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The White Ape Perfected Man: Sun Wukong’s Divine Double

Jim R. McClanahan 1 Comment

Last updated: 03-20-2022

Readers may wonder where I get my inspiration to write articles. Most of the time I seek to answer a question that pops up while reading a book or researching a subject, leading to a subsequent paper on what I learned. Other times, I simply stumble across something online. A prime example of this is the “White Ape Perfected Man” (Baiyuan zhenren, ็™ฝ็Œฟ็œŸไบบ), a rare folk Taoist deity that I recently learned about from Facebook. He is depicted with long hair (sometimes with ear-pressing tufts) and a golden fillet, linking him to Chinese opera depictions of military monks (wuseng,ย ๆญฆๅƒง) (Bonds, 2008, pp. 177-178), thus signaling his position as a martial deity. A headdress with lingzi (็ฟŽๅญ) feathers sometimes adorns his crown. His visage ranges from welcoming to fierce and from human to more primate-like. He wears a golden suit of armor and sits in a kingly fashion with the right knee resting on the seat, exposing the bottom of his foot to the viewer. This armor is sometimes draped in a colorful ritual cape. His left arm is usually bent at the elbow and the hand is clenched in a fist (or two-finger shooting mudra) or holds an immortal peach at the chest, while the other is held high and contains a fly whisk or staff. This iconography is shockingly similar to religious depictions of Sun Wukong as the “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian dasheng, ้ฝŠๅคฉๅคง่–). In fact, the two deities are nearly indistinguishable apart from the apeย sometimes having white hair and a white face. But this isn’t always a good indicator, though, as one Fujian tradition features a brother of the Monkey King with a white face. And other times, statues of the white ape might be plain wood or even bronze, thereby erasing any signifying color. But the best clue to his identity appears to be the combination of the fist at the chest and a raised foot while in a seated position, what I call the “fist over foot motif” (fig. 1 to 4).

I’ve previously written about magical white apes (gibbons) in relation to Tang-era Chinese literature, primate-based martial arts, and the fictional origin of Sun Wukong. I’ve even archived an entire book on the subject which surveys historical references, poems, folktales, and art spanning over 3,000 years from the Zhouย toย Qing dynasties. I would like to supplement this material by writing an article about the White Ape Perfected Man and his appearance in vernacular fiction and Taoist scripture. I suggest his iconography was directly influenced by Sun Wukong based on a centuries-long association between the two magic primates in popular literature.

Fig. 1 – One of the first pictures I ever saw of the White Ape Perfected Man (larger version). Photo from Facebook. Fig. 2 – A statue from an unknown temple (larger version). Photo found here. Fig. 3 – One of several statues from the Zhenji Temple of Bade District, Taoyuan, Taiwan (Taoyuan Bade Zhenji gong, ๆกƒๅœ’ๅ…ซๅพท้ŽฎๆฟŸๅฎฎ) (larger version). Screenshot from this Facebook video. Fig. 4 – A statue belonging to Jishen Temple of Tainan, Taiwan (Tainan Jishen gong, ๅฐๅ—ๆฟŸ็”ณๅฎฎ) (larger version). Photo from Facebook.

I. Religious Story

I traveled to the Sun Bin Shrine of Hongde Temple in Yingge District, New Taipei, Taiwan (Yingge Hongde Gong Sun Bin Miao, ้ถฏๆญŒๅฎๅพทๅฎฎๅญซ่‡ๅปŸ) (fig. 5) to gather material for this article. Unfortunately, the temple’s statue of the White Ape Perfected Man (fig. 6) was out for repairs on the day of my visit. But I collected information about the deity from the temple’s history book (fig. 7). The ape god is associated with Sun Bin (ๅญซ่‡, d. 316 BCE) (fig. 8), a deified military strategist of the Warring States period, and is revered as a transmitter of divine knowledge. [1] A rough translation of his religious story follows:

“The White Ape Steals a Peach and Offers a Heavenly Book” (Baiyuan toutao xian tianshu, ็™ฝ็Œฟๅทๆกƒ็ปๅคฉๆ›ธ)

According to legend, when Sun Binย was studying military arts under Master Ghost Valley (Guigu xiansheng, ้ฌผ่ฐทๅ…ˆ็”Ÿ), he opened a plot of uncultivated land on the side of Yunmeng Mountain (Yunmeng shan, ้›ฒๅคขๅฑฑ) and grew a peach orchard with big, fleshy, and delicious fruits using his teacher’s method. At the foot of the mountain lived a mother and son who depended on each other. The son looked like a monkey because his body was covered with white hair, and so he was known as the “Little White Ape” (Xiao baiyuan, ๅฐ็™ฝ็Œฟ). His mother was constantly sick and occasionally dreamed of a transcendent pointing and saying, “Eat the immortal peaches on Yunmeng Mountain and your illness will be cured”.

The white ape was a filial son, and so he went to steal a peach for his mother but lost his way. Sun caught the boy and asked him why he would steal from the orchard. Once he heard of the ape’s sick mother, he gave him the peach. The mother ate the fruit and recovered. In return, the white ape gave Sun a heavenly book of military strategy (bingshu, ๅ…ตๆ›ธ) passed down from his ancestors, saying, “Thank you for your life-saving grace”.

Another version of the story states the Yunmeng peach was so famous for its large size, fleshy fruit, and delicious taste that, upon hearing of it, the Queen Mother of the West sent the white ape to steal it for her Peach Banquet.

This last part is a reversal of Sun Wukong stealing the Queen Mother’s peaches in Journey to the West (Xiyouji, ่ฅฟ้Š่จ˜, 1592). [2]

Fig. 5 – The Sun Bin Shrine of Hongde Temple (larger version). Photo by the author. Fig. 6 – A detail of the temple’s White Ape Perfected Man’s statue (larger version). See fig. 8 for a full version. Fig. 7 – A page from the temple’s history book (larger version). Note the bronze statue of the White Ape, including the lingzi headdress. Photo by the author. Fig. 8 – The central statue of Sun Bin (larger version). Note the position of the white ape in front of Sun. Photo from Facebook.

Astute readers will notice that the tale does not touch on the white ape’s religious title, the “Perfected Man” (Zhenren, ็œŸไบบ). Perfected individuals rank among the highest transcendents of the celestial hierarchy and even rule over lower immortals residing in various earthly paradises (Miura, 2008). This contrasts with the meager, filial son presented in the story. It also contrasts with the white ape’s iconography as an armor-clad martial deity. Perfected individuals are usually portrayed as lofty immortals wearing robes decorated with Daoist symbols (Stevens & Welch, 1998, for example).ย 

I reached out to the Zhenji Temple of Bade District, Taoyuan, Taiwan (Taoyuan Bade Zhenji gong, ๆกƒๅœ’ๅ…ซๅพท้Žฎ้ฝŠๅฎฎ), where the White Ape Perfected Man is worshiped as the main deity (zhu shen, ไธป็ฅž) (fig. 9), to make sense of these disparate strands. However, they did not get back to me by the time this article was ready for publication. I’ll make an update when new information becomes available. But until then, I suggest his martial iconography was directly influenced by depictions of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, whose cult is far more prevalent in Taiwan. This proposed connection to Sun Wukong becomes even more evident when the information below is taken into account.

Fig. 9 – Zhenji Temple’s main White Ape Perfected Man statue (center background) surrounded by various smaller figures (larger version). The statue in the left foreground looks very similar to the Great Sage apart from the fist over foot motif. Image from Facebook.ย ย 

II. Vernacular Fiction

The White Ape Perfected Man’s religious story can be traced directly to The Battle of Wits between Sun and Pang (Sun Pang douzhi yanyi, ๅญซ้พ้ฌฅๆ™บๆผ”็พฉ, 1636; a.k.a. The Former and Latter Annals of the Seven Kingdoms, Qianhou qiguo zhi, ๅ‰ๅพŒไธƒๅœ‹ๅฟ—),ย which tells of the great struggle between Sun Bin and his former friend and classmate Pang Juan (้พๆถ“). The two study supernatural military arts under the Immortal Master Ghost Valley (Guigu xianshi, ้ฌผ่ฐทไป™ๅธซ) in his “Water Curtain Cave” (Shuilian dong, ๆฐด็ฐพๆดž) before their fates take separate paths and they become bitter enemies. Chapter four sees the teacher appoint Sun as guardian of an immortal peach tree on the backside of Yunmeng Mountain. But the young disciple is surprised to discover a talking white ape stealing peaches night after night. When asked how it can speak, the primate reveals his aristocratic family has been soaking up immortal qi energy for three generations northwest of the Master’s cave. His ancestor is the Marquis of Baxi (Baxi hou, ๅทด่ฅฟไพฏ), [3] his father the Duke Macaque (Ju gong, ็‹™ๅ…ฌ), [4] and his mother the Princess Mountain Blossom (Shanhua gongzhu, ๅฑฑ่Šฑๅ…ฌไธป). [5] When asked why he’s stealing peaches (fig. 10), the white ape reveals he’s trying to cure his mother of an illness and that she will die unless the treatment is completed. Taking pity on the filial primate, Sun picks the last peach needed and gives it to the white ape, telling him never to return to the orchard. The grateful son repays the favor by stealing three scrolls of heavenly books (tianshu, ๅคฉๆ›ธ) from Master Ghost Valley’s secret hiding place to give to his mother’s savior.

