tang xuanzang journey to the west

Xuanzang’s Journey to the west

Xuanzang ‘s journey to the West is a legendary pilgrimage that took place during the Tang Dynasty in China. The story has been immortalized in the Chinese classic novel “Journey to the West” (also known as “The Monkey King”), which is attributed to the Ming Dynasty author Wu Cheng’en . It is considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

The central character of the story is Xuanzang, a Buddhist monk who lived during the 7th century. Xuanzang was determined to obtain sacred Buddhist scriptures from India to enhance the practice and understanding of Buddhism in China. At the time, Buddhism was already well-established in China, but many scholars believed that the translations of the scriptures available were flawed and incomplete.

In 629 AD, Xuanzang set out on his perilous journey, leaving the ancient capital city of Chang’an (present-day Xi’an) with the blessing of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. He embarked on a rigorous and treacherous pilgrimage, facing numerous challenges, supernatural creatures, and temptations along the way.

Xuanzang’s journey took him through vast stretches of the Silk Road, a network of ancient trade routes connecting China with Central Asia, the Middle East, and eventually, India. The Silk Road was known for its dangers, including harsh climates, bandits, and unforgiving terrains.

During his journey, Xuanzang encountered various mythical creatures and deities, most notably the mischievous Monkey King, Sun Wukong, who became his loyal disciple and protector. Sun Wukong possessed incredible powers and often used them to aid Xuanzang in overcoming the obstacles they faced.

Together with Sun Wukong and a group of other eccentric disciples, including Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) and Sha Wujing, Xuanzang traveled through treacherous mountains, crossed vast deserts, and braved turbulent rivers. Along the way, they encountered demons, monsters, and other supernatural beings who sought to obstruct their journey.

Their adventures were not limited to physical challenges alone. Xuanzang and his companions also faced spiritual and moral trials, testing their resolve, faith, and commitment to the Buddhist path. These trials were often depicted as battles against powerful demons who represented various vices and human weaknesses.

Despite the numerous hardships and dangers, Xuanzang remained steadfast in his mission. He persevered, refusing to resort to violence or compromise his principles, and constantly sought to spread compassion and enlightenment. His unwavering devotion and pure heart eventually earned him the help and protection of the Bodhisattvas and other celestial beings.

After a grueling 17-year journey, Xuanzang finally reached India, where he studied and translated numerous Buddhist scriptures. He spent several years studying at the famous Nalanda University and collecting valuable texts before he began his return journey to China.

Xuanzang brought back a vast collection of Buddhist scriptures, including the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and the Lotus Sutra, among others. These texts significantly contributed to the development and understanding of Buddhism in China, and Xuanzang himself became a revered figure in Chinese history and Buddhist traditions.

The story of Xuanzang’s journey to the West is not only a fantastical adventure but also an allegory for the spiritual journey of self-discovery, enlightenment, and the triumph of good over evil. It continues to captivate audiences with its rich mythology, moral lessons, and timeless themes.

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Tang Sanzang (Journey to the West)

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Tang Sanzang (in Chinese: 唐三藏), also known as Xuanzang (in Chinese: 玄奘) and Tripitaka (in Chinese: 三藏經), is one of the main protagonists in the 16th-century Chinese classic novel Journey to the West by the late Wu Cheng'en, and its multiple adaptations. He is a Buddhist monk who had renounced his family to join the Sangha from childhood. His name reflects his status as a oath brother of Emperor Taizong. And is a reincarnation of Golden Cicada, which was the Buddha’s second ever disciple. He is one of the most popular Journey to the West heroes, alongside Sun Wukong , Zhu Bajie , and Sha Wujing .

In the classic CCTV TV adaption, he is portrayed by Chi Zhongrui, and the 2011 remake, he is portrayed by Nie Yuan, who also played Zhao Yun in 2010's Three Kingdoms .

Biography [ ]

Tang Sanzang is composed after the historical Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, whose life is inspired by the book; the true Xuanzang made a dangerous journey by walking from China to India (and back) to get the silk Buddhism.

In contrast to historical Xuanzang, a clever and learned scholar (he was in his late 20's when he left India), the fictional Tang Sanzang was presented as a young monk who was very naive, showing idealistic compassion without wisdom. Tang Sanzang is usually quick to fall for the facades of demons who disguised themselves as innocent people, while Sun Wukong can see through them with his Huo Yan Jin Jing (in Chinese:火眼金睛). This often led to tension when Sun Wukong attacks and kills seem to be innocent when the demon actually only abandoned the corpse and fled. A popular example is when White Bone Demon is confined to three times as family members - first, a girl who was carrying a basket of steamed buns.

After Wukong "killed" the girl, Baigujing escaped, but Wukong is also punished by Tang Sanzang for it. The second is the older mother of the girl, looking for her daughter. The third is the older father of the maiden, looking for his wife and son. In the "death" of Wukong's father's hands, Wukong is eventually killed the demon before he left. Tang Sanzang, convinced that Wukong actually killed three innocent people, that was sent him away back to Mount Huaguo, despite the protests.

Tang Sanzang usually afflicts him by singing the words of a headache illness provided by Sanzang's bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin) to control the Wukong, causing the headband to late in the contract and give he has a severe headache. As Sun Wukong is often worshiped as a god protector, so is Tang Sanzang. Ksitigarbha, a highly revered bodhisattva in East Asian Buddhism, is occasionally mistaken for Tang Sanzang because the former is often described as Tang Sanzang - with a coincidental costume, wearing a crown of Buddhism, and with a khakkhara.

• He was based on the historical Buddhist monk Xuanzang.

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Xuanzang’s journey to the west — and back to chang’an.

The Buddhist monk Xuanzang covered 10,000 miles on foot and horseback, from China to India, and passed through parts of what are today Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal. When he returned home, he received a hero's welcome.

This Week in China’s History : February 645

On the seventh day of the first lunar month — mid-February of 645 on the Western calendar — a traveler entered the city gates of the Tang capital, Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an). He had departed 16 years earlier in secrecy, quietly defying an imperial order not to go, but his return was quite the opposite: an elaborate reception so great that crowds thronging the city streets delayed his entry by a day. When he did arrive, the spectacle stood out even by the standards of the prosperous Tang. As translated by Li Rongxi 李榮熙, “All the monasteries send monks and nuns in their ceremonial robes for the occasion. The people vie with one another in preparing their best banners, tapestries, umbrellas, precious tables, and carriages…with the sound of pearls and jade hanging from their belts tinkling in the air, amidst folden flowers scattered on the road. Scholars and local officials line the ceremonial path.”

The spectacular welcome was a fitting conclusion for what is one of the most remarkable journeys undertaken in any era. Xuanzang, a Buddhist monk, covered some 10,000 miles on foot and horseback, from China to India, and passed through parts of what are today Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal.

Along with his memories and stories of more than a decade on the road, Xuanzang brought with him a treasury of art and literature, as well as holy relics. Chief among these were relics of the Buddha himself: more than 100 pellets of the Buddha’s flesh, as well as bones. Seven statues of the Buddha were included too, made of sandalwood, silver, and gold, up to four feet tall.

The centerpiece of his belongings, though, was nearly 700 books and manuscripts. Mostly Buddhist texts written in Sanskrit, they were the lure that had brought Xuanzang out of China to India, seeking the roots of the religious tradition that had been growing in China for many centuries, and to which Xuanzang had devoted himself since boyhood.

There are many accounts of Xuanzang’s life, but the most popularly accessible one is Sally Hovey Wriggins’s Xuanzang’s Silk Road Journey . Wriggins describes how Xuanzang was born in Henan late in the Sui dynasty and began a life as a monk in his brother’s monastery in Luoyang. Eventually, he found his way to the new capital, Chang’an, amid the tumult of a new dynasty.

In his studies, Xuanzang acquired both a knowledge of the Indian languages of early Buddhism and also a skepticism of many of the translations that had rendered these texts into Chinese. Not yet 30 years old, he resolved to find the writings at their source, in India, and embarked on a journey along the Silk Roads in defiance of imperial order not to leave the empire.

Xuanzang’s journey is remarkable, but it is also difficult to separate truth from embellishment from fantasy. On the verge of death in the Gobi Desert, a spirit (or his horse?) guides him to a hidden spring. A miraculous storm stays the hand of pirates about to murder him. A mysterious monk frees him from the clutches of robbers who have ambushed Xuanzang’s traveling party. But literary license aside, Xuanzang’s journey was astonishing. He traversed the deserts of central Asia and the peaks and valleys of the Himalayas. His mission was religious, but it was also cultural and diplomatic.

Xuanzang was not the first Chinese monk to reach India — historian Tansen Sen has a great introduction to three of the important early ones — but his experience was more extensive than any who had come before. He met with kings and princes in dozens of places, demonstrated his devotion in the most sacred sites of Buddhism, and worked with the most profound scholars of his day. Recording his experiences and observations in a book, 西游记 (xīyóujì — more about that title shortly), commonly translated as Record of the Western Regions , Xuanzang’s work is not only of value in religion, but also to students of diplomacy, geography, art history, archeology, and other disciplines.

One unique aspect of Xuanzang’s writing is that he goes to India as a Buddhist monk seeking the wisdom of the Buddhist heartland. In this context, China is often perceived as a backwater, and Xuanzang gives the reader insights into cross-cultural perspectives. Historian Tansen Sen has noted that Xuanzang’s account “not only offers the views on India and the Indian society of the Chinese pilgrim, it also provides rare glimpses into the Indian perception and knowledge of China, seldom available in contemporary Indian sources.” Xuanzang was himself responsible for establishing diplomatic relations between several Indian kingdoms and the Tang court, and became known, in a dozen years in the subcontinent, as “one of the greatest metaphysicians of medieval Buddhism,” according to Wriggins.

Xuanzang’s last stop in India was at the court of King Harsha, the ruler of much of northern India. At Harsha’s invitation, Xuanzang took part in a debate tournament, representing Mahayana Buddhism against advocates of other religions. The debate devolved into violence. According to Xuanzang’s account, this was because the other debaters were so enraged by the irrefutability of Xuanzang’s arguments, but whatever the case, the tournament ended with death threats and prison sentences. And Xuanzang decided it was time to return to China.

In the spring of 643, Xuanzang set out home with an escort provided by King Harsha. With a caravan of some 20 followers, horses, donkeys, and an elephant, Xuanzang crossed mountain passes more than 13,000 feet in altitude before descending and making his way toward the Silk Road cities of Kashgar, Khotan, and Loulan. His treasure was diminished by the loss of his elephant — it toppled down a gorge and drowned in the river below, chased by bandits — and many of his horses, without which he was unable to carry all the books and manuscripts he had acquired. Still, he approached the borders of the Tang empire eager to share what he had learned, but one obstacle remained: he had left China against imperial orders. Would he be welcome to return?

In Khotan, Xuanzang sent a letter ahead to the capital, explaining his travels to the emperor and asking permission to return. Half a year later, the emperor’s reply invited him back to Chang’an, where he was greeted with the spectacle reception described at the start of the column. In the cosmopolitan environment of the Tang capital, the outward-looking spirit of curiosity that Xuanzang represented was welcomed. Not only did Xuanzang meet several times with the emperor, but a small army of translators and scribes helped him translate what he had brought back and record what he had observed.

Xuanzang’s legacies are many. Perhaps the most familiar is his transformation into a fictional character in the novel that shares the Chinese title of Xuanzang’s own memoir, but usually rendered in English as Journey to the West . This Xiyouji , first published in the 16th century, has been called the most popular work of fiction in East Asia, and has given rise to dozens of adaptations, including both live-action and animated film and television. Xuanzang — renamed Tripitaka, or Sānzàng 三藏 — is the inspiration for Wu Cheng’en’s novel Journey to the West , but not the protagonist: that role goes to the Monkey King, who has become one of the most beloved and recognizable characters in fiction.

Anyone visiting Xi’an today will recognize one of Xuanzang’s other legacies: the Great Wild Goose Pagoda that rises more than 200 feet into the sky. The pagoda was originally built to house the scriptures Xuanzang brought back with him, and then nearly doubled in height 40 years later when the female Emperor Wǔ Zétiān 武则天 renovated it. A Ming dynasty earthquake collapsed the top five stories, however, leaving it at about its original height.

We often think about “globalization” as a modern phenomenon, and certainly the scale and speed of exchange and communication today are unlike anything that came before. Likewise, Central Asia is often thought of as a backwater, far from centers of education and commerce. The story of Xuanzang’s journey puts the lie to both: a reminder that for millennia, central Asia has been the center of rich cultural and commercial exchange, and movement among its great cultures has long been one of its defining features.

This Week in China’s History  is a weekly column.

