Tag 唐僧

The Past Life Biography of Zhu Bajie

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 04-09-2025

A twitter user asked me in late 2024 where Zhu Bajie (豬八戒; fig. 1) learned his “36 transformations” (sanshiliu ban bianhua, 三十六般變化). I told them that chapters 19 and 85 of Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記; “JTTW” hereafter) contain biographical poems, one of which explains his internal alchemy (neidan, 内丹) training under an immortal and ascension to godhood. I suggested that his past human life learned the magic changes during this time, but after answering the question, it dawned on me that many people may not be aware of these verses. I have, therefore, decided to post and analyze said poems for the benefit of my readers.

This is the second of three articles where I will present info about the disciples’ lives prior to the main events of JTTW. My next article will follow with Sha Wujing‘s (沙悟净) poem. Click here to read the first post about the White Dragon Horse (Bai longma, 白龍馬). These are meant to compliment my previous essay about Sun Wukong (孫悟空).

(On a related note, see here for the oldest known depictions of Zhu Bajie. They come from 14th-century Korea!)

Fig. 1 – A novel accurate depiction of the Tang Monk’s disciples, including our hog hero (top left) (larger version). Artwork by @真·迪绝人 (see here and here).

Table of Contents

1. The Poems

The novel actually presents two contradictory verses on the origins of our beloved pig-monster. One (ch. 19) portrays him as a human-turned-immortal commander of heavenly forces, while the other (ch. 85) alludes to him being a powerful hog-spirit given celestial rank.

1.1. Chapter 19

This poem is chock-full of internal alchemical jargon, so I’m placing explanatory notes just below the blockquote to save readers from having to scroll to the very bottom of the article every time a new concept is mentioned.

My mind was dim since the time of youth;
Always I loved my indolence and sloth.
Neither nursing nature nor seeking the Real,
I passed my days deluded and confused.
I met a true immortal suddenly
Who sat and spoke to me of cold and heat. [A]
‘Repent,’ he said, ‘and cease your worldly way:
From taking life accrues a boundless curse.
One day when the Great Limit ends your lot,
For eight woes and three ways you’ll grieve too late!’ 
I listened and turned my will to mend my ways:
I heard, repented, and sought the wondrous rune.
By fate my teacher he became at once,
Pointing to the Heavenly and Earthly Passes. [B]
Taught to forge the Great Pill Nine Times Reversed, [C]
I worked without pause through day and night
To reach Mud-Pill Palace topping my skull [D]
And Jetting-Spring Points on soles of my feet. [E]
With kidney brine flooding the Floral Pool, [F]
My Cinnabar Field was thus warmly nursed. [G]
Baby and Fair Girl mated as yin and yang; [H]
Lead and mercury mixed as sun and moon. [I]
In concord Li-dragon and Kan-tiger used, [J]
The spirit turtle sucked dry the gold crow’s blood. [K]
‘Three flowers joined on top,’ the root reclaimed [L];
‘Five breaths faced their source’ and all freely flowed. [M]
My merit done, I ascended on high,
Met by pairs of immortals from the sky.
Radiant pink clouds arose beneath my feet;
With light, sound frame I faced the Golden Arch.
The Jade Emperor gave a banquet for gods
Who sat in rows according to their ranks.
Made a marshal of the Celestial Stream,
I took command of both sailors and ships.
Because Queen Mother gave the Peaches Feast
When she met her guests at the Jasper Pool
My mind turned hazy for I got dead drunk,
A shameless rowdy reeling left and right.
Boldly I barged into Vast Cold Palace
Where the charming fairy received me in.
When I saw her face that would snare one’s soul,
My carnal itch of old could not be stopped!
Without regard for manners or for rank,
I grabbed Miss Chang’e asking her to bed.
For three or four times she rejected me:
Hiding east and west, she was sore annoyed.
My passion sky-high I roared like thunder,
Almost toppling the arch of Heaven’s gate.
Inspector General told the Emperor Jade;
I was destined that day to meet my fate.
The Vast Cold completely enclosed airtight
Left me no way to run or to escape.
Then I was caught by the various gods,
Undaunted still, for wine was in my heart.
Bound and taken to see the Emperor Jade,
By law I should have been condemned to death.
It was Venus the Gold Star, Mr. Li,
Who left the ranks and knelt to beg for me.
My punishment changed to two thousand blows,
My flesh was torn; my bones did almost crack.
Alive! I was banished from Heaven’s gate
To make my home beneath the Fuling Mount.
An errant womb’s my sinful destination: Stiff-Bristle Hog’s my worldly appellation!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 378-379).

自小生來心性拙，貪閑愛懶無休歇。
不曾養性與修真，混沌迷心熬日月。
忽然閑裡遇真仙，就把寒溫坐下說。
勸我回心莫墮凡，傷生造下無邊孽。
有朝大限命終時，八難三途悔不喋。
聽言意轉要修行，聞語心回求妙訣。
有緣立地拜為師，指示天關並地[關]闕。
得傳九轉大還丹，工夫晝夜無時輟。
上至頂門泥丸宮，下至腳板湧泉穴。
周流腎水入華池，丹田補得溫溫熱。
嬰兒姹女配陰陽，鉛汞相投分日月。
離龍坎虎用調和，靈龜吸盡金烏血。
三花聚頂得歸根，五氣朝元通透徹。
功圓行滿卻飛昇，天仙對對來迎接。
朗然足下彩雲生，身輕體健朝金闕。
玉皇設宴會群仙，各分品級排班列。
敕封元帥管天河，總督水兵稱憲節。
只因王母會蟠桃，開宴瑤池邀眾客。
那時酒醉意昏沉，東倒西歪亂撒潑。
逞雄撞入廣寒宮，風流仙子來相接。
見他容貌挾人魂，舊日凡心難得滅。
全無上下失尊卑，扯住嫦娥要陪歇。
再三再四不依從，東躲西藏心不悅。
色膽如天叫似雷，險些震倒天關闕。
糾察靈官奏玉皇，那日吾當命運拙。
廣寒圍困不通風，進退無門難得脫。
卻被諸神拿住我，酒在心頭還不怯。
押赴靈霄見玉皇，依律問成該處決。
多虧太白李金星，出班俯顖親言說。
改刑重責二千鎚，肉綻皮開骨將折。
放生遭貶出天關，福陵山下圖家業。
我因有罪錯投胎，俗名喚做豬剛鬣。(source)

Footnotes:

A) “[C]old and heat,” (riyue, 日月; lit: “sun and moon”) refers to respective yang and yin energies (Pregadio, 2025p; see also Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 527 n. 2).

B) The original Chinese, “天關並地闕” (tianguan bing dique, or “heavenly passes and earthly watchtowers(?)”), is a likely typo for “天關並地關” (tianguan bing diguan, or “heavenly and earthly passes”). These respectively refer to the head and feet (Pregadio, 2025d, 2025s). I’ve therefore altered Yu’s (Wu & Yu, 2012) translation.

C) The “Great Pill [i.e. Elixir] Nine Times Reversed” (jiuzhuan da huandan, 九轉大還丹) was originally an external alchemical process where a concoction of toxic elements was purified over successive firings in a crucible to create a drug of immortality (see section 3.1. of this article). However, the term was coopted by later proponents of internal alchemy, who associated the ingestion and circulation of immortality-bestowing cosmic energies within pathways between bodily organs with a complex five phases-influenced numerology (Pregadio, 2025b, 2025n). Needham (1954, as cited in Wu & Yu, 2012) adds that it refers “to a chhi [qi, pneumatic vitality, breath] or substance generated by techniques purposefully within the human body which would bring about a reversion of the tissues from an ageing state to an infantile state” (vo. 1, p. 527 n. 4).

D) The “Mud-Pill Palace” (niwan gong, 泥丸宮) is a name for the upper cinnabar field in the head (Pregadio, 2025m; Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 528 n. 6).

E) The “Jetting-Spring Points” (yongquan xue, 湧泉穴) are pressure points on the bottom of the feet (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 528 n. 7).

F) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) explains that spiritual energies contained in the kidneys (which are associated with the water element) can be directed to different parts of the practitioner’s body, including a spot under the tongue, the “Floral pool” (huachi, 華池) (vol. 1, p. 528 n. 8; see also Pregadio, 2025r). While this is no doubt the correct answer, it’s important to note that internal alchemy also uses the term Floral pool to refer to true yang energy inside yin (Pregadio, 2025h). The corresponding term is “spirit water” (shenshui, 神水), which denotes true yin energy inside yang—think of the white and black dots inside of the Taiji symbol (Pregadio, 2025h). Therefore, the poem’s original Chinese “腎水入華池” (shenshui ru huachi, or “kidney brine flooding the floral pool”) could also be a reference to the similarly-sounding phrase “神水入華池” (shenshui ru huachi, or “spirit water flooding the floral pool), or the mixture of yang and yin, respectively.

G) The “Cinnabar Field” (dantian, 丹田) is one of three spiritual centers in the body, which is located between 1.3 to 3.6 Chinese inches (cun, 寸; 1 = 1.25 in/3.18 cm) below (or behind) the belly button. The Cinnabar Field is believed to store cosmic/bodily energies, that when circulated and refined, produce an immortal alchemical embryo—i.e. a fledgling immortal spirit avatar (Pregadio, 2025c; see also Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 528 n. 9). And “warmly nursed” (bu de wenwen’re, 補得溫溫熱) may refer to “nourishing warmly” (wenyang, 溫養), or the process of “gestati[ng] the alchemical embryo” (Pregadio, 2025t).

H) The “Baby and Fair Girl” (ying’er chanu, 嬰兒姹女) are anthropomorphic personas of yang and yin energy, respectively (Pregadio, 2025a, 2025w; see also Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 528 n. 10).

I) The elemental and celestial imagery of “lead and mercury” (qian gong/hong, 鉛汞) and “sun and moon” (riyue, 日月) refer to yang and yin energies, respectively (Pregadio, 2025g, 2025o, 2025p).

J) The third eight trigram figure, Li (離/☲), is associated with dragons (long, 龍), and both symbolize yang energy. The sixth figure, Kan (坎/☵), is associated with tigers (hu, 虎), and both symbolize yin energy (fig. 2) (Pregadio, 2025j, 2025k, 2025l; see also Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 529 n. 11).

K) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) suggests that “turtle” (gui, 龜) “may be another name for the dark liquid of the kidneys” (vol. 1, p. 529 n. 12). He continues, “[T]he gold crow indicates the sun or the heart. The line refers to the union of yin and yang through the absorption of yang energy by yin” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 529 n. 12). While I agree that this refers to the mixing of said energies, it’s important to note, however, that turtles are usually paired with “snakes” (she, 蛇), both being anthropomorphic symbols of jing-essence and qi-breath (精氣), respectively (Pregadio, 2025f). Additionally, the “gold crow” (jinwu, 金烏), an anthropomorphic symbol of true yin inside yang energy, is normally paired with the “jade rabbit” (yutu, 玉兔), an anthropomorphic symbol of true yang inside yin (Pregadio, 2025i, 2025y). Similarly, “blood” (xue, 血) represents true yin inside of yang (Pregadio, 2025v).

L) The “Three flowers” (sanhua, 三花) is another name for jing-essence, qi-breath, and shen-spirit (精氣神), three important bio-spiritual substances/energies. These must be “joined on top” (juding, 聚頂), or concentrated in the head (the upper cinnabar field) during the internal alchemical process (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 529 n. 13; see also Pregadio, 2025q). This leads to the “root [being] reclaimed” (guigen, 歸根), which refers to “[g]oing back to the root and returning to the mandate” (guigen fuming, 歸根復命), or achieving immortality (Pregadio, 2025e).

M) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) explains, “Five breaths … wuqi chaoyuan 五氣朝元, refers to the pneumatic vitality, qi, of the five viscera (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys) in harmonious balance” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 529 n. 14). A related view is that said viscera are synced with bio-spiritual substances or mental concepts—ie. hun/liver, jing-essence/kidneys, spirit/heart, po/lungs, intention/spleen—when a practitioner has learned to quiet their senses and still their body (Pregadio, 2025u).

Fig. 2 – An internal alchemy diagram of a Daoist cultivator circulating yang and yin energies, which are respectively represented by the eight trigrams figures ☲ (Li, 離) and ☵ (Kan, 坎) and the elements fire and water (larger version). Image found here. I believe it originally comes from the Anthology of Immortals of Complete Perfection (Quanzhen qunxian ji, 全真群仙集, 1483).