But Sun Bin mistakenly incurs the wrath of heaven not only because he acquires the books before he’s fated to but also because he fails to ritually cleanse himself before reading them. Master Ghost Valley is forced to intervene on his student’s behalf by teaching Sun how to hide from heavenly punishment (da zainan, ๅคง็ฝ้›ฃ, lit: “great tribulation”) by meditating in a cave for 49 days (Wumen xiaoke & Yanshui sanren, 1636).

This novel shares many elements with Journey to the West. Both include:

  1. Characters surnamed Sun (ๅญซ) (Sun Bin VS Sun Wukong) living in a “Water Curtain Cave”. [6]
  2. Sun characters studying under an immortal master (Master Ghost Valley VS Master Subodhi). [7]
  3. Sun characters being directed to guard trees laden with immortal peaches (one tree on earth VS an entire grove in heaven).ย 
  4. Supernatural primates stealing the magic peaches for consumption (the white ape VS the Monkey King). [8]
  5. Sun characters defying their fate and incurring the wrath of heaven, thereby learning from their masters how to hide from punishment (Sun Bin Vs. Sun Wukong). [9]

Fig. 10 – A lovely New Years print depicting scenes from the story, including the “White Ape steals peaches” (right) and the “White Ape is filial to mother” (left) (larger version). The right print includes Master Ghost Valley and a young Sun Bin. Print found here.

It’s important to note that there is also some overlap between The Battle of Witsย and Journey to the South (Nanyouji, ๅ—้Š่จ˜, 1570s-1580s). I quote from my previous article:

[The rogue immortal Huaguang (่ฏๅ…‰)] works to end his motherโ€™s demonic lust for flesh by procuring an immortal peachย in chapter 17. He does this byย transforming into Sun Wukongย and stealing the magic fruit from heaven. The real Monkey King is subsequently accused of his doubleโ€™s misdeeds, much like theย Six-Eared Macaque episodeย of the original novel. Theย Jade Emperorย threatens to remand him to the Buddha for punishment but is convinced to give Sun a month-long reprieve to find the true culprit.

So we have two magical primate characters (the white ape VS Huaguang-as-Sun Wukong) that steal immortal peaches to help cure their mothers. This association with the rogue immortal might then explain why the statue of the White Ape Perfected Man from figure one has a third eye. Huaguang’s various incarnations are described as having three eyes in Journey to the South (for example) (Yu, n.d.).

Therefore, it seems that these later novels borrowed from Journey to the West, as well as each other. But I will show the theme of a primate stealing fruit actually predates the standard Ming edition of Journey to the West by hundreds of years, suggesting it too borrowed from an earlier source.

III. Taoist Literature

The story of Sun Bin and the white ape actually prefaces the first scroll of the Scripture of the Most High Luminous Mirror of the Six Ren Tallying with Yinย (Taishang liuren mingjian fuyin jing, ๅคชไธŠๅ…ญๅฃฌๆ˜Ž้‘‘็ฌฆ้™ฐ็ถ“) (a.k.a., the Ape Book, Yuanshu, ็Œฟๆ›ธ), [10] a Northern Song-era work related to the Taoist doctrine of the Three Sovereigns (Steavu, 2019, p. 195). Instead of peaches, the tale just says “fruit” (guo, ่“). But I imagine the produce is something special like immortal peaches as Sun guards them with a weapon. A rough translation follows (I have skipped over some of the more esoteric parts that escape me):

[Master Ghost Valley] saw the fruit had ripened, so he commanded Sun to watch over it. One night a person jumped the wall into the nine gardens and took some of the fruit. But Sun was hiding with a sword and caught the culprit, a white ape. The primate said: “Don’t hurt my body. I share the same age as heaven and earth and have lived as long as the sun and moon. I have mysterious texts (xuanwen, ็Ž„ๆ–‡). Wait for me the next day and I will give them to you”. The white ape then transformed into white light and left. Sun waited the following day. Suddenly, he saw the white ape fly from the northwest. He was given one scroll of mysterious texts. The primate again transformed into white light and headed towards the southeast. Sun then returned to his room to inspect the text. He didn’t know the name but saw that it was divided into three volumes: initial (shang, ไธŠ), middle (zhong, ไธญ) and final (xia, ไธ‹). He named it after the white ape (Taishang liuren, n.d.).

The story of a magic monkey stealing peaches was already present in the Journey to the West story cycle by the 13th-century, for the “Monkey Pilgrim” (Hou xingzhe, ็Œด่กŒ่€…), Sun Wukong’s predecessor, admits to raiding the Queen Mother’s orchard when he was still a young immortal (Wivell, 1994, p. 1195). But the preceding Daoist scripture indicates the motif is even older. [11] In addition, the scripture shows the idea of a character surnamed Sun (Sun Bin) guarding special fruit predates the motif in the standard Ming edition of Journey to the West.ย It’s not a stretch then to suggest the Most High Luminousย Mirror (or related media) influenced the 13th and later 16th-century versions of the story. Therefore, it’s possible the tales of Sun Bin, the white ape, and Sun Wukong have been borrowing from each other for hundreds of years.

This centuries-long association between the magical primates in literature then strengthens my suggestion that the White Ape Perfected Man’s iconography was directly influenced by that of Sun Wukong. Drawing upon a well of preexisting cultural beliefs and imagery likely helped the cult of this relatively recent deity establish itself faster, allowing him to take his place in a rapidly evolving religious landscape where ever newer gods are constantly added to the ranks of their older brethren.

IV. Conclusion

The White Ape Perfected Man is a rare folk Taoist deity associated with revealing heavenly scriptures to the Warring States military strategist Sun Bin (4th-cent.). His statues depict him as a seated, armor-clad primate with a “fist over foot” motif and the long hair and golden fillet of military monks from Chinese opera. This martial iconography conflicts with the deity’s title, “Perfected Man”, a high-ranking immortal usually depicted wearing robes. It also conflicts with his own religious story, which presents him as a meager, filial son who steals immortal peaches to cure his sick mother. I suggested above that his religious imagery was directly influenced by depictions of Sun Wukong as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Beyond shockingly similar iconography, both primate deities have a long association in Chinese popular literature. The white ape appears in The Battle of Wits Between Sun and Pang (1636), which shares many similarities with Journey to the West (1592). These include characters surnamed Sun (ๅญซ) (Sun Bin VS Sun Wukong) living in a Water Curtain Cave, studying under immortal masters (Ghost Valley VS Subodhi), guarding immortal peaches, and hiding from heavenly punishment. It also includes supernatural primates (the white ape VS the Monkey King) stealing the life-prolonging fruit for consumption. The number of similarities suggests The Battle of Wits borrowed from Journey to the West. The theft of immortal peaches is already present in a 13th-century version of Journey to the West, but this is preceded by a tale appearing in a work from Taoist canon, the Scripture of the Most High Luminous Mirror of the Six Ren Tallying with Yin. It describes the white ape stealing fruit from a garden protected by Sun Bin. It’s possible the Monkey King’s early story cycle was influenced by this scripture (or related media), suggesting the stories of Sun Wukong, Sun Bin, and the white ape have been borrowing from each other for hundreds of years. This centuries-long connection lends support to the martial iconography of Sun Wukong influencing the religious imagery of the White Ape Perfected Man.

Update: 12-11-21

Palmer and Siegler (2017) quote a certain Master Hu, a monk of Mt. Hua in Shaanxi province, China, who claims that the White Ape taught him a system of primate-based martial arts:

I learned [White Ape Through the Back Boxing] spontaneously; it was transmitted to me by the White [Ape] Immortal (Baiyuan zhenren). When I start, he comes down into me, and I do the forms spontaneously. In the future, perhaps I will arrange it into a method in stages that can be taught to others. The White [Ape] Immortal first transmitted the method to humans in the spring and autumn period (770โ€“476 BC), but owing to the poor moral quality of the inheritors of the method, it was lost. Now, it has been transmitted directly to me by the Immortal (pp. 120-121).