James Carter is Professor of History and part of the Nealis Program in Asian Studies at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He is the author of three books on China’s modern history, most recently Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai . Read more

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A Collection of Stories from Penn's Organizational Dynamics Program

The Heroes’ Journey of Journey to the West – Jing Peng

While I was reading Huntchen’s 9 phases of the Hero’s Journey, it reminds me of my favorite Chinese work of literature Journey to the West. It is an epic tale of the journey of the monk Xuanzang and is one of the most influential works in Chinese literary history. Xuanzang, the incarnation of the Buddha, is sent by the Tang emperor to India to obtain direct copies of the original Buddhist sutras. On his journey he’s helped by four disciples: Sun Wukong, known as the Monkey King, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing or Sand. Xuanzang’s final companion is Yulong, a son of the Dragon King of the West Sea. Out of the four protagonists, the Monkey King is the main protagonist, he is powerful, stubborn, mischievous and yet kind-hearted. The Monkey King is immortal, capable of wreaking havoc in heaven, and fighting off its most powerful generals without breaking a sweat. I’m going to break down this novel by using Huntchen’s structures.

I. Call of the adventure Growing up in a temple as an orphan, Xuanzang was chosen to complete the task to fetch the scriptures. Thus Xuanzang starts on his pilgrimage to the Western Heavens.

II. Refusing of the adventure Both Monkey King and Zhu Bajie rejected the task appointed to them by the Goddess Guanyin, they had living a comfortable life and had their own territories. There was no reason for them to upend what they had to undertake such a perilous mission.

III. Meeting the mentor After Monkey King rejected the task to accompany Xuanzang, the monk started the journey alone. The Goddess Guanyin plotted to have Monkey King cross paths with Xuanzang while he was on his way. Xuanzang was given a magical hair clasp by Guanyin, if he could trick Monkey King to wear it, than Monkey had to become his disciple and go to the West with him. After a short encounter, Monkey King was fooled into wearing the hair clasp and became submissive to Xuanzang and agreed to the journey with Xuanzang.

IV. The Approach Xuanzang was aware that this pilgrimage wouldn’t be easy, that’s why he was appointed four disciples to protect him along the way. They encountered a multitude of demons and temptations along the way, but despite these adversities, they were determined to get the holy sutras and continued.

V. The Ordeal In this novel, there were 81 hurdles designed by the author, these acted as a test for Xuanzang and his disciples. The hurdles were a combination of physical, mental and emotional trials which consisted of temptations, their great nemesis and even their deepest vulnerabilities. The demon’s motivation was to eat Xuanzang because by doing so can gain immortality. Zhu Bajie’s biggest vulnerability is that he can’t resist beautiful women, the demons always try to take advantage of that and set up traps.

VI. The Reward After they had been formed as a team for a while, the five of them finally developed rapport and trust with each other. They developed the ability to tell which demons were evil and which needed help instead. They became confident in each other’s skills and abilities and they knew that they would reach their destination within a short time.

VII. The Road Back When they thought that there weren’t any more difficulties in front of them, the demon’s had one final trick up their sleeves. There was a seasoned and wily demon who tricked the monk, the demon transformed into an old woman and asked Xuanzang for help. Xuanzong thought she was really a human and wanted to help her. However, Monkey King recognized the old woman was a demon immediately and killed her in front of the monk. Xuanzong was furious and cast a spell on the Monkey King. Both physically and mentally hurt, Monkey King left them and returned home. The journey was in danger of falling apart without the Monkey King.

VIII. Resurrection This group finally arrived in India after 81 hurdles and ordeals, when they asked for the sutras, they were asked to give something in return, they refused this trade. As a result, the scriptures they were handed were wordless. So they had to turn to the Buddha from Heaven for help. Monkey King returned to the fellowship and Buddha agreed to let them pass the test and told them the right thing to do in order to get the scriptures.

XI. Return with the Elixir Once they had achieved their objective, the group was able to return home and took the sutras back to the Tang Emperor with honor. This story telling structure is indeed remarkable. Journey to the West is one of the most beloved stories in China and has a huge impact in Asia and the world. Every year in China and Japan, there will be hundreds of movies, video games and apps derived from this mythic tale. Despite its age, the story and the structure has a timeless appeal to the mass audiences.

Tang Taizong

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Tang Taizong (唐太宗) was emperor of the Tang dynasty during Xuanzang 's pilgrimage to the west.

Xuanzang was also bestowed the name Tang Sanzang , symbolizing the camaraderie between emperor Taizong and Xuanzang.

Li Shimin (李世民) descends from Chen Baxian (陈霸先) from the paternal side. Chen Baxian had a concubine surnamed Li, and they had a son. Chen Baxian decided to give this son the surname Li. Later, Mao Zedong and Hu Yaobang were inspired by Chen Baxian's actions and gave their daughters the surname Li. Indeed, many people surnamed Li inherit it from their mothers' side. This was especially so when the Mongol and Man people swept through north China.

Anyways, Chen Baxian's son Li migrated north and was captured by Xianbei tribes. After several generations, Chen Baxian's great-great grandsons would father Li Shimin.

Journey to the West Research

A repository for research on the great 16th-century chinese classic, tag xuanzang, archive #45 – tripitaka seeks the scriptures: a rare journey to the west puppet play from quanzhou, fujian.

The Journey to the West Research blog is proud to host a joint post by the very knowledgeable @ryin-silverfish of Tumblr and myself. They managed to track down a digital copy of the script for Tripitaka Seeks the Scriptures ( Sanzang Qujing , 三藏取经), an extremely rare Journey to the West ( Xiyouji , 西遊記 ; “JTTW” hereafter) puppet play from Quanzhou , Fujian province, China (fig. 1). This prompt book was first transcribed during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), but internal characteristics date it to sometime after the late-13th-century JTTW and before or concurrent with the early-Ming JTTW zaju play .  Needless to say, this is a super important addition to JTTW studies as it likely serves as a “missing link” between the northern and southern traditions of the story cycle (Hu, 2017a; 2017b). The strange thing is that I’ve never read anything about the play in any English sources on JTTW. This fact demonstrates just how rare and precious the play is.

The work contains familiar episodes, like Monkey’s havoc and punishment, Tripitaka ‘s tumultuous childhood and vow to retrieve scriptures from India; Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie becoming his disciples, etc. (This and other parallels presented below perhaps point to the play’s influence on the later 1592 edition of the novel. Or, at the very least, this points to them drawing upon the same source.) But the play also has some very interesting differences: Tripitaka is adopted by Tang Emperor Taizong , thus becoming a prince; Monkey is imprisoned in a crystal well for his past misdeeds; Sha Wujing is the one transformed into a white horse; and Erlang becomes the Tang Monk’s disciple after being punished for flirting with a heavenly maiden. Read on for a full Chinese script and English synopsis below.

Fig. 1 – An example of modern Quanzhou string puppetry depicting a battle between Sun Wukong and Princess Iron Fan ( larger version ). Image found here .

I. The Chinese Script

@ryin-silverfish: The source of this text is quite obscure, only featured in a 1999 Chinese collection of puppet theater plays published by the Quanzhou Regional Opera Research Society.

Name of the book: 泉州地方戲曲研究社編，《泉州傳統戲曲叢書》第十卷《傀儡戲•目連全簿》（北京：中國戲劇出版社，1999)。

Unsurprisingly, I have no way of getting my hands on an actual copy of the book, so the Chinese text here came from a Tieba user who did, and then someone helpfully uploaded it onto Baidu Cloud Drive.

Just something to keep in mind.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10XhOpvLFrdcSaqyrhY_4MmiXylSGNhWutcgv6Ngen3M/edit

Jim: Here is a backup just in case.

Click to access Quanzhou-Puppet-Theatre-JTTW.pdf

II. English Summary

@ryin-silverfish: Disclaimer – This is a very rough chapter-by-chapter summary of the play, which was first transcribed in the Qing dynasty and appeared to be written in the local dialect. As I do not speak Hokkien , nuances are likely lost and errors made.

Jim: I have added italicized explanatory notes to @ryin-silverfish’s summary below. I formatted the section as such so that readers will have more context at hand. This way, you won’t have to constantly scroll down to the footnotes. Also, I have added links, as well as more hanzi and pinyin. I don’t ( yet ) know Hokkien either, so I apologize for not adding the corresponding romanization.

Chapter 1: Meeting the Buddha ( Jian Fozu , 见佛祖)

Tripitaka ( Sanzang , 三藏; a.k.a. Xuanzang , 玄奘) sings his backstory, which is pretty much the same as the JTTW novel version , minus the revenge part, and with a few more details: he was found by Li Gong (李公) and raised under the name “River Float” ( Jiang Liu’er , 江流儿) in the Golden Mountain Temple ( Jinshan Si , 金山寺). [A] As an adult, he later traveled to become a monk at the Immortal Peach Temple ( Pantao Si , 蟠桃寺). Tang Emperor Taizong came there one day to sponsor a mass and present incense, and being impressed by the monk’s arhat -like aura, made him his adopted son, “Prince Tripitaka” ( Sanzang Taizi , 三藏太子). [B]

The royal monk is praying to the “Buddha of the Southern Seas” ( Nanhai Fozu , 南海佛祖, a.k.a. Guanyin ), when the goddess arrives to ask what is bothering him. He worries that the monks who travel outside the temple might be tempted by worldly things, so he vows that day to retrieve scriptures from India in order to save them from negative karmic fate . [C] In response, Guanyin first tells him that the journey will be perilous, with untold dangers along the way. Then, she tells Tripitaka of the “ Great Sage Equaling Heaven ” ( Qitian Dasheng , 齐天大圣), who had been imprisoned in a well for stealing the Jade Emperor ’s wine in the past. Next, she recommends recruiting the Great Sage to protect the monk on the trip, and to that end gives him a “Precious Sash of Infinity” ( Wujin Baodi , 无尽宝绦) and a golden headband , two heavenly treasures needed to respectively free and submit the spirit. Finally, Guanyin gives him a ringed staff , an alms bowl, and straw slippers before sending him on his way.

A) Tripitaka is found as a baby by the monk Faming (Faming Heshang, 法明和尚 ), the holy abbot of the Golden Mountain Temple, in JTTW chapter nine. He gives the baby the same name, “River Float” (Jiang Liu/er, 江流/儿 ) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 222).

B) The monk becomes Tang Emperor Taizong’s bond brother (xiongdi, 兄弟 ) in JTTW chapter 12 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 290). The monarch even refers to him as his “Royal Brother” (yudi, 御弟 ) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 291, for example).

C) The Tang Monk’s reason for the trip is different in the novel: he is chosen to procure scriptures of the “Great Vehicle” (Dacheng, 大乘 ; i.e. Mahayana texts) in order to perform a “Grand Mass of Land and Water (Shuilu Dahui, 水陆大会 ), which will free untold numbers of abandoned souls from the underworld (Wu & Y, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 275 and 286-290). This is more in line with Tang Taizong’s mass in the play.

Chapter 2: Monkey in a Well ( Zuojing Hou , 坐井猴)

Sun Wukong sings his backstory inside the well: he was as old as heaven and earth and had eleven brothers, a.k.a. the “Eleven Luminaries” ( Shiyi Yao Xingjun , 十一曜星君). [D-F] Turning into a mosquito and flying into the celestial realm, he ate twelve peaches of immortality and three, multi-ton alms bowls full of Laozi ’s golden elixir pills and drank 3,000 jars of heavenly wine. [G]

In a drunken haze, Monkey drank so much water from the Eastern Sea that the Dragon King ’s palace was exposed, causing the monarch, together with every other deity he had pissed off, to complain to the Jade Emperor.

After he was captured by the combined forces of Erlang , Nezha , Devaraja Li Jing , the Curtain-Raising General Deng Hua ( Juanlian Denghua , 卷帘邓化), and celestial soldiers, the plot, again, proceeds the same as in the JTTW novel. This includes his failed execution, sentence to the eight trigrams furnace , wager with the Buddha, and his defeat under “Five-Fingers Mountain” ( Wuzhi Shan , 五指山; a.k.a. “ Five Elements Mountain “). The only thing different is his place of imprisonment: the power-nullifying, 10,000 zhang deep “Dazzling Crystal Well” under the Wild Horse Bridge of Youzhou ( Youzhou Yema Qiao xia wanzhang Huashan Liuli Jing , 幽州野马桥下万丈花闪琉璃井). [H-J]

Monkey is told that only when “flowers bloom on iron trees” ( tieshu kaihua , 铁树开花) will he be released. Shortly thereafter, Guanyin shows up in his dreams and mentions Tripitaka, and the chapter ends with him crying out the monk’s name, hoping he might be heard.

D) Monkey formally introduces himself as Sun Wukong (xing Sun ming Wukong, 姓孙名悟空 ). But this name only appears twice in the entire play. He is primarily called “Equaling Heaven” (Qitian, 齐天 ). It appears a total of 286 times, including only two uses of “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian Dasheng, 齐天大圣 ) (ch. 2 & 4). He is twice referred to in chapter four as the “Monkey Whose Greatness Equals Heaven” (Yuansun Qitian, 猿孙大齐天 ) (refer to the PDF ). The present summary primarily uses Sun Wukong and Monkey out of tradition. 