1.2. Explanation

Zhu was originally a lazy, aimless man, but he encountered a celestial who told him to mend his ways, or else he would be reborn in the lower three Buddhist realms of hell, hungry ghosts, or animals, making it impossible for him to hear the Buddha’s teachings (an example of the novel’s syncretic unity). Upon repenting, he studied under the immortal, learning the art of internal alchemy, which involved absorbing and circulating vital energies around his body. Once he had attained transcendence, he rose on clouds to be escorted by other celestials into the heavenly realm, where he was appointed marshal of the heavenly navy, which sailed the cosmic river of the Milky Way Galaxy.

But his great achievement was tainted when he got drunk at the Queen Mother’s peach banquet and, being aroused by Chang’e’s dazzling beauty (fig. 3), chased her to the moon palace. He propositioned the goddess for sex several times, but her refusals sent him into a powerful rage. The protector deity Wang Lingguan reported this to the Jade Emperor, who had the moon palace surrounded by heavenly soldiers. The Marshal was soon captured and sentenced to death, but the planet Venus asked for lenience, leading to Zhu’s past life being beaten 2,000 times and banished from the heavenly realm. His divine spirit sought reincarnation in the mortal realm below, but an accident of fate led to his rebirth as a pig-spirit. He later took the name “Stiff-Bristles Hog” (Zhu Ganglie, 豬剛鬣) based on his porcine appearance.

Zhu Bajie-Chang'e stamp

Fig. 3 – A Taiwanese stamp reading, “Drunkenly playing Chang’e” (Zuixi Change, 醉戲嫦娥) (larger version). It’s likely meant to serve as a visual reminder of Zhu’s early story arc involving the events leading to his banishment from heaven and rebirth as a hog-spirit.

1.3. Chapter 85

With huge mouth and fangs I’ve great magic might.
Emperor Jade made me Marshal Heavenly Reeds.
The boss of Heaven’s eighty-thousand marines,
Comforts and joys I had in the halls of light.
Because I mocked a palace maiden when I was drunk
And flaunted my strength at a wrongful hour
One shove of my snout toppled the Dipper–Ox Palace;
Queen Mother’s divine herbs I then devoured
Emperor Jade pounded me two thousand times
And banished me from the Three Heavens realm.
Though told to nourish my primal spirit,
I became again a monster down below.
About to marry at the Village Gao, I met Brother Sun—’twas my wretched fate!
Quite defeated by his golden-hooped rod,
I had to bow and take the Buddhist vow:
A coolie who bears luggage and leads the horse,
Who owes, in former life, the Tang Monk a debt!
This iron-legged Heavenly Reed‘s name is Zhu;
And my religious name is Zhu Eight Rules” (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 149-150).

巨口獠牙神力大，玉皇陞我天蓬帥。
掌管天河八萬兵，天宮快樂多自在。
只因酒醉戲宮娥，那時就把英雄賣。
一嘴拱倒斗牛宮，吃了王母靈芝菜。
玉皇親打二千鎚，把吾貶下三天界。
教吾立志養元神，下方卻又為妖怪。
正在高莊喜結親，命低撞著孫兄在。
金箍棒下受他降，低頭才把沙門拜。
背馬挑包做夯工，前生少了唐僧債。
鐵腳天蓬本姓豬，法名喚作豬八戒。(source)

1.4. Explanation

He was originally a pig-spirit with sharp tusks and powerful magic (fig. 4) who was appointed Marshal Tianpeng, commander of the 80,000-strong celestial navy. He enjoyed his new life among the godly ranks but later got drunk (at the Queen Mother’s banquet) and performed a number of forbidden deeds: mistreating a moon goddess, knocking over the Dipper-Ox Palace, and eating the Queen mother’s magic mushrooms. This resulted in a punishment of 2,000 strokes and banishment from heaven, with the added instruction to cultivate his spirit while on earth. But he once again became a monster, and at some point,  he took a wife in Gao Village. He was subsequently defeated by Monkey and forced to take the Buddhist vows, serving as Tripitaka’s disciple and luggage handler. His discipleship may have been the karmic result of a good deed that his master performed for him in a past life.

Fig. 4 – Zhu’s giant boar form from the manhua Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記) (larger version).

2. Which is True?

Both poems provide certain information that is consistent with internal narrative details, such as:

  • Zhu originally serving as Marshal Heavenly Reed (Tianpeng yuanshuai, 天蓬元帥; lit: “Marshal of Heavenly Mugwort“), commander of the 80,000 soldiers of the celestial navy (and a historical deity) (fig. 5)
  • Getting drunk at the peach festival and harassing a moon goddess
  • Being beaten 2,000 times as punishment and exiled to the mortal world
  • Mistakenly being reborn as Stiff-Bristles Hog, a bloodthirsty pig-monster in Fuling Mountain (Fuling shan, 福陵山)
  • Eventually taking a wife in Gao Village (Gao zhuang, 高莊)
  • Being defeated by Sun Wukong
  • Becoming Zhu Bajie, a Buddhist disciple of Tripitaka
  • Acting as a coolie carrying the luggage

But the real question is: was Zhu originally human or a pig-spirit? I think the first poem is likely true (within the narrative) given the amount of detail that he provides about the alchemical processes that eventually led to his immortality and ascension to godhood. The second poem is cursory in comparison and seems like something that was made up on the spot to embellish his might—perhaps influenced by stories of Sun Wukong’s past havoc in heaven—or monstrous pedigree in the face of a demonic opponent (refer to the events in chapter 85). One detail pointing to this is his claim of knocking over the “Dipper-Ox Palace” (Douniu gong, 斗牛宮), which references the stars of the Southern Dipper and Ox mansions (Stephenson, 2008, p. 517). He’s therefore asserting that he can collapse entire constellations. That’s definitely nonsense as Zhu is often overpowered and defeated in battle, even by groups of little fiends (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 102-103, for example).

Fig. 5 – A historical painting of “Great Marshal Tianpeng” (Tianpeng da yuanshui, 天蓬大元帥) from the Ink Treasures of Wu Daozi (Daozi mobao, 道子墨寶, 13th-century), (larger version). Image altered for clarity.

3. Additional Info

The poems actually leave out several details about Zhu’s past and current lives.

  1. The Chang’e (嫦娥) mentioned above is not the singular goddess but one of many such named divine maidens in the entourage of the “Star Lord of Supreme Yin” (Taiyin xingjun, 太陰星君), the aged devi of the moon. [1]
  2. He mauled his sow mother and piglet siblings to death sometime after his mistaken rebirth in Fuling Mountain (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 212).
  3. His first wife, “Second Elder Sister Mao” (Mao erjie, 夘二姐), [2] a likely rabbit spirit, [3] was the original owner of his Cloudy Paths Cave (Yunzhan dong, 雲棧洞) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 212). But sadly, she died less than a year after their marriage (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 212). Their tragic love story would be good fodder for fanfiction.
  4. He was invited by the Crow’s Nest Chan Master (Wuchao chanshi, 烏巢禪師), a Buddhist sage, to practice austerities, but he passed on the opportunity.
  5. Years prior to being called Zhu Bajie, he submitted to Buddhism at the behest of the bodhisattva Guanyin and was given the religious name “Zhu Wuneng” (豬悟能, “Pig Who Awakens to Power”) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 213).
  6. Sometime after adopting a vegetarian diet, [4] he magically transformed into a “stout, swarthy [human] fellow” (hei pang han, 黑胖漢) in order to fraudulently arrange a marriage with his second wife, “Green Orchid” (Cui’lan, 翠蘭), a maiden from Gao Village in Tibet (Wusizang, 烏斯藏) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 372). [5]
  7. The Gao family grew rich from his supernatural labors in the field (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 375 and 381).
  8. But he was abusive to his wife, locking her inside a back building and not allowing her to see her family for half a year (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 372).
  9. Monkey tricked Zhu by magically taking his wife’s form and hiding in a dark room (fig. 6), [6] but he later overpowered the hog-spirit in combat (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 380). Zhu eventually submitted when he learned Sun was escorting the scripture pilgrim to India (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 384).

Lastly, I would like to suggest that the immortal teacher of Zhu’s past life also taught him divine military arts—like Master Ghost Valley taught Sun Bin in vernacular fiction—because why else would a random person be given command of the entire heavenly navy? I headcanon that he was once a brilliant military strategist and commander, but his mistaken reincarnation as a hog made him very dim and lazy.

Fig. 6 – A woodblock print from the original 1592 edition of JTTW reading, “The fake Green Orchid outsmarts Stiff-Bristles Hog” (Jia Cui’lan zhinong Zhu Ganglie, 假翠蘭智㺯(弄)豬剛鬣) (larger version). See page 228 of the linked PDF. I’m intrigued by the pig-spirit’s failed human transformation.

4. Updates

Update: 03-04-25

Friend of the blog NingadudeXx has drawn a picture of Zhu Bajie as his past life, Marshal Tianpeng (fig. 7), based on the god’s historical iconography (refer back to fig. 5).

Fig. 7 – Zhu Bajie as Marshal Tianpeng (larger version).

Update: 04-09-25

I forgot to mention that Zhu has some medical knowledge. In chapter 41, for example, he performs life-saving massage to resuscitate a dead Sun Wukong:

With a chuckle, Eight Rules [Zhu Bajie] said, “Brother, stop crying. This ape is pretending to be dead, just to scare us. Feel him a little and see if there’s any warmth left in his breast.” “The whole body has turned cold,” said Sha Monk [Sha Wujing]. “Even if there were a little warmth left, how could you revive him?” Eight Rules said, “If he is capable of seventy-two transformations, he has seventy-two lives. Listen, you stretch out his legs while I take care of him.” Sha Monk indeed straightened Pilgrim’s legs while Eight Rules lifted his head and straightened his upper torso. They then pushed his legs up and folded them around the knees before raising him into a sitting position. Rubbing his hands together until they were warm, Eight Rules covered Pilgrim’s seven apertures and began to apply a Chan method [anmo chanfa, 按摩禪法] of massage on him (emphasis added). The cold water, you see, had had such a traumatic effect on Pilgrim that his breath was caught in his cinnabar field and he could not utter a sound. He was lucky, therefore, to have all that rubbing, squeezing, and kneading by Eight Rules, for in a moment his breath went through the three passes, invaded the bright hall, and burst through his apertures. and burst through his apertures. “O Master,” he [Monkey] began to say (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 232).

八戒笑道：「兄弟莫哭。這猴子佯推死，嚇我們哩。你摸他摸，胸前還有一點熱氣沒有？」沙僧道：「渾身都冷了，就有一點兒熱氣，怎的就得回生？」八戒道：「他有七十二般變化，就有七十二條性命。你扯著腳，等我擺佈他。」真個那沙僧扯著腳，八戒扶著頭，把他拽個直，推上腳來，盤膝坐定。八戒將兩手搓熱，仵住他的七竅，使一個按摩禪法。原來那行者被冷水逼了，氣阻丹田，不能出聲。卻幸得八戒按摸揉擦，須臾間，氣透三關，轉明堂，沖開孔竅，叫了一聲：「師父啊！」

Also, in chapter 69, he argues with Wukong about the attributes and usages of a medicinal ingredient:

“The flavour of badou [巴豆],” said Eight Rules, “is slightly acrid; its nature is hot and poisonous. Able to pare down the hard and the accumulated, it will therefore sweep out the submerged chills of one’s internal cavities. Able to bore through clottings and impediments, it will therefore facilitate the paths of water and grain. This is a warrior who can break down doors and passes, and it should be used lightly” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 274).

八戒道：「巴豆味辛，性熱有毒。削堅積，蕩肺腑之沉寒；通閉塞，利水穀之道路。乃斬關奪門之將，不可輕用。」

This might suggest that Bajie also learned these skills from his immortal master.

Endnotes:

1) Chapter 95 explains that the seemingly singular goddess Chang’e is actually a collective, and also that one of them was the maiden that Zhu’s former life had harassed in the past:

As they stared into the sky, they heard the Great Sage Sun crying out in a loud voice: “Your Majesty of India, please ask your queen and concubines to come out and look. Beneath this treasure canopy is the Star Lord of Supreme Yin of the Moon Palace, and the immortal sisters on both sides of her* are the Chang’e goddesses inside the moon (emphasis added). This little jade hare is the false princess of your household; she has now revealed her true form.”