Also, Master Ghost Valley’s association with the Water Curtain Cave goes back to at least the Northern Song as his Numinous Writ of the Essence of Heavenย (Guigu zi tiansui lingwen, ้ฌผ่ฐทๅญๅคฉ้šจ้ˆๆ–‡) lists him as the “Master of the Waterfall Cave” (Shuilian dong zhu, ๆฐดๆฟ‚ๆดžไธป) (Andersen, 2019). In this case, the source uses a different lian (ๆฟ‚) in place of the lian (็ฐพ) associated with the caves of the Master (and Sun Bin) in The Battle of Wits between Sun and Pang (1636) and Sun Wukong in Journey to the West (1592). But they both mean the same thing: a waterfall hiding a cave mouth. This might suggest, apart from the guarding and theft of immortal peaches, other elements from Sun Bin’s story cycle were borrowed by that of the Monkey King.

Update: 12-12-21

I mentioned in the introduction white face and hair are not always the best indicatorsย thatย a figure is the White Ape Perfected Man. Take, for example, some depictions of Sun Wukong in glove puppetry (fig. 11).

Fig. 11 – A Taiwanese glove puppet of the Monkey King (larger version). Photo found here.

Update: 03-20-22

Yesterday I visited the aforementioned Zhenji Temple of Bade District, Taoyuan, Taiwan (Taoyuan Bade Zhenji gong, ๆกƒๅœ’ๅ…ซๅพท้Žฎ้ฝŠๅฎฎ), where the White Ape Perfected Man is venerated. I learned a few things. One, his religious birthday is celebrated on the 27th day of the 5th lunar month (June 25th, 2022), often written as ไบ”ๆœˆๅปฟไธƒๆ—ฅ. Two, his mother, the “Holy Mother of Nine Rivers” (Jiujiang shengmu, ไนๆฑŸ่–ๆฏ), is also worshiped at the temple (her birthday is the 15th day of the 1st lunar month). A temple booklet provided to me tells her story (fig. 12 & 13). I paraphrase the tale below:

Five hundred years before the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, there were three godly brothers named Sun Wuzi (ๅญซๆญฆๅญ), Sun Yuanzi (ๅญซๅœ“ๅญ), and Sun Huanzi (ๅญซ็’ฐๅญ). The eldest brother Wuzi and the youngest Huanzi fought for status. But because the latter killed the former with evil magic, Sun Huanzi was sentenced by the Jade Emperor to die on the “Immortal-Beheading Platform” (Zhanxian tai, ๆ–ฌไป™ๅฐ). The brothers were reborn in the mortal realm five hundred years later during the Warring States period. Sun Wuzi was reborn as Sun Bin in the Yan state, Sun Yuanzi was reborn as (the white ape) Xiaobai (ๅฐ็™ฝ) in the Qin state, and Sun Huanzi was reborn as Pang Juan in the Wei State.

The mother of the white ape was the third princess of the Qin state. One day, she became thirsty while touring the imperial garden. But in the absence of tea, she sated her thirst with sweet dew from tree leaves. Three months later, the princess discovered to her surprise that she, an unwed woman, was pregnant. When her father the king learned of this news, he expelled her from the palace. Sometime later, she came by accident to Swallow Lake (Yanzi hu, ็‡•ๅญๆน–), a pure, mirror-like body of water surrounded by exotic, fragrant flowers and singing birds and insects. After wandering around this indescribable paradise for sometime, the princess became tired and went to sleep. She dreamed of a golden swallow that told her the child she was carrying was a god reincarnated on earth. It also asked the princess to practice spiritual cultivation beside the lake, promising her that she would one day became an immortal. She realized it was just a dream when she woke up, but she followed through with her training.

Ten days later she gave birth to her son, who was not quite human or demon. His entire body was covered with white hair just like a white ape. The local people claimed that he was a monster, but despite her anger, she raised him patiently. When he was three years old, heaven bestowed on him three divine treasures: an As-You-Will Vajra Staff (Ruyi jingang bang, ๅฆ‚ๆ„้‡‘ๅ‰›ๆฃ’), a golden headband spell (jinquan zhou, ้‡‘ๅœˆๅ’’), and the steed Red Hare (Chitu ma, ่ตคๅ…”้ฆฌ). When the white ape was eight years old, a demon came to threaten the villagers around Swallow Lake. The white ape fought the monster and won, leading the people to believe he was a great celestial immortal (Dalou tianxian, ๅคง็พ…ๅคฉไป™) come to save the world.

When the white ape was sixteen, his mother’s holy spirit left her body, and the evil Sage Sea Tide (Haichao shengren, ๆตทๆฝฎ่–ไบบ) cast his heavenly treasure around it, thus making her body sick. The Patriarch Reaching Heaven (Tongtian jiaozhu, ้€šๅคฉๆ•™ไธป) then appeared to tell the white ape that the only way to cure his mother was to feed her one of the Queen Mother‘s (Wangmu niangniang, ็Ž‹ๆฏๅจ˜ๅจ˜) immortal peaches. After many hardships, he succeeded in his quest and cured her. Upon her recovery, she practiced diligently and eventually achieved immortality.

One day, the immortal princess did divination on her fingers and found that, despite their practice, four other woman around Swallow Lake had yet to achieve the elixir. So, she took them as her servants and continued to guide their practice. After this, she subdued seventeen phoenixes that were the same class of evil spirits as the phoenixes and serpents below the Queen Mother’s gate. Following this, she subdued thirty-six demon dragons as her subordinate generals.

At this time, the god of fire (huoshen, ็ซ็ฅž) spread flames everywhere, plunging the world into chaos. The fires killed the surrounding vegetation and created a drought. The immortal princess felt sorry for the people, so she used her powers to defeat the fire god in a great battle. She then transformed nine dragons into nine rivers for the people to drink and to revive the plants and trees. The people were finally able to live in peace. From this point on, they worshiped her as the Holy Mother of Nine Rivers. A temple dedicated to her was built around Swallow Lake in Guangling County, Shanxi Province, China, which is now a first-class protected historic site by the CCP.

Fig. 12 – The first page of the Holy Mother of Nine River’s story (larger version). Fig. 13 – The second page (larger version).

It appears that portions of this story were taken from the Qing-era novel Spring and Autumn of Stabbing Swordsย (Fengjian chunqiu, ้‹’ๅŠๆ˜ฅ็ง‹). The godly Sun brothers, the evil Sage Sea Tide, and even the white ape appear therein.

I’d also like to highlight that the white ape’s staff and headband are modeled on that of Sun Wukong, strengthening my suggestion that the former’s iconographyย was based on the latter.

Notes:

1) The idea of a white ape sharing heavenly knowledge goes back centuries. For example, one 4th-century source reveals Zhou Qun (ๅ‘จ็พฃ/็พค, 3rd-cent.) learned the art of divination from a book of bamboo slips given to him by a gibbon-turned-old man in the Min Mountains (Gulik, 1967, p. 50).

2) Sun is appointed the guardian of the immortal peach groves in chapter four. He starts eating the life-prolonging fruit early in his tenure, and his theft is eventually discovered by attendants of the Queen Mother of the West (Wu & Yu, 2012, pp. 160 and 162-163).

3) The Marquis of Baxi (Baxi hou, ๅทด่ฅฟไพฏ) is an ape spirit appearing in a story from the Song-era Extensive Records of the Taiping Era (Taiping guangji, ๅคชๅนณๅปฃ่จ˜, 978). A retired official from Sichuan is invited to an eerie, drunken party by the Marquis, only to wake up the next morning to find his host was a gibbon and all of the other guests were also animal spirits (Gulik, 1967, pp. 67 and 68-69).

4) The only Duke Macaque (Ju gong, ็‹™ๅ…ฌ) that I’m aware of is a human keeper of monkeys from a parable on freedom appearing in The Collected Works of Bowen (Chengyi Bowen ji, ่ฏšๆ„ไผฏๆ–‡้›†, 14th-cent.). I’m not sure if the novel is claiming the ape has a human father, or if it’s just a vague reference to a character from Chinese literature with a connection to primates.

5) I can’t find any information on this character. But given the ancestor and father, I’m sure the mother is associated with apes or monkeys in some way.

6) Wukong becomes king of the monkeys in chapter one by discovering a cave, the Water Curtain Cave (Shuilian dong,ย ๆฐด็ฐพๆดž), behind a waterfall.ย His people soon after take residence inside (Wu & Yu, 2012, pp. 104-106).

7) See my article on Master Subodhi’s curriculum.

8) See note #2.

9) Monkey learns the 72 transformations in order to escape heavenly punishments of lightning, fire, and wind sent to kill him for defying his fate by attaining immortality.

10) Steavu (2019) calls it the “Monkey book” (p. 195), but a gibbon is an ape, so I have adjusted the translation accordingly.

