Note: An AI translation of this novel is now available. Click the linked Chinese characters below that read “後西遊記.”

The main body of Later Journey to the West (Hou Xiyouji, 後西遊記, 17^th century) follows a similar trajectory as the parent novel, Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592). The historical monk Dadian (大顛, 732–824) (fig. 1) is tasked with traveling from China to India to retrieve spiritual knowledge from the Buddha, and just like Tripitaka, he is protected by three demonic disciples, namely Sun Luzhen (孫履真), the descendant of Sun Wukong, Zhu Yijie (豬一戒), the son of Zhu Bajie, and Sha Zhihe (沙致和), the disciple of Sha Wujing. Along the way the group travels through many lands, battles numerous evils, and they eventually become enlightened Buddhas like their predecessors two hundred years prior. As noted in part one, Later Journey to the West may appear like a carbon copy of the original, but the similarities are only skin deep since the novel is comprised of extremely dense layers of allegorical meaning.

Below, I present the second of a three-part summary of the novel (part 1 and part 3), which focuses on the journey proper. I rely very heavily on Xiaolian Liu (1994) as the novel has yet to be published in English.

Notes have been added to the sections below to explain the allegorical meaning of various story elements.

Table of Contents

• 1. The Interpretation Pilgrim is Chosen
• 2. The Journey to India Begins

1. The Interpretation Pilgrim is Chosen

After quelling his descendant’s rebellion, Buddha Sun Wukong travels eastward by cloud with Buddha Tripitaka to see how China has benefited from the scriptures delivered by them some two centuries in the past. However, they find that the monks of the Famen temple (Famen si, 法門寺) are not only falsely claiming to have holy relics from Tripitaka’s deceased human body, [1] but also that their leader is his sixth generation disciple and a master of the sutras. This influences Tang Emperor Xianzong (唐憲宗, r. 806-820) to donate heavily to the temple because he believes that the dynasty will prosper once the pagoda containing the supposed relics is opened. The two Buddhas return to the Western Paradise and report their findings to Tathagata, who tells them that the Chinese will continue to misunderstand and misuse the teachings until they receive the “true interpretation” (zhenjie, 真解). The Enlightened One then charges Tripitaka with locating a pilgrim who will make the journey to India to retrieve this interpretation. [2]

In the meantime, the scholar-official Han Yu (韓愈, 768–824) openly criticizes the emperor for his worship of the relics and his spendthrift support of the temple. For this he is exiled from Shaanxi province in the north to Guangdong province in the south, where he meets the Chan Buddhist Master Dadian. [3] Upon hearing of the decadent, misguided state of Buddhism near the capital, Dadian goes north and memorializes the emperor to give up his extravagant patronage of the religion. This show of integrity cements Tripitaka’s decision to choose the monk as his pilgrim. The Buddha then magically seals away the scriptures, forcing the Emperor to send Dadian to India to retrieve the true interpretation.

Fig. 1 – A woodblock print of the monk Dadian.

2. The Journey to India Begins

The novel has a total of 40 chapters. Liu (1994) only covers certain chapters from this point on since they contain the most allegorical meaning.

Dadian acquires his demonic disciples during the early stage of his journey. First, he recites a magic spell taught to him by Tripitaka which calls Sun Luzhen to his side. Second, he recruits Zhu Yijie on the road after the pig is subdued by Monkey and made to follow the priest west. Third, Dadian accepts Sha Shihe as his last disciple after the water spirit saves him from a monster that had dragged him to the bottom of the Flowing Sands River.

Prior to Sha Shihe joining the group, Monkey, Dadian, and Yijie travel through the sister villages of Ge (葛, “Creepers”) and Teng (籐, “Clinging Vines”), which are both plagued by bottomless pits that appear and swallow untold numbers of people. [A] The elders of these respective villages tell the pilgrims that the source of this calamity is a demon known as King Defect (Quexian wang, 缺陷王), who lives on the Mountain of Imperfection (Buman, 不滿, lit: “Not full”). The monster feeds on the negativity of people whom he curses with poverty, divorce, disease, etc., and those who don’t worship him are swallowed by the ground to be imprisoned forever. Luzhen retrieves a magic golden treasure from heaven that stops the demon from burrowing underground; however, when he flees into a cave, the pilgrims’ path is blocked by seemingly indestructible vines that regrow as soon as they are cut. But Monkey discovers the vines fail to grow if he cuts them while not talking. [B] The group follows suit and they are able to capture and kill the demon, who is revealed to be a badger spirit.

