Tag Laozi

Archive #49: Journey to the West (西游记): A 60-Volume Lianhuanhua Comic

Jim R. McClanahan 1 Comment

I recently archived a seven-volume lianhuanhua comic about Sun Wukong battling the famous Eighteen Arhats. Upon learning this, a follower on Twitter asked me if I could locate scans of a 60-volume set that they read when they were younger. Luckily, I found a website selling them for super cheap.

I am archiving the set here in order to document modern day perceptions and depictions of JTTW and its characters.

1. Info

  • Title – Journey to the West (西游记)
    • Adaptation – Zhang Yuzhi (张玉枝)
    • Illustrations – Yan Dong (严东)
    • Editor-in-charge – Chang Shengli (常胜利)
  • Publisher – China Lianhuanhua Publishing House and Distribution (中国连环画出版社出版发行)
  • First edition – November 1997
  • ISBN 7-5061-0827-5

The volume 60 cover reading, “Meeting the Buddhist Patriarch at Spirit Mountain” (Lingshan jian Fozu, 灵山见佛祖) (larger version).

1.1. Reprint

This set is the first of at least two prints, the other coming out in 2008 (ISBN: 7801388461, 9787801388469). See, for example, this Ebay listing (screenshot).

The 2008 boxed set (larger version).

2. Download link:

This is for the 1997 version only.

The comics can be read on Google Drive or downloaded and read on Adobe. However, I’ve had problems reading them on Chrome. Please keep this in mind. It might just be a problem on my end.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JcS65ckxWZQh462mlqwj5OOzNl4JJAQ7?usp=sharing

Review: The Second Journey (2024) by Joel Bigman

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Note: I was not paid for this review.

Format: Ebook ($6.99 USD) and paperback (280 pages; $19.99 to $21.99 USD) [1]
Publisher: Earnshaw Books Ltd.
Release date: December 17th, 2024
Purchase links:

1. Introduction

Over two decades ago I was inspired by Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592 CE; “JTTW” hereafter) to begin writing my own Chinese fantasy about an itinerant disciple of Sun Wukong battling monsters across ancient China. However, this all changed when I learned about the Kaifeng Jews, a historical enclave of sinified Israelite descendants who have lived in the Middle Kingdom for nearly a millennium. This convergence of two different cultures immediately captured my imagination, leading to the main character becoming the son of a founding member of the community. He would go on to brave supernatural events and creatures while serving as a soldier under General Yue Fei (1103–1142 CE), [2] eventually becoming a Jewish sage and powerful exorcist later in life. However, the book ultimately didn’t materialize as I came to realize that I was much better at coming up with research-based story ideas than actually writing narratives. Thus, my dreams of a Chinese-Jewish fantasy novel never came to pass.

But fret not, for Joel Bigman has written The Second Journey (2024), a modern sequel to JTTW, which is being touted as “The World’s First Chinese-Jewish Historical Fantasy.” [3] The story is framed as the contents of a lost 7th-century CE scroll discovered inside a buried jar while city planners investigate a watermain leak in modern Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China. A subsequent translation of the Aramaic text reveals a second, unknown journey undertaken by Xuanzang, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie (but not Sha Wujing or the Dragon Horse) five years after their original return. This new quest is initiated by the Bodhisattva Guanyin, who requests that the Tang Monk seek knowledge outside of China for the benefit of the Kaifeng Jews, who have assimilated so much into Chinese culture that they’ve forgotten how to read their Hebrew scriptures. The trio travels past India and into Central Asia, where they procure the services of “Bear” (a.k.a. the “Second Samson“), a supernaturally strong Jew with knowledge of the various routes and personages of Historic Palestine. Together with a mysterious donkey, they travel from town to town looking for a holy man willing to return to China and become the Kaifeng Jewish community’s new teacher, thereby reigniting their religious life. Bear arranges for the pilgrims to meet and stay with several such holy men—allowing them to learn Hebrew and Jewish culture and religious history along the way—but the search for the right candidate is quite difficult.

Cover art by the wonderful Yuyu (与鱼), a freelance illustrator. You can see other examples of their work here.

2. Analysis

2.1. Compare and contrast

How does The Second Journey compare to JTTW? Recall that the original is a fictionalized retelling of the historical monk Xuanzang‘s (玄奘, 602–664 CE) journey to India from 627 to 645 (640 to 654 in the novel) (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, pp. 1015-1016; Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 293; vol. 4, p. 374). The set up for the sequel is also based on actual history. The Jewish community of Kaifeng, Henan Province, China is believed to have been founded around the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127 CE), [4] and after centuries of unchecked assimilation, the enclave became religiously extinct sometime after the last Rabbi with knowledge of Hebrew died around 1800, [5] during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 CE). Joel has simply taken some artistic license by setting these events during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE). Also, the novel is full of historical Jewish sages and people that Xuanzang and his companions come to meet and/or learn from over the course of their journey. These include Eliezer ben Hurcanus, Yehoshua ben Hananiah, Akiva ben Joseph, Elisha ben Abuyah, Simeon ben Azzai, Simeon ben Zoma, Honi HaMe’agel, Shimon bar Yochai and his son Eleazar ben Shimon, Hillel the Elder, Rav Nachman bar Yaakov and his wife Lady Yalta, Rav Sheshet, Yohanan ben Zakkai, Shimon ben Lakish, Rabbi Tarfon, Judah ha-Nasi, Rabbi Meir and his wife Bruriah, and others. One of my favorite historical moments happens in “Wine,” when Monkey helps an enraged Lady Yalta attain catharsis by prompting her to smash hundreds of casks in a wine cellar after being slighted by her husband’s house guest (Bigman, 2024, pp. 138-140). Another happens in “Mother,” when Sun smashes a vase at the behest of Xuanzang in order to snap grieving disciples out of their ceaseless prayers, which are keeping ailing Rabbi Judah from dying (Bigman, 2024, pp. 165-167). Inserting our heroes into these Talmudic stories is an ingenious way of making the pilgrims feel that much more real, like they are being pulled out of myth and thrust into the real world.

JTTW is full of enlightened beings, gods, immortals, and demons and ghosts that can fly and wield spells and mystic objects for benign or malevolent purposes. The Second Journey also features magic. I can’t continue without first acknowledging that the historical Jews listed above actually lived centuries before Xuanzang was even born—something that informed readers may have already figured out. This means that the story follows a dreamlike timeline where the group magically flows like water between their present, the early Talmudic period (70–638 CE), and the distant Exodus Period, freely interacting with sages, prophets, patriarchs, and even God himself along the way. [6] Some of these Jewish holy men have mystical adventures of their own, such as in “Orchard” when Rabbi Akiva and others fly on a flaming chariot to the “Orchard of mystical knowledge” in order to discuss spiritual matters with wise men-cum-divine beings, or in “Slow Cart” when Sage Honi, a biblical rain-maker, is transported in his dreams to the past events of JTTW chapter 46, where he takes part in a rain-making competition against a Daoist animal-spirit (Bigman, 2024, pp. 56-62 and 99-104). And of course no JTTW story would be complete without Monkey showing off his magic powers. One of the more inventive uses of his abilities happens in a particular chapter where the titanic, golem-like angel Gabriel produces a giant clay sword from his thigh, and Monkey uses the intense spiritual flames inside his divine body to carburize it into a fine steel blade (Bigman, 2024, pp. 79). You’ll have to read the book to see how the weapon is used.

The original story is set in a world where Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism live in harmony with one another. The sequel also features such religious pluralism. In “Kaifeng,” Guanyin explains that she is sending the Tang Monk to the Western lands in order to save the Kaifeng Jews from being completely absorbed by Chinese culture. And in order to accomplish this, Xuanzang must bring foreign knowledge back to the Eastern lands, referring to it as “[s]eeds that may grow into something new” (Bigman, 2024, p. 11). As mentioned above, “Orchard” sees Jewish sages travel to a mystical orchard, where they converse with wise country folk, who are in actuality the Jade Emperor and Laozi (Bigman, 2024, pp. 59-62). This implies that even Jewish holy men can benefit from the knowledge of the East. A third example takes the form of the novel’s two-fold world system, where the Eastern and Western lands are two distinct realms overseen by the Jade Emperor and God, respectively. The reader first learns about this partitioned cosmos in “Oven” when Monkey seeks Guanyin’s aid in order to facilitate a biblical miracle:

In the past, you have received help in battling demons, either from myself, or from other celestial beings. But in this case, even the Jade Emperor cannot help you. These [Western] lands are too far away from our realm. You must ask for help from the emperor in a different heaven, in the Far Western Heaven […] He is Olam-Tzu, World-Master. The westerners call him Ribbono Shel Olam. You’ll have to find your own way to his heaven (Bigman, 2024, p. 36).

JTTW is full of humor, my favorite episode being when Monkey tricks three animal-spirits into drinking “elixir” which is actually the disciples’ stinky urine (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 286-287). BWAHAHAHA!!! The Second Journey also has its funny moments. In “The Other,” we learn our heroes have melodious snores:

Our friends woke up late the following morning; only Xuanzang woke up before noon. There was a whole chorus of snoring, led by the renowned soloist Pigsy, accompanied by Bear, their Foreign Guide, and our dear Monkey (Bigman, 2024, p. 187).

My absolute favorite comical moment happens in “Karma,” when Sage Sheshet warns Zhu that his over indulgence of Sabbath stew will come back to haunt him. And sure enough, after eating eighteen bowls worth, horrible stomach pains wake him from his afternoon nap. This causes him to worry that he has once again become magically pregnant like in chapter 53 of the original. But instead of relying on magic abortion water this time to end his suffering, his problem is solved by ripping nasty, giant farts (Bigman, 2024, pp. 145 and 148-150).

Beyond cultural and religious differences, the only applicable element that contrasts with JTTW is that Historic Palestine is said to be free of monsters (Bigman, 2024, pp. 46 and 109, for example). Monkey does briefly tangle with some biblical baddies in the sequel, but they are separated from the human world and therefore do not pose an immediate threat to the Tang Monk. This lack of action might be a little depressing for fans of the original, but readers should understand that both books serve different purposes. JTTW is chocked full of spirits that act as both merit-building obstacles and cultivation-facilitating illusions of the mind. These act as metaphors for the journey towards Buddhist enlightenment. However, such concepts aren’t needed in The Second Journey since Joel tells me that the point of the book is to introduce readers to Jewish culture and history via the medium of Xuanzang’s quest to find a teacher. Therefore, our heroes spend the majority of the story learning local beliefs and customs, listening to biblical tales, and acting as casual observers of Jewish religious history as it unfolds during their time travels. Entering the book with this knowledge should make it more enjoyable.

2.2. Suggestions

The book’s version of Xuanzang is an amalgam of his historical and literary counterparts. While this generally meshes well within the more realistic context of Historic Palestine, it does cause a problem in one particular instance. In “Bandits,” the pilgrims are accosted on the road by a group of highwaymen, and after their Daoist immortal-looking leader neutralizes Sun, Zhu, and Bear with a magic net, they choose the Tang Monk and a temporary travel companion as sacrifices to the Hindu goddess Durga. But a mysterious, powerful wind sent from heaven causes them to change their minds. The bandit leader is eventually revealed to be a Jew with a shady past who would go on to become a great holy man (Bigman, 2024, pp. 152-156). The problem is that the attempted sacrifice supposedly happened to the historical Xuanzang in India while sailing down the Ganges River (Huili & Shi, 1995, pp. 76-78). Recall that the historical Sage Honi travels back in time to past events from JTTW in “Slow Cart,” but this happens in his dreams. The episode under discussion is different because a historical event from India—which should have already happened to our composit Xuanzang—has been transposed onto Historic Palestine. It’s so out of place that it took me out of the story at that moment. The same can be said about a Daoist Jew leading a group of Hindu bandits in the Levant. I understand that Joel was trying to manufacture tension here, but he could have come up with an original group of bandits, and that way, Xuanzang could liken the experience to the one he had in India years prior. Or better still, the event could be likened to the Tang Monk’s experience in JTTW chapter 56 when Monkey is kicked out of the group for killing brigands, including beheading the wayward son of a local elderly couple (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 88-90). Perhaps Sun is put into a similar situation in the sequel where he could easily kill, but he doesn’t, thereby showing his master that he has internalized restraint.

