I recently visited another Great Sage temple, this time the Wujian Purple Cloud Temple (Wujian Ziyu si, 五間紫雲寺) of Yilan (宜蘭), Taiwan. The temple was bustling with people during the Chinese New Year celebrations, so I didn’t have time to ask many questions. This entry will serve more as a picture essay until I return to conduct proper research.
1. History
Legend has it that around 1899 a man found a monkey-shaped stone and enshrined it in a thatched shed. This was eventually converted to a temple a few years later. It was destroyed by a typhoon in 1960 but subsequently rebuilt. The temple appears to recognize a trinity, with countless monkey soldiers beneath them. The Great Sage has two aspects: the “Martial Great Sage” (Wu Dasheng, 武大聖) (standing statues), who exorcises evil, and the “Civil Great Sage” (Wen Dasheng, 文大聖) (seated statues), who insures the safety of people and animals.
2. How to get there
(Note: Always consult google if you are directionally challenged like myself)
Address: No. 449, Section 3, Dafu Road, Zhuangwei Township, Yilan County, Taiwan, 263
I took bus #1571 (google calls it #1571A) from gate 15 of the Taiwan City Hall Bus Station. This heads towards the Yilan Bus Station. (If you plan to take this route, please note that buses headed to different areas of Yilan will board from this gate. So pay very close attention to the calls of the bus station attendant. For example, they called “Jiaoxi” (礁溪) (bus #1572), a small township in Yilan, and those waiting for another destination had to stand off to the side while those from different sections of the line made their way to the front. If you aren’t careful, you might end up on the wrong bus.) My destination was the first stop, the Zhuangwei (壯圍) bus stop, a small shelter by an overpass. My short walk to the temple took me passed rows of flooded rice fields and small patches of buildings.
(Click images for larger versions)
Gate 15 at the Taiwan City Hall Bus Station.
The Zhuangwei bus stop shelter (as seen from the opposite outgoing bus stop).
The route map from the Zhuangwei bus stop to the temple.
Random rice fields along Gonglao Road (see map).
A panorama of a rice field next to Lane 423, Sect. 3, Dafu Road (see map).
3. The Outside
The temple is located on the side of a busy road. It appears almost out of nowhere since the face of the holy structure is in line with the buildings on either side. The first thing that caught my eye was the highly ornate roof of the furnace covered in mythical creatures, divine heroes, and gods, features typical of South Chinese and Taiwanese temple architecture. Each face of the hexagonal body was covered with beautiful carvings on black marble, two of which included the pilgrims from Journey to the West.
The furnace visible on the left side of the temple (as seen from the road).
A marble carving of Guanyin, the White Dragon Horse, Monkey, and Tripitaka.
A detail of Monkey.
Monkey, Sha Wujing, Tripitaka on the White Dragon Horse, and Zhu Bajie.
A detail of the group.
The front of the temple houses an ornate statue of three brightly colored dragons enclosed in a fence. Looking up, I noticed beautiful hand-painted dragons and Qilin on the ceiling, along with paintings of events from Chinese mythology and Journey to the West on the cross beams. Walking towards one of the five entrances, I noticed the facade was covered in highly detailed stone carvings, some depicting events from the novel.
The front of the Purple Cloud Temple.
The front of the temple. Three of the five entrances are visible behind the dragons.
A detail of the three dragon statues.
Five hand-painted dragons on the ceiling. The Eight Immortals grace the crossbeam below.
A pair of Qilin on the ceiling. The cross beam below portrays an event from Prince Nezha‘s life.
Zhu Bajie protecting his master from the ogre that will become Sha Wujing.
A stone carving on the facade showing Monkey (top right), Zhu bajie (top center right), and Sha Wujing (center left) battling a monster (top left). The image has been enhanced for clarity.
Monkey (center) battling the heavenly army. Enhanced for clarity.
Monkey (center) leaping from Laozi’s furnace. Enhanced for clarity. Apologies for the blur.
A detail of Monkey leaping.
The Great Sage (top center) and his monkey army battling heaven. Enhanced for clarity. These are just a few of the many carvings covering the temple facade.
4. The Inside
The interior hall is wide yet shallow in depth and split between three altars, Folk religion to the right, the Great Sage in the Center, and Daoist to the left. I must admit in my zeal to photograph anything Monkey-related, I completely forgot to take pictures of the other two sections. This online image shows the folk section includes Mazu, Budai, and other deities. This image shows the Daoist section includes the Jade emperor, the Earth god, and others. Surprisingly, the incense burner in front of the main entrance was not marked with the name of the Great Sage (unlike what I’ve seen at other such temples) but that of the Jade Emperor, 玉皇上帝 (Yuhuang shangdi).
The main hall.
The incense burner bearing the name of the Jade Emperor (visible from the hall looking out the main door).
Upon entering the right side of the main hall, the first thing that caught my eye was a large wooden sculpture of a tree-bound monkey holding onto a branch with one hand and a pair of peaches in the other. Immediately behind him was a stone carving of a vague monkey with two children. (I’m not sure of the ritual importance of either statue. I’ll report on this later. However, I will say the stone statue recalls Sun Wukong’s origins as a stone monkey.) Next to both statues is one of two cylindrical towers, one positioned on each end of the hall. Each is topped by a Great Sage statue and the towers themselves are comprised of hundreds of small compartments, each filled with a small Great Sage figure. These represent a donor who has given money to the temple.
The wooden monkey statue.
A detail of the monkey holding peaches.
The stone monkey with children.
The tower of donor Great Sages.
The Great Sage topping each tower. He holds a fly whisk in one hand and a peach of immortality in the other.
The many compartments.
A mini Great Sage donor figure. He sits on a throne with his staff held over head in one hand and a calabash gourd held to his front in the other.
4.1. The Great Sage Altar
The central offering table to the Great Sage was covered in all sorts of fruits, candies, and flowers. Also included were an incense burner, offerings of wine, and a pair of crescent moon-shaped wooden blocks. These blocks are used in tandem with fortune sticks and oracles revealed on slips of paper, all of which are housed in a metal cylinder to the left of the table (see section three of this article on how these items are used).
The table laden with offerings. Take note of the young woman praying to the Great Sage. She told me that she was from Vietnam and that Monkey was not a common deity there.
The incense burner (back center), tea offerings (three cups visible in the center) and wooden blocks (front right).
The metal cylinder housing the fortune sticks (top), with the corresponding oracles located in each of the surrounding drawers.
Like in other parts of Taiwan and Singapore, this temple appears to recognize a plethora of Great Sages, from a holy trinity to an army of soldier monkeys. (I don’t yet know their individual names. I will report on this later.) All of the Great Sage figures are portrayed with golden armor, red-painted humanoid faces, golden fillets, and long, dark hair. The headband and long hair are no doubt influenced by depictions of Military Monks (Wuseng, 武僧) from Chinese opera (Bonds, 2008, pp. 177-178 and 328). Red face paint is also associated with such characters (Bonds, 2008, p. 211). While the red paint of the statues references the red faces of macaque monkeys, it definitely plays into the military monk personna. Portraying Monkey as such defines him as a divine warrior and a guardian deity.
