The demon Red Boy (Honghai’er, 紅孩兒) appears in chapters 40 to 42 of Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592; “JTTW” hereafter). He is described as the son of the Bull Demon King (Niu mowang, 牛魔王) and Princess Iron Fan (Tieshan gongzhu, 鐵扇公主), a rakshasispirit (luocha nu, 羅剎女). Due to his bovine father, Red Boy is sometimes portrayed in modern media and fan art with horns, and because of his youthful appearance, he is often shown wearing a red stomacher. So how do these representations compare to his depiction in the novel, and who has produced the most authentic look? In this article, I will present the demon’s literary description, along with ancient depictions from dynastic China and Korea. My hope is that the information will be both interesting and useful, especially for artists and cosplayers looking to make a more authentic design.
This is part of a series of articles describing JTTW characters. See my previous entries on Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie.
1. Ancient Depiction
The oldest art featuring Red Boy that I know of appears on the 14th-century Gyeongcheonsa pagoda (Kyŏngch’ŏnsa sipch’ŭng sŏkt’ap, 경천사십층석탑) from Korea. The second level of the pagoda’s multifaceted three-tiered base contains a total of 20 carved scenes from the JTTW story cycle. The 19th carving depicts the character’s defeat in a scene that would come to appear in the 1592 JTTW. [1] Reading it from left to right, Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie stand by the dragon horse as they watch the cloud-borne Guanyin enact her divine plan of capturing Red Boy, who is shown impaled on a lotus throne full of celestial swords. And to the child-sage’s left, the Bodhisattva’s disciple, Hui’an/Mucha, hammers at the swords with his staff while sitting on Sun Wukong’s shoulders in a symbolic display of teamwork (fig. 1 & 2).
Fig. 3 (top) – The complete 19th JTTW carving on the second tier of Gyeongcheonsa pagoda (larger version). Image from Wall (2019). Fig. 4 (bottom) – A detail of Red Boy trapped on the lotus throne of swords (L) and an accompanying line drawing for clarity (R) (larger version).
2. What the novel says
2.1. Physical appearance
The fullest description of Red Boy appears in chapter 41:
A face as if it had been powdered white, And lips so ruddy, they seemed brushed with paint. No dye could create such dark, coiled hair; His eyebrows curved like new moons carved with knives. Phoenix and dragon coiled on his battle kilt; More husky than Nezha‘s frame he had. With air imposing he lifted up his lance And walked out the door, swathed in hallowed light. He roared like thunder in the time of spring; His striking eyes flashed like lightning bright. If one would know his true identity, Remember Red Boy, a name of lasting fame
(based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 222-223).
This description speaks of porcelain doll-like beauty and a chubby body. The original Chinese states that his hair is “rolled or coiled at the temples” (binwan, 鬢挽). This could mean his hair is in buns or coils. I’ll leave it up to the reader as to which one you like more.
It’s important to highlight that the poem does not mention horns. An in-canon explanation for this could be because Red Boy’s mother, Princess Iron Fan, had already “attained the way of humanity” (i.e. a human form) via spiritual cultivation (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 162). Perhaps this resulted in the demon-sage having a more human-like appearance. Or, given his own 300-plus years of austerities (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 219), he too has attained human form.
Interestingly, Ming-era woodblock prints don’t portray him with horns either. See figures four and five below.
2.2. Clothing
Red Boy is described as being lightly clothed and barefooted:
With no other armor except a battle kilt of embroidered silk and with naked feet, the monster king took up the lance and walked outside (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 222).
So his attire consists of a single silken battle kilt, [2] which is, as mentioned in the poem above, embroidered with dragons and phoenixes. This would mean that Red Boy is bare-chested on top of having no footwear.
But what exactly does a “battle kilt” (zhanqun, 戰裙) look like? One example comes from a set of brigandine armor of the Qing dynasty (1636–1912). It covers the entire lower half of the body down to the ground (fig. 4). I imagine that Red Boy’s kilt would be red given his name and association with fire.
One late-Ming woodblock print portrays this clothing, adding a divine sash and an embroidered stomacher (fig. 3).
Prior to walking outside to face the Monkey King, the demon calls for his giant, fiery spear:
“Bring me my lance,” he ordered. Those fiends who looked after weapons had two of them carry out a ten zhang eight chi fire-tipped lance [huojian qiang, 火尖槍] to hand over to the monster king (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 222).
One zhang (丈) comprises ten chi (尺, a.k.a. “Chinese feet”), and one chi is roughly 12.3 in (31.8 cm). This makes one zhang 10.43 ft (3.18 m) (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi). Therefore, Red Boy’s weapon is roughly 18.77 ft (5.724 m) long. That’s one long spear!
A woodblock print from the original 1592 JTTW shows an armored Red Boy wielding his weapon (fig. 5).
Fig. 5 – Red Boy wields his spear and holy flame against Monkey and Zhu Bajie (larger version). Image from the Newly Printed, Illustrated, Deluxe and Large Character, Journey to the West (Xinke chuxiang guanban dazi Xiyou ji, 新刻出像官板大字西遊記, 1592).
3. Popular depictions
As far as I know, there have not been any novel accurate portrayals of Red Boy in popular media. But I figured that I would post images from the most famous TV shows.
He is portrayed by a young woman with two red ribbon-wrapped, white cloth-covered hair buns and a white undershirt and a red vest, red forearm cuffs, red shorts, and red slippers (fig. 7).
He is portrayed with a hair tuft, red horns, a dark red to brown suit of armor with a flame pattern, and a red cape (fig. 8).
Fig. 8 – “Armored Red Boy” (larger version). The original online source is no longer available.
4. Conclusion
JTTW chapter 41 describes Red Boy as having doll-like beauty with a powder white face, crescent moon-shaped eyebrows, and deep red lips. His dark hair is either wrapped in buns or hung in coils. He is shoeless, and the only clothing covering his husky body is a silken battle kilt embroidered with phoenixes and dragons. And his weapon is an 18.77 ft (5.724 m) long, fired-tipped spear.
Update: 03-25-24
It occurred to me that the following description …
With no other armor except a battle kilt of embroidered silk and with naked feet … (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 222).
… does not necessarily exclude other clothing. Red Boy could wear some kind of silk robe beneath the battle kilt. However, I think him being shirtless better fits with his ferocious nature.
Update: 04-30-24
Chapter 42 indicates that Red Boy has a full head of hair that is later shaved by Guanyin:
She took out from her sleeve a golden razor and approached the fiend. With a few strokes, she shaved his hair off and turned it into the style of the Tai Mountain Crowning the Head: the top was completely bald, but three tufts of hair were left around the edge so that they could be knotted together into three tiny braids (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 250).
This contrasts with modern representations of Red Boy that already have this shaven hair style prior to being subjugated. Refer back to section 3.
Notes:
1) Chapter 42 reads:
After she received [treasure swords borrowed from heaven], the Bodhisattva [Guanyin] threw them into the air as she recited a spell: the swords were transformed into a thousand-leaf lotus platform. Leaping up, the Bodhisattva sat solemnly in the middle.
