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The Monkey King’s Spiritual Training and Historical Daoist Internal Alchemy

Jim R. McClanahan 1 Comment

Last updated: 09-22-23

Did you know that the Monkey King’s early spiritual training is connected to historical Daoist internal alchemy? In Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) chapter two, Sun receives a private lesson in which his master, Patriarch Subodhi, reveals the secret of immortality in a poem chocked full of esoteric Daoist imagery:

This bold, secret saying that’s wondrous and true:
Spare, nurse nature and life—there’s nothing else.
All power resides in the semen, breath, and spirit;
Store these securely lest there be a leak.
Lest there be a leak!
Keep within the body!
Heed my teaching and the Way itself will thrive.
Hold fast oral formulas so useful and keen
To purge concupiscence, to reach pure cool;
To pure cool
Where the light is bright.
You’ll face the elixir platform, enjoying the moon.
The moon holds the jade rabbit, the sun, the crow;
The tortoise and snake are now tightly entwined.
Tightly entwined,
Nature and life are strong.
You can plant gold lotus e’en in the midst of flames.
Squeeze the Five Phases jointly, use them back and forth—
When that’s done, be a Buddha or immortal at will!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 120).

顯密圓通真妙訣，惜修性命無他說。
都來總是精氣神，謹固牢藏休漏泄。
休漏泄，體中藏，汝受吾傳道自昌。
口訣記來多有益，屏除邪慾得清涼。
得清涼，光皎潔，好向丹臺賞明月。
月藏玉兔日藏烏，自有龜蛇相盤結。
相盤結，性命堅，卻能火裡種金蓮。
攢簇五行顛倒用，功完隨作佛和仙。

The cryptic methods advocated in the poem find their origins in dogmatic Daoist internal practices that emerged during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) (Kohn, 2008, p. 177). When Subodhi warns Monkey to “Store these [bodily substances] lest there be a leak,” he is referring to the first of three stages in the forging of an immortal spirit body. It involves transforming chaste semen (jing, 精) into pneumatic energy (qi, 氣) and guiding it to the brain, where it is purified and then circulated throughout the body, resulting in the formation of a spiritual pearl in the Cinnabar Field (dantian, 丹田), or the body’s spiritual furnace located in the lower abdomen (Kohn, 2008, p. 178).

“You can plant gold lotus e’en in the midst of flames. / Squeeze the Five Phases jointly, use them back and forth” refers to the second stage, involving the inhalation and guidance of yang energy through various organs (the “five phases”) in the body to bolster the spirit (shen, 神) (fig. 1). This nurturing of the pearl causes it to sprout like a seed and blossom into a golden lotus (“amidst flames”) in the spiritual furnace (fig. 2). The lotus is considered the early stages of an immortal “spirit embryo” (shengtai, 聖胎) (fig. 3) (Kohn, 2008, pp. 178-179).

The third stage involves the nurturing of said embryo to maturation with spiritual energies and eventually guiding it upwards and out the “Heavenly Gate” (tianguan, 天關), or the top of the crown. This results in a fledgling immortal spirit body that must be trained over an additional three year period in which it learns to travel far and wide apart from the physical vessel (pp. 179-180). “When that’s done, be a Buddha or immortal at will!” refers to the eventual freedom of the immortal spirit.

Fig. 1 (top left) – A sage combining jing, qi, and shen (精炁/氣神, lit: “semen, pneumatic energy, and spirit”; a.k.a. the “Three Treasures,” Sanbao, 三寶) (larger version). Image from the Anthology of Immortals of Complete Perfection (Quanzhen qunxian ji, 全真群仙集). Fig. 2 (top right) – A visualized lotus in the cinnabar field (larger version). Fig. 3 (bottom) – A sage nurturing his spirit embryo with inhaled qi energy (larger version). Image from the Anthology of Immortals.

Kohn (2008) notes that adepts who succeed in their training gain supernatural powers, “including the ability to be in two places at once, to move quickly from one place to another, to know past and future, to divine people’s thoughts, and so on” (p. 180) (fig. 2). I feel this is important information considering all of the powers that Monkey exhibits throughout the story.

Various facets of the aforementioned Song-era practices, such as the breathing methods from stage two above, have a much older pedigree. While JTTW describes Sun secretly performing “breathing exercises before the hour of Zi and after the hour of Wu” (i.e. after noon and before midnight) (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 121), the hours are switched in historical practice. The Wondrous Record of the Golden Casket on the Spirit Immortals’ Practice of Eating Qi (Shenxian shiqi jin’gui miaolu, 神仙食氣金櫃妙錄, 4th-century; Wonderous Record hereafter) explains:

“[A]lways practice after midnight [and before noon] in the period of living qi [yang energy] … In this qi-practice, the time after noon and before midnight is called the period of dead qi [yin energy]. Do not practice then” (Kohn, 2008, p. 84).

So by practicing during the prescribed hours, Monkey absorbs the yang energy that he needs to fuel his immortality.

Update: 08-18-23

Above, I described how the cultivation of an immortal spirit involved refining cosmic energies in the dantian (丹田) into a seed-like pearl, then a lotus, and finally a “spirit embryo” (聖胎). Well, thanks to a tumblr post by user ruibaozha, I now have a better understanding of how Buddhist “lotus births” influenced this imagery. Shahar (2015) explains:

As early as the first centuries CE, redemption in Amitabha‘s Pure Land has been imagined in floral terms. Those who trust in the Buddha’s grace are resurrected from divine lotus blooms. Flower-like beings, they emerge from the sacred lotus blossoms into a realm of purity and happiness:

When beings of this [superior] type are about to die, the Buddha of Measureless Light [Amitabha] appears before them, accompanied by a great crowd of attendants. Then, these beings follow this Buddha and go to be reborn in his land. They are reborn naturally and miraculously in the center of a lotus made of the seven precious substances, and they dwell in the state from which there is no falling back. They come to possess wisdom and courage, supernormal powers and spiritual mastery.

Floral regeneration became a favorite topic of Buddhist art across Asia. Redeemed souls were visually rendered as newborns wrapped in lotus blooms. Some artists faithfully followed a given Pure Land text. The ca. fifth-century Amitabha Visualization Sutra enumerated nine ranks of rebirth in the paradise of the west, from “the upper birth of the upper rank,” through “the middle birth of the upper rank,” downward to the “lower birth of the lower rank.” A seventh-century Dunhuang mural depicted them all in the form of babies emanating from nine lotus blossoms. Other artists focused on the process by which the flower is transformed into a divine being. They created a series of images recording the mysterious metamorphosis of the lotus. Dating from as early as the fifth century CE, the Yun’gang and Longmen caves include numerous examples of these pictorial narratives, showing first a newborn’s head peeping from inside the corolla, then the gradual transformation of the petals into the limbs, and finally the release of a full-blown ethereal being, the divinity of which is indicated by a [halo] [fig. 4] (pp. 143-144). 

Fig. 4 – “Lotus rebirth as rendered at the fifth-century Yun’gang Caves. From Yoshmura Rei, Tianren dansheng tu (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 2009), p. 23” (larger version) (Shahar, 2015, p. 144).

If viewed through a Daoist lens, this image could represent the fledgling spirit embryo emerging from the lotus, being nurtured to fruition, and then freed to live out an eternity in blissful freedom.

Update: 09-22-23

Above, I quoted Kohn’s (2008) heavily edited translation of the Wonderous Record, which noted the prescribed times for the ingestion of qi energy. This source was apparently cited in the “Inner Chapters” (Neipian, 內篇) of Ge Hong’s Master Who Embraces Simplicity (Baopuzi, 抱朴子, 4th-century). A longer quote appearing in Campany (2002) mentions the aforementioned time-based practices, lists the types of resulting spiritual powers, and warns of this path’s difficulty:

Now the circulation of pneumas should be done during the hours of live pneumas (shengqi 生氣[/炁]), not during the hours of dead pneumas (siqi 死氣[/炁]). This is why it is said that “transcendents ingest the six pneumas.” In one day and night there are twelve double-hours. The six double-hours from midnight to noon are those of live pneumas; the six from noon to midnight are those of dead pneumas. During the period of dead pneumas, circulating pneumas is of no benefit.

One who is adept at using pneumas can blow on water and it will flow against its own current for several paces; blow on fire, and it will be extinguished; blow at tigers or wolves, and they will crouch down and not be able to move; blow at serpents, and they will coil up and be unable to flee. If someone is wounded by a weapon, blow on the wound, and the bleeding will stop. If you hear of someone who has suffered a poisonous insect bite, even if you are not in his presence, you can, from a distance, blow and say an incantation over your own hand (males on the left hand, females on the right), and the person will at once be healed even if more than a hundred li away. And if you yourself are struck by a sudden illness, you have merely to swallow pneumas in three series of nine, and you will immediately recover.

However, people by nature are restless, and few are able to maintain the quietude to cultivate this way. Furthermore, to practice the most essential methods of circulating pneumas one must avoid eating very much, or eating flesh vegetables and meats, for these cause the breath to become strong and thus hard to shut off. Also one must avoid rage, for if one has much rage, then the breath becomes disordered, and if it is unable to spill over, then it will cause a fit of coughing.

Few are those, therefore, who can practice breath circulation! (p. 21)

夫行炁當以生炁之時，勿以死炁之時也。故曰仙人服六炁，此之謂也。一日一夜有十二時，其從半夜以至日中六時為生炁，從日中至夜半六時為死炁，死炁之時，行炁無益也。善用炁者，噓水，水為之逆流數步；噓火，火為之滅；噓虎狼，虎狼伏而不得動起；噓蛇虺，蛇虺蟠而不能去。若他人為兵刃所傷，噓之血即止；聞有為毒蟲所中，雖不見其人，遙為噓祝我之手，男噓我左，女噓我右，而彼人雖在百里之外，即時皆愈矣。又中惡急疾，但吞三九之炁，亦登時差也。但人性多躁，少能安靜以修其道耳。又行炁大要，不欲多食，及食生菜肥鮮之物，令人炁強難閉。又禁恚怒，多恚怒則炁亂，既不得溢，或令人發欬，故鮮有能為者也。

Sources:

Campany, R. F. (2002). To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong’s Traditions of Divine Transcendents. United Kingdom: University of California Press.

Kohn, L. (2008). Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press.

Shahar, M. (2015). Oedipal God: The Chinese Nezha and His Indian Origins. Germany: University of Hawaii Press.

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

The Origin of Sun Wukong’s Battle with Lord Erlang and Its Ties to Han Dynasty Funerary Rites and Folklore

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Did you know the battle between Monkey and Lord Erlang is tied to Han Dynasty funerary rights and folklore? Wu (1987) notes that, during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE), the people of Sichuan often buried their dead in stone tombs decorated with brave heroes, such as archers and crossbowmen, and fierce animals, such as tigers and hounds. Regarding the latter, the canines are sometimes depicted attacking or intimidating apes, which were considered emblems of disease or bad luck (fig. 1). Therefore, by portraying the subjugation of such evil forces, the carvings are thought to have served the ritual function of protecting deceased loved ones from dark influences on their wayward journey to the afterlife (pp. 100-101).

The idea of dogs overcoming apes should bring to mind Sun Wukong’s capture at the mouth of Lord Erlang’s loyal hound at the end of chapter six.

Fig. 1 – A Han Dynasty tomb rubbing of oversized dogs intimidating apes (larger version).

One recurring motif depicts an archer drawing his bow to fall an ape in a tree (fig. 2). This is based on a third-century BCE tale about the legendary Chu archer Yang Youji (養由基) shooting an elusive white ape held in the palace of the King of Jing. This in turn is based on an even older tale about the archer Yi (羿) bringing order to the primordial earth by killing nine of ten suns that took the form of monstrous crows. Han era tombs are known to portray Yi drawing a bow to shoot said birds flying around a tree, so it most likely influenced the motif of Yang shooting the ape in a tree (Wu, 1987, pp. 102-106). Despite his later connection with the three-pointed polearm, Erlang was also portrayed as an archer in early media.

Fig. 2 – A Han tomb decoration depicting an archer shooting at an ape (larger version).

Lord Erlang was originally worshiped during the Han as a hunting god and queller of mountain ghosts by the Qiang (羌) ethnic group of the western Sichuan region. His cult grew and absorbed other deities and heroes under his mantle. For instance, Wu (1987) writes:

The Er-lang cult became even more popular in Sichuan under the patronage of the Later Shu emperor, Meng Chang 孟昶 (r. 934-65), and in 965, when the Song dynasty conquered the kingdom, it adopted the cult, erecting temples for the god in the capital and throughout the country.

When the Er-lang cult became increasingly popular in Sichuan, the previous divine archers such as Yang Youji and Yi, (like many other legendary demon-quellers), were mologized into this new cult, and their defeat of an ape demon became an important part of the Er-lang legend. Er-lang’s traits in later stories and art works clearly disclose this transformation (pp. 107-108).

It should also be noted that Erlang was at some point associated with the historical engineer Li Bing (李冰, c. 3rd-cent. BCE) and the official Zhao Yu (趙昱, c. 6th/7th-cent CE), both of whom were worshipped for defeating flood demons (Wu, 1987, p. 107). I suggest this may have led to his cult being connected to that of Yu the Great (大禹), the flood-queller par excellence in Chinese folklore. This is important because Tang Dynasty legends state Yu battled a simian water demon and eventually imprisoned it under a mountain (see Andersen, 2001). Sound familiar? This may have been another avenue in which Erlang was associated with quelling ape demons.

One anonymous 13th-century album leaf ink painting portrays Erlang seated in a kingly fashion and watching as his spirit soldiers round up and execute ape demons (fig. 3). An anonymous 15th-century scroll reproduces the scene in color (fig. 4 & 5).

Fig. 3 – (Top L) – The 13th-century painting depicting Erlang and his soldiers rounding up and executing ape demons. A captive ape can be seen on the bottom left between the two soldiers (larger version). Fig. 4 (Top R) – A detail from the 15th-century painting showing the ape, his humanoid wives, and their gibbon-like children being rounded up (larger version). This section is located in the last four-fifths of the scroll. Fig. 5 (Bottom) – A detail showing Erlang near the front of the same scroll (larger version).

The image of the deity as a queller of ape monsters culminated in an anonymous Yuan-Ming Dynasty play called The God Er-lang Locks up the Great Sage-Equal to Heaven (二郎神鎖齊天大聖, Er-lang Shen suo Qitian Dasheng). Much like JTTW, the god is sent to capture a magical primate, in this case an ape, who has stolen immortal food and wine from heaven (Wu, 1987, pp. 108-109). This no doubt influenced Monkeys mischief in heaven and subsequent battle with the deity.

Sources:

Andersen, P. (2001). The Demon Chained Under Turtle Mountain: The History and Mythology of the Chinese River Spirit Wuzhiqi. Berlin: G-und-H-Verl.

Wu, H. (1987). The Earliest Pictorial Representations of Ape Tales: An Interdisciplinary Study of Early Chinese Narrative Art and Literature. T’oung Pao LXXIII, pp. 86-112.

The Mountain of Flowers and Fruit and the Cosmic Geography of Journey to the West

Jim R. McClanahan 2 Comments

Note: This page used to have historical information about the origin of Monkey’s first master, but I have moved it to a new article.

Last updated: 03-07-2023

The Monkey King’s home, the “Mountain of Flowers and Fruit” or “Flower-Fruit Mountain” (Huaguo shan, 花果山), is commonly assumed to be located in China. In fact, a mountain with the same name in Jiangsu province is even touted as the home of Sun Wukong. However, this is not the case within the novel’s narrative. It’s important to remember that Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) is set in a world that is nothing like our Earth.

In this article, I will explain the location of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, showing that Sun Wukong’s home is in fact an island east of what would be considered China. This opens the door to interesting interpretations by those wanting to place the story within a real world context. Second, I will explain the ancient Buddhist disc world system as presented in the book. My hope is that this will give readers a better understanding of the cosmic geography in which the story happens. 

1. Religious background

Note: I will alternate between Wu & Jenner (2020) and Wu & Yu (2012), using one or the other depending on who I think has done a better job of translating certain passages.

Chapter one opens by describing the world in which the story is set:

The world was then divided into four great continents: The Eastern Continent of Superior Body, the Western Continent of Cattle-Gift, the Southern Continent of Jambu and the Northern Continent of Kuru (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, vol. 1, p. 3).

… 世界之間，遂分為四大部洲：曰東勝神洲，曰西牛賀洲，曰南贍部洲，曰北俱蘆洲。

Yu’s (Wu & Yu, 2012) translation provides romanization of the Sanskrit names (vol. 1, p. 100). I’ve listed them below, along with the original Sanskrit, an alternative English translation, and the Chinese for the reader’s reference:

  • East Pūrvavideha (Sk: पूर्वविदेह, “Surpassing the Body”; Ch: Dong shengshen zhou, 東勝神洲)
  • West Aparagodānīya (Sk: अपरगोदानीय, “Enjoyer of Cattle”; Ch: Xi niuhe zhou, 西牛賀洲)
  • North Uttarakuru (Sk: उत्तरकुरु, “Unpleasant Sound”; Ch: Bei julu zhou, 北俱盧洲)
  • South Jambudvīpa (Sk: जम्बुद्वीप, “Rose-Apple”; Ch: Nan shanbu zhou, 南贍部洲)

The Abhidharmakośa (Sk: अभिधर्मकोशभास्य; Ch: Api damo jushe lun, 阿毗達磨俱舍論, 4th to 5th-century), a text describing the Buddhist universe, states that the four continents each have two intermediate continents, and that all twelve are set afloat in a great ocean surrounding the four respective sides of Mt. Sumeru (Ximi shan, 須彌山; Miaogao shan, 妙高山). This is a giant mountain that serves as the axis mundi of the cosmos, as well as the abode of assorted gods and sages. It is surrounded by seven golden mountains of lesser height, as well as a final iron mountain around the outside rim of the ocean, which keeps the water from draining over the edge (fig. 1 & 2) (Vasubandhu, La Vallée-Poussin, & Pruden, 1991, pp. 452-456).

This system is supported by a series of elemental discs, each one becoming larger as one descends. The highest is kāñcanamaṇḍala, a disc of gold. The middle is jalamaṇḍala, a disc of water. And the lowest is vāyumaṇḍala, a disc of wind (fig. 3). This grand creation is thought to float in “space” (Vasubandhu, La Vallée-Poussin, & Pruden, 1991, pp. 451-452). 

Fig. 1 (top) – A top view of the Buddhist disc world system (larger version). Fig. 2 (middle) – A side view of the system (larger version). Images from Buswell & Lopez, 2014, pp. xxxii-xxxi. Fig. 3 (bottom) – A diagram showing the elemental discs supporting the world (larger version). Take note of the “wind circle” (light blue), the “water circle” (dark blue), and the “Golden earth layer” (gold). Adapted from Sadakata, 1997, p. 27.

2. Location of the Mountain

Chapter one continues:

Beyond the seas there is a country called Aolai [Aolai guo, 傲來國]. This country is next to an ocean, and in the middle of the ocean is a famous island called the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. This mountain is the ancestral artery of the Ten Continents, the origin of the Three Islands; [1] it was formed when the clear and impure were separated and the Enormous Vagueness was divided (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, vol. 1, p. 3; cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 100). 

海外有一國土，名曰傲來國。國近大海，海中有一座名山，喚為花果山。此山乃十洲之祖脈，三島之來龍，自開清濁而立，鴻濛判後而成。

Two deities shortly thereafter give a more precise location for the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit:

“We found that at the edge of the country of Aolai, which is east of the ocean belonging to the Eastern Continent of Superior Body, there is an island called the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit …” (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, vol. 1, p. 3; cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 102). 

… 乃東勝神洲海東傲來小國之界，有一座花果山 …

Later, in chapter three, Sun Wukong’s advisors note the distance between Aolai and their island home:

The four monkeys replied, “East of our mountain, across two hundred [li] of water, is the boundary of the Aolai Country (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 131; c.f. Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, vol. 1, p. 50).

四猴道：「我們這山向東去，有二百里水面，那廂乃傲來國界。

All of this information tells us that the mountain is an island located 200 li (62 miles / 100 km) east of Eastern Superior Body (East Pūrvavideha).

3. The Novel’s Version of the Buddhist Disc World System

Buddhism traditionally associates Southern Jambu (South Jambudvīpa) with India (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 377), but the novel shifts this structure a quarter turn clockwise (fig. 4). For example, in chapter eight, the Buddha associates his home (India) with the western continent and the southern continent with the “eastern lands” (dongtu, 東土), the Chinese Buddhist term for China (Tan, 1998, p. 137):

“… Our Western Continent of Cattle-Gift has people who neither covet nor kill. They nourish the vital essence and submerge the spirit; and although they produce no saints of the highest order, they all live to a ripe old age. But in the Southern Jambu Continent they are greedy and lecherous and delight in the sufferings of others; they go in for a great deal of killing and quarrelling. That continent can with truth be called a vicious field of tongues and mouths, an evil sea of disputation. [But I have] Three Stores of True Scriptures with which they can be persuaded to be good” (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, vol.1, p. 165; cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 205).

我西牛賀洲者，不貪不殺，養氣潛靈，雖無上真，人人固壽；但那南贍部洲者，貪淫樂禍，多殺多爭，正所謂口舌兇場，是非惡海。我今有三藏真經，可以勸人為善。

[…]

“I want to send them to the eastern lands because it is intolerable that the beings of that quarter should all be such stupid wretches who slander and defame the true word, do not understand the gist of my Law, and have lapsed from the orthodox Yogacara Sect…” (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, vol.1, p. 165; cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 205).

我待要送上東土，叵耐那方眾生愚蠢，毀謗真言，不識我法門之旨要，怠慢了瑜迦之正宗。

Additional evidence comes from chapter 29 when the chosen scripture pilgrim‘s travel rescript is reproduced. The opening line expressly connects China with the southern continent by way of the Chinese Tang dynasty: 

The travel rescript of the Tang Son of Heaven, who succeeds under the guidance of Heaven to the throne of the Great Tang Empire in the South Jambudvīpa Continent. … (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 48; cf. Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, vol. 2, p. 661).

南贍部洲大唐國奉天承運唐天子牒行 …

This means that when Sun first sails to Southern Jambu (South Jambudvīpa) to find a means of escaping death (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, vol.1, p. 16; cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 108), he travels to the novel’s version of China. This further solidifies the fact that the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit is not located in China.

Fig. 4 – A top view of the Buddhist disc world system according to Journey to the West (larger version). The Mountain of Flowers and Fruit would be to the east of Eastern Superior Body (East Pūrvavideha). Adapted from Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. xxxii.

4. Reason for the Change

I suggest that the author-compiler of Journey to the West replaced the traditional cosmic geography for two reasons. First, both China and (part of) ancient India were referred to as the “Middle Kingdom” (Ch: Zhongguo, 中國; Sk: Madhyadeśa, मध्यदेश) (Wilkinson, 2000, p. 132; Lamotte, 1988, pp. 8-9). For example, the travelogue of the noted 4th to 5th-century Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian (法顯) reads:

Central India is known as the “Middle Kingdom” [Zhongguo, 中國]. The food and clothing of the common people are the same as the “Middle Kingdom” [i.e. China].

中天竺所謂中國。俗人衣服飲食亦與中國同。

This would naturally make it easier to associate China with Southern Jambu (South Jambudvīpa).

Second, since India is west of China, it would make sense for the country to be associated with Western Cattle-Gift (West Aparagodānīya).

Update: 10-01-17

A poem in chapter one states that the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit is the center of the universe. This obviously conflicts with Mt. Sumeru being the axis mundi.

Flower Fruit Mountain as the Center of the Universe

Update: 02-06-23

I have drastically rewritten the article to include more detailed information about the Buddhist disc world system. I would also like to add material here from a previous article since it is related to the novel’s changes to the pre-existing structure.

Originally, the top of Mt. Sumeru supported the Buddhist heaven of the “Thirty-Three (Gods)” (Sk: Trāyastriṃśa, त्रायस्त्रिंश; Ch: Sanshisan tian, 三十三天; Daoli tian, 忉利天) (fig. 5), which is ruled by Śakra (Sk: शक्र; Ch: Dishi, 帝釋), king of the gods (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, pp. 921-922). However, the novel replaces this realm with the Daoist heaven, which is ruled by the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang shang/dadi, 玉皇上/大帝) (Clart, 2008, pp. 1197-1198). This is hinted at in chapter four when Monkey is invited to serve as the keeper of the heavenly horses. Part of a poem describing what he sees reads:

[…]
In this heaven are thirty-three heavenly palaces (emphasis added):
The Palace of Clouds Dispersed, the Vaisravana Palace, the [P]alace of Five Lores, the Sun Palace, the Palace of Flowery Bliss
[…] (Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, p. 73; cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 146).

這天上有三十三座天宮，乃遣雲宮、毘沙宮、五明宮、太陽宮、花樂宮 …

The “thirty-three” palaces are references to the homes of the thirty three gods. This change is therefore a prime example of the kind of Buddho-Daoist religious syncretism featured in Journey to the West.

Fig. 5 – The Heaven of the Thirty-Three atop Mt. Sumeru is indicated in red (larger version). Adapted from Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. xxxii.

Update: 02-08-23

Despite the four Buddhist disc world continents appearing in the story, Journey to the West hints that its world is a globe. For instance, when the Monkey King first sets out from his home in chapter one, he sails SE to reach the NW side of Southern Jambu (South Jambudvīpa):

He had chosen just the right time for his journey. After he boarded his raft the southeasterly wind blew hard for days on end and bore him to the northwestern shore of the southern continent (Wu & Jenner, 2020, vol.1, p. 16; cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 108).

也是他運至時來，自登木栰之後，連日東南風緊，將他送到西北岸前，乃是南贍部洲地界。

I thought maybe SE and NW were typos since heading SW would have taken him to the NE shore of the southern continent (refer back to fig. 4). However, in chapter two, Sun tells his children:

“The year I left you all,” Wukong said, “I drifted with the waves across the Great Eastern Ocean and reached the West Aparagodānīya Continent. I then arrived at the South Jambudvīpa Continent, where I learned human ways, wearing this garment and these shoes. I swaggered along with the clouds for eight or nine years, but I had yet to learn the Great Art. I then crossed the Great Western Ocean and reached the West Aparagodānīya Continent (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 129; cf. Wu & Jenner, 1993/2020, p. 47).

我當年別汝等，隨波逐流，飄過東洋大海，到西牛賀洲地界，徑至南贍部洲，學成人像，著此衣，穿此履，擺擺搖搖，雲遊了八九年餘，更不曾有道。又渡西洋大海，到西牛賀洲地界 …

So it appears that he sailed from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to Western Cattle-Gift (West Aparagodānīya), similar to traveling from Japan in the East to the United States in the West. Then, he sailed from there to Southern Jambu (South Jambudvīpa), similar to traveling from the US to Africa. Lastly, he sailed back to Western Cattle-Gift (West Aparagodānīya). This might mean that the world of Journey to the West is a combination of a spherical planet and the Buddhist disc world system.

If true, I suggest that the nonsensical, roundabout way that Monkey comes to study with Subodhi in the western continent could be a physical representation of his unsettled “monkey mind” (xinyuan, 心猿).

However, it’s important to point out that even Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) considers the aforementioned route to be “[a]n inconsistency in the text” (vol. 1, p. 509, n. 17). So, I’ll leave it up to the reader as to which version of the world they ultimately want to accept.

Update: 02-09-23

I found a lovely overhead Chinese map of the Buddhist disc world system (fig. 6). The teeth-like structures around the perimeter are actually the iron mountain that contains the ocean. Also Mt. Sumeru in the center is topped by a building representing the Buddhist heaven of the “Thirty-Three (Gods)” (Ch: Daoli tian, 忉利天) (refer back to fig. 5).

Fig. 6 – An early-20th-century Chinese map of the Buddhist disc world system (larger version). Image found on Wikimedia Commons.

Update: 02-11-23

I have posted an article that discusses the Buddha’s realm in Western Cattle-Gift (West Aparagodānīya).

The Buddha’s Vulture Peak and Journey to the West

Update: 03-07-23

In my 02-06-23 update, I noted how the “thirty-three mansions” alluded to the Buddhist heaven of the thirty-three gods (sanshisan tian, 三十三天), thereby showing that the Daoist heaven was inserted into the Buddhist cosmological structure. Well, I had completely forgotten that the novel overtly mentions this heaven numerous times. This is important in regards to the location of Laozi‘s (老子) residence. 

Journey to the West states that the deva and his alchemical furnace are located in the “Tushita Palace” (Doushuai gong, 兜率宮), which is said to be either in the “Separation’s Regret Heaven” (Lihen tian, 離恨天) or the “Great Canopy Heaven” (Daluo tian, 大羅天). Both are treated as the highest of the thirty-three heavens. For more information, see my article: 

Laozi’s Realm in Journey to the West

Note:

1) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) explains, “These islets and islands were famous abodes of gods or immortals” (vol. 1, p. 506, n. 6).

Sources:

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

Clart, P. (2008). Yuhuang. In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Taoism (Vols. 1 & 2) (pp. 1197-1198). Longdon: Routledge.

Lamotte, E. (1988). History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Saka Era (S. Webb-Boin, Trans.). Louvain-la-Neuve: Université Catholique de Louvain Institut Orientaliste.

Tan, C. (1998). A Sino-Indian Perspective for India-China Understanding. In C. Tan (Ed.), Across the Himalayan Gap: An Indian Quest for Understanding China (pp. 133-147). New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

Vasubandhu, La Vallée-Poussin, L., & Pruden, L. M. (1991). Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam of Vasubandhu (Vol. 2). Berkeley, Calif.: Asian Humanities Press.

Wilkinson, E. P. (2000). Chinese History: A Manual (Rev. and Enl). Published by the Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute : Distributed by Harvard University 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, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

Modern Depictions of Sha Wujing’s Weapon and its Origins

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 07-02-2023

Sha Wujing (沙悟淨), or “Sandy” for short, is commonly portrayed in modern media wielding a Crescent Moon Spade (Yueya chan, 月牙鏟, a.k.a. “Monk’s Spade“), a wooden polearm capped with a sharpened spade on one end and a crescent-shaped blade on the other (fig. 1). But did you know that Sandy never wields this kind of weapon in the novel? Chapter 22 contains a poem that describes the actual weapon and its pedigree. A section of it reads:

For years my treasure staff has enjoyed great fame,
Originally a tree of the sala variety in the moon, [1]
Wu Gang cut down from it one limb.
Lu Ban then made it, using all his skills.
Within the hub is “as-you-will” gold. [2]
Outside it’s wrapped by countless pearly threads.
It’s called the Treasure Staff Perfect for Subduing Monsters, [3]
[…] (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 428)

寶杖原來名譽大，本是月裡梭羅派。
吳剛伐下一枝來，魯班製造工夫蓋。
裡邊一條金趁心，外邊萬道珠絲玠。
名稱寶杖善降妖 …

As you can see, it is described as a wooden staff devoid of any metal blades. So how did Sandy become associated with the Monk’s spade? It can be traced to a common motif appearing in late-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) woodblock prints. Sandy is just one of a number of famous literary staff-wielding monks to be portrayed brandishing a polearm topped with a small crescent shape (fig. 2). Others include Huiming (惠明) from the Story of the Western Wing (Xixiangji, 西廂記, c. 1300) (fig. 3) and Lu Zhishen (魯智深) from the Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan, 水滸傳, c. 1400) (fig. 4) (Shahar, 2008, p. 97).

#12 - Sha Wujing pics for blog entry

Fig. 1 – A modern depiction of Sandy wielding a Monk’s Spade (larger version). Fig. 2 – A late-Ming Dynasty print of Sha Wujing with the crescent staff (larger version). Fig. 3 – A 1614 woodblock print of Monk Huiming with a crescent staff (larger version). Fig. 4 – A late-Ming woodblock of Lu Zhishen with a crescent staff (larger version). Fig. 5 – Sandy from Ehon Saiyuki (circa 1806) (larger version). Fig. 6 – Sandy from Xiyou yuanzhi (1819) (larger version). Fig. 7 – A detail from a Long Corridor painting (circa 1890) (larger version).

The exact origin or purpose of the blade is unknown, however. Martial historian Meir Shahar (2008) comments:

Future research may determine the origins of the crescent shape, which is visible in some Ming period illustrations of the staff. Here I will mention only that an identical design is common in a wide variety of twentieth-century martial arts weapons, whether or not they are wielded by Buddhist clerics. The crescent’s significance in contemporary weaponry can be gauged by its appearance in the names of such instruments as the “Crescent-Shaped (Yueya) [Monk’s] Spade,” “Crescent-Shaped Spear,” “Crescent-Shaped Battle-ax,” and “Crescent-Shaped Rake” (pp. 97-98).

A woodblock print appearing in the first section of The Illustrated Journey to the West (Ehon Saiyuki, 画本西遊記), published in 1806, depicts Sandy holding a staff with a large crescent blade (fig. 5), showing how the once small accent had been enlarged by this time to become a more prominent feature of the polearm. This same weapon is echoed in a print from The Original Intent of The Journey to the West (Xiyou yuanzhi, 西遊原旨, 1819) (fig. 6), as well as in multiple circa 1890 JTTW-related paintings from the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace in Beijing (fig. 7, for example). So Ming depictions of Sandy wielding a crescent-tipped staff were most likely associated with the Monk’s Spade due to their physical similarities, and this probably took place no earlier than the early 20th-century.

Update: 02-25-18

Unlike Sha Wujing, there is a monster in the novel who wields a Crescent Moon spade. Chapter 63 describes the Nine-Headed Beast (Jiutou chong, 九頭蟲), [4] the son-in-law of a dragon king, using this bladed polearm in a battle against Monkey:

Enraged, Pilgrim shouted, “You brazen thievish fiend! What power do you have that you dare mouth such big words? Come up here and have a taste of your father’s rod!” Not in the least intimidated, the son-in-law parried the blow with his crescent-tooth spade; a marvelous battle thus broke out on top of that Scattered-Rock Mountain (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 183).

行者大怒，罵道：「這潑賊怪，有甚強能，敢開大口？走上來，吃老爺一棒。」那駙馬更不心慌，把月牙鏟架住鐵棒，就在那亂石山頭 …

There existed during the Ming Dynasty a military spade with a crescent blade on the top and a dagger-like blade on the bottom (武備志 (四十三) , n.d.) (fig. 8). This is likely the weapon used by the monster. Notice the similarities with figures five to seven. It’s easy to see how the crescent-tipped staff from the Ming woodblock prints could have later been associated with this military weapon. The difference is one of degree and not kind. This polearm was later modified into the modern Monk’s Spade, leading to depictions of Sandy wielding the weapon.

Fig. 8 – A Crescent Moon Spade from the Collection of Military Works (Wubei zhi, 武備志, c. 1621), a Ming treatise on military armaments and fighting techniques (larger version).

Update: 05-15-18

Feng Dajian of Nankai University was kind enough to direct me to this woodblock print (fig. 9) from the original 1592 publishing of Journey to the West. Sandy’s staff is more evident in this piece. It even lacks the aforementioned crescent shape.

Fig. 9 – The 1592 JTTW print of Sandy vs Pigsy (larger version).

Update: 07-02-23

The woodblock prints from the original 1592 JTTW are extremely inconsistent. For example, figure nine shows Sha’s staff as a straight, black line. However, another print (fig. 10 & 11) depicts it with the crescent finial, and yet another (fig. 12 & 13) shows it as a twisting tree branch. The latter is my favorite because it aligns more with the weapon’s origin as presented above in the introduction.

Fig. 10 (top left) – A detail of the crescent staff (larger version). Fig. 11 (top right) – The full print (larger version). Fig. 12 (bottom left) – A detail of the tree branch staff (larger version). Fig. 13 (bottom right) – The full print (larger version).

Notes:

1) The original translation reads: “At first an evergreen tree in the moon” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 428). But the Chinese identifies the tree as suoluo pai (梭羅派), which literally means a “(family) branch of the sala tree.” I chose “a variety of” to avoid confusion with “tree branch.” And while the sala is technically a kind of evergreen in wet environments, it has deciduous-looking leaves. I chose to use the actual name of the tree to avoid confusion with pine evergreens. Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) incorrectly identifies the suoluo tree as “Cunninghamia [l]anceolata,” a type of Chinese pine evergreen (vol. 4, p. 391 n. 7).

2) The original translation reads: “Within the hub one solid piece of gold” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 428). But the Chinese states that the inside is jin chenxin (金趁心), or “satisfactory metal/gold.” This is likely referring to the Chinese idiom chenxin ruyi (趁心如意), or “as one desires.” This important as the novel reveals that Sha’s weapon is capable of growing or shrinking on command just like Monkey’s cudgel, the “As-You-Will Gold-Banded Staff” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 429). Thank you to Irwen Wong of the Journey to the West Library blog for reminding me of this fact.

3) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) skipped over shan (善), or “good at, apt, perfect,” in his translation (vol. 1, p. 428).

4) The creature’s name is originally translated as the “Nine-Headed Insect,” but its true form is that of a monstrous reptilian bird (Wu & Yu, vol. 3, p. 184). While chong (蟲) usually means “insect, worm, or pest,” it can also mean “tiger.” For instance, Da chong (大蟲, “great beast”) is the name of the tiger killed by the hero Wu Song in the Water Margin (c. 1400) (Børdahl, 2007). So a better name for our villain would be “Nine-Headed Beast.”

Sources:

Børdahl, V. (2007). The Man-Hunting Tiger: From “Wu Song Fights the Tiger” in Chinese Traditions. Asian Folklore Studies, 66(1/2), 141-163. Retrieved January 7, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30030454

Shahar, M. (2008). The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts. University of Hawaii Press.

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

武備志 (四十三) . (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://archive.org/details/02092301.cn

Sun Wukong and the Rhesus Macaque

Jim R. McClanahan 2 Comments

Last updated: 05-18-17

Did you know that Sun Wukong is based on a real species of monkey? In chapter one, the patriarch Subhuti tells Sun: “Though your features are not the most attractive, you do resemble a pignolia-eating macaque [husun, 猢猻].” [1] The master dismisses the Hu (猢) character for linguistic reasons, and he drops the animal radical (犭) for religious reasons, leaving Sun (孫, “grandson”) as Monkey’s surname. Possibly quoting an earlier source, the noted Ming physician Li Shizhen (1518-1593) explains the meaning of husun and associates it with a particular genus: “Since a macaque resembles a Hu-barbarian [胡], he is also called hu-sun, ‘grandson of a barbarian’” (Gulik, 1967, p. 35). There are several species of macaque native to China, but anthropologist Frances D. Burton (2005) believes the Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) is the best fit:

Monkey goes bare-headed and wears a red dress, with a yellow sash, and black shoes. This is a fitting description of M. mulatta, whose reddish fur on shoulders and back yields to lighter, more yellowish fur on the abdomen, and whose feet and hands are black. The ‘pouch’ to which the Monkey King himself refers [to in the novel] would likely be the cheek-pouches common in macaques, but not gibbons or leaf-eating monkeys.

[…]

One of Monkey King’s epithets is ‘Fiery Eyes”. His red eyes–a characteristic he shares with the actual red-rimmed eyes of M. mulatta [Fig.1][…]–resulted from his punishment in a crucible. […] He is also a ‘red-bottomed horse ape’, which suggests M. thibetana or, again M. mulatta, both of which are large animals, with pronounced redness on the bottom, especially during reproductive phases (p. 148).

Click the image to open in full size.

Fig. 1- A comparison of Rhesus macaques with red-rimmed eyes during mating season (top left) and other times (bottom left) (larger version). Fig. 2 – An 1865 piece by Yoshitoshi (larger version).

In chapter two, a monster describes Monkey as being “not [even] four feet tall” (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 128). Rhesus males measure on average 1.74 feet (Lang, 2005). But I imagine these measurements were taken while they were in a quadrupedal posture (on all fours), which would make them taller if they stood.

I think all of this information is important as modern day depictions of Sun portray him as a man (or the size of a man) or a hulking brute with huge muscles. Such depictions are extremely inaccurate. He is a short monkey, plain and simple. His great strength, martial arts skill, and magical abilities make him a formidable warrior, not his size. I think the Japanese produced the most accurate renderings of monkey. The work of Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) is a good example (Fig. 2).

Update: 05-18-17

Readers will no doubt recall the golden fillet that Sun Wukong unwillingly wears on his crown. Humanoid depictions of the character show the band sitting on the frontal and parietal areas of the skull. But since Rhesus macaques have a much smaller brain pan, the circlet would have to wrap around the top of the eye orbits and the back of the occipital bone in order to be effective (fig. 1). It would set just above the eyelids (fig. 2).

Fig. 1 – A Rhesus Macaque skull adorned with the golden fillet (larger version). Fig. 2 – A modern depiction of Sun Wukong wearing the circlet (larger version). Photomanipulations by the author.

Notes:

1) Source altered slightly. The original quote states, “…you do resemble a pignolia-eating monkey (husun)” (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 115).

Sources:

Burton, F. D. (2005). Monkey King in China: Basis for a Conservation Policy? In A. Fuentes & L. D. Wolfe (Eds.), Primates Face to Face: Conservation Implications of Human-Nonhuman Primate Interconnections (pp. 137-162). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gulik, R. H. (1967). The Gibbon in China: An Essay in Chinese Animal Lore. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Lang, K. C. (2005). Rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta. Retrieved from http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/rhesus_macaque

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