And lastly, beyond fixing some minor issues, [7] the book would benefit from adding a glossary or footnotes to explain the names and significance of the various Jewish personages featured in the narrative. Joel told me that he “didn’t want to make it too ‘educational,’ like lecturing at the reader,” but non-Jews like myself who lack an extensive knowledge of Jewish religious history will no doubt be lost without some kind of guide. Having one would, therefore, make the novel far more accessible and enjoyable to a wider audience. As evidence of this, I actually read the book twice for this review, and I found that I enjoyed it more the second time around after having looked up info about the historical people and events.

3. My rating

I give The Second Journey four and a half out of five stars. The book is well-written, with smooth and oftentimes thought-provoking dialogue. The worldbuilding is very creative and yet still respectful to both Jewish beliefs and Chinese mythos. It’s definitely a great way to introduce someone to Jewish culture and religious history via Journey to the West. I highly recommend it!

Notes:

1) I read the Kindle version for this review. My thanks to Joel for giving me an advanced copy.

2) This was based on Weisz (2006), who shows that the Kaifeng Jews reference Yue Fei’s famous patriotic back tattoo, “Serve the country with utmost loyalty” (Jinzhang baoguo, 盡忠報國), in two of three main stone monuments erected in 1489, 1512, and 1663. The first mention appears in a section of the 1489 stele:

[…]

They received kindness from the Prince,
Lived on the income from the Prince
(They) only exerted in prayers To inform Heaven of their sincerity
Which meant “Boundless loyalty to the country and Prince.” (emphasis added)
May the Great Emperor of the Ming
His virtue surpass that of Yu and Tang
and His Highness that of Yao and Xun (Weisz, 2006, p. 18).

[…]

… 受君之恩食君之祿惟盡禮拜告天之誠報國忠君之意祝頌大明皇上德邁禹湯聖並堯舜 … (White, 1966, p. 38; see also the punctuated version).

The second is in a section of the 1512 stele:

[…]

Look at today.
If those who initiated subjects to study
And “brought glory to one’s parents
And became celebrated”
They had made it.
If those who arranged order among China and foreigners and were loyal to the Prince and benefited the people, they had made it.
Or, those who subdued the enemy and resisted aggression
And where “boundlessly loyal to the country” (emphasis added)
They had made it (Weisz, 2006, p. 26).

[…]

… 今日若進取科目而顯親揚名者有之若布列中外而致君澤民者有之或折衝禦侮而盡忠報國者有 … (White, 1966, p. 53; see also the punctuated version).

3) This is per the book’s blurb:

The World’s first Chinese-Jewish Historical Fantasy.

The Tang Monk Xuanzang along with Monkey and Pigsy famously brought the Buddhist scriptures back to China. Now the trio go on a new adventure to get the Hebrew Scriptures. The strongman Bear joins them as they face new monsters and new challenges, and finally reach a land filled with hundreds of foreign sages, yet only one god. The search for a teacher willing to come back to China is difficult, but a talking donkey helps solve the problem.

A fresh parable linking the Chinese classic story with the worlds of Western Asia and Roman Palestine, The Second Journey brings together the cultures, myths and philosophies of all Asia.

4) See my two-part article (here and here) summarizing theories about when the Kaifeng Jews first came to China.

5) Writing in 1850 CE, a Chinese protestant delegate sent to Kaifeng reported:

The present neglect of the Jewish religion is due to the fact that for these fifty years, there has been no one to instruct the members in the knowledge of the fifty-three sections of the Divine Scriptures, and in the twenty-seven [sic] letters of the Jewish alphabet (White, 1966, p. 116).

“These fifty years” implies that the last rabbi died around 1800 CE.

6) Beyond a mention of a specific “magic time traveling cave” in “Cave” (Bigman, 2024, p. 112), the reason for their time-jumping is never openly explained in the narrative. But Joel notes in his “Afterward” that he did this just so the Tang Monk could meet famous Jewish holy men (Bigman, 2024, p. 260).

7) The first minor issue is plot holes. For example, in “Kaifeng,” after being asked by Xuanzang to be his guide, Bear exclaims: “I have always wanted to go west, to where my people came from. I’ll gladly join you!” (Bigman, 2024, p. 19). But despite having never gone there, he spends the rest of the story expertly guiding the group throughout Historic Palestine like he’s intimately familiar with the routes, towns, and people. Another is that the pilgrims are able to understand spoken Hebrew without the narrative ever mentioning when they first started learning it. For instance, in “Oven,” Sun Wukong understands a debate between Jewish sages: “Old Monkey listened carefully and while it was hard to follow, the question seemed to be whether this specific oven was ritually pure or impure, or maybe whether it could become impure or not” (Bigman, 2024, p. 32). He goes on to use his magic to produce biblical miracles that support one holy man’s exclamations of truth (Bigman, 2024, pp. 34-35). In “Angels,” Bear claims out of nowhere that Xuanzang has been “learn[ing] their language, at least a bit,” and the Tang Monk shortly thereafter speaks to Moses with “accented formal Hebrew” (Bigman, 2024, p. 47). Official Hebrew lessons (in this case reading) are not mentioned until “Mother” (Bigman, 2024, p. 158). A lesser plot hole appears at the end of a particular chapter where Monkey rolls up the recently flayed hide of a biblical baddie on his staff, shrinks it, and stores it to never be seen again (Bigman, 2024, p. 80). I would have liked to have seen the skin play a part in another episode, perhaps serving as a magic blanket or being tailored into a magic robe.

The second minor issue is inconsistency. For instance, in “Kaifeng,” the sequel states that Monkey’s magic staff weighs 17,500 jin (22,762.73 lbs./10,325 kg), but “Oven” changes this to the novel accurate number of 13,500 jin (17,560 lbs./7,965 kg) (Bigman, 2024, pp. 17 and 35). “Leviathan” ups this to an astounding 54,000 jin (70,239.28 lbs./31,860 kg), and then “Skip” sees Sun hand the weapon to Moses, who picks it up with ease (Bigman, 2024, pp. 73 and 183). So, either the prophet is crazy strong, or Joel forgot how much the weapon weighs.

The third minor issue is typos. The book could do with an additional copy edit. I’ve alerted Joel to the misprints I noticed during my readings (please forgive any typos that are overlooked in this article).

Sources:

Bigman, J. (2024). The Second Journey. Hong Kong: Earnshaw Books Ltd. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Second-Journey-Joel-Bigman/dp/9888843702.

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

Huili, & Shi, Y. (1995). A Biography of the Tripitaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty (L. Rongxi Trans.). Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Retrieved from https://www.bdkamerica.org/product/a-biography-of-the-tripitaka-master-of-the-great-cien-monastery/.

Weisz, T. (2006). The Kaifeng Stone Inscriptions: The Legacy of the Jewish Community in Ancient China. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.

White, W. C. (1966). Chinese Jews: A Compilation of Matters Relating to the Jews of K’ai-fêng Fu (2nd ed.). Canada: University of Toronto Press. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/lccn_66026456/mode/2up.

Story Idea: Firearms and the Journey to the West Universe

Jim R. McClanahan 4 Comments

From time to time I like to post a fun blog not directly related to (though sometimes informed by) my research. Regular articles will resume after this entry.

Last updated: 12-03-2024

I am currently reading Gunpowder Technology in the Fifteenth Century: A Study, Edition and Translation of the Firework Book (2024), and this got me thinking: what would the Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) cosmos be like if there were guns? In this photo essay, I will briefly explore guns in Chinese folk religion, types of historical (mainly handheld) firearms used in ancient China, and, finally, ways that such weapons could be inserted into the narrative.

I. Folk Religion

I first set out to see if firearms play any part in Chinese folk religion. I found a few examples from Taiwan. The first is “Lord Red Flag” (Hongqi gong, 紅旗公; a.k.a. “Marshal of Sacred Righteousness,” Shengyi yuanshuai, 聖義元帥), a relatively recent martial god. He and his marshals are depicted holding rifles.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

Here’s a version without the cloak.

Even his tangki (spirit-medium) gets a chance to fire off some rounds.

Three more involve Prince Nezha. The first of two (from the same temple) is a traditional statue adorned with an M4 assault rifle and other modern weaponry.

Here’s a closeup of the rifle. Also, take note of the holstered revolver (i.e. the black pouch) on his waist.

The profile view shows clips on his belt (again, in black pouches), as well as a grenade on top of an ammo case at his feet.

The second is a three-headed and eight-armed Nezha with an anti-tank rocket launcher, a rocket round, and a grenade at his feet.

A third statue (my personal favorite) portrays the prince with an MP 40 submachine gun and modern military gear. The carving on the water is amazing. I first learned of it here.

I learned here and here that cannons are sometimes worshiped in East and Southeast Asia as fertility gods. (See the 09-29-24 update below for more info about cannons.)

I also learned that ritual guns sometimes appear in Chinese folk temples of Vietnam.

If present, the guns number among ritual weapons that are commonly found in martial god temples of Chinese folk religion. (But I’ve never personally seen a gun among said armaments in Taiwanese temples.) This Vietnamese article briefly mentions that the weapons are based on the eighteen arms of Chinese martial arts. And it’s interesting to note that a “hand canon” (chong, 銃) does appear among the eighteen arms listed in the Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan, 水滸傳, c. 1400):

Shi Jin daily sought Drill Instructor Wang’s tutelage in the eighteen (weapons of) martial arts. He taught him from the very beginning. Which eighteen martial arts?

Lance, hammer, bow, crossbow, hand cannon, whip, metal tablet, long sword, chain, truncheon, fu-axe, yue-axe, ge-halberd, ji-halberd, shield, staff and spear, and toothless rake. [1]

史進每日求王教頭點撥十八般武藝，一一從頭指教。 那十八般武藝？

矛錘弓弩銃，鞭簡(鐧)劍鏈撾，斧鉞並戈戟，牌棒與槍杈。

Perhaps this list influenced the ritual weapons in Vietnam.

II. Historical Firearms in Ancient China

Here is an example of a Yuan-era hand canon, minus the shaft.

Here is a “Three-Eyed Hand Canon” (Sanyan chong, 三眼銃), a three-barreled stick gun used during the Ming Dynasty.

You can see that they were attached to bladed polearms, which could be used offensively or defensively between reloading.

There were even five-barreled and shielded firearms called “Rapid-Thunder Hand Cannons” (Xunlei chong, 迅雷銃). So cool!

Here’s a Chinese video demonstrating the one and three-barreled versions:

III. Story Idea

This brings me back to Journey to the West. How could firearms be inserted into a religious allegory? Well, for starters, a 950 CE wall mural in Dunhuang shows one of Mara‘s demons attacking the awakening Buddha with a “fire lance” (huoqiang, 火槍; upper right), a precursor of hand cannons. This is a clear example of a centuries-old association between firearms and spiritual warfare.

Here’s the full mural.

Now imagine that these weapons are wielded by celestial gunner-soldiers under the command of the “Star of Fiery Virtue” (Huode xingjun, 火德星君), the god of fire. In JTTW chapter 51, his literary troops utilize fire scimitars, fire bows, fire arrows, fire crows, fire horses, red (fire) rats, fire dragons, fire carts, fire gourds, fire banners, and fire rods in battle (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 9). These are just a short step from firearms.

Given that the novel projects Ming-era concepts backwards to the Tang Dynasty, having gods wield such weapons hundreds of years before they were even invented wouldn’t be out of place in the JTTW universe. A writer could just say that the weapons were created in the realm above and eventually trickled down to mankind. Admittedly, I like the real history better because it shows the ingenuity of our predecessors, but the story requires a little tinkering.

Writers wanting to expand on the idea of firearms in heaven could take Ming gunners, their uniforms, and their strategies as models to work from. This page features a lovely figurine of such soldiers, including lots of juicy historical info. And the fact that the historical troops were part of the “Divine Machine Battalion” (Shenji ying, 神機營), which specialized in firearms, really solidifies their connection to the heavenly realm.