[Sun Wukong feigns defeat and tricks Red Boy into chasing him to Guayin’s domain] When the monster spirit suddenly discovered that Pilgrim was gone, he walked up to the Bodhisattva with bulging eyes and said to her, “Are you the reinforcement Pilgrim Sun brought here?” The Bodhisattva did not reply. Rolling the lance in his hands, the monster king bellowed, “Hey! Are you the reinforcement Pilgrim Sun brought here?” Still the Bodhisattva did not reply. The monster-spirit lifted his lance and jabbed at the heart of the Bodhisattva, who at once changed herself into a beam of golden light and rose into the air. Pilgrim followed her on her way up and said to her, “Bodhisattva, you are trying to take advantage of me! The monster-spirit asked you several times. How could you pretend to be deaf and dumb and not make any noise at all? One blow of his lance, in fact, chased you away, and you have even left behind your lotus platform.”
“Don’t talk,” said the Bodhisattva, “let’s see what he will do.” At this time, Pilgrim and [Mucha] both stood in the air shoulder to shoulder and stared down; they found the monster-spirit laughing scornfully and saying to himself, “Brazen ape, you’re mistaken about me! What sort of person do you think that I, Holy Child, happen to be? For several times you could not prevail against me, and then you had to go and fetch some namby-pamby Bodhisattva. One blow of my lance now has made her vanish completely. Moreover, she has even left the treasure lotus platform behind. Well, let me get up there and take a seat.” Dear monster-spirit. He imitated the Bodhisattva by sitting in the middle of the platform with hands and legs folded. When he saw this, Pilgrim said, “Fine! Fine! Fine! This lotus platform has been given to someone else!”
“Wukong,” said the Bodhisattva, “what are you mumbling again?”
“Mumbling what? Mumbling what?” replied Pilgrim. “I’m saying that the lotus platform has been given to someone else. Look! It’s underneath his thighs. You think he’s going to return it to you?”
“I wanted him to sit there,” said the Bodhisattva.
“Well, he’s smaller than you,” said Pilgrim, “and it seems that the seat fits him even better than it fits you.”
“Stop talking,” said the Bodhisattva, “and watch the dharma power.”
She pointed the willow twig downward and cried, “Withdraw!” All at once, flowers and leaves vanished from the lotus platform and the auspicious luminosity dispersed entirely. The monster king, you see, was sitting actually on the points of those swords. The Bodhisattva then gave this command to [Mucha]:
“Use your demon-routing cudgel and strike back and forth at the sword handles.”
Dropping from the clouds, [Mucha] wielded his cudgel as if he were demolishing a wall: he struck at the handles hundreds of times. As for that monster-spirit,
Both his legs were pierced till the points stuck out;
Blood spouted in pools as flesh and skin were torn.
Marvelous monster! Look at him! Gritting his teeth to bear the pain, he abandoned the lance so that he could use both hands to try to pull the swords out from his body … (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 246 and 249-250).
2) Padded silk armor was apparently used in ancient China as early as 600 CE (Dean, 1920, pp. 284-285).
Sources:
Dean, B. (1920). Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare. United Kingdom: Yale University Press.
Jiang, Y. (2005). The Great Ming Code / Da Ming Lu. Vancouver, Wa: University of Washington Press.
Wall, B. (2019). Dynamic Texts as Hotbeds for Transmedia Storytelling: A Case Study of the Story Universe of the Journey to the West. International Journal of Communication 13, 2116-2142. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/10006/2648.
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
I recently posted a list of facts about Sun Wukong (孫悟空) to reddit. I am presenting an elongated version of it here, which serves as a summation of everything that I’ve learned over the years. It is by no means comprehensive. I’ll add more facts in the future as I learn of them. Enjoy.
In my opinion, however, the greatest influence on his 1592 persona is a white ape antagonist from a Tang-era story. Similarities include: 1) both are supernatural primates possessed of human speech; 2) one thousand-year-old practitioners of longevity arts; 3) masters of Daoist magic with the ability to fly and change their appearance; 4) warriors capable of single-handedly defeating an army; 5) have a fondness for armed martial arts; 6) have an iron-hard, nigh-invulnerable body immune to most efforts to harm them; 7) have eyes that flash like lightning; 8) live in verdant mountain paradises (like Flower Fruit Mountain); and 9) reside in caves with stone furniture (like the Water Curtain Cave).
The oldest published mention of the Monkey Pilgrim is a eulogy appearing in a tale from Zhang Shinan’s (張世南) Memoirs of a Traveling Official (Youhuan jiwen, 遊宦紀聞, 13th-century). One scholar dates the story to around 1127.
The oldest depictions of this character (late-11th to late-13th-century) appear in Buddhist cave art along the Silk Road in Northern China. He is almost always portrayed in a scene worshiping the Bodhisattva Guanyin.
A 13th-century version of JTTW describes the Monkey Pilgrim as a white-clad scholar who is an ancient immortal from the very beginning of the tale. He was beaten with an iron rod as a young immortal after he stole magic peaches and was subsequently banished to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. He actively searches out the monk to protect him as the cleric’s two previous incarnations were eaten by a monster (Sha Wujing’s antecedent) in the past.
This immortal fights with two staves (at different times), a golden-ringed monk’s staff and an iron staff (both borrowed from heaven). The monk’s staff can create destructive blasts of light, as well as transform into titanic creatures, including a club-wielding yaksha and an iron dragon. The iron staff isn’t shown to have any special powers. These weapons were later combined by storytellers, the rings from the former being added to the ends of the latter.
The earliest mention of the name “Sun Wukong” that I’m aware of appears in an early-15th-century zaju play. It depicts the character as a sex-crazed maniac who kidnaps a princess to be his wife, tries to seduce Princess Iron Fan, and later gets erectile disfunction when his golden headband tightens while trying to have sex with a young maiden in the Kingdom of Women.
The dharma name “Wukong” (悟空) was likely influenced by a historical monk of that name who traveled to India during the 8th-century. The name means “Awakened to Emptiness”, thus referencing Buddhist enlightenment. I think the corresponding Sanskrit name would be something like “Bodhiśūnyatā” (but don’t quote me on this).
The surname “Sun” (孫) means “grandson” but is an open reference to husun (猢猻, lit: “grandson of the barbarian”), the Chinese word for “macaque“. It was also a popular surname for supernatural primates in stories associated with the Lingyin Temple (靈隱寺), which also likely influenced the Monkey King.
The 1592 edition of the novel associates the components of Sun (孫 = zi, 子 & xi, 系) (ch. 1 – see section 4.2 here) with the formation of a “holy embryo” (shengtai, 聖胎), an immortal spirit that lives on after the adherent dies.
So taking all of the Buddhist and Daoist references into account, another translation for Sun Wukong would be “Immortal Awakened to Enlightenment”. This is a reference to the Buddho-Daoist philosophy of Zhang Boduan (張伯端, mid- to late-980s-1082), who believed that in order to become a true transcendent (xian, 仙), one had to achieve both the Daoist elixir of immortality and Buddha-nature (i.e. Buddhahood).
The aforementioned zaju play calls him the “Great Sage Reaching Heaven” (Tongtian dasheng, 通天大聖).
Said play also states that he has two sisters and two brothers. The sisters are respectively named the “Venerable Mother of Mount Li” (Lishan laomu, 驪山老母) and “Holy Mother Wuzhiqi” (Wuzhiqi shengmu, 巫支祇聖母). His older brother is called “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian dasheng, 齊天大聖) and the younger the “Third Son Shuashua” (Shuashua sanlang, 耍耍三郎).
