The Great Sage Purple Cloud Temple of Yilan, Taiwan: A Photo Essay

February 11, 2019February 15, 2021Jim R. McClanahan 1 Comment

I recently visited another Great Sage temple, this time the Wujian Purple Cloud Temple (Wujian Ziyu si, 五間紫雲寺) of Yilan (宜蘭), Taiwan. The temple was bustling with people during the Chinese New Year celebrations, so I didn’t have time to ask many questions. This entry will serve more as a picture essay until I return to conduct proper research.

1. History

Legend has it that around 1899 a man found a monkey-shaped stone and enshrined it in a thatched shed. This was eventually converted to a temple a few years later. It was destroyed by a typhoon in 1960 but subsequently rebuilt. The temple appears to recognize a trinity, with countless monkey soldiers beneath them. The Great Sage has two aspects: the “Martial Great Sage” (Wu Dasheng, 武大聖) (standing statues), who exorcises evil, and the “Civil Great Sage” (Wen Dasheng, 文大聖) (seated statues), who insures the safety of people and animals.

2. How to get there

(Note: Always consult google if you are directionally challenged like myself)

Address: No. 449, Section 3, Dafu Road, Zhuangwei Township, Yilan County, Taiwan, 263

I took bus #1571 (google calls it #1571A) from gate 15 of the Taiwan City Hall Bus Station. This heads towards the Yilan Bus Station. (If you plan to take this route, please note that buses headed to different areas of Yilan will board from this gate. So pay very close attention to the calls of the bus station attendant. For example, they called “Jiaoxi” (礁溪) (bus #1572), a small township in Yilan, and those waiting for another destination had to stand off to the side while those from different sections of the line made their way to the front. If you aren’t careful, you might end up on the wrong bus.) My destination was the first stop, the Zhuangwei (壯圍) bus stop, a small shelter by an overpass. My short walk to the temple took me passed rows of flooded rice fields and small patches of buildings.

(Click images for larger versions)

Gate 15 at the Taiwan City Hall Bus Station.

The Zhuangwei bus stop shelter (as seen from the opposite outgoing bus stop).

The route map from the Zhuangwei bus stop to the temple.

Random rice fields along Gonglao Road (see map).

A panorama of a rice field next to Lane 423, Sect. 3, Dafu Road (see map).

3. The Outside

The temple is located on the side of a busy road. It appears almost out of nowhere since the face of the holy structure is in line with the buildings on either side. The first thing that caught my eye was the highly ornate roof of the furnace covered in mythical creatures, divine heroes, and gods, features typical of South Chinese and Taiwanese temple architecture. Each face of the hexagonal body was covered with beautiful carvings on black marble, two of which included the pilgrims from Journey to the West.

The furnace visible on the left side of the temple (as seen from the road).

A marble carving of Guanyin, the White Dragon Horse, Monkey, and Tripitaka.

A detail of Monkey.

Monkey, Sha Wujing, Tripitaka on the White Dragon Horse, and Zhu Bajie.

A detail of the group.

The front of the temple houses an ornate statue of three brightly colored dragons enclosed in a fence. Looking up, I noticed beautiful hand-painted dragons and Qilin on the ceiling, along with paintings of events from Chinese mythology and Journey to the West on the cross beams. Walking towards one of the five entrances, I noticed the facade was covered in highly detailed stone carvings, some depicting events from the novel.

The front of the Purple Cloud Temple.

The front of the temple. Three of the five entrances are visible behind the dragons.

A detail of the three dragon statues.

Five hand-painted dragons on the ceiling. The Eight Immortals grace the crossbeam below.

A pair of Qilin on the ceiling. The cross beam below portrays an event from Prince Nezha‘s life.

Zhu Bajie protecting his master from the ogre that will become Sha Wujing.

Monkey escaping from Laozi’s furnace.

A stone carving on the facade showing Monkey (top right), Zhu bajie (top center right), and Sha Wujing (center left) battling a monster (top left). The image has been enhanced for clarity.

Monkey (center) battling the heavenly army. Enhanced for clarity.

Monkey (center) leaping from Laozi’s furnace. Enhanced for clarity. Apologies for the blur.

A detail of Monkey leaping.

The Great Sage (top center) and his monkey army battling heaven. Enhanced for clarity. These are just a few of the many carvings covering the temple facade.

4. The Inside

The interior hall is wide yet shallow in depth and split between three altars, Folk religion to the right, the Great Sage in the Center, and Daoist to the left. I must admit in my zeal to photograph anything Monkey-related, I completely forgot to take pictures of the other two sections. This online image shows the folk section includes Mazu, Budai, and other deities. This image shows the Daoist section includes the Jade emperor, the Earth god, and others. Surprisingly, the incense burner in front of the main entrance was not marked with the name of the Great Sage (unlike what I’ve seen at other such temples) but that of the Jade Emperor, 玉皇上帝 (Yuhuang shangdi).