11) I suggest in this article that the supernatural ape stealing peaches motif could be a mixture of a Sinicized version of the Great Monkey jataka tale, in which the Buddha’s reincarnation as a monkey king leads his people to raid an imperial fruit garden, and the theft of immortal peaches by the planet Jupiter (Sui, ๆญฒ), who is subsequently exiled to reincarnate as the Han-era jesterย Dongfang Shuo (ๆฑๆ–นๆœ”).

Sources:

Andersen, P. (2019). Guigu zi tiansui lingwen ้ฌผ่ฐทๅญๅคฉ้šจ้ˆๆ–‡. In K. Schipper and F. Verellen (Eds.), The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang (p. 1239). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bonds, A. B. (2008).ย Beijing Opera Costumes: The Visual Communication of Character and Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaiโ€™i Press.

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

Miura, K. (2008). Zhenren. In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Taoism: Vol. 1 & 2 (pp. 1265-1266). Longdon: Routledge.

Palmer, D. A., & Siegler, E. (2017). Dream Trippers: Global Daoism and the Predicament of Modern Spirituality. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Steavu, D. (2019). The Writ of the Three Sovereigns: From Local Lore to Institutional Daoism. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Stevens, K., & Welch, J. (1998). XU, The Daoist Perfected Lord Xu Zhenjun ่จฑ็œŸๅ› The Protective Deity of Jiangxi Province. Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 3, 137-146. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23889813

Taishang liuren mingjian fuyin jing juan yi (n.d.). [Book of the Most High Luminous Mirror of the Six Ren Tallying with Yin: First Scroll]. Retrieved from https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=465883#p3

Wivell, C.S. (1994). The Story of How the Monk Tripitaka of the Great Country of Tโ€™ang Brought Back the Sลซtras. In V. Mair (Ed.),ย The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literatureย (pp. 1181-1207). New York: Columbia University Press.

Wumen xiaoke, & Yanshui sanren (1636). Qianhou qiguo zhi [Annals of the Seven Kingdoms]. Retrieved from https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=736295#p89

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012).ย The Journey to the Westย (Vol. 1). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

Yu, X. (n.d.).ย Nanyouji: Huaguang sanxia Fengdu [Journey to the South: Huaguang goes to the Underworld Three Times]. Retrieved fromย https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=506975&remap=gb#%E5%8D%8E%E5%85%89%E4%B8%89%E4%B8%8B%E9%85%86%E9%83%BD

The Monkey King and The Buddha Victorious in Strife (a.k.a. Victorious Fighting Buddha)

Jim R. McClanahan 4 Comments

NOTE: THIS IS MY 100TH BLOG POST.

Last updated: 06-13-2025

The Monkey King is elevated in spiritual rank at the end of Journey to the Westย (Xiyouji, ่ฅฟ้Š่จ˜, 1592) for his service in protecting the monk Tripitaka throughout the quest to India. Gautama Buddha enfeoffs him as the “Buddha Victorious in Strife” or “Victorious Fighting Buddha” (Dou zhansheng fo, ้ฌฅๆˆฐๅ‹ไฝ›). Many readers may be surprised to learn that this is actually an established Buddhist deity and not just the creation of author-compiler Wu Cheng’en. In this article, I would like to briefly explore the Buddha’s religious background, iconography, purpose, and relationship to the worship of Sun Wukong.

1. Literary enlightenment

The Gautama Buddha explains:

โ€œSun Wukong, when you caused great disturbance at the Celestial Palace, I had to exercise enormous dharma power to have you pressed beneath the Mountain of Five Phases. Fortunately your Heaven-sent calamity came to an end, and you embraced the Buddhist religion. I am pleased even more by the fact that you were devoted to the scourging of evil and the exaltation of good. Throughout your journey you made great merit by smelting the demons and defeating the fiends. For being faithful in the end as you were in the beginning, I hereby give you the grand promotion and appoint you the Buddha Victorious in Strife (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 381).

ๅญซๆ‚Ÿ็ฉบ๏ผŒๆฑๅ› ๅคง้ฌงๅคฉๅฎฎ๏ผŒๅพไปฅ็”šๆทฑๆณ•ๅŠ›๏ผŒๅฃ“ๅœจไบ”่กŒๅฑฑไธ‹๏ผŒๅนธๅคฉ็ฝๆปฟ่ถณ๏ผŒๆญธๆ–ผ้‡‹ๆ•™๏ผ›ใ€‚ไธ”ๅ–œๆฑ้šฑๆƒกๆšๅ–„๏ผŒๅœจ้€”ไธญ็…‰้ญ”้™ๆ€ชๆœ‰ๅŠŸ๏ผŒๅ…จ็ต‚ๅ…จๅง‹๏ผŒๅŠ ้™žๅคง่ทๆญฃๆžœ๏ผŒๆฑ็‚บ้ฌฅๆˆฐๅ‹ไฝ›ใ€‚

2. Religious background

Journey to the West closes by “submitting” or “prostrating” (namo, ๅ—็„ก) to a long list of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats. The Buddha Victorious in Strife is placed at the end of 47 Buddhas and ahead of the Bodhisattva Guanyin. A section of the list reads:

[โ€ฆ]
I submit to the Buddha of the Gift of Light.
I submit to the Buddha of Candana Merit.
I submit to the Buddha Victorious in Strife (emphasis added).
I submit to the Bodhisattva Guanshiyin.
I submit to the Bodhisattva, Great Power-Coming
[โ€ฆ] (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 385).

…ๅ—็„กๆ‰ๅ…‰ไฝ›ใ€‚ๅ—็„กๆ—ƒๆช€ๅŠŸๅพทไฝ›ใ€‚ๅ—็„ก้ฌฅๆˆฐๅ‹ไฝ›ใ€‚ๅ—็„ก่ง€ไธ–้Ÿณ่ฉ่–ฉใ€‚ๅ—็„กๅคงๅ‹ข่‡ณ่ฉ่–ฉ…

Many of the Buddhas from the novel’s list appear in assorted real world canonical lists, including the 88 Buddhas (Bashiba fo, ๅ…ซๅๅ…ซไฝ›) from the Great Repentance Text of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas (Ch: Bashibaย fo da chanhui wen, ๅ…ซๅๅ…ซไฝ›ๅคงๆ‡บๆ‚”ๆ–‡). [1] This group is comprised of the 53 Buddhas (Ch: Wushisan fo, ไบ”ๅไธ‰ไฝ›) and the 35 Confession Buddhas (Ch: Sanshiwu fo chan, ไธ‰ๅไบ”ไฝ›ๆ‡บ) (fig. 1).

The historical “Buddha Victorious in Strife,” Yuddhajaya (Sk: เคฏเฅเคฆเฅเคงเคœเคฏ; see the 06-13-2025 update for more name info), is the 31st of the 35 Confession Buddhas, who are individually called upon during a confessional prayer to absolve oneself of sins. They appear in a number of sources, such as The Bodhisattvaโ€™s Confession of Ethical Downfalls (Ch: Pusa duochan / Pusa chanhui wen, ่ฉ่–ฉๅขฎๆ‡บ / ่ฉ่–ฉๆ‡บๆ‚”ๆ–‡) from the Three Heaps Sutra (Sk: Trฤซskhandhadharmasลซtra; Ch: Sanyun jing, ไธ‰่˜Š็ถ“) and the Names of the Thirty-Five Buddhas Spoken by the Buddha (Ch: Foshuo sanshiwu foming lichan wen, ไฝ›่ชชไธ‰ๅไบ”ไฝ›ๅ็ฆฎๆ‡บๆ–‡, 8th-century).ย 

Fig. 1 – A religious painting of the 35 Confession Buddhas (larger version). The Buddha Victorious in Strife is third from the right on the bottom row. Image found here.

2.1. Iconography

The Buddha Victorious in Strife is depicted in Buddhist art with the traditional features of a Buddha (i.e. ลซrแน‡ฤ, uแนฃแน‡ฤซแนฃa, long ear lobes, robes, etc.), but he is also shown holding a suit of armor and a sword (fig. 2):

Yuddhajaya Buddha — (Skt.: aka Yuddhajaya) (Chin.: Tou-chan-sheng fo; Mon.: Bayildugan-i masids darugci; Tib.: gYul-las-sin-tu-rnam-par-rgyal-ba, rGyal-ba-gYul-lasr-Gyal-ba) A Sanskrit variant for the Jina Yuddhajaya. One of the Buddha images found in the Pao Hsiang Lou [ๅฏถ็›ธๆจ“] temple of the Forbidden City, Beijing, and one of the thirty-five “Buddhas of Confession.” Face: one, calm, urna, usnisa, long ear-lobes; arms/hands: holding a cuirass up to his chest; body: monastic robes; legs: two; asana: vajrasana; vahana: lotus throne.