His story in the 1592 version takes place not in our world but in one modeled after ancient Hindo-Buddhist cosmic geography, which features four island-like continents floating in a great ocean around the four respective faces of a cosmic mountain. And yet the novel was published during a time coinciding with the late Renaissance period in Europe, precisely 49 years after Copernicus suggested that the Earth orbits the sun.
His home, the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit (Huaguo shan, 花果山), is located near the easternmost continent, while China is associated with the southernmost continent. This means that Monkey, within the novel, is not Chinese!
While his stone birth (ch. 1) is likely based on that ofYu the Great (Dayu, 大禹), a legendary King of theXia dynasty(more on this below), it may ultimately be linked to Tibetan stories ofstone-born monkey deities.
Despite the association above, Monkey shows no interest in sex throughout the entire novel. This may be a response to the highly sexualized Sun Wukong from the zaju play.
The novel also gives him the alchemical title “Squire of Metal/Gold” (Jingong, 金公), a possible “anagrammatic reading of the Chinese graph for lead or qian 鉛, which may be broken up into the two graphs of jin and gong” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 532 n. 3). Lead is an ingredient in external alchemy (see the material after figure two here). The title might also be referring to the earthly branchshen (申), which is associated with both metal and monkeys (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 532 n. 3).
The overall arc of his birth and early life were likely based on that of the historical Buddha to make his tale more familiar to readers. Similarities include: A) supernatural births that split open their respective mothers (Queen Maya vs stone egg); B) producing a radiant splendor in all directions upon their birth; C) being talented students that quickly master concepts taught to them; D) early lives as royals (Indian prince vs king of monkeys); E) shock at the impermanence of life; F) questing for a spiritual solution to said impermanence; and G) finding said solution via spiritual practices (Indic meditation vs Daoist elixir arts).
His “Water Curtain Cave” (Shuilian dong, 水簾洞), the grotto-heaven where he and his people live in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, is associated with a different immortal in older religious literature. For instance, the Song-era text Master Ghost Valley’sNuminous Writ of the Essence of Heaven (Guigu zi tiansui lingwen, 鬼谷子天隨靈文) calls the titular character the “Master of the Waterfall Cave” (Shuilian dong zhu, 水濂洞主). In this case, the source uses a different lian (濂) in place of the lian (簾) associated with Monkey’s cave. But they both mean the same thing: a waterfall hiding a cave mouth (see the 12-11-21 update here). One 17th-century novel influenced by JTTW states that Master Ghost Valley lives in the Water Curtain Cave (Shuilian dong, 水簾洞; i.e. the same as Monkey’s home) with his student, the Warring States strategist Sun Bin (孫臏, d. 316 BCE). This means that two characters surnamed Sun (孫) live there in Chinese literature (see section II here).
While commonly portrayed as a Daoist immortal, his first master, the Patriarch Subodhi (Xuputi zushi, 須菩提祖師) (ch. 1 & 2), is shown to live in India and have a strong connection to Buddhism, possibly even being a Bodhisattva.
The actual name for his famous 72 Transformations is “Multitude of Terrestrial Killers” (Disha shu, 地煞數), which is based on a popular set of malevolent stellar gods.
This skill not only allows Monkey to transform into whatever he wants but also gives him a store of extra heads and possibly even extra lives like a video game (see section 4.4 # 3 here).
He specifically learns the 72 Transformations (ch. 3) in order to hide from a trio of elemental calamities sent by heaven to punish cultivators for defying their fate and achieving immortality. This is the origin of the “Heavenly Tribulation” (tianjie, 天劫; zhongjie, 重劫) trope from modern Xianxia literature.
But, surprisingly, he is not a true immortal, just long-lived and really hard to kill. The novel refers to him as a “bogus immortal” (yaoxian, 妖仙). This references Zhang Boduan’s aforementioned philosophy where one must obtain both the Daoist elixir (which Monkey did) and Buddha-Nature (which he hadn’t yet achieved) in order to be a true transcendent.
While training under Subodhi (ch. 3), he expressly passes on learning the bureaucratic-style magic rites normally used by earthly priests to request something from heaven because the skills involved won’t result in eternal life. Instead, after achieving immortality, Monkey just commands the gods to do his bidding (see section II here).
He can grow 100,000 feet (30,480 m) tall (ch. 1, 6, 61, and 97). This skill is called the “Method of Modeling Heaven on Earth” (Fatian xiangdi, 法天像地), and it is related to ancient Pre-Qin and Han concepts of astral-geography later used in the construction of imperial Chinese cities.
His magic “immortal breath” (xianqi, 仙氣) can transform his hairs, his staff, and objects not in direct contact with his body into anything he desires. It can also change disembodied souls into “ether” for ease of transport, and evidence suggests that it can even grant some form of immortality.
Monkey has 84,000 hairs on his body, and he can transform them into hundreds of thousands, millions, and even billions of hair clones (see the 03-19-22 update here).
The novel only mentions him learning martial arts in passing (ch. 67 – see section 4.5 here), but one episode (ch. 51) features a battle between Monkey and a demon king in which they use a host of real world fighting techniques that are still known and practiced today.
His skill with the staff is so great that the novel compares it to techniques from two manuals listed among the Seven Military Classics of China (see the 08-07-18 update here).
The bureaucratic mix-up that resulted in his soul being dragged to hell (ch. 3) is based on “mistaken summons” to the underworld and “return-from-death” narratives present in early Chinese “miraculous tales” (Zhiguai xiaoshuo, 志怪小説) (Campany, 1990).
When he looks at his entry in the ledgers of hell, he learns that: 1) his soul number is “1,350”; 2) his real name is “Heaven-Born Stone Monkey” (Tianchan shihou, 天產石猴); and 3) he was fated to have a “good end” at the ripe old age of 342. This refers to a person’s pre-allotted lifespan (ming, 命) (Campany, 2005; Campany & Ge, 2002, pp. 47-52).
The distance that his cloud-somersault can travel, 108,000 li (33,554 mi / 54,000 km), is based on a metaphor for instantaneous enlightenment. It comes from the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Chan Patriarch Huineng (惠能). The Chan Master explains that the common trope of the Buddha’s paradise being separated from the world of man by 108,000 li is based on a combination of the “Ten Evils” (Shi’e, 十惡) and “Eight Wrongs” (Baxie, 八邪) of Buddhism. Those who rid themselves of these spiritual flaws will achieve enlightenment and thus arrive instantly at the Buddha’s paradise.
The initial depiction of his magic staff as a great iron pillar kept in the dragon kingdom treasury (ch. 3) is based on a metal column that the immortal Xu Xun (許遜) chained a demonic dragon to and then imprisoned in the aquatic realm in Chinese mythology.
It’s a common misconception that his staff weighed down the Milky Way galaxy. This is based on a mistranslation. The W. J. F. Jenner edition claims that the weapon anchored said star cluster. However, the original Chinese states that it was used as a means to measure and set the depths of the Heavenly River (Tianhe, 天河; a.k.a. Milky Way).