Who would make such weapons? There’s a fun answer for that: Laozi! The novel twice describes him forging mystical weapons belonging to our main characters. For example, Zhu Bajie mentions in chapter 19 that the high god made his rake: “This is divine ice steel greatly refined, / Polished so highly that it glows and shines. / Laozi wielded the large hammer and tong …” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 382). And Monkey claims in chapter 75 that the Daoist Patriarch created his staff: “The rod of steel nine cyclic times refined / Was forged in the stove by Laozi himself” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 375). So, on top of making alchemical medicines, Laozi could be heaven’s celestial gunsmith.

How could demons get ahold of celestial guns? Well, referring back to chapter 51, a buffalo-spirit uses the “diamond cutter” (jingang zhuo, 金鋼琢), an uber powerful, bracelet-like treasure-weapon also created by Laozi, to twice suck away all of the aforementioned fire weapons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 9 and 23). Devil craftsmen would then have time to analyze the heavenly technology, which would allow them to eventually make their own (inferior?) copies.

Recall that the Great Peng demon is said in chapter 74 to have taken over a human kingdom by eating all of the inhabitants some 500 years ago, and the former population was replaced by spirits (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 360). Firearms would definitely make a human-to-monster kingdom transition for less powerful demon kings a lot easier.

Another possibility is that a fiend could simply sneak into heaven to steal some. This may seem like an impossible task, but JTTW chapter 63 mentions something similar happening. The dragon-spirit “Princess All Saints” (Wansheng gongzhu, 萬聖宮(公)主) is said to have “[snuck] into heaven and stole[n] from before the Hall of Divine Mists the nine-leaf divine agaric planted by the Lady Queen Mother of the West” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 192). So, if someone can secretly infiltrate the realm above and steal divine vegetation, they could certainly steal heavenly armaments.

Perhaps the simplest way that demons could attain celestial firearms is by ambushing heavenly troops and commandeering their equipment.

I could see Red Boy (Honghai’er, 紅孩兒) using his powerful Samadhi flame to forge his own hand cannons, at least with the help of devil craftsmen. His association with fire only makes it natural that his own troops would carry firearms.

The only thing I can’t think of is how heavenly hand cannons would differ from their real world counterparts. Would they just use gunpowder and metal shot, or would it be more magical in nature, like shooting meteors? I’m open to suggestions from readers.

Update: 09-29-2024

The film Enoken no Songoku: Zenpen (エノケンの孫悟空 前編; a.k.a. “Enoken’s Songoku,” 1940) features the Monkey King mowing down demons with his staff-turned-machine gun.

There are at least two toys depicting the Great Sage with a gun. The first I learned about via a Facebook group post. I love how his sniper rifle is modeled on his magic staff. You can see the original packaging here.

And here is a Black Myth: Wukong-inspired figure with a powerful-looking rifle/shot gun combo. I saw it here.

Regarding cannons, I learned that a giant Western cannon was worshiped by court officials during the Ming. The History of the Ming (Mingshi, 明史, 1739) explains:

At this time, a ship arriving from the Great Western Ocean [i.e. the West] brought an enormous cannon, which got the name of the “Red Barbarian” [Hongyi, 紅夷]. It measured over two-zhang [20.86 ft/6.358 m] long, and weighed as much as 3,000 catties [3,902.18 lbs/1,770 kg]. It could demolish any stone city-walls, and its earthquake-like roar could be heard for several dozen li around. During the Tianqi [天啟] reign, the name of “Great General” [Da jiangjun, 大將軍] was given to it, and officials were sent to offer libations [si, 祀] to it (based on Needham, 1986, p. 392).

其後，大西洋船至，復得巨砲，曰紅夷。長二丈馀，重者至三千斤，能洞裂石城，震數十里。天啟中，錫以大將軍號，遣官祀之。

Needham (1986) suggests the cannon’s worship is connected to folk beliefs: “In Taoist folk-religion any device or machine of almost miraculous potency was something which should receive veneration” (p. 392 n. b).

Update: 10-05-24

I forgot to mention the “Gatling Gun Bodhisattva” (Jia-te-lin pusa, 加特林菩薩) from Chinese social media and Japanese manga. The following clip expounds the Heart Sutra of the Honored Gatling Gun Bodhisattva (Namo Jia-te-lin pusa Xinjing, 南無加特林菩薩心經).

Update: 11-23-24

Reader Danna Zhang left a wonderful comment about how Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620 CE), a sort of prequel to Journey to the West, also includes gunpowder weaponry:

Late comment, but FSYY also puts Ming dynasty gunpowder weapons into the 11th BCE Shang dynasty setting. Apart from the numerous mentions of “cannons go boom”, In Chapter 56, they broke Deng Jiugong’s ambush-disguised-as-wedding by hiding a cannon in the gift casket and using it to make a surprise attack, and in Chapter 88, Jiang Ziya suggests to King Wu that they need the “Sky-blasting Cannon” (轰天大炮) to breach the walls of Mianchi City.

At this point, I think the bronze age gunpowder weapon isn’t a bug, it'[s] a feature.

Update: 12-03-24

The Japanese Scroll of Battle Between Generations (異代同戱図巻, 17th-century) includes a depiction of Guanyin aiming a flintlock rifle, with the Dragon Girl waiting in attendance behind her.

Note:

1) The narration is based on my translation, while the weapons list is based on that from Lorge (2012). See page 147.

Source:

Lorge, P. A. (2012). Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

Needham, J. (1986). Science and Civilization in China. Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology; part 7, Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic. Assisted by Ho Ping-yü et al. New York: Cambridge University Press.

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

 

Laozi’s Diamond Cutter Treasure-Weapon from Journey to the West

Jim R. McClanahan 6 Comments

Last updated: 03-14-2024

I’ve previously written several articles that survey a chosen subject from Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592; “JTTW” hereafter). These include Monkey’s immortal breath, his names and titles, his four mighty commanders, and a comprehensive list of his magic powers and skills. Also, there are my articles on the respective appearances of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Red Boy.

Here, I would like to focus on a bangle-like holy treasure belonging to the Daoist high god Laozi (老子). The fillet first appears in chapter six when it is used as a blunt throwing weapon to incapacitate Sun Wukong during his rebellion. It later reappears in chapters 50 to 52 as a mysterious, white, shiny string of pearls used by a buffalo spirit to instantly suck away magic weapons and animals and defeat even destructive elemental attacks, kind of like a personal black hole generator with a built-in pocket dimension. It’s so powerful, in fact, that even the sight of it is enough to make Monkey and a host of other gods flee for their lives.

This article will quote all mentions of the weapon, complete with the original Chinese; explain how it was created; describe the history of terminology that ties the treasure to diamond-pointed tools used by craftsmen west of China to work hard stone like jade; demonstrate that it is a mirrored literary element to Sun Wukong’s headband and Prince Nezha‘s fire wheel; and, finally, explore its influence on three fillet-like throwing weapons from another Chinese vernacular classic.

The overwhelming power of Lord Li’s treasure has stuck with me ever since I first read JTTW nearly 25 years ago. I hope that this article will introduce the subject to a wider audience who may not be aware of it.

1. Introduction in chapter six

The high god of Daoism claims to have used the steel bangle as protection while proselytizing in the west:

He rolled up his sleeve and took down from his left arm an armlet [quanzi, 圈子, lit: “circle”], saying, “This is a weapon made of kun steel [kungang, 錕鋼], brought into existence during my preparation of reverted elixir and fully charged with spiritual energy. It can be made to transform at will; indestructible by fire or water, it can entrap many things. It’s called the diamond cutter [jingang zhuo, 金鋼琢] or the diamond snare [jingang tao, 金鋼套]. The year when I crossed the Hangu Pass, I depended on it a great deal for the conversion of the barbarians to Buddhism, for it was practically my bodyguard night and day (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186).

捋起衣袖，左膊上取下一個圈子，說道：「這件兵器，乃錕鋼摶煉的，被我將還丹點成，養就一身靈氣，善能變化，水火不侵，又能套諸物。一名『金鋼琢』，又名『金鋼套』。當年過函關，化胡為佛，甚是虧他。早晚最可防身。

He then throws it at Wukong’s head, knocking him off balance:

After saying this, Laozi hurled the cutter [1] down from the Heaven Gate; it went tumbling down into the battlefield at the Flower-Fruit Mountain and landed smack on the Monkey King’s head. The Monkey King was engaged in a bitter struggle with the Seven Sages and was completely unaware of this weapon, which had dropped from the sky and hit him on the crown of his head. No longer able to stand on his feet, he toppled over (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186).

話畢，自天門上往下一摜，滴流流，徑落花果山營盤裡，可可的著猴王頭上一下。猴王只顧苦戰七聖，卻不知天上墜下這兵器，打中了天靈，立不穩腳，跌了一跤 …

Fig. 1 – Laozi looks lovingly upon his diamond cutter (larger version). A screenshot from the 1986 JTTW TV Show. The cutter here looks like a gold or copper ring, but the novel describes it differently (see below).

2. Appearance in later chapters

The diamond cutter reappears in chapters 50 to 52 as a mysterious, white, shiny string of pearls used by the Great King One-Horned Buffalo (Dujiao si dawang, 獨角兕大王) (fig. 2) to instantly disarm gods and defeat destructive elemental attacks. [2]

Fig. 2 – A modern drawing of Great King One-Horned Buffalo holding the diamond cutter and his spear (larger version). Based on an image found here.

2.1. Chapter 50

Monkey multiplies his iron staff many times over to fight against the buffalo and his army of minions. But the fiend easily sucks away all of the cudgels with the magic weapon:

The old demon king, however, stood still and, laughing with scorn, said, “Monkey, don’t be impertinent! Watch my trick!” He at once took out from his sleeve a white, shiny fillet [liang zhuozhuo bai sensen de quanzi, 亮灼灼白森森的圈子] and tossed it up in the air, crying, “Hit!” [zhao, 著] With a swish, all the iron rods changed back into a single rod, which was then sucked up by the fillet [fig. 3]. The Great Sage Sun, completely empty-handed, had to use his somersault desperately in order to escape with his life (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 372).

老魔王唏唏冷笑道：「那猴不要無禮，看手段。」即忙袖中取出一個亮灼灼白森森的圈子來，望空拋起，叫聲：「著！」唿喇一下，把金箍棒收做一條，套將去了。弄得孫大聖赤手空拳，翻觔斗逃了性命。

Fig. 3 –  The diamond cutter sucking in the iron staff (larger version). A screenshot from the 2011 JTTW TV show. Image found here.

2.2. Chapter 51

After his defeat, Wukong seeks heavenly aid several times in a row. First, Prince Nezha is sent to do battle but fails:

“Change!” he roared, and [his six magic] weapons changed into hundreds and thousands. Like a thundershower and a sleet storm, these weapons rained down on the head of the demon. Not the least bit daunted, the demon king took out with one hand that somber white fillet tossed it into the air, crying, “Hit!” With a loud whoosh, the six weapons were all sucked away by it. In desperation Prince Nezha fled for his life with empty hands, [3] while the demon king turned back in triumph (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 6).

大叫一聲：「變！」一變十，十變百，百變千，千變萬，都是一般兵器，如驟雨冰雹，紛紛密密，望妖魔打將去。那魔王公然不懼，一隻手取出那白森森的圈子來，望空拋起，叫聲：「著！」唿喇的一下，把六般兵器套將下來。慌得那哪吒太子赤手逃生。魔王得勝而回。

Second, the Devaraja Li Jing is sent to distract the buffalo with combat, while a fire god prepares his forces to scorch the spirit, but the plan fails:

The demon fought the devaraja for some time, and in the heat of the battle, he again took out the fillet. When the devaraja saw it, he at once turned his auspicious luminosity around and fled in defeat. On the tall summit the Star of Fiery Virtue quickly gave the command for the various gods of his department to start the fire. It was some fire, all right!

你看那個妖魔與天王正鬥到好處，卻又取出圈子來。天王看見，即撥祥光，敗陣而走。這高峰上火德星君忙傳號令，教眾部火神一齊放火。這一場真個利害 …

[…]

When the demon saw the fire coming, he was not in the least afraid. He tossed the fillet in the air and with a loud whoosh, it sucked away all those fire dragons, fire horses, fire crows, fire rats, fire bows, and fire arrows. Then he turned toward his cave and went back in triumph (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 8-9).