— (2) — (Mon.: Bayildugan-i masids darugci; Tib.: gYul-las-sin-tu-rnam-par-rgyal-ba) One of the Buddhas of Confession pictured in the Mongolian Kanjur (Mon.: Monggol ganjur-un) (1717-1720) Face: one, calm, urna, usnisa, long ear-lobes; arms/hands: two, right hand holds sword (khadga, ral-gri), left hand holds coat of mail (khrab); body: monastic robes, right shoulder uncovered; legs: two; asana: vajrasana; attributes: 32 major and 80 minor signs; vahana: lotus throne (Bunce, 1994, Vol. 1, p. 629). [2]

Fig. 2 – The Buddha Victorious in Strife (Yuddhajaya) holding a sword and suit of armor (larger version). Image found here.

2.2. Purpose

Neither the name Buddha Victorious in Strife nor the sword and armor are a reference to the deity’s fighting prowess. According to Lai (2016), the Buddha “defeat[s] the inner enemies of afflictive emotions and negative actions of sentient beings. He is victorious over cyclic existence and thus able to lead all sentient beings to liberation. He purifies the negative karma of actions committed out of pride”.

His name and accoutrements, therefore, symbolize the means by which he subjugates the negative emotions or actions that would otherwise keep man trapped in the illusory world of Saแนƒsฤra.

3. Relationship to Sun Wukong’s worship

The Monkey King is worshiped in southern China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam as a great exorcist and protector of children. But it may come as a surprise to learn that he is rarely worshiped as the Buddha Victorious in Strife. Instead, Wukong is almost exclusively revered as the “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian dasheng, ้ฝŠๅคฉๅคง่–), and even when he is called a Buddha, the name usually includes some reference to the rebellious title. For example, when I attended the Monkey King’s birthday (sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month) in Hong Kong in 2018, I saw an incense pot labeled “Great Sage Buddha Patriarch” (Dasheng fozu, ๅคง่–ไฝ›็ฅ–) (fig. 3).

So why isn’t Sun widely worshiped as the Buddha Victorious in Strife? I think the simplest answer is that the Buddha already had a long-established following and therefore couldn’t be subsumed under the late-blooming cult of a cultural hero, even one as popular as the Monkey King.

Fig. 3 – An incense pot reading “Great Sage Buddha Patriarch” (Dasheng fozu, ๅคง่–ไฝ›็ฅ–) (larger version). Taken by the author in Kowloon, Hongkong (Sept. 24, 2018).

4. Precedent for spiritual promotion

The author-compiler likely connected Sun Wukong to the Buddha Victorious in Strife because of the Enlightened One’s war-like iconography (recall the sword and armor mentioned above). After all, Monkey is an armor-wearing martial deityย wielding his magic staff to protect Tripitaka from untold numbers of demons and spirits.

But the choice to elevate Monkey in rank was likely influenced by previous media. For example, Wukong’s literary antecedent, the Monkey Pilgrim (Hou xingzhe, ็Œด่กŒ่€…), receives a promotion at the end of The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scripturesย (Da Tang Sanzang qujing shihua, ๅคงๅ”ไธ‰่—ๅ–็ถ“่ฉฉ่ฉฑ), a late-13th-century precursor of Journey to the West. The story ends thus: “Tang Taizong later enfeoffed Monkey Pilgrim as ‘Great Sage Steel Muscles and Iron Bones'” (Gangjin tiegu dasheng, ้‹ผ็ญ‹้ต้ชจๅคง่–) (Wivell, 1994, p. 1207). [3]

5. Conclusion

At the end of Journey to the West, the Buddha promotes Sun Wukong to the “Buddha Victorious in Strife” or “Victorious Fighting Buddha” (Dou zhansheng fo, ้ฌฅๆˆฐๅ‹ไฝ›). This is the Chinese name of Yuddhajaya (Sk: เคฏเฅเคฆเฅเคงเคœเคฏ), the 31st of the 35 Confession Buddhas called upon during a confessional prayer to absolve oneself of sins. He is generally portrayed as a robe-wearing Buddha holding a sword and suit of armor. This is not a reference to the deity’s fighting prowess, however. Instead, his name and accoutrements symbolize the means by which he subjugates the negative emotions or actions that would otherwise keep man trapped in the illusory world of Saแนƒsฤra.

Instead of being universally revered as the Buddha Victorious in Strife, the Monkey King is far more widely worshiped in East and Southeast Asia as the “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian dasheng, ้ฝŠๅคฉๅคง่–) or a variant like “Great Sage Buddha Patriarch” (Dasheng fozu, ๅคง่–ไฝ›็ฅ–). This discrepancy is probably due to the original Yuddhajaya already having a long-established following. There’s no way that he could ever beย subsumed under Sun Wukong’s late-blooming cult.ย 

Wu Cheng’en (or whoever the true author-compiler was) likely connected Monkey to the Buddha Victorious in Strife because both have martial iconography. Sun is commonly depicted wearing armor and wielding an iron staff, while Yuddhajaya is shown holding a sword and armor. But the concept of Sun receiving an elevation in spiritual rank goes back centuries. The Monkey Pilgrim, his literary antecedent from The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures (late-13th-century), is deified by the Tang emperor as “Great Sage Steel Muscles and Iron Bones” (Gangjin tiegu dasheng, ้‹ผ็ญ‹้ต้ชจๅคง่–).

Update: 09-06-20

If you type “Buddha Victorious in Strife”, “Victorious Fighting Buddha”, “้ฌฅๆˆฐๅ‹ไฝ›” or “ๆ–—ๆˆ˜่ƒœไฝ›” into google images, you’ll notice that these terms are almost exclusively associated with Sun Wukong. Most results are fan-made drawings of Monkey wearing his armor. Very few depict him as a Buddha. The only appearance of the latter in popular media that I’m aware is the Victorious Fighting Buddha from the manga / anime High School DxD.

The character is depicted as a jovial old dwarf with long, shaggy brown hair, bushy eyebrows that fall over a cyberpunk-style black visor, no mustache, a long beard, a floor-length, dark gray coat over a red robe, and monkey feet. He wears his famous golden fillet and a set of chunky brown and red prayer beads. In his left hand he holds a smoking pipe, while the right holds his magic staff, which is depicted as red and gold (fig. 4).

Fig. 4 – The Victorious Fighting Buddha from High School DxD (larger version).

The Victorious Fighting Buddha inhabits a universe where various factions of Western and Eastern gods, devils, and heroes battle one another. According to the story, upon ascending to Buddhahood, he steps down as the Monkey King, handing the title to a young descendant, and serves as the vanguard of the Hindu god Indra, during which time he protects the cosmos from a faction of devils and fallen angels. He later takes on the role of sub-leader and mentor to a new faction of young heroes whom he trains to battle god-tier opponents.

High School DxD portrays the Victorious Fighting Buddha as very powerful. For example, season four, episode six (minute 13:35) of the anime shows him effortlessly blocking the “True Longinus” spear with the tip of his index finger. This is quite a feat as this weapon is the same one used to pierce the side of Christ, thereby giving it the power to kill other gods.

Update: 03-22-21

I visited “Sage Buddha Hall” (Shengfo Tang, ่–ไฝ›ๅ ‚), a Great Sage temple in Beigang, Yunlin, Taiwan and saw a few items labeled the โ€œFighting Sage Buddhaโ€ (Dou zhan sheng fo, ้ฌฅๆˆฐ่–ไฝ›) in place of the Buddha Victorious in Strife/Victorious Fighting Buddha. One such item was a paper fan (fig. 5). As noted above, Buddha Victorious in Strife/Victorious Fighting Buddha is not a reference to the deity’s fighting prowess, but his ability to “defeat the inner enemies of afflictive emotions and negative actions of sentient beings.” So it appears that this temple takes his martial skill at face value.

Fig. 5 – The โ€œFighting Sage Buddhaโ€ fan (larger version).

Update: 08-09-22

As an enlightened Buddha, Monkey is eligible for his own โ€œBuddha-Fieldโ€ (Sk:ย Buddhakแนฃetra; Ch:ย Focha, ไฝ›ๅˆน), essentially his own universe in which he will lead the inhabitants to enlightenment.ย Buswell and Lopez (2014) explain:

[W]hen a buddha achieves enlightenment, a โ€œcontainerโ€ or โ€œinanimateโ€ world is produced in the form of a field where the buddha leads beings to enlightenment. The inhabitant of that world is the buddha endowed with all the [qualities of an Enlightened One]. Buddha-fields occur in various levels of purification, broadly divided between pure and impure. Impure buddha-fields are synonymous with a world system (cakravฤแธa), the infinite number of โ€œworld discsโ€ in Buddhist cosmology that constitutes the universe; here, ordinary sentient beings (including animals, ghosts, and hell beings) dwell, subject to the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. Eachย Cakravฤแธaย is the domain of a specific buddha, who achieves enlightenment in that world system and works there toward the liberation of all sentient beingsโ€ฆ (p. 153).