The weight of his staff is likely an embellishment on the weight of a heavy stone block lifted by the bandit-hero Wu Song (武松) in the Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan, 水滸傳, c. 1400). This episode and the JTTW episode where Monkey acquires his staff both involve a hero (Wu Song vs Sun Wukong) asking someone (a friend vs the Dragon King) to take them to a seemingly immovable object (stone block vs iron pillar). They then adjust their clothing before lifting the object with ease. Most importantly, the Chinese characters for the respective weights are visually similar. Sun’s staff is 13,500 catties (yiwan sanqian wubai jin, 一萬三千五百斤; 17,5560 lbs. / 7965.08 kg), while the stone block is 300 to 500 catties (sanwubai jin, 三五百斤; 390-650 lbs. / 177-295 kg). The characters in bold indicate the similarities between the two weights, where as those in red indicate the embellishments: 一萬三千五百斤.
He singlehandedly defeats the “Nine Planets” (Sk: Navagraha; Ch: Jiuyao, 九曜, “Nine Luminaries”), personifications of the sun and planets from Hindu astrology (Gansten, 2009), during his rebellion (ch. 4) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 170-172).
His time as the Bimawen (弼馬溫, “To assist horse temperament”), a minor post overseeing the heavenly horse stables (ch. 4), is based on an ancient Chinese practice of placing monkeys in horse stables to ward off equine sicknesses. The belief was that the menstrual blood of female monkeys mixed with horse food somehow guarded against diseases. This is hilarious as the position links Sun Wukong to menstruation!
His title “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian dasheng, 齊天大聖) (ch. 4) was actually borrowed from the “Eastern Marchmount” (Dongyue, 東嶽; a.k.a. “Eastern Peak”), the god of Mt. Tai. This suggests that the older brother from the aforementioned zaju play is really the Eastern Marchmount.
His time as the Guardian of the Immortal Peach Groves (ch. 5) is likely based on a Song-era Daoist scripture in which the aforementioned Sun Bin is tasked by his teacher, Master Ghost Valley, with protecting a tree laden with special fruit. He later captures a magic white ape stealing said produce (see section III here). The simian thief saves his life by offering Sun a set of secret religious texts. Both stories include: 1) a character surnamed Sun (孫) protecting special fruit (Sun Bin vs Sun Wukong); and 2) supernatural primates that steal and eat the fruit. Therefore, Monkey’s 1592 persona serves as both the guard and the thief!
The elixir pills that he drunkenly eats in Laozi’s laboratory (ch. 5) likely influenced the senzu beans from the world famous Dragon Ball (Jp: Doragon Bōru,ドラゴンボール; Ch: Qilongzhu, 七龍珠) franchise.
His time in Laozi‘s furnace (ch. 7) is based on an episode from the aforementioned 13th-century version of JTTW. It may also be connected to a story of Laozi magically surviving a foreign king’s attempt to boil him in a cauldron.
He is shown to be weak against spiritual fire and smoke (see the 06-28-22 update here).
Smoke from the furnace irritates his eyes, giving him his famous “Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils” (Huoyan jinjing, 火眼金睛). The former is likely based on the “actual red-rimmed eyes of [the Rhesus macaque]” (Burton, 2005, p. 148). The latter is likely based on the golden pupils of macaques (see section 2.1 here).
His time under Five Elements Mountain (Wuxing shan, 五行山) (ch. 7) is based on stories of the aforementioned Wuzhiqi (無支奇/巫支祇) being imprisoned under a mountain by Yu the Great.
A religious precious scroll predating the 1592 edition states that Erlang instead traps Monkey beneath Mount Tai, and the aforementioned 15th-century zaju play states it was Guanyin and the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.
This punishment links him to a broader list of mythic baddies imprisoned in earth, including Lucifer, Loki, and the Titans of Tartarus. I plan to write a later article about “earth prisons” in world myth.
One scholar suggests that being trapped under Five Elements Mountain is a symbolic death (remember that Monkey claims to be free of the Five Elements after attaining immortality), meaning that the hellish diet is his karmic punishment in the afterlife, and his later release is a symbolic reincarnation.
The oldest depiction of Monkey with his headband that I know of appears in a late-Xixia (late-12th to early-13th-century) Buddhist cave grotto in Northwestern China.
Along with the headband, his tiger skin kilt (ch. 13) can be traced to a list of ritual items prescribed for worshiping wrathful protector deities in Esoteric Indian Buddhism. These same ritual items came to be worn by the very protector deities that the yogins revered. This explains why some deities in Chinese folk religion (including Sun Wukong) are portrayed with the golden headband and tiger skin.
Modern artists sometimes depict him with two long feathers protruding from the front of his golden headband, giving him the appearance of an insect. But the feathers (lingzi, 翎子) are actually associated with a different headdress called the “Purple Gold Cap” (zijin guan, 紫金冠), which is worn on top of the head. It was a military headdress later associated with heroes in Chinese opera (see section 2.2 here).
Monkey is also shown to be weaker in water. For instance, he enlists Zhu Bajie to combat the water demon who turns out to be Sha Wujing (ch. 22) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. pp. 422-423).
He claims to have eaten people when he was a monster in his youth (ch. 27) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 20).
His greatest feat of strength is carrying two mountains while running at meteoric speeds (ch. 33). One is the axis mundi of the Hindo-Buddhist cosmos, while the other is the place from which (according to legend) Buddhism spread upon entering China. This episode is based on an older tale in which Erlang does the lifting.
His doppelganger, the Six-Eared Macaque (ch. 56-58), is actually an aspect of his troubled mind. Once he kills him, Monkey takes one step closer to Buddhahood.
He fights and is defeated by an ancient bird demon who is a spiritual uncle of the Buddha (ch. 77). This monster is based on the Hindu bird god Garuda.
He and his religious brothers take human disciples in India (ch. 88), and Monkey later performs an arcane ritual in which he grants them superhuman strength (and possibly some form of immortality).
The novel ranks him higher than Guanyin after his ascension (see the third quote here).
As an enlightened Buddha, Monkey is eligible for his own “Buddha-Field” (Sk: Buddhakṣetra; Ch: Focha, 佛刹), essentially his own universe in which he will lead the inhabitants to enlightenment (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 153).
Modern ritual specialists known as “spirit-mediums” (Hokkien: Tangki, 童乩; Ch: Jitong, 乩童; lit: “Divining Child”) also channel the Great Sage, allowing his worshipers to have direct access to the divine. While they may use a staff to enhance the theater of their performance, the weapon surprisingly doesn’t serve a ritual function. They instead use a set of bladed or spiked weapons to draw blood intended to create evil-warding paper talismans (see the material below figure six here).
Chinese folk religion recognizes more than one Great Sage, usually between three and five individuals.
Monkey’s faith started in Fujian province, China and spread via boat to other countries within the Chinese diaspora. When he first started being worshiped is unknown. The first concrete references to his worship come from the 17th-century (see section III here). But the aforementioned 13th-century stone carving depicts him as a wrathful guardian, alongside other protector deities, Bodhisattvas, patriarchs, and eminent monks. This suggests that he might have been revered at an earlier time.
There is a style of Chinese boxing named after him, “Great Sage Boxing” (Cantonese: Taishingkyun; Mandarin: Dasheng quan, 大聖拳). Another closely associated style is “Great Sage Axe Boxing” (Can: Taishing pek kwarkyun; Man: Dasheng pigua quan, 劈掛拳). These arts also have staff styles associated with the Monkey King.