A military monk from a modern Beijing Opera production (Bonds, 2008, p. 178).
I was pleasantly surprised to see statues of Zhu Bajie appear among the Great Sage’s army. It’s quite appropriate given this is the year of the pig according to the Chinese zodiac. Also included were statues of Ksitigarbha and Nezha.
The three main Great Sages visible in front of the ornate dragon statue. Note the long hair.
Statues of Zhu Bajie among Monkey’s soldiers.
More soldier monkeys. Take note of the Ksitigarbha (front right).
Nezha figures mixed in with the monkey soldiers (left).
This soldier monkey holds a calabash gourd at the ready.
More Nezha figures among the soldiers (right).
I have more pictures of the interior but I’ll leave those for a later article. Lastly, I want to share one of the temple flags stationed opposite the main building.
In chapter 88 of Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592), the pilgrims arrive in the lower Indian prefecture of Jade Flower District (Yuhua xian, 玉華縣), which strikes Tripitaka as a spitting image of the Tang Chinese capital of Chang’an. There, the disciples’ monstrous appearance rouses the local ruler’s three sons to action against what they think are demons come to harm their father. However, they soon learn Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy are celestial warriors possessing magical versions of their mere earthly arms (two staves and a battle rake). The three princes are later accepted as disciples, the oldest wanting to learn Monkey’s techniques and the second and third oldest wanting to learn from Pigsy and Sandy in turn. But when they fail to lift the monks’ celestial weapons, Monkey performs an arcane ritual in which he bestows each prince with superhuman strength:
In a secluded room behind the Gauze-Drying Pavilion, Pilgrim traced out on the ground a diagram of the Big Dipper. Then he asked the three princes to prostrate themselves inside the diagram and, with eyes closed, exercise the utmost concentration. Behind them he himself recited in silence the true sayings of realized immortality and intoned the words of Dharani as he blew divine breaths into their visceral cavities. Their primordial spirits were thus restored to their original abodes. Then he transmitted secret oral formulas to them so that each of the princes received the strength of tens of thousands of men. [1] He next helped them to circulate and build up the fire phases, as if they themselves were carrying out the technique for shedding the mortal embryo and changing the bones. Only when the circulation of the vital force had gone through all the circuits of their bodies (modeled on planetary movements) did the young princes regain consciousness. When they jumped to their feet and gave their own faces a wipe, they felt more energetic than ever. Each of them, in fact, had become so sturdy in his bones and so strong in his ligaments that the eldest prince could handle the golden-hooped rod, the second prince could wield the nine-pronged muckrake, and the third prince could lift the fiend-routing staff (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 202-203).
1. “Pilgrim traced out on the ground a diagram of the Big Dipper.”
The Big Dipper (gang dou, 罡斗), also known as the Northern Dipper (beidou, 北斗), is a pattern of seven stars associated with the constellation Ursa Major(fig. 1). Daoism considers the pole star of this pattern to be the center of the cosmos through which emanates “primordial breath” (generative qi), which has long been deified as the great god Taiyi. The constellation is associated with a Daoist ritual known as Bugang (步綱/罡, “Walking the Guideline”) in which a practitioner paces the Big Dipper pattern with their feet on the ground. This ritual dance is synonymous with the much older shamanistic Yubu (禹步, “Paces of Yu”) used by ancient Sage Kings to conquer primordial chaos by pacing the stars and planets into motion, thereby directing the seasons and passage of time. The ritual involved pacing an inwardly spiraling circular pattern while dragging one foot behind the other in imitation of the limp adopted by Yu the Great after over-exerting himself quelling the fabled World Flood (fig. 2). Later Daoists viewed Yubu as a means of gaining immortality because the limping, three pace-style walking pattern symbolized the practitioner spanning the three realms of Earth, Man, and finally Heaven (this has an interesting Vedic correlation). [2] But, most importantly, by the Tang and Song dynasties, Bugang served the purpose of purifying the area before an altar, ensuring the liturgy to follow takes place in a consecrated space. In fact, some sources interchange the characters for Bugang with the homonyms 布剛, meaning “distributing strength,” which denotes the demonifugic properties of the dance (Andersen, 1989). Therefore, Monkey draws the Big Dipper talisman on the ground in order to create a sacred space free of any negative influences.
Fig. 1 – The location of the Big Dipper in relation to the Ursa Major constellation (larger version). Originally from this Futurism article. Fig. 2 – A diagram showing the inwardly spiraling pattern of Yubu (top) and the dipper pattern of Bugang (bottom) (larger version). Take note of the spiral’s limping, three pace-style walking pattern. Originally found on this wordpress article.
2. “Then he himself recited in silence the true sayings of realized immortality and intoned the words of Dharani…”
The “true sayings” (zhenyan, 真言) is the Chinese term for Mantra, meaning “spell” or “magical formula.” A mantra is “a syllable or series of syllables that may or may not have semantic meaning, most often in a form of Sanskrit, the contemplation or recitation of which is thought to be efficacious” (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 529). The most famous mantra is of course Om Mani Padme Hum, the very same six-syllable prayer that was used to weigh down the mountain holding Monkey prisoner for rebelling against heaven.
The “true sayings” is often used as an abbreviation for Dharani (tuoluoni/zongchi, 陀羅尼/總持), a Sanskrit term meaning “mnemonic device” (fig. 3). Like mantras, dharani are comprised of syllables, but these instead serve to remind practitioners of broader concepts, for example a single syllable representing the first letter of a much longer phrase. There exists four types of dharani said to be used by Bodhisattvas to achieve enlightenment: 1) those used for teaching interpretations of Buddhist law; 2) those used for understanding the exact meaning of important words; 3) those used for casting spells; and 4) those used for spiritual endurance in the face of suffering (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, pp. 241-242). The third type, which concerns us, falls under a category of sutra recitation called Paritta (minghu/minghu jing, 明護/明護經), which is Pali for “protection.” The historical Buddha is known to have delivered paritta verses, including those for “protection from evil spirits, the assurance of good fortune, exorcism, curing serious illness, and even safe childbirth” (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 630).
In both cases zhenyan/mantra and dharani refer to magical formulas of sorts and were no doubt chosen because they gave the ritual an heir of arcane authenticity. Additionally, I suggest the use of dharani may have also been chosen to denote a spell of protection, as in Sun wanted to protect the princes during the transformation of their bodies.
(Note 06-15-19: Feng Dajian of Nankai University notified me via Twitter that he disagrees with Anthony C. Yu’s 2012 revised translation (cited above) associating the “True Sayings” with the Buddhist Dharani. This is because he feels the ritual is overtly Daoist, noting that the religion also has its own True Sayings.)