那妖魔見火來時，全無恐懼。將圈子望空拋起，唿喇一聲，把這火龍、火馬、火鴉、火鼠、火槍、火刀、火弓、火箭，一圈子又套將下去，轉回本洞，得勝收兵。

Third, a water god attempts to drown the monster with the Yellow River but fails:

[T]he Water Lord immediately emptied the content of his white jade chalice toward the inside of the cave. When he saw the water rushing in, the fiend dropped his long lance and took out the fillet, holding it high at the second door. Not only was the water blocked right there, but it reversed its course and gushed back out of the cave. So startled was the Great Sage Sun that he somersaulted immediately into the air and, together with Water Lord, leaped up to the tallest peak (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 11).

這水伯將白玉盂向裡一傾。那妖見是水來，撒了長槍，即忙取出圈子，撐住二門。只見那股水骨都都的只往外泛將出來。慌得孫大聖急縱觔斗，與水伯跳在高峰。

Monkey then requests a boxing match to show that he isn’t useless without his staff. But when the bout comes to a draw, both heavenly and demonic forces charge in to help their respective fighter. Fearing the worst, Wukong creates hair clones to overwhelm the monster, but this strategy fails:

At once they changed into some fifty little monkeys, who swarmed all over the demon—grabbing his legs, tugging at his torso, gouging his eyes, and pulling at his hair. The fiendish creature became so alarmed that he immediately took out his fillet. When the Great Sage and his companions saw that object, they mounted the clouds at once and fled toward the tall summit. Tossing the fillet up into the air, the fiend changed those fifty monkeys back into their true forms and then they were sucked away again with a loud whoosh. After he had gained this victory, the fiend led his troops back to his cave, closed the door, and celebrated (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 13).

即變做三五十個小猴，一擁上前，把那妖纏住，抱腿的抱腿，扯腰的扯腰，抓眼的抓眼，撏毛的撏毛。那怪物慌了，急把圈子拿將出來。大聖與天王等見他弄出圈套，撥轉雲頭，走上高峰逃陣。那妖把圈子往上拋起，唿喇的一聲，把那三五十個毫毛變的小猴，收為本相，套入洞中，得了勝，領兵閉門，賀喜而去。

2.3. Chapter 52

Monkey resorts to stealth, changing into a cricket (cuzhi’er, 促織兒) and sneaking into the monster’s cave in order to learn where the treasure is kept:

After the demon king took off his clothes, at once the fillet—all ghostly white—could be seen. It was attached to his left shoulder like an armlet made of a string of pearls [zhuzhuo tou, 珠鐲頭]. Look at him! Instead of taking the fillet off, he pushed it up a couple of times until it was snugly clamped to his shoulder. Only then did he lie down to sleep (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 18).

只見那魔王寬了衣服，左肐膊上白森森的套著那個圈子，原來像一個連珠鐲頭模樣。你看他更不取下，轉往上抹了兩抹，緊緊的勒在肐膊上，方才睡下。

He changes into a flea (gezao, 虼蚤) and twice bites the spirit, but this plan fails to make the beast take off the bangle (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 18-19).

Wukong goes on to rescue the stolen holy weapons and animals and magic hairs, before setting the cave on fire:

The Bovine Great King was scared out of his wits; dashing out of his room, he held his fillet up high with both hands. He pushed it toward the fire this way and that way, and it immediately went out. Though the air was filled with flame and smoke, they all subsided after he and his treasure [baobei, 寶貝] had run through the entire cave (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 20).

諕得個兕大王魂不附體，急欠身開了房門，雙手拿著圈子，東推東火滅，西推西火消，滿空中冒煙突火，執著寶貝跑了一遍，四下裡煙火俱熄。

Monkey and the host of gods become foolhardy upon retrieving their weapons and once more challenge the buffalo to a fight. But their holy armaments are again sucked away by the fillet:

Smiling scornfully, the demon calmly took out from his sleeve his treasure and tossed it in the air, crying, “Hit!” With a loud whoosh, the six divine weapons, the fire equipment, the thunderbolts, the scimitar of the devaraja, and the rod of Pilgrim were all snatched away. Once again, the deities and the Great Sage Sun were empty-handed (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 23).

那魔頭巍巍冷笑，袖子中暗暗將寶貝取出，撒手拋起空中，叫聲：「著！」唿喇的一下，把六件神兵、火部等物、雷公㨝、天王刀、行者棒，盡情又都撈去。眾神靈依然赤手，孫大聖仍是空拳。

Having no more ideas, Wukong travels to Vulture Peak in the western continent (i.e. India) to seek the Buddha’s wisdom. The Tathagata in turn sends the 18 arhats armed with “golden cinnabar sand” (jindan sha, 金丹砂) in an attempt to bog the demon down and stop him from moving. But this plan also fails:

When the demon saw that the flying sand was clouding up his vision, he lowered his head and discovered that his feet were already standing in three feet of the stuff. He was so horrified that he tried to jump upward; before he could even stand up properly the sand grew another foot. In desperation, the fiend tried to pull up his legs while taking out his fillet. Throwing it up into the air, he cried, “Hit!” With a loud whoosh, the eighteen grains of golden cinnabar sand were sucked away. The demon then strode back to the cave (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 27).

那妖魔見飛砂迷目，把頭低了一低，足下就有三尺餘深。慌得他將身一縱，跳在浮上一層。未曾立得穩，須臾，又有二尺餘深。那怪急了，拔出腳來，即忙取圈子，往上一撇，叫聲：「著！」唿喇的一下，把十八粒金丹砂又盡套去，拽回步，徑歸本洞。

Monkey later receives a message from the Buddha suggesting that he consult Laozi. Upon traveling to the Tushita Palace in the 33rd Heaven, he learns that the Daoist high god’s holy mount, a green buffalo (qingniu, 青牛), is missing. This prompts the deity to check his collection of holy treasures:

Laozi made a quick inventory; everything was there except the diamond cutter. “This cursed beast stole my diamond cutter!” said Laozi. “So, that’s the treasure!” said Pilgrim. “It was the same snare that hit me that time! [refer back to sec. 1] Now it’s going wild down below, sucking away who knows how many things.”

君急查看時，諸般俱在，止不見了金剛琢。老君道：「這孽畜偷了我金剛琢去了！」行者道：「原來是這件寶貝。當時打著老孫的是他。如今在下界張狂，不知套了我等多少物件。」

[After Wukong describes all of the magic weapons sucked away by the bangle …]

Laozi said, “That diamond cutter of mine is a treasure perfected since the time of my youth, and it was also an instrument with which I converted the barbarians when I passed through the Hangu Pass. Whatever weapons you may have, including fire and water, you can’t touch it. If the demon had stolen my plantain-leaf fan also, then even I would not be able to do anything to him” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 29).

老君道：「我那金剛琢，乃是我過函關化胡之器，自幼煉成之寶。憑你甚麼兵器、水火，俱莫能近他。若偷去我的芭蕉扇兒，連我也不能奈他何矣。」

Lord Li’s closing sentence is eye-opening, for it means that anyone who wields both the diamond cutter and fan would be invincible, even against Laozi. This is surprising since JTTW acknowledges him as the creator of the universe who separated the earth and sky from chaos. [4]

In the end, though, Laozi takes back the diamond cutter and subdues the buffalo spirit without trouble:

Reciting a spell, Laozi fanned the air once with his fan. The fiend threw the fillet at Laozi, who caught it immediately and gave him another fan. All at once the fiend’s strength fled him and his tendons turned numb; he changed back into his original form, which was that of a green buffalo. Blowing a mouthful of divine breath on the diamond snare, Laozi then used it to pierce the nostrils of the fiend. Next, he took off the sash around his waist and fastened one end of it to the cutter while his hand held the other. Thus the custom of leading the buffalo with a ring in its nose was established [fig. 4], a custom in use even now. This is also what we call binlang [賓郎] (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 30). [5]

老君念個咒語，將扇子搧了一下，那怪將圈子丟來，被老君一把接住。又一搧，那怪物力軟筋麻，現了本相，原來是一隻青牛。老君將金鋼琢吹口仙氣，穿了那怪的鼻子，解下勒袍帶，繫於琢上，牽在手中。至今留下個拴牛鼻的拘兒，又名賓郎 …

Fig. 4 – A nose ring through a bull’s nose (larger version). Image found here.

3. Background

3.1. Literary origin

Laozi’s dialogue explains how the diamond cutter was created. While at least two JTTW poems reference the high god’s skill in forging mystical weapons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 382; vol. 3, p. 375), his own words instead point to alchemical experimentation. As a reminder, in chapter 6, he states: “This is a weapon … brought into existence during my preparation of reverted elixir and fully charged with spiritual energy” (這件兵器，乃錕鋼摶煉的，被我將還丹點成，養就一身靈氣…) (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186). Later, in chapter 52, he adds: “That diamond cutter of mine is a treasure perfected since the time of my youth” (我那金剛琢，乃是我過函關化胡之器，自幼煉成之寶。) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 29).

The phrase “reverted elixir” (huandan, 還丹) is key to understanding the origins of the treasure-weapon. This refers to a concept in external alchemy where a concoction of toxic elements is purified over successive firings in a crucible to create a drug of immortality (fig. 5). The Book of the Master Who Embraces Simplicity (Baopuzi, 抱樸子, 4th-century CE), for example, describes firing cycle periods of between one and nine times, and each subsequent medicine is said to bestow divine longevity within a respective period of time. The more the substance is fired, the faster the desired effect (Kohn, 1993, pp. 309 and 312-313). The product of the ninth cycle is said to transform into reverted elixir when combined with heated cinnabar and exposed to the sun, and a small dose of the drug is enough to bestow instant divinity:

Place the elixir, which has been cycled nine times, in a reaction vessel and expose it to the sun after the summer solstice. When the container becomes hot, introduce a pound of cinnabar beneath the lid. Even while you are watching, with the full power of the sun shining upon it, the whole content will suddenly glow and sparkle with all the colors of spirit radiance. It will immediately turn into reverted elixir. If you take even a single spoonful, you will straightaway rise to heaven in broad daylight (Kohn, 1993, p. 313).

若取九轉之丹，內神鼎中，夏至之後，爆之鼎熱，內朱兒一斤於蓋下。伏伺之，候日精照之。須臾翕然俱起，煌煌煇煇，神光五色，即化為還丹。取而服之一刀圭，即白日昇天。

The fact that Laozi has been developing the cutter from a young age, as stated above, suggests that it is ultimately a byproduct of excessive, millennia-long elixir firing cycles.

Fig. 5 – An alchemist watches as a young lad tends to the firing vessel (larger version). This is an example from Tang Yin’s (唐寅) Images of Cooking Medicine (Shaoyao tu, 燒葯圖) series. Image found here.

3.2. History

Anthony C. Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) translates kungang (錕鋼), the substance comprising the diamond cutter, as “red steel” (vol. 1, p. 186). The original Chinese term refers to a legendary red knife mentioned in Master Lie (Liezi, 列子, c. 4th-century) as coming from Kunwu (錕鋙/昆吾), a distant land. This incredibly hard blade was presented as a royal tribute, along with asbestos cloth, a product of the west:

When King Mu of Zhou made his great expedition against the Rong tribes of the West, they presented him with a knife from Kunwu and a fire-proof cloth. The knife was one chi and zhi [changchi youzhi, 長尺有咫, 22.8 in/57.9 cm] long with a red blade [6] of tempered steel; cutting jade with it was as easy as cutting mud (based on Liezi & Graham, 1960/1990, p.117). [7]

周穆王大征西戎，西戎獻錕鋙之劍，火浣之布。其劍長尺有咫，練鋼赤刃，用之切玉如切泥焉。

The later Ten Islands of the Inner Seas (Hainei shizhou ji, 海內十洲記; a.k.a. Shizhou ji, 十洲記, c. 5th; “Ten Islands” hereafter) associates Kunwu with stones that can be smelted into jade-cutting iron swords. What’s important here is that the rocks are located in the “Western Ocean” (Xihai, 西海), a term commonly associated with the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, or the Indian Ocean—i.e. bodies of water and land west of China:

There is a floating island [liuzhou, 流洲] in the middle of the Western Ocean … The island has many mountains and rivers accumulating stones called kunwu [昆吾]. Smelting the stones will turn them into iron. A sword made from this will shine brightly like crystal, and it will cut jade like mud (cf. Laufer, 1915, p. 29).

