciting a poem [4] in which foretells some of the evils that the pilgrims will face on their quest. For example, one section reads: “Monsters all mountains populate; / Old tigers sit as magistrates; / Graying wolves act as registrars. / Lions, elephants—all called kings!” (Wu & Yu, ). The last line likely references the lion and elephant demon kings appearing in JTTW chapters 74 to 77.

Another part predicts the coming of Sha Wujing. The section reads: “A wild pig totes a hauling pole; / You’ll meet ahead a water sprite. / An old stone ape of many years / Now nurses over there his spite!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 391). You’ll notice that Crow’s Nest spins his prediction between taking jabs at Zhu and Wukong. Monkey was already upset with him for not recognizing the Great Sage’s fame, so this afront leads the primate immortal to strike out.

In response, the cultivator uses defensive magic to protect himself:

The Chan Master, changing into a beam of golden light, went straight up to his crow’s nest, while the priest [Tripitaka] bowed toward him to express his gratitude. Enraged, Pilgrim lifted his iron rod and thrust it upward violently, but garlands of blooming lotus flowers were seen together with a thousand-layered shield of auspicious clouds. Though Pilgrim might have the strength to overturn rivers and seas, he could not catch hold of even one strand of the crow’s nest (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 391).

那禪師化作金光，徑上烏巢而去。長老往上拜謝，行者心中大怒，舉鐵棒望上亂搗，只見蓮花生萬朵，祥霧護千層。行者縱有攪海翻江力，莫想挽著烏巢一縷籐。

This reminds me of an event from Acts of the Buddha (Sk: Buddhacarita; Ch: Fo suoxing za, 佛所行讚, 2nd-century), an ancient biography of the Tathagata:

The host of Mara hastening, as arranged, each one exerting his utmost force, taking each other’s place in turns, threatening every moment to destroy [the Buddha, but] … Their flying spears, lances, and javelins, stuck fast in space, refusing to descend; the angry thunderdrops and mighty hail, with these, were changed into five-colour’d lotus flowers…” (Beal, 1883, pp. 152 and 153).

魔眾相駈策， 各進其威力，
迭共相催切， 須臾令摧滅，

[…]

飛矛戟利矟， 凝虛而不下，
雷震雨大雹， 化成五色花 …

The similarities suggest that Crow’s Nest is also an enlightened being like the Tathagata.

1.2. History

The second thing that interests me is that the Chan Master is based on a historical monk, Niaoke Daolin (鳥窠道林, lit: “Bird’s Nest in the Forest of the Way”; 741–824), who was born nearly 80 years after the death of the historical Xuanzang (on whom Tripitaka is based) (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, pp. 1015-1016). His full biography appears in the Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Jingde chuandenglu, 景德傳燈錄, 1004–1007):

Chan master Niaoke Daolin … was from Fuyang in Hangzhou and his family name was Pan. His mother, whose maiden name was Zhu, once dreamt of the rays of the sun entering her mouth, after which she conceived. When the baby was born a strange fragrance pervaded the room, so the name ‘Fragrant Light’ was given to the boy. He left the home life at the age of nine and received the full precepts at the Guoyuan Temple in Jing (Jingling, Hubei) when he was twenty-one years old. Later he went to the Ximing Monastery in Chang’an to study the Huayan Jing (Avataṃsaka Sūtra) and the Śāstra on the Arising of Faith (Śraddhotpada Śāstra, Aśvagosa) under the Dharma Teacher Fuli, who also introduced him to the Song of the Real and Unreal, and had him practise meditation.

Once Niaoke asked Fuli, ‘Could you say how one meditates and how to exercise the heart?’

Teacher Fuli was silent for a long time, so then the master bowed three times and withdrew.

It happened that at this time Tang Emperor Taizong had called the First Teacher in the Empire [Daoqin] of Jing Mountain to the Imperial Palace and Daolin went to pay him a formal visit, obtaining the True Dharma from him.

