Last updated: 04-01-2025
Anyone familiar with Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592; “JTTW” hereafter) will remember the event in chapter three where Sun Wukong gains another category of immortality by inking out his name (and those of all other primates) from the “register of births and deaths” (shengsi bu, 生死簿) in hell (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 140-141). But did you know that there is a corresponding book in heaven? The “immortal register” (xianlu, 仙籙) (fig. 1) records the names of all transcendent beings in the realm above. The term is also used in the novel to note official appointments in heaven, thereby designating officeholders as deities. For example, Monkey’s is a random earth immortal [1] until he is appointed the Bimawen, a sort of god of horses. This gives him power over all equines in the JTTW cosmos (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 309; vol. 3, p. 77).
In this article, I would like to quote all mentions of the book or appointment in relation to Sun Wukong. I will also show that the concept is mentioned in Daoist texts as far back as the early-4th-century.
Fig. 1 – Perhaps the immortal register would look something like this stack of modern bamboo strip books (larger version). Image found here.
1. Mentions in JTTW
1.1. Chapter Two
Upon returning home from studying under Patriarch Subodhi, Monkey reveals his new name to his children. His future appointment is then foretold in a couplet:
“My surname is Sun,” replied Wukong, “and my religious name is Wukong.” When the monkeys heard this, they all clapped their hands and shouted happily, “If the great king is Elder Sun, then we are all Junior Suns, Suns the Third, small Suns, tiny Suns—the Sun Family, the Sun Nation, and the Sun Cave!” So they all came and honored Elder Sun with large and small bowls of coconut and grape wine, of divine flowers and fruits. It was indeed one big happy family! Lo,
The surname is one, the self’s returned to its source.
This glory awaits—a name recorded in Heaven [xianlu, 仙籙] (emphasis added)! (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 130)悟空道：「我今姓孫，法名悟空。」眾猴聞說，鼓掌忻然道：「大王是老孫，我們都是二孫、三孫、細孫、小孫一家孫、一國孫、一窩孫矣！」都來奉承老孫，大盆小碗的椰子酒、葡萄酒、仙花、仙果，真個是合家歡樂。咦！
1.2. Chapter Three
After receiving separate complaints about Monkey’s behavior, Heaven decides to give him a celestial position in order to keep his misadventures in check. A stellar deity is dispatched to invite him to the realm above:
The Gold Star came into the center of the cave and stood still with his face toward the south. “I am the Gold Star of Venus from the West,” he said. “I came down to Earth, bearing the imperial decree of pacification from the Jade Emperor, and invite you to go to Heaven to receive an immortal appointment [xianlu, 仙籙] (emphasis added)” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 144)
1.3. Chapter Four
After receiving his summons, Sun’s cloud somersault carries him to heaven faster than the envoy, and when he attempts to enter, his way is blocked by gate guardians. The aged star eventually arrives to resolve the issue, noting that he doesn’t yet have access because his name hasn’t been added to the celestial record.
“Old man,” said Wukong angrily to his face, “why did you deceive me? You told me that I was invited by the Jade Emperor’s decree of pacification. Why then did you get these people to block the Heaven Gate and prevent my entering?” “Let the Great King calm down,” the Gold Star said, laughing. “Since you have never been to the Hall of Heaven before, nor have you been given a name, you are quite unknown to the various heavenly guardians. How can they let you in on their own authority? Once you have seen the Heavenly Deva, received an appointment, and had your name listed in the Immortal Register [shoule xianlu, zhule guanming, 授了仙籙，注了官名] (emphasis added), you can go in and out as you please. Who would then obstruct your way?” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 145)
He serves as the keeper of the heavenly horses but rage quits upon learning that his rank is the lowest in heaven. But no one tries to stop him from leaving due to his official position:
When the Monkey King heard this, fire leaped up from his heart. “So that’s the contempt they have for old Monkey!” he cried angrily, gnashing his teeth. “At the Flower-Fruit Mountain I was honored as king and patriarch. How dare they trick me into coming to look after horses for them, if horse tending is such a menial service, reserved only for the young and lowly? Is such treatment worthy of me? I’m quitting! I’m quitting! I’m leaving right now!” With a crash, he kicked over his official desk and took the treasure [the staff] out of his ear. One wave of his hand and it had the thickness of a rice bowl. Delivering blows in all directions, he fought his way out of the imperial stables and went straight to the South Heaven Gate. The various celestial guardians, knowing that he had been officially appointed [xianlu, 仙籙] (emphasis added) a BanHorsePlague, did not dare stop him and allowed him to fight his way out of the Heaven Gate (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 149).