The main hall.

The incense burner bearing the name of the Jade Emperor (visible from the hall looking out the main door).

Upon entering the right side of the main hall, the first thing that caught my eye was a large wooden sculpture of a tree-bound monkey holding onto a branch with one hand and a pair of peaches in the other. Immediately behind him was a stone carving of a vague monkey with two children. (I’m not sure of the ritual importance of either statue. I’ll report on this later. However, I will say the stone statue recalls Sun Wukong’s origins as a stone monkey.) Next to both statues is one of two cylindrical towers, one positioned on each end of the hall. Each is topped by a Great Sage statue and the towers themselves are comprised of hundreds of small compartments, each filled with a small Great Sage figure. These represent a donor who has given money to the temple.

The wooden monkey statue.

A detail of the monkey holding peaches.

The stone monkey with children.

The tower of donor Great Sages.

The Great Sage topping each tower. He holds a fly whisk in one hand and a peach of immortality in the other.

The many compartments.

A mini Great Sage donor figure. He sits on a throne with his staff held over head in one hand and a calabash gourd held to his front in the other.

4.1. The Great Sage Altar

The central offering table to the Great Sage was covered in all sorts of fruits, candies, and flowers. Also included were an incense burner, offerings of wine, and a pair of crescent moon-shaped wooden blocks. These blocks are used in tandem with fortune sticks and oracles revealed on slips of paper, all of which are housed in a metal cylinder to the left of the table (see section three of this article on how these items are used).

The table laden with offerings. Take note of the young woman praying to the Great Sage. She told me that she was from Vietnam and that Monkey was not a common deity there.

The incense burner (back center), tea offerings (three cups visible in the center) and wooden blocks (front right).

The metal cylinder housing the fortune sticks (top), with the corresponding oracles located in each of the surrounding drawers.

Like in other parts of Taiwan and Singapore, this temple appears to recognize a plethora of Great Sages, from a holy trinity to an army of soldier monkeys. (I don’t yet know their individual names. I will report on this later.) All of the Great Sage figures are portrayed with golden armor, red-painted humanoid faces, golden fillets, and long, dark hair. The headband and long hair are no doubt influenced by depictions of Military Monks (Wuseng, 武僧) from Chinese opera (Bonds, 2008, pp. 177-178 and 328). Red face paint is also associated with such characters (Bonds, 2008, p. 211). While the red paint of the statues references the red faces of macaque monkeys, it definitely plays into the military monk personna. Portraying Monkey as such defines him as a divine warrior and a guardian deity.

Military Monk - Beijing Opera (Bonds, 2008)

A military monk from a modern Beijing Opera production (Bonds, 2008, p. 178).

I was pleasantly surprised to see statues of Zhu Bajie appear among the Great Sage’s army. It’s quite appropriate given this is the year of the pig according to the Chinese zodiac. Also included were statues of Ksitigarbha and Nezha.

The three main Great Sages visible in front of the ornate dragon statue. Note the long hair.

Statues of Zhu Bajie among Monkey’s soldiers.

More soldier monkeys. Take note of the Ksitigarbha (front right).

Nezha figures mixed in with the monkey soldiers (left).

This soldier monkey holds a calabash gourd at the ready.

More Nezha figures among the soldiers (right).

I have more pictures of the interior but I’ll leave those for a later article. Lastly, I want to share one of the temple flags stationed opposite the main building.

(Left) “Great Sage Equaling Heaven”. (Right) “(Yi)lan Wujian Purple Cloud Temple”.

Sources:

Bonds, A. B. (2008). Beijing Opera Costumes: The Visual Communication of Character and Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

Archive #8 – The Pig and the Prostitute: The Cult of Zhu Bajie in Modern Taiwan

January 5, 2019November 21, 2021Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

I’ve previously written about Zhu Bajie‘s worship in Taiwan as the god of prostitutes and the hospitality industry. Now, a new paper has been published by Prof. Ben Brose (University of Michigan) that takes a more in-depth look at the phenomenon.

Abstract

Before the publication of the famous Chinese novel The Journey to the West, the central characters of the narrative—the Tang Monk, the monkey Sun Wukong, the pig Zhu Bajie, and the monk Sha—were venerated as deities. These same figures continue to be invoked today in a range of rituals throughout the Chinese world. This article focuses on the cult of Zhu Bajie in modern Taiwan. As a “licentious” spirit known for his voracious appetite and irrepressible libido, Zhu Bajie has attracted devotees from among Taiwan’s “special professions,” namely masseuses, hostesses, and sex workers [fig. 1]. Unable to turn to conventional, ethically demanding deities for assistance, purveyors of illicit goods and services make offerings to spirits like Zhu Bajie who they hope will be more sympathetic to their needs. In this way, Zhu Bajie, a figure familiar from children’s books, cartoons, and blockbuster movies, has also become a patron saint of prostitutes.