The king hurriedly assembled the queen, his concubines, the palace maidens, and gaily-attired girls to bow to the sky and worship. He himself and the Tang Monk also expressed their thanks toward the sky by bowing low. All the households in the city also set up incense tables and kowtowed, chanting the name of Buddha.

As they looked up into the air, Zhu Eight Rules was moved to lust. Unable to contain himself, he leaped into the air and embraced a rainbow-skirted immortal, crying, “Sister, you and I are old acquaintances! Let’s go play!” (emphasis added) (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 303).

眾擡頭看處，又聞得孫大聖厲聲高叫道：「天竺陛下，請出你那皇后、嬪妃看者：這寶幢下乃月宮太陰星君，兩邊的仙妹是月裡嫦娥。這個玉兔兒卻是你家的假公主，今現真相也。」那國王急召皇后、嬪妃與宮娥、綵女等眾朝天禮拜，他和唐僧及多官亦俱望空拜謝。滿城中各家各戶，也無一人不設香案，叩頭念佛。正此觀看處，豬八戒動了慾心，忍不住，跳在空中，把霓裳仙子抱住道：「姐姐，我與你是舊相識，我和你耍子兒去也。」

* Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) calls the Star Lord of Supreme Yin “him” in his original translation (vol. 4, p. 303), but the deity has been portrayed as a woman for centuries. See, for instance, her depiction (2nd from the top left) in the Ink Treasures of Wu Daozi (Daozi mobao, 道子墨寶, 13th-century).

2) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) translates her name as “Second Elder Sister Egg” (Luan erjie, 卵二姐)” (vol. 1, p. 212). But this is based on a transcription error—i.e. 夘 (Mao; original edition) vs 卵 (Luan; modern edition).

3) The relationship of Zhu and Second Elder Sister Mao references the synergy between the elemental and animal aspects of the 12 earthly branches—i.e. Mao (夘; yin wood/rabbit) and Hai (亥; yang wood/pig) complete each other.

4) His vegetarian diet is mentioned in chapters 18 and 19 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 372, 384, and 386).

5) 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).

6) I’ve previously suggested that this episode was influenced by a scene from chapter five of the Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan, 水滸傳, c. 1400). Both feature:

  • Young, beautiful daughters in unwanted relationships (Green Orchid vs the unnamed maiden).
  • Elderly fathers worried for their child (Mr. Gao vs Mr. Liu).
  • Evil spirit-turned-inhumanly strong, hot-tempered, heavy metal staff-wielding martial monks who come to their aid (Sun Wukong vs Lu Zhishen).
  • The monk takes the place of the woman in a darkened room.
  • The villain is beaten (Zhu Bajie vs Zhou Tong) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 374-377; Shi & Luo, 1993/2021, pp. 109-113).

Sources:

Pregadio, F. (2025a). cha nü 姹女 (chanü). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 19-20). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025b). da huan dan 大還丹 (da huandan). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 32-33). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025c). dan tian 丹田 (dantian). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 38-39). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025d). di guan 地關 (diguan). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 45). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025e). gui gen fu ming 歸根復命 (guigen fuming). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 78). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025f). gui she 龜蛇 (guishe). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 78). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025g). hong 汞. In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 86). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025h). hua chi shen shui 華池神水 (huachi shenshui). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 90). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025i). jin wu 金烏 (jinwu). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 124-125). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025j). kan 坎. In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 134). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025k). li 離. In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 142-143). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025l). long hu 龍虎 (longhu). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 154-156). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025m). ni wan gong 泥丸宮 (niwan gong). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 174). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025n). qi fan jiu huan 七返九還 (qifan jiuhuan). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 183-184). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025o). qian 鉛. In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 188). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025p). ri yue 日月 (riyue). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 202-203). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025q). san hua ju ding 三花聚頂 (sanhua juding). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 214). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025r). shen 腎. In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 230-231). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025s). tian guan 天關 (tianguan). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 262). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025t). wen yang 溫養 (wenyang). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 276). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025u). wu qi chao yuan 五氣朝元 (wuqi chaoyuan). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 282-283). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025v). xue 血. In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 321-322). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025w). ying er 嬰兒 (ying’er) (1). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (pp. 341-342). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025x). ying er 嬰兒 (ying’er) (2). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 342). Leiden: Brill.

Pregadio, F. (2025y). yu tu 玉兔 (yutu). In Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (p. 346). Leiden: Brill.

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

Stephenson, F. R. (2008). Lunar Mansions in Chinese Astronomy. In H. Selin (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (pp. 516-518) (2nd ed.). Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

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.

How Tall are the Main Characters from Journey to the West?

Jim R. McClanahan 2 Comments

Last updated: 09-30-2024

A member of a private Monkey King Facebook group I belong to posted a Chinese informational graphic titled “Journey to the West: The Four Body Height Ratios of the Master and His Disciples” (Xiyou ji: Shitu siren shengao duibi, 西游记 师徒四人身高对比) (fig. 1). Each character is depicted with their correct corresponding height, ranging from Sun Wukong as the shortest to Sha Wujing as the tallest. The bottom of the picture provides some measurements:

The original novel describes Bajie’s body as being 1 zhang tall. Three chi is 1 meter. One zhang is around 3.3 meters. Sha Monk is 1.2 zhang, which is close to 4 meters. The Tang monk is 1.8 meters. The Lord Great Sage is 4 chi, or approximately 1.3 meters.

原著描述八戒身高一丈，三尺为一米，一丈是三米三左右。沙僧一丈二接近四米，唐僧一米八，大聖爺四尺，大约一米三。

The information is overgeneralized and at times conjectural, but I figured the picture would be interesting to my followers on Twitter. Little did I know that it would explode in popularity. As of this writing, my tweet has 940 likes (most of these received in a few days). This indicates that not many people were aware of the great height disparity between the pilgrims. I’ve, therefore, decided to write an article recording what Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) actually says about each character’s height. 

I believe that the creator of the info graphic got their measurements from this essay, for it has the exact same title and very similar material (Zhongshi Damei Shenghuo [ZDS], 2020). I will use the claims therein to compare and contrast with the actual text from the novel.

Fig. 1 – The Chinese informational picture listing the pilgrims’ heights (larger version). I, unfortunately, don’t know who the original artist is. A reverse image search didn’t turn up anything. This page has the earliest appearance of the informational picture that I can find.

Table of  Contents

1. Measurements

ZDS (2020) uses a mixture of the ancient chi (尺, a.k.a. Chinese foot) and zhang (丈, a.k.a. ten Chinese feet) and the modern meter (mi, 米). The chi (and subsequently the zhang) varied at the local level at different times. During the Ming (1368–1644), when Journey to the West was published, the measurements equaled:

  • One chi (尺) = roughly 31.8 cm (12.3 in)
  • Ten chi = one zhang (丈)
  • one zhang (丈) = roughly 3.18 m (10.43 ft) (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi).

Yes, the novel is set during the Tang (618–907), but many elements of the story (e.g. language, religion, mythos, martial arts, etc.) are filtered through the lens of the Ming. Therefore, it’s appropriate to use Ming-era measurements.

2. Heights

The characters are listed below from shortest to tallest.

(Note: I will be relying on the Wu & Yu (2012) translation. But since it uses “feet” instead of the original chi or zhang, I’ll alter the source throughout the article for more accuracy.)

2.1. Sun Wukong

See my previous articles discussing Monkey’s height (here and here).

ZDS (2020) states that Sun is “4 chi, that is less than 1.3 m [4.26 ft] or the same height as a child” (4 chi, yejiushi budao 1.3 mi, gen haitong yiban gao, 4尺，也就是不到1.3米，跟孩童一般高). But they miss an important distinction. The novel twice describes him as being “not four chi tall” (buman sichi, 不滿四尺), meaning that Monkey is an unknown height below 1.272 m (4.17 ft).

The phrase is first spoken by the Monstrous King of Havoc (Hunshi mowang, 混世魔王) in chapter 2:

When the Monstrous King saw him, he laughed and said, “You’re not four chi tall (emphasis added), nor are you thirty years old; you don’t even have weapons in your hands. How dare you be so insolent, looking for me to settle accounts?” (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 128).

魔王見了，笑道：「你身不滿四尺，年不過三旬，手內又無兵器，怎麼大膽猖狂，要尋我見甚麼上下？」

The second is said hundreds of years later by the Great King Yellow Wind (Huangfeng dawang, 黃風大王) in chapter 21:

The old monster took a careful look and saw the diminutive figure of Pilgrim—less than four chi (emphasis added), in fact—and his sallow cheeks. He said with a laugh: “Too bad! Too bad! I thought you were some kind of invincible hero. But you are only a sickly ghost, with nothing more than your skeleton left!” (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 408).

那怪仔細觀看，見行者身軀鄙猥，面容羸瘦，不滿四尺。笑道：「可憐，可憐。我只道是怎麼樣扳翻不倒的好漢，原來是這般一個骷髏的病鬼。」

Some readers may wonder why such a powerful character can be so tiny. This is because the novel describes Sun as a literal monkey. Refer back to this article for more information.

(Note: See the 04-27-24 update below for a more precise measurement.)

2.2. The Tang Monk

I have yet to formally write about Tripitaka‘s height.

ZDS (2020) suggests that the “Tang Monk should be about 1.8 m [5.90 ft]” (Tangseng yinggai zai 1.8 mi zuoyou, 唐僧应该在1.8米左右). This estimate is based on the size of a stone box used to imprison him in chapter 49:

Pilgrim … mov[ed] towards the rear of the palace. He looked, and sure enough there was a stone box, somewhat like a trough that people use in a pigpen or a stone coffin. Measuring it, he found it to be approximately six chi in length (emphasis added). He crawled on top of it and soon heard the pitiful sound of Tripitaka’s weeping coming from inside (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 347).

行者 … 徑直尋到宮後看，果有一個石匣，卻像人家槽房裡的豬槽，又似人間一口石棺材之樣，量量足有六尺長短。卻伏在上面，聽了一會，只聽得三藏在裡面嚶嚶的哭哩。

Six chi is 1.9 m or 6.25 ft. Tripitaka would obviously be shorter given the inside thickness of the stone walls, but the novel doesn’t provide such detailed information. This means that the 1.8 m estimate is conjecture. So, what other proof is there?

ZDS (2020) also cites a poem from chapter 54 as evidence that the Tank Monk is “tall and handsome” (yougao youshuai, 又高又帅):

What handsome features!
What dignified looks!
Teeth white like silver bricks,
Ruddy lips and a square mouth.
His head’s flat-topped, his forehead, wide and full;
Lovely eyes, neat eyebrows, and a chin that’s long.
Two well-rounded ears betoken someone brave.
He is all elegance, a gifted man.
What a youthful, clever, and comely son of love,
Worthy to wed Western Liang’s gorgeous girl! (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol.  3, p. 55). [1]

丰姿英偉，相貌軒昂。齒白如銀砌，唇紅口四方。頂平額闊天倉滿，目秀眉清地閣長。兩耳有輪真傑士，一身不俗是才郎。好個妙齡聰俊風流子，堪配西梁窈窕娘。

Technically, yishen busu (一身不俗) can mean having a body that is “impressive” or “out of the ordinary,” but as Yu (2012) translates, it can also refer to one’s person. This is not the same as listing a particular height.

Hence, there isn’t enough information in the novel to officially say how tall Tripitaka is. But for those demanding some sort of answer, we can always speculate using real world data.

According to one study, out of a sample size of 28,044 Chinese men from 31 provinces/autonomous regions, the average modern height is 169 cm (5.54 ft). Additionally, this Chinese article references a study claiming that men from ancient times up to the Ming were between 165 cm (1.65 m or 5.41 ft) and 167 cm (1.67 m or 5.47 ft). This is obviously shorter than the 1.8 m suggested above.

Therefore, the most we can say is that the Tang Monk would be average historical height.

2.3. Zhu Bajie

I’ve written about Zhu Bajie’s height in the past (see here).