3. “…as he blew divine breaths into their visceral cavities. Their primordial spirits were thus restored to their original abodes.”
Journey to the West translator Anthony C. Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) notes this section “is an abbreviated or paraphrastic account, in fact, of the neidan (internal or physiological alchemy process)” (vol. 4, p. 396, n. 8). Monkey already went through this process in chapter two when he practiced a series of breathing and energy circulation exercises that resulted in his immortality. Therefore, he uses his own hard-won “divine breath” or “immortal energy” (xianqi, 仙氣) to fortify the princes’ bodies by drastically speeding up the years-long process of internal cultivation to only a matter of hours or minutes. Monkey’s breath bolsters their own energy, helping them to achieve “primordial spirits” (yuanshen, 元神), a term commonly associated with Buddhahood or enlightenment. In Daoism, the term is synonymous with the attainment of immortality via the formation of a “Sacred Embryo” (shengtai, 聖胎) (fig. 4), which is forged from spiritual energies over long years of self-cultivation (Darga, 2008). This suggests that, beyond super strength, the ritual also gives them some form of immortality.
Fig. 4 – The Sacred Embryo is sometimes depicted as a baby (or in this case a Buddha) on a practitioner’s stomach (larger version). Found on this blog.
4. “He next helped them to circulate and build up the fire phases…”
The fire phases (huohou, 火候) comprise the process of circulating spiritual energy throughout the body at prescribed times (fig. 5). Monica Esposito (2008) writes there are three phases in total, making up two distinct periods of activity and rest:
The first is a phase of “yangization” in which Yang augments and Yin decreases. This is described as a warlike or martial period, corresponding to the advancement of a light called Martial Fire (wuhuo 武火) or Yang Fire (yanghuo 陽火) that purifies by burning and eliminates defiled elements to release the Original Yang and increase it. At the cosmic level, the beginning of this phase is symbolized by the winter solstice (zi 子) and by the hexagram fu 復 ䷗ (Return, no. 24), which indicates the return of Yang. This is followed by a phase of balance, a time of rest called muyu ([沐浴] ablutions). At the cosmic level, this phase is symbolized by the spring and autumn equinoxes and by the hexagrams dazhuang 大壯 ䷡ (Great Strength, no. 34) and guan 觀 ䷓ (Contemplation, no. 20). The third stage is a phase of “yinization” in which Yin augments and Yang decreases. This period, called Civil Fire (wenhuo 文火) or Yin Fire (yinfu 陰符), corresponds to a decrease of the light. The adept achieves the alchemical work spontaneously and without any effort or voluntary intervention; water descends to moisten, fertilize, and temper fire. At the cosmic level, this phase is symbolized by the summer solstice (wu 午) and by the hexagram gou 姤 ䷫ (Encounter, no. 44) (p. 531).
Mastering the complicated chronological rhythm of this process is considered the best kept secret of internal alchemy (Esposito, 2008). Therefore, Monkey navigates this temporal maze for the princes, ensuring the spiritual energy that he has helped them cultivate ebbs and flows when prescribed. Once again we see Sun has sped up a lengthy process to only a few days, hours, or minutes.
Fig. 5 – A chart showing the fire phases, the 12 phases of the moon, and the corresponding hexagrams (larger version). From Kim, 2008, p. 528.
II. Similarities to Comic Book Heroes
The princes in essence become the fantasy equivalent of today’s comic book superheroes. Gaining power from a divine being is similar to the concept of “Divine Empowerment” from DC Comics. A good example is Billy Batson, a.k.a. Captain Marvel (Ch: Jingqi duizhang, 驚奇隊長) (fig. 6), a child-turned-adult who receives super strength and other powers from a battery of Western gods and sages through the medium of a divine wizard.
Fig. 6 – The child Billy Batson transforming into the superhero Captain Marvel, also known as Shazam (larger version). Originally found on this Comic Vine article.
III. Conclusion
This fascinating strength-bestowing ritual draws on multiple aspects of Buddho-Daoist ceremony and internal alchemy. First, Sun chooses a secluded room where he traces a diagram of the Big Dipper on the floor in order to consecrate the space. Second, he recites magical spells likely intended to protect the princes during their bodily transformation. Third, Monkey uses his own divine breath to ignite their spiritual energy, manually fanning the flames to higher levels of spiritual attainment. Finally, he controls the ebb and flow of the resulting energy throughout their bodies according to a prescribed chronological rhythm. In all, Sun shortens a years-long process to only a few days, hours, or minutes. The princes come away from the ritual with superhuman strength and likely some form of divine longevity.
This whole process reminds me of the DC Comics character Billy Batson receiving divine powers through the medium of the Wizard Shazam to become Captain Marvel.
Update: 12-14-19
This is a past photomanipulation that depicts Monkey as the Wizard Shazam and the three Indian Princes as Captain Marvel. I used a golden age comic book image as the base (fig. 7).
Fig. 7 – The photomanipulation mixing Journey to the West and Captain Marvel (larger version). The original comic book image can be seen here.
Update: 07-17-22
I’ve posted an article that explores the abilities of Monkey’s immortal breath (used in the ritual above).
Above, I referenced Captain Marvel because he receives divine powers similar to the Indian Princes from Journey to the West. Well, the hero is also capable of sharing his abilities just like Sun Wukong! One issue has him save the life of a fatally injured boy by giving him some of his magic energy, thereby transforming him into a superhero. The boy is henceforth known as “Captain Marvel Jr.” (Ch: Xiao shengqi duizhang, 小神奇隊長) in his hero form (fig. 8-10) (Binder et. al., 1977, pp. 57-59).
Fig. 8 – Billy Batson (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) seeks help from Shazam to save the boy (larger version). Fig. 9 – Captain Marvel shares some of his power, thus saving the boy (larger version). Fig. 10 – The boy-turned-superhero vows to fight evil (larger version).
Update: 12-02-23
Someone recently asked me why the monstrous pilgrims would take human disciples in the first place. Well, this is the result of a sequence of events:
The young princes are amazed to see Sun, Zhu, and Sha display their martial arts skills while flying on divine clouds (fig. 11).
They tell their father, the sovereign prince, that they want to become their students, claiming it would allow them to protect their nation.
The monarch asks Tripitaka for permission, and he agrees.
The sovereign prince then personally requests that Sun, Zhu, and Sha tutor his sons in martial arts (Wu & Yu, 2012, pp. 197-199).
This seems straightforward enough, but there is an underlying answer that just dawned on me. Everyone agrees, and Monkey goes a step further by empowering the princes (fig. 12), as a way of kissing the ruler’s butt since he stamped the group’s travel rescript, a kind of passport needed to legally travel through various countries (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 193). Without the stamp, the pilgrims wouldn’t have been able to continue their journey to the Buddha’s mountain.
The humorous implication here is that even celestials have to bow to earthly bureaucracy.
