Tag Sun Wukong

The Origin of Sun Wukong’s Religious Name

Jim R. McClanahan 3 Comments

Did you know Sun Wukong was named after a historical Tang Dynasty monk? Originally a Chinese diplomat of Tuoba origin, Che Fengchao (車奉朝, 731-812) was part of a royal mission sent to Kashmir in 751. Che was too sick to return with them in 753, so he stayed in country and was eventually ordained as a Buddhist monk with the religious name Fajie (法界), or “Dharma Realm”. He lived abroad for several decades before returning to China in 790. There, he presented Emperor Dezong with various translated Sutras and a Buddha relic in the form of a tooth. The emperor was so pleased that he renamed the monk Wukong (悟空), or “Awakened to Emptiness” (Wang, 2006, p. 66).

Che Fangchao - The REAL Wukong

A modern depiction of Che Fengchao, the monk known as Wukong.

It’s interesting to note that the name Sun Wukong does not appear in The Story of Tang Tripitaka Procuring the Scriptures, the 13th-century precursor of JTTW. Instead, the novelette refers to him simply as the “Monkey Pilgrim” (hou xingzhe, 猴行者) (Wivell, 1994, p. 1182). Therefore, the name Sun Wukong was most likely chosen by the compiler/author of the version we know and love today.

See also: Monkey’s Surname and its Connection to Daoist Doctrine

Sources:

Wivell, C.S. (1994). The story of how the monk Tripitaka of the great country of T’ang brought back the Sūtras. In Mair, Victor H. The Columbia anthology of traditional Chinese literature (pp 1181-1207). New York: Columbia University Press.

Wang, Z. (2006). Dust in the wind: Retracing dharma master Xuanzang’s western pilgrimage. Taipei: Rhythms Monthly.

Sun Wukong’s Birth from Stone and More Connections to Yu the Great

Jim R. McClanahan 3 Comments

Last updated: 06/05/2020

Chapter one of Journey to the West describes Sun Wukong‘s birth from stone (fig. 1).

There was on top of that very mountain [Flower Fruit Mountain] an immortal stone, which measured [36 feet 5 inches (11.09 m) in height and 24 feet (7.31 m) in circumference]. Though it lacked the shade of trees on all sides, it was set off by epidendrums on the left and right. Since the creation of the world, it had been nourished for a long period by the seeds of Heaven and Earth and by the essences of the sun and the moon, until, quickened by divine inspiration, it became pregnant with a divine embryo [xian bao, 仙胞]. One day, it split open, giving birth to a stone egg [shi luan, 石卵] about the size of a playing ball [yuan qiu, 圓毬]. Exposed to the wind, it was transformed into a stone monkey endowed with fully developed features and limbs (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 101).

Monkey's stone birth, by Zhang Moyi - small

Fig. 1 – Monkey’s birth from stone by Zhang Moyi (larger version). Found on this article.

I. Origins

So why was Monkey born from a stone? Ancient Chinese fertility cults placed stones on altars dedicated to creation goddesses because the earth element symbolized the fertile, creative forces of nature. For example, one such goddess, Nuwa (女媧), is said to have fashioned mankind from mud and mended the heavens with five magic stones. A few such fertility cults are also associated with Yu the Great (大禹), a legendary sage emperor of the Xia Dynasty, via his marriage to Nuwa (in some traditions), and it is this connection that culminated in stories from the Han Dynasty claiming that Yu was born from a stone. An ancient tale said to be from the Huainanzi (淮南子, c. 139) states the same happened to his son:

Yu went to appease the floods. He pierced through Huanyuan Mountain, and transformed himself into a bear. [Earlier] Yu had said to Tushan [土山, his wife], ‘At the sound of the drum, you would bring me food.’ Yu jumped on a piece of rock, and thus hit the drum by mistake. Tushan [brought the food and] went. She saw the transformed bear. Feeling embarrassed and distressed, she went away as far as the foot of Songgao Mount where she was transformed into a stone. Yu said to her, ‘Return my son.’ Facing north, the stone split open and gave birth to Qi [啓, fig. 2] (Wang, 2000, p. 54). [1]

Qi of Xia from the Shanhai Jing - Small

Fig. 2 – A woodblock print of Emperor Qi of Xia from a Ming-era version of the Shanhai jing (larger version). Plate XLIV from Strassberg, 2002, p. 168. 

What I find interesting about this is that Yu and his son Qi went on to become great heroes and rulers after their births from stone. This parallels Monkey’s birth, enthronement, and later adventures. In a way, this makes Monkey a sort of literary spiritual successor to Yu. The compiler-author of JTTW may have wanted to literally cast Wukong from the same mold as the flood conqueror by giving him a similar origin. This then would explain why Monkey comes to wield Yu’s cosmic ruler, the gold-banded cudgel, the means by which the future Xia emperor put the world into order, as a weapon.

Also of interest is the fact that a later alternative name for Qi (啓) is Kai (開). Both of these names mean “open”, which no doubt refers to his legendary origins (Strassberg, 2002, pp. 169 and 219).

Updated: 05/10/2020

Sun Wukong wishes you a Happy Mother’s Day! Photomanipulation by me.

Monkey Mother's Day

“Happy Mother’s Day, mom!” (larger version)

Updated: 06/05/2020

I have drastically expanded this piece to write a new article. I discuss other figures from world myth who are born from stone and later rebel against heaven just like Wukong. All future updates will be made there:

Sun Wukong and Births From Stone in World Mythology

Notes:

1) I have changed the Wade-Giles to Pinyin.

Source:

Strassberg, R. E. (2002). Chinese bestiary: Strange creatures from the guideways through mountains and seas. University of California Press.

Wang, J. (2000). The story of stone: Intertextuality, ancient Chinese stone lore, and the stone symbolism in Dream of the red chamber, Water margin and the journey to the West. Durham [u.a.: Duke Univ. Press.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2013). Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures: The Literary Precursor of Journey to the West

Jim R. McClanahan 2 Comments

Last updated: 01-30-2024

The great Chinese classic Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記) was anonymously publish in 1592 and has since then enjoyed the adoration of readers for the last four centuries. But not many people know that an earlier version of the novel exists that predates the popular narrative by some three hundred years. Titled The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures (Da Tang Sanzang qujing shihua, 大唐三藏取經詩話, c. late-13th-century), this seventeen chapter novelette likely served as a prompt for oral storytellers, [1] and given it’s age, contains material that differs greatly from the final 16th-century version. For example, the disciple Zhu Bajie doesn’t even appear in the story, and a precursor of Sha Wujing only makes a brief cameo as a monster that Monkey battles.

The novelette is also known as the “Kozanji  version” as two editions are mentioned in a 1633 catalog held by the titular Japanese Buddhist temple. The Chinese scholars Wang Guowei (王國維, 1877-1927) and Luo Zhenyu (羅振玉, 1866-1940) first identified the earlier of the two editions as a work of the late-Song Dynasty (960-1279). [2] This article will summarize each short chapter, as well as discuss the similarities and differences between it and the final Ming version of Journey to the West. I rely heavily on the English translation by Charles S. Wivell (1994).

Chapter One: TITLE MISSING

[TEXT MISSING]

Chapter Two: En Route They Encounter the Monkey Pilgrim

Tripitaka and five other monks happen upon a white-clad scholar on their way to India. The figure warns the Sutra Master that his two previous incarnations have died on such a journey, and he will die a thousand times more unless he has protection. The scholar reveals himself to be “the bronze-headed, iron-browed king of the eighty-four thousand monkeys of the Purple Cloud Grotto on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit” (Huaguoshan ziyundong bawan siqian tongtou tie’e mihou wang, 花果山紫雲洞八萬四千銅頭鐵額獼猴王) (Wivell, 1994, p. 1182). Tripitaka accepts his help and rejoices that Karma is uniting the past, present, and future to benefit the people of China. Tripitaka gives him the name “Monkey Pilgrim” (Hou xingzhe, 猴行者).

Similarities:

1) Tripitaka initially sets out with a retinue of monks, but they are all eventually killed by monsters and tigers in chapters 13 and 14.
2) He starts referring to Monkey by the name Pilgrim Sun (Sun Xingzhe, 孫行者) in chapter 14.