E) Monkey’s stated age, “the same as Heaven and Earth” (yu tiandi tonggeng, 与天地同庚 ) (refer to the PDF ), is different from the novel. Calculations based on internal story details suggest that he was born around the year 500 BCE during the late- Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046-256 BCE). 

F) The “Eleven Luminaries” (Shiyi Yao Xingjun, 十一曜星君 ) are a combination of nine sinicized Hindu astrological deities and two East Asian astrological deities. They include the Sun (Taiyang xing, 太陽星 ), Moon (Taiyin xing, 太阴星 ), Mars (Huoxing, 火星 ), Mercury (Shuixing, 水星 ), Jupiter (Muxing, 木星 ), Venus (Jinxing, 金星 ), Saturn (Tuxing, 土星 ), Rahu (Luohou, 罗睺 ), Ketu (Jidu, 奇都 ), and two shadowy planets called Yuebei xing ( 月孛星 ) and Ziqi ( 紫气 ). See figure one here for a circa 13th-century image of these gods. I don’t know if these are supposed to be his biological siblings or just bond brothers. But Wukong does take the “Nine Luminaries” (Jiu Yaoxing, 九曜星 ), the aforementioned sinified stellar gods, as his bond brothers in JTTW chapter five (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 160). He later fights and singlehandedly defeats them all during his rebellion (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 171).

Monkey does have biological brothers and sisters in two Yuan – Ming stage plays (see the 12-20-23 update here ). O ne is a sister called the “Iron-Colored Macaque” (Tiese Mihou, 铁色狝猴 ) (refer to this PDF ). In the puppet play, Laozi refers to Monkey as an “iron bone-colored macaque” (Tiegu Se Mihou, 铁骨色猕猴 ) because his body is immune to harm. I’m not sure where these terms come from. They might be connected to the tiese ( 铁色 ), a kind of fruit-bearing tree in Asia. Perhaps macaques were associated with eating its fruit. Also, I should note that Monkey is called the “Great Sage Steel Muscles and Iron Bones” (Gangjin Tiegu Dasheng, 钢筋铁骨大圣 ) at the end of the late-13th-century JTTW .

G) Monkey is punished in JTTW chapter five for a host of crimes, including eating countless immortal peaches, ruining a celestial banquet, drinking copious amounts of heavenly wine, and eating all of Laozi’s elixir pills (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 162 and 165-166).

H) One zhang ( 丈 ) comprises ten chi ( 尺 , a.k.a. “Chinese feet”), and one chi is roughly 31.8 cm (12.3 in). This makes one zhang 3.18 m (10.43 ft) (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi). Ten-thousand zhang (wanzhang, 万丈 ) would therefore be 31,800 m (104,300 ft). That’s one deep well!

The Water Margin (Shuihu Zhuan, 水浒传 , c. 1400), another famous Chinese vernacular novel, also contains a 10,000 zhang deep pit (wanzhang shenqian dixue, 万丈深浅地穴) used to imprison 108 stellar spirits (Shi & Luo, 1975/2021a, vol. 1, p. 15). Shapiro translates this as “a pit 100,000 feet deep” (Shi & Luo, 1993/2021b, vol. 1, p.15). But the use of 10,000 zhang is likely referring to an infinitely deep, inescapable abyss.

This idea can be traced to a Song -era Daoist ritual in which an exorcist draws the character for “well” (jing, 井/丼 ) on the ground. This divides the ritual space into nine sections, representing the Nine Palaces (Jiugong, 九宮 ) (stellar groupings comprising the cosmos), thereby creating an earth prison to incarcerate evil spirits. The Compilation of Rituals of the Way (Daofa huiyuan, 道法会元 ) reads:

[U]se the Sword mudrā to draw the character for “well” on the ground. Transform it into a black prison, ten-thousand zhang deep, and ten thousand li wide. Black vapors burst out of it. Inside the prison, visualize how cangues and locks, as well as tools and machinery are laid out. Then recite the Spell for Fast Arrest . 右用劍訣，就地劃一井字。化為黑獄，深萬丈，闊萬里。黑炁衝騰。存獄中枷鎖、噐械備列；就念「促捉咒」(Meulenbeld, 2007, p. 142).

Therefore, Monkey’s imprisonment was likely influenced by this Daoist rite.

I) It’s important to note that liuli ( 琉璃 ), the material comprising his prison, has a connection to Buddhism. For example, it is mentioned in Indian Buddhist sources under it’s Pali/Sanskrit equivalent, vaiḍūrya ( वैडूर्य ), as one of the seven precious substances , along with gold, silver, pearls, etc. Modern translators of said sources associate vaiḍūrya with shiny, translucent beryl and cat’s eye gemstones. But the Chinese originally associated vaiḍūrya/liuli with opaque, dark blue, and sometimes golden-speckled lapis lazuli (Winder, 1990). This is why t he Chinese name of the Medicine Buddha , Yaoshi Liuli Guangwang Rulai ( 藥師琉璃光如來) , is translated as the “Medicine Master [of] Lapis Lazuli Light Tathāgata ” ( for example ).

This would suggest that Wukong’s prison is not crystal but lapis lazuli, perhaps with golden speckles, which would explain the “dazzle” (huashan, 花闪 ) part of the well’s name. And since he is held fast there by the Buddha’s seal (see chapter 4 below), the medium of his jail is likely influenced by Buddhism. This would make his prison a joint Buddho-Daoist punishment.

J) Youzhou ( 幽州 ) was an ancient prefecture in what is now Heibei province, China.

Chapter 3: Farewell Banquet ( Paishu , 派数)

Zhangsun Wuji , historically Taizong’s minister, is preparing a farewell banquet for Prince Tripitaka. It’s mostly a list of dishes; not much to see here.

Chapter 4: Monkey Joins ( Shou Hou , 收猴)

Tripitaka attends Zhangsun Wuji’s farewell banquet, and then begins his journey to the west. The Buddha Maitreya sees him about to reach a wide river, uncrossable by boats, and sends Shancai to assist him by covering the river in lotus flowers.

Tripitaka steps over the lotuses and crosses the “Nine-Rank, No Boats River” ( Jiupin Wuchuan Jiang , 九品无船江). Keep on keeping on, he hears someone calling out his name, but doesn’t see the caller. The local god of the soil shows up to inform him that it is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, yelling from inside his well.

The monk removes the Buddha ’s seal on the well cover by reciting the “ Three-Jewels Mantra” ( Sanbao zhenyan , 三宝真言), and then he uses the Precious Sash to lift Sun Wukong out of the well, thereby breaking the iron locks holding him down.

Tripitaka asks Monkey to escort him to the Western Heaven , but the spirit only wants to go back to Flower-Fruit Mountain . Sun Wukong agrees to have his head shaved just so he can bail out after a few li . [K] Unfortunately for him, he also agrees to wear the golden headband, and right after he speeds away, Tripitaka recites the tightening sutra and forces him to return.

Monkey finally relents and agrees to protect Tripitaka on the journey to India. He takes this as an opportunity to bring out the “luggage” from his ear: the 30,000 catty “ As-You-Wish Staff” ( Qianjun Ruyi Bang , 千钧如意棒; a.k.a. the “Golden-Hooped As-You-Wish Staff,” Jingu Ruyi Bang , 金箍如意棒), forged by the sage-king Yu the Great . [L & M]

K) Wukong also sports a shaven head in the novel. For instance, in JTTW chapter 27, he states:

But ever since Nirvana delivered me from my sins, when with my hair shorn I took the vow of complete poverty and followed you as your disciple, I had this gold fillet clamped on my head… (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 24). 自从涅槃罪度，削发秉正沙门，跟你做了徒弟，把这个金箍儿勒在我头上 …

L) The staff’s weight is based on a thousand multiples of 30 catties (jun, 钧 ). One catty (jin, 斤 ) is 590 grams (Elvin, 2004, p. 491 n. 133). Therefore, 30,000 catties would be roughly 17,700 kg or 39,021.82 lbs. But 30,000 is likely used here to refer to an unimaginably large number (i.e. Wukong’s staff is REALLY heavy). 

The novel staff weighs 13,500 catties (cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 135). This equals 7,965 kg or 17,559.81 lbs.

M) The literary weapon also has a slightly different name: the “As-You-Wish Gold-Banded staff” (Ruyi Jingu Bang, 如意金箍棒 ). (Notice how ruyi ( 如意) and jingu ( 金箍 ) are switched around from the play’s staff name.) In addition, it is said to have been used by Yu the Great in the past to conquer the world flood (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 135). But the staff’s creation is attributed to both Laozi (ch. 75) and Yu (ch. 88) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 375; vol. 4, 201).

Chapter 5: The Horse Joins ( Shou Ma , 收马)

The “Deep Sand God” of Black Sand Cave ( Heisha Dong Shensha Shen , 黑沙洞深沙神, i.e. Sha Wujing ) sits in his abode, [N] looking to grab some travelers to eat, and soon, he comes across Tripitaka and Sun Wukong. He seizes the monk first, then tries to grab the monkey but seemingly fails.

Sun Wukong, using his magic “Fiery Eyes and Golden Irises” ( Huoyan Jinjing , 火眼金睛), figures out it was the Deep Sand God, and then goes into his cave for a rescue mission. They banter and proceed to fight. Knowing that the old monkey spirit is vulnerable to 1) flames and 2) water, [O] the Deep Sand God sets a fire inside his cave, forcing Sun Wukong to flee to the South Sea for help.

Guanyin decides to come along and asks Sun Wukong to bring her alms bowl, too. When they confront the Deep Sand God again, Guanyin presents a wager to him: if he can lift her alms bowl ( boyu, 钵盂), both she and Tripitaka will be his food.

The monster tries but is unable to lift it. [P] Sun Wukong then lifts the bowl, tosses it onto his head, and attempts to slay the Deep Sand God. But Guanyin spares him on the condition that he will turn into a white horse and become Tripitaka’s steed. [Q]

N) The “Deep Sand God” (Shensha Shen, 深沙神 ) appears as a desert demon in (the incomplete) chapter eight of the late-13th-century JTTW . He claims to have eaten Tripitaka’s two previous incarnations on their journey to India. The monster only helps the pilgrims 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 500-year-long curse, and Monkey promises to speak highly of him when they meet the Buddha (Wivell, 1994, pp. 1190-1191).

O) Monkey is shown to be weak to “True Samadhi Fire” ( Sanmei zhenhuo , 三昧真火 ) , an intense flame born from spiritual cultivation, in JTTW chapter 41 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 230-23). And he is shown throughout the novel to be a less proficient fighter in water (ch. 21, for example) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 423-424).

P) This is reminiscent of JTTW chapter 42, when Guanyin challenges Wukong to pick up her porcelain vase, which contains an ocean full of water. He is unsuccessful (see the 07-03-22 update here ). The Deep Sand God’s inability to raise the alms bowl is likely related to monk Faxian ‘s story about the immovable quality of Buddha’s almsbowl (Faxian & Legge, 1886/1965, pp. 34-35).

Q) In the novel, the white horse is a transformed dragon prince . He is forced to become Tripitaka’s steed after eating the original horse in chapter 15 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 328).

Chapter 6: Erlang Joins ( Shou Erlang , 收二郎)

Erlang sings his backstory. The previous year, he harassed a Jade Maiden messenger ( Chuanyan Yunu , 传言玉女) on a bridge in Tianjin ( Tianjin Qiaotou , 天津桥头), provoking the Jade Emperor’s wrath and causing him to cut off sacrifices and worship to Erlang. After the intervention of Guanyin, he was sent to Mt. Guankou (灌口山) (in Sichuan ) as a guardian deity, but often preyed on passing mortals and ate their flesh. [R]

The POV switches to Tripitaka and Wukong; the latter sees a black cloud blocking his way, and suspecting it to be a demon, he asks his master to hide while he checks. Erlang reveals his identity and suggests that he will catch the monk and share his flesh with “Elder Brother Qi” ( Qige , 齐哥) (i.e. Monkey).

Wukong promptly chews him out and reveals that Tripitaka is the reincarnation of the Golden Chan Arhat ( Jinchan Luohan , 金禅罗汉), [S] who attended a lantern festival without notifying his fellow monks and was punished by the Buddha to experience 36 perils ( sanshiliu jie , 三十六劫) on his journey to the west. [T]

After getting a monk makeover, Erlang becomes Tripitaka’s disciple.

R) This is reminiscent of Zhu Bajie’s backstory from JTTW chapter 18. After being stripped of his divine post and exiled to earth for forcing himself on a moon maiden, Pigsy becomes a meat-eating spirit (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 212).

S) Tripitaka’s past divine title, the “Golden Chan Arhat” (Jinchan Luohan ,金禅罗汉 ), is similar to that from JTTW, “ Master Golden Cicada ” (Jinchan Zi, 金蝉子 ) . Chan (as in Chan Buddhism ) and chan ( 蝉, “cicada” ) look and sound similar.