Fig. 11 – The princes drop to their knees as they watch the three monstrous pilgrims display their supernatural martial skills (larger version). Image from the Qing-Period Color-Illustrated Complete Edition of Journey to the West (清彩繪全本西遊記, 2008). Fig. 12 – Monkey empowers the princes with his divine breath (larger version). Image from Chen Huiguan’s Newly Illustrated and Complete Journey to the West (陈惠冠新绘全本西游记, 2001). Both images found here.
For future reference, this episode takes place towards the middle of ep. 23 of the 1986 JTTW TV show and the end of ep. 55 and the beginning of ep. 56 of the 2011 JTTW TV show. Both programs skip over the strength-bestowing ritual.
Update: 08-11-24
I have written a catalog of all of Sun Wukong’s abilities from all 100 chapters of JTTW. The strength-bestowing ritual appears on pages 193-194 (ch. 88, no. 3) of this PDF.
I forgot to mention above that although the princes can wield their teachers’ divine, multi-ton weapons after the ritual—an amazing feat for mortals to be sure—the weight is still too much for them to handle comfortably. This is why they request to make their own lighter replicas. Chapter 88 reads:
When the old prince saw this [the princes wielding the divine weapons], he could not have been more pleased, and another vegetarian banquet was laid out to thank the master and his three disciples. Right before the banquet tables, however, they [the princes] began their instruction. The one studying the rod performed with the rod; the one studying the rake performed with the rake; and the one studying the staff performed with the staff. The princes thus succeeded in making a few turns and several movements, but they were, after all, mortals, and they found the goings rather strenuous. After exercising for a while, they began to pant heavily. Indeed, they could not last long, though their weapons might have the ability to undergo transformation. In their advances and retreats, their attacks and offenses, the princes simply could not attain the wonder of natural transformation. Later that day the banquet came to an end.
The next day the three princes came again to thank their masters and to say: “We thank the divine master for endowing us with strength in our arms. Though we are now able to hold the weapons of our masters, however, we find it difficult to wield and turn them. We propose, therefore, that artisans be asked to duplicate the three weapons. They will use your weapons as models but take some of the weight off. Would the masters grant us permission?” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 203)
Pigsy takes the lead by granting their wish, but the three original weapons are unfortunately stolen by a fiend while in the custody of craftsmen (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 203-204). This eventually leads to a war with earthly and heavenly lion-spirits (see chapters 88 to 90).
After the day is saved, the replica weapons are completed. The end of chapter 90 reads:
In the meantime, the ironsmiths had finished forging the three weapons. As they kowtowed to Pilgrim [Monkey], they said, “Holy Father, our work is done.”
“What’s the weight of each of the weapons?” asked Pilgrim.
“The golden-hooped rod weighs a thousand catties,” replied one of the ironsmiths. “The nine-pronged rake and the fiend-routing staff both weigh eight hundred catties.” “All right,” said Pilgrim, and he asked the three princes to come out and pick up their weapons (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 229-230).
One thousand catties (千斤) is 1,300.72 lbs or 590 kg, and 800 catties (八百斤) is 1,040.58 lbs or 472 kg.
This episode would be a great setup for a Game of Thrones-style Asian fantasy. The three princes could be plotting and scheming against each other in the hopes of one day gaining the throne from their aging father, the sovereign prince. Then a monkey wizard comes along and makes things worse by bestowing them with super strength and divine longevity. This would definitely lead to lots of drama between the brothers and their offspring. It would be a centuries-long battle royale between competing dynasties of superpowered beings!
Notes:
1) Although the original English translation reads “the strength of a thousand arms” (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 202), the Chinese reads wanqian zhi luli (萬千之膂力), which means “the strength of tens of thousands (of men).” I have therefore adjusted the translation for more accuracy.
2) Andersen (2008) notes that the three paces are similar to those used by Vedic priests:
It would appear, in other words, that even in this early period the Paces of Yu constituted a close parallel to the three Strides Viṣṇu in early Vedic mythology, which are thought to have taken the god through the three levels of the cosmos (thereby establishing the universe), and which indeed, just like the Paces of Yu in Taoist ritual, are known to have been imitated by Vedic priests as they approached the altar—and in the same form as the Paces of Yu, that is, dragging one foot after the other (pp. 238-239).
Sources:
Andersen, P. (1989). The Practice of Bugang. Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie, 5. Numéro spécial Etudes taoïstes II / Special Issue on Taoist Studies II en l’honneur de Maxime Kaltenmark. pp. 15-53.
Andersen, P. (2008). Bugang. In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Taoism (Vols. 1-2) (pp. 237-240). London [u.a.: Routledge].
Binder, O., Woolfolk, W., O’Neil, D., Parker, B., Maggin, E. S., & Bridwell, E. N. (1977). Shazam! From the Forties to the Seventies. New York: Harmony Books.
Buswell, R., & Lopez, D. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press.
Darga, M. (2008). Shengtai. In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Taoism (Vols. 1-2) (pp. 883-884). London [u.a.: Routledge].
Esposito, M. (2008). Huohou: 2. Neidan. In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Taoism (Vols. 1-2) (pp. 530-532). London [u.a.: Routledge].
Kim, D. (2008). Houhou: 1. Waidan. In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Taoism (Vols. 1-2) (pp. 526-530). London [u.a.: Routledge].
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
I recently attended the birthday of Sun Wukong on September 25th (the 16th day of the 8th lunar month) in Kowloon, Hong Kong (I’ll write more about this later). While the festivities took place at an alternate location with a secondary altar, I later visited the main altar in the Great Sage Treasure Temple (Dasheng bao miao, 大聖寶廟) on the Po Tat Estate. The altar stage includes a large gilded statue of Wukong, flanked on either side by those of his religious brothers Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie. Strangely enough, a glass box is conspicuously placed in front of the Monkey King’s visage (fig. 1). Inside is a rusted metal band held together with a single chain link (fig. 2). An accompanying text panel labels it the “Vajra/Diamond Headband” (Jingang gu, 金剛箍) and claims the piece to be the original band worn by the Great Sage during his adventures. This same text is echoed in the Kowloon Great Sage Buddha Hall: Special Inaugural Ceremony Issue of the Sixteenth Year Council Association (Jiulong Dasheng Fo tang: Di shiliu jie lishi hui jiu shi dianli tekan, 九龍大聖佛堂: 第十六屆理事會就識典禮特刊) (2014), a booklet handed out during this year’s festivities. [1]
Fig. 1 – The glass box is visible between the food offerings and the Great Sage’s statue (larger version). Photo by the author.
I. Translation
From Childhood, I believe that everyone has read the story of the golden headband from Journey to the West. Everyone is familiar with the tale. A few decades later [after the events took place], some Buddhists were invited to a Buddhist statue workshop in Shanwei [City, Guangdong Province, China] to see if the Buddha statue they ordered was finished. But when they saw the statue they found it full of flaws. Suddenly, one among them spoke up and said it wasn’t made well enough. The Buddhist statue workshop master asked not to be chastised and said he instead wanted to give them a treasure. They asked him what it was. When he handed it to them they saw it was the Great Sage Buddha’s [original] golden headband.