Differences:

1) Triptaka happens upon Monkey at the base of Five Elements Mountain, where he has been imprisoned for the last five hundred years. He removes a magic talisman from the top of the mountain, allowing the immortal to break free. See chapter 14.
2) The name Sun Wukong does not appear in the novelette. He is given the name by the immortal Subodhi in chapter one.

Chapter Three: Entering the Palace of Mahābrahmā Devarāja

Pilgrim tells the monks he is so old that he has seen the Yellow River dry up nine different times over thousands of generations. Since the immortal has knowledge of the celestial realms, Tripitaka asks Monkey to fly the group to heaven to attend the Buddhist feast being held by Vaiśravana, the Mahābrahmā Devarāja (Dafan tianwang, 大梵天王), in the Crystal Palace. There, the devas ask the monk to give a lecture on the Lotus Sutra. Knowing that a monster, the “Spirit of the Deep Sand” (Shensha shen, 深沙神), had twice devoured Tripitaka in the past, the Devarāja bestows on Monkey three magic weapons to aid in his defense. These include a cap of invisibility, a golden-ringed monk’s staff, and a begging bowl. In addition, Vaiśravana tells them to call his name so that they may be delivered from any danger they face on the journey.

Similarities:

1) Monkey travels to and from heaven as he pleases.
2) He interacts with Vaiśravana on several occasions (see below).
3) The Bodhisattva Guanyin bestows Tripitaka with a golden-ringed monk’s staff and a cassock in chapter 12.

Differences:

1) Monkey is roughly 1,100 hundred years old when he first meets Tripitaka.
2) He never uses his magic to transport the monk by cloud because the impure nature of mortal bodies makes them far too heavy. See chapter 22.
3) The August Jade Emperor is the ruler of heaven in the final version.
4) Vaiśravana makes several appearances as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, father of the child god, Prince Nezha. [3] Monkey battles Li Jing and Prince Nezha during his rebellion in heaven. See chapter 4, for example.
5) Tripitaka is not eaten over and over again. He was originally the Golden Cicada Bodhisattva, who was exiled from heaven for falling asleep during one of the Buddha’s lectures. He goes through nine pious incarnations before he is reborn as the Sutra Master.
6) Monkey fights with an iron cudgel, which he retrieved from the underwater treasury of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea. See chapter 3.
7) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Chapter Four: Entry in Incense Mountain Temple

The group travels to the land of the “Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva” (Qian shou qian yan pusa, 千手千眼菩薩), or the Bodhisattva Guanyin (Wivell, 1994, p. 1185). They come upon the Incense Mountain Temple, which is lorded over by statues of fierce guardian deities. Inside, Tripitaka is dismayed to find the holy place has fallen into complete disrepair. Monkey reminds him that the worst is yet to come; the road to the west is full of foreign people with strange languages, wild animals, and unspeakable monsters.

They travel further and enter the Country of Snakes, which is populated by massive serpents that bellow miasmic clouds. However, despite their terrible appearance, the snakes respect the Buddha and let the pilgrims pass through unharmed.

Differences:

1) Guanyin lives on Mount Potalaka, an island in the Eastern Ocean.
2) The giant serpents do not appear in the final version.

Chapter Five: Passing the Lion Wood and the Country of Tree People

The seven monks travel to the Lion Wood country where they are greeted by countless unicorns and lions with flowers in their mouths. Upon entering the Country of the Tree People, the group finds an inn to spend the night, and in the morning, a young monk is sent to fetch breakfast. However, hours pass without the little disciple returning, so Monkey searches the local village and finds that the monk has been transformed into a donkey by a sorcerer. Pilgrim uses his powers to turn the man’s wife into a bale of grass to feed her to the donkey as revenge. Horrified, the sorcerer then recalls his magic by spitting a mouthful of water on the animal. Monkey does the same and threatens to “mow down all the grass of [his] house” (i.e., kill his wife and anyone else he loves) if the man misuses his powers again (Wivell, 1994, p. 1187). The sorcerer promises to let the group pass through the country unharmed.

Differences:

1) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Chapter Six: Passing Long Ditch and Great Serpent Peak

The monks travel to the valley of the fire-spitting white tiger spirit and encounter a large ditch through which they cannot pass. Pointing the ringed staff towards the heavens, Tripitaka calls the name of Vaiśravana and a ray of light issues forth from the rod that destroys the ditch. Next, the group passes through a fiery pit in which Ming Huang, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, “changed his bones” and deposited them “like snow on a mountain” (Wivell, 1994, p. 1188). [4] Finally, the Sutra Master calls on the Devarāja once more and uses his alms bowl to extinguish a great prairie fire.

Pilgrim warns Tripitaka that they are passing through the territory of a white tiger spirit who can assume the form of any person. She appears out of the mist wearing white clothing and riding a white pony. Monkey confronts her, causing the spirit to forsake her beautiful façade and take on a demonic white tiger form. He then: “…transform[s] his golden-ringed staff into a gigantic Yakşa whose head touche[s] the sky and whose feet straddle the earth. In his hands he grasp[s] a demon-subduing cudgel. His body [is] blue as indigo, his hair red as cinnabar; from his mouth a fiery gleam sh[oots] forth a hundred yards long” (Wivell, 1994, p. 1189). She refuses to submit, so Pilgrim uses his magic to make her vomit up countless monkeys without end. When she still refuses to surrender, he takes the form of an ever-growing stone in her stomach, causing it to explode. The spirit is finally destroyed when Monkey orders the Yakşa to crush her with his cudgel.

Similarities:

1) The prairie fire may be a precursor to the Fiery Mountain that Monkey extinguishes in chapter 59.
2) The mention of bones and a white-clad demon likely resulted in the White Bone Demon (Baigujing, 白骨精) from chapter 27.
3) Monkey’s staff from the final version has the ability to grow, shrink, and take on different forms.
4) Pilgrim defeats several monsters by invading their stomach. See, for example, chapters 59, 75, and 82.

Differences:

1) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Chapter Seven: Entering Nine Dragon Pond

The group enters the territory of the Nine Dragon Pond, home to nine-headed dragons that cause devastating floods. Nine of the beasts leap from the water intent on taking Tripitaka’s life, but Pilgrim intervenes by blanketing the sky in darkness with a cloak created from the cap of invisibility, and enveloping thousands of miles of water with the alms bowl. He then transforms the ringed staff into a great iron dragon and engages the creatures in a two day long battle. Fighting them to exhaustion, Monkey rips out their spinal sinews as punishment and weaves them into a magical belt that gives Tripitaka the ability to travel at great speeds. In addition, he subjects each creature to eight hundred blows with an iron cudgel.

Similarities:

1) Monkey battles a dragon who eats and eventually replaces Tripitaka’s horse in chapter 15.
2) The iron staff is a precursor of Monkey’s weapon from the final version.

Differences:

1) Monkey only battles with a single staff.
2) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Chapter Eight: TITLE MISSING

[FIRST PART MISSING]

[After blocking the group’s passage through a quicksand-like desert,] The Spirit of the Deep Sand reveals: “I am the one who devoured you twice before, monk. Slung from my neck are all your dry bones!” (Wivell, 1994, p. 1190). The monster only helps the monks cross the “Deep Sands” (Shensha, 深沙) via a magical golden bridge once he is threatened with heavily retribution. Memorial poems note that Tripitaka releases the Spirit from a five hundred-year-long curse, and Pilgrim promises to speak highly of him when they meet the Buddha.

Similarities:

1) The Spirit of the Deep Sand is the literary precursor of Sha Wujing from the final version.
2) The bones of Tripitaka mentioned here are similar to the nine monk skulls hanging from Wujing’s neck.
3) The monster-turned-disciple helps Tripitaka pass through the “Flowing Sands River” (Liusha he, 流沙河) by turning the nine skulls into a makeshift raft. See chapter 22.