Update: 01-22-23

Chandra (1999) includes a lovely black and white line drawing of Yuddhajaya (fig. 6) (p. 94).

Fig. 6 – A traditional Tibetan drawing of Yuddhajaya (larger version). Image from Chandra, 1999, p. 94.

Update: 05-09-23

I commissionedย NinjaHaku21 (Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr) to draw Sun Wukong using Yuddhajaya’s traditional iconography (fig. 7), and the results are stunning! It is based on the design from figure two above.

Fig. 7 – A religiously accurate drawing of Monkey as the Yuddhajaya Buddha by NinjaHaku21 (larger version).

Update: 06-12-23

I have written a companion piece to this article about Tripitaka’s Buddha title.

The Tang Monk Tripitaka and the Buddha Candana Merit

Update: 09-11-23

Tumblr user @darkfalcon-z has drawn a lovely picture of the Monkey King as a Buddha (fig. 8). They explain their headcanon for the image:

[B]aby monkeys think Grandpa’s lotus throne is for playing.

[…]

I think Wukong got back to his mountain to take care of his monkeys. He does visit sometimes. He takes his favourite monkeys along for the ride. I don’t think it is much of a problem in Western Heaven in Buddha’s domain, because if you are enlightened the antics of little animals won’t really bother you. He’s told not to bring monkeys along next time as per formality. He does anyway. It’s not like anyone minds. He takes the monkeys along when he visits Jade Emperors domain. There monkeys are treated as nuisance and chased around, but no one actually dares to harm them, as they fear to incur his anger. He probably takes more troublesome monkeys too. On purpose.

I love the baby monkeys, as well as Wukong’s flower-like halo.

Fig. 8 – @darkfalcon-z’s Monkey Buddha (larger version). Used with permission.

Update: 11-07-2024

Above, I wrote:ย 

Wu Cheng’en (or whoever the true author-compiler was) likely connected Monkey to the Buddha Victorious in Strife because both have martial iconography. Sun is commonly depicted wearing armor and wielding an iron staff, while Yuddhajaya is shown holding a sword and armor.

But it just dawned on me that Sun’s antecedent, the Monkey Pilgrim (Hou xingzhe, ็Œด่กŒ่€…), is also portrayed holding a divine sword in a 13th-century stone relief carving (fig. 9). This weapon is referred to as his โ€œBodhisattva Sabre” (Pusa dao, ่ฉ่–ฉๅˆ€) in a 17th or 18th-century tale appearing in a famous collection of Chinese folk stories. Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise me if this influenced the association with Yuddhajaya’s sword.

Fig. 9 – The Kaiyuan temple pagoda relief carving depicting Monkey holding a sword (larger version). Located on one of two 13th-century stone pagodas of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, China.

I would also like to add some more drawings of Sun Wukong as a Buddha. The first two (fig. 10 & 11) are by a netizen who goes by @VirliebeAnatta (a.k.a. Bhante_Wukong) on Twitter and @his-shining-tears on Tumblr. Their work is very calming and welcoming.

Fig. 10 – The Monkey Buddha gazes upon the viewer with hands clasped (larger version). Image found here and here. Fig. 11 – A three-quarters view of the Monkey Buddha with head bowed and hands clasped (larger version). Image found here and here.

The third (fig. 12) is by Nhung Nguyen (twitter and instagram).

Fig. 12 – Nhung’s intense Monkey Buddha (larger version). The image was first seen on a Journey to the West discord, but it can also be found here and here.

The fourth (fig. 13) is by Saknarin Bowonkitmanee (a.k.a. Move Saknarin), a member of the the เธจเธฃเธฑเธ—เธ˜เธฒเธญเธฒเธเธ‡เน„เธ•เนˆเน€เธชเธตเนˆเธขเธฎเธธเธเน‚เธˆเน‰เธง (ๅคง่–ไฝ›็ฅ–) Thailand Facebook group.

Fig. 13 – Move’s serene Monkey Buddha (larger version). Image found here.

Update: 11-16-24

Figure 13 above was the bases for this lovely Thai statue of the Monkey Buddha (fig. 14).

Fig. 14 – The Thai Monkey Buddha idol (larger version). Image found here.

Update: 06-13-2025

In late-2024, I commissioned friend of the blog NingadudeXx to draw Monkey as Yuddhajaya using their colorful style. The finished piece (fig. 15) was delivered in mid-January 2025.

Fig. 15 – NingadudeXx’s colorful Monkey Buddha (larger version).

On a related note, I learned that Yuddhajaya has a secondary name,ย Vijita-saแนƒgrฤmaย (Ch: Yongjian jixiang fo, ๅ‹‡ๅฅๅ‰็ฅฅไฝ›; Viet: Dลฉng Kiแป‡n Cรกt Tฦฐฦกng Phแบญt), or the “Brave and Auspicious Buddha” (source). The Chinese version of his title is listed in the 8th-century Names of the Thirty-Five Buddhas Spoken by the Buddha (Ch: Foshuo sanshiwu foming lichan wen, ไฝ›่ชชไธ‰ๅไบ”ไฝ›ๅ็ฆฎๆ‡บๆ–‡) (originally linked above).ย 

Interestingly, the farthest back that I can trace the term Dou zhansheng fo (้ฌฅๆˆฐๅ‹ไฝ›, i.e. “Buddha Victorious in Strife”) on CBETA is the 12th or 13th-century Ritual for the Tathฤgata’s Extensive Filial Piety’s Ten Kinds of Recompensating (Parents’) Kindness (Rulai guangxiao shizhong bao’en daochang yi, ๅฆ‚ไพ†ๅปฃๅญๅ็จฎๅ ฑๆฉ้“ๅ ดๅ„€) (see here). Therefore, Vijita-saแนƒgrฤma appears to be a much older name.

Spread the gospel of the Brave and Auspicious Buddha!!!

Notes:

1) Compare the list from the Chinese version to those listed here. The characters may vary slightly.

2) I am grateful to Joris Baeyens of Ghent University Library for providing me with scans of Bunce (1994).

3) Source slightly altered.

Sources:

Bunce, F. W. (1994). An Encyclopaedia of Buddhist Deities, Demigods, Godlings, Saints and Demons: With Special Focus on Iconographic Attributes (Vols.1-2). New Delhi: D.K. Printworld.

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

Chandra, L. (1999). Buddhist Iconography: Compact Edition. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture & Aditya Prakashan.

Lai, D. (2016, September 3). 35 Confessional Buddhas. Retrieved from www.davidlai.me/2016/09/03/35-confessional-buddhas/.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vol. 4). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

The Mysterious Ninth Chapter and Sun Wukongโ€™s Links to Chinese Opera

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last update: 02-20-20

Did you know that the current ninth chapter of JTTW did not appear in the original version anonymously published in 1592? Those who have read the novel may recall that it details the tragedy surrounding Xuanzangโ€™s birth, namely the murder of his father and the kidnapping of his mother, years prior to him becoming a monk. This narrative first appeared in a slightly later version of the novel titledย The Chronicle of Deliverances in Tripitaka Tangโ€™s Journey to the Westย (Tang Sanzang Xiyou shi ni zhuan, ๅ”ไธ‰่—่ฅฟๆธธ้‡Šๅฐผๅ‚ณ) compiled by Zhu Dingchen (ๆœฑ้ผŽ่‡ฃ) of Canton in 1595 (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 18).

Click the image to open in full size.

Fig. 1 โ€“ (Left) Monkey as portrayed in Beijing Opera (larger version). Fig. 2 โ€“ (Right) Sun Wukongย angrily biting one of his cap feathers. From a live action adaptation of JTTW (larger version).