Paper link

Click to access the-pig-and-the-prostitute-the-cult-of-zhu-bajie-in-modern-taiwan.pdf

zhu bajie prostitute - 2

Fig. – An altar statue (shenxiang, 神像) of Zhu Bajie holding a nude woman (larger version).

Disclaimer

Prof. Brose was kind enough to give me permission to post the article. However, in the event that the hosting journal requests I pull the article, I will do so when asked. This has been posted for educational purposes. No copyright infringement is intended.

Citation

Brose, B. (2018). The pig and the prostitute: The cult of Zhu Bajie in modern Taiwan. Journal of Chinese Religions, 46 (2), pp. 167-196, DOI:
10.1080/0737769X.2018.1507091

The Story of the Original Golden Headband in the Great Sage Treasure Temple, Kowloon, Hong Kong

October 7, 2018February 28, 2026Jim R. McClanahan 1 Comment

I recently attended the birthday of Sun Wukong on September 25th (the 16th day of the 8th lunar month) in Kowloon, Hong Kong (I’ll write more about this later). While the festivities took place at an alternate location with a secondary altar, I later visited the main altar in the Great Sage Treasure Temple (Dasheng bao miao, 大聖寶廟) on the Po Tat Estate. The altar stage includes a large gilded statue of Wukong, flanked on either side by those of his religious brothers Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie. Strangely enough, a glass box is conspicuously placed in front of the Monkey King’s visage (fig. 1). Inside is a rusted metal band held together with a single chain link (fig. 2). An accompanying text panel labels it the “Vajra/Diamond Headband” (Jingang gu, 金剛箍) and claims the piece to be the original band worn by the Great Sage during his adventures. This same text is echoed in the Kowloon Great Sage Buddha Hall: Special Inaugural Ceremony Issue of the Sixteenth Year Council Association (Jiulong Dasheng Fo tang: Di shiliu jie lishi hui jiu shi dianli tekan, 九龍大聖佛堂: 第十六屆理事會就識典禮特刊) (2014), a booklet handed out during this year’s festivities. [1]

20180925_150017

Fig. 1 – The glass box is visible between the food offerings and the Great Sage’s statue (larger version). Photo by the author.

I. Translation

From Childhood, I believe that everyone has read the story of the golden headband from Journey to the West. Everyone is familiar with the tale. A few decades later [after the events took place], some Buddhists were invited to a Buddhist statue workshop in Shanwei [City, Guangdong Province, China] to see if the Buddha statue they ordered was finished. But when they saw the statue they found it full of flaws. Suddenly, one among them spoke up and said it wasn’t made well enough. The Buddhist statue workshop master asked not to be chastised and said he instead wanted to give them a treasure. They asked him what it was. When he handed it to them they saw it was the Great Sage Buddha’s [original] golden headband.

People say that when Sun Wukong would not accept the Buddhist teachings, Guanyin put the band on his head. Sun Wukong ran side to side while yelling, trying to take it off and throw it far away to some unknown place [but couldn’t].

Many years later, maybe until ten years ago, a virtuous man purchased a sandalwood tree in order to build a Great Sage Buddha statue. He gave it to a Buddhist statue workshop master, who started to saw the tree but soon discovered the golden headband inside and decided to keep it for himself. Two years later, he decided to return it so everyone could behold this sacred treasure. Today, we asked the Buddhist workshop master to make a glass box to display the band in the Great Sage Temple for everyone to worship (p. 45). [2]

20180925_150202

Fig. 2 – The glass box with the headband. The accompanying text panel can be seen in the back (larger version). Photo by the author.

Chapter 100 of the original novel describes the headband disappearing once Monkey internalizes self-restraint and becomes a Buddha (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 383). The ultimate fate of the band is never commented on thereafter. The above story presents a continuation of the tale, thereby linking the Great Sage Treasure Temple with the original events of the novel. The band is lost and discovered twice over the centuries, eventually coming to rest in Hong Kong.

II. Similarities with Shaolin art

The displayed headband appears to be quite old given the level of rust damage. In addition, the style is different than any band I’ve written about before. That being said, the style is somewhat similar to a 17th-century mural from the famed Shaolin Monastery. The mural depicts a muscular luohan wielding a staff and standing next to a ferocious tiger (possibly the Tiger-Taming Luohan). His crown is adorned with a headband held together by a single chain link (fig. 3) similar to our aforementioned band. I am by no means claiming a connection to Shaolin, but it shows there may have been some style of linked headband associated with protector deities in late dynastic China.