Chapter Nine: Entering the Country of Hārītī

The seven monks travel to a sparsely populated country peopled mainly by unattended three-year-old children. The few adults who can be found do not bother to interact with the group when spoken to. They eventually meet a king who throws them a lavish vegetarian banquet and reveals that they have entered the Country of Hārītī (Guizi mu, 鬼子母), or the “Mother of Ghostly Children.” Tripitaka is shocked to learn that they have been interacting with disembodied spirits during their stay. The King sends them off with bushels of rice, gold, pearls, and embroidered cloth to help pay for their journey. A memorial poem notes that the monks will repay their debt of gratitude by obtaining the scriptures.

Differences:

1) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Chapter Ten: Passing Through the Country of Women

The group travels for some time before Tripitaka calls on the Devarāja once more to help them bypass a raging flood. They pass through several uninhabited territories before they enter the Country of Women, where the Queen offers them a Buddhist feast. They decline to eat, however, as the food is full of sand, but offer to send the country much needed grains upon their return to the East.

The Queen invites Tripitaka and his retinue to remain as permanent residents and even offers to build them their own temple. Furthermore, she offers them any number of beautiful women as prospective brides. But true to their vow, the monks decline in order to continue their journey to India. The Queen sends them off with pearls and a white horse.

Similarities:

1) Tripitaka and his disciples pass through the Country of Women in chapter 54.
2) The Queen attempts to entice them to stay.

Chapter Eleven: Entering the Pool of the Queen Mother

Tripitaka asks Pilgrim to steal some immortal peaches from the Queen Mother of the West, a primordial goddess, in order to quell his great thirst. Monkey, however, hesitates as he was originally beaten with an iron club and exiled to the Purple Cloud Grotto on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit for stealing her peaches when he was just eight hundred years old. He remarks that his shanks are still sore even at twenty-seven thousand years of age. They eventually enter the Queen Mother’s realm and look up high above a cliff to see the immortal peach trees laden with fruit. Monkey explains: “These peach trees sprout a thousand years after planting. They blossom in three thousand years and produce a fruit in ten thousand years. The fruit requires ten thousand more years to ripen. He who eats one gains three thousand years of life” (Wivell, 1994, p. 1196).

Several of the ripe fruits fall from the trees into the pond below. Pilgrim raps the golden-ringed monk’s staff on the ground three, five, and seven times, each time summoning a different immortal child to the surface of the water. The first and second children respectively claim to be three thousand and five thousand years old. The third child, who claims to be seven thousand years old, is pulled from the water and quickly devoured in the form of a jujube, or Chinese date. [5] The story mentions in passing that, upon their return to China, Monkey spits out the pit in Sichuan province, thus explaining the origin of ginseng in the area.

Similarities:

1) Pilgrim steals peaches from the Queen Mother’s immortal peach grove in chapter 5. The chapter notes that there are three classes of immortal peaches, each taking thousands upon thousands of years to ripen.
2) He is punished for his transgressions against heaven. See chapters 6 and 7.
3) Tripitaka and his disciples eat baby-shaped ginseng fruit that bestows on them forty-seven thousand years of life. The fruits are harvested from a magical tree with a golden rod. See chapter 24 through 26.

Differences:

1) Monkey is born on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits in chapter one.
2) He is imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain for trying to usurp the throne of heaven.
3) Again, he is roughly 1,100 hundred years old.
4) Tripitaka would never ask Pilgrim to steal anything for him.
5) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Chapter Twelve: Entering the Country of Heavy Scent

They travel to an unpopulated country full of large, ancient trees.

Chapter Thirteen: Entering the Country of Vara

The monks travel through Vara, a paradise on earth, complete with beautiful women, neatly kept homes, playful children, and lions and dragons who chant the Buddha’s name.

Chapter Fourteen: Entering the Country of Utpala

They travel through Utpala, a flower-filled extension of the Buddha’s paradise in which the inhabitants live for countless ages and never want for food. [6]

Differences:

1) These brief episodes do not appear in the final version.

Chapter Fifteen: Entering India and Crossing the Sea

The group finally arrives in India and seeks lodging in the Prosperous Immortals Temple. After a vegetarian meal, the temple monks engage Tripitaka in a sarcastic conversation about the purpose of his quest, noting that they themselves have no need to seek the Buddha’s law any further since they already have copies of the sutras. They warn Tripitaka that endless miles of oceans and mountains separate him from Chicken Foot Mountain, home of the Buddha. Furthermore, they claim that, even if his group could surmount such a vast distance, the scriptures themselves are unattainable as they are kept in the Buddha’s residence high atop a sheer cliff accessible only to holy men with the gift of flight. The Sutra Master is disheartened at first, but Monkey suggests that the group gather the following morning to pray wholeheartedly to the Buddha. Their beautiful chanting causes the sky to go black and resound with thunder and lightning. When the darkness subsides, they are delighted to find that a near complete Buddhist canon has appeared before them. Only the Heart Sutra is missing from among the scriptures.

Differences:

1) Tripitaka and his disciples actually travel to Vulture Peak, where the Buddha gives them the Buddhist canon. See chapter 98.
2) The sutras that they initially receive are destroyed in an accident linked to karmic retribution. But they eventually get new copies. See chapter 99.
3) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Chapter Sixteen: Returning They Arrive at the Fragrant Grove Temple and Receive the Heart Sutra

On their return trip home, the monks seek lodging in the Fragrant Grove Temple in the Country of Pan Lu. Tripitaka dreams a heavenly envoy announces that he will be given the Heart Sutra. The group awakens to a defining noise and rises to see the Buddha emerge from colorful clouds in the form of a young, beautiful monk carrying a golden-ringed staff. He reaches into his sleeve and retrieves a scroll, noting that its power should not be shared with the unworthy because: “As soon as this sutra is opened, bright lights will flash, ghosts will weep and spirits will howl, winds and waves will quiet of themselves, and the sun and moon will cease to shine!” (p. 1201).

Additionally, the Buddha orders Tripitaka to have Tang Emperor Xuanzong build Buddhist temples, initiate monks, and promote the Buddhist Law throughout China.

The Enlightened One only gives the monks three months to complete the task of escorting the sutras back to China, for a “Lotus-Plucking Barge” will be arriving at a particular place and time to transport them to paradise (Wivell, 1994, p. 1202).

Similarities:

1) The Buddha tells Vajra guardians to transport the monk and his disciples to paradise once they have completed their mission. See chapter 98.

Differences:

1) The Buddha is portrayed as a huge, towering figure with a golden body. See chapter 98.
2) Tripitaka, his disciples, and the sutras are magically transported back to China by eight Vajra guardians. See chapter 100.
3) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Chapter Seventeen: They Reach Shensi, Where the Wife of the Householder Wang Kills His Son

The householder Wang (Wang zhangzhe, 王長者) leaves his second wife, whose maiden name is Meng (孟), to care for her step-son Daffy (Chi na, 癡那) while he is away trading goods in foreign lands. Half a year goes by when she receives a letter from Wang dictating that all of their money should go to Daffy if anything were to happen to him. This greatly enrages Meng since Stay-Put (Ju na, 居那), her son from a previous marriage, would miss out on any inheritance. Meng then conspires with her maid Spring Willow (Chunliu, 春柳) to kill Daffy before Wang’s return. They respectively boil him in a pot, rip out his tongue, and starve him, but each time he is magically saved by some unseen supernatural force. For instance, after four days of boiling in the pot, Daffy emerges unscathed and claims: “[T]he iron caldron changed into a lily pad on which I sat, surrounded by the cool waters of a pond. I could sleep or just sit there. It was very comfortable” (Wivell, 1994, p. 1203). Finally, they push Daffy into a tumultuous river and he is swept away. Word of the boy’s death soon spreads to his father, who returns home in tears. Wang holds a Buddhist feast to honor the memory of his son. [7]

Upon their return to China, Tripitaka and the monks stop to attend the feast. The Sutra Master refuses to eat any of the food, however, on the grounds that he is too drunk and needs fish broth to sober up. Following the monk’s instructions, Wang buys the largest specimen that he can find and sets it before Tripitaka. He slices the stomach open with a knife and Daffy emerges unharmed. In the end, father and son are reunited and the treachery of Madame Meng and Spring Willow is exposed.