Returning south the master first came to the Yongfu Temple on Mount Gu (Zhejiang), where there was a stūpa dedicated to the Pratyekabuddhas. At this time both monks and laymen were gathering there for a Dharma-talk. The master also entered the hall, carrying his walking stick, which emitted a clicking sound. There was a Dharma-teacher present from a temple called Lingying, whose name was Taoguang, and who asked the master, ‘Why make such a sound in this Dharma-meeting?’

‘Without making a sound who would know that it was a Dharma-meeting?’ replied the master.

Later, on Qinwang Mountain, the master saw an old pine tree with lush foliage, its branches shaped like a lid, so he settled himself there, in the tree, which is why the people of that time called him Chan Master Niaoke (Bird’s Nest). Then magpies made their nest by the master’s side and became quite tame through the intimacy with a human – so he was also referred to as the Magpie Nest Monk.

One day the master’s attendant Huitong suddenly wished to take his leave. ‘Where are you off to then?’ asked the master.

‘Huitong left the home life for the sake of the Dharma, but the venerable monk has not let fall one word of instruction, so now it’s a question of going here and there to study the Buddha-dharma,’ replied Huitong.

‘If it could be said that there is Buddha-dharma,’ said the master, ‘I also have a little here,’ whereupon he plucked a hair from the robe he was wearing and blew it away. Suddenly Huitong understood the deep meaning.

During the Yuan reign period (806-820 CE) Bai Juyi was appointed governor of this commandery and so went to the mountain to pay the master a courtesy call. He asked the master, ‘Is not the Chan Master’s residing here very dangerous?’

‘Is not your Excellency’s position even more so?’ countered the master.

‘Your humble student’s place is to keep the peace along the waterways and in the mountains. What danger is there in that?’ asked Bai Juyi.

‘When wood and fire meet there is ignition – the nature of thinking is endless,’ replied the master, ‘so how can there not be danger?’

‘What is the essence of the Buddha-dharma?’ asked Bai.

‘To refrain from all evil and do all that is good,’ answered the master.

‘A three-year-old child already knows these words,’ said Bai.

‘Although a three-year-old can say them, an old man of eighty can’t put them into practice!’ countered the master.

Bai then made obeisance.

In the fourth year, during the tenth day of the second month of the reign period Changqing (824 CE), the master said to his attendant, ‘Now my time is up.’ And having spoken he sat on his cushion and passed away. He was eighty-four years old and had been a monk for sixty-three years.

(Textual note: Some say the master’s name was Yuanxiu, but this is probably his posthumous name.) (Whitfiled, n.d., pp. 56-58).

杭州鳥窠道林禪師。本郡富陽人也。姓潘氏。母朱氏夢日光入口。因而有娠。及誕異香滿室。遂名香光焉。九歲出家。二十一於荊州果願寺受戒。後詣長安西明寺復禮法師。學華嚴經起信論。復禮示以真妄頌俾修禪那。師問曰。初云何觀。云何用心。復禮久而無言。師三禮而退。屬唐代宗詔徑山國一禪師至闕。師乃謁之遂得正法。及南歸先是孤山永福寺有辟支佛塔。時道俗共為法會。師振錫而入。有靈隱寺韜光法師。問曰。此之法會何以作聲。師曰。無聲誰知是會。後見秦望山。有長松枝葉繁茂盤屈如蓋。遂棲止其上。故時人謂之鳥窠禪師。復有鵲巢于其側自然馴狎人。亦目為鵲巢和尚。有侍者會通。忽一日欲辭去。師問曰。汝今何往。對曰。會通為法出家。以和尚不垂慈誨。今往諸方學佛法去。師曰。若是佛法。吾此間亦有少許。曰如何是和尚佛法。師於身上拈起布毛吹之。會通遂領悟玄旨。元和中白居易出守茲郡。因入山禮謁。乃問師曰。禪師住處甚危險。師曰。太守危險尤甚。曰弟子位鎮江山。何險之有。師曰。薪火相交識性不停。得非險乎。又問如何是佛法大意。師曰。諸惡莫作眾善奉行。白曰。三歲孩兒也解恁麼道。師曰。三歲孩兒雖道得。八十老人行不得。白遂作禮。師於長慶四年二月十日。告侍者曰。吾今報盡言訖坐亡。壽八十有四。臘六十三(有云師名圓修者。恐是諡號)。(source)

2. Connection to Zhu Bajie (豬八戒)

I mentioned earlier that the literary Crow’s Nest and Zhu may have been associated in JTTW due to similar-sounding surnames. As stated in the above biography, the surname of Niaoke’s mother was Zhu (朱), which sounds exactly the same as the pig-spirit’s surname, Zhu (豬). This is important since our porcine hero is likely named after Zhu Shixing (朱士行), a Han-era monk with the Dharma name Bajie (八戒)—i.e. Zhu Bajie (朱八戒).