T) Master Golden Cicada is exiled from heaven for sleeping during the Buddha’s lecture. The fullest explanation for this appears in chapter 81 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 82). Another part of his punishment is experiencing 81 perils, which happen throughout the novel. Eighty of these are listed, with the final one happening shortly thereafter, in chapter 99 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 358-363).

Chapter 7: Pigsy Joins ( Shou Zhu , 收猪)

Zhu Bajie (猪八戒), the pig demon of Mt. Song (嵩山; later called “Pig Excrement Mountain,” Zhushi Shan , 猪屎山), is hungry for human flesh, and so he decides to whip up some smoke and seize some unaware travelers under its cover. Just like the two villains before him, he picks the pilgrims as his target.

Wukong fights him, subdues him, and he joins the party.

Chapter 8: Spiderly Woe ( Zhizhu Men , 蜘蛛闷)

Lady Earth-Raised ( Diyang Furen , 地养夫人), the spider demoness of Mt. Hua ( Hua Shan , 华山), has a problem. She might be the youngest sister of the “Three Saints of Mt. Song” ( Song Shan Sansheng Langjun , 嵩山三圣郎君), [U] living on her silk webs, but she is still single and unmarried. As such, she commands her imps to patrol the mountains daily, so as to kidnap a fine man as her future husband.

The imps soon spot a group of people under the mountain: a monkey, a horse, a pig, and a monk (Erlang isn’t mentioned for some reason). She asks one of her imp minions, the “Big-headed Demon” ( Datou Gui , 大头鬼), which one seems like a good choice, and after comically dismissing the first three, she settles on the monk.

The Big-headed Demon eagerly grabs a sack and chopper and, when she asks why, he tells her he is going to cut the monk in half and bring the body to her. But since a dead person does not a good husband make, she decides to kidnap the monk herself.

U) Lady Earth-Raised is similar to the seven Spider Spirits (Zhizhu Jing, 蜘蛛精 ) from JTTW chapters 72 to 73, and her lofty brothers, the Three Saints, are reminiscent of the Demon Lord of a Hundred Eyes (Baiyan Mojun, 百眼魔君 ), the spider spirits’ senior from chapter 73.

Her name and at least one of her deceptions is also very similar to a demoness in JTTW chapter 80 (see below).

Chapter 9: Subduing the Spider ( Shou Zhizhu , 收蜘蛛)

The demoness disguises herself as a young woman with her lower half buried in the earth (the same trick Lady Earth Flow uses in JTTW chapter 80 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 67) and calls out for help. Tripitaka orders Wukong to investigate, but he refuses because he doesn’t want trouble. However, the monk forces him into it via the headband tightening spell.

She says she was buried there by her husband for doing something wrong, and then asks the monk for help. When Tripitaka tries to pry her free with a monk’s knife ( jiedao , 戒刀), she grabs him and returns to her cave.

Sun Wukong spots some spider silk with his fiery eyes and plans to turn into a jiaoming fly ( jiaoming chong , 蟭螟虫) [V] and follow it back to her cave. However, the horse says she probably raises hens inside, and a fly would quickly be eaten, so he should transform into a Scops owl ( Lao Chi , 老鸱), a bird of prey. That way Wukong can deal with the chickens when he sneaks inside.

He soon finds the spider demoness and orders her to let his master go or die. She replies that if he dares, her brothers, the “Three Saints of Mt. Wo” ( Wo Shan Sanshen Langjun , 窝山三圣郎君) (again, a mountain’s name does not stay consistent) will deal with him. [W] Wukong beats her to death with the staff anyways and rescues Tripitaka.

V) The jiaoming fly (jiaoming chong, 蟭/焦螟虫 ) is an aquatic insect from Daoist literature said to be so small that it can congregate in the eyebrows of a mosquito (Wang, 2012, p. 28 n. 44).

W) The “Three Saints of Mt. Song/Wo” (Song/Wo Shan Sansheng Langjun, 嵩/窝山三圣郎君 ) are part of a pattern in JTTW in which the pilgrims face a trio of baddies. Examples include the three bogus animal immortals (ch. 46), the three demon kings of Lion-Camel Cave (ch. 74-77), and the three rhino demons (ch. 91-92). The three incarnations of the White Bone Spirit (ch. 27) could also count. This reoccurring number is perhaps meant to mirror Tripitaka’s three disciples.

Chapter 10: Bad News ( Bao Xiongxun , 报凶讯)

Luo Tuo, Luo Du, and Luo Hou (罗托，罗独，罗候)—the Three Saints of Mt. Wo, are having a party in celebration of their eldest brother, Luo Tuo’s birthday. They wonder why their sister has not arrived yet, when suddenly, the Big-Headed Demon enters and delivers the bad news.

Furious, the trio swear revenge and set out to capture Tripitaka and kill Wukong. [X]

X) The Saints’ anger over the murder of their spider sister is also similar to the rage of the Demon Lord of a Hundred Eyes over the killing of his seven spider sisters (ch. 73) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, pp. 340-341). All eight are done in by Monkey.

Chapter 11: Subduing the Three Saints ( Shou Sansheng , 收三圣)

The pilgrims are passing through a mountain, when Luo Tuo swoops down and grabs Tripitaka but fails to capture Wukong. Monkey informs the rest of the gang about the Three Saints. Erlang suggests that since Wukong is the one who started it, he alone should deal with them.

The whole gang goes after the trio anyways but fails to beat them. Wukong tells Erlang and Sandy to keep watch on the Three Saints so that they do not harm Tripitaka, and flies to the South Sea to seek Guanyin’s help.

Guanyin agrees, but the chapter ends here because the rest of the pages are missing from the original manuscript.

Chapter 12: Ascending the Immortal Pavilion ( Dengxian Ge , 登仙阁)

The chapter begins with the head of the pavilion’s local shrine asking an attendant about sacrifices, for the birthday of a certain “Great Immortal” ( Daxian , 大仙) is near. He demands a young boy, as well as food and fruits, as gifts.

The shrine attendant goes to inform the families responsible for supplying each of the sacrifices; this year, it is Old Huang’s ( Huang Gong , 黄公) turn to give up his only grandson. [Y] He begs them to delay the sacrifices until his family can … sire another grandkid!

In response, the shrine attendants tie him up and start beating him, stating that if the Great Immortal does not get his sacrifice, the whole village will suffer. Unable to withstand the beating, Old Huang yields and agrees to their demand.

Y) This plot is similar to the Great King of Numinous Power (Linggan Dawang, 灵感大王 ) episode from JTTW chapters 47 to 48. He demands a yearly sacrifice of children from families that shoulder the horrible burden on a rotating basis. This shares shocking similarities with Hindu literature (see section 2.2 here ).

Chapter 13: Meeting the Grandfather and Grandson ( Yu Gongsun , 遇公孙)

The pilgrims hear the commotions of the sacrificial ceremony, and upon investigating, come across Old Huang, dragging his grandson along and sobbing. After questioning him, Tripitaka decides to go to Ascending Immortal Pavilion himself and talk the Great Immortal out of this whole “human sacrifice” thing.

Chapter 14: Subduing the Great Serpent ( Shou Dashe , 收大蛇)

The sacrificial ceremony begins. But the shrine attendants wonder if the Great Immortal has not yet arrived because the young boy hasn’t been offered up. Tripitaka arrives just in time to call out the Great Immortal for demanding human sacrifices.

Enraged, the Great Immortal orders his imps to snatch Tripitaka, but Wukong smashes his way in and demands the release of his master. The Great Immortal dares Wukong to allow the spirit three free strikes; Wukong agrees.

After three hits and no effect, the Great Immortal tries to bash him over the head with a stone incense burner, which only annoys Wukong. [Z] He whips out his staff and kills the Great Immortal in one strike, revealing his true form—a huge serpent. [AA]

The pilgrims continue their journey. Wukong asks Erlang to get their master some water, while he travels on his cloud to get some food from the Immortal Peach Monastery (蟠桃寺). As the two leave, Tripitaka hears the sound of people chopping firewood and goes to investigate.

Z) Monkey is famous for his invulnerability in JTTW. For instance, in chapter 75, Wukong willingly blocks a sword strike with his adamantine head:

Arousing his spirit, the old demon stood firmly with one foot placed in front of the other. He lifted up his scimitar with both hands and brought it down hard on the head of the Great Sage. Our Great Sage, however, jerked his head upward to meet the blow. All they heard was a loud crack, but the skin on the head did not even redden (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 373). 那老魔抖擻威風，丁字步站定，雙手舉刀，望大聖劈頂就砍。這大聖把頭往上一迎，只聞扢扠一聲響，頭皮兒紅也不紅。

AA) A massive, red-scaled python spirit (honglin damang , 紅鳞大蟒 ) appears in JTTW chapter 67.

Chapter 15: Firewood Crossing (隔柴渡)

Two firewood choppers turn out to be Hanshan and Shide (寒山，拾得), two famous historical monks of Mt. Tiantai , who are also worshiped in folk religion . Tripitaka asks them if there is a temple nearby. They say yes but that it’s on the other side of the river.

There aren’t any boats either, so they use their firewood to create a bridge for Tripitaka. Halfway across, the bridge collapses; he falls into the river, only to be rescued by the local Dragon King, who escorts him to the “Correctness and Broadness Temple” ( Fangguang Si , 方广寺), [AB] where the Buddha is secretly staying.

After the monk greets Buddha, an immortal lad brings Tripitaka a message: Devaraja Li ( Li Tianwang , 李天王) of the Bisha-men Palace ( Pisha Gong , 毗沙宫) is inviting him to a party in celebration of his own birthday, as well as Prince Nezha’s ( Nezha Taizi , 哪吒太子) “return to the world/rebirth” ( zai chushi , 在出世). Tripitaka agrees and heads for the celestial realm on a white crane.

AB) This may be a reference to the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra  ( Dafangguang fo huayan jing , 大方广佛华严经; a.k.a. “Flower Garland Sutra,” Huayan jing , 华严经). The Chinese believed that this was the Buddha’s first teaching shortly after achieving enlightenment (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 84). This might then explain why the Buddha is residing in a random temple along the journey.

Chapter 16: Party in the Celestial Realm ( Tiangong Hui , 天宫会)

Devaraja Li is organizing the party, sending out invitations for the 500 Arhats ( Wubai Luohan , 五百罗汉). The immortal lad reports that all five hundred handkerchiefs ( shoupa , 手帕) were given out, save for one—which turned out to be Tripitaka’s, missing because of the whole reincarnation thing. [AC]

Luckily, he soon arrives. Devaraja Li gifts him three cups of immortal wine, and Tripitaka, being a lightweight, becomes totally wasted and is taken into the backrooms of the palace to rest.

AC) Tripitaka was historically venerated as an arhat as early as the Song dynasty (960-1279) (Liu, 2019). For example, he is included in a series of late-12th-century religious paintings focusing on the 500 Arhats. A black-robed Sun Wukong can be seen walking in the clouds behind him (fig. 2) (see the 06-04-23 update here ).

Fig. 2 – Lin Tinggui  and  Zhou Jichang , The Tang Monk Procures the Scriptures (Tangseng qujing , 唐僧取經 ), no. 77 of 100 scrolls from Images of the 500  Arhats  (Wubai Luohan tu,  五百羅漢圖 , 1178-1188 CE) ( larger version ).  Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk. Image from Nara kuniritsu hakubutsukan, Tōkyō bunkazai kenkyūjo, 2014, p. 86. Courtesy of  Dr. Liu Shufen , a research fellow at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica. See the 06-04-23 update here for close ups of Monkey.

Chapter 17: Where did the monk go? ( Tao Heshang , 讨和尚)

Meanwhile, Wukong and Erlang return, only to find their master missing. They bash on the gate of the Correctness and Broadness Temple to demand his whereabouts; the Buddha replies that Tripitaka is drunk and sleeping in Devaraja Li’s palace, then slams the door shut in their faces.

Erlang asks Wukong to go to the celestial realm and bring their master back. Wukong declines, citing the whole “Havoc in Heaven” business, then asks Erlang to go. He also declines because of the Jade Maiden incident in the past.

Finally, they summon the local Jiedi (揭帝) with a mantra and send the guardian deity to pick up Tripitaka.

Chapter 18: Subduing the Red-faced Demon ( Shou Chimian , 收赤面)

Elder Li De ( Laofu Li De , 老夫李德) of Mt. Song has an 18-year-old daughter, Jinyu (金玉, “Golden Jade”), who has been charmed by a demon, and none of the exorcisms by Daoist priests seem to work. The pilgrims happen to pass by and stay at his place for the night, so naturally, Tripitaka signs his monkey disciple up to banish the demon.