The monks travel onto the capital where Buddhist feasts are held in their honor. Emperor Xuanzong personally accepts the Heart Sutra and has seven statues of the Buddha commissioned. Soon, the appointed day arrives and “the seven [pilgrims] boarded the barge and, looking due west, they ascended into the heavens and became immortals” (Wivell, 1994, p. 1206). Tang Taizong later honors Monkey with the name “Great Sage Steel Muscles and Iron Bones” (Gangjin tiegu dasheng, 鋼筋鐵骨大聖) (Wivell, 1994, p. 1207).

Similarities:

1) The child emerging from the boiling pot unharmed recalls Monkey’s time in Laozi’s eight trigrams furnace. See chapter 7.
2) Tripitaka and his disciples are granted Buddhahood and Arhatship after returning to the Western Paradise. See chapter 100.
3) Monkey’s new name recalls his title “Great Sage Equally Heaven” (Qitian dasheng, 齊天大聖) from chapter 4.
4) This also recalls Sun receiving the title of the “Victorious Fighting Buddha” (Dou zhansheng fo, 鬥戰勝佛) upon attaining Buddhahood in chapter 100.

Differences:

1) This episode does not appear in the final version.

Update: 09-14-19

I have written an article discussing the influence of the Buddhist saint Mulian on the Monkey Pilgrim from the story prompt.

Sun Wukong and the Buddhist Saint Mulian

Update: 01-30-24

I was recently interested to learn that The Story was influenced by underworld journey narratives. This explains the often fantastical and seemingly unrelated events that happen throughout the disjointed narrative. Brose (2023) writes:

The Japanese scholar Chūbachi Masakazu (b. 1938) was the first to point out that the Kōzanji narratives mirror two closely related mythic archetypes. The first, derived from ancient Han Chinese traditions, is the journey of the dead to the netherworld. In many accounts of postmortem travels, spirit animals (including but not limited to monkeys) serve as the guides for the dead on their passage through the spirit realm, whether the final destination is the Yellow Springs beneath the earth or Mount Kunlun in the distant west. The other motif, emerging from early Indian Buddhist literature, is the transmigration of the spirit to the Pure Land, which, like Mount Kunlun, was conventionally located somewhere in the west. In Buddhist accounts, animals (again, often but not always monkeys) also serve as escorts for the dead. Chūbachi proposed that these narrative traditions—culturally distinct but thematically and functionally similar—were fused together with the historical account of Xuanzang’s journey to India. The Kōzanji texts, according to this reading, represent a complex but organic blending of initially independent narratives. The broad contours of Xuanzang’s biography and travelogue were superimposed onto older mythic accounts to provide a new, quasi-historical frame for age-old stories about the transmigrations of the dead.

Viewed from this perspective, Xuanzang was not passing through Central Asia en route to India but, instead, was traversing a hellish purgatory to reach a heavenly pure land. Like a shaman, he departs the human world and enters a dangerous liminal zone. Beset by ghosts and demons, he is guided and protected by powerful spirit animals and Buddhist deities. After enduring extreme hardship, he eventually arrives in an immortal realm populated by spirit monks, immortals, bodhisattvas, and buddhas. From Śākyamuni Buddha, he receives a collection of apotropaic texts with the power to safeguard the living and liberate the dead. Xuanzang then transmits these sacred scriptures back to the human realm before he and his assistants ascend to heaven during the annual ritual for liberating the damned from purgatory. This narrative not only maps the landscape of a postmortem shadow world, it also identifies the scriptures that guard against demonic molestation and ensure a propitious rebirth: the Buddhist canon in general and the Heart Sūtra in particular. Those who read, recited, or heard the Kōzanji texts were thus informed of the perils of purgatory and offered the promise of protection and salvation. Xuanzang, they also learned, was the saintly monk responsible for delivering these divine texts and technologies into the hands of humans (pp. 62-63).

This strengthens my suggestion that the Monkey Pilgrim serves as a stand-in for Mulian (目連; Sk: Maudgalyayana), a Buddhist saint famed for traversing the underworld to save his mother. One element that I overlooked was the date when Tripitaka and his companions rise to paradise:

During the fifth quarter hour of the noon watch on the fifteenth [of the seventh month], a barge for collecting lotuses was sent down from the Heavenly Palace and Dipamkara Buddha was manifest in the clouds. Announcing that he had better not tarry any longer, the Dharma Master [Tripitaka] bade a hasty good-bye to the emperor. The seven [pilgrims, including Monkey,] boarded the barge and, looking due west, they ascended into the heavens and became immortals. Nine dragons rose up into the mist and ten phoenixes came out to welcome them. A thousand cranes offered them felicitations and there were flashing lights of transcendence (Wivell, 1994, p. 1206).

十五日午時五刻，天宮降下採蓮舡，定光佛在雲中正果。法師宣公，不得遲遲，匆卒辭於皇帝。七人上舡，望正西乘空上仙去也。九龍興霧，十鳳來迎，千鶴萬祥，光明閃爍。

The 15th day of the seventh lunar month falls on the “Ghost Festival” (Gui jie, 鬼節; a.k.a. “Zhongyuan Festival,” Zhongyuan jie, 中元節; a.k.a. “Yulanpen Festival,” Yulanpen jie, 盂蘭盆節), a time when souls are believed to be released from the underworld. Therefore, the ascension of the pilgrims would coincide with the rise and subsequent salvation (thanks to the procured scriptures) of said spirits from hell.

Regarding the date of The Story, I’ve previously mentioned that it is a product of the late-13th-century. But Zhang (1990) assigns an earlier date to its writing, stating this was likely no earlier than the reign of Emperor Renzong (r. 1022-1063) of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and no later than the reign of Emperor Gaozong (r. 1127-1129) of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). This places The Story in the late-Northern Song. Zhang ends by saying,

Even though the current version of “Zhongwazi Zhangjiayin” [8] was printed in the late-Southern Song Dynasty, the date of publication should not be confused with the year in which the book was written.

纵然今见“中瓦子张家印”本刊印于南宋晚期，亦不能把刊印时间与成书年代混为一谈。

Chen (2014) supports a Song publication with evidence comparing The Story‘s rhyming system with that of Buddhist “Transformation Texts” (Bianwen, 變文). I have attached a PDF below.

PDF File:

A revisit of the time of Monk Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty on a Pilgrimage for Buddhist Scriptures – Focus on rhyme style (2014)

Notes:

1) The term shihua (詩話) at the end of the tale’s Chinese name is synonymous with huaben (話本), a genre of vernacular oral literature.

2) Stories dealing with the adventures of the monk Tripitaka and Sun Wukong appeared as early as the 11th-century, as evidenced by cave art from that time. Such tales were originally created and told by professional storytellers in busy market places, much like the famed Yangzhou storytellers of today. Standardized repertoires were eventually collected and published during the late Song Dynasty. See Dudbridge (1970) for more information.

3) Li Jing (李靖, 571-649) was a historical Tang dynasty general who won many battles in China and Central Asia. Shahar (2013) notes that Li was deified after his death, and that the cult centered around him existed into the Song Dynasty. Most importantly, “The general [was] celebrated in a large body of oral and written fiction, which gradually associated him with the Indian god [Vaiśravana]” (Shahar, 2013, p. 28). He continues, “Storytellers and playwrights [eventually] merged the Tang general with the martial Heavenly King” (Shahar, 2013, p. 28). This merging may have happened as early as the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) (Shahar & Kieschnick, 2013, p. 224 n. 18).

4) This changing of bones most likely refers to some type of realized spiritual cultivation that resulted in a new, pure body for the future emperor.

5) It would seem the immortal fruit takes on the form of children upon entering the pool.

6) The land of Utpala sounds very much like Tao Quan’s famous tale the “Peach Blossom Spring” (421), which tells the story of how a fisherman stumbles upon a garden paradise where the inhabitants never age (Barnhart, 1983, pp. 13-16).

7) This portion of the story is very similar to the late 9th- to early 10th-century “Transformation Text on the Boy Shun’s Extreme Filial Piety.” For a comparative analysis, see Mair (1987). For a complete English translation of the tale, see Bodman (1994).