Can you imagine what Zhu’s story would be like if he had taken the Chan Master up on his offer? An enlightened pig-spirit devoid of lust, gluttony, and sloth would seem so foreign to us. This might be good fodder for a JTTW AU. 

Update: 04-12-25

Regarding the JTTW AU, a friend on discord suggested that Zhu’s cultivation would lead to him regaining his human form. This fits with the original novel because Princess Iron Fan had “attained the way of humanity” (i.e. a human form) via spiritual practices (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 162).

Notes:

1) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) translates “烏斯藏” (Wusizang), the location of Gao village, as the “Kingdom of Qoco” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 369). However, this phrase actually refers to Dbus-gtsang, or Tibet (Zhang, 2023, pp. 32-33; Wilkinson, 2000, p. 728).

2) Although Tripitaka is the intended recipient of the Heart Sutra, Monkey thrice demonstrates (chapters 43, 85, and 93) that he understands its meaning better than his master (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 254; vol. 4, pp. 144-145 and 264-265).

3) Zhu first reveals his secular name in chapter 18 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 376). He was given his original Dharma name, Wuneng (悟能, “Awake to Power”), by Guanyin in chapter eight sometime in the past (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 213).

4) Here is the Chan Master’s full poem:

“The way [to India] is not too hard to walk;
Try listening to what I say.
A thousand hills and waters deep;
Places full of goblins and snags;
When you reach those sky-touching cliffs,
Fear not and put your mind at rest.
Crossing the Rub Ear Precipice,
You must walk with steps placed sideways.
Take care in the Black Pine Forest;
Fox-spirits will likely bar your way.
Griffins will fill the capitals;
Monsters all mountains populate;
Old tigers sit as magistrates;
Graying wolves act as registrars.
Lions, elephants—all called kings! 
Leopards, tigers are coachmen all!
A wild pig totes a hauling pole;
You’ll meet ahead a water sprite.
An old stone ape of many years
Now nurses over there his spite!
Just ask that acquaintance of yours:
Well he knows the way to the West” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 390-391).

道路不難行，試聽我吩咐。
千山千水深，多瘴多魔處。
若遇接天崖，放心休恐怖。
行來摩耳巖，側著腳蹤步。
仔細黑松林，妖狐多截路。
精靈滿國城，魔主盈山住。
老虎坐琴堂，蒼狼為主簿。
獅象盡稱王，虎豹皆作御。
野豬挑擔子，水怪前頭遇。
多年老石猴，那裡懷嗔怒。
你問那相識，他知西去路。(source)

Sources:

Beal, S. (Trans.). (1883). The Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king: A Life of Buddha by Asvaghosha Bodhisattva. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/foshohingtsankin00asva/mode/2up.

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

Whitfiled, R. S. (Trans.). (n.d.). Records of the Transmission of the Lamp: Volume 2 – The Early Masters. Hokun Trust. Retrieved from https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Lamp2.pdf.

Wilkinson, E. P. (2000). Chinese History: A Manual. United Kingdom: Harvard University Asia Center.

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

Zhang, F. (2023). The Eastern Land and the Western Heaven: Qing Cosmopolitanism and Its Translation in Tibet in the Eighteenth Century. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.

Archive #49: Journey to the West (西游记): A 60-Volume Lianhuanhua Comic

Jim R. McClanahan 1 Comment

I recently archived a seven-volume lianhuanhua comic about Sun Wukong battling the famous Eighteen Arhats. Upon learning this, a follower on Twitter asked me if I could locate scans of a 60-volume set that they read when they were younger. Luckily, I found a website selling them for super cheap.