ZDS (2020) writes that Zhu’s “snout is 3 chi long” (zui chang 3 chi, 嘴长3尺). This is based on a descriptive poem from chapter 85:

A snout, pestlelike, over three chi long (emphasis added)
And teeth protruding like silver prongs
Bright like lightning a pair of eyeballs round,
Two ears that whip the wind in hu-hu sound.
Arrowlike hairs behind his head are seen;
His whole body’s skin is both coarse and green.
His hands hold up a thing bizarre and queer:
A muckrake of nine prongs which all men fear.

(Wu & Yu 2012, vol. 4, p. 149).

碓嘴初長三尺零，獠牙觜出賽銀釘。
一雙圓眼光如電，兩耳搧風唿唿聲。
腦後鬃長排鐵箭，渾身皮糙癩還青。
手中使件蹊蹺物，九齒釘鈀個個驚。

But, again, an important distinction is missed. Zhu’s nose is “over three chi long,” or larger than 95.4 cm (3.12 ft), which is over half the height of an average human. ZDS (2020) says this measurement indicates that: “According to the laws of biology, (Zhu’s) body is approximately 3.5 m [11.48 ft]” (Anzhao shengwuxue de guilu, shenti yue 3.5 mi zuoyou, 按照生物学的规律，身体约3.5米左右). However, they never explain what laws they are referring to.

The only other information about Zhu’s size that I’m aware of appears in chapter 29. Upon entering a new kingdom, Tripitaka describes his two remaining disciples. [2] He starts with the pig spirit:

“My elder disciple has the surname of Zhu, and his given names are Wuneng and Eight Rules. He has a long snout and fanglike teeth, tough bristles on the back of his head, and huge, fanlike ears. He is coarse and husky, and he causes even the wind to rise when he walks (emphasis added) …” (Wu & Yu 2012, vol. 2, p. 51).

我那大徒弟姓豬，名悟能八戒，他生得長嘴獠牙，剛鬃扇耳，身粗肚大，行路生風 …

This tells us that Zhu has a large body capable of stirring the wind when he moves. But it’s important to note that Tripitaka’s subsequent dialogue assigns Sha Wujing a specific height (see below). This points to Zhu being shorter in comparison.

Therefore, just like the Tank Monk, there isn’t enough info to officially say how tall Zhu is. But we can again speculate using real world data.

My friend Barbara Campbell (blog) suggested that I use extinct prehistoric pigs as reference. A prime example is Megalochoerus homungous, which has been estimated to be 3.8 m (12.46 ft) long, 1.8 to 2.2 m (5.9 to 7.21 ft) at the shoulder, and up to 1,600 kg (3,527.39 lbs) (Uchytel, n.d.). A reconstruction by the paleo artist Roman Uchytel presents a towering creature with a head half as long as a man’s body (fig. 2). This is quite similar to the size of Zhu’s nose. Even with it’s head facing forward, a bipedal M. homungous would still be around 3.8 m (12.46 ft) tall. But as you’ll read below, this is too tall if Zhu is supposed to be shorter than Sha.

So how tall is Zhu? Your guess is as good as mine. But for those demanding some sort of answer, we can use human arm span to body height ratio, which is roughly 1:1. Using 1.8 m (5.9 ft), or the lower estimate for M. homungous‘ shoulder height, Zhu could be as much as 3.6 m (11.81 ft). But I am in no way comfortable with this estimate. It’s 100% pure conjecture, and I think it is still too tall.

Fig. 2 – A reconstruction of M. homungous by Roman Uchytel (larger version). Mr. Uchytel graciously gave me permission to use a watermarked version of his art for free. Please consult his website here.

2.4. Sha Wujing

I’ve previously mentioned Sha’s height in the article about Zhu Bajie’s appearance (refer back to here).

ZDS (2020) writes that Sha is “One zhang 2 chi, nearly 4 m” (yizhang erchi, chabuduo 4 mi le, 一丈二尺，差不多4米了). This is based on Tripitaka’s continued dialogue with the foreign king in chapter 29:

“… My second disciple has the surname of Sha, and his religious names are Wujing and Monk. He is one zhang two chi tall and three span wide across his shoulders (emphasis added). His face is like indigo, his mouth, a butcher’s bowl; his eyes gleam and his teeth seem a row of nails” (Wu & Yu 2012, vol. 2, p. 51).

第二個徒弟姓沙，法名悟淨和尚，他生得身長丈二，臂闊三停，臉如藍靛，口似血盆，眼光閃灼，牙齒排釘。他都是這等個模樣，所以不敢擅領入朝。

This tells us that the monstrous monk is a whopping 3.816 m (12.51 ft) tall, with an exceptionally broad body.

Fun fact: Sha Wujing’s height is based on his giant antecedent, an obscure desert spirit appearing in the 7th-century biography of  the historical monk Xuanzang (on whom Tripitaka is based). The spirit comes to the cleric in a dream to admonish him for sleeping on the journey to India:

[Xuanzang] dreamed that he saw a giant deity several zhang tall (emphasis added), holding a halberd and a flag in his hands. The deity said to him, “Why are you sleeping here instead of forging ahead?” (based on Huili & Li, 1995, p. 28).

即於睡中夢一大神長數丈，執戟麾曰：「何不強行，而更臥也！」

“[S]everal zhang” would be 3 zhang (9.54 m or 31.29 ft) or more tall! That’s one big spirit!

3. Conclusion 

“Journey to the West: The Four Body Height Ratios of the Master and His Disciples” is an informational picture that depicts the pilgrims with their correct corresponding heights. The bottom of the picture also provides measurements to supplement the illustration. These numbers were likely borrowed from ZDS (2020), an online article with the exact same name and very similar material. According to the essay, Sun Wukong is less than 1.3 m (4.26 ft), the Tang Monk is about 1.8 m (5.90 ft), Zhu Bajie is 3.5 m (11.48 ft), and Sha Wujing is nearly 4 m (13.12 ft). However, this information is overgeneralized and at times conjectural.

The original Chinese text of Journey to the West naturally gives more accurate information. But, unfortunately, the book only lists specific heights for two characters: Monkey is shorter than 1.272 m (4.17 ft) and Sha is 3.816 m (12.51 ft). As for the other two, not enough information is given for Tripitaka or Zhu to officially say how tall they are. However, speculating with real world historical height data suggests that the literary monk could be somewhere between 1.65 m (5.41 ft) and 1.67 m (5.47 ft), which is obviously shorter than the 1.8 m cited above. But even using prehistoric pigs as a reference, Zhu Bajie is the hardest to calculate since the novel indirectly implies that he is shorter than Sha. I used the lower end shoulder height estimate of the extinct M. homungous to suggest that Zhu could be as much as 3.6 m (11.81 ft) tall. But I think that this is still too big.

On an interesting note, Sha’s great height is based on his giant antecedent, a desert spirit appearing in the historical Xuanzang’s 7th-century biography. The spirit is described as being 9.54 m (31.29 ft) or more!

4. Updates

Update: 08-26-23

Tumblr user @digitalagepulao has drawn lovely versions of the JTTW pilgrims (fig. 3). And while some of their heights may differ slightly from those discussed above, the overall ratios are correct. I love the designs.

This is for @digitalagepulao’s own “Expedition to the West au” (alternate universe) JTTW storyline based on a previous article of mine.

 

Fig. 3 – The height ratios for digitalagepulao’s JTTW character designs (larger version). Used with permission.

Update: 04-27-24

Chapter 37 gives a more precise measurement for Monkey’s height. He first transforms into a “tiny monk about two cun tall” (二寸長的小和尚兒) (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 172). He shortly thereafter grows even bigger when a prince makes fun of him:

Tripitaka pulled open the box’s cover; Pilgrim [Sun Wukong] leaped out and began to hobble all over the place. The prince said, “This little midget! What can he know?” When Pilgrim heard this remark about his size, he at once resorted to magic. Straightening up his torso, he grew about three chi and four or five cun instantly (emphasis added). “If he can grow that rapidly,” said the soldiers, highly startled, “it will only be a few days before he pierces the sky.” When Pilgrim reached his normal height, however, he stopped growing (emphasis added) (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 174-175).

三藏扯開匣蓋兒，那行者跳將出來，呀的兩邊亂走。太子道：「這星星小人兒，能知甚事？」行者聞言嫌小，卻就使個神通，把腰伸一伸，就長了有三尺四五寸。眾軍士吃驚道：「若是這般快長，不消幾日，就撐破天也。」行者長到原身，就不長了。

As mentioned in section 1, one chi (尺) is roughly 12.3 in or 31.8 cm (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi). Expanding on this, one chi equals 10 cun (寸; a.k.a. “Chinese inches”) (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi). One cun would be about 1.25 in or 3.18 cm. Two cun would, therefore, be 2.5 in or 6.36 cm. Growing the stated additional height would then put our hero at 3 chi and 6 or 7 cun, which is roughly 3.86 ft or 1.176 m. This agrees with the aforementioned estimate of “not (or less than) four chi tall” (buman sichi, 不滿四尺) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 128 and 408).

Update: 09-30-24

Tumblr user @heshemejoshi has drawn an awesome image of the pilgrims with their various height differences. The coloring almost makes it look like a dream.

Fig. 4 – The pilgrims “going west” (larger version).

Note:

1) “Western Liang’s gorgeous girl” is referring to the Queen of Womanland.

2) The Tang Monk had previously expelled Monkey from the group in chapter 27 (Wu & Yu, vol. 2, pp. 26-28).

Sources:

Huili, & Li, R. (1995). A Biography of the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty. Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist translation and research.

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

Uchytel, R. (n.d.). Megalochoerus. Prehistoric Fauna. Retrieved from https://prehistoric-fauna.com/Megalochoerus.

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

Zhongshi Damei Shenghuo. (2020, August 18). Xiyou ji: Shitu siren shengao duibi [Journey to the West: The Four Body Height Ratios of the Master and His Disciples]. Sohu. Retrieved from https://www.sohu.com/a/413598842_120113471

A Realistic Retelling of Journey to the West?

Jim R. McClanahan 8 Comments

Last updated: 10-04-2025

I was recently asked about the existence of a realistic retelling of Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) that follows the adventures of the historical monk Xuanzang (玄奘, 602-664). To my knowledge, it doesn’t exist, but this is something I’ve thought about to some extent. In this article, I would like to discuss what a realistic journey might be like.

Table of Contents

1. Literature vs History

There are some important distinctions that first need to be made between the literary and historical stories before we can speculate about our version.

1.1. The Novel

  1. The story is set in a syncretic Buddho-Daoist universe modeled on Hindo-Buddhist cosmic geography. This flat world-disc features four cardinal continents (of various shapes) floating in a great ocean around the four faces of Mt. Sumeru. The Daoist heaven sits atop this mountain, taking the place of the “Heaven of the Thirty-Three” from the original Buddhist structure. China is located in the Southernmost continent (the original structure, however, associated this with India). India and the Buddha’s paradise are moved to the Westernmost continent (since it is West of China in OUR world).
  2. The literary Xuanzang (fig. 1) is the final reincarnation of “Master Golden Cicada” (Jinchan zi, 金蟬子), the fictional second disciple of the Buddha who was exiled to China for ten lifetimes as punishment for being inattentive during a heavenly lecture.
  3. His father, Prefect Chen Guangrui (陳光蕊), is murdered by a bandit, who takes his government post and pregnant wife for his own. Chen’s son is born in Jiangzhou (Jiangxi) sometime after, forcing his mother to float the baby down the river in a basket (à la Moses) in order to save his life. He is found and raised by the old abbot of a Buddhist temple. Eighteen years later, after receiving his ordination, the monk Xuanzang is reunited with his mother and magically-revived father, and the bandit-turned-official is arrested and executed (ch. 9).
  4. He leaves China in 640 with the blessing of the Tang emperor (ch. 13) and returns in 654 (ch. 100). [1]
  5. The expressed purpose of his mission is to obtain the correct scriptures needed to perform a grand mass to release untold souls from suffering in hell (see note #1 here).
  6. He is portrayed as a proponent of the Chan (禪; Sk: Dhyāna) school of Buddhism.
  7. Xuanzang is an extremely whiny character modeled after a Confucian official who is blindly loyal to the throne, extolls virtues of propriety, and complains about everything. He is depicted as having an encyclopedic knowledge of Buddhist scripture, but he doesn’t always understand the underlying meaning, something that Monkey sometimes explains to him (see note #8 here).
  8. He initially leaves with a few human disciples, who are eventually eaten (ch. 13), and takes on the monstrous disciples Sun Wukong (ch. 13), Zhu Bajie (ch. 19), and Sha Wujing (ch. 22) along the way.
  9. These latter disciples aren’t “Chinese.” They come from different countries among said continents. For example, Monkey’s Flower Fruit Mountain is an island located to the east of the Easternmost continent (refer back to here).
  10. Xuanzang spends all of his time traveling or trying to escape from a monster or spirit who has kidnapped him. No time is spent studying languages or scripture.
  11. All of the kingdoms encountered conveniently speak (and to some extent dress) like the Chinese.
  12. The group receives the scriptures directly from the Buddha in the Western Paradise of India and are magically transported back to China.
  13. Xuanzang and his disciples are immediately whisked away from China upon delivery of the sutras, leaving the mass to be performed by someone else. The group is returned to the Western Paradise, where they receive an elevation in spiritual rank (ch. 100) (Wu & Yu, 2012).