8) The original late-13th-century manuscript of The Story is stamped with the “Zhang Family Seal of Central Market District” (Zhongwazi Zhangjiayin, 中瓦子張家印). The Central Market District (Zhongwazi, 中瓦子) was a street known for play promotions and book publishers in Song-era Lin’an prefecture (Zhang, 1990). This appears to be another nickname for The Story apart from the “Kozanji version” (Dudbridge, 1970, p. 25, for example).

Bibliography:

Barnhart, R. M., & Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) (1983). Peach blossom spring: Gardens and flowers in Chinese paintings. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Bodman, R.W. (1994). The Transformation Text on the Boy Shun’s Extreme Filial Piety. In V. H. Mair (Ed.), The Columbia anthology of traditional Chinese literature (pp 1128-1134). New York: Columbia University Press.

Brose, B. (2023). Embodying Xuanzang: The Postmortem Travels of a Buddhist Pilgrim. United States: University of Hawaii Press.

Chen, Y. (2014). Datang Sanzang qujing shihua shidaixing zaiyi: Yi yunwen tizhi de kaocha wei zhongxin [Another Discussion on the Age of the Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procured the Scriptures: An Investigation into the Rhyming System], Pudan Journal (Social Sciences), 5, 69-80.

Dudbridge, G. (1970). The Hsi-yu chi: A study of antecedents to the sixteenth-century Chinese novel. Cambridge, England: University Press.

Mair, V. H. (1987). Parallels between some Tun-Huang manuscripts and the 17th chapter of the Kozanji Journey to the West. Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie, 3, 41-53.

Shahar, M., & Kieschnick, J. (2013). India in the Chinese Imagination: Myth, Religion, and Thought. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Shahar, M. (2013). Indian mythology and the Chinese imagination: Nezha, Nalakubara, and Krshna. In M. Shahar and J. Kieschnick (Eds.), India in the Chinese imagination: Myth, religion, and thought (pp. 21-45). University of Pennsylvania Press.

Wivell, C.S. (1994). The Story of How the Monk Tripitaka of the Great Country of T’ang Brought Back the Sūtras. In V. Mair (Ed.), The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature (pp. 1181-1207). New York: Columbia University Press.

Zhang, J. (1990). Datang Sanzang qujing shihua chengshu niandai kaolun [A Discussion of the Date of the Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures]. Xueshu jiaoliu, 4, 108-114. Retrieved from https://www.toutiao.com/article/7065749209709806087/?wid=1706529284309

The Connection Between the Monkey King’s Staff, Yu the Great, and Flood Control

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 02-06-21

Have you ever wondered why Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592, “JTTW” hereafter) depicts the Monkey King’s staff being stored in the underwater palace of the Eastern Sea Dragon King, or why it is associated with Yu the Great? The weapon is most likely based on a number of native Chinese mythic and historical iron objects.

First and foremost is a famous Chinese story concerning the immortal Xu Xun (許遜, a.k.a. Xu Jingyang, 許旌陽; a.k.a. Xu Jingzhi, 許敬之; 239–374) of the Jin Dynasty (265–420). Xu was a historical Daoist master and minor government official from Jiangsu province considered a paragon of filial piety. Popular stories depict him as a Chinese St. Patrick who traveled southern China ridding the land of flood dragons. One 17th-century story, “An Iron Tree at Jingyang Palace” (Jingyang gong tieshu zhenyao, 旌陽宮鐵樹鎮妖), describes how he chained the patriarch of the flood dragons to an iron tree that he had constructed and submerged it into a well, thus blocking the serpent’s children from leaving their subterranean aquatic realm (Feng, 2005, pp. 673-744). Pre-JTTW versions of this tale depict the tree as an actual iron pillar (fig. 1) (Little, Eichman, & Ebrey, 2000, pp. 314-317). Chinese Five Elements Theory dictates that metal produces water, and as its creator, holds dominion over it. Therefore, an iron pillar would be the perfect item to ward off creatures entrenched in the aquatic environment.

There are numerous historical examples of iron objects from the Tang and Song dynasties (7th–13th cent.) being used to control water. For instance, Tang official Li Deyu (李德裕, 787–848) erected the great Iron Pagoda on Mt. Beigu in Jiangsu “in order to subdue the tidal waves of the [Yangzi] river” (Andersen, 2001, p. 72). Iron oxen, such as the one by Pujin Bridge in southern Shanxi, were cast during the Tang and Song dynasties and placed along river banks, some serving as bridge anchors or possibly Daoist altar pieces. The thought was that the oxen would ward off flood waters. The first iron oxen is said, according to legend, to have been created by Yu the Great to ward off future floods. Yu is connected to other iron figures placed in or near flowing bodies of water (Andersen, 2001, pp. 73-75; Cast Iron Recumbent Ox, n.d.). Small statues of the monkey-like river spirit Wuzhiqi (無支祁) were submerged in rivers in southern China during the Song (fig. 2). The spirit is mentioned in Tang-Song records as being a fiery-eyed beast known to cause devastating floods, so Yu trapped the creature under Turtle Mountain (Andersen, 2001). This story has obvious parallels with Monkey’s fiery eyes and imprisonment under the Five Elements mountain.

Fig. 1 – A Ming Dynasty woodblock print depicting Xu the immortal overseeing the creation of the iron pillar in a furnace (right) and it’s placement in a well (left). Dated 1444-1445 (larger version). Fig. 2 – A Song Dynasty iron figurine of the monkey river spirit Wuzhiqi (larger version).

The 88th chapter of JTTW notes that the staff was created by Yu the Great to aid in his legendary quest to quell the fabled world flood:

An iron rod forged at Creation’s dawn
By Great Yu himself, the god-man of old.
The depths of all oceans, rivers, and lakes,
Were fathomed and fixed by this very rod.
Having board through mountains and conquered floods,
It stayed in East Ocean and ruled the seas,
[…] (Wu & Yu, 2012, p. 201)

鴻濛初判陶鎔鐵，大禹神人親所設。湖海江河淺共深，曾將此棒知之切。開山治水太平時，流落東洋鎮海闕。

As previously noted, Five Elements Theory dictates that metal has dominion over water. Therefore, an iron pillar would have been the best tool for controlling vast bodies of water, including the Eastern Ocean. This explains why the pillar was in the dragon treasury. The connection between Yu and Monkey comes in the form of the aforementioned Wuzhiqi tale.

The pillar has ties to two literary precursors of Sun’s staff appearing in the earliest known edition of the novel, The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures (c. late 13th-century). Our hero uses an iron staff borrowed from the Queen Mother of the West and a golden-ringed monk’s staff given to him by the Mahabramha Deva, king of the gods. One chapter sees the latter being changed into a “gigantic yaksha whose head touched the sky and whose feet straddled the earth” in order to fight a demon (Wivell, 1994, p. 1189). The transformative powers of the monk’s staff was eventually grafted onto the iron staff to create the current incarnation of Monkey’s staff. These powers were, in effect, transferred to the pillar, giving it the ability to grow or shrink to any size. This is why the novel states Yu used the pillar as a ruler to set the depths of the rivers and oceans.

Update: 02-06-21

I have written an article that discusses the magic powers of the staff. These include the ability to shrink and grow, control the ocean, astral project and entangle with Monkey’s spirit, multiply endlessly, pick locks, and transform into various objects. It also has sentience to a certain degree.

The Magic Powers of the Monkey King’s Iron Staff

Sources:

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

Cast Iron Recumbent Ox – X.0518. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2016, from http://www.artfromancientlands.com/C…ntOxX0518.html

Feng, M. (2005). Stories to Caution the World: A Ming Dynasty Collection. (S. Yang & Y. Yang Trans.). University of Washington Press (Original work published 1624)

Little, S., Eichman, S., & Ebrey, P. B. (2000). Taoism and the Arts of China. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago.

Wivell, C.S. (1994). The Story of How the Monk Tripitaka of the Great Country of T’ang Brought Back the Sūtras. In V. H. Mair (Ed.), The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature (pp 1181-1207). New York: Columbia University Press.