His time in Laozi’s furnace and ability to grow 100,000 feet tall influenced a Shaolin Monastery myth related to the founding of their famous staff fighting method. The story describes how a lowly kitchen worker jumped into an oven and remerged as a staff-wielding titan to battle mountain brigands attacking the monastery (see section 3 here).
He shares several connections with Yu the Great (here and here). These include: A) both have stone births; B) Monkey’s staff was originally used by Yu as a drill and as a ruler to set the depths of the fabled world flood; C) Sun’s demonic sister Wuzhiqi was conquered by Yu in some stories; and D) both are legendary hero-kings.
He shares a number of similarities with Wu Song. These include: A) both are reformed supernatural spirits originally trapped under the pressing weight of a mountain; B) slayers of tigers; C) Buddhist monks nicknamed “Pilgrim” (xingzhe, 行者), a title noting junior and traveling monks, as well as untrained riffraff that became clerics to avoid trouble with the law or taxes and military service (Wu Song is the latter and Monkey the former); D) martial arts monks who fight with staves; E) have moralistic golden headbands; and F) weapons made from bin steel (bin tie, 鑌鐵) (Wu Song’s Buddhist sabers vs Monkey’s magic staff).
He shares a surprising number of similarities with the Greek hero Heracles (a.k.a. Hercules). These include: A) supernatural births via masculine heavenly forces (son of Zeus vs the stone seeded by heaven); B) quick to anger; C) big cat skins (Nemean lion vs mountain tiger); D) fight with blunt weapons (olive wood club vs magic iron staff); E) great strength; F) knocked out by a god during a fit of rage (Athena with a rock vs Laozi and his Diamond-Cutter bracelet); G) given punishment to atone for past transgressions (12 labors for killing family vs protecting the monk for rebelling against heaven); H) constantly helped by goddesses (Athena vs Guanyin); I) similar enemies (there’s a long list); tamer of supernatural horses (Mares of Diomedes vs Heavenly Horses); J) travel to lands peopled by women (Amazons vs Kingdom of Women); K) theft of fruit from the gardens of queenly goddesses (Hera’s golden apples of the Hesperides vs the Queen Mother’s immortal peaches); L) travel to the underworld; M) take part in a heavenly war (Gigantomachy vs rebellion in heaven); N) become gods at the end of their stories (god of heroes and strength vs Victorious Fighting Buddha); and O) worshiped in the real world (Greece and Rome vs East and Southeast Asia).
He has a total of eight children between two 17th-century novels. He has five sons in A Supplement to the Journey to the West (Xiyoubu, 西遊補, 1640), but only one of them is mentioned by name. “King Pāramitā” (Boluomi wang, 波羅蜜王) is portrayed as a sword-wielding general capable of fighting Sun for several rounds. His name is based on a set of virtues learned by Bodhisattvas on their path to Buddhahood. In Journey to the South (Nanyouji, 南遊記) he has two sons named “Jidu” (奇都) and “Luohou” (羅猴), who respectively represent the lunar eclipse demons Ketu and Rahu from Indian astrology. He also has a giant, monstrous daughter, “Yuebei Xing” (月孛星, “Moon Comet Star”), who is named after a shadowy planet representing the lunar apogee (or the furthest spot in the moon’s orbit) in East Asian astrology. Only the daughter plays a part in the story. She uses a magic skull, which can kill immortals three days after their name is called.
Burton, F. D. (2005). Monkey King in China: Basis for a Conservation Policy? In A. Fuentes & L. D. Wolfe (Eds.), Primates Face to Face: Conservation Implications of Human-Nonhuman Primate Interconnections (pp. 137-162). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Buswell, R. E., & Lopez, D. S. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. N: Princeton University Press.
Campany, R. F. (1990). Return-from-Death Narratives in Early Medieval China. Journal of Chinese Religions, 18, pp. 91-125.
Campany, R. F., & Ge, H. (2002). To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong’s Traditions of Divine Transcendents. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Campany, R. F. (2005). Living off the Books: Fifty Ways to Dodge Ming in Early Medieval China. In C. Lupke (Ed.), The Magnitude of Ming: Command, Allotment, and Fate in Chinese Culture (pp. 129-150), University of Hawaii Press.
Gansten, M. (2009). Navagrahas. In K. A. Jacobsen (Ed.), Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Vol. 1) (pp. 647-653). Leiden: Brill.
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
I suggested in a previous article that Zhu Bajie was first added to the Journey to the West story cycle during the 14th-century. This is because the character does not appear in the 13th-century version of the story, but he does appear in a stage play from the 15th-century. Thanks to the writing of Prof. Ben Brose, I learned of Pigsy’s three earliest known depictions from this time period. The first is a Yuan DynastyCizhou ware ceramic pillow showing all of the characters (fig. 1). The second is a fragmented Yuan-era blue and white incense burner (fig. 2). Older still are Zhu’s depictions appearing on the 14th-century Gyeongcheonsa pagoda (Kyŏngch’ŏnsa sipch’ŭng sŏkt’ap, 경천사십층석탑) from Korea (fig. 3). You read that right, Korea!
Fig. 1 – The Cizhou ware pillow featuring Pigsy and the other pilgrims (larger version); Fig. 2 – A fragment of the blue and white incense burner showing Pigsy leading the White Dragon Horse (larger version). Fragments with the other characters can be found here; Fig. 3 – The Gyeongcheonsa pagoda is now housed inside of the National Museum of Korea (larger version).
I. Why Korea?
The Pak t’ongsaŏnhae (Ch: 朴通事諺解, Pu tongshi yanjie), a 17th-century Korean primer on colloquial Chinese comprised mostly of material traceable to the mid-15th-century, presents the Journey to the West story cycle as a highly popular tale among Koreans. This fact is revealed during a conversation between two Buddhist monks, one of which states: “The Xiyouji is lively. It is good reading when you are feeling gloomy” (Dudbridge, 1970, p. 180). The same monk then recounts an episode where Monkey competes with three animal spirits-cum-Daoist priests in a test of magic skill. This episode comprises chapters 44 to 46 in the final Ming version of the novel. [1] The popularity of the Chinese story cycle in Korea then explains why scenes from it appear on the pagoda.