Fig. 1 – A print of the literary Xuanzang from a Qing-era edition of Journey to the West (larger version). Originally found on Wikimedia Commons. Fig. 2 – An anonymous 14th-century Japanese painting of the historical Xuanzang on the road to India (larger version). Originally found on Wikipedia.

1.2. The Real World

  1. The real Xuanzang (fig. 2) obviously existed in OUR world, the Earth.
  2. He was born in Luoyang (Henan) to the aristocratic Chen (陳) family, the youngest of four boys.
  3. He followed in his oldest brothers footsteps by becoming a monk at eleven, receiving full ordination at twenty.
  4. He left China illegally in 629 and returned a celebrity in 645.
  5. The expressed purpose of his mission was to obtain scriptures that resolved contradictions in and expanded the corpus of the Chinese Buddhist canon.
  6. He initially traveled by himself within China, but later joined caravans in Central Asia and India, even having his own royal escorts at different times.
  7. He was exposed to different cultures, languages, and religions, the latter including Zoroastrianism and Vedism (early Hinduism).
  8. He was a proponent of the Yogācāra (Sk: “Yoga practice”; Ch: Weishi zong, 唯識宗, “Consciousness Only”) school of Buddhism.
  9. He was super brave and intelligent, with an encyclopedic knowledge of Buddhist and even Vedic literature. Apart from Buddhist schooling in his youth, much of this knowledge was gained during prolonged study abroad.
  10. He faced many problems on the trip back to China, even losing some of his hard-won scriptures in a fording accident.
  11. Xuanzang returned home with hundreds of scriptures, over one hundred Buddha relics, and tens of statues. He spent the remainder of his life translating texts, while also battling his celebrity. He died at the age of 61 (Brose, 2021).

2. The Realistic Journey

This is not meant to be exhaustive since trying to adapt every character and event from the novel would make it much too long. The point is to give the reader a basic understanding of what Xuanzang’s historical journey was like.

Everything prior to his birth would be nearly the same, including the monk’s previous incarnations and Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing’s respective early lives and punishments. But since the story will take place on Earth, the location of literary events will have to be placed in a real world context. For example, Monkey would have to be born on an island east of China. Japan is certainly an interesting option, with Mt. Fuji (Fujisan, 富士山) being a good candidate for his birthplace. Taiwan’s Mt. Jade (Yushan, 玉山) is another (see the 02-14-23 update below for more info). Fun fact: Taiwan is known for its “Rock Macaques” (fig. 3). This is a fitting name considering that Sun is born from stone.

Fig. 3 – A Taiwanese Rock Macaque (larger version). Originally found here.

Placing Monkey’s past in a real world context opens the door to interesting possibilities in this adaptation. The novel describes him studying Buddho-Daoist arts under the Patriarch Subodhi in the Westernmost continent (i.e. India). But since Daoism didn’t exist in ancient India, he would have likely learned Hindo-Buddhist spiritual cultivation techniques and philosophy, thereby becoming a competent (albeit short-tempered and naughty) rishi. Therefore, he would know how to read and speak the Pali/Sanskrit language of the different Buddhist and Vedic texts that Xuanzang would come to study. One implication is that Sun would be able to help his master if any language or philosophical barriers popped up. This means that his assistance would contribute to Xuanzang’s later translation of Buddhist scriptures in China!

2.1. Travel to and Life in India

Xuanzang’s initial request to leave China was denied by the Tang court of Emperor Taizong. Undeterred, the monk traveled in secret towards the northwestern reaches of the empire in 629, eventually learning from a sympathetic official that he was to be arrested if caught (Brose, 2021, p. 16). He would likely have come across Monkey just prior to leaving China. Remember that chapter 13 also refers to Five Elements Mountain as the “Mountain of Two Frontiers” (Liangjie shan, 兩界山), the eastern half belonging to the Middle Kingdom and the western half belonging to Turkic peoples (Dada, 韃靼; a.k.a. “Tartars“) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 305). The Heavenly Mountain (Tianshan, 天山) (fig. 4) would therefore be a good spot for the trickster god’s earth prison as it stretches from Northwestern China into Central Asia.

Communication between master and disciple wouldn’t be an issue since Monkey would have likely picked up some Chinese during his early life and rebellion. The other disciples would be added at different spots along the route through Central Asia (see the 10-10-22 update below for more info). But since Zhu and Sha have memories of their previous lives, they too would likely know Chinese.

Fig. 4 – The Heavenly Mountains (larger version). Originally found on Wikipedia.

Xuanzang’s Central Asian route took him through Sūyāb (Kyrgyzstan), Samarkand (Uzbekistan), the Kunduz River valley (Afghanistan), and then Balkh (Afghanistan). Here, the monk stopped for a month to study Sanskrit literature under Prajñākara before both of them left to cross the Hindu Kush Mountains. After Bamiyan (Afghanistan), both of them attended the required three-month “Rainy Retreat” at a Buddhist monastery in Kapisā (Afghanistan). This was a time of intense study (Brose, 2021, pp. 23-28). Xuanzang likely attended the three-month retreat every year of his journey, making this aspect of the historical story a major divergence from the novel. This means that, unless the various monsters or spirits tried attacking him in monasteries, his disciples would only see action during the time (days or weeks) that it took the group to travel to a new location.

Since the story is set in the real world, Daoism’s influence would fade as the group traveled westward. This then raises the question: if Sun Wukong requires divine assistance to help identify or defeat a powerful foe in, say, Central Asia, would he zip back to the Daoist heaven in China, or would he simply consult the local foreign gods and spirits? The former possibility would allow us to stick closer to the novel, but the latter would be far more interesting. The Iranic, Judeo-Christian, or Greek gods in that area might be willing to help thanks to the Buddha’s request. I could see this leading to some comical inter-faith drama:

Foreign god: “Monkey Man, you have no power over us in this region!”

Sun Wukong: “Oh, really? Let me introduce you to my two friends [holds up fists], RIGHT and LEFT!”

But this might make the story a little too complex. And since Buddhism was present throughout Central Asia at one point or another, it would make more sense for Monkey to call on Buddhist deities for help. Either way, the story would have to be changed to accommodate gods and spirits outside of Daoism.

Prajñākara stayed in Kapisā, while Xuanzang headed for northern India. His travels took him through Nagarahāra (Afghanistan), Gandhāra (Afghanistan/Pakistan), the Swat Valley (Pakistan), Taxila (Pakistan), and Kashmir (India). He studied in the latter city for two years, while a team of twenty royally-appointed scribes copied extensive scriptures for him. For the next three years after this, he traveled through Cīnabhukti, Jālandhara, Śrughna, Matipura, and Kānyakubja, staying for a month or as long as a year in certain places to study with specialists in Buddhist and Vedic literature. Xuanzang later sailed down the Ganges River, where, according to legend, his priceless collection of Buddhist scriptures and imagery attracted the attention of Hindu pirates. When captured, he sunk into deep meditation while awaiting a sacrificial death by fire, but a strong, supernatural wind began throwing the world into chaos. Thinking that the attempted murder of the monk displeased their goddess Durga, the pirates begged for his forgiveness (Brose, 2021, pp. 30-35). This seems like a perfect demonstration of Sun Wukong’s powers. He would use this trick in place of outright murdering the bandits in order to avoid punishment via the golden headband.

Xuanzang traveled through areas of India where Buddhist institutions once flourished but had fallen into decay, some places being taken over by Hindu and Jain ascetics who practiced extreme forms of austerities. During this time, he also went about visiting all of the famous locations associated with the historical Buddha’s life but was dismayed to see some of those in ruins and/or abandoned. These included the garden where the Enlightened one was born (Lumbini, Nepal) (fig. 5), his father’s palace (Kapilavastu), where he lived as an adult (Jetavana), and the forest where he died (Kuśinagara). Xuanzang took the declining state of Indian Buddhism as proof that his time was the Latter Day of the Dharma (Brose, 2021, pp. 30-32 and 35-38). This surely strengthened his resolve to learn all he could and take back as many scriptures as possible to China in order to ensure that the religion continued to thrive there. His monstrous disciples would be the ones to tote this huge collection in place of human laborers.

Fig. 5 – A 2nd to 3rd-century Gandharan stone carving depicting the Buddha’s birth from his mother’s side in Lumbini (larger version). Originally found on Wikipedia.

The idea of monsters and spirits attacking the monk while he visits these once flourishing but now dilapidated Buddhist sites is somewhat comical. I think that the evil would live in the various ruins or in the forests and hills around said locations. This would mean that demonic mountain strongholds from the novel would be a rarity in this retelling.

Thankfully, though, Xuanzang was able to visit two places associated with the Buddha’s life that still flourished, namely the park where he gave his first sermon (Sarnath) and the area where he achieved enlightenment (Bodh Gayā). The monk was later invited to a grand Buddhist complex in Nālandā, where he became a disciple of Śīlabhadra, a learned master of the Yogācāra school. He studied in Nālandā for five years, receiving a special status that freed him from community duties so he could focus on his studies (Brose, 2021, pp. 37-45). After a failed trip to Sri Lanka, Xuanzang traveled around southern India and eventually studied for two years in Parvata. After returning to Nālandā and learning from various local masters for a few months, he studied for two years with Jayasena, a very knowledgeable lay disciple of Śīlabhadra (Brose, 2021, pp. 50-53).

The total of Xuanzang’s time spent studying in Nālandā and Parvata alone adds up to an astounding nine years. That is an awfully long time for Sun, Zhu, and Sha to see no action. Perhaps they too would live the life of monks and possibly resume their spiritual cultivation in order to better themselves. They could even help teach the clerics at the various institutions how to protect themselves, much like the famous Shaolin Monks (fig. 6). This might replace the episode in chapter 88 in which Monkey and his religious brothers accept three Indian princes as students. Sun could instead give a chosen cadre of monks super strength and divine longevity in a similar fashion.

Fig. 6 – A group of Shaolin monks practicing martial arts (larger version). Originally found here.

Xuanzang’s final year in India was apparently an eventful one. Apart from saving Nālandā from destruction by accepting a tyrannical king’s invitation to visit, he evidently took part in a number of life or death religious debates against Brahmins and Mainstream Buddhists. However, there is no evidence that the grandest of these ever took place. It might even be a later embellishment by Xuanzang’s disciple (Brose, 2021, pp. 53-60). Therefore, I think it should be left out of the retelling.

2.2. Return to and Life in China

I’m going to skip over the events just prior to Xuanzang leaving India, as well as the various trials and tribulations that he faced along the road to China. His disciples would certainly continue protecting him from any evil that still wished to capture the monk. This means that the various episodes could be spread out to the return journey as well.