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

Deciphering the Inscription on the Monkey King’s Staff

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 07-03-21

This is the third and final installment in my investigation of the history of the Monkey King’s staff from the great Chinese classic Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592). The previous two articles discussed historical staves and an imperial monument that may have influenced the weapon. The current piece will focus on the name of the staff, the “As-you-wish gold-banded cudgel” (Ruyi jingu bang, 如意金箍棒). This title comes from an inscription appearing on the pole. As the novel states: “There was a line of inlaid writing near the end which said that it was ‘The As-you-wish Gold-Banded Cudgel. Weight: 13,500 Catties’” (17,550 lbs / 7,960 kg) (Ruyi jingu bang zhong yiwan sanqian wubai jin, 如意金箍棒重一萬三千五百斤). [1] The significance of the gold bands (jinggu, 金箍) was discussed in the first article, so it will not be covered here. This leaves “As-you-wish” (ruyi, 如意) and “Weight: 13,500 catties” (zhong yiwan sanqian wubai jin, 重一萬三千五百斤). In this paper, I will trace the origin of each concept and tie them back to Chinese literature, history, and religion. As always, I hope this will be of interest to layman and researchers.

Stating the weight of a weapon follows a tradition in Chinese Military Romance literature in which great heroes brandish heavy polearms and blades. For example, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi, 三國演義, 14th-century), General Guan Yu (關羽) is said to have a glaive weighing 82 catties (107 lbs. / 48.5 kg). [2] This is referenced in a subsequent novel set hundreds of years later entitled the Water Margin (Shuihu Zhuan, 水滸傳, c. 1400). In the story, the bandit-turned-Buddhist monk Lu Zhishen (魯智深) asks a blacksmith to make him a monk’s staff (chanzhang, 禪杖, lit: Chan staff) weighing 100 catties (130 lbs. / 59 kg). But when the latter refuses on the grounds that not even the legendary general would be able to lift it, Lu asks for a staff weighing just as much as Guan’s polearm (here stated as 81 catties) to prove his equal. After some minor bickering, the two finally settle on a more reasonable 62 catties (81 lbs. / 37 kg). [3] The ability of these heroes to efficiently wield such weapons sets them apart from normal humans. Likewise, the extraordinary weight of Monkey’s staff sets him apart from his lowly human counterparts. He is after all a transcendent immortal capable of supernatural feats of strength. This then might explain the number appearing on the staff. Thirteen thousand five hundred is divisible by nine, which Chinese numerology considers to represent “infinity”. [4] (Note: I no longer agree with this. Please see the 07-03-21 update for my revised views on the origin of the staff’s weight.) So it’s possible the number (infinity multiplied) was meant to convey that the staff was heavy beyond comprehension, something that only a divine hero such as Monkey would be able to wield.

Fig. 1 – Ruyi scepter from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) (larger version). Image found here.

“As-you-wish” (ruyi, 如意), originates with a ritual scepter of that name shaped like an arching snake with a head in the form of a lingzhi mushroom (靈芝, a.k.a., “fungus of immortality”) (fig. 1). They are often seen carried by emperors and Buddhist and Daoist deities in Chinese art. Prior to the 10th-century, the scepter was closely associated with the Bodhisattva Manjusri (Wenshu, 文殊) and his famous debate with the householder Vimalakirti (Weimojie, 維摩詰). [5] Engravings of the event show him holding the object in the form of a tanbing (談柄), or “discussion stick”, an elongated, shoe horn-shaped wand historically used by religious and secular groups to designate the right to speak before an assembly (similar in function to the Native American “talking stick”) (fig. 2). [6] This implement was sometimes portrayed with vegetal features. For instance, a Chinese stele from the 6th-century shows Manjusri debating while holding a sprig (fig. 3). [7] J. Leroy Davidson suggests that this type of scepter has its origin in an Indian Buddhist Jataka tale in which a group of royal sisters use branches to initiate debates with suitors and Buddhist priests. [8] The term ruyi comes from the “wish-fulfilling” Kalpavriksha tree of Hindu mythology. [9] This is suggested by a Chinese source from the 7th-century which notes that, during the celebration of Upavasatha, [10] lay hosts often gifted “ruyi shu” (如意樹), or “As-you-wish trees” (no doubt saplings or branches), to Indian Buddhist priests [11]. It’s possible that these gifts served as unofficial symbols of the priests’ authority and combined with the aforesaid tradition of debating with branches. This would explain why an instrument of debate would carry the ruyi title.

Upon entering China with Buddhism, this symbol of authority was adopted by the upper echelons of society. [12] Early records describe emperors, generals, and ministers wielding the object as a means to assert or signify their power. For instance, during the Jin Dynasty (265–420), the court official Shi Chong (石崇, 249–300) used a metal ruyi to smash a coral tree, an imperial gift belonging to a rival aristocrat. [13] Jin General Xie Wan (謝萬, 320–361) used the object to point at his captains and direct his orders to them. [14]. General Wei Rui (韋叡, 442–520) of the Liang Dynasty (502–557) took this one step further and directed his troops in battle with a bamboo scepter. [15] Legend states that Northern Wei Dynasty (386–535) Emperor Xiaowen (孝文, 467–499) placed a bone ruyi (among other items) before his sons; the boy who chose it became his heir because it signified the right to rule. [16] During a time of war, Emperor Wu of Liang (梁武帝, 464–549) gave one of his generals a ruyi because, as one scholar suggests, it was sure to bring him victory in battle. [17]

Fig. 2 – Examples of tanbing-style ruyi from 8th-century Japan (larger version). Due to slow culture transmission, these could be reminiscent of early Chinese scepters. Fig. 3 – Manjusri holding a sprig while debating Vimalakirti. Detail from a Chinese Buddhist stele dated 533–543 (larger version).

Due to its historical association with military command, Literati ignorant of the scepter’s original function as an instrument of religious debate and authority came to consider the ruyi a type of weapon. For example, the Song Dynasty (960–1279) archaeologist Zhao Xigu (趙希鵠, c. 1195–post 1242) described the object as an iron club used for self-defense: “The men of old used the Ruyi for pointing or indicating the way, and also for guarding themselves against the unforeseen. It was made of wrought iron, and was over two feet in length…” [18] Zhao’s words were later echoed by the art collector Wen Zhenheng (文震亨, 1585–1645) during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). [19] The concept of an “As-you-wish” iron club used for self-defense no doubt influenced monkey’s staff. This is especially true since Wen shows the idea was current during the time that the Ming version of the novel was published.

So how did the scepter come to have its signature serpentine curve and ornate head? J. Leroy Davidson believes this is a simple case of misidentification. He cites material from the Song Dynasty concerning people digging up a “a bronze box in which was a white ruyi decorated with motives of a dragon and tiger”. [20] Davidson suggests this archaeological artifact was actually a belt hook commonly worn during the Zhou and Han Dynasties (11th-c. BCE to 3rd-c. CE). Said hooks have an S-shaped curve and the accompanying buckles are often decorated with real and imagined creatures like those mentioned above (fig. 4 and 5). [21] It’s easy to see then how ancient belt buckles—perhaps the features weathered by time—could have been confused with a mushroom.

Fig. 4 – A profile comparison of a Han-era belt hook (top) and a ruyi (bottom) (larger version). Fig. 5 – A Han belt buckle featuring a dragon (larger version).

Just like the Vedic Soma and the Greek Ambrosia, the Chinese also had a magical, life-prolonging substance which they called Zhi (芝). [22] The Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji, 史記, c. 90 BCE) mentions that the emperors Qin Shihuangdi (秦始皇帝, 260–210 BCE) and Han Wudi (漢武帝, 156–87 BCE) sent thousands of men over many years in search of magical islands housing this immortal herb. [23] It was during the time of the latter that the substance was equated with lingzhi (靈芝, Ganoderma), a genus of spade-shaped mushroom with a lacquered appearance (fig. 6). [24] This fungus became the subject of esoteric texts starting from the Han Dynasty, many of which are now lost. Drawing on these extinct texts, the Daoist adept Ge Hong (葛洪, 283–343) was the first to classify the lingzhi into five major types. [25] Methods For Planting the Zhi Plants (Zhong zhicao fa, 種芝草法), a late Six Dynasties (220–589) text attributed to the Daoist god Laozi (老子), details how to seed this magical fungus by burying precious substances, such as gold or cinnabar, on a mountain side during solstices and equinoxes. [26] Originally written during the Song Dynasty, a Ming edition of Classification of Supreme Numinous Treasure Mushrooms (Taishang lingbao zhicao pin, 太上靈寶芝草品) lists one hundred twenty-six different kinds of immortality-bestowing fungi. It’s important to note that this text became part of the official Daoist Canon (Daozang, 道藏) during the mid-15th-century. [27] This means immortal mushrooms are a central tenet of Daoism.