People say that when Sun Wukong would not accept the Buddhist teachings, Guanyin put the band on his head. Sun Wukong ran side to side while yelling, trying to take it off and throw it far away to some unknown place [but couldn’t].
Many years later, maybe until ten years ago, a virtuous man purchased a sandalwood tree in order to build a Great Sage Buddha statue. He gave it to a Buddhist statue workshop master, who started to saw the tree but soon discovered the golden headband inside and decided to keep it for himself. Two years later, he decided to return it so everyone could behold this sacred treasure. Today, we asked the Buddhist workshop master to make a glass box to display the band in the Great Sage Temple for everyone to worship (p. 45). [2]
Fig. 2 – The glass box with the headband. The accompanying text panel can be seen in the back (larger version). Photo by the author.
Chapter 100 of the original novel describes the headband disappearing once Monkey internalizes self-restraint and becomes a Buddha (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 383). The ultimate fate of the band is never commented on thereafter. The above story presents a continuation of the tale, thereby linking the Great Sage Treasure Temple with the original events of the novel. The band is lost and discovered twice over the centuries, eventually coming to rest in Hong Kong.
II. Similarities with Shaolin art
The displayed headband appears to be quite old given the level of rust damage. In addition, the style is different than any band I’ve written about before. That being said, the style is somewhat similar to a 17th-century mural from the famed Shaolin Monastery. The mural depicts a muscular luohan wielding a staff and standing next to a ferocious tiger (possibly the Tiger-Taming Luohan). His crown is adorned with a headband held together by a single chain link (fig. 3) similar to our aforementioned band. I am by no means claiming a connection to Shaolin, but it shows there may have been some style of linked headband associated with protector deities in late dynastic China.
Fig. 3 – The 17th-century Shaolin mural (larger version). Take note of the linked headband. From Shahar, 2008, p. 90.
Notes
1) The presented folk story is as told by the Kowloon Great Sage Buddha Hall First Vice-Chairperson Qian Peiqun (錢佩群).
2) Thank you to Kelly Black Lin for helping me with the translation.
Sources
Kowloon Great Sage Buddha hall: Special inaugural ceremony issue of the sixteenth year Council association (2014, Sept. 9). Published by the Hong Kong Shanwei General Commerce Association Limited.
Shahar, M. (2008). The Shaolin monastery: History, religion, and the Chinese martial arts. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The journey to the West: Volume 4. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press.
For my 50th post, I am excited to host PDF copies of two gorgeously illustrated Journey to the West children’s books produced in Japan during the middle part of the 20th-century.
1. Son Goku (孫悟空, 1939)
This work was illustrated by Shotaro Honda (本田庄太郎, 1893-1939), a Western-trained artist closely associated with children’s literature for nearly 30 years. As the title suggests, the book focuses on the first 7 chapters of the novel, from the time of Monkey’s birth to his final imprisonment under Five Elements mountain. Literally every single panel is worthy of framing. The illustrations are bright and vibrant, seemingly jumping from the page. See below for an example.
Monkey in the underworld striking his name from the Book of Life and Death (larger version).
2. The Illustrated Journey to the West (繪本西遊記, 1950)
This three volume work was illustrated by Mizushima Nio (水島爾保布, 1884-1958). The first volume covers Monkey’s birth to the submission of Sandy; the second covers the Ginseng fruit tree to the battle with Guanyin’s goldfish; and the third covers the Rhino demon to the end of the novel. The dark on light line work reminds one of delicate paper cut artwork brought to life. Here’s a sample.
The group bowing before a Buddhist figure (larger version).
Type “Sun Wukong” into google images and you will be presented with an endless array of pictures that range from the familiar to the alien. A fanciful 1960s cartoon depiction of our hero sits to the left of a SMITE video game character with hulking muscles and a weapon more akin to a club than a staff. A toy version of Liu Xiao Ling Tong‘s much beloved 1986 TV portrayal sits above an anime character with blond hair and a shaved chest. It seems there are as many depictions of Wukong as he has transformations. But how do these myriad personas compare to his depiction in the novel, and who has produced the most authentic look? In this article I present the Monkey King’s literary description, along with ancient depictions that predate the novel. My hope is that the information will be both interesting and useful, especially for artists and cosplayers looking to make a more authentic design.
1. Ancient Depictions
Some readers may be surprised to learn that stories about a “Monkey Pilgrim” (Hou xingzhe, 猴行者) go all the way back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE). This predates the actual name Sun Wukong by centuries. The literary episodes we all know and love began life as oral tales that evolved over time and grew into an accepted storytelling cycle which started to solidify by the 15th-century CE. [1] But the further we go back in time, the less familiar the recorded material becomes, and due to the memory-based nature of oral storytelling, [2] records for the earliest repertoires do not exist. Luckily, visual media from the Song survives, allowing us to see how artists of that time depicted the Monkey King.
One example, Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave (Dong qianfo dong, 東千佛洞) number two in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province, contains a late-Xixia dynasty (late-12th or early-13th-century CE) mural of Xuanzang worshiping Guanyin from a riverbank, while Monkey stands behind him tending to a brown horse. The latter is portrayed with a plain circlet on his head, a homely face with an overbite, waist length hair (or possibly wearing a fur on his back), and light blue-green robes with a red apron and brown pants and sandals (fig. 1 and 2). The depiction is less simian in appearance, yet not wholly human.
Fig. 1 – An almost complete version of the Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave no. 2 painting (larger version). Photo by National Geographic. Fig. 2 – A detail of Monkey and Xuanzang (larger version). See figure 14 for an enhanced detail of Monkey’s head.
A second example, Yulin Cave (Yulin ku, 榆林窟) number three in Gansu, contains a late-Xixia wall painting with similar imagery. Xuanzang is again worshiping from a riverbank, but this time the subject of adoration is Samantabhadra. We see Monkey lacks the fillet but wears a monk’s robe with wrapped socks and sandals. This time he is far more monkey-like in appearance, complete with furry arms (fig. 3 and 4).
Fig. 3 – An almost complete version of the late-Xixia Yulin Cave no. 3 painting (larger version). Monkey and Xuanzang can be seen standing on the river bank on the upper left side. Fig. 4 – A detail of the two figures (larger version).
A third example is the 1237 CE stone relief carving from the western pagoda of the Kaiyuan Temple (開元寺) in Quanzhou, Fujian province. This muscular warrior wears a headband, earrings, bracelets, a rosary necklace, and arm bangles (all prescribed Esoteric Buddhist ritual accouterments), as well as a monk’s robe and sandals. He wields a broadsword in one hand, while the other thumbs the rosary at his chest. At his waist hangs a calabash gourd and a scroll of the Mahamayurividyarajni Sutra (Fomu da kongque mingwang jing,佛母大孔雀明王經) (fig. 5) (Ecke & Demiéville, 1935). He has the large ears and protruding mouth of a monkey.