A) These names refer to Geteng (葛籐, Creepers and Clinging Vines), a term used in Buddhist literature to refer to the net of desire that ensnares humans. Liu (1994) notes the Avadanas Scripture (Chuyao jing, 出曜經, late-5^th to early-6^th cent.) contains two mentions of the term, one of which reads: “Entrapped in the net of desires, common people are bound to undermine the right (orthodoxy) way … like the creepers and vines which twine round a tree and eventually cause its death” (p. 70).

B) The aforementioned creepers and clinging vines also refer to Geteng Chan (葛籐禪, Wordy Chan/Zen), a term often applied “to people who resort to long-winded words or writings, rather than to their intuitive perceptions to grasp the essence of Buddhist principles” (Liu, 1994, p. 71). This love for speaking/writing is believed to hinder the path to enlightenment. This explains why the vines stop growing when Monkey stops talking. The group, in essence, frees themselves from Wordy Chan and relies more on intuition. This puts them one step closer to enlightenment.

After passing the Flowing Sands River and bringing Sha Shihe into their fold, the group travels to the Mountain of Deliverance lorded over by King Deliverance (Jietuo dawang, 解脫大王). He and his demon generals maintain 72 chasms where humans fall prey to their desires (sex, money, alcohol, anger, etc.) and 36 pits where sinners are tortured. [C] During a battle with the demon army, Zhu Yijie resists promises of sex, food, and treasures offered by the generals, but lets his guard down due to flattery and is captured. [D] Dadian is captured by seven demons displaying a range of emotions from joy to hatred. [E] The monk clears his mind and falls into a deep meditative state undisturbed by the outside world. It is only when Monkey comes to his rescue that Tripitaka regains consciousness. [F] In the end, Luzhen manages to kill King Deliverance by crushing him under the weight of a huge boulder that he had transformed into an exact likeness of himself. This causes all of the generals and the chasms and pits to disappear. The author provides an explanatory couplet.

When the heart (mind) is active,
All kinds of demons come into existence;
When the heart (mind) is extinguished,
All kinds of demons disappear (Liu, 1994, p. 77).

心生種種魔生，心滅種種魔滅。

C) The demon king and generals are physical embodiments of desires that keep people from attaining enlightenment.

D) This represents the consequence of temptation, no matter how small.

E) These demons represent the seven emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire.

F) Dadian’s capture represents those who erroneously think meditation is simply sitting quietly instead of inner reflection and the examination of truths. His inability to focus his mind is the real reason for his capture. Monkey represents the mind, so his arrival allows the monk to regain consciousness. Therefore, this episode teaches one to focus the mind and thereby not fall prey to desires. This is yet another step closer to enlightenment.

Fig. 2 – The immortal Zhenyuanzi as depicted in the famous 1986 television series.

The pilgrims travel to the Temple of Five Villages (Wuzhuang guan, 五莊觀) in the Mountain of Longevity (Wanshou shan, 萬壽山), where they are met by the supreme immortal Zhenyuanzi (鎮元子) (fig. 2), the patriarch of all earthly immortals and a temporary adversary in chapters 24 to 26 of the original. Sensing that Monkey relies too heavily on his physical strength and not his spiritual strength, the immortal only allows Dadian to enter, leaving the others to sit outside for hours. To add further insult to injury, a young immortal page tells Luzhen that his master has decided to forsake the journey in order to study Daoism. This so enrages him that he bursts inside to confront Zhenyuanzi and is challenged to retrieve Dadian from the Mansion of Fiery Clouds (Huoyun lou, 火雲樓) in which the monk is drinking tea. But Monkey’s way is suddenly blocked by a supernatural flame, known as the “fire of the mind” (Xinhuo, 心火), which can’t even be extinguished by Dragon King rain. [G] He finally manages to douse the fire with the sweet dew from Guanyin‘s holy willow sprig and retrieve his master. [H]

G) This fire represents Sun Luzhen and Zhenyuanzi’s anger, which ignites when both enter into an argument. Anger is one of the emotions thought to inhibit enlightenment.