Fig. 6 – A lingzhi mushroom (larger version).

Daoism adopted the ruyi centuries prior to the Song Dynasty when the lingzhi mushroom was associated with the scepter. [28] It was one of the few ritual objects permitted Daoist monks living in medieval Chinese monasteries. [29] In fact, one early Tang Dynasty text states that it is among the items that “are essential for all Daoists, whether male or female, when they present offerings”. [30] Possibly taking a cue from Buddhist depictions of Manjusri, Daoists of the Tang began to depict some of their supreme deities with the scepter. For example, a late 7th- or early 8th-century statue of Laozi depicts him holding a straight tanbing-style ruyi (fig. 7). [31] After the lingzhi imagery was absorbed into the scepter, it became closely associated with the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Tianzun, 靈寶天尊), one of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing, 三清), a trinity representing different aspects of the Dao (道). A 14th-century woodblock print depicts this deity holding a large mushroom ruyi—called by one scholar “his principle attribute”—while sitting on a heavenly throne surrounded by a sea of celestial beings (fig. 8). [32] The scepter was later associated with other Daoist deities during the Ming. [33] Therefore, the long association of the ruyi with Daoist immortals explains why Monkey would come to wield such an instrument with that name.

Fig. 7 – A late-7th- or early-8th-century statue of Laozi holding a straight tanbing-style ruyi (larger version). Fig. 8 – A 14th-century woodblock print depicting the Celestial Worthy holding a linzhi ruyi (larger version). Fig. 9 – Detail of a Cintamani, or “wish-granting pearl” (larger version).

Unlike their Daoist counterparts, Buddhists during the Tang looked upon the scepter as a somewhat base object. For example, although he listed it as a “lecture baton”, the monk Daoxuan (道璿, 702–760), an expert on monastic law, placed the ruyi in the same category as non-ritual items like satchels and spittoons. Furthermore, he described it as being one of the objects not among the “tools of the way”. [34] Sources from this time and the Song Dynasty equate the object with a simple backscratcher. [35] This shows that the ruyi lost any association that it may have had with wish-granting (as the term implies) upon entering China. So how did it regain its magic properties? This probably happened because it was equated with the Buddhist Cintamani, or “wish-granting pearl” (fig. 9). [36] This is suggested by the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit term, Ruyi zhu (如意珠). [37] The association between the two was surely established by the Ming as Monkey’s staff has the magical ability to grow or shrink according to his wishes. [38] This is best exemplified by a poem appearing in Chapter seven of Journey to the West:

A spirit beam filling the supreme void—
That’s how the rod behaves accordingly.
It lengthens or shortens as one would wish;
Upright or prone, it grows or shrinks at will. [39]

The magic powers of the staff may be based on a weapon appearing in the earliest version of the novel, The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang, Procures the Scriptures (Da Tang Sanzang qujing shihua, 大唐三藏取經詩話). In this 13th-century adaptation, our protagonist changes a ringed monk’s staff into a “gigantic yaksha whose head touched the sky and whose feet straddled the earth”. [40] This means that the Song and Ming Dynasty versions of the staff both have the ability to change their size and shape as Monkey wishes. I suggested in the second article that the initial description of the weapon in chapter one as a giant pillar of black iron is based on the famous Iron Pillar of Delhi, a religio-political Indian monument of the 4th-century. A warrior wishing to wield such a pillar would naturally need to shrink it down. Therefore, the “wish-granting” ruyi concept was probably associated with the shape-changing abilities of the ringed monk’s staff and applied to monkey’s signature iron weapon.

In conclusion, the inscription on Monkey’s staff stands as a microcosm of Chinese literature, history, and religion. The weight harkens back to Yuan and Ming (13th-c. to 17th-c. CE) Military Romance literature in which great heroes are distinguished from normal humans by their ability to brandish extremely heavy weapons. Monkey’s ability to wield a staff weighing nearly nine tons elevates him above his human counterparts as a divine hero with herculean strength. The ruyi (如意) concept is much older and can be traced back to ancient India. The term is based on the Kalpavriksha, or “wish-granting” tree, of Hindu mythology. This element of Hindu culture was absorbed by Indian Buddhism and mixed with a separate tradition to become a symbol of religious debate and authority. Upon entering China during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), this branch was stylized into a tanbing (談柄), or “Discussion Stick”, which later became the emblem of the Bodhisattva Manjusri. It was simultaneously adopted by aristocrats and military commanders in subsequent dynasties as a sign of their secular power. The object attained its current S-shape and ornate head during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) when historical archaeologists happened upon ancient Chinese belt hooks and buckles from the Zhou and Han Dynasties (11th-c. BCE–3rd-c. CE) and confused them for such scepters.

There are three reason for the ruyi term being applied to Sun Wukong’s magic weapon. First, due to its historical association with military commanders, literati during the Song and Ming Dynasties came to look upon the object as an iron club used for self-defense. This would be perfect for protecting Monkey’s Buddhist master Xuanzang (玄奘) during their journey to India. Second, the head of the scepter was associated with the immortality-bestowing lingzhi mushroom (靈芝) during the Song Dynasty and became the emblem of the highest gods of Daoism, most notably the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure (靈寶天尊). This makes the ruyi an excellent weapon for an immortal macaque possessed of Daoist magic. Third, the scepter was equated with the Buddhist Cintamani, or “wish-granting pearl”; this was associated with the magic, shape-changing abilities of a literary precursor of the weapon. Hence, the Ming version of Monkey’s pole gained the ability to magically shrink or grow according to his wishes. So, in the end, we see that both Monkey and his staff straddle the Buddhist and Daoist religions.

Update: 01/05/2015

I suggested in the above entry that the ruyi may have been equated with the Buddhist cintamani, or “wish-granting pearl”. Well, I just noticed that the lingzhi-style scepter held by the Celestial Worthy from figure 8 appears to have a flaming pearl attached to it (fig. 9).

Fig. 9 – Enhanced version of the Celestial Worthy’s lingzhi ruyi scepter with a flaming pearl (larger version).

If it really is a Cintamani, this shows the association between the two happened by at least the 14th-century. This probably happened earlier considering iconography takes time to become standardized. I’ve found at least one other Chinese painting featuring a flaming pearl ruyi. A Ming work titled “The Lady of the Highest Primordial and the Empress of Earth” (c. 1600) features an attendant of the second deity holding the object (fig. 10).

Fig. 10 – Detail of the attendant (larger version).

Update: 01-06-2015

A prime example of the relationship between the ruyi and the cintamani comes in the form of a 16th-century statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin (觀音). The deity is usually associated with the flaming pearl, but this statue depicts her holding a scepter (fig. 11). H.A. van Oort comments: “In the mind of the artist, the scepter could well have replaced the cintamani, the “wish-fulfilling jewel”; in that case the statue is a very free interpretation of the Ju-i Kuan-yin [Ruyi Guanyin, 如意觀音], or Cintamani Avalokitesvara, the Kuan-yin with the wish-fulfilling pearl”. [41]

Fig. 11 – Guanyin holding a ruyi scepter (larger version).