流洲在西海中 … 上多山川積石，名為昆吾。冶其石成鐵，作劍光明洞照，如水精狀，割玉物如割泥。

But the now lost Record of the Mysterious Center (Xuanzhong ji, 玄中記, c. 5th-century) (as cited here) explicitly associates jade-cutting blades with diamonds from western lands:

The country of Daqin [大秦, i.e. Roman Syria] produces diamonds (jingang [金剛]), termed also ‘jade-cutting swords or knives’ [xiaoyu dao, 削玉刀]. The largest reach a length of over one chi [12.3 in/31.8 cm], the smallest are of the size of a rice or millet grain. Hard stone can be cut by means of it all round, and on examination it turns out that it is the largest of diamonds. This is what the Buddhist priests substitute for the tooth of Buddha (based on Laufer, 1915, p. 30).

大秦國出金剛，一名削玉刀，大者長尺許，小者如稻黍，著環中，可以刻玉。

觀此則金剛有甚大者，番僧以充佛牙是也。

Similar to the Ten Islands, the Memoir of the Four Gentlemen of Liang (Liang sigong ji, 梁四公記, late-7th-century) speaks of an island in the west but adds that the inhabitants are talented lapidarists, or gemstone cutters:

In the west, arriving at the Western Ocean, there is in the sea an island of two hundred square li [62.13 mi/100 km]. On this island is a large forest abundant in trees with precious stones, and inhabited by over ten thousand families. These men show great ability in cleverly working gems, which are named for the country Fulin 拂林 [i.e. Rome] (based on Laufer, 1915, p. 7).

西至西海，海中有島，方二百里。島上有大林，林皆寶樹。中有萬餘家，其人皆巧，能造寶器，所謂拂林國也。

Rustic Talks From the East of Qi (Qidong yeyu, 齊東野語, 13th-century) (as cited here) describes how lapidarists use iron-like diamond-points to polish and carve jade:

The workers in jade polish jade by the persevering application of Ganges river-sand, and carve it by means of a diamond-point drill [jingang zuan, 金剛鑽]. Its shape is like the excrement of rodents [fig. 6 & 7]; it is of very black color, and is at once like stone and like iron (based on Laufer, 1915, p. 31). [8]

玉人攻玉，以恆河之砂，以金剛鑽鏤之，其形如鼠矢，青黑色，如石如鐵。

This brings us back to the kunwu blade. Laufer (1915) rejects the idea that it was an iron knife. Instead, he states that it was an embellishment on the kinds of diamond-pointed tools used by craftsmen west of China to carve hard stones like jade (Laufer, 1915, p. 32).

This ultimately explains the odd name of Laozi’s holy treasure, diamond cutter (jingang zhuo, 金鋼琢)—i.e. a cutter made from diamond. This name was no doubt chosen to infer that the weapon is unimaginably hard, something capable of “ringing the bell” of even the Monkey King.

The use of kungang (錕鋼), along with the name diamond cutter, suggests that the JTTW author-compiler had knowledge of both the ancient red knife and its ties to diamonds. And speaking of the gemstone, I think given the above information, a better translation for kungang would be something like “diamond steel.” This is more fitting than Yu’s (Wu & Yu, 2012) “red steel” (vol. 1, p. 186).

Also, the description of the cutter as a white, shiny string of pearls makes much more sense when its ties to diamonds are taken into account. This brings to mind a bracelet of perhaps milky diamonds instead of a steel ring.

Fig. 6 (left) – A craftsman works a product with a bow-driven diamond-point drill (larger version). A painting from Zhou Kun’s (周鯤) “Village and Market Life Album” (Cunshi shengya hua’ce, 村市生涯畫冊, 18th-century). Image found here. Fig. 7 (right) – An example of the diamond-point of a diamond drill (larger version). Image found here. This recalls the rodent excrement description of diamond-points mentioned in Rustic Talks From the East of Qi (13th-century).

4. Mirrored objects

The diamond cutter serves as a mirrored literary element to Wukong’s golden headband (jingu, 金箍; a.k.a. jingu, 緊箍, lit: “tight fillet”), which initially appears in chapters eight and 14. Both are used to rein in Monkey’s unruly behavior by way of his head: the first hits him on the crown, and the second clamps around his skull. And the fact that the diamond cutter “can entrap many things” (tao zhu wu, 套諸物) reminds me of the way that the golden fillet constricts (jin, 緊) around Wukong’s head when the correct spell is spoken (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 319). Isn’t this also a kind of entrapment?

Another mirrored candidate is Nezha’s “fire wheel” (huolun’er, 火輪兒) (fig. 8), which numbers among his six magic weapons (liujian shenbing, 六件神兵). In chapter 61, this flaming fillet is placed on the Bull Demon King’s horn (i.e. on his head) to stop his rampaging transformations (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 160). Compare this to the way that the diamond cutter stops Wukong via his head. This at first may seem like a passing similarity until you take into account the many parallels shared by Wukong and the bull spirit. The latter is a demon king nicknamed the “Great Sage,” who wields an iron staff, knows 72 changes, can adopt a titanic form, takes part in a battle of magic transformations, is trapped by a joint effort from heaven, is incapacitated by a circular object on his head, and finally faces the Buddha for punishment. [9] Therefore, I can confidently state that the fire wheel is a mirror of the golden headband and subsequently the diamond cutter. I’ll discuss the importance of these connections below.

The novel has many more mirrored objects and characters. I plan to write an article about this at a later date.

Fig. 8 – Nezha (left) wielding his six magic weapons in his three-headed, six-armed form against Sun Wukong (right) (larger version). The fire wheel can be seen in his upper rightmost hand (i.e. the flaming black circle with white spokes). Print from the original 1592 edition of JTTW.

5. Influence

The relationship between Laozi’s diamond cutter and Nezha’s fire wheel in JTTW may have inspired the latter’s “cosmic ring” (qiankun quan, 乾坤圈) in Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620, “IOTG” hereafter). Nezha first uses it as a youth in chapter 12 to bludgeon a fierce water-spirit to death:

Standing there naked, Nezha dodged the advancing warrior’s attack and upraised the cosmic ring in his right hand. This treasure was originally bestowed by the Jade Emptiness Palace of Mt. Kunlun to the Perfected Man of the Grand Monad [Taiyi zhenren, 太乙真人] to secure the items of his Golden Light Cave. How could the yaksha withstand the magic weapon as it struck downward on his head? [fig. 9] His brains exploded from the blow, and he fell dead on the shore (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 1, p. 239).

哪吒正赤身站立，見夜叉來得勇猛，將身躲過，把右手套的乾坤圈望空中一舉。此寶原係崑崙山玉虛宮所賜太乙真人鎮金光洞之物，夜叉那裏經得起，那寶打將下來，正落在夜叉頭上，只打的腦漿迸流，即死於岸上。

He also uses it as a throwing weapon:

After fighting three or four rounds, Nezha simultaneously blocked Yu Hua’s halberd with his spear and took out his cosmic ring from the leopard skin bag. He hit him directly in the arm, breaking tendons and shattering bone (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 671).

哪吒未及三四合，用鎗架住畫戟，豹皮囊內忙取乾坤圈打來，正中余化臂膊，打得筋斷骨折.

See note no. 11 below for more overt examples of throwing.

To sum up, both the diamond cutter and cosmic ring are holy treasures belonging to supreme Daoist deities, are circular and hard enough to serve as blunt throwing weapons, and have the power to entrap (tao, 套) or secure (zhen, 鎮, lit: “press down”) things. It’s also worth noting that the caves associated with these objects have similar names: Great King One-Horned Buffalo lives in Golden Helmet Cave (Jindou dong, 金▯洞), [10] while the Perfected Man of the Grand Monad lives in the Golden Light Cave (Jinguang dong, 金光洞).

My friend, a devotee and researcher of Nezha, tells me that the cosmic ring is a later development in the Third Prince’s mythos, first appearing in IOTG. And since the ring does not appear in JTTW (ctext), it certainly could have been influenced by the similarities between the diamond cutter and Nezha’s fire wheel.

Also, the diamond cutter likely influenced two other fillet-like throwing weapons in the novel, both of which are destroyed by Nezha’s much harder cosmic ring. One is Mo Liqing’s (魔禮青) “white jade diamond bracelet” (baiyu jingang zhuo, 白玉金剛鐲) from chapter 41. The alternate name for said treasure, jingang zhuo (金剛鐲), sounds exactly the same as Laozi’s diamond cutter, jingang zhuo (金鋼琢). I doubt the homophonous title and pale color are a coincidence.

The second is Wen Liang’s (溫良) “white jade ring” (baiyu huan, 白玉環) [11] Again, the white color is telling.

Fig. 9 – Nezha seconds from killing Li Gen with the cosmic ring (larger version). This is an upscaled version of an image found here.

6. Conclusion

Laozi’s great treasure-weapon, the “diamond cutter” (jingang zhuo, 金鋼琢; a.k.a. “diamond snare,” jingang tao, 金鋼套), first appears in chapter six when he uses the fillet to stop Monkey’s rampage by throwing it from heaven and hitting him on the head. It reappears in chapters 50 to 52 as a mysterious, white, shiny string of pearls used by Great King One-Horned Buffalo, an evil spirit, to suck away magic weapons and animals and defeat even destructive elemental attacks. The treasure gives Sun Wukong and a host of Daoist and Buddhist gods no end of trouble before Laozi retrieves his treasure and submits the monster, his runaway buffalo mount.

Lord Li explains that the treasure is a byproduct of creating “reverted elixir,” or a drug of immortality, and that it is made of “kun steel” (kungang, 錕鋼). The latter is a reference to an extremely hard, jade-cutting iron knife from Chinese folklore said to come from the distant land of Kunwu (錕鋙/昆吾). But this is itself an embellishment on reports of diamond-pointed tools used by craftsmen west of China to work hard stone like jade. The name diamond cutter was, therefore, likely chosen to denote something unimaginably hard, something capable of hurting even Sun Wukong.

The diamond cutter is a mirrored literary element to Sun Wukong’s headband. This is because the treasure and the golden fillet are both circular objects that rein in Monkey’s unruly behavior by way of his head, hitting it and clamping around his skull, respectively. The diamond cutter is also a mirrored element of Prince Nezha’s “fire wheel” (huolun’er, 火輪兒) because the latter stops the rampage of the Bull Demon King by way of his head. This takes place during a battle that closely mirrors Monkey’s early rebellion and defeat.

This connection between the diamond cutter and the fire wheel likely influenced Nezha’s “cosmic ring” (qiankun quan, 乾坤圈) from Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620). Both treasures belong to supreme Daoist deities, can be used as blunt throwing weapons, have the power to entrap or secure things, and are associated with caves with “gold” (jin, 金) in the name. The diamond cutter also likely influenced two other throwing fillets from the novel, Mo Liqing’s (魔禮青) “white jade diamond bracelet” (baiyu jingang zhuo, 白玉金剛鐲) and Wen Liang’s (溫良) “white jade ring” (baiyu huan, 白玉環). The name of the former closely mirrors that of the jade cutter.

Update: 03-14-24

The full name of the Diamond Sutra (c. 2nd to 4th-century) is the Diamond-Cutter Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (Sk: Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra) (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 953). This interests me because Laozi states in chapter six:

The year when I crossed the Hangu Pass, I depended on it [his diamond-cutter treasure] a great deal for the conversion of the barbarians to Buddhism, for it was practically my bodyguard night and day (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186).

當年過函關，化胡為佛，甚是虧他。早晚最可防身。

Perhaps the diamond-cutter is meant to be a metaphor for the Diamond Sutra, which he used to convert the people of the West.

Notes:

1) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) uses the English words “diamond snare” or just “snare” numerous times whenever Laozi’s weapon is mentioned. However, the corresponding Chinese phrase, jingang tao (金鋼套), only appears once in the entire novel, while that for “diamond cutter,” jingang zhuo (金鋼琢), appears a total of four times. Therefore, I have made changes to the translation for more accuracy.