Instead, I’d like to briefly discuss Xuanzang’s life after returning to the Middle Kingdom. Despite his illegal departure, the monk was welcomed home in 645 with open arms and became an instant celebrity. Emperor Taizong shortly thereafter asked him to compose an account of his travels, the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions (Datang xiyou ji, 大唐西域記), [2] which was finished in 646. The year before, he and a team of experts from all around the empire began translating the scriptures, but fame, official duties, and later unwanted changes to group members by the proceeding Emperor Gaozong hindered the project over the years. The monk was expected to entertain aristocratic guests and donors, and he often traveled to perform the ordination of hundreds of monks at newly built monasteries. This took a toll on his body, which was apparently plagued by a chronic illness that affected his heart and bones. Wishing to escape his celebrity and return to more steady translation work, he requested and failed many times over the years to be relocated to more remote institutions. Instead, he was forced to stick close to the Tang capital, where, years later, he was lucky to escape political upheaval in the court that saw some of his official friends exiled or even executed. Apart from this, Xuanzang was forced to defend himself against critiques on two fronts. On one side were Daoists who disliked his fame and railed against the foreign nature of Buddhism (Daoism was after all the state religion at that time). And on the other, some Buddhists heavily criticized his translation method, as well as his Yogācāra philosophy, which differed from other Mahāyāna teachings. At the end of his life, the poor monk injured his leg in an accident and was bedridden for two months before dying at the age of 61 in 664. His death was apparently followed by miraculous lights in the sky. [3]

Now, I can already hear some of my readers asking: what happened to his disciples? Does everyone still achieve an elevation in spiritual rank? Monkey and his religious brothers would have left by this time. Whereas the pilgrim’s meet the Buddha face to face in India at the end of the novel, he would instead manifest before them (or at least jointly in their dreams) after they successfully transported the scriptures to China. This is when he would offer them their respective promotions, Sun becoming a Buddha, Sha Wujing an arhat, and Zhu an altar cleaner. They would thereafter leave to enjoy their divine lives in the Western Paradise (see the 11-04-23 update below for more info). However, I think Xuanzang would postpone his enlightenment until he finished translating the scriptures. Monkey might even visit his former master in his dreams and encourage him to continue his work even when he is old and sick. The many hardships that the monk faces towards the end of his life would, therefore, make his final ascension all the more bittersweet.

I’m interested to hear reader’s ideas on where they might insert famous episodes into this more realistic setting. Please let me know in the comments below or in an email (see the “contact” button above).

3. Updates

Update: 10-10-22

It turns out that Sha Wujing would be the first disciple recruited on the road to India in our more realistic retelling. As I show in this article, his antecedent appears in various retellings of Xuanzang’s journey as a stern, encouraging spirit or even a heaven-sent protector.

The monk’s embellished biography notes that, while traveling west of the Jade Gate, he chose to bypass various watchtowers on his illegal journey by trekking though the 800 li Gashun Gobi desert (Mohe yanqi, 莫賀延磧). But after only 100 li, Xuanzang lost his surplus of water when the heavy bag slipped from his hands. He went without drink for four days, all the while chanting the name of Avalokiteśvara (i.e. Guanyin) for deliverance, as well as the Heart Sutra, to keep demons at bay (Huili & Li, 1995, pp. 26-27). On the early morning of the fifth day, a divine mist lulled him to sleep, where:

[He] dreamed that he saw a giant deity several tens of feet tall, holding a [halberd] and a flag in his hands. The deity said to him, “Why are you sleeping here instead of forging ahead?” (Huili & Li, 1995, p. 28).

即於睡中夢一大神長數丈，執戟麾曰：「何不強行，而更臥也！」

After he awoke and mounted his horse, it veered in a different direction than Xuanzang intended and arrived at a much needed oasis, which was apparently provided by Guanyin (Huili & Li, 1995, p. 28).

However, a Tang-era Japanese source appearing in a work of the 11th-century states that the “Spirit of the Deep Sands” (Shensha shen, 深沙神) physically interacted with Xuanzang, calling himself the monk’s “guardian spirit” and even providing him with food and water (Dudbridge, 1970, p. 19). The same source also states that he had previously appeared before the earlier monk Faxian (法顯, 337-422) in a ghastly, demonic form (fig. 7):

I am manifested in an aspect of fury. My head is like a crimson bowl. My two hands are like the nets of heaven and earth. From my neck hang the heads of seven demons. About my limbs are eight serpents, and two demon heads seem to engulf my (nether-) limbs… (Dudbridge, 1970, p. 20).

Fig. 7 – A 13th or 14th-century Japanese carving of the Spirit of the Deep Sands (larger version).

The spirit’s great height influenced Sha’s whopping twelve Chinese-foot (zhang er, 丈二; 12.6 feet / 3.84 m) frame (Wu & Yu 2012, vol. 2, p. 51), his necklace of heads was the model for our hero’s necklace of skulls (Wu & Yu 2012, vol. 1, p. 230), and the “Moving Sands” (Liusha, 流沙) of his harsh desert home served as the basis for Wujing’s “Flowing-Sands River” (Liusha he, 流沙河) (Wu & Yu 2012, vol. 1, p. 421).

I would like to combine details from the Chinese and Japanese sources, making the Spirit of the Deep Sands a physical being, and instead of the pearly thread-wrapped wooden staff wielded by Sha in the novel (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 428), the deity would use the aforementioned halberd. I’d also borrow from the novel, having him exiled to earth for an offense in heaven, but in place of the Flowing-Sands River, be banished to the desert to await the coming of Xuanzang (Wu & Yu 2012, vol. 1, p. 210).

Another interesting change that just occurred to me would be to completely reverse the order of Xuanzang’s disciples. Even though the literary monk happens upon them in the order of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, Guanyin first recruits them in the order of Sha, Zhu, and Sun (Wu & Yu 2012, vol. 1, pp. 207-216). Making Monkey the lowest-ranking, yet most powerful religious brother would lead to some funny situations. Sha and Zhu might try to order him around at first, but they would soon learn not to test the powerful monkey rishi’s patience. I can see them begging him to intervene when they can’t defeat a given evil.

Perhaps Zhu would be recruited in Central Asia, while Monkey might be discovered under a mountain closer to India. What say you?

Update: 12-17-22

Journey to the West characterizes the Buddha as having a corporeal form. This is revealed in chapter 55 when a Scorpion Spirit (Xiezi jing, 蝎子精) stings and hurts him:

Once upon a time she [the scorpion] happened to be listening to a lecture in the Thunderclap Monastery. When Tathagata saw her, he wanted to push her away with his hand, but she turned around and gave the left thumb of the Buddha a stab. Even Tathagata found the pain unbearable! (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 72).

他前者在雷音寺聽佛談經，如來見了，不合用手推他一把，他就轉過鉤子，把如來左手中拇指上扎了一下。如來也疼難禁 …

I take this to mean that the Scorpion Spirit was imbued with “dharma power” (fali, 法力) while listening to the Enlightened One’s lectures. This makes sense as Campany (1985) explains that this is the penultimate power in the novel’s Buddho-Daoist universe.

(Baring a discrepancy in chapter six, [4] the Scorpion Spirit is the only figure in all of Journey to the West shown capable of piercing the Monkey King’s adamantine hide (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 65). She does so with her “horse-felling poison stake” (daoma du zhuang, 倒馬毒樁), which is actually her stinger (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 72).)

But since this article focuses on a real world journey set over a 1,000 years after the Enlightened One’s death, I would like to suggest that similar exposure to the spiritual power of the Buddha might give other demons or spirits a similar boost. In this case, the items granting this power would be relics associated with Shakyamuni.

Strong (2004) notes that there are three main types of Buddha relics: 1) those of the body left over from his cremation (hair, teeth, nails, bones, and Śarīra beads); 2) those that he used (walking staff, alms bowl, robes, etc.); and 3) those that he taught (i.e. lessons from scripture) (p. 8). I think that the first and second categories would be perfect for our story, especially the Śarīra (Sheli/zi, 舍利/子). These pearl-like beads were associated with the wish-fulfilling Cintāmaṇi (Ruyi baozhu, 如意寶組) jewel in East Asia (Strong, 2004, p. 10), so I could see them granting spirits power. [5]

Evil forces might sneak into monasteries to retrieve such items in a bid to gain extra power in order to fuel their nefarious machinations, assert their will on the surrounding populous, and/or to defeat Monkey and his religious brothers, thereby allowing them to gain immortality by eating the Tang Monk. Protecting the relics would, therefore, be one reason to keep the demon disciples busy during Xuanzang’s long years of study.

Update: 12-29-22

It turns out that Journey to the West has śarīra beads. In fact, they are mentioned at least 18 times throughout the novel. One example is a treasure belonging to the Yellow-Robed Demon (Huangpao guai, 黃袍怪). Chapter 31 reads:

Leading Pilgrim [Sun Wukong], the fiend [Yellow Robe] took his companion into the murky depth of the cave before spitting out from his mouth a treasure having the size of a chicken egg. It was a śarīra [shelizi, 舍利子] of exquisite internal elixir. Secretly delighted, Pilgrim said to himself, “Marvelous thing! It’s unknown how many sedentary exercises had been performed, how many years of trials and sufferings had elapsed, how many times the union of male and female forces had taken place before this śarīra of internal elixir was formed. What great affinity it has today that it should encounter old Monkey!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 80-81). [6]

那怪攜著行者，一直行到洞裡深遠密閉之處。卻從口中吐出一件寶貝，有雞子大小，是一顆舍利子玲瓏內丹。行者心中暗喜道：「好東西耶。這件物不知打了多少坐工，煉了幾年磨難，配了幾轉雌雄，煉成這顆內丹舍利。今日大有緣法，遇著老孫。」

As can be seen, Yellow Robe’s śarīra is portrayed as the hard-won product of spiritual cultivation. This agrees with Strong’s (2004) statement that Buddhists believed such beads were “brought on not only by the fire of cremation but also by the perfections of the saint (in this case the Buddha) (emphasis added) whose body they re-present” (p. 12).

But in our realistic retelling, Yellow Robes could have stolen the treasure from a monastery or stupa.

Update: 01-04-23

I mentioned in the original post that Sun Wukong would study Hindo-Buddhist arts and become a talented rishi. The Saṃyutta Nikāya (Sk: संयुक्त निकाया; Ch: Xiang ying bu, 相應部, c. 250 BCE) notes that such cultivators develop a host of supernatural powers once they master the four mental qualities (Pali: Iddhipāda):

  1. Multiplying the body
  2. Vanishing and reappearing
  3. Passing through solid objects (walls, ramparts, mountains, etc.)
  4. Diving into the earth like water
  5. Walking on water like earth
  6. Traveling through space
  7. Touching the sun and moon
  8. Hearing all sounds, both human and divine
  9. Knowing the minds of others
  10. Having memories of all of one’s past lives
  11. Knowing the future rebirths (and their causes) of all beings
  12. Liberation from the filth of the world through supreme wisdom (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1727-1728)

Monkey already exhibits several of these powers in the original narrative.

Update: 01-29-23

Here’s another example of the śarīra beads appearing in Journey to the West. Chapter 62 reads:

This all came about because our All Saints Old Dragon once gave birth to a daughter by the name of Princess All Saints, who was blessed with the loveliest features and the most extraordinary talents. She took in a husband by the name of Nine-Heads, who also had vast magic powers. Year before last, he came here with the Dragon King and, exerting great divine strength, sent down a rainstorm of blood to have the treasure pagoda defiled. Then he stole the sarira Buddhist treasure from the building. Thereafter the princess also went up to the great Heaven where she stole the nine-leaved agaric, which the Lady Queen Mother planted before the Hall of Divine Mists. The plant and the Buddhist treasure are both kept now at the bottom of the lagoon, lighting up the place with their golden beams and colored hues night and day (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 172).

因我萬聖老龍生了一個女兒，就喚做萬聖公主。那公主花容月貌，有二十分人才。招得一個駙馬，喚做九頭駙馬，神通廣大。前年與龍王來此，顯大法力，下了一陣血雨，污了寶塔，偷了塔中的舍利子佛寶。公主又去大羅天上，靈霄殿前，偷了王母娘娘的九葉靈芝草，養在那潭底下，金光霞彩，晝夜光明。

This supports the idea of evil attacking monasteries, and raining down blood would be one method of deconsecrating said locations.

Update: 02-14-23

Above, I mentioned that Japan or Taiwan would be good candidates for the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, but I now feel that I didn’t give enough context. As I explain in this article (and briefly in sec. 1.1 above), Buddhist cosmic geography portrays the world as four cardinal continents surrounding a great mountain. Journey to the West changes the original system by associating China with the southern continent and moving India to the western continent. If we continue this trend by associating the other two continents with real countries, the north would be Russia or Mongolia and the east would be Korea (fig. 8). And since the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit is said to be an island east of the eastern most continent, Japan would be the best choice (fig. 9). This means Sun would be a Snow Macaque.

 Fig. 9 – A top view of Buddhist cosmic geography overlaid with the names of real world countries (larger version). Adapted from Buswell & Lopez, 2014, pp. xxxi. Fig 10 – Detail from a map of East Asia (larger version). Map found here.