Fig. 5 – The monkey-headed warrior from Kaiyuan temple in Quanzhou, Fujian (larger version).
Writing in the 1250s, the Song poet Liu Kezhuang (劉克莊, 1187-1269) references our hero twice in his work. The second of two such references uses Monkey as a metaphor to describe the ageing 70-year-old’s appearance. A portion of the poem reads:
A back bent like a water-buffalo in the Zi stream, Hair as white as the silk thread issued by the “ice silkworms”, A face even uglier than Hou xingzhe [“Monkey Pilgrim”], Verse more scanty than even He Heshi (Dudbridge, 1970, p. 46).
Ugliness is a subject I will return to several more times.
I mentioned earlier that the farther we go back in time the less familiar the recorded material becomes. Case in point is theThe Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures(c. late 13th-century CE), the earliest published edition of Journey to the West. Despite referring to himself as the Monkey King, the Monkey Pilgrim is depicted as a white-clad scholar. Another difference is the fact that he fights with two different staves, one a ringed monk’s staff and the other an iron rod (these two would later be combined to create his signature weapon).
The majority of Song sources depict the Monkey Pilgrim as the size of an adult man but with the head of an ugly monkey. I think that these were likely influenced by early stage plays, which would obviously entail a human actor taking on the role.
Fig. 6 – A comparison of Rhesus macaque males with red-rimmed eyes during mating season (left) and other times (right) (larger version). Original image from Dubue, Allen, Maestripieri, & Higham, 2014, p. 5.
In chapter 21, a demon king steps out of his cave to fight Sun but is surprised by his small stature:
The old monster took a careful look and saw the diminutive figure of Pilgrim [Monkey]—less than four feet, in fact—and his sallow cheeks. He said with a laugh: “Too bad! Too bad! I thought you were some kind of invincible hero. But you are only a sickly ghost, with nothing more than your skeleton left!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 408).
(Thank you to Jose Loayza for bringing this passage to my attention.)
His bald head is referred to again in chapter 27:
“But ever since Nirvana delivered me from my sins, when with my hair shorn I took the vow of complete poverty and followed you as your disciple, I had this gold fillet clamped on my head…” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 24).
(Thank you to Stanley Setiawan for bringing this passage to my attention.)
Fig. 7 – Reggie the baboon from Paignton Zoo (circa 2005). His slick head was the result of his mom’s “over-zealous” grooming. Look at those ears! He’s the wrong genus and species, but you get the general idea what Sun Wukong would look like wearing the golden fillet (larger version).
Wukong’s bald pate is once again referenced in chapter 34:
The fiend then gave the rope a tug and pulled Pilgrim down before he gave that bald head seven or eight blows with the sword. The skin on Pilgrim’s head did not even redden at all (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 128).
In chapter 44, the Monkey King’s appearance is revealed in a dream to a group of monks by the personification of the planet Venus:
A bumpy brow, and golden eyes flashing; A round head and a hairy face with sunken cheeks; Gaping teeth, pointed mouth, a character most sly; He looks more strange than the thunder god […] (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 276).
A hairy face, a thunder god beak, Empty cheeks unlike Saturn’s; [3] Two forked ears on a big, broad head, And fangs that have outward grown (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 105).
In chapter 67, an old man chastises Monkey for offending him:
You! Look at your skeleton face, flattened brow, collapsed nose, sunken cheeks, and hairy eyes. A consumptive ghost, no doubt, and yet without any manners at all, you dare use your pointed mouth to offend an elderly person like me!” (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 242).
In chapter 75, he once again tests the hardness of his bald head:
“You come over here,” said the old demon, “and act as my chopping block first. If your bald head can withstand three blows of my scimitar, I’ll let you and your Tang Monk go past. But if you can’t, you’d better tum him over quickly to me as a meal.”
When he heard this, Pilgrim smiled and said, “Fiend! If you have brush and paper in your cave, take them out and I’ll sign a contract with you. You can start delivering your blows from today until next year, and I won’t regard you seriously!” Arousing his spirit, the old demon stood firmly with one foot placed in front of the other. He lifted up his scimitar with both hands and brought it down hard on the head of the Great Sage. Our Great Sage, however, jerked his head upward to meet the blow. All they heard was a loud crack, but the skin on the head did not even redden (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 373).
We can see from these quotes several features that appear again and again. These include a furry face with sunken cheeks, fiery eyes, a broken or flat nose, a beak-like mouth with protruding fangs, and forked ears (with long earlobes, per the 06-02-25 update). The author-compiler of the novel uses these features over and over again to remind the reader just how ugly the Great Sage is. These same features are also shared by the Rhesus monkey and other macaque species (fig. 8). The multiple mentions of the Thunder God‘s beak refers to the monkey’s prognathic (protruding) mouth, which houses large canine teeth. The quotes also let us know that Sun Wukong is less than four feet tall and very skinny (e.g. having “sallow cheeks” and being like “a consumptive ghost”) just like a monkey (fig. 9). It’s important to note that Sun is described as being bald numerous times throughout the novel. This should come as no surprise since he was required to take the tonsure as a Buddhist monk. Modern depictions often deviate from the features mentioned here (more on this below).
Fig. 8 – A Bonnet macaque bearing its teeth. Photo by Hank Christensen. The furry face with sunken cheeks, a broken (flat) nose, beak-like mouth with protruding fangs, and forked ears are easily discernible. Fig. 9 – The short, skinny body of a Rhesus monkey. Photo by mario_ruckh via flickr.
2.2 Clothing and Accessories
The novel mentions Sun Wukong wearing different attire throughout his roughly 1,100 years of life. Here I will focus on that which is closely associated with his traditional iconography.
The clothing most often associated with Monkey is his suit of armor. He receives it from the dragon kings of the world’s oceans in chapter three:
“I have here a pair of cloud-treading shoes the color of lotus root[, said Aoshun, the Dragon King of the Northern Ocean]. Aorun, the Dragon King of the Western Ocean said, “I brought along a cuirass of chainmail made of yellow gold.” “And I have a cap with erect phoenix plumes, made of purple gold,” said Aoqin, the Dragon King of the Southern Ocean (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 137).
Those wanting to make a novel accurate suit should consult Ming-era chainmail (fig. 10). However, the oldest drawing of Wukong wearing armor that I’m aware of depicts him with “mountain pattern” armor (fig. 11). Combinations of mountain pattern armor and feather caps can be seen in the 16th-century CE scroll The Emperor’s Return to the Capital (Rubitu, 入蹕圖) (fig. 12), showing it was part of historical military regalia and not just the purview of Chinese opera (fig. 13). Modern depictions of Monkey tend to portray him wearing mountain pattern armor with ornate beast elements on the shoulders and waist. Those wishing to replicate this kind of armor should consult Ming-era statues of Buddhist protector deities, such as Skanda or the Four Heavenly Kings (this blog is especially good) (fig. 14, for example). Modern “Purple Gold Caps” (zijin guan, 紫金冠) with lingzi (翎子) feathers should be used for Sun’s phoenix feather cap (fig. 15).