2) Jenner (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2001) translates Dujiao si dawang (獨角兕大王), the monster’s name, as “Great King Rhinoceros” (vol. 2, p. 1143). This is because the character si (兕) is associated with rhinos. For instance, Strassberg’s (2002) translation of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing, 山海經, c. 4th-century to 1st-century BCE) reads:

The Si-Rhinoceros dwell east of Shun’s Tomb and south of the Xiang River. Their form resembles an ox that is blue-black with a single horn” (p. 188).

兕在舜葬東，湘水南，其狀如牛，蒼黑，一角。

But the JTTW spirit is likely an amalgamation of Lord Li’s green/black buffalo (qingniu, 青牛) and the mythical animal. This is because both are dark, bovine-like beasts with a single horn. This association between the two is exemplified by a humorous vintage porcelain statue of Laozi riding a rhino.

3) I have changed all references to Nata to Nezha, a FAR more widely used term for the martial god.

4) Monkey explains in chapter 86 that everyone has a boss, thereby alluding to Laozi’s hallowed past:

Old Lord Li happens to be the patriarch of creation [kaitian pidi zhi zhu, 開天闢地之祖; lit: the “patriarch of splitting heaven and earth (from chaos)], but he still sits to the right of Supreme Purity. The Buddha Tathagata is the honored one who governs the world, and yet he still sits beneath the Great Peng. Kong the Sage is the founder of Confucianism, but he assumes the mere title of Master (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 163).

李老君乃開天闢地之祖，尚坐於太清之右；佛如來是治世之尊，還坐於大鵬之下；孔聖人是儒教之尊，亦僅呼為『夫子』。

My thanks goes to Irwen Wong of the Journey to the West Library blog for reminding me of this fact.

5) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) points out that binlang (賓郎) is a variant of binlang (檳榔), or betel nut (vol. 3, p. 385 n. 8). One French translator suggests that the name comes from the circular shape shared by betel nut and coconuts, and that nose rings were likely made from the latter (Levy, 1991, as cited in Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 385-386 n. 8).

6) Regarding the red blade (chidao, 赤刃), the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing, 山海經, c. 4th-century to 1st-century BCE) mentions that the peaks of Kunwu have an abundance of copper (chitong, 赤銅, i.e. “red copper”) (Strassberg, 2002, p. 145).

7) I have changed all Wade-Giles to pinyin.

8) The passage from Rustic Talks From the East of Qi (13th-century) goes on to associate diamonds with a strange phenomenon in western lands where birds pass the gemstone in their droppings:

According to legend, high in the mountains of the Western Regions [Xiyu, 西域] where the Huihe live, hawks and falcons would ingest (diamonds). These would then be deposited in the sandy gravel of Hebei Province when they defecate. But I do not know if this is true or not (cf. Laufer, 1915, p. 12).

相傳出西域及回紇高山頂上，鷹隼粘帶食入腹中，遺糞於河北砂磧間。未知然否？

This matches another passage from the aforementioned Memoir of the Four Gentlemen of Liang (late-7th-century). This earlier source provides more information:

In a northwesterly direction from the island is a ravine hollowed out like a bowl, more than a thousand feet deep. They throw flesh into this valley. Birds take it up in their beaks, whereupon they drop the precious stones. The biggest of these have a weight of five catties. There is a saying that this is the treasury of the Devaraja of the Rupadhatu 色界天王 (Laufer, 1915, p. 7).

島西北有坑，盤坳深千餘尺。以肉投之，鳥銜寶出，大者重五斤，彼雲是色界天王之寶藏。

The bird-diamond connection is mentioned in non-Chinese sources as well. This includes The Book of the Wonders of India (Kitāb ‘Aja’ib al-Hind, 953), a collection of “sailor’s tales” by the Persian Shipmaster Buzurg Ibn Shahriyār. The 82nd tale in this collection, “Kashmiri Diamonds,” associates the gemstones with northernmost India. The full tale reads:

Someone who had been to India told me he had heard it said that the purest, the most beautiful, and the most precious between two mountains, where diamonds come from the Kashmir region. There is a valley a fire burns ceaselessly, and day, winter and summer. It is there that the diamonds are. Only low-caste Indians risk themselves in this dangerous country. They gather in bands, and reach the entrance to the valley. They kill lean sheep, and cut them up into bits. Then they fling the pieces one after another into the valley, by means of a mangonel that they set in motion. There are many reasons that prevent their access to their valley. First, there is the ever- burning fire; and, in addition, around the fire, there is an uncountable number of snakes and vipers, so that no man can go there and not perish.

When the meat is thrown, a great number of vultures falls on it and seizes it. If it falls some distance from the fire, they carry it off. They follow the vulture as it flies. Sometimes a diamond falls from the meat that has been carried off. If the vulture comes down in some place to eat it, they go to there and find diamonds. If the meat falls in the fire, it burns. The vulture that wants to seize a piece too near the fire burns likewise. Sometimes also, by chance, a vulture seizes meat in flight, before it reaches the ground.

This is how diamonds are gathered. Most of the people who busy themselves looking for them die from the fire, or from the snakes and vipers. The kings of these countries are very fond of diamonds, and go to great trouble to get them. Those employed in this work are watched carefully, because of the beauty and high price of the stones (Shahriyar & Freeman-Grenville, 1981, p. 75).

9) The Bull Demon King takes the title “Great Sage, Parallel with Heaven” (Pingtian dasheng, 平天大聖) in chapter 4 (compare this to Monkey’s title, the “Great Sage Equaling Heaven“) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 156-157). The rest of the similarities appear in chapters 60 and 61. He wields his own “cast-iron rod” (huntie gun, 混鐵棍) (compare this to Wukong’s weapon) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 137 and 147). His skill with the 72 changes is referenced when he takes on Zhu’s appearance (compare this to Monkey’s ability) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 148). The battle of transformations against Sun takes place shortly after he’s overwhelmed by our hero and Zhu in combat (compare this to Wukong’s battle of transformations with Erlang in ch. 6) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 156-157; vol. 1, pp. 182-183). He takes on his cosmic form, a giant white bull, in a last ditch effort to defeat Monkey (compare this to Wukong’s skill) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 157). He is trapped on all sides by Buddho-Daoist deities (compare this to Monkey’s troubles with heaven in ch. 6) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 159-160; vol. 1, pp. 185-186). As mentioned above, Nezha uses his fire wheel to stop his rampaging transformations (compare this to Laozi stopping Monkey’s rampage by knocking him over with the diamond cutter in ch. 6) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 160; vol. 1, p. 186). And he is taken to see the Buddha at the end of his story arc (compare this to Wukong’s meeting with the Buddha) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 162).

10) The Ctext version is missing a particular Chinese character that appears in the original novel (see the right side, third column from the left, on p. 658 of this PDF). It is comprised of shan (山) and dou (兠/兜). Thank you to Irwen Wong for reminding me of this.

11) Mo Liqing clashes with Nezha in chapter 41, leading to the destruction of his white jade diamond bracelet:

Before they had fought twenty rounds, Mo Liqing hurled his white jade diamond bracelet. It cast a ray of multi-colored light as it struck him [Huang Tianhua, 黃天化] in the middle of the back. The hit knocked down his golden cap [i.e. he died] and fell from his mount.

Mo Liqing wanted to cut off his head, but before he could, Nezha screamed, “Don’t hurt my Daoist brother!” Riding his wind and fire wheels, the third prince fought to the front of the formation and rescued the body of Huang Tianhua.

Nezha engaged Mo Liqing in combat, their respective spears stabbing out in succession. Their battle saddened heaven and made gloomy the earth [i.e. it was extremely tense]. Mo Liqing hurled the diamond bracelet a second time to hit Nezha. The youth also cast his cosmic ring, but it was made of gold and the diamond bracelet jade. When the two clashed, the diamond bracelet shattered into many pieces (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 807 and 809)

來往未及二十回合，早被魔禮青隨手帶起白玉金剛鐲，一道霞光，打將下來，正中後心。只打得金冠倒撞，跌下騎來。魔禮青方欲取首級，早被哪吒大叫：「不要傷吾道兄！」登開風火輪，殺至陣前，救了黃天化。哪吒大戰魔禮青，雙鎗共發，殺得天愁地暗。魔禮青二起金剛鐲來打哪吒。哪吒也把乾坤圈丟起。乾坤圈是金的，金剛鐲是玉的，金打玉，打得粉碎。

Wen Liang’s white jade ring is destroyed by the Third Prince’s cosmic ring in chapter 64:

Now let’s talk about how Wen Liang cast up his white jade ring to attack Nezha. But he didn’t know that Nezha had the cosmic ring. The youth also cast his own treasure. Wen didn’t know that gold beats jade, and when the two clashed, the white jade ring shattered into many pieces (cf. Gu, 2000, vol, 3, pp. 1315 and 1317).

且說溫良祭起白玉環來打哪吒，不知哪吒也有乾坤圈，也祭起來；不知金打玉，打得紛紛粉碎。

Sources:

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

Gu, Z. (2000). Creation of the Gods (Vols. 1-4). Beijing: New World Press.

Kohn, L. (1993). The Taoist Experience: An Anthology. United States: State University of New York Press.

Laufer, B. (1915). The Diamond: A Study in Chinese and Hellenistic Folk-lore. United States: Field Museum of Natural History. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/diamondstudyinch00lauf/page/n5/mode/2up

Liezi, & Graham, A. C. (1990). The Book of Lieh-tzu: A Classic of Tao. New York: Columbia University Press. (Original work published 1960)

Shahriyar, B., & Freeman-Grenville, G. S. P. (1981). The Book of the Wonders of India: Mainland, Sea and Islands. London: East-West Publications.

Strassberg, R. (2002). A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas. University of California Press.

Wu, C. & Jenner, W. J. F. (2020). Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4). Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. (Original work published 1993)

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

How to Kill Sun Wukong

Jim R. McClanahan 8 Comments

Last updated: 01-07-2024

The Monkey King is famed for his multiple categories of immortality in Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592; “JTTW” hereafter). These are acquired through spiritual cultivation, redacting heavenly paperwork, partaking in celestial foodstuffs, and (at the journey’s end) attaining Buddhahood. But “immortality” in Chinese vernacular literature doesn’t mean “invulnerable to harm.” Despite his great durability, during the journey, Wukong is a “bogus immortal” (yaoxian, 妖仙) who is still susceptible to injury and death because he hasn’t yet achieved Buddha-nature and broken free of the wheel of rebirth. [1] For instance, he briefly dies from thermal shock after being overwhelmed by Red Boy‘s (Honghai’er, 紅孩兒) true samadhi fire (sanmei zhenhuo, 三昧真火) in chapter 41:

His whole body covered by flame and smoke, the Great Sage found the intense heat unbearable and he dove straight into the mountain stream to try to put out the fire. Little did he anticipate that the shock of the cold water was so great that the heat caused by the fire was forced inward into his body and his three hun spirits left his vessel. Alas!

His breath caught in his chest, his tongue and throat grew cold;
His hun spirits fled, his po souls left, and his life was gone! (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 231)

這大聖一身煙火，炮燥難禁，徑投於澗水內救火。怎知被冷水一逼，弄得火氣攻心，三魂出舍。可憐氣塞胸堂喉舌冷，魂飛魄散喪殘生。

Luckily, Zhu Bajie resuscitates him by performing a life-saving massage that forces qi from his cinnabar field and circulates it throughout his body (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 232). [2]

This episode was an accident. But what if someone wanted to kill Monkey for good? How would they do it? Killing him in a one-on-one match would be nearly impossible, for few characters surpass Wukong in strength or fighting ability. I think it’s best that we draw on methods from another famous god and demon novel, Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620; “Investiture” hereafter), a sort of prequel to JTTW. It centers on a great battle between the falling Shang (c. 1600-1046 BCE) and the rising Zhou (c. 1046–256 BCE) dynasties, both of which are aided by factions of powerful immortals. The story is famous for a number of weapons, traps, and rituals designed to kill divine cultivators.

In this article, I would like to describe ten magical array traps (zhen, 陣) and one magic ritual that could possibly kill the Monkey King. The latter is, in my opinion, the best option for ending his life (fig. 1). And the best part is that it can be done from a distance! That way a villain doesn’t have to worry about getting smashed into hamburger or ripped to shreds by an angry monkey immortal. In addition, I will detail this method’s potential for great fanfiction.