Wukong hides in her bedroom, ready to ambush the demon. However, when spooked, it spews out fire and forces Wukong to retreat. Elder Li laments that the demon will surely give them even more trouble after this fiasco; in response, Wukong transforms into the man’s daughter and summons the local god of the soil for questioning. The deity reveals the monster’s identity as the “Red-Faced Demon King” ( Chimian Guiwang , 赤面鬼王).

A transformed Wukong marches to the demon’s cave and tells him their relationship might not work out now that her father has seen the demon flee, deeming him a weakling. The Red-Faced Demon then reveals his backstory: he used to be a woodcutter until he saw the “Lamp-Lamp Buddha” ( Dengdeng Fo , 灯灯佛) meditating on a rock, [AD] with a precious pearl ( zhu , 珠) by his side. He stole the pearl and swallowed it, which allowed him to turn into a fireball and take flight.

Wukong cajoles him into giving up the pearl, immediately swallows it, and uses the True Samadhi Fire to eliminate the demon. [AE]

AD) This is a likely reference to Dīpaṃkara (Sk: दीपंकर ), the Buddha preceding Śākyamuni . His Chinese name appears in countless sutras as Dengdeng Fo ( 燃灯佛 ), or the “Lamp Buddha.” This is appropriate given the magic pearl’s connection to spiritual fire. Also, this implies that the Red-Faced Demon has lived for countless eons if he was alive during the time of the previous Buddha.

Dīpaṃkara is referenced in JTTW chapter 5, and he briefly appears in chapter 98 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 166; vol. 4, p. 352). In addition, his name is listed first (even above Śākyamuni) in a roster of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas saluted at the end of the novel (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 384). Journey to the West calls him Dendeng Gufo ( 燃灯古佛 ; a.k.a. Gufo, 古佛 , here and here ), or the “Ancient Buddha of the Lamp.”

AE) This chapter shares similarities with a number of JTTW episodes. First, Monkey hiding in the daughter’s room and later transforming into her likeness is reminiscent of Sun and Zhu’s first meeting in chapter 18 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 374-375). Second, Wukong, once again disguised as a woman, tricks a spirit into spitting up a magic pearl and then swallows it himself in chapter 31 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 80-81). And third, the emphasis on a red demon’s command of True Samadhi Fire is similar to Red Boy from chapter 40-42.

Chapter 19: Eight Wheels ( Balun Tan , 八轮叹)

The “Holy Mothers of the Eight Wheels” ( Balun Shengmu , 八轮圣母) sing their backstory: They were eight sisters—Gold Wheel, Silver Wheel, Copper Wheel, Iron Wheel, Tin Wheel, Wind Wheel, Fire Wheel, and Cart Wheel ( Jinlun , Yinlun , Tonglun , Tielun, Xilun , Fenglun , Huolun , Chelun , 金轮, 银轮, 铜轮, 铁轮, 锡轮, 风轮, 火轮, 车轮), who were famous for their might but had remained single for 24,000 years.

As such, they planned to kidnap a husband to share between themselves.

Chapter 20: Subduing the Eight Wheels ( Shou Balun , 收八轮)

Tripitaka is very close to his destination, when he is kidnapped by Gold Wheel. A very amusing sequence ensues, where each sister tries to snatch him away for their own wedding but are interrupted by Wukong bashing his way in and threatening to kill all eight of them.

The sisters beg for mercy; Wukong accepts their surrender, and then orders them to turn into eight immortal maidens ( Feixian , 飞仙), fly to the Thunderclap Monastery ( Leiyin Si , 雷音寺), and notify the Buddha of the pilgrims’ forthcoming arrival.

Chapter 21: Meeting the Great Buddha ( Jian Dafo , 见大佛)

The pilgrims greet the Buddha and receive the Three Baskets of scriptures , consisting of sutras, texts and monastic codes. Afterwards, these are taken back to Immortal Peach Temple by the Four Bodhisattvas and Eight Vajrapanis ( Ba Jingang , Si Pusa , 八金刚，四菩萨). [AF]

AF) The Eight Vajrapanis are ordered by Buddha to escort the pilgrims and sutras back to China in JTTW chapter 98 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 357). However, the guardians are later directed to land after only half way so that Tripitaka can experience the last of the 81 perils: the sutras are nearly lost in chapter 99 when a giant white turtle carrying the group to the other side of a river gets annoyed and dives into the water (this might be based on a historical event ) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 363). Thankfully, the Vajrapanis pick them back up and finish the trip to China in chapter 100 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 370).

Chapter 22 to 23: Descending with the Buddha’s Decree ( Jiang Fozhi , 降佛旨) and Conferring of Titles ( Fengci , 封赐)

After the pilgrims descend to the Tang capital on colorful clouds, their Vajrapani escort suddenly remembers that he forgot to ask for the Buddha’s decree. He then flies back to Thunderclap Monastery after telling them to first start reading the scriptures to the masses.

That minor incident aside, the decree soon arrives without problem: Tripitaka is appointed the “Venerable Pindola Arhat” ( Bintou Luohan Zunzhe , 宾头罗汉尊者), Wukong the “Great Sage of the Void” ( Xukong Dasheng , 虚空大圣), Erlang the “Great Emperor of Miraculous Knowledge” ( Lingtong Dadi , 灵通大帝), [AG] while Zhu Bajie and the Deep Sand God are made Buddhas. [AH]

Taizong then welcomes Prince Tripitaka back and gives him the royal title of “The Great Chan Master of the Great Law and True Scriptures” ( Dafa Zhenjing Dachan Shi , 大法真经大禅师).

AG) This section of the manuscript contains an out of place passage not mentioned in the summary. It reads: “The Tree-born Prince and Sinful Dragon, Tathagata, and Erlang were each granted the title of Great Emperor of Marvelous Knowledge” ( 树生太子业龙，如来，灌口二郎各封灵通大帝 ) (refer to the PDF ). This previously unmentioned princely dragon Buddha character is likely a transcription error (Hu, 2017a; 2017b).

AH) This is radically different than JTTW chapter 100. Only Sun Wukong and Tripitaka become Buddhas. Sha is made an arhat, while Zhu is made an altar custodian (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 381-382). Would the play’s ending then suggest that Buddhahood is considered lesser to the heavenly titles given to Monkey and Erlang?

III. Thanks

Jim: I would like to express my utmost thanks to @ryin-silverfish for alerting me to this play, providing the Chinese script, summarizing it, and directing me to an intricate paper about the play’s history. This article would not have been possible without their generous contributions.

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

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Hu, S. (2017a, December 26). Chonggu “Nanxi” Xiyouji: Yi Quanzhou Kuileixi Sanzang Qujing Wei Qieru dian [ A Re-evaluation of the Southern Story System of The Journey to the West: Based on Quanzhou Puppet Drama Monk Xuanzang on a Pilgrimage for Buddhist Scriptures ]. Weixin Gongzhong Pintai. Retrieved from  https://www.yidianzixun.com/article/0HzCWYnd .

Hu, S. (2017b). Chonggu “Nanxi” Xiyouji: Yi Quanzhou Kuileixi Sanzang Qujing Wei Qieru dian [A Re-evaluation of the Southern Story System of The Journey to the West: Based on Quanzhou Puppet Drama Monk Xuanzang on a Pilgrimage for Buddhist Scriptures], Fudan Xuebao (Shehui Kexue Ban), 59 (6), 65-74.

Jiang, Y. (2005). The Great Ming Code / Da Ming Lu . Vancouver, Wa: University of Washington Press.

Liu, S. (2019). Songdai Xuanzang de shenghua: Tuxiang, wenwu he yiji [The Sanctification of Xuanzang in the Song Dynasty: Images, Artifacts and Remains]. Zhonghua wenshi luncong , 133, 161-219.

Meulenbeld, M. R. E. (2007). Civilized Demons: Ming Thunder Gods from Ritual to Literature (Publication No. 3247802) [Doctoral dissertation, Princeton University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Nara kuniritsu hakubutsukan, Tōkyō bunkazai kenkyūjo henshū [Nara University Tōkyō Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Ed.)]. (2014).  Daitokuji denrai gohyaku rakan zu  [ Daitoku Temple’s Tradition of the 500 Arhats Paintings ]. Kyōto: Shitau bungaku.

Shi, N., & Luo, G. (2021a). Shuihu Zhuan ( Shang , Zhong , Xia ) [ Tale of the Water Margin (Vols. 1-3)]. Beijing: Renmin Wenxue Chubanshe. (Original work published 1975)

Shi, N, & Luo, G. (2021b). Outlaws of the Marsh (vols. 1-4) (Trans. S. Shapiro). Beijing: Foreign Language Press. (Original work published 1993)

Wang, y. (2004).  Sun Wukong De Yuanji Keneng Zai Fujian Baoshan [Sun Wukong’s Origin Could be In Baoshan, Fujian] .  Yuncheng Xueyan Bao , 22 (3), 30-34.

Wang, P. (2012). The Age of Courtly Writing: Wen Xuan Compiler Xiao Tong (501-531) and His Circle . Netherlands: Brill.

Winder, M. (1990). Vaiḍūrya . Bulletin of Tibetology, 26 (1-3), 31-37.

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.

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

Buddhist Deities Exiled From the Western Heaven in Chinese Vernacular Literature

Anyone who has read Journey to the West  ( Xiyouji ,  西遊記 , 1592) will know that the Tang monk Tripitaka ( Tang Sanzang , 唐三藏; a.k.a. Xuanzang ) is said to be an incarnation of Master Golden Cicada ( Jinchan zi , 金蟬子), the Buddha’s second disciple. The full picture of his past can be pieced together from verse and character dialogue throughout the narrative. This culminates with the Tathagata ‘s explanation in chapter 100:

Because you failed to listen to my exposition of the law and slighted my great teaching, your true spirit was banished to find another incarnation in the Land of the East [i.e. China]. Happily you submitted and, by remaining faithful to our teaching, succeeded in acquiring the true scriptures (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 381). 因為汝不聽說法，輕慢我之大教，故貶汝之真靈，轉生東土。今喜皈依，秉我迦持，又乘吾教，取去真經  …

In the course of my research, I’ve come across two other examples of Buddhist deities from Ming-Qing Chinese vernacular literature that are exiled from the Western Heaven. In this article, I would like to highlight these stories, as well as analyze them alongside Master Golden Cicada’s tale to record parallels. It’s important to note that all examples are connected to the Journey to the West story cycle. Finally, I will show that the presented examples share similarities with Greek philosophy.

I wrote this to better understand how the story of Master Golden Cicada’s exile may have come about.

1. Master Golden Cicada

For the record, the fullest account of Tripitaka’s past is described by Sun Wukong in chapter 81:

“You don’t realize that Master was the second disciple of our Buddha Tathagata, and originally he was called Elder Gold Cicada. Because he slighted the Law, he was fated to experience this great ordeal.” “Elder Brother,” said  Eight Rules , “even if Master did slight the Law, he had already been banished back to the Land of the East where he took on human form in the field of slander and the sea of strife. After he made his vow to worship Buddha and seek scriptures in the Western Heaven, he was bound whenever he ran into monster-spirits and he was hung high whenever he met up with demons. Hasn’t he suffered enough? “Why must he endure sickness as well?” “You wouldn’t know about this,” replied Pilgrim. “Our old master fell asleep while listening to Buddha expounding the Law [fig. 1]. As he slumped to one side, his left foot kicked down one grain of rice. That is why he is fated to suffer three days’ illness after he has arrived at the Region Below.” [1] Horrified, Eight Rules said, “The way old Hog sprays and splatters things all over when he eats, I wonder how many years of illness I’d have to go through!” “Brother,” said Pilgrim, “you have no idea either that the Buddha is not that concerned with you and other creatures. But as people say: Rice stalks planted in noonday sun Take root as perspiration runs. Who knows of this food from the soil Each grain requires most bitter toil? Master still has one more day to go, but he’ll be better by tomorrow” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 82). 你不知道。師父是我佛如來第二個徒弟，原叫做金蟬長老，只因他輕慢佛法，該有這場大難。」八戒道：「哥啊，師父既是輕慢佛法，貶回東土，在是非海內，口舌場中，託化做人身，發願往西天拜佛求經，遇妖精就捆，逢魔頭就吊，受諸苦惱，也夠了，怎麼又叫他害病？」行者道：「你那裡曉得。老師父不曾聽佛講法，打了一個盹，往下一試，左腳屣了一粒米，下界來，該有這三日病。」八戒驚道：「像老豬吃東西潑潑撒撒的，也不知害多少年代病是。」行者道：「兄弟，佛不與你眾生為念，你又不知。人云：『鋤禾日當午，汗滴禾下土。誰知盤中餐，粒粒皆辛苦。』師父只今日一日，明日就好了。」

Fig. 1 – Master Golden Cicada falls asleep during the Buddha’s sermon ( larger version ). Screenshot from episode one of the 1996 Journey to the West TV show .