 

The third chapter of JTTW describes how, in addition to his magical staff, Monkey receives a phoenix feather cap, a set of golden chainmail armor, and cloud-treading boots from the undersea dragon kingdom. The armor and phoenix cap are highly recognizable elements of Sunโ€™s iconography. I suggest this attire was directly influenced by that worn in Chinese opera, an artistic medium that presented popular events from the JTTW story cycle long before the novel was published. In Beijing opera, for example, Monkey is often portrayed as a Wusheng (ๆญฆ็”Ÿ), a heroic role focused on martial combat and acrobatics. Regarding the costume, Bonds (2008) explains, โ€œThe Wuxiaosheng [ๆญฆๅฐ็”Ÿ, a variant of the Wusheng role] generally wear kao [armor (้ )], high-soled boots, and often have [six-foot] long feathers (Lingzi [็ฟŽๅญ]) attached to their silver or gold filigree helmetsโ€ (p. 3) (fig. 1). She goes on to say, โ€œ[F]eather movements enlarge the gestures and emotions of the wearer. For example, rotating the head in circlesโ€ฆexpands a sense of anger. Shaking the head back and forth quicklyโ€ฆadds to extreme frustration. Biting crossed feathers in the mouth heightens the appearance of aggressive feelingsโ€ (p. 44). This feather biting can be seen in numerous live-action adaptations of JTTW (fig. 2). So by referencing such attire, the author-compiler of JTTW was highlighting Monkeyโ€™s status as a great hero.

Update: 02-20-20

I have archived a paper on the ninth chapter. It can be read here:

Archive #15 – Narrative Structure and the Problem of Chapter Nine in the “Hsi-Yu Chi”

Sources:

Bonds, A. B. (2008).ย Beijing opera costumes: The visual communication of character and culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaiโ€™i Press.

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

The Story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King

Jim R. McClanahan 8 Comments

One of the most famous primate characters in world literature appears in the great Chinese classicย Journey to the Westย (Xiyouji, ่ฅฟ้Š่จ˜, 1592 CE). The story follows the adventures of Sun Wukong (ๅญซๆ‚Ÿ็ฉบ, a.k.a. โ€œMonkeyโ€) (fig. 1), an immortal rhesus macaque demon, who gains extraordinary power via spiritual cultivation and rebels against the primacy of heaven. Like Loki in Norse mythology and Lucifer in Judeo-Christian mythology, this trickster god falls from grace when a supreme deity, in this case the Buddha, banishes him to an earthly prison below. But unlike his western counterparts, the monkey repents, becoming a monk and agreeing to use his abilities to protect a Buddhist priest on his journey to collect sutras from India.

What follows is an overview of Monkeyโ€™s story. It will primarily focus on the first seven of the novelโ€™s 100 chapters, but chapters eight through 100 will be briefly touched upon, along with lesser-known literary sequels to Journey to the West. I will also discuss the novel’s impact on pop culture and religion.

I. Story

In the beginning, the mystical energies of heaven and earth and the light of the sun and moon come together to impregnate a boulder high atop the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit (Huaguo shan,ย ่Šฑๆžœๅฑฑ), an island that lies to the east of the easternmost continent in the Buddhist disc world system. The stone gestates for countless ages until the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE), when it hatches a stone egg that is eroded by the elements into a simian shape. The Stone Monkey (Shihou,ย ็Ÿณ็Œด) awakens and bows to the four cardinal directions as light bursts forth from his eyes. The light is so bright that it reaches heaven, alarming the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang dadi,ย ็Ž‰็š‡ๅคงๅธ) and his celestial retinue. The light soon subsides, however, once he ingests food for the first time.

The Stone Monkey happens upon other primates on the island and becomes their king when he proves himself in a test of bravery by blindly leaping through a waterfall, thereby discovering a long-forgotten immortal’s cave. He rules the mountain for over three centuries before the fear of death finally creeps in. One of his primate advisors suggests that the king finds a transcendent to teach him the secrets of eternal life, and so Monkey sets sail on a makeshift raft and explores the world for ten years. His quest eventually takes him to the western continent, where he is finally accepted as a student by the Buddho-Daoist sage Subodhi (Xuputi,ย ้กป่ฉๆ). He is given the religious name Sun Wukong, meaning โ€œmonkey awakened to emptinessโ€ or “monkey who realizes sunyata.” The sage teaches him the 72 methods of earthly transformation, or endless ways of changing his shape and size; cloud somersaulting, or a type of flying that allows him to travel 108,000 li (33,554 mi / 54,000 km) in a single leap; all manner of magical spells to call forth gods and spirits, grow or shrink to any size, part fire and water, create impassable barriers, conjure wind storms, cast illusions, freeze people in place, make endless clones of himself, unlock any lock, bestow superhuman strength, bring the dead back to life, etc.; traditional medicine; armed and unarmed martial arts; and, most importantly, an internal breathing method that results in his immortality. He is later disowned by the sage for selfishly showing off his new found magical skills to his less accomplished classmates.

Sun eventually returns to his cave and faces a demon who had terrorized his people during his prolonged absence. After killing the monster, he realizes that he needs a weapon to match his celestial power, and so his advisor suggests that he go to the undersea palace of Ao Guang (ๆ•–ๅปฃ), the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea. There, he tries out several weapons weighing thousands of pounds, but each one is too light. He finally settles on a massive nine-ton iron pillar that was originally used by Yu the Great (Dayu,ย ๅคง็ฆน)ย to set the depths of the fabled world flood, as well as to calm the seas. Named the “As-You-Will Gold-Banded Cudgel” (Ruyi jingu bang,ย ๅฆ‚ๆ„้‡‘็ฎๆฃ’), the iron responds to Sunโ€™s touch and follows his command to shrink or grow to his whim, thus signifying that this weapon was fated to be his. In addition to the staff, Monkey bullies the Dragon Kingโ€™s royal brothers into giving him a magical suit of armor.

Shortly after returning home to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, he shows off his new weapon by turning into a frightful cosmic giant and commanding the staff to grow, with the top touching the highest heaven and the bottom the lowest hell. This display of power prompts demon kings of the 72 caves to submit to his rule and host a drunken party in his honor. Soon after falling asleep, Sun is visited by two psychopomps who drag his soul to the Chinese underworld of Diyu (ๅœฐ็„). There, he learns that he was fated to die at the allotted age of 342 years old. But this enrages Monkey since his immortality freed him from the cycle of rebirth, and so he bullies the kings of hell in to bringing him the ledger containing his info. He promptly crosses out his name with ink, as well as the names of all monkeys on earth, thus making them immortal, too. He wakes up in the mortal world when his soul returns to his body.

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Fig. 1 – A modern depiction of Sun Wukong (by the author) (larger version).

Both the Eastern Dragon King and the Hell King Qinguang (็งฆๅปฃ็Ž‹) submit memorials to heaven concerning Sunโ€™s misconduct. But the court advisor, an embodiment of the planet Venus, convinces the Jade Emperor to give Sun the menial task of watching over the Heavenly Horses in order to avoid further conflict. Monkey accepts and steadfastly performs his duties, that is until he learns that he’s just a glorified stable boy. He immediately returns to his earthly home in rebellion to proclaim himself the โ€œGreat Sage Equaling Heavenโ€ (Qitian dasheng, ้ฝŠๅคฉๅคง่–). The celestial realm mobilizes an army of powerful demon hunters, including the Heavenly King Li Jing (Li Jing tianwang, ๆŽ้–ๅคฉ็Ž‹) and his son, the child god Third Prince Nezha (Nezha santaizi, ๅ“ชๅ’ไธ‰ๅคชๅญ), but they all fall to Monkeyโ€™s magical and martial might. The embodiment of the planet Venus once again steps in to convince the Jade Emperor to acquiesce to Monkeyโ€™s demand for higher rank, thereby granting him the empty title of Great Sage Equaling Heaven and even promoting him to watch over the immortal peach groves.

Sun takes stock of the magical peaches that ripen every few thousand years, but he eventually succumbs to their heavenly aroma. He eats all but the youngest life-prolonging fruits, thus gaining another level of immortality. His theft is soon discovered, however, when fairy attendants of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu, ่ฅฟ็Ž‹ๆฏ) arrive to pick the choicest specimens for her long-awaited immortal peach banquet. Sun is alerted to there presence and, upon questioning, learns that he has not been invited. Naturally, Sun becomes enraged, freezing the maidens in place with fixing magic and then crashes the party before the hallowed guests arrive. He eats all of the celestial food and drinks all of the immortal wine, and then drunkenly stumbles into the laboratory of Laozi (่€ๅญ), a high god of Daoism. There, he gobbles up the deityโ€™s alchemically-derived elixir pills, thereby adding several more levels of immortality.

Sun returns home once again to await the coming storm of heavenly forces. Tired of the demonโ€™s antics, the Jade Emperor calls up 72 heavenly generals, comprising the most powerful Buddhist and Daoist gods, and 100,000 celestial soldiers. In response, Monkey mobilizes his own army comprising the demon kings of the 72 caves and all manner of animal spirits, including his own monkey soldiers. But soon after the battle commences, the demon kings fall to heavenly troops, forcing Sun to take on three heads and six arms and multiply his iron cudgel to meet the onslaught. Once again, the heavenly army is no match for him. However, he soon loses his nerve when his monkey children are captured in great heavenly nets. He flees with Erlang (Erlang shen,ย ไบŒ้ƒŽ็ฅž), a master of magic and the nephew of the Jade Emperor, taking chase. The two battle through countlessย animal transformations, each trying to one-up the other. Monkey is finally captured when Laozi drops a magical steel bracelet on his head, incapacitating him long enough for Erlangโ€™s celestial hound to bite hold of his leg.