II. Pagoda Background
The National Museum of Korea explains the 13.5 meter (44.3 ft) tower has a long and tumultuous history:
Made of marble, this ten-story stone pagoda was erected at Gyeongcheonsa Temple in Gaeseong in 1348, the fourth year of the reign of Goryeo’s King Chungmok. The first tier of the pagoda bears an inscription that records various details about the pagoda’s production, including the production date and the patrons. According to the inscription, the pagoda was sponsored by Goryeo people who were associated with China’s Yuan Dynasty. Notably, this stone pagoda was closely modeled after wooden architecture, and each story is expertly carved with Buddhist images. The platform is sculpted with scenes of Xiyouji (Journey to the West), as well as lions, dragons, and lotus flowers. The lower four stories are sculpted with scenes of Buddha’s Assembly, while the upper six stories are sculpted with images of Buddha with both hands clasped. The four sides of the platform and those of the lower three tiers are protruding, recalling the shape of Tibetan-Mongolian pagodas that were prevalent in the Yuan period. However, the upper seven tiers have a more standard rectangular shape that corresponds with the conventional form of stone pagodas. Notably, about 120 years after this pagoda was built, the Joseon royal court erected a stone pagoda with a similar material and shape at Wongaksa Temple in Gwangju. In 1907, this pagoda was illegally dismantled and smuggled to Japan by Tanaka Mitsuyaki, the Japanese Minister of the Imperial Household. However, thanks in part to the efforts of a British journalist named Ernest Thomas Bethel and an American journalist named Homer Hulbert, it was returned to Korea in 1918. The pagoda was partially restored in 1960, while it was being kept at Gyeongbokgung Palace, but after having been kept outside for so long, suffering the effects of weather and acid rain, it could not be properly preserved. Thus, in 1995, it was dismantled for a more extensive restoration project. Ten years later, it was reassembled inside the new building of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, being unveiled as part of the museum’s grand opening in 2005 (“Ten-story Stone Pagoda”, n.d.).
The pagoda’s political and architectural connections to Yuan China further explain why scenes from the story cycle grace the platform.
III. The Images
(Note: I have recently learned that the line drawings from Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso (1993) are all but useless. See the 10-26-19 update below for more info.)
Twenty Journey to the West-related scenes appear on the second level of the pagoda’s multifaceted three-tiered base. The following line drawings, which are based on ink rubbings of the original carvings, come from an in-depth field report by the Yegŭrin Architectural Firm (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993). The images are presented below starting from the southernmost face (the six o’clock position) of the pagoda’s diamond-shaped cross section, proceeding in a clockwise fashion. Each is accompanied with commentary from the original report.[2] You will notice the report is generally vague as the exact meaning of the scenes are often unclear. I will therefore present my own commentary or questions below in the hopes of furthering the discussion.
On the left, a figure of a Buddhist monk stands at the front, and behind him a horse and figures in the shape of a pig’s head, a monkey, and more are depicted. The figure of the Buddhist monk appears to be Monk Xuanzang, the figure of the monkey, Sun Wukong, the figure with the pig’s head, Zhu Bajie, and the last figure appears to be Sha Wujing. In other words, it is Monk Xuanzang’s travel companions. On the right, pictured symmetrically with Xuanzang’s travel party is the figure of a nobleman wearing a crown, and behind him stands a figure of a young boy holding an umbrella over his head and the figures of three noblemen.
And to the right of this a building structure is depicted. The nobleman who is at the very front wearing a crown seems to be a king and the building structure appears to represent a palace. Therefore, the content of the carving above seems to be the scene of a king sending off Monk Xuanzang’s travel party [fig. 5] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p.123).
Could this scene be a telescopic version of the narrative, one in which the already assembled group is being sent off by Tang Taizong? After all, the authors suggest in panel number ten that the first ten images likely show the journey to India, while the latter half shows the return (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 124). Hierarchy in scale is employed to portray the king as the largest and therefore the most important, with Tripitaka being the second tallest/important, and the three disciples even shorter. Pigsy’s porcine head really stands out as Sandy is depicted as a human monk.
As above, the horse and the travel party of Monk Xuanzang, Monkey, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing have been portrayed. Here Sha Wujing is carrying a knapsack. On the left a road populated with animals and birds are depicted. Therefore, here it appears to show that Monk Xuanzang and his companions are traveling on a mountain road [fig. 6] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p.123).
Take note of Pigsy’s upraised hands and wide stride. This motif appears several more times on other panels (fig. 12, 13, 17, and 24). The posture is quite similar to that from the aforementioned ceramic pillow and incense burner, which depict Pigsy carrying his rake and leading the horse. He lacks his signature weapon in these scenes, however (fig. 7). This might explain the strange posture of his right hand.
Fig. 7 – Similar Pigsy iconography from the Cizhou ware pillow (left), the incense burner (center), and panel two (right), all corresponding with the Yuan Dynasty (larger version). See also figure 24 for a better match.
On the left, the figure of a nobleman wearing a crown is kneeling. Behind him, a figure of a person holding a club appears to threaten the nobleman in front. Behind them something like an altar is depicted. Symmetrical with the figure of the kneeling nobleman, a figure looking like a government official from a prison in a provincial district stands holding a tool of torture.
Even if we don’t know what this is, it seems to show the oppression by those of other religions during the years of Xuanzang’s journey [fig. 8] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 123).
My view on the scene differs from the authors. The “government official” appears to be a deity (noted by the flowing ribbons around the shoulders), possibly Guanyin since the upheld item reminds me of her holy vase. The figure to the right could be her disciple Moksha. Would this make the club-wielding figure Monkey and his prisoner a captured demon?
On the left, a figure holding a club and Monk Xuanzang are depicted. On the right, Monkey, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing are portrayed. Here Monkey is posed as if he is defeating something with the stick, and behind the horse Sha Wujing is carrying the knapsack. Monk Xuanzang is shown lifting his left hand as if he is arguing something. This appears to show the scene of Xuanzang’s companions defeating some hindrance [fig. 9] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 123).
I believe Tripitaka is begging Monkey not to slay or beat the person, as the monk steps in many times throughout the narrative to do this. Could this be the White Bone Demon under one of its many disguises from chapter 27?
On the right side, a figure riding a lion is depicted. On the left side, three figures that seem like they are servants are depicted, and in the back a building structure is carved. It seems to depict some group of royals or noblemen on Xuanzang’s way to India [fig. 10] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 123).
The group of servants appear to me to be our pilgrims, the long-faced figure possibly being Pigsy. The figure riding the lion could be Manjusri and his feline mount. Could this be a reference to him subduing the beast in chapter 77? The figure’s hands appear to be producing bolts of lightning. I’m not sure of the significance, if any.
On the right, there is a figure of a Buddhist monk holding a monk’s staff who seems to be Monk Xuanzang, and a figure to his left seems to be a disguised Monkey. On the left, figures of noblemen from a palace are portrayed. This appears to depict a scene where Monk Xuanzang’s travel party is welcomed in some palace along the road [fig. 11] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 124).
The strange figure in the middle is a complete mystery to me. While the figure is identified as Monkey, it’s impossible to tell for sure.
On the left side, a pattern of fire sparks is carved. And in front of that is Monkey, holding a fan trying to put out the fire. Behind him Monk Xuanzang is carrying out some action with lifted hands, and behind him Zhu Bajie is holding the horse reins while Sha Wujing as always is carrying the knapsack. This depicts the scene of Xuanzang’s travel party meeting and trying to eliminate difficulties along the road [fig. 12] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 124).
This is the least ambiguous of the twenty scenes and my personal favorite. It depicts Monkey using the magic palm leaf fan to conquer the flames of Fire Mountain.
Pigsy’s upraised hand-wide stride motif appears once more.
A table is placed in the middle, and on top of it lays objects that seem to be offerings. On the right Xuanzang’s travel party and on the left figures of noblemen or royals are depicted. Two of the figures from Xuanzang’s travel party are covering their heads with something, but this seems to be to conceal the sight of Monkey and Zhu Bajie’s animal heads. This appears to be the scene of Xuanzang’s travel party receiving offerings from a royal or gentry family along the way [fig. 13] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 124).