1.4. Chapter Five
Monkey is offered a second appointment as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven following a brief but tense confrontation with the realm above. And while the term xianlu (仙籙) is not used, the narrative does mention him signing his name in the book:
Now we must tell you that the Great Sage, after all, was a monkey monster; in truth, he had no knowledge of his title or rank, nor did he care for the size of his salary. He did nothing but place his name on the Register [zhu ming, 註名] (emphasis added). At his official residence he was cared for night and day by the attending officials of the two departments. His sole concern was to eat three meals a day and to sleep soundly at night. Having neither duties nor worries, he was free and content to tour the mansions and meet friends, to make new acquaintances and form new alliances at his leisure (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 160).
話表齊天大聖到底是個妖猴，更不知官銜品從，也不較俸祿高低，但只註名便了。那齊天府下二司仙吏，早晚伏侍，只知日食三餐，夜眠一榻，無事牽縈，自由自在。閑時節會友遊宮，交朋結義。
This implies that a transcendent must sign their name each time they take on a new roll.
2. Mentions in Religious Texts
It’s important to note that the immortal register is not the creation of the JTTW author-compiler. It can actually be traced to historical Daoist literature. For instance, the Scripture of the Nine Elixirs (Jiudan jing, 九丹經 , c. 300) describes a deity transferring a mortal’s name from the book of the dead to that of heaven once they ingest the ninth kind of elixir of immortality:
[Following the creation of the elixir…]
At dawn pay obeisance twice toward the sun, and ingest one pill with pure water from a well. It will make your body light, and in one hundred days the hundred diseases will be healed. The Jade Women will become your attendants. The Director of Destinies (Siming) will delete your name from the records of the dead (siji [死籍]) and enter it in the registers of immortality (xianlu [仙錄]).
[Pregadio’s (2006) explanation:] The Director of Destinies is the deity charged with establishing the length of each person’s life on behalf of the Great One (Taiyi). He performs his task by entering the individual’s name in the “records of the dead” or the “registers of immortality.”
You will travel through the air in any direction, and enter and exit the world without interruption. Nobody will be able to hold or restrain you: one moment you will be sitting, and then you will rise up and disappear. Lightly you will ascend riding the clouds, and rise to heaven (Pregadio, 2006, p. 187).
平旦，以井華水，向日再拜，吞一丸，令人身輕，百日百病除愈，玉女來侍，司命消除死籍，名著仙錄，飛行上下，出入無問，不可拘制，坐在立亡，輕舉乘雲，升於天矣。
2.1. Relationship to Sun Wukong
This is really interesting to me because Monkey’s story precisely matches the way the alchemist’s name is switched from one book to the other. His name is removed from the register of births and deaths in chapter three, and then it’s added to the immortal register in chapters four and five. The only difference is that the Great Sage removes his name by force instead of relying on a god to do it for him. Perhaps the author-compiler copied this process in order to lend some authenticity to Sun’s spiritual journey. What do you think?
It would be neat to see the immortal register pop up in fanfiction. Perhaps a fiend sneaks into heaven and steals it (for whatever nefarious reasons). This may seem like an impossible task, but JTTW chapter 63 mentions a spirit covertly infiltrating the realm above and taking celestial medicinal plants (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 192). If this can be done, I’m sure the register can be pilfered, too.
Update: 04-1-25
A user on discord asked me if the immortal register from JTTW influenced a roster from Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620 CE). The “Roll of Investment” (Fengshen bag, 封神榜) is a preordained list of humans, immortals, and demons chosen to be canonized as gods following the great Shang–Zhou war. My reply—an educated guess—was that both lists were based on the historical register from Daoist literature.
Note:
1) Monkey is one of several types of immortals recognized in JTTW:
Tathagata said, “There are five kinds of immortals in the universe, and they are: the celestial, the earthbound, the divine, the human, and the ghostly” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 115).
This comes from the Zhong-Lu (鍾呂) sect of Quanzhen Daoism. See Kohn (2020, pp. 120-124) for more information about these five immortals.
Sources:
Pregadio, F. (2006). Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China. United States: Stanford University Press.
Kohn, L. (2020). The Zhong-Lü System of Internal Alchemy. Russia: Three Pines Press.
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