Sun is taken to heaven to be executed for his crimes, but fire, lightning, and edged weapons have no effect on his invincible body. Laozi then suggests that they put him inside of the deity’s alchemical furnace to reduce the demon to ashes. They check the furnace 49 days later expecting to see his rendered remains; however, Monkey jumps out unscathed, having found protection in the wind element (xun, ๅทฝ) of the eight trigrams. But intense smoke inside the furnace had greatly irritated his eyes, refining his pupils the color of gold and giving them the power to recognize the dark auras of demons in disguise. He overturns the furnace and begins to cause havoc in heaven with his iron cudgel. The Jade Emperor beseeches the Buddha (Rulai,ย ๅฆ‚ๆฅ) in the Western Paradise to intervene.

The Tathagata appears and declares that he will make Sun the new ruler of heaven if the macaque can simply jump out of his palm. Monkey agrees to the wager, and with one tremendous leap, speeds towards the reaches of heaven. He lands before five great pillars, thinking them to be the edge of the cosmos. He tags one with his name and urinates at the base of another in order to prove that he had been there. Upon returning, Sun demands the throne; however, the Buddha reveals that the five pillars were actually his fingers, meaning that the Great Sage had never left. But before Monkey can do anything, the Tathagata overturns his hand, pushing it out the gates of heaven, and transforming it into the Five Elements Mountain (Wuxing shan, ไบ”่กŒๅฑฑ). There, Sun is imprisoned for his crimes against heaven.

Chapters thirteen to 100 tell how six hundred years later Sun is released during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to help escort the Buddhist monk Tripitaka (Sanzang,ย ไธ‰่—) (whose early story is told in chapters eight to twelve), a disciple of the Buddha in a previous life, on a quest to retrieve salvation-bestowing scriptures from India. The Bodhisattva Guanyin (่ง€้Ÿณ) gives the monk a golden headband (jingu, ้‡‘็ฎ; a.k.a.ย jingu, ็ทŠ็ฎ, lit: โ€œtight filletโ€) as a means to rein in Monkeyโ€™s unruly nature. It tightens around Sunโ€™s head whenever a magic formula is recited, causing him great pain. In addition, Guanyin gives Monkey three magic hairs on the back of his neck that can transform into anything he desires to aid in his protection of the monk. Along the way, the two meet other monsters-turned-disciplesโ€”Zhu Bajie (็Œชๅ…ซๆˆ’), the lecherous pig demon, Sha Wujing (ๆฒ™ๆ‚Ÿๅ‡€), the complacent water demon, and the White Dragon Horse (Bailongma,ย ็™ฝ้พ้ฆฌ), a royal serpent transformed into an equineโ€”who agree to aid in the monkโ€™s defense. Monkey battles all sorts of ghosts, monsters, demons, and gods along the way. In the end, he is granted Buddhahood and given the title of the โ€œVictorious Fighting Buddhaโ€ (Dou zhanzheng fo,ย ้ฌฅๆˆฐๅ‹ไฝ›) for protecting Tripitaka over the long journey.

A summary of all 100 chapters can be read on my friend’s blog (fig. 2).

https://journeytothewestlibrary.weebly.com/novel-summary

Fig. 2 – The summary header (larger version).

II. Sequels

There are a total of four unofficial sequels to the novel.

The first is called A Supplement to the Journey to the Westย (Xiyoubu,ย ่ฅฟๆธธ่กฅ, 1640), which takes place between chapters 61 and 62 of the original. In the story, the Monkey King wanders from one adventure to the next, using a magic tower of mirrors and a Jade doorway to travel to different points in time. In the Qin Dynastyย (221โ€“206 BCE), he disguises himself as Consort Yu in order to locate a magic weapon needed for his quest to India. During theย Song Dynasty (960โ€“1279), he serves in place of King Yama as the judge of Hell. After returning to the Tang Dynasty, he finds that his master Tripitaka has taken a wife and become a general charged with wiping out the physical manifestation of desire (desire being a major theme running through the novelette). Monkey goes on to take part in a great war between all the kingdoms of the world, during which time he faces one of his own children in battle. In the end, he discovers an unforeseen danger that threatens Tripitakaโ€™s life.

The second is the Later Journey to the West (Hou Xiyouji, ๅพŒ่ฅฟ้Š่จ˜, 17th-century). This novel focuses on the adventures of Monkey’s spiritual descendent Sun Luzhen (ๅญซๅฑฅ็œŸ, โ€œMonkey who Walks Realityโ€).ย I have a three-part article about it (first, second, and third).ย 

 

And the third and fourth are the Continuation of the Journey to the West (Xu Xiyouji, ็บŒ่ฅฟ้Š่จ˜, 17th-century) and the New Journey to the West (Xin Xiyouji, ๆ–ฐ่ฅฟ้Š่จ˜, 19th-century), respectively. As of 2023, I have not written any articles on these sequels.ย 

III. Cultural Impact

Stories about Sun Wukong have enthralled people the world over for centuries. His adventures first became popular via oral folktale performances during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). These eventually coalesced into the earliest known version of the novel, The Story of Howย Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scripturesย (Da Tang Sanzang qujing shihua, ๅคงๅ”ไธ‰่—ๅ–็ถ“่ฉฉ่ฉฑ; The Story hereafter), published during the late-13th-century.

Since the anonymous publishing of the complete novel in the 16th-century, Monkey has appeared in numerous paintings, poems, books, operatic stage plays, video games, and films (both live action and animated).

He was sometimes โ€œchanneled,โ€ย along with other martial spirits, by citizen soldiers of the anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901). There is also a monkey-based martial art named in his honor.

It is interesting to note that there are people in southern China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam who worship him as a patron deity. Thus, Sun became so popular that he jumped from oral and published literature to take his place on the family altar.

Copies of The Storyย were discovered in Japan among a 17th-century catalog of books in the Kozanji Temple (้ซ˜ๅฑฑๅฏบ, Ch:ย Gaoshan si). No copies are known to exist in China, which suggests this version came to the island many centuries ago. The complete Ming edition of the novel came to Japan in the late-18th-century, where it was translated in bits and pieces over the course of some seventy years. However, Monkey did not become immensely popular until the first complete translation of the novel was published in 1835. The last part was illustrated with woodblocks by Taito II (fl. 1810-1853), a noted student of famous artist Hokusai (1760-1849).

Other Japanese artists, such as Kubo Shunman (1757-1820) and Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) (fig. 3), produced beautiful full color woodblock prints of Sun.

Fig. 3 – (Left) Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, โ€œJade Rabbit โ€“ Sun Wukongโ€, October 10, 1889 (larger version). Fig 4. – (Right) Son Goku (ๅญซๆ‚Ÿ็ฉบ) from the Dragonball Franchise (larger version).

Like in China, Monkey has been adapted in all kinds of Japanese media. By far, his most famous adaptation is the manga and anime character Son Goku (ๅญซๆ‚Ÿ็ฉบ) (fig. 4) from the Dragon Ballย (Jp:ใƒ‰ใƒฉใ‚ดใƒณใƒœใƒผใƒซ; Ch:ย Qi longzhu,ย ไธƒ้พ็ ) franchise (1984-present). Like Sun, Goku has a monkey tail, knows martial arts, fights with a magic staff, and rides on a cloud. His early adventures inย Dragon Ballย (manga: 1984-1995; anime: 1986-1989) see him traveling the world in search of seven wish-granting โ€œdragon balls,โ€ while also perfecting his fighting abilities and participating in a world martial arts tournament. Several of the supporting characters, such as Oolong (ใ‚ฆใƒผใƒญใƒณ), a lecherous anthropomorphic pig who can change his shape, a nod to Zhu Bajie, were directly influenced by the novel. Dragon Ball Z (manga: 1988-1995; anime: 1989-1996), a continuation of the comic book and animated TV show, follows Goku as an adult and reveals that he is actually a humanoid alien sent as a child to destroy Earth. He arrived in a spherical spaceship that recalls the stone egg from which Sun Wukong was formed. But instead of destroying the planet, he becomes its stalwart protector and faces extraterrestrial menaces from beyond the stars. Goku’s adventures have continued in the sequels Dragon Ball GTย (1996-1997),ย Dragon Ball Superย (2015-2018), andย Super Dragon Ball Heroesย (2018-present).