The bearded figure between Tripitaka and the supposedly veiled figure is no doubt Pigsy, based on his upraised hands and wide stride. The elongated snout has been confused for a beard.
Also, could the veil actually be supplies on the horse’s back? Maybe the original rubbing is degraded in this area, making the head look as if it is under (instead of in front of) the object.
On the left, a figure of a nobleman who is kneeling or bending his head is depicted. On the right, the figure of Zhu Bajie, who is trying to attack the nobleman, and the figure of Monk Xuanzang, who is trying to prevent this, are shown. It appears to be depicting some sort of misunderstanding that happened between the nobleman and Xuanzang’s attendant [fig. 14] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 124).
Pigsy has not been portrayed with a weapon up to this point. It would make more sense if Monkey was wielding the staff. After all, figure 17 depicts Sun standing in a similar posture while wielding a club/staff. Perhaps the elongated face on this panel is just an artifact from the original rubbing?
On the left side, Xuanzang bears a monk’s staff and his attendants are depicted together with the horse. And on the right side, symmetrical to this, are the figures of a Buddhist monk (holding a monk’s staff) and his attendant, who are about to receive Xuanzang’s travel party. This appears to depict the scene of Xuanzang’s travel party being welcomed by the monks of some temple along the way. Here Monkey and Zhu Bajie seem to have transformed into monks and are posing as Buddhist monks.
The above ten sides, beginning at due south and reaching due north, appear to be depicting the process of Xuanzang’s travel party going to India, while the ten sides starting at due north appears to depict their return journey [fig. 15] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 124).
The scene shows the small monk on the right passing something to Tripitaka. Based on iconography from the following images (see, for example, fig. 18), this could be portraying the monks receiving the scriptures in India.
On the left side, two horses carrying something on their backs and Xuanzang’s travel party are shown. On the left are two figures of kings with umbrellas held over their heads by attendants. And to the left of them, a figure of an official who seems to be guarding the palace is visible. This appears to be depicting the scene where the kings are sending off Xuanzang’s travel party, who are setting off on their journey home after obtaining the scriptures [fig. 16] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 124).
The “something” on the horses’ backs could be the scriptures.
On the left, the figure of a monk is caught by the figures of noblemen wearing crowns. On the left Monkey, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing and the horse are depicted. But Monkey and Zhu Bajie are assuming postures threatening to save the captured Monk Xuanzang. This seems to show the image of Monkey and company as guards, trying to save Xuanzang when he was being captured on their way back [fig. 17] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 125).
Here the figure wielding the staff is designated Monkey, with Pigsy standing behind him. Again, this makes more sense than Zhu Bajie attacking (as portrayed in figure 14).
On the right side, Xuanzang’s travel party and the horse carrying the scriptures are depicted. Here Xuanzang is shown handing over some of the Buddhist scriptures to the figure of a monk on the left. This appears to show Xuanzang’s travel party passing on Buddhism along the way on their return journey [fig. 18] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 125).
Compare the shape of the Buddhist scriptures held by the monks with that in figure 15.
The panel draws on preexisting iconography regarding the sutras. The collection of holy writings are sometimes portrayed as a bundle of scrolls emitting an aura of holy light. See, for example, the 12th-century mural from Yulin Cave (Yulin ku, 榆林窟) number three in Gansu province, China (fig. 19).
Fig. 19 – Detail of sutras from a 12th-century Yunlin cave mural (left) and the sutras from panel thirteen (right) (larger version). Both are shown stacked atop a horse.
In the middle of the right side, the figure of a king seated on a throne is depicted. On both sides of him figures of scholar-officials attend to him or sit. On the left, figures of officials are shown attending to duties or sitting. It seems this is depicting the scene of China’s emperor waiting for Xuanzang’s travel party [fig. 20] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 125).
Could the figures at the table actually be our heroes, with Xuanzang kneeling before a foreign king?
On the left side, a figure of an ascetic is depicted sitting under a tree (Bodhi tree) meditating, and Xuanzang’s travel party and the horse are depicted. Here Xuanzang is assuming a posture, holding the monk’s staff and lifting his right hand trying to assert something. This seems to show the scene of Xuanzang’s travel party meeting an ascetic and passing on Buddhism on their journey home [fig. 21] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 125).
Look closely and you will notice that Sun Wukong does not appear in the scene. Could the “ascetic” be Monkey kneeling before Xuanzang. If so, could this be a reference to the immortal and his master mending their relationship in chapter 58 after the trickery of the Six-Eared Macaque forced them apart?
On the right, a building is depicted and inside it a figure of a king sitting on a throne, and in front of him, a figure of a kneeling monk (Xuanzang) are portrayed. Outside the building, the figure of a young monk that seems to be Xuanzang’s attendant is depicted. Behind him, figures that seem to be civil and military officials are depicted. This seems to show the scene of Xuanzang meeting some king along his way [fig. 22](Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 125).
On the left, a pagoda is depicted and in front of it, Zhu Bajie is carrying a club, assuming a posture trying to bring the pagoda down. Behind him Monk Xuanzang is lifting his right hand and insisting something, as if trying to stop him. This seems to show the soothing of Zhu Bajie’s aggressive, insulting actions towards Buddhism [fig. 23] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 125).
Like figure 14, it would make more sense if Monkey is the one wielding the staff. Could this be a reference to chapter 62 when Sun captures two fish spirits found on a pagoda’s topmost floor?
In the upper left part, the sun symbolizing light is depicted. Headed in that direction Monk Xuanzang is taking the lead and behind him Monkey, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing are shown hurrying their steps while leading the horse. Here Monk Xuanzang seems to be urging Monkey, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, rushing their journey home [fig. 24] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 125).
This includes Pigsy’s aforementioned motif. It is a better match for the ceramic pillow and incense burner examples from figure 19.
On the right, a figure of a celestial being is depicted and Xuanzang’s travel party is facing it symmetrically. This seems to show the fact that Xuanzang’s travel party received the blessing of celestial guardian deities [fig. 25] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 126).
I’m confused as to why the two characters on the far right are stacked one on the other. Per the original ink rubbing, could “they” actually be a singular figure, possibly someone of great importance given their size? Could the “deity” actually be Xuanzang being elevated in spiritual rank like in chapter 100?
On the left, something that seems to be a Buddhist altar is depicted. In front of it, Xuanzang is placed in the middle shown holding the monk’s staff, and Monkey, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing are each shown performing different actions. Xuanzang is lifting his right hand, posed arguing something and you could say he is trying to educate his attendants, Monkey etc., in Buddhism [fig. 26] (Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso, 1993, p. 126).
While the line drawing looks more like a figure at a desk, it very well could be an altar with a Buddha statue. Could this depict the lives of our heroes after entering paradise?
IV. Other Pagodas
This is not the first time characters from the story cycle have appeared on a pagoda. Even older examples appear on the 13th-century tower of the Kaiyuan Temple from Quanzhou, Fujian province, China. In this previous article I described how the pagoda is covered with eighty life-sized carvings of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, guardian deities, Buddhist saints, and eminent monks. Of note is a muscular, sword-wielding, monkey-headed warrior that many consider to be an early example of Sun Wukong. Another is an armored, spear-wielding warrior believed to be the dragon prince who becomes the white dragon horse. Both occupy the same face of the eight-sided structure (Dudbridge, 1970, pp. 47-48 and 49-51).