2. Miao Jixiang

Miao Jixiang ( 妙吉祥 ) is a former oil lamp-turned-humanoid Buddhist disciple who briefly appears in chapter one of Journey to the South  ( Nanyouji ,  南遊記 , c. 1570s-1580s). He is exiled from the Western Heaven for using his holy flame to kill a belligerent sage. But Miao escapes underworld punishment thanks to the intervention of the  Bodhisattva Guanyin . He is later reborn in China as a number of figures, most famously the popular martial deity Huaguang dadi (華光大帝; variously translated as “Great Emperor of Flowery/Resplendent/Magnificent/Majestic Light”):

That Great King of the Single Flame [ Duhuo dawang , 独火大王] … wanted to incinerate Spirit Mountain . Fortunately, the Tathagata foresaw this with his all-seeing eyes, and so he recited a mantra, summoning five hundred dragons that brought forth dew and fog to cover the mountain. Unable to unleash his fire, this Single-Flame demon became angry, rampaging to the left and right of the temple and hurling insults. Miao Jixiang [2] offered a word of advice, “You are not the same caliber of wisdom as we Buddhist disciples. You can leave if you want; it makes no difference.” “If you enrage my  heart-mind , I will burn your dog bones to death!” replied the Great King of the Single Flame. Miao Jixiang laughed, “You can only burn others. You can never burn me. If you can burn me, I will acknowledge you as superior.” Anger racing through him, the Great King set loose his Fire of the Five Dippers, but Miao Jixiang remained perfectly still. He laughed, “You monster, how could your fire burn me? I used to be the oil lamp before the Tathagata’s Dharma Hall, burning brilliantly day and night, listening to the sutras, and inquiring about the Dharma. I have accumulated many candle wicks during this time. But one day, Tathagata recited a spell and bestowed onto me a human body. With my appearance, spirit, hearing, and origins all arising from fire, how could you burn me? You monster, if you continue to harass our Spirit Mountain and cause us unease, I will inevitably bring forth my Perfected Fire of  Samadhi to burn you monster to death, so as to avoid any future troubles.” Watching this with his all-seeing eyes, the Tathagata was about to stop Miao Jixiang, but the latter had already unleashed his fire and burned that damnable Single Flame to death [fig. 2]. Furious, the Tathagata summoned heavenly generals to arrest Miao Jixiang, “You beast, how dare you break my precepts?” Tathagata scolded, “Although he is wrong, you and I are Buddhists ( chujia zhi ren , 出家之人, lit: “people who have left their families”); we’re supposed to be infinitely merciful. Why did you burn him to death? Such an act is intolerable by the Buddhist Dharma. I shall banish you to the underworld ( yinshan , 陰山; lit: “mountain of yin/darkness”) to suffer.” Miao Jixiang begged for forgiveness. The Reverend Mother Guanyin came forward from one said to defend him by saying, “Although he is guilty, Miao Jixiang is a disciple of Spirit Mountain. He should not be banished to the underworld. When he was still alive, the Great King of Horse-Ear Mountain approached our Spirit Mountain to pray for a son. Now that his wife is pregnant, why not send Miao Jixiang to be reincarnated as her son? After Miao Jixiang goes through this catastrophe, he shall be allowed to return to Spirit Mountain and serve the Master. Why not do this?” Nodding, Tathagata was about to send Miao Jixiang away. “My master, you order me to reincarnate,” Miao Jixiang said in tears, “but if I am deprived of the Divine Way, I am afraid that I will be bullied.” Sitting atop his treasured throne, Tathagata recited a spell, “I shall now bestow you with the five supernatural powers: the heaven power, with which you can travel freely to heaven; the earth power, with which the earth will crack by itself if you want to get inside; the wind power, with which you are shadowless in the wind; the water power, with which you can travel without any obstacle in water; the fire power, with which you feel ease in the fire.” Tathagata pointed his dharma finger at Miao Jixiang’s forehead, saying, “I will also bestow you with a heavenly eye, with which you can see all across the  three realms .” Tathagata ordered the Reverend Mother Guanyin to deliver Miao Jixiang to his reincarnation (adapted from pp. 10-11 of this PDF ). 那大王 … 即要放火烧灵山。幸如来慧眼一见，便念动咒语，放出五百条逆龙，涌起露雾罩住灵山，此火便不能发。独火鬼见火不发，十分著恼，于寺中左冲右撞，出言不逊，妙吉祥进言曰：「我们佛家弟子，亦不比你见识，你可去也罢。」独火大王曰：「恼得我心一边来，把你这狗骨头亦将来烧死。」妙吉祥笑曰：「你的火只好烧别人，烧得我不成；你若烧得我，便见你高。」大王怒起，就放出五斗火，便烧吉祥，吉祥端然不动。笑曰：「你这妖怪，你那火如何烧得我？我乃如来法堂前一盏油灯，昼夜煌煌，听经问法，灯花堆积，一日如来念咒，咒成人身。我这火之相，火之灵，火之听，火之起，你焉能烧我？你这妖怪，今你若再在整日闹我灵山，不得自在，我不免请出三昧真火，烧死你这妖怪，免致后患。」如来慧眼看见，便叫不可之时，独火鬼已被他烧死在地。如来大怒，喝声叫将妙吉祥拿下，责曰：「你这畜生如何敢破我戒？他虽不是，我你俱出家之人，当大慈大悲终是，为何将他烧死？佛法难容，贬去阴山受罪。」吉祥告饶。观音老母在旁保曰：「妙吉祥虽然有罪，乃灵山弟子，不可贬去阴山。当日马耳山大王在日之时，来我灵山祈嗣。今日那娘娘有孕有身，不如送去投胎，等他大难满日，取回灵山，伏侍师父，何不可也。」如来依言，便欲送去。吉祥流泪告曰：「师父命我投胎，奈我不晓神道，恐后被人欺负。」如来于宝座中，念动咒语，说：「我就赐你五通：你一通天，天中自行；二通地，地赶自裂；三通风，风中无影；四通水，水中无碍；五通火，火里自在。」又用法手一指顶门：「赐你一个天眼挪门，可见三界。」就叫观音老母送去投胎。

Fig. 2 – Miao Jixiang kills the Great King of the Single Flame ( larger version ). From a modern lianhuanhua comic. Image found here . 

3. The Great Peng

The Complete Vernacular Biography of Yue Fei  ( Shuo Yue quanzhuan ,  說岳全傳 , 1684) depicts the Great Peng, the Golden-Winged King of Illumination ( Dapeng jinchi mingwang , 大鵬金翅明王 ), [3] as a hot-tempered avian dharma protector stationed above the Buddha’s head (fig. 3). He is exiled from the Western Heaven for killing a bat-spirit who farts during the Buddha’s sermon, and the bird is later reborn in China as the famed Song-era General Yue Fei (岳飛, 1103-1142):

Let’s talk about the Buddha  Tathagata  at the Great Thunderclap Monastery in the  Western Paradise . One day, he sat on a nine-level lotus throne , and the  Four Great Bodhisattvas , the Eight Great  Vajra Warriors , the five hundred  Arhats , the three thousand  Heavenly Kings ,  nuns  and  monks , male and female  attendants , all of the heavenly sages who protect the  Dharma , gathered to listen to his lecture on the  Lotus Sutra . His words were like flowers and precious jewels raining from the heavens. But, at that time, a  star-spirit , the  Maiden Earth Bat , who had been listening to the lecture from beneath the lotus throne, couldn’t bear it any longer and unexpectedly let out a stinky fart. The Buddha was a great, merciful lord, so he didn’t mind even the slightest bit. But don’t console the Dharma protector above his head, [4] the “Great Peng, the Golden-Winged King of Illumination,” whose eyes shone with golden light and whose back was a scene of auspiciousness. He became angry when he saw the nasty, filthy Maiden Earth Bat, and so he unfurled both his wings and dropped down to kill the spirit by pecking her on the head. The light-point of her soul shot out of the Great Thunderclap Monastery and went to the Lands of the East (China) in the world below to find a mother and reincarnate. She was reborn as a daughter of the Wang  clan. She would later marry the Song Prime minister  Qin Hui (1091-1155) and come to cruelly kill the righteous (Yue Fei) as a means to get revenge against today’s enemy. We will talk about this later. Let’s return to the Buddha, who saw what happened with his all-seeing eyes and exclaimed, “Good! Good! It turns out that this is an episode of  karma  (cause and effect).” Then he called the Great Peng bird to come closer and shouted, “You evil creature! You already took refuge in my teachings. How can you not follow the  five precepts  by daring to commit such a horrible crime? I don’t need you here; you will descend to the mortal world to pay off your (karmic) debt and wait until you have fulfilled your work. Once that is completed, only then will I allow you to return to  the mountain to achieve the right fruit (Buddhist merit).” The Great Peng complied with the decree, flying out of the Great Thunderclap Monastery directly to the Lands of the East to be reincarnated. We will stop here (translated by the author). 且說西方極樂世界大雷音寺我佛如來，一日端坐九品蓮臺，旁列著四大菩薩、八大金剛、五百羅漢、三千偈諦、比丘尼、比丘僧、優婆夷、優婆塞，共諸天護法聖眾，齊聽講說妙法真經。正說得天花亂墜、寶雨繽紛之際，不期有一位星官，乃是女土蝠，偶在蓮臺之下聽講，一時忍不住，撒出一個臭屁來。我佛原是個大慈大悲之主，毫不在意。不道惱了佛頂上頭一位護法神祗，名為大鵬金翅明王，眼射金光，背呈祥瑞，見那女土蝠污穢不潔，不覺大怒，展開雙翅落下來，望著女土蝠頭上，這一嘴就啄死了。那女土蝠一點靈光射出雷音寺，徑往東土認母投胎，在下界王門為女，後來嫁與秦檜為妻，殘害忠良，以報今日之讎。此是後話，按下不提。 且說佛爺將慧眼一觀，口稱：「善哉，善哉！原來有此一段因果。」即喚大鵬鳥近前，喝道：「你這孽畜！既歸我教，怎不皈依五戒，輒敢如此行兇？我這裡用你不著，今將你降落紅塵，償還冤債，直待功成行滿，方許你歸山，再成正果。」大鵬鳥遵了法旨，飛出雷音寺，徑來東土投胎不表。

Fig. 3 – Detail of an altar to the Great Peng, the Golden-Winged King of Illumination ( larger version ). Full image found here .

4. Analysis

There are four parallels shared between these stories. First, each character is exiled for disrespecting the Buddha. Master Golden Cicada falls asleep during the Tathagata’s sermon. Miao Jixiang kills a belligerent sage on the grounds of the Thunderclap Monastery. And the Great Peng kills the Maiden Earth Bat in the same hallowed place during the Buddha’s lecture. The latter two examples are similar in that both characters are admonished by the Tathagata for breaking the precept against killing. For the former, the Buddha exclaims, “You beast, how dare you break my precepts? … Such an act is intolerable by the Buddhist Dharma” ( 你這畜生如何敢破我戒？… 佛法難容 ). And for the latter, he screams, “You evil creature! You already took refuge in my teachings. How can you not follow the five precepts by daring to commit such a horrible crime?” ( 你這孽畜！既歸我教，怎不皈依五戒，輒敢如此行兇？ ). Admittedly, these acts make Master Golden Cicada’s sleeping far less serious in comparison.

Second, each is exiled from the Western Heaven in India to be reborn as a hero in China. Master Golden Cicada lives out a number of pious incarnations before his final life as Tripitaka, a learned monk who procures scriptures needed to release untold numbers of orphaned souls from the underworld. Miao Jixiang experiences several adventurous incarnations before his final life as Huaguang dadi, a martial deity who rids the world of evil spirits. And the Great Peng is reborn as Song Dynasty General Yue Fei, a patriot who fights against invading Jurchen forces which threaten the Middle Kingdom.