H) This liquid is referred to in Buddhist literature as being able to extinguish everything from desires to negative emotions. For example, Liu (1994) comments: “In a parable in Za baozang jing 雜寶藏經 (Sutra of Miscellaneous Treasures [5^th cent.]), the Buddha was said to use the Water of Wisdom to extinguish the Three Fires of Desire, Anger and Delusion” (Liu, 1994, p. 81). Therefore, the dew/water represents wisdom, or the ability to use reason and not become angry. The use of the dew causes Monkey to switch from knee jerk reaction to reason, as exemplified by this statement:

It was my mistake in the first place. I should not have quarreled with him to stir up his fire. Once his fire is stirred up, my fire is stirred up too. I don’t know how long the fire will burn. This surely would cause delay in our master’s proper business (Liu, 1994, p. 80).

初時，原是我差了，不該與他角口，惹他動起火來。他既動了火，我又動起火來，不知燒到幾時？豈不誤了師父正事！

The group comes to an endless, ocean-like river and question how they will ever reach the “other side” (bi’an, 彼岸). [I] They eventually take a derelict boat, but infighting between Dadian and the disciples coincides with a monstrous black storm that erupts overhead, producing powerful winds that blow them thousands of miles off course to the Rakshasa Kingdom (Luocha guo, 羅剎國). This land of monsters is ruled over by the Bull Demon King and Lady Iron Fan (fig. 3), adversaries from chapters 59 to 61 of the original. After learning of the pilgrims’ arrival, Lady Iron Fan sends an army of demon soldiers to capture them so she can exact revenge for perceived misdeeds by their predecessors. [4] Dadian once again enters meditation to avoid evil influences and is quickly rescued by Monkey. Luzhen attempts to save Yijie, who once again falls prey to temptation and is captured, but is stopped by a black whirlwind created by Black Boy (Heihai’er, 黑孩兒), the second son of the demonic couple. [J] Monkey is forced to retrieve a sutra from the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha in the underworld. Upon reading the sutra, a magic red cloud appears and shines light on the kingdom, destroying all of the demons and leading the monks to freedom. [K]

I) This ocean/river is a common metaphor in Buddhist literature referring to desire, and the “other side” refers to a life free from desire (Paramita), or achieving enlightenment. For example, Huineng (惠能, 638–713), the sixth Chan patriarch, says: “The perverted mind is the great sea and the passions are the waves … if the perverted mind is cast aside the ocean will dry up, and when the passions are gone the waves will subside” (Liu, 1994, p. 81).

J) The black whirlwind represents ignorance, or the Buddhist concept of Wuming (無明, darkness without illumination), and the demon kingdom represents the unenlightened mind that falls prey to its own demons (desire, ignorance, anger, etc.). The metaphors of the black whirlwind and demon kingdom are mentioned in the Collected Essentials of the Five Lamplight Histories (Wudeng huiyuan, 五燈會元, c. 1252), one of several accepted histories of Chan Buddhist orthodoxy in China (Liu, 1994, pp. 84-85).

K) The illuminated red cloud represents sudden enlightenment that sweeps away all ignorance and desire.

Fig. 3 – An artist’s depiction of Lady Iron Fan and the Bull Demon King.

Notes:

1) This is false within the novel’s fictional universe because Tripitaka attained living Buddhahood in chapter 100 of the original.

2) Tripitaka serves as Guanyin’s successor in this respect, for it was the Bodhisattva who recruited the “scripture pilgrim” in chapter 12.

3) Liu (1994) notes that this is based on actual history. Han Yu, who was a Confucian scholar and the Vice Minister of the Justice Department, “presented a memorial to the throne, denouncing Buddhism as an alien doctrine and criticizing the emperor for receiving and showing reverence for the ‘decayed and rotten bone’ of the Buddha” (pp. 63-64). So in this case it was a relic belonging to the Buddha and not Tripitaka. Han was actually sentenced to death, but this was later commuted to exile thanks to parties arguing on his behalf.

4) She wishes to exact her revenge because their predecessors, Tripitaka, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, were instrumental in the subjugation and reformation of her first son Red Boy by Guanyin.

Source:

Liu, X. (1994). The Odyssey of the Buddhist Mind: The Allegory of the Later Journey to the West. Lanham, Md: University Press of America.