V. Conclusion
Zhu Bajie’s oldest known depictions come from a time coinciding with the late Yuan Dynasty, examples including a ceramic pillow and a fragmented incense burner from China and carvings on a pagoda from Korea. Built in 1348 by Goryeo representatives with ties to the Yuan court, the ten-story Gyeongcheonsa pagoda includes twenty Journey to the West-related scenes around the second level of the structure’s multifaceted three-tiered base. Many of the scenes are vague or focus more on kings and nobles in place of Tripitaka’s tribulations or instances of supernatural battles. One has to consider the story cycle was still solidifying at this point, so it’s possible some of the scenes depict episodes that did not make it into the final Ming version of the novel. But given the amount of royalty, is it possible the donors/planners were trying to ingratiate themselves with people of higher social rank? Or were they just trying to illustrate the great many countries visited by the pilgrims (each one ruled by a king) within the limited space provided?
The panels involving Pigsy for the most part use a consistent iconography borrowed from China. The aforementioned Yuan examples portray Pigsy leading the horse with one hand and with the other holding his signature rake, which rests on his shoulder, all while taking a large step forward. The pagoda panels, however, do not portray the rake, leaving our portly hero with his arm strangely floating in the air. Instead of a rake, some panels appear to show him wielding a staff. But the figure might actually be Sun Wukong, the elongated face just being an artifact from the original ink rubbings.
The fact that characters from the Journey to the West story cycle appear on Chinese and Korean pagodas alongside Buddhist deities proves just how intertwined the story is with the religion. The tale essentially symbolizes the quest for enlightenment, the ultimate goal of Buddhism. Therefore, such pictorial representations, especially the narrative-type scenes from Gyeongcheonsa, were probably meant to both entertain and spread the faith.
Update: 10-26-19
I have recently learned that the line drawings from Yegŭrin Kŏnchʻuksa Samuso (1993) are all but useless. A prime example is number nineteen. As a reminder, here is the drawing:
I originally suggested that the being on the cloud was Xuanzang being elevated in spiritual rank. I didn’t comment on the strange, flower-like cloud to the right of that figure because of its abstract shape.
Now here is a photo of the actual carving. It has been enhanced slightly for clarity.
You’ll noticed that the cloud really is a flower with a defined bulb, stem, and leaves. There also appears to be a figure sitting on the flower, one who is surrounded by what looks to be spikes or swords. Here’s a closer look with a crude line drawing by the author.
Wall (2019) notes the figure on the flower is Red Boy and the figure on the cloud is Guanyin (pp. 2129-2130), making this a depiction of the former’s defeat at the end of what would be chapter 42 of the Ming Journey to the West:
After she received [treasure swords borrowed from heaven], the Bodhisattva [Guanyin] threw them into the air as she recited a spell: the swords were transformed into a thousand-leaf lotus platform. Leaping up, the Bodhisattva sat solemnly in the middle.
[…]
[Sun Wukong feigns defeat and tricks Red Boy into chasing him to Guayin’s domain] When the monster spirit suddenly discovered that Pilgrim was gone, he walked up to the Bodhisattva with bulging eyes and said to her, “Are you the reinforcement Pilgrim Sun brought here?” The Bodhisattva did not reply. Rolling the lance in his hands, the monster king bellowed, “Hey! Are you the reinforcement Pilgrim Sun brought here?” Still the Bodhisattva did not reply. The monster-spirit lifted his lance and jabbed at the heart of the Bodhisattva, who at once changed herself into a beam of golden light and rose into the air. Pilgrim followed her on her way up and said to her, “Bodhisattva, you are trying to take advantage of me! The monster-spirit asked you several times. How could you pretend to be deaf and dumb and not make any noise at all? One blow of his lance, in fact, chased you away, and you have even left behind your lotus platform.”
“Don’t talk,” said the Bodhisattva, “let’s see what he will do.” At this time, Pilgrim and Mokṣa both stood in the air shoulder to shoulder and stared down; they found the monster-spirit laughing scornfully and saying to himself, “Brazen ape, you’re mistaken about me! What sort of person do you think that I, Holy Child, happen to be? For several times you could not prevail against me, and then you had to go and fetch some namby-pamby Bodhisattva. One blow of my lance now has made her vanish completely. Moreover, she has even left the treasure lotus platform behind. Well, let me get up there and take a seat.” Dear monster-spirit. He imitated the Bodhisattva by sitting in the middle of the platform with hands and legs folded. When he saw this, Pilgrim said, “Fine! Fine! Fine! This lotus platform has been given to someone else!”
“Wukong,” said the Bodhisattva, “what are you mumbling again?”
“Mumbling what? Mumbling what?” replied Pilgrim. “I’m saying that the lotus platform has been given to someone else. Look! It’s underneath his thighs. You think he’s going to return it to you?”
“I wanted him to sit there,” said the Bodhisattva.
“Well, he’s smaller than you,” said Pilgrim, “and it seems that the seat fits him even better than it fits you.”
“Stop talking,” said the Bodhisattva, “and watch the dharma power.”
She pointed the willow twig downward and cried, “Withdraw!” All at once, flowers and leaves vanished from the lotus platform and the auspicious luminosity dispersed entirely. The monster king, you see, was sitting actually on the points of those swords. The Bodhisattva then gave this command to Mokṣa:
“Use your demon-routing cudgel and strike back and forth at the sword handles.”
Dropping from the clouds, Mokṣa wielded his cudgel as if he were demolishing a wall: he struck at the handles hundreds of times. As for that monster-spirit,
Both his legs were pierced till the points stuck out; Blood spouted in pools as flesh and skin were torn.
Marvelous monster! Look at him! Gritting his teeth to bear the pain, he abandoned the lance so that he could use both hands to try to pull the swords out from his body (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 246 and 249-250).
Could the figures, one on top of the other’s shoulders, be an inventive way of showing Monkey and Guanyin’s disciple Moksha working together to subdue Red Boy?
This carving shows the Red Boy episode was known in Korea during the 14th-century, demonstrating that it predates the final Ming novel by centuries. The tale obviously would have taken time to form, become established in the accepted story cycle, and travel north, suggesting it may date to the early part of the corresponding Yuan-period when the Pagoda was raised in Korea, or possibly even before.
I hope to locate pictures of the other carvings to make this article more accurate.
Notes:
1) See Dudbridge, 1970, pp. 60-74 for more information. The tale itself is translated in appendix B of the same work. See pages 179-188.
2) I am indebted to Sini Henningsen, BA (sinihenningsen@gmail.com) for translating the cited Korean material.
Sources:
Brose, B. (2018). The pig and the prostitute: The cult of Zhu Bajie in modern Taiwan. Journal of Chinese Religions, 46 (2), pp. 167-196, DOI: 10.1080/0737769X.2018.1507091
Dudbridge, G. (1970). The Hsi-yu chi: A study of antecedents to the sixteenth-century Chinese novel. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Wall, B. (2019). Dynamic texts as hotbeds for transmedia storytelling: A case study of the story universe of the Journey to the West. International Journal of Communication 13, 2116-2142. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/10006/2648