Third, a ll are exiled with the understanding that they will return once they have accumulated enough Buddhist merit and/or paid off a karmic debt. This is more implied in Master Golden Cicada/Tripitaka’s case when the Buddha reveals his past transgression and then grants him an elevation in spiritual rank to an enlightened being , thereby allowing him to return to the Western Heave n at the end of his story arc (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 381). Whereas with Miao Jixiang, this is openly suggested by Guanyin: “After [he] goes through this catastrophe, he shall be allowed to return to Spirit Mountain and serve the Master. Why not do this?” ( 等他大难满日，取回灵山，伏侍师父，何不可也。 ) The Tathagata agrees to this arrangement. As for the Great Peng, the Buddha states,

[Y]ou will descend to the mortal world to pay off your (karmic) debt and wait until you have fulfilled your work. Once that is completed, only then will I allow you to return to the mountain to achieve the right fruit (Buddhist merit). 今將你降落紅塵，償還冤債，直待功成行滿，方許你歸山，再成正果。

And fourth, all are connected to the Journey to the West  story cycle. For instance, in chapter one of Journey to the South (c. 1570s-1580s), “Pilgrim Sun” ( Sun xingzhe , 孫行者 ; i.e. Sun Wukong) wins first place in a competition between the gods of the Buddho-Daoist pantheon to see who owns the greatest celestial treasure (see   pp. 6-7 of this PDF ). And in chapter 17, Monkey fights Miao Jixiang’s reincarnation, Huaguang dadi, because the latter framed the former for the theft of immortal peaches. The Great Sage initially wins the encounter, but he is unexpectantly burned at the last minute, leaving his non-canonical daughter to finish the fight (see   pp. 107-110 of this PDF ). And the Great Peng originally appears as a demon king named the “Peng of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles” ( Yuncheng wanli peng,  雲程萬里鵬 ) in chapters 74 to 77 of Journey to the West (1592). At the end of his arc, he is trapped above the Buddha’s head (fig. 4):

Perceiving the Peng’s intentions, Tathagata produced a golden light and, facing the wind, and gave his head (which had once supported the nests of magpies) a shake. The head changed at once into a piece of meat dripping with fresh blood. Stretching out his claws, the monster-spirit drew near and tried to clutch at the piece of meat. Our Father Buddha pointed at him with his finger and immediately the monster-spirit felt such cramps throughout his huge wings that he could not fly away. He was trapped above the Buddha’s head in his true form: the Great Peng, a golden-winged eagle [fig. 4] (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 31). 如來情知此意，即閃金光，把那鵲巢貫頂之頭迎風一幌，變做鮮紅的一塊血肉。妖精掄利爪叼他一下。被佛爺把手往上一指，那妖翅膊上就了筋，飛不去，只在佛頂上不能遠遁，現了本相，乃是一個大鵬金翅鵰。

The Great Peng later begrudgingly agrees to submit to Buddhism (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 31). Therefore, this explains his lofty position in The Complete Vernacular Biography of Yue Fei (1684).

Fig. 4 – The Great Peng trapped above the Buddha’s head ( larger version ). An AI upscaled version of a blurry image found randomly online. The original comes from Chen Huiguan’s Newly Illustrated and Complete Journey to the West ( Chen Huiguan Xinhui Quanben Xiyouji , 陈惠冠新绘全本西游记, 2001).

5. Similarities to Western Philosophy

McEvilley (2002) comments that the Greek philosopher Empedocles (5th-c. BCE) wrote of gods being exiled for ten thousand years for the crime of murder or lying under oath. The fallen deity was believed to reincarnate into every creature of land, air, and sea, and when their long punishment was over, they were reborn in their last life as a person of high culture, such as royalty, religious leaders, and scholars. They then returned to their former heavenly station upon death (McEvilley, 2002, pp. 106-107). These beliefs mirror the misdeeds (sleeping and murder), exile from heaven, experience of reincarnation, and then eventual return to heaven of Master Golden Cicada, Miao Jixiang, and the Great Peng. These similarities likely point to a broader concept in Greco-Indian philosophy that made its way into Chinese vernacular fiction.

1) Tripitaka’s additional punishment points to the supreme importance of rice in an agrarian society like ancient China.

2) Miao Jixiang should not be confused with the Bodhisattva Manjushri , who has the same Chinese name in some older Buddhist literature (Von Glahn, 2004, p. 214).

3) The mingwang (明王, “illumination king”) of the Great Peng’s Buddhist title could also mean “wisdom king,” which refers to spiritual knowledge.

4) My previous article traces the religious motif of a bird ( Garuda ) hovering above the heads of Buddhist personages to Hindo-Buddhist architecture in ancient India.

McEvilley, T. (2002).  The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies . New York : Allworth.

Von Glahn, R. (2004).  The Sinister Way: The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture . United Kingdom: University of California Press.

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

How to Kill Sun Wukong

Last updated : 01-07-2024

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

His whole body covered by flame and smoke, the Great Sage found the intense heat unbearable and he dove straight into the mountain stream to try to put out the fire. Little did he anticipate that the shock of the cold water was so great that the heat caused by the fire was forced inward into his body and his three hun spirits left his vessel. Alas! His breath caught in his chest, his tongue and throat grew cold; His hun spirits fled, his po souls left, and his life was gone! (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 231) 這大聖一身煙火，炮燥難禁，徑投於澗水內救火。怎知被冷水一逼，弄得火氣攻心，三魂出舍。可憐氣塞胸堂喉舌冷，魂飛魄散喪殘生。

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

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

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

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

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

I. Possible Ways

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

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

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

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

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

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

II. The Best Way

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

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

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

Lu Ya opened his flower basket and took out a book stamped with talisman seals and oral formulas. “Using these, you can set up camp and erect a platform on Mount Qi. Make a straw effigy and post a document with the three characters “Zhao Gongming” on its body. Place one lamp above its head and another beneath its feet. Then pray to it three times a day, burning the talismans and pacing the dipper . At noon on the twenty-first day, this poor Taoist (Lu Ya) will come and help you cut his life short.” Before going to Mount Qi, Ziya secretly sent 3,000 troops, along with Nangong Kuo [南宮适] and Wu Ji [武吉] to find a suitable place to set up camp. After Ziya arrived at camp, Nangong built a platform, arranging it properly, and made a straw effigy. He did everything strictly as instructed. Finally Ziya loosened his hair, took a sword, and paced the dipper, reciting charms, burning spells, and praying over and over again before the straw effigy (based on Gu, 2000, vol. 2, p. 967). 陸壓揭開花籃，取出一幅書，書寫明白，上有符印口訣，「……依此而用，可往岐山立一營；營內築一臺。紮一草人；人身上書『趙公明』三字，頭上一盞燈，足下一盞燈。自步罡斗，書符結印焚化，一日三次拜禮，至二十一日之時，貧道自來午時助你，公明自然絕也。」 子牙領命，前往岐山，暗出三千人馬，又令南宮适、武吉前去安置。子牙後隨軍至岐山，南宮适築起將臺，安排停當，紮一草人，依方製度。子牙披髮仗劍，腳步罡斗，書符結印 … [ Three to five days later, Zhao Gongming feels frantic, with a strange burning in his heart. ] […] Now let’s speak of Ziya, who prayed until he had expelled the primal spirit [ yuanshen , 元神] of Zhao Gongming. The primal spirit was of major importance to an immortal, enabling him to tour freely throughout the eight extremes (the universe). But now Zhao Gongming had lost his primal spirit and became drowsy, wanting to sleep all the time (based on Gu, 2000, p. 973). 且說子牙拜掉了趙公明元神散而不歸，──但神仙以元神為主，遊八極，任逍遙，今一旦被子牙拜去，不覺昏沉，只是要睡。 [ Sleeping is said to be uncharacteristic of immortals. This alerts Zhao Gongming’s comrades that he is being spiritually assaulted. After divining the effigy’s location, Wen sends Shang allies to steal it. They are initially successful, but the straw man is eventually recaptured by Zhou forces. ] […] [ Lu Ya finally arrives as promised to finish the ritual. ] With a smile, Lu Ya opened his flower basket and took out a small mulberry bow and three short peach arrows, which he handed to Ziya. “At noon today, you must shoot the effigy with these arrows,” Lu Ya said. Ziya replied: “Order received!” The two waited in a tent, until the astrological official came to report: “Noon time has arrived!” Ziya cleaned his hands, picked up the bow, and then nocked the first arrow. “Shoot his left eye first,” instructed Lu Ya. Ziya did as ordered. As the first arrow hit the left eye of the effigy, Zhao Gongming, lying in the Shang camp, roared in agony and closed his left eye. Grand Preceptor Wen held him in his arms, sobbing as the tears poured down his cheeks. Back at Mount Qi, the second arrow hit the right eye of the effigy, and the third penetrated its heart [fig. 3]. Zhao Gongming died in the Shang camp (based on Gu, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 985-987). [5] 陸壓笑吟吟揭開花籃，取出小小一張桑枝弓，三隻桃枝箭，遞與子牙，「今日午時初刻，用此箭射之。」子牙曰：「領命。」二人在帳中等至午時，不覺陰陽官來報：「午時牌！」子牙淨手，拈弓，搭箭。陸壓曰：「先中左目。」子牙依命，先中左目。──這西岐山發箭射草人，成湯營裏趙公明大叫一聲，把左眼閉了。聞太師心如刀割，一把抱住公明，淚流滿面，哭聲甚慘。──子牙在岐山，二箭射右目，三箭劈心一箭，三箭射了草人。──公明死于成湯營裏。

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

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

III. Story Potential

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

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

Reasons for the villain performing the ritual could include:

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

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

IV. Conclusion

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

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

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

Update : 12-28-23

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

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

Update : 12-29-23

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

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

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

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

The Immortal-slaying Flying Knife, also a treasure of Lu Ya’s, might be a good second-contender here. It’s a strange weapon with head and eyes and wings, stored inside a gourd: when released, its eyes shoot out white light that “nails down” an enemy’s true form, and, upon recitation of “Turn around please, precious” ( 请宝贝转身 ), will spin and instantly decapitate the target. Sure, there is the matter of getting it out and saying the magical words before you were reduced to a meat patty, but if the target is already immobilized——like Yuan Hong, FSYY’s own staff-wielding ape with 72 transformations——the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife will be that final nail in the coffin.

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

Update : 01-07-24

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

When the carving is complete, the carver chooses an auspicious day to hold the spirit-entering ritual. A cavity at the back of the image is carved out for this rite. The objects placed in this hole include incense ashes ( xianghui ) or talismans from the root temple, a live hornet, five precious materials (gold, silver, bronze, iron, and tin), five crops (rice, wheat, sesame, and different kinds of beans), and a bundle of five-color threads (red, yellow, blue, black, and white) [fig. 6 & 7] … The worshippers have to prepare fruit and flowers and burn incense to invite the deity to come. When the auspicious moment arrives, the carver inserts the previously listed items into the cavity and plugs it with a piece of wood. The objects placed in the cavity are important clues regarding how people conceptualize deities. Local inhabitants explained to me that the ashes or talisman symbolizes the spirit of the deity, and the living hornet is to increase the deity’s power. Some people said the five forms of treasure represent the five organs of the deity, whereas others just said they are symbols of the deity’s grandeur. The five crops represent the harvest and the bunch of five-color threads is related to the five spirit-soldier camps (p. 38).

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

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

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

For this ceremony, the carver prepares flowers, fruit, a round mirror, a red brush pen, and a white cock. When the auspicious moment arrives, the mirror is taken outside where the light is sufficient to reflect it into the statue’s eyes. Next, the carver goes back to the altar and uses a knife to cut the cockscomb and smear the blood with the red brush pen. He then starts to chant and to dot the deity with the brush pen. There are many different kinds of chants … but their contents are not very different. The process of dotting usually begins at the center of the forehead and proceeds to the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, heart, navel, feet, toes, fingers, and back [fig. 8-10], as the following chant demonstrates: First dot the sacred head, second dot the sacred hat, Third dot the sacred body, then the true and righteous god will occupy the body. Open the left eye to see heaven. Open the right eye to see into the earth. Open the left ear to listen to sounds from all directions. Open the right ear to hear sounds from far away. Open the divine nose, to smell fragrant scents. Open the divine mouth, but not to eat house hold foods. Open the left hand and the disciples will be prosperous year after year. Open the right hand and the god will capture ghosts without being asked. Open the sacred belly and great divine power will come forth. Open the left foot to step upon the correct path. Open the right foot to step into the divine carriage. Open the back so that all people may be enlightened. It can be inferred that in this ceremony, the carver at first draws the natural energy into the statue to enliven it. Then, he uses the blood of a white cock, symbolizing purity, to dot and connect the important parts of the body. This makes the statue like a living person with veins in which blood flows without obstruction (pp. 38-39).

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

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

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

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

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

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

The elixir is the most precious treasure of the physical body; when cultivated to perfection, the transmutations are endless. One can go on to investigate the true source in the realm of essence, and ascertain the ineffable function of the birthless. Without awaiting another body in the next life , one attains the spiritual capacities of a Buddha in the present; after the Naga Girl achieved this, who since then has been able to follow in her footsteps? (Zhang, Liu, & Cleary, 1987, p. 1481; cf. Shao, 1997, p. 83) 丹是色身至寶，煉成變化無窮。更能性上究真宗，决了無生妙用。不待他身後世，見前獲佛神通。自從龍女著斯功，爾後誰能繼踵。

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

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

They then slashed him with a scimitar, hewed him with an ax, stabbed him with a spear, and hacked him with a sword, but they could not hurt his body in any way. Next, the Star Spirit of the South Pole ordered the various deities of the Fire Department to burn him with fire, but that, too, had little effect. The gods of the Thunder Department were then ordered to strike him with thunderbolts, but not a single one of his hairs was destroyed (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 188). … 刀砍斧剁，槍刺劍刳，莫想傷及其身。南斗星奮令火部眾神放火煨燒，亦不能燒著。又著雷部眾神以雷屑釘打，越發不能傷損一毫。

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sun Wukong’s Names and Titles

I was recently contacted by a reader who said they were researching the Monkey King’s various nicknames. I had never thought about this before, so I thought I’d write an article to help them out. I am indebted to Irwen Wong of the Journey to the West Library blog for helping me with some of the more obscure terms. If you know of others that I missed, please let me know in the comments below or by email (see the “contact” button).