Update: 08-26-23

Tumblr user digitalagepulao has drawn lovely versions of the JTTW pilgrims (fig. 11). This is for their own “Expedition to the West au” (JTTW alternate universe) storyline based on the info presented above in the original article. They explain their design choices based on the countries where the disciples are recruited:

Sha Wujing (435cm): His outfit is mostly inspired by Mongolian clothes since he’s found in the Gobi desert stretch of the journey. His bangles are made of fossil bone, and he can use the waist cloth as a headwrap during adverse weather. His markings are inspired by African Lungfish and Mudfish fins, as they are species that exist somewhere between water and dry air. The beasts on his knees are an extension of him, and he can see and speak through them as needed. His beard and long hair can have Ghibli physics depending on his mood and emotions.

Zhu Wuneng (~300cm): Inspired by Northern Tibetan clothes, as that’s the region the group recruits him. Traditional clothes tend to have way more accessories and golden details so I had to simplify a bit. His features are a mix of wild boars and Indonesian babirusa, with the iconic bristles on his head. I leaned on ceremonial Tibetan swords and necklace beads for the decorations on his rake. His vest can be closed, he just prefers not to most of the time.

Sun Wukong (125cm): I’ve already commented on his design over here, but I’ll elaborate that the yellow shirt is the one he gained from Tripitaka soon after he was released, while the pants and red half-robe were the garments he was given by Guan Yin. The hoops on his feet and purple beads were reacquired back in Huaguoshan when he first fled the pilgrimage, heading to his family instead of Ao Guang’s palace. (A-ma and Jinju gave them to him so he’ll always have something to home to remember them by, as well as where he first started, as the beads were gained during his lessons with Subodhi.)

Tripitaka (163cm): This is but one of his many outfits since travel can be rough on clothes, and even more so when you get kidnapped by demons and thrown off your horse all the time. He wears the usual orange monk robes, with some kind of travel clothes over them. He gains some fur boots from Boquin for cold weather but usually prefers sandals most of the time. He seldom uses the cassock and crown he received from Guan Yin, save for when he pays respects to temples and holy sites, but the staff is a constant companion.

Ao Lie (167cm, 130cm at the shoulder as horse): Being effectively in exile until the journey is complete, he wears less fancy clothes than he usually would as a prince, but his status still shows. I tried to balance more casual hanfu of the era with some armor parts, like the waist guard and armored boots. He was given the skill to shapeshift into a horse by Guan Yin when she commanded him to wait for the chosen pilgrim monk, so he can shift at will, but preferably when the tack has been taken off. Speaking of, tack is lost and replaced multiple times during the journey, so I didn’t depict any specific one.

Fig. 11 – Digitalagepulao’s JTTW character designs (larger version). Used with permission.

Update: 11-04-23

Above, I stated: “They [Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing] would thereafter leave to enjoy their divine lives in the Western Paradise.” But I’ve never really liked the idea that Monkey would forever abandon his people. This is especially true since his rebellion led to heaven decimating the monkeys and burning their cave (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 31). So, I think a better ending for this historical version would be for the “Victorious Fighting Buddha” (fig. 12) to return to the Mountain of Flower and Fruit, where he transforms it into his own Pure Land (Jingtu, 淨土). The monkeys killed in years passed would be reborn there, and everyone would receive periodic lessons on the dharma between bouts of play. It would be a paradise even grander than when the Great Sage was at the height of his power.

Fig. 12 – Monkey as the Victorious Fighting Buddha (larger version). Imagery based on the iconography of the historical Yuddhajaya Buddha. Art by NingadudeXx.

Update: 10-04-25

Here’s an article where I propose a more natural reason for Wukong and the Greek hero Heracles to fight each other. It’s based on the above story idea.

Story Idea: Sun Wukong vs Heracles / Hercules

Note:

1) The novel adds four more fictional years to a historical reign period (see section 1 here).

2) The Emperor’s true purpose in asking for the travelogue was to gain information pertinent to military campaigns against Turkic forces west of China (Brose, 2021, pp. 75-76).

3) See chapter 3 in Brose (2021).

4) Chapter six reads: “They bound him with ropes and punctured his breastbone with a knife, so that he could transform no further” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186). But this is not stated or implied to be a form of physical punishment. It serves only to keep Monkey in his base form. The blade is mentioned again in chapter seven: “Arriving at the Tushita Palace, Laozi loosened the ropes on the Great Sage, pulled out the weapon from his breastbone, and pushed him into the Brazier of Eight Trigrams” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 189).

5) I guess the beads would be swallowed or kept close to the body. Their holy power would surely kill lesser devils but empower cultivator-demon kings.

6) Source altered slightly. I’ve made it more accurate.

Source:

Bodhi, B. (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya; Translated from the Pāli by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Vols. 1-2). Boston: Wisdom Publications.

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

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

Campany, R. (1985). Demons, Gods, and Pilgrims: The Demonology of the Hsi-yu Chi. Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR), 7(1/2), 95-115. doi:10.2307/495195

Dudbridge, G. (1970). The Hsi-Yu Chi: A Study of Antecedents to the Sixteenth-Century Chinese Novel. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Huili, & Li, R. (1995). A Biography of the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty. Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist translation and research.

Strong, J. S. (2004). Relics of the Buddha. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

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

What is the Oldest Known Media of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King?

Jim R. McClanahan 3 Comments

Last updated: 06-04-2023

Many people assume that Sun Wukong (孫悟空), the immortal monkey hero from Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592 CE, “JTTW” hereafter), is the inspired creation of Chinese author Wu Cheng’en (吴承恩, d. 1582). However, the character is known to predate the standard edition of the novel by several centuries. In this article, I’d like to highlight the oldest known media referencing or depicting Sun Wukong’s antecedent, the “Monkey Pilgrim” (Hou xingzhe, 猴行者). I will discuss a eulogy from an early-12th century tale and a mid-13th century set of poems, as well as Buddhist cave art in northern China and a stone pagoda carving from the south, which range from the late-11th to late-13th centuries. I ultimately suggest that the character appeared around circa 1000 based on his connection to oral literature.

Table of Contents

1. Northern China

1.1. Oldest Known Reference

The character is mentioned in a eulogy from a tale in Zhang Shinan’s (張世南, d. after 1230 CE) Memoirs of a Traveling Official (Youhuan jiwen, 遊宦紀聞, 13th century CE). The story follows Zhang the Sage (Zhang sheng, 張聖), a farmer-turned-Buddhist monk who gains the ability to read and predict the future after eating a magic peach bestowed by an immortal. He is later asked to write a eulogy (zan, 讚) in honor of a temple’s newly built revolving sutra case. It reads:

Fresh are the pattra (palm) leaves on which are written
the unexcelled (anuttara), vigorous texts,
In several lives, Tripitaka went west to India to retrieve them;
Their every line, their every letter is a precious treasure,
Each sentence and each word is a field of blessing (puṇyakṣetra).
In the waves of the sea of misery (duḥkha-sāgara),
the Monkey-disciple [1] presses on,
Through the waters of the river that soak its hair,
the horse rushes forward;
No sooner have they passed the long sand than they must face the trial of the golden sands,
Only while gazing toward the other shore do they know
the reasons (pratyāya) for being on this shore.
The demons (yaksas) are delighted that they might
get their heart’s desire,
But the Bodhisattva, with hand clasped in respectful greeting, sends them on;
Now here are the five hundred and sixty-odd cases of scriptures,
Their merit is difficult to measure, their perfection
hard to encompass (Isobe, 1977, as cited in Mair, 1989, pp. 693-694).

無上雄文貝葉鮮，幾生三藏往西天。行行字字為珍寶，句句言言是福田。苦海波中猴行復；沈毛江上馬馳前。長沙過了金沙難；望岸還知到岸緣。夜叉歡喜隨心答；菩薩精虔合掌傳。半千六十餘函在，功德難量熟處圓。

The tribute references elements that would later appear in The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures (Da Tang Sanzang qujing shihua, 大唐三藏取經詩話, c. late-13th century CE), the earliest printed edition of the JTTW story cycle comprising a seventeen-chapter storytelling prompt. These include Xuanzang’s quest to India over several lifetimes, the Monkey Pilgrim coming to his rescue, the tribulations at the river of sand (a nod to Sha Wujing’s precursor), the demons encountered, and heavenly assistance.

Japanese scholar Isobe Akira dates the tale of Zhang the Sage to the late-Northern or early-Southern Song (circa 1127 CE) based on the mention of certain historical figures therein (Mair, 1989, pp. 693-694).

1.2. Oldest Known Depictions

The oldest depictions of the Monkey Pilgrim and his master appear in a genre of Silk Road Buddhist cave art representing the adoration of the reclining “Moon in the Water Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin)” (Shuiyue Guanyin, 水月觀音). [2] Different grottoes depict them as small details to the left or right of the much larger Bodhisattva. The pilgrims are always depicted alongside a horse, which is sometimes ladened with sutras.

Wei and Zhang (2019) provide many examples of early art depicting Xuanzang on his quest. Some show him alone, while others portray him with a disciple. This latter figure ranges from human to the Monkey Pilgrim. The problem here is deciding when the first ends and the second begins. Some depictions are heavily degraded, making them ambiguous enough to be either. A prime example comes from Zhao’an Grotto cave no. 3 (c. 1094–1102 CE) at Ansai District, Yan’an Province, China (Yan’an Ansai Zhao’an di 3 ku, 延安安塞招安第3窟) (fig. 1). The rock carving features two sets of figures at the base, two to the left of the Bodhisattva and three to the right. I’d like to begin with the latter. The first of the three figures has what Wei and Zhang (2019) call a “monkey[-like] form” (houxing, 猴形) (fig. 2) (p. 13). But I have three problems with this being a depiction of the Monkey Pilgrim. One, while vaguely simian, the figure is too degraded to be sure. Two, it makes no sense for Monkey to be the first figure when other examples show Xuanzang in the lead. And three, there is no sutra horse. Conversely, the two figures to the left feature a monk standing in the front with elbows bent as if his (missing) hands are pressed in prayer. And behind him is a faceless disciple tending to the horse. Their right arm is bent at the elbow and angled to where their fist might have original been positioned at the chest. Everything else from the left side of the chest up is missing, however (fig. 3).

Fig. 1 (left) – The complete “Moon in the Water Avalokiteśvara” carving from Zhao’an Grotto no. 3 (c. 1094–1102 CE) (larger version). Fig. 2 (middle) – Detail of the three degraded figures to the right (larger version).  Fig. 3 (right) – Detail of the two figures to the left (larger version). Images from Wei & Zhang, 2019, pp. 12-13.

But this side of the carving shares similarities with three late-Xixia dynasty (late-12th or early-13th century CE) murals. The first appears in Yulin Cave no. 2 (Yulin di 2 ku, 榆林第2窟) in Gansu Province. The Monkey Pilgrim is seemingly saluting with his right hand and holding the horse reins with his left fist at the chest. This might explain the disciple’s bent elbow in figure three. Xuanzang is shown with hands clasped in prayer similar to the monk from figure three. Both are depicted facing left and standing at the bank of a river separating them from Avalokiteśvara (fig. 4 & 5) (Wei & Zhang, 2019, p. 35).

Fig. 4 (top) – The complete late-Xixia Moon in the Water Avalokiteśvara mural from Yulin Cave no. 2 (larger version). Fig. 5 (bottom) – Detail of Xuanzang and the Monkey Pilgrim (larger version). Images from Wei & Zhang, 2019, p. 35.

The second appears in Yulin Cave no. 3 (Yulin di 3 ku, 榆林第3窟). Xuanzang is again worshiping from a riverbank, but this time he is facing right and the subject of adoration is Samantabhadra (fig. 6). We see that the disciple is far more monkey-like in appearance, complete with furry arms. He stands next to the sutra horse with hands clasped in prayer (fig. 7) (Wei & Zhang, 2019, pp. 36).

Fig. 6 – An almost complete version of the late-Xixia Yulin Cave no. 3 mural (larger version). Fig. 7 – Detail of the pilgrims (larger version). Images found randomly on the internet.