17th-Century Shaolin Fresco

Fig. 3 – The 17th-century Shaolin mural (larger version). Take note of the linked headband. From Shahar, 2008, p. 90.

Notes

1) The presented folk story is as told by the Kowloon Great Sage Buddha Hall First Vice-Chairperson Qian Peiqun (錢佩群).

2) Thank you to Kelly Black Lin for helping me with the translation.

Sources

Kowloon Great Sage Buddha hall: Special inaugural ceremony issue of the sixteenth year Council association (2014, Sept. 9). Published by the Hong Kong Shanwei General Commerce Association Limited.

Shahar, M. (2008). The Shaolin monastery: History, religion, and the Chinese martial arts. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The journey to the West: Volume 4. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press.

Archive #7 – The PRC Mythology Chapter from The Contemporary Chinese Historical Drama (1990)

September 5, 2018July 24, 2025Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Here I present the “Monkey King Subdues the White-Bone Demon: A Study in PRC Mythology” chapter from The Contemporary Chinese Historical Drama (1990). This fascinating chapter discusses how a play/film based on the named Journey to the West episode was co-opted during the mid-20th-century as Communist propaganda. Of note is the way each figure is associated with a particular aspect of the communist party. For example, the group of pilgrims represents the party itself, Sun Wukong represents Mao Zedong, and the White Bone Demon, while first representing Imperialism, came to be associated with Soviet Revisionists bowing to imperialism. While the monk Tripitaka was originally associated with the Revisionists Eduard Bernstein and Nikita Khrushchev, he later came to represent the “Middle-of-the-roaders” within the Chinese communist party. It should be remembered that, in the particular episode from the novel, Monkey keeps killing the White Bone Demon because he sees through her demonic disguises, yet the monk continues to punish his protector via the Tight-fillet spell because he is continually deluded by said disguises. Therefore, the play/film was symbolic of Mao’s struggle to placate the communist party while trying to battle the evil of revisionists.

Most surprising to me is that the play/film was made into a children’s book. I believe I’ve seen the illustrations (fig. 1) on the internet but never realized the book had a political origin and purpose.

PRC Monkey King beats the White Bone Demon Three Times (1962) Detail - small

Fig. 1 – Page one from Sun Wukong sanda baigujing (1962) (larger version).

Archive Link:

Click to access contemporary-chinese-drama-sun-wukong-chapter.pdf

Thanks:

A PDF of the full book can be found on archive.org and downloaded for free.

Archive #6 – A Mission to Heaven (1913) – The First Attempt to Translate Journey to the West into English

August 21, 2018August 21, 2023Jim R. McClanahan 1 Comment

Here I present A Mission to Heaven (1913), the first English version of Journey to the West translated by the Welsh Baptist missionary Timothy Richard (1845-1919). Modern translator Anthony C. Yu describes it and a slightly later translation as “no more than brief paraphrases and adaptations” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. xiii). This is because Yu’s translation stretches over 2,000 pages, while Richard’s barely breaks 370 pages. Also, there are many mistranslations that will become apparent to those who have already read Yu’s version. For example, in chapter one when light from Sun Wukong’s eyes reach the celestial realm, A Mission to Heaven reads:

They saw the light burning brightly and ordered a telescope to be brought. (The telescope was invented by Galileo only in 1609 A.D., therefore the Chinese must have had some kind of telescope before we in Europe had it. — Tr.) It was taken to the South gate of heaven to be looked through from thence (Chiu & Richard, 1913, p. 3).

However, Yu’s more accurate version reads:

Upon seeing the glimmer of the golden beams, he [the Jade Emperor] ordered Thousand-Mile Eye and Fair-Wind Ear to open the South Heaven Gate and to look out (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 102).

As can be seen, Richard completely glossed over the two named deities, choosing instead to refer to both as a telescope.

1913 Sun Wukong print - small

The full title of the translation (larger version).

It’s interesting to note the author of A Mission to Heaven/Journey to the West is listed as one Qiu Changchun, otherwise known as Qiu Chuji (1148-1227), founder of the Dragon Gate sect of Daoism. This may be confusing to some since the novel has long been touted as the work of Wu Cheng’en (1500-1582). However, the novel was anonymously published in 1592. Qiu’s disciple is known to have written a travel journal titled Journey to the West (西遊記), which detailed his master’s journey to meet Genghis Khan. Therefore, early commentators confused this historical travel journal with the fictional narrative, thereby claiming Qiu as the author as early as the 17th-century. Wu Cheng’en wasn’t associated with the novel until the 1920s, and the association is again based on a similarly named work published by Wu. Historians remain divided on the true author.

PDF link

Click to access a-mission-to-heaven-1913-translation-of-xiyouji.pdf

Thanks

The original file can be downloaded for free from archive.org.