The vast majority of the terms listed here come from the  standard 1592 edition of  Journey to the West  ( Xiyouji ,  西遊記 ; hereafter JTTW). I have also added a few terms from a precursor, 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) (Wivell, 1994). I did this to show that certain variations of names or titles have existed for centuries.

I. Mentioned in the narrative

These are names or titles mentioned by the narrative.

• Shihou ( 石猴 , “Stone Monkey”) – Monkey’s first name according to chapter one (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 104). This is related to his birth from stone (fig. 1).
• Tianchan Shihou  ( 天產石猴 , “Heaven-Born Stone Monkey”) – His REAL name as listed in the ledgers of hell in chapter three (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 140).
• Xinyuan ( 心猿 , “Mind Monkey/Ape”) – A Buddho-Daoist allegorical term for the disquieted thoughts and emotions that keep man trapped in Saṃsāra . It is used numerous times in chapter titles (e.g. ch. 7) and poems to refer to Monkey (see the material below figure three here ).
• Jingong ( 金公 , “Lord or Squire of Gold/Metal”) – A term used mainly in poems to refer to Monkey. It is an alternative reading of the component characters making up lead ( qian , 鉛), namely jin (金) and gong (公). Lead was an important ingredient in immortal elixirs of external alchemy , and metal/gold ( jin , 金) is connected to the earthly branch shen (申), which is associated with monkeys ( see no. 9 here ) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 83 and p. 532 n. 3).
• Chuxuan ( 初玄 , “Primal Depth”) – A name only used once in a poem to refer to him as a cosmic being (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 190).
• Moni zhu ( 摩尼珠 , “ Wish-Fulfilling Jewel “) – A term describing the wonder of his three-headed, six-armed war form (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 191).
• Taiyi Sanxian ( 太乙散仙 , “Leisurely or Minor Immortal of the Great Monad”) – Monkey’s rank within the hierarchy of cosmic immortals (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 471, for example). It essentially means that he is a divine being without a heavenly post.
• Taiyi Jinxian ( 太乙金仙 , “Golden Immortal of the Great Monad”) – A seemingly embellished version of the previous term (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 264, for example). It speaks of a higher rank. [1]
• Lingming Shihou ( 靈明石猴 , “Stone Monkey of Numinous Wisdom”) – The name of his magic species according to the Buddha in chapter 58 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 115). [2] He is the first of four spiritual primates .
• Nanbian Mihou  ( 難辨獼猴 , “Indistinguishable Macaques”) – A term referring to both Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque . [3]

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

These are names, titles, or insults that are given to or directed at our hero by other characters.

• Hou Xingzhe ( 猴行者 , “Monkey Pilgrim”) – Monkey’s original religious name in the 13th-century JTTW . It is given by Tripitaka at the beginning of the journey (Wivell, 1994, p. 1182). The Xingzhe (行者) portion of this name carried over to the 1592 edition. See nos. 12 and 13 below.
• Gangjin Tiegu Dasheng  ( 鋼筋鐵骨大聖 , “Great Sage Steel Muscles and Iron Bones”) – His divine title in the 13th-century JTTW. It is bestowed by Tang Emperor Taizong at the end of the journey (Wivell, 1994, p. 1207). [4] The Dasheng (大聖) portion of this name carried over to the 1592 edition. See sec. III, nos. 7 and 8 below.
• Sun Wukong  ( 孫悟空 , “Monkey Awakened to Emptiness”) – The religious name given to him in chapter one by his first master, the Patriarch Subodhi (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 115). It predates the 1592 JTTW, first appearing as early as the early-Ming zaju play ( see here , for example). It’s important to note that the name “Wukong” (悟空) might have been influenced by a Tang-era monk who traveled throughout India just like Xuanzang (on whom Tripitaka is based).
• Liu Xiao Ling Tong  ( 六小龄童 ) – Monkey’s name in the human world.
• Pohou ( 潑猴 , “Reckless or Brazen Monkey”) – An insult used throughout JTTW (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 118, for example).
• Shangxian ( 上仙 , “High or Exalted Immortal”) – A respectful title used by the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean in chapter three (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 134).
• Huaguo Shan Shuilian Dong Tianchan Yaohou ( 花果山水簾洞天產妖猴 , “Heaven-Born Demon Monkey from the Water-Curtain Cave of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit”) – An insult used by King Qinguang, a Judge of Hell, in a memorial to the Jade Emperor in chapter three (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 142).
• Xiandi ( 賢弟 , “Worthy Little Brother”) – A nicknamed used by the Bull Demon King (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 156, for example). Monkey is the smallest and therefore the last of seven sworn brothers (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 223-224).
• Yaoxian ( 妖仙 , “Bogus Immortal”) – A category of nigh-immortal beings. He is called this by the Jade Emperor in chapter four and the Buddha in chapter seven, respectively (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 147-148 and p. 193).
• Bimawen  ( 弼馬溫 , “To Assist Horse Temperament”) – A minor post overseeing the celestial horse stables. Monkey is given this position in chapter four by the Jade Emperor. Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) translates this as “BanHorsePlague” (vol. 1, p. 148, for example). [5] This is sometimes used as an insult (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 354, for example).
• Yaohou ( 妖猴 , “Monster or Demon Monkey”) – An insult used numerous times throughout the novel (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 154, for example).
• Sun Xingzhe ( 孫行者 , “Pilgrim Sun”) – Monkey’s second religious name. It is given to him in chapter 14 by Tripitaka (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 309). Xingzhe Sun ( 行者孫 ) is a less common variation. Refer back to no. 1. See also sec. III, no. 9 below.
• Xingzhe ( 行者 , “Pilgrim”) – He is more commonly referred to by this name than Sun Xingzhe or Sun Wukong combined. [6] See section III here to learn about the significance of this title. Refer back to no. 1.
• Sun Zhanglao (孫長老, “Elder Sun”) – A respectful title used by people he has helped (Wu & Yu, vol. 2, p. 85, for example).
• Dashixiong ( 大師兄 , “Elder Religious Brother”) – A term used by Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 74, for example).
• Houtou ( 猴頭 , “Monkey/Ape Head”) – An insult used by various characters, especially Tripitaka (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 26, for example).
• Maolian Heshang ( 毛臉和尚 , “Hairy-Faced Monk”) – A term that describes his features (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 407, for example).
• Maolian Lei Gong Zui de Heshang ( 毛臉雷公嘴的和尚 , “Hairy-Faced, Thunder God-Beaked Monk) – A term that compares his elongated simian face to the beak of the bird-like thunder god Lei Gong (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 351, for example) . Variations include Lei Gong Zui Heshang ( 雷公嘴和尚 , “Thunder God-Beaked Monk”) and  Lei Gong de Nanzi/Hanzi ( 雷公嘴的男子 / 漢子 , “Thunder God-Beaked Man”).
• Dou Zhansheng Fo ( 鬥戰勝佛 , “Buddha Victorious in Strife or Victorious Fighting Buddha”) – His Buddha title bestowed by the Tathagata at the end of the journey in chapter 100 (fig. 2) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 381).

Fig. 2 – A religiously accurate drawing of Monkey as Dou zhansheng fo by NinjaHaku21  ( larger version ).

III. Self-Named

These are names, titles, or pseudonyms taken by Monkey himself. These do not include the names of the innumerable gods, monsters, or humans that he disguises himself as. They only refer to him personally.

• Huaguo Shan Ziyun Dong Bawan Siqian Tongtou Tie’e Mihou Wang ( 花果山紫雲洞八萬四千銅頭鐵額獼猴王 , “Bronze-Headed, Iron-Browed King of the Eighty-Four Thousand Monkeys of the Purple Cloud Grotto on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit”) – How he introduces himself to Tripitaka in the 13th-century JTTW (Wivell, 1994, p. 1182). The “Monkey King” ( Mihou Wang , 獼猴王 ) portion of this name carried over to the 1592 edition but was represented with different Chinese characters. See nos. 2 and 3 below. This article discusses the term mihou (獼猴).
• Meihou Wang ( 美猴王 , “Handsome Monkey King”) – The title that he takes upon ascending the throne in chapter one (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 106).
• Hou Wang ( 猴王 , “Monkey King”) – He is more commonly referred to by this name than Meihou wang . [7]
• Huaguo Shan Shuilian Dong Dongzhu  ( 花果山水簾洞洞主 , “Lord of the Water-Curtain Cave in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit”) – How he introduces himself in chapter two to a demon king plaguing his people (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 127).
• Huaguo Shan Shuilian Dong Tiansheng Shenren ( 花果山水簾洞天生聖人 , “Heaven-Born Sage From the Water-Curtain Cave in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit”) – How he introduces himself to the Ten Kings of Hell in chapter three (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 140).
• Lao Sun  ( 老孫 , “Old Sun”) – A term that he uses many, many times throughout the novel. Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) translates this as “Old Monkey” (vol. 1, p. 128, for example).
• Qitian Dasheng ( 齊天大聖 , “Great Sage Equaling Heaven”) – The seditious title that he takes during his rebellion against heaven (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 151). Monkey is worshiped by this name in modern Chinese Folk Religion (fig. 3). Refer back to sec. II, no. 2.
• Dasheng ( 大聖 , “Great Sage”) – He is more commonly referred to by this title than Qitian dasheng . [8] Variations include Dasheng Yeye ( 大聖爺爺 , “[Paternal] Grandpa Great Sage”) and Sun Dasheng ( 孫大聖 , “Great Sage Sun”). Refer back to sec. II, no. 2.
• Zhexing Sun ( 者行孫 , “Grimpil Sun”) – A pseudonym taken in chapter 34 when Monkey secretly escapes imprisonment and then presents himself as his own brother in an attempt to trick demons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 130). The strange English rendering is Yu’s (Wu & Yu, 2012) way of accounting for the change from Xingzhe Sun ( 行 者 孫, “ Pil grim Sun”) to Zhexing Sun ( 者 行 孫, “ Grim pil Sun”). Refer back to sec. II, no. 12.
• Sun Waigong ( 孫外公 , “([Maternal] Grandpa Sun”) – A name that he uses to taunt demons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 407, for example). It’s a cheeky way of saying, “I’m your elder, so you better submit to me.”
• Sun Yeye ( 孫爺爺 , “([Paternal] Grandpa Sun”) – Same.
• Sun Erguan ( 孫二官 , “Second Master Sun”) – A pseudonym taken in chapter 84 in order to investigate an anti-Buddhist kingdom under the guise of a horse trader. The other pilgrims take similar names (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 132).

Fig. 3 – A Great Sage idol from Shengfo Tang (聖佛堂, “Sage Buddha Hall” ) in Beigang Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan ( larger version ). It is one of many Monkey King Temples on the island . Photo by the author.

1) The Jinxian (金仙) of Monkey’s title Taiyi Jinxian ( 太乙金仙 , “Golden Immortal of the Great Monad”) is associated with far more lofty figures. For example, a poem in chapter one refers to the Patriarch Subodhi  as the Dajue Jinxian ( 大覺金仙 , “Golden Immortal of Great Awareness”) (see section 2.3 here ).

2) I’m placing the name in this category because the Tathagata is stating a fact instead of bestowing it as a proper name.

3) Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) translates this as the “macaque hard to distinguish” (vol. 4, p. 360). But I think that the original Chinese term is likely referring to both Sun and Six Ears. Their battle across the cosmos is counted in chapter 99 as the 46th of 81 hardships that Tripitaka was fated to endure (Wu &Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 360).

4) Wivell (1994) translates the name as “Great Sage of Bronze Muscles and Iron Bones” (p. 1207). But the gang (鋼) of Gangjin tiegu dasheng  ( 鋼筋鐵骨大聖 ) means “steel.”

5) This references the homophonous term Bimawen  (避馬瘟, “avoid the horse plague”), the historical practice of placing monkeys in horse stables to ward off equine sickness (see the 02-26-22 update here ).

6) The term Xingzhe (行者, “pilgrim”) appears 4,355 times , while Sun xingzhe and Sun Wukong appear 239 and 127 times, respectively. Xingzhe is used numerous times to refer to other characters, such as Guanyin’s disciple Hui’an (惠岸行者, 6 times ; a.k.a. Mucha or Mokṣa , 木叉行者, 9 times ), but the vast majority refer to Monkey.

7) The term Hou wang (猴王, “Monkey King”) appears 185 times , while Meihou wang (美猴王) appears 42 times .

8) The term Dasheng (大聖, “Great Sage”) appears 1,273 times , while Qitian dasheng (齊天大聖