Before continuing, I must point out that none of the information from Investiture can be considered JTTW canon. While it contains a host of similar characters (Laozi, Buddha, Nezha, Muzha, Li Jing, Ao Guang, Erlang and his hound, etc.), the novel is a separate work that was published nearly 30 years after JTTW. Look at this piece as a fun “What if?”

Fig. 1 – Monkey’s headstone (larger version).

I. Possible Ways

Ch. 44 of Investiture mentions ten magical array traps that rely on primordial energies, destructive elements like wind, thunder, fire, sand, ice, and water, and spiritual attacks to terminate immortals:

  1. Heavenly Destruction (Tianjue zhen, 天絕陣) – This trap contains primordial energies (xiantian zhi qi, 先天之氣) and the opportunity for chaos (hundun zhi ji, 混沌之機). It uses three magic pennants (fan, 旛), representing the respective energies of Heaven, Earth, and Man, to turn humans into dust and shatter the limbs of immortals with rolls of thunder.
  2. Earthly Fury (Dilie zhen, 地烈陣) – This trap uses a magic red pennant that kills intruders with rolls of thunder from above and fire below. It is also said to cut them off from reincarnation.
  3. Roaring Typhoon (Fenghou zhen, 風吼陣) – This trap uses wind, true samadhi fire, and countless swirling blades formed from primordial energies to kill intruders and render their bodies into a fragrant powder (jifen, 虀粉).
  4. Frigid Ice (Hanbing zhen, 寒冰陣) – This trap uses jagged, wolf fang-like ice mountains above, sword-like ice blocks below, and wind and thunder in the middle to grind intruders into a fragrant powder.
  5. Golden Light (Jinguang zhen, 金光陣) – This trap contains the essences of the sun and moon (riyue zhi jing, 日月之精) and the energies of heaven and earth (tiandi zhi qi, 天地之氣). It uses 21 treasure mirrors (baojing, 寶鏡) affixed to wooden polls to kill intruders with golden light that renders (melts?) their bodies into pus and blood.
  6. Bleeding Blood (Huaxue zhen, 化血陣) – This trap uses thunder and wind powered by primordial energies to blast black sand that kills intruders by rendering their bodies into a bloody mess.
  7. Vehement Flame (Lieyan zhen, 烈焰陣) – This trap uses true samadhi fire, fire from the sky (meteorites?), and fire from stone (lava?) to kill intruders by turning them into ash.
  8. Soul-Snatching (Luohun zhen, 落魂陣) – This trap contains the fierce energies of heaven and earth (tiandi liqi, 天地厲氣). It uses a white paper pennant stamped with a talisman seal (fuyin, 符印) to kill intruders by dispersing and eliminating their po and hun spirits.
  9. Red Water (Hongshui zhen, 紅水陣) – This trap controls the essences of the ninth and tenth heavenly stems (rengui zhi jing, 壬癸之精) (representing water), as well as contains the wonder of the Grand Monad (Tianyi zhi miao, 天乙之妙). It uses three bottle gourds resting on an eight trigrams platform (bagua tai, 八卦臺) to kill intruders by gushing forth an ocean of dangerous, red water, a single drop of which can render their bodies into a bloody mess.
  10. Red Sand (Hongsha zhen, 紅砂陣/紅沙陣) – This trap controls the energies of Heaven, Earth, and Man. It uses thunder and wind to blast three buckets of red, sword-like sand to kill intruders by rendering their bones into a fragrant powder (fig. 2) (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 869-873).

I think that Sun Wukong would easily survive many of these traps due to the adamantine nature of his body. [3] But numbers three, seven, and eight might give him some problems. As mentioned in the introduction, his encounter with Red Boy in chapter 41 shows that he is weak against true samadhi fire (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 231). And of course, having his souls scattered and destroyed would certainly finish him off. Remember that Monkey’s spirit (魂靈兒) is easily reaped by two underworld officers in his slumber in chapter three (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 139). This might point to a weakness against spiritual attacks (see below).

However, I think it would be hard to trick Wukong into going inside of these array traps. His “fiery eyes and gold Irises” (huoyan jinjing, 火眼金睛) would certainly notice the dark auras hovering above each one (Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 925 and 989, for example).

No, there’s only one sure fire way to kill our hero.

Fig. 2 – A Shang camp immortal working the Red Sand array trap (larger version). The woodblock print omits the three buckets. Image from The Newly Printed, Zhong Bojing Annotated, Investiture of the Gods (Xinke Zhong Bojing xiansheng piping Fengshen yanyi, 新刻鍾伯敬先生批評封神演義, c. 1620). See page 42 of this PDF.

II. The Best Way

Overcoming Monkey’s great power, durability, and speed would require an indirect approach, something that he wouldn’t even be aware of. A secret, spiritual assault from afar is, therefore, the only method that would work, in my opinion. Something like this is described in chapters 48 and 49 of Investiture. But I first need to give some background information as to why the rite is used in the first place.

Grand Preceptor Wen (Wen Taishi, 聞太師) recruits his old friend, the ancient immortal Zhao Gongming (趙公明), in chapter 46 after many of their divine comrades die in battle against Zhou allies (Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 935). Zhao is powerful in his own right, claiming to be able to flip Mount Sumeru (Xumi, 須彌) and reverse the course of the sun and moon (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 945-947). But it’s his command of three holy treasures, namely the “Dragon-Binding Rope” (Fulong suo, 縛龍索), the “Sea-Fixing Mala Beads” (Dinghai zhu, 定海珠), and the “Golden Scaled Dragon Scissors” (Jinjiao jian, 金蛟剪), [4] that make him a supremely dangerous opponent. The latter two treasures prove in chapter 47 to be especially difficult weapons for Zhou allies to counter.

Therefore, in chapter 48, the immortal Lu Ya (陸壓) devises a plan to secretly attack Zhao’s spirit from a distance. He enlists the help of Jiang Ziya (姜子牙), a Taoist disciple and commander of the Zhou forces, and instructs him how to perform a sympathetic magic ritual from the Book of Fixing the Seventh Posthumous Day Arrow (Ding touqi jianshu, 釘頭七箭書):

Lu Ya opened his flower basket and took out a book stamped with talisman seals and oral formulas. “Using these, you can set up camp and erect a platform on Mount Qi. Make a straw effigy and post a document with the three characters “Zhao Gongming” on its body. Place one lamp above its head and another beneath its feet. Then pray to it three times a day, burning the talismans and pacing the dipper. At noon on the twenty-first day, this poor Taoist (Lu Ya) will come and help you cut his life short.”

Before going to Mount Qi, Ziya secretly sent 3,000 troops, along with Nangong Kuo [南宮适] and Wu Ji [武吉] to find a suitable place to set up camp. After Ziya arrived at camp, Nangong built a platform, arranging it properly and made a straw effigy. He did everything strictly as instructed. Finally Ziya loosened his hair, took a sword, and paced the dipper, reciting charms, burning spells, and praying over and over again before the straw effigy (based on Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 967).

陸壓揭開花籃，取出一幅書，書寫明白，上有符印口訣，「……依此而用，可往岐山立一營；營內築一臺。紮一草人；人身上書『趙公明』三字，頭上一盞燈，足下一盞燈。自步罡斗，書符結印焚化，一日三次拜禮，至二十一日之時，貧道自來午時助你，公明自然絕也。」

子牙領命，前往岐山，暗出三千人馬，又令南宮适、武吉前去安置。子牙後隨軍至岐山，南宮适築起將臺，安排停當，紮一草人，依方製度。子牙披髮仗劍，腳步罡斗，書符結印…

[Three to five days later, Zhao Gongming feels frantic, with a strange burning in his heart.]

[…]

Now let’s speak of Ziya, who prayed until he had expelled the primal spirit [yuanshen, 元神] of Zhao Gongming. The primal spirit was of major importance to an immortal, enabling him to tour freely throughout the eight extremes (the universe). But now Zhao Gongming had lost his primal spirit and became drowsy, wanting to sleep all the time (based on Gu, 2000, p. 973).

且說子牙拜掉了趙公明元神散而不歸，──但神仙以元神為主，遊八極，任逍遙，今一旦被子牙拜去，不覺昏沉，只是要睡。

[Sleeping is said to be uncharacteristic of immortals. This alerts Zhao Gongming’s comrades that he is being spiritually assaulted. After divining the effigy’s location, Wen sends Shang allies to steal it. They are initially successful, but the straw man is eventually recaptured by Zhou forces.]

[…]

[Lu Ya finally arrives as promised to finish the ritual.]

With a smile, Lu Ya opened his flower basket and took out a small mulberry bow and three short peach arrows, which he handed to Ziya. “At noon today, you must shoot the effigy with these arrows,” Lu Ya said. Ziya replied: “Order received!” The two waited in a tent until the astrological official came to report: “Noon time has arrived!” Ziya cleaned his hands, picked up the bow, and then nocked the first arrow. “Shoot his left eye first,” instructed Lu Ya. Ziya did as ordered. As the first arrow hit the left eye of the effigy, Zhao Gongming, lying in the Shang camp, roared in agony and closed his left eye. Grand Preceptor Wen held him in his arms, sobbing as the tears poured down his cheeks. Back at Mount Qi, the second arrow hit the right eye of the effigy, and the third penetrated its heart [fig. 3]. Zhao Gongming died in the Shang camp (based on Gu, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 985-987). [5]

陸壓笑吟吟揭開花籃，取出小小一張桑枝弓，三隻桃枝箭，遞與子牙，「今日午時初刻，用此箭射之。」子牙曰：「領命。」二人在帳中等至午時，不覺陰陽官來報：「午時牌！」子牙淨手，拈弓，搭箭。陸壓曰：「先中左目。」子牙依命，先中左目。──這西岐山發箭射草人，成湯營裏趙公明大叫一聲，把左眼閉了。聞太師心如刀割，一把抱住公明，淚流滿面，哭聲甚慘。──子牙在岐山，二箭射右目，三箭劈心一箭，三箭射了草人。──公明死于成湯營裏。

Like Ziya, a bad guy could perform the same ritual to secretly steal Monkey’s primal spirit, tether it to a straw effigy marked “Sun Wukong” (孫悟空), and finally kill our hero with three well-placed peach arrows to the eyes and chest.

Fig. 3 – Jiang Ziya aiming the ritual bow at the straw effigy (larger version). Zhao Gongming can be seen sleeping in the Shang camp below. Woodblock print from The Newly Printed, Zhong Bojing Annotated, Investiture of the Gods (Xinke Zhong Bojing xiansheng piping Fengshen yanyi, 新刻鍾伯敬先生批評封神演義, c. 1620). See page 42 of this PDF.

III. Story Potential

If anyone decided to write their own fanfiction using the method described above, I could see this being a great opportunity for Zhu Bajie (豬八戒) and/or Sha Wujing (沙悟淨) to shine. He/they could be the one(s) searching the cosmos for answers, and upon learning of the rite, desperately racing to find the straw effigy before the ritual is complete. All of this would of course take place while Monkey is sleeping.

I can definitely see Zhu and/or Sha seeking the aid of Guanyin (觀音), who could easily break the ritual. I imagine she would reveal that, “The Great Sage is destined to experience this tribulation…” (or something like that), but she would surely provide them with the location in the end.

Reasons for the villain performing the ritual could include:

  • Eliminating Wukong so that they can more easily catch and eat the Tang Monk, thus gaining immortality.
  • Absorbing Monkey’s primal spirit in order to gain his immortality and skills.

The latter is my favorite, but the former would work better for the story since the whole point of the ritual is to kill the target. And besides, Monkey’s disembodied spirit is powerful enough to kill the psychopomps sent to reap his soul, as well as bully the judges and officers of hell (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 139-141). Now, imagine what it could do to some random demon king and/or cultivator who tried to absorb it!