The third appears in Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave no. 2 (Dong qianfo dong di 2 ku, 東千佛洞第2窟) in Gansu. It contains iconography similar to Yulin Cave no. 2, complete with the Monkey Pilgrim standing next to a horse in a matching “salute and fist over chest” pose (fig. 8-11) (Wei & Zhang, 2019, pp. 38-40). It’s interesting to note that this is one of the oldest depictions of Monkey with his famous golden headband.

Fig. 8 (top left) – The complete Moon in the Water Avalokiteśvara mural from Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave no. 2 (late-Xixia) (larger version). Fig. 9 (top right) – An easier to see line drawing of the scene (larger version). Images from Wei & Zhang, 2019, pp. 38-39. Fig. 10 – Detail of Xuanzang and the Monkey Pilgrim (larger version). Image found randomly on the internet. Fig. 11 – A line drawing of master and disciple (larger version). Images from Wei & Zhang, 2019, pp. 39-40.

Additionally, there are two other examples with varying degrees of similarity. The first also comes from the late-Xixia Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave no. 2. Master and disciple are again worshiping the Moon in the Water Avalokiteśvara at a river bank (fig. 12 & 13), but the Monkey Pilgrim instead holds his staff at the ready like a soldier (fig. 14 & 15).

Fig. 12 (top left) – The second complete Moon in the Water Avalokiteśvara mural from Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave no. 2 (late-Xixia) (larger version). Fig. 13 (top right) – An easier to see line drawing of the scene (larger version). Fig. 14 – Detail of Xuanzang and the Monkey Pilgrim (larger version). Fig. 15 – A line drawing of master and disciple (larger version). Images from Wei & Zhang, 2019, pp. 40-42.

The second is the earlier Buddha Cave Grotto (c. 1103–1104 CE) at Hejiagou District, Yichuan County, Shaanxi (Yichuan Hejiaguo Foye dong shiku, 宜川賀家溝佛爺洞石窟), which is similar yet different from the above examples. It’s similar in that the master and disciple are again worshiping from the river bank (fig. 16). The Monkey Pilgrim is also depicted with the “salute and fist over chest” posture. And it’s different in that Xuanzang is shown in the lead kowtowing to the Bodhisattva, while a third degraded figure loiters behind the sutra horse (fig. 17) (Wei & Zhang, 2019, pp. 17-18).

Fig. 16 (top) – The complete Moon in the Water Avalokiteśvara carving from the Buddha Cave Grotto (c. 1103–1104 CE) (larger version). Fig. 17 (bottom) – A detail of Xuanzang and the Monkey Pilgrim (larger version). Images from Wei & Zhang, 2019, pp. 17-18.

There are enough similarities shared between the art of Zhao’an Grotto, Yulin Cave, Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave, and Buddha Cave Grotto to suggest that the disciple from figure three “could” be the Monkey Pilgrim. That’s as far as I’m willing to go without more information.

2. Southern China

2.1. Oldest Known Reference

Writing in the 1250s, the Song poet Liu Kezhuang (劉克莊, 1187–1269 CE) mentioned our hero twice in his work. The first reads:

From one stroke of the brush it was possible to learn the sense of the Śūraṅgama (sūtra),
Yet three letters accompanied the presentation of a robe to Dadian [大顛].
To fetch scriptures (it was necessary to) trouble [the Monkey Pilgrim].
In composing verse (the Buddhists?) do not rival
He A’shi [鶴阿師] (Dudbridge, 1970, pp. 45-46). [3]

The poem is openly critical of Buddhism, [4] showing that the Monkey Pilgrim was so common at this time that he was used in political satire.

And the second uses Monkey as a metaphor to describe the ageing 70-year-old’s failing appearance. It reads:

A back bent like a water-buffalo in the Zi stream [泗河], Hair as white as the silk thread issued by the “ice silkworms”,
A face even uglier than [the Monkey Pilgrim],
Verse more scanty than even He Heshi [鶴何師] (Dudbridge, 1970, p. 46).

This shows that even by the mid-13th century CE, the character’s ugly features were already well-known. This is mirrored in his monstrous description from the 1592 edition.

2.2. Oldest Known Depiction

The Kaiyuan Temple (Kaiyuan si, 開元寺; est. 686 CE) in the southern Chinese seaport of Quanzhou in Fujian is home to two 13th-century CE stone pagodas covered in 80 life-size relief carvings of bodhisattvas, arhats, patriarchs, protector deities, and various mythological creatures. The Monkey Pilgrim (fig. 18) figures among them and is located on the northeastern side of the western pagoda’s fourth story. This structure was erected in 1237 CE (Ecke & Demiéville, 1935, p. 91), dating the carving to around the same time period as the late-Xixia cave murals along the Silk Road in northern China. This gives us incite into how people of different regions viewed the primate hero.

Fig. 18 – The Kaiyuan Temple stone pagoda carving of the Monkey Pilgrim (1237 CE) (larger version). Image found randomly on the internet.

Three things are immediately apparent. One, the pagoda carving gives precedence to the Monkey Pilgrim, with his entire body taking up most of the available space. Xuanzang, who is normally in the lead position, is instead given a tiny corner above his disciple’s left shoulder. He is shown ascending into the heavens on a divine cloud. Two, Monkey is wearing a double “curlicue-style” headband, the motif being associated with protector deities in religious art of this time. And three, he wields a broadsword with a lick of heavenly flame instead of a staff (refer back to fig. 14 & 15). I’ve theorized in this article that (among other indicators) the combination of the headband, the heavenly blade, and Xuanzang’s ascent to paradise designates the Monkey Pilgrim as a protector deity who removes obstacles to enlightenment. If true, his southern persona was elevated in importance from a mere body guard and horse groom (like in northern art) to a hand of the Buddha.

This elevation may have something to do with the fact that the Monkey King’s cult began in Fujian. While concrete references to his worship date to the 17th century CE (see section III here), this carving may be an indicator that he was revered at an earlier time. The area is known to have worshiped monkeys as far back as the Tang period (see the material below fig. 3 here, as well as the 08-17-2019 update).

Before continuing, it’s interesting to note that the aforementioned poet Liu Kezhuang was a native of Putian (Ebrey, 2005, p. 95), which neighbors Quanzhou. This means that his unflattering mental image of the Monkey Pilgrim was likely influenced by the Kaiyuan pagoda carving.

3. First Appearance?

To my knowledge, these are the oldest known forms of media mentioning or depicting Sun Wukong’s antecedent, but they certainly aren’t the first. We will never conclusively find his “first” appearance. This is not only because a lot of physical media has been lost to the ravages of time, but also because the Monkey Pilgrim was a product of oral storytelling. He was likely given life in urban storytelling stalls (fig. 19 & 20) and nourished by amateur retellings of his adventures at home. Such tales would have predated any artistic depictions or written references. It’s important to remember that oral literature is intangible and ultimately leaves no trace (that is unless it was written down like the 13th-century version). [5]

The fact that Zhang the Sage’s eulogy (section 1.1.) is just a vague list of events suggests that the original storyteller knew his audience was already intimately familiar with the tale and, therefore, didn’t need more exposition. This further suggests that the JTTW story cycle had already been circulating for some time prior to circa 1127 CE (as dated by Isobe Akira). The earliest examples of cave art push the Monkey Pilgrim’s existence back to the earliest years of the 12th century CE and possibly even to the late-11th century. Therefore, we can safely conclude that he dates to at least some time in the 11th century CE. And since it can take generations for a story to become engrained in the public psyche, the Monkey Pilgrim might even date to the early Song Dynasty (960–1279). This is why I usually cite circa 1000 CE as a general time frame for the hero’s appearance.

Fig. 19 (top) – Detail of an urban storytelling (jie, 解; lit: “explanation”) stall from the famed 12th-century CE painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival (larger version). Fig. 20 (bottom) – A closer detail showing people intently listening to the storyteller (larger version). The images are screenshots taken from this digital version of the painting on Wikimedia. A big thank you to Borrdahl (2002) for pointing out the storytelling stall.

4. Updates

Update: 06-04-23

I was happy to learn that the Monkey Pilgrim appears among a large set of late-12th century ritual scrolls portraying the famed 500 Arhats. [6] He is depicted as a monkey-headed, black robe-wearing figure with the lower half of his body obscured by clouds, making him hard to see unless you zoom in on the image. He holds what appears to be the head of a staff in his left hand (fig. 21). Our hero is located just behind Tripitaka, who is riding a white horse led by a spirit-soldier(?) or perhaps Sha Wujing’s antecedent (fig. 22). The full scroll shows this scene happening above the heads of four arhats (fig. 23), indicating that the Tang Monk is considered to be one of these Buddhist sages.

I actually found the simian immortal by accident while researching an article about Tripitaka’s Buddha title. Dr. Meir Shahar tells me that this depiction of Monkey doesn’t appear to have been mentioned in previous JTTW scholarship (personal communication, June 3, 2023). [7] Therefore, I’m so very happy that I can share this discovery with my readers!

This depiction predates the Monkey Pilgrim’s appearance in the 13th-century JTTW by a century. His counterpart in that version is described as a “scholar dressed in a white robe” (Baiyi xiucai, 白衣秀才) (Wivell, 1994, p. 1182). This completely differs from the primate head and black robe from the scroll. And while the 13th-century Monkey Pilgrim mainly wields a golden-ringed monk’s staff (jinhuan (xi)zhang, 金鐶錫杖/金鐶杖) (Wivell, 1994, p. 1189, for example), this simian cleric appears to have a traditional staff with an orb finial. 

Fig. 21 – (Left) A detail of the Monkey Pilgrim (larger version). From 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). 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. Fig. 22 – (Center) A detail of Xuanzang on his his horse (larger version). Fig. 23 – (Right) The full scroll (larger version).

Notes:

1) The eulogy writes “Monkey Pilgrim” as Hou xingfu (猴行復) instead of the more familiar Hou xingzhe (猴行者).

2) Buswell & Lopez (2014) explain:

The name of this bodhisattva derives from this image’s most characteristic feature: a luminous disk that encircles the bodhisattva and evokes both a nimbus and a full moon, effectively suggesting its power to dispel the darkness of the night. Another connotation is indicated in texts such as the [Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra], where the term “moon in the water” connotes that all phenomena are like reflections of the moon on the surface of the water, thereby signifying insubstantiality and impermanence (pp. 813-814).

3) Source altered slightly. I have changed the Wade-Giles to Pinyin.

4) It openly mocks Buddhist philosophy as shallow (“From one stroke of the brush it was possible to learn the sense of the Śūraṅgama (sūtra)“). And it references historical tensions between Buddhism and Confucianism by mentioning the monk Dadian (大顛, 732–824) (“Yet three letters accompanied the presentation of a robe to Dadian”). The Buddhist master was an acquaintance of the Confucian official Han Yu (韓愈, 768–824), who had been exiled to southern China for writing a memorial reprimanding the Tang emperor for patronizing Buddhism. (This story also appears in an unofficial JTTW sequel.) Dudgbridge (1970) believes that the reference to the Monkey Pilgrim “ridicules the degrading of [Xuanzang’s] great mission to the west into a story in which the traveller depends on the support of a fantastic monkey” (p. 46).

5) See, for example, the introduction in Dudbridge (1970).

6) To learn more about these paintings, see Zhou (2021).

7) Dr. Benjamin Brose tells me that the painting appears in a Japanese source, but the Monkey Pilgrim is only listed as a “monkey attendant” (personal communications, June 3 and 12, 2023). See Nara kuniritsu hakubutsukan, Tōkyō bunkazai kenkyūjo henshū, 2014, p. 86.

Sources:

Borrdahl, V. (2002). Chinese Storytellers: Life and Art in the Yangzhou Tradition. Boston: Cheng & Tsui Co.

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

Dudbridge, G. (1970). The Hsi-yu chi: A Study of Antecedents to the Sixteenth-Century Chinese Novel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ebrey, P. B. (2005). Women and the Family in Chinese History. London: Routledge.

Ecke, G., & Demiéville, P. (1935). The Twin Pagodas of Zayton: A Study of the Later Buddhist Sculpture in China. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Mair, V. (1989). Suen Wu-kung = Hanumat? The Progress of a Scholarly Debate, in Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Sinology (pp. 659-752). Taipei: Academia Sinica.

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.

Wei, W., & Zhang, L. (2019). Xiyouji bihua yu Xuanzang qujing tuxiang [Journey to the West Wall Murals: Images of Xuanzang Procuring the Scriptures]. Nanjing: Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House.

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.

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