Fig. 10 – Ming chainmail from the Wubei zhi (1621 CE) (larger version). Fig. 11 – A woodblock print of Sun wearing mountain pattern armor while fighting the heavenly army (larger version). From Mr. Li Zhuowu’s Literary Criticism of Journey to the West (late-16th-century CE, “Mr. Li’s Criticism” hereafter). Fig. 12 – A detail of halberd-bearing soldiers wearing mountain pattern armor and feather caps from The Emperor’s Return to the Capital (16th-century CE) (larger version). Image enhanced slightly for clarity. Fig. 13 – Monkey as portrayed in Beijing Opera (larger version). Photo by TAO Images Limited via Alamy. Fig. 14 – A 16th-century CE brass statue of Skanda (larger version). This blog has photos from all sides. Fig. 15 – A modern example of a Purple Gold Cap (larger version).
Contrary to popular belief, Sun does not wear the armor throughout the entire story. Though not openly stated, the novel suggests it is stripped from the monkey when he is captured by heavenly soldiers in chapter six: “They bound him with ropes and punctured his breast bone with a knife, so that he could transform no further” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 186). Obviously the knife wouldn’t have punctured the magic armor. And after heaven fails to execute him in chapter seven, several celestial report:
“Your Majesty, we don’t know where this Great Sage has acquired such power to protect his body. Your subjects slashed him with a scimitar and hewed him with an ax; we also struck him with thunder and burned him with fire. Not a single one of his hairs was destroyed (emphasis added). What shall we do?” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 188).
Fig. 16 – Wukong in his birthday suit escaping from Laozi’s eight trigrams furnace (larger version). From Mr. Li’s Criticism (late-16th to early-17th-century CE).
The lack of clothing leads to his second most identifiable and longest-worn piece of attire, a tiger skin kilt (hu pi qun, 虎皮裙). After killing the beast in chapter 14:
He pulled off one strand of hair and blew a mouthful of magic breath onto it, crying, “Change!” It changed into a sharp, curved knife, with which he ripped open the tiger’s chest. Slitting the skin straight down, he then ripped it off in one piece. He chopped away the paws and the head, cutting the skin into one square piece. He picked it up and tried it for size, and then said, “It’s a bit too large; one piece can be made into two.” He took the knife and cut it again into two pieces; he put one of these away and wrapped the other around his waist. Ripping off a strand of rattan from the side of the road, he firmly tied on this covering for the lower part of his body (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 310).
Monkey’s most recognizable accessory is the self-control-inducing golden fillet (jingu, 金箍; a.k.a. jingu, 緊箍, lit: “tight fillet”), which he is tricked into wearing as a punishment shortly after murdering six bandits in chapter 14. As noted above, the band predates the novel, appearing in the 12th to 13th-century CE Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave number two painting. This piece depicts the headgear as a simple circlet devoid of any decoration (fig. 17). This matches the novel’s description of “a thin metal band” (jinxian, 金線) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 310). But as can be seen from the Kaiyuan temple pagoda relief, there also exists a version with a double curlicue pattern in the center of the forehead (fig. 18). This has come to be the most popular version used in modern media.
Fig. 17 – Detail of the Monkey Pilgrim’s fillet from Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave no. 2 (c. 12th to 13th-century CE) (larger version). Image enhanced slightly for clarity. Fig. 18 – Detail from the Kaiyuan Temple pagoda relief (1237 CE) (larger version).
As for other attire, there exists one passage in chapter 58 that describes how Monkey’s doppelganger copied even his clothing:
His looks were exactly the same as those of the Great Sage: he, too, had a gold fillet clamped to his blondish-brown hair, a pair of fiery eyes with golden irises, a monk’s robe on his body, a tiger kilt tied around his waist, a gold-banded iron staff in one of his hands, and a pair of deerskin boots on his feet (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 105).
Two things about this passage require explanation. First, Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) originally translated huangfa (黃髮) as “brownish hair” (vol. 3, p. 105). But huang (黃) traditionally means “yellow.” If you refer back to figures six, eight, and nine, you will see that macaque monkeys have a light brown to blond coloring, so I changed the translation to reflect this.
Second, he translates mianbu zhiduo (綿布直裰) as “silk shirt” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 105). However, a better translation is “silk cloth zhiduo robe.” The zhiduo robe is known colloquially in English as “Buddhist monk” or “Taoist monk” robes. Also called haiqing (海青), such garments reach almost to the ground and have long, broad sleeves. The robe is closed by a tie on the right side of the torso (fig. 19).
Woodblock prints of Monkey from the original 1592 CE Journey to the West vary from page to page, but one is pretty accurate. He wears the robe (with tied cuffs), the tiger skin kilt, and boots (fig. 20).
Fig. 19 – A zhiduo/haiqing robe (larger version). Image found here. These robes can be any number of colors. Fig. 20 – A woodblock print of Sun Wukong with his master, Tripitaka (larger version).
There is a distinct order in which Sun Wukong wears the aforementioned clothing and accessories: the armor, then the tiger skin, and then the golden fillet. However, many modern depictions portray Monkey wearing both the armor and headband. This is obviously anachronistic within the novel’s fictional story line. (Admittedly, though, this is not unique to the modern era. See figure 11 for a 16th-century CE example.) Furthermore, many depictions dismiss the tiger skin kilt altogether.
2.3. The Staff
Monkey’s staff is first introduced in chapter three when he travels to the undersea palace of the dragon king to procure a divine weapon. There, he is directed towards a massive iron pillar:
Wukong girded up his clothes and went forward to touch it: it was an iron rod more than twenty feet long and as thick as a barrel. Using all his might, he lifted it with both hands, saying, “It’s a little too long and too thick. It would be more serviceable if it were somewhat shorter and thinner.” Hardly had he finished speaking when the treasure shrunk a few feet in length and became a layer thinner. “Smaller still would be even better,” said Wukong, giving it another bounce in his hands. Again the treasure became smaller. Highly pleased, Wukong took it out of the ocean treasury to examine it. He found a golden ring at each end, with solid black iron in between. Immediately adjacent to one of the rings was the inscription, “The As-You-Will Gold-Banded Staff. Weight: 17,560 pounds” (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 135). [4]
A poem in chapter 75 describes how the staff is decorated with magic symbols. Part of it reads:
The rod of bin steel nine cyclic times refined Was forged in the stove by Laozi himself. King Yu took it, named it “Treasure Divine,” To fix the Eight Rivers and Four Seas’ depth. In it were spread out tracks of planets and stars, Its two ends were clamped in pieces of gold. Its dense patterns would frighten gods and ghosts; On it dragon and phoenix scripts were drawn. Its name was one Rod of Numinous Yang, Stored deep in the sea, hardly seen by men […] (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 375)
So we see the staff is depicted as a rod of black iron or steel adorned on both ends with a single golden ring and decorated along the body with astronomical charts and an inscription towards one tip listing the weapon’s name and weight. The literary description greatly differs from modern media which often portrays it as entirely gold or red in color.
Those wishing to replicate the inscription on the staff can use figure 21 as a template. The characters are presented in “Small Seal Script” (Xiao Zhuan, 小篆), which hails from the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) when written Chinese was standardized by Emperor Qin Shihuang. Using this will give the staff a more ancient look. I used the template years ago to create a replica staff for an archaeology course in college.
Fig. 21 – The small script template for Monkey’s staff (larger version).
As for “the tracks of stars and planets,” I recommend using the Dunhuang or Suchow star charts.
3. Popular Depictions
The following two sections include a small sampling of what I consider to be the least and most accurate portrayals in past and modern media. These are presented in no particular order.
3.1. The Least Accurate
1) SMITE video game – He’s basically a bodybuilder with mutton chops (fig. 22). The design includes the aforementioned headband plus armor anachronism. Why is he wearing a gladiator-style pauldron? The original illustration is by Brolo on deviantart.
1) Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) – This Japanese artist produced many woodblock prints of our hero. Take for example his Modern Journey to the West series completed between 1864 and 1865. He portrays Sun Wukong as a red-faced snow macaque, which aligns more with the literary description (fig. 25).
3) Journey to the West (2011) – This television series is a faithful adaptation of the novel. Although the actor who plays Sun Wukong is normal height, he wears a full silicone mask and clawed gloves to give the character a more primate look. His golden chainmail armor and staff are more accurate too. The latter even includes decorations on the shaft (fig. 27).
Fig. 27 – Wukong during his rebellion against heaven (larger version).
4. Conclusion
The novel portrays Sun Wukong as an ugly, bald Rhesus monkey less than four feet tall. (Per the 06-02-25 update, he also has long earlobes.) His traditional literary attire includes a phoenix feather cap, golden chainmail armor, and lotus root-colored boots. Later, he wears a golden fillet, a silk monk’s robe, a tiger skin kilt, and leather boots. He wields a rod of black iron/steel adorned on both ends with a single golden ring and decorated along the body with astronomical charts and an inscription towards one tip listing the weapon’s name and weight.
Update: 02-02-21
As mentioned above, the novel describes Wukong being “less than four feet, in fact” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 408). I have made a chart comparing his height with that of a 6 ft (1.82 m) human man (fig. 28). This should serve as a good illustration for just how short our hero is.
I’ve written an article suggesting a mantra for the secret spell that causes Sun Wukong’s golden headband to tighten. Similar to the above article, I had artists and fanfiction authors in mind when I wrote it.
I previously noted a 16th-century CE woodblock print that shows Sun Wukong naked upon escaping Laozi’s furnace (refer back to fig. 16). A woodblock print from the original 1592 CE Journey to the West also depicts him in his birthday suit (fig. 29). This adds to the evidence that Monkey doesn’t wear his armor during the entirety of the journey.
Fig. 29 – A naked Sun Wukong flees the furnace (larger version).
Update: 09-12-23
In addition, in chapter 22, Sha Wujing mentions having his armor stripped from his body just before his planned execution:
Jade Emperor grew mightily enraged; Hands clasped, he faced his counsel on the left. Stripped of my hat, my armor, and my rank, I had my whole body pushed to the block (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 425).
This supports the suggestion that Monkey’s armor was removed before heaven tried to execute him.
Update: 04-27-24
Here is another colorful description of Sun Wukong’s face:
A bumpy, scabrous face, a pair of yellow eyeballs, a sunken forehead, and long, protruding fangs—he seemed virtually an overcooked crab with meat inside and bones outside! (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 155)
In addition, chapter 37 gives a more precise measurement for Monkey’s height. He first transforms into a “tiny monk about two cun tall” (二寸長的小和尚兒) (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 172). He shortly thereafter grows even bigger when a prince makes fun of him:
Tripitaka pulled open the box’s cover; Pilgrim [Sun Wukong] leaped out and began to hobble all over the place. The prince said, “This little midget! What can he know?” When Pilgrim heard this remark about his size, he at once resorted to magic. Straightening up his torso, he grew about three chi and four or five cun instantly (emphasis added). “If he can grow that rapidly,” said the soldiers, highly startled, “it will only be a few days before he pierces the sky.” When Pilgrim reached his normal height, however, he stopped growing (emphasis added) (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 174-175).
One chi (尺) is roughly 12.3 in or 31.8 cm, and one chi equals 10 cun (寸; a.k.a. “Chinese inches”) (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi). One cun would be about 1.25 in or 3.18 cm. Two cun would therefore be 2.5 in or 6.36 cm. Growing the stated additional height would then put our hero at 3 chi and 6 or 7 cun, which is roughly 3.86 ft or 1.176 m. This agrees with the aforementioned estimate of “not (or less than) four chi tall” (buman sichi, 不滿四尺) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 128 and 408).
Update: 06-02-25
A reader reminded me that I forgot to list one of Monkey’s features: long earlobes. A poem in chapter four reads:
The gold cuirass worn on his body was brilliant and bright; The gold cap on his head also glistened in the light. In his hands was a staff, the golden-hooped rod, That well became the cloud-treading shoes on his feet. His eyes glowered strangely like burning stars. Hanging past his shoulders were two ears, forked and hard (emphasis added). His remarkable body knew many ways of change, And his voice resounded like bells and chimes. This BanHorsePlague with beaked mouth and gaping teeth Aimed high to be the Equal to Heaven Sage.
Long earlobes are a symbol of wisdom and longevity (fig. 30), so the description here might be symbolic of his immortality.
Fig. 30 – An image of the Daoist high god Laozi and his long earlobes (larger version). Image found here.
Notes:
1) The 15th-century CE zaju play Journey to the West contains many familiar episodes that would come to appear in the final novel.
2) See the introduction of Dudbridge (1970), for example.
3) Saturn (Tuxing, 土星; lit: “Earth Star”) is mentioned here because the stellar deity is known for having a thickly-bearded face (see figure one on this article). The reference is saying that Monkey’s sunken cheeks are hairless.
4) Yu’s (Wu & Yu, 2012) original translation says “thirteen thousand five hundred pounds” (vol. 1, p. 135). However, the Chinese version uses jin (斤), known in English as “catty.” The catty and pound are two different measures of weight, the former being heavier than the latter. Therefore, the English text has been altered to show this. The catty during the Ming Dynasty when the novel was compiled equaled 590 grams (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi), so 13,500 catties would equal 17,560 lbs.
Sources:
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Ecke, G., & Demiéville, P. (1935). The Twin Pagodas of Zayton: A Study of the Later Buddhist Sculpture in China. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
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