IV. Conclusion

Sun Wukong is famed for his multiple categories of immortality, but he is still susceptible to death and the wheel of rebirth since, during the journey, he hasn’t yet achieved Buddha-nature. Killing him in one-on-one combat would be nearly impossible, though, given his great durability and power. However, using methods borrowed from Investiture of the Gods (c. 1620) might work. For instance, chapter 44 mentions ten magical array traps that rely on primordial energies, destructive elements like wind, thunder, fire, sand, ice, and water, and spiritual attacks to terminate immortals. Three of the traps, numbers three, seven, and eight, respectively use true samadhi fire or soul-scattering and destruction to kill divine cultivators. These might give Monkey problems as his soul is easily reaped in his sleep in JTTW chapter three, suggesting that it may be weak against spiritual attacks, and he is shown to be weak against Red Boy’s true samadhi fire in chapter 41. But I think it would be hard to trick him into entering the traps since his magic eyes would no doubt see the dark auras above them.

The best way to overcome his great power, durability, and speed requires an indirect approach, a secret, spiritual assault from afar. A ritual used in chapters 48 and 49 of Investiture does exactly that. In order to defeat the immortal Zhao Gongming and circumvent his powerful holy treasures, the immortal Lu Ya instructs Zhou army commander Jiang Ziya how to perform a rite from the Book of Fixing the Seventh Posthumous Day Arrow. This involves a bureaucratic ceremony (praying, talisman-burning, and dipper-walking) that slowly steals the immortal’s primal spirit over a 21 day period, tethers it to a straw effigy marked with Zhao’s name, and then kills him by shooting the icon with three peach arrows, two to the eyes and a third to the heart.

A villain wanting to kidnap and eat the Tang Monk for immortality could perform this ritual in order to get Monkey out of the way. This would make for a great story centered on Zhu Bajie and/or Sha Wujing. He/they could frantically search the universe for answers, before racing to find the straw effigy before the rite is complete.

Update: 12-28-23

I found two neat drawings portraying Jiang Ziya performing the rite (fig. 4 & 5).

Fig. 4 (top) – Jiang Ziya performing the procedural side of the ritual (larger version). Image found here. Fig. 5 (bottom) – Ziya fires the last arrow, killing Zhao Gongming (larger version). Image found here. They appear to be from the same anonymous lianhuanhua comic book.

Update: 12-29-23

A reader’s comment (below) has prompted me to add more context. Zhao Gongming’s disembodied spirit is not destroyed by the ritual. It is pulled towards the “Terrace of Creation” (Fengshen tai, 封神臺), a magic receptacle of souls, to await his apotheosis at the end of the novel. He is enfeoffed as the “Golden Dragon, Wish-Fulfilling and Righteously Unifying, Dragon-Tiger Mysterious Altar Perfected Lord” (Jinlong ruyi zhengyi longhu xuantan zhenjun, 金龍如意正一龍虎玄壇真君), a god of wealth (cf. Gu, 2000, vol. 4, pp. 2119-2121).

This then raises the question, “What would happen to Wukong’s soul if the ritual was successful? After the death of his body, it would naturally report to the underworld for processing. Remember, Monkey has yet to attain Buddha-Nature, so he is still subject to the wheel of rebirth. I can see him causing trouble down there like he had done in the past, but perhaps Kṣitigarbha (Ch: Dizang, 地藏) would calm his rage and convince him that reincarnation is the right choice. This would lead to a new adventure.

Or, considering that the journey to India would still be underway, and Tripitaka is constantly in danger, heaven might rush to find a new body for Wukong’s spirit to inhabit. This actually happens to a minor character in chapters 11 and 12 of JTTW. The soul of an official’s wife is forced into the body of a recently dead princess to live out the remainder of her allotted lifespan (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 268-269).

Another reader suggested a second method from Investiture to kill Monkey (see the comment below):

The Immortal-slaying Flying Knife, also a treasure of Lu Ya’s, might be a good second-contender here. It’s a strange weapon with head and eyes and wings, stored inside a gourd: when released, its eyes shoot out white light that “nails down” an enemy’s true form, and, upon recitation of “Turn around please, precious” (请宝贝转身), will spin and instantly decapitate the target.

Sure, there is the matter of getting it out and saying the magical words before you were reduced to a meat patty, but if the target is already immobilized——like Yuan Hong, FSYY’s own staff-wielding ape with 72 transformations——the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife will be that final nail in the coffin.

I’ll look into this more and update the page at a later date.

Update: 01-07-24

Lu Ya’s ritual reminds me of a two-step process used in Chinese Folk Religion to activate a religious statue (shenxiang, 神像). Part one is the “entering-spirit” (rushen, 入神) ceremony, which invites a deity’s essence inside. Lin (2020) explains:

When the carving is complete, the carver chooses an auspicious day to hold the spirit-entering ritual. A cavity at the back of the image is carved out for this rite. The objects placed in this hole include incense ashes (xianghui) or talismans from the root temple, a live hornet, five precious materials (gold, silver, bronze, iron, and tin), five crops (rice, wheat, sesame, and different kinds of beans), and a bundle of five-color threads (red, yellow, blue, black, and white) [fig. 6 & 7] … The worshippers have to prepare fruit and flowers and burn incense to invite the deity to come.

When the auspicious moment arrives, the carver inserts the previously listed items into the cavity and plugs it with a piece of wood. The objects placed in the cavity are important clues regarding how people conceptualize deities. Local inhabitants explained to me that the ashes or talisman symbolizes the spirit of the deity, and the living hornet is to increase the deity’s power. Some people said the five forms of treasure represent the five organs of the deity, whereas others just said they are symbols of the deity’s grandeur. The five crops represent the harvest and the bunch of five-color threads is related to the five spirit-soldier camps (p. 38).

Lu Ya’s ritual essentially treats the straw effigy like an idol that will house a god’s essence. This might explain how the primal spirit of Zhao Gongming (and therefore Sun Wukong) is called to enter the icon.

Fig. 6 (top) – A collection of the talisman, grains, treasures, and colored-threads used in the entering-spirit ceremony (larger version). Fig. 7 (bottom) – A live wasp is retrieved to be added to the necessary ritual items (larger version). Images found here. 

Part two is the “eye-opening and dotting” (kaiguang dianyan, 開光點眼) ceremony, which brings the idol to life. Again, I refer to Lin (2020):

For this ceremony, the carver prepares flowers, fruit, a round mirror, a red brush pen, and a white cock. When the auspicious moment arrives, the mirror is taken outside where the light is sufficient to reflect it into the statue’s eyes. Next, the carver goes back to the altar and uses a knife to cut the cockscomb and smear the blood with the red brush pen. He then starts to chant and to dot the deity with the brush pen. There are many different kinds of chants … but their contents are not very different. The process of dotting usually begins at the center of the forehead and proceeds to the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, heart, navel, feet, toes, fingers, and back [fig. 8-10], as the following chant demonstrates:

First dot the sacred head, second dot the sacred hat,
Third dot the sacred body, then the true and righteous god will occupy the body.
Open the left eye to see heaven.
Open the right eye to see into the earth.
Open the left ear to listen to sounds from all directions.
Open the right ear to hear sounds from far away.
Open the divine nose, to smell fragrant scents.
Open the divine mouth, but not to eat house hold foods.
Open the left hand and the disciples will be prosperous year after year.
Open the right hand and the god will capture ghosts without being asked.
Open the sacred belly and great divine power will come forth.
Open the left foot to step upon the correct path.
Open the right foot to step into the divine carriage.
Open the back so that all people may be enlightened.

It can be inferred that in this ceremony, the carver at first draws the natural energy into the statue to enliven it. Then, he uses the blood of a white cock, symbolizing purity, to dot and connect the important parts of the body. This makes the statue like a living person with veins in which blood flows without obstruction (pp. 38-39).

Although Investiture doesn’t mention any of this, I think performing the eye-opening and dotting ceremony would be the final step in making the straw effigy a separate, living embodiment of the Monkey King. The ritual would open the eyes of Wukong’s spiritual double to the cosmos and fill his chest with divine energies in preparation for shooting said targets. This would explain why Zhao Gongming closes his eyes upon each arrow strike (refer back to section II).

Writers wanting to add a certain level of religious authenticity to the fictional Monkey King-killing ritual could have the villain place the talisman, grains, treasures, live wasp, and five colored-threads inside the straw effigy. And then he could chant while simultaneously reflecting sunlight on the face and dotting the eyes and body with a rooster blood-soaked brush. The only major difference between the fictional and religious ceremonies would be that the former’s first step, the entering-spirit ritual, lasts three weeks.

Fig. 8 (top L) – An entering-spirit and eye-opening and dotting kit commonly sold in Taiwan (larger version). Notice how the mirror is rectangular instead of circular. Image found here. Fig. 9 (top R) – A white temple rooster kept as a supply of pure blood (larger version). Don’t worry, nowadays they are only nicked on the comb with a knife. Image found here. Fig. 10 (bottom) – A ritual master uses a circular mirror to shine sunlight into an idol’s eyes while dotting the figure with a blood-soaked brush (larger version). Image found here.

Notes:

1) Monkey is called a “bogus immortal” by the Jade Emperor (ch. 4), the Buddha (ch. 7), and the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea in (ch. 14) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 147-148, p. 193, and p. 318). This alludes to the fact that he is not yet a true transcendent.

The idea that Wukong is still susceptible to death is based on the Buddho-Taoist philosophy of Southern Quanzhen School Patriarch Zhang Boduan (張伯端, mid to late-980s-1082), which heavily influenced JTTW. Zhang believed that one had to attain both the Taoist elixir and Buddha-Nature in order to be truly immortal. Only then could one rise above death and the endless rounds of rebirth to live forever (Shao, 1997, pp. 80-84). This is why JTTW starts with Monkey achieving immortality in chapter two and ends with him attaining Buddhahood in chapter 100, thereby fulfilling Zhang’s two-step process to true transcendence.

Zhang’s philosophy is reflected in his Writings on Understanding Reality (Wuzhen pian, 悟真篇, 1075). One poem reads:

The elixir is the most precious treasure of the physical body; when cultivated to perfection, the transmutations are endless. One can go on to investigate the true source in the realm of essence, and ascertain the ineffable function of the birthless. Without awaiting another body in the next life, one attains the spiritual capacities of a Buddha in the present; after the Naga Girl achieved this, who since then has been able to follow in her footsteps? (Zhang, Liu, & Cleary, 1987, p. 1481; cf. Shao, 1997, p. 83)

丹是色身至寶，煉成變化無窮。更能性上究真宗，决了無生妙用。不待他身後世，見前獲佛神通。自從龍女著斯功，爾後誰能繼踵。

2) It’s interesting to note that Pigsy suggests that Wukong dying isn’t a problem because his 72 changes give him 72 lives (qishi’er tiao xingming, 七十二條性命) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 232).

3) For instance, heaven fails to execute Monkey in chapter seven because of his adamantine hide:

They then slashed him with a scimitar, hewed him with an ax, stabbed him with a spear, and hacked him with a sword, but they could not hurt his body in any way. Next, the Star Spirit of the South Pole ordered the various deities of the Fire Department to burn him with fire, but that, too, had little effect. The gods of the Thunder Department were then ordered to strike him with thunderbolts, but not a single one of his hairs was destroyed (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 188).

… 刀砍斧剁，槍刺劍刳，莫想傷及其身。南斗星奮令火部眾神放火煨燒，亦不能燒著。又著雷部眾神以雷屑釘打，越發不能傷損一毫。

4) Apart from these treasures, Zhao Gongming fights with a hard whip (bian, 鞭), a sword-like metal club with stacked ridges and a pointed end. Gu (2000) incorrectly translates this as “staff” (vol. 2, p. 941).

5) Given the ritual’s association with the number seven (i.e. “Fixing the Seventh Posthumous Day Arrow”), and the fact that it takes 21 days to execute, it seems that one arrow is used for every week that the rite is performed. Remember that there are a total of three: two for the eyes and a third one for the heart.

6) These are the holes in the head: eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.

Sources:

Gu, Z. (2000). Creation of the Gods (Vols. 1-4). Beijing: New World Press.

Lin, W. (2020). Materializing Magic Power: Chinese Popular Religion in Villages and Cities. Netherlands: Brill.

Shao, P. (1997). Monkey and Chinese Scriptural Tradition: A Rereading of the Novel Xiyouji (UMI No. 9818173) [Doctoral dissertation, Washington University]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.

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

Zhang, B., Liu, Y., & Cleary, T. (1987). Understanding Reality: A Taoist Alchemical Classic. Honululu Univ. of Hawaii Press.