I am archiving the set here in order to document modern day perceptions and depictions of JTTW and its characters.

1. Info

  • Title – Journey to the West (西游记)
    • Adaptation – Zhang Yuzhi (张玉枝)
    • Illustrations – Yan Dong (严东)
    • Editor-in-charge – Chang Shengli (常胜利)
  • Publisher – China Lianhuanhua Publishing House and Distribution (中国连环画出版社出版发行)
  • First edition – November 1997
  • ISBN 7-5061-0827-5

The volume 60 cover reading, “Meeting the Buddhist Patriarch at Spirit Mountain” (Lingshan jian Fozu, 灵山见佛祖) (larger version).

1.1. Reprint

This set is the first of at least two prints, the other coming out in 2008 (ISBN: 7801388461, 9787801388469). See, for example, this Ebay listing (screenshot).

The 2008 boxed set (larger version).

2. Download link:

This is for the 1997 version only.

The comics can be read on Google Drive or downloaded and read on Adobe. However, I’ve had problems reading them on Chrome. Please keep this in mind. It might just be a problem on my end.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JcS65ckxWZQh462mlqwj5OOzNl4JJAQ7?usp=sharing

Archive #48: The Eighteen Arhats Battle Wukong (十八罗汉斗悟空): A 7-Volume Lianhuanhua Comic

Jim R. McClanahan 4 Comments

Last updated: 02-28-2025

I was contacted late last year by reader Adelar Eleramo (their JTTW group) looking for more information about a story called The Eighteen Arhats Battle (Sun) Wukong (Shiba luohan dou Wukong, 十八罗汉斗悟空/十八羅漢鬥悟空). A cursory searched turned up this Baidu article, which explained that both a 1982 Chinese opera and a six-volume 1989 lianhuanhua share this title. The respective stories differ, but both draw upon Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) for inspiration. Regarding the comic, Baidu explains:

[It] tells the story of how the fully enlightened Sun Wukong goes out of his way to stir up trouble with the Eighteen Arhats because he cannot stand the way people celebrate and venerate them. He later reunites with Zhu Bajie to face the Buddhist saints in a battle of wits, courage, and magic, until the two groups finally reconcile.

漫画《十八罗汉斗悟空》描述讲述了修成正果的孙悟空因为看不惯十八罗汉声名显赫受人膜拜而刻意挑起事端，后联合猪八戒一起与十八罗汉斗智斗勇斗法，直至最后心悦诚服地言归于好。

Adelar was kind enough to send me an archive of a seven-volume 2011 adaptation of the original.

I am archiving it here in order to document modern day perceptions and depictions of JTTW and its characters.

1. Info

  • Title – The Eighteen Arhats Battle Wukong (十八罗汉斗悟空)
    • Original – He Hanqiu (何汉秋)
    • Adaptation – Jin Dan (金丹)
    • Editor-in-charge – Rao Zhongwei (饶忠伟)
    • Cover illustrations – Hong Zhe (洪哲), Zhang Zhiwen (张志文), and Dai Rui (戴锐)
    • Illustrations – Dai Rui (戴锐)
    • Planning – Yuhai Cultural Propagation Company (義海文化传播公司)
  • Publisher – Helongjiang Fine Arts Publishing House (黑龙江美术出版社)
  • First edition – August 2011
  • ISBN 978-7-5318-2967-6

Sun battles an Arhat (larger version).

2. Download links

The files are quite large, so I am providing two different download options.

2.1. WordPress

These are slow to load, but you can read them online without needing to first download.

Vol. 1 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/01大战棋盘阵.戴锐.黑龙江美术出版社.2011.pdf

Vol. 2 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/02青山龙虎斗.戴锐.黑龙江美术出版社.2011.pdf

Vol. 3 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/03-两请猪八戒.戴锐.黑龙江美术出版社.2011.pdf

Vol. 4 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/04围陷流沙河.戴锐.黑龙江美术出版社.2011.pdf

Vol. 5 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/05火焚罗汉庙.戴锐.黑龙江美术出版社.2011.pdf

Vol. 6 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/06威震十八湾.戴锐.黑龙江美术出版社.2011.pdf

Vol. 7 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/07悟空心归正.戴锐.黑龙江美术出版社.2011.pdf

2.2. Google Drive

Google cannot provide an online preview, so you’ll, unfortunately, have to download these to read.

Vol. 1 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G8-KH5M4zCUhHYxRIs_yXeLBhPkqbND4/view?usp=sharing

Vol. 2 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uSPTLofaWglWcayxuDTGWdyxUUijlhbW/view?usp=drive_link

Vol. 3 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ybtR750U3h8lqErSdN2iw5V_x88dkem/view?usp=sharing

Vol. 4 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1beRZw_Lx08l3HRv4mW7yh1JAsYUeENdj/view?usp=drive_link

Vol. 5 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PRWW-g9mWb9uS9hi6Wje7qu2eUywFKls/view?usp=sharing

Vol. 6 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fby7yK_CwOeO5TpwJeiZA4IV2DuFKZ3b/view?usp=sharing

Vol. 7 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1khp9Rj2VYUBH4V4EkvgjzWTuzqZg5sx3/view?usp=sharing

Update: 02-28-25

I have uploaded another lianhuanhua comic.

Archive #49: Journey to the West (西游记): A 60-Volume Lianhuanhua Comic

Archive #47: The Newly Annotated Journey to the West With Illustrations (Xinshuo Xiyouji (tuxiang), 1749/1888)

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

I. Original Text

The Newly Annotated Journey to the West (Xinshuo Xiyouji, 新說西遊記, 1749) by Zhang Shushen (張書紳) is one of three popular editions of JTTW that circulated during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and overshadowed the original. [1] It contains a running commentary dispersed throughout the pilgrims’ many adventures. Anthony C. Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) describes Zhang’s work as having a Confucian bias:

In his unabridged hundred-chapter Xinshuo Xiyouji (The Journey to the West, Newly Interpreted) of 1749, Zhang Shushen declared in the section entitled “Xiyouji zongpi 西游記總批 (Overall Comments on The Journey to the West)” that “the book Xiyou has been designated by the ancients as a book meant to illuminate the Dao [a pointed dig at the 1662 edition titled Xiyou zhengdao shu, with the Daoist-leaning preface attributed to Yu Ji … ], by which it originally means the Dao of the sages, the worthies, and the Confucians (儒 Ru). To consider it an illumination of the Dao of immortals and Buddhism would be a mistake, indeed.” From a point of view clearly unsympathetic to the popular movement of Three-Religions-Joining-As-One (sanjiao heyi 三教合一, a possibly millennium-old notion … ), Zhang defended the story of the quest for Buddhist scriptures as an allegory of the classic Confucian doctrines on the illustration of virtue (mingde 明德) and the rectification of the mind (zhengxin 正心), ignoring the repeated and complex elaborations of zhengxin in Chan Buddhism also for at least a thousand years prior to his time (vol. 1, pp. 51-52).

I’ve decided to archive a scanned copy of this work for posterity.

A digital version of the text (interspersed with other commentaries) can be found here.

Book link

Click to access Journey-to-the-West-Newly-Annotated-by-Zhang-Shushen-Xinshuo-Xiyouji-compressed.pdf

II. Text With Illustrations

I’ve previously archived illustrated versions of JTTW, including the original 1592 edition, (images from) Li Zhuowu’s late-16th-century critique, and a circa 1835 Japanese translation. Here, I’d like to add another, the Newly Annotated Journey to the West With Illustrations (Xinshuo Xiyouji tuxiang, 新說西遊記圖像, 1888). The original text and commentary are the same, but this edition features a preface by Wang Tao (王韜), as well as over 100 woodblock prints.

The prints in the archived book below are admittedly a little fuzzy. This webpage has somewhat clearer versions.

Book link

Click to access Journey-to-the-West-Newly-Annotated-With-Illustrations-1888-compressed.pdf

Prints of Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong from the opening illustrations (larger version).

Note:

1) The Qing versions are noted for having shoehorned Tripitaka‘s life story (chapter nine) into the original 100 chapters of the 1592 edition.