Update: 08-16-2020

I’ve written an article suggest the ruyi/lingzhi mushroom influenced the shape of Wukong’s curlicue-style headband.

https://journeytothewestresearch.com/2020/08/16/sun-wukongs-curlicue-style-headband/

Update: 02-06-2021

I have written an article that discusses the magic powers of the staff. These include the ability to shrink and grow, control the ocean, astral project and entangle with Monkey’s spirit, multiply endlessly, pick locks, and transform into various objects. It also has sentience to a certain degree.

https://journeytothewestresearch.com/2021/02/06/the-magic-powers-of-the-monkey-kings-iron-staff/

Update: 07-03-2021

I now believe the weight of Monkey’s staff is an embellishment of a heavy stone block lifted by the bandit Wu Song in the Water Margin (c. 1400).

The Weight of the Monkey King’s Staff: A Literary Origin

Notes

[1] Wu Cheng’en and W.J.F. Jenner, Journey to the West (Vol. 1). [S.l.]: Foreign Languages Press, 2001), 56. Text altered slightly. Compare with Anthony C. Yu’s translation: “The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod” (Wu Cheng’en and Anthony C. Yu, The Journey to the West (Vol. 1) (Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press, 2012), 135). I prefer the former. Both translations use the word “pounds”; however, the Chinese version of the novel uses jin (斤), known in English as “catty.” Catty and pound are two different measures of weight, the former being heavier than the latter. Therefore, the text has been altered to show this. The catty during the Ming Dynasty when the novel was compiled equaled 590 grams (Mark Elvin, The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China (New Haven (Conn.): Yale University P, 2004), 491 n. 133). This means 13,500 catties would equal 17,550 lbs.
[2] Luo Guanzhong and Moss Roberts, Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), 27.
[3] Shi Naian, Guanzhong Luo, and Sidney Shapiro, Outlaws of the Marsh (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1988), 94-95.
[4] Patricia Bjaaland Welch, Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery (North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Pub, 2008), 230.
[5] The Vimalakirti Sutra (c. 100) tells of how the Buddha chose Manjusri to call upon the malingering householder whom no other disciple wanted to visit due to his supernatural intellect. He and Vimalakirti debate Buddhist doctrine before a crowd of celestial onlookers until they realize that they are both equally versed in the dharma (Burton Watson, The Vimalakirti Sutra (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997)). For Manjusri’s association with the Ruyi scepter, see J. Leroy Davidson, “The Origin and Early Use of the Ju-i,” Artibus Asiae 13, no. 4 (1950): 240. The aforementioned sutra was not translated into Chinese until the 5th-century, so this means the ruyi became associated with the deity rather quickly.
[6] Davidson, 241-242. Medieval Chinese dictionaries refer to the ruyi as a type of backscratcher, the idea being that it can reach the areas that “one wishes” (Ibid, 239; John Kieschnick, The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002), 142).
[7] Ibid, 245. See plate IV for examples of 8th-century ruyi scepters from Japan shaped like Bamboo stalks.
[8] Ibid, 246. Davidson cites a hard to find book that is long out of print. I located an archived scan of the publication online. See “A Manual of Buddhism, in Its Modern Development (1853).” Internet Archive. Accessed December 17, 2014. https://archive.org/details/manualofbudhism00hard. The story appears on page 255.
[9] Davidson, 246. Various Puranas state that such trees arose during the churning of the ocean of milk. The gods allowed humans to wish for whatever their hearts desired until they started asking for evil things. The trees were then transported to heaven beyond the reach of man (Roshen Dalal, Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2010), 189).
[10] A day of religious observance in which the Buddhist lay community renews their commitment to the Eightfold Path. Buddhist priests are invited into homes to help with this process (Yijing, F. Max Müller, and Junjirō Takakusu, A Record of the Buddhist Religion As Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago (A.D. 671-695) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896), 35 n. 1).
[11] Davidson, 246-247.
[12] John Kieschnick believes the ruyi is a strictly Chinese invention (Kieschnick, 138-152). I, however, find Davidson’s arguments for an Indian origin more compelling.
[13] Joseph Edkins. “The Ju-i, or, Sceptre of Good fortune”. The East of Asia Magazine III (1904), 238. For a complete translation of the story, see John Minford and Joseph S. M. Lau, Classical Chinese Literature: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), 671-672.
[14] Edkins, 238.
[15] Ibid, 239.
[16] Ibid. See also Kieschnick, 144. Kieschnick refers to him by his temple name Gaozu. I have used his reign name to avoid confusion with other similarly named emperors from subsequent dynasties.
[17] Edkins, 239.
[18] Berthold Laufer, Jade: A Study in Chinese Archaeology and Religion (Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1912), 336 n. 1. Text altered slightly. Laufer describes the ruyi as a blunt sword, but the available information makes the object sound more like a club.
[19] He writes: “The ruyi was used in ancient times to give directions or to protect oneself from the unexpected. It was for this reason that it was made of iron, and not on the basis of strictly aesthetic considerations…” (Kieschnick, 151).
[20] Davidson, 249. Text altered slightly.
[21] Ibid.
[22] R. Gordon Wasson and Joseph Needham both suggested that Zhi was actually based on Indian stories of Soma (Paul U. Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Ideas (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), 112.
[23] Sima Qian and Burton Watson, Records of the Grand Historian (Vol. 2) (Hong Kong: Columbia University Press, 1993), 14-15 and 45-46. Despite its association with mushrooms, some texts refer to it as a type of grass or herb (Wolfram Eberhard, A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986), 173-174.
[24] Xiao Tong, Wen Xuan or Selections of Refined Literature (Vol. 3) (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Press, 1996), 201.
[25] These are stone zhi (石芝), wood zhi (木芝), plant zhi (草芝), flesh zhi (肉芝), and mushroom zhi (菌芝) (Fabrizio Pregadio, The Encyclopedia of Taoism (Vol. 2) (London: Routledge, 2008), 1273).
[26] Ibid.
[27] Stephen Little and Shawn Eichman, Taoism and the Arts of China (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2000), 340.
[28] The association with the lingzhi, however, may have been as early as the Tang Dynasty (618–907). Yan Liben’s (閻立本, 600–673) “The Thirteen Emperors” painting features a monarch holding a straight tanbing-style ruyi with the head in the shape of a lingzhi. Although, the scalloped perimeter could denote a cloud. See “The Thirteen Emperors.” Digital Scrolling Paintings Project. Accessed December 23, 2014. http://scrolls.uchicago.edu/scroll/thirteen-emperors.
[29] Livia Kohn, The Daoist Monastic Manual: A Translation of the Fengdao Kejie (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 122.
[30] Ibid, 119.
[31] See image #39 in Little and Eichman , 183. Little suggests this could instead be a depiction of the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure (靈寶天尊) (Ibid, 187 cat. nos. 39-42 n. 9). On the contrary, Silvio A. Bedini mentions an incense burner of Laozi carrying a ruyi on his famous journey to the Western Paradise (Silvio A. Bedini, The Trail of Time: Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994), 113). This suggests that Laozi was indeed associated with the scepter.
[32] This illustrates a scene from an important Song Dynasty text in which the Celestial Worthy is said to reveal heavenly secrets to mankind (Little and Eichman, 237-238).
[33] See, for example, Cao Guojiu (曹國舅) (Welch, 259).
[34] Kieschnick, 148-149.
[35] Ibid, 1414-142 and 149-150.
[36] Erik Zürcher has suggested that the only way the lowly back scratcher could have become a symbol of lofty knowledge was via an association with the wish-granting pearl (Erik Zürcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 407 n. 59). It seems only natural that an affiliation between the scepter and the pearl would have sparked the idea that the former had magical properties.
[37] I’m not sure when the term was first translated into Chinese, but it appears in the Scripture on the Ten Wheels, a 6th-century sutra centered around the Bodhisattva Dizang (地藏, a.k.a., Ksitigarbha) (Ng Zhiru, The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva Dizang in Medieval China (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2007), 29-30). This shows the association between the ruyi and the wish-granting pearl could be quite old. For more information on the Cintamani, see Alice Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism: Their History and Iconography (New York: Dover Publications, 1988), 186-187.
[38] Wu and Yu, 135.
[39] Ibid, 190.
[40] Victor H. Mair, The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994), 1189. For the complete story, see pages 1181-1207.
[41] H. A. van Oort, The Iconography of Chinese Buddhism in Traditional China (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1986), 22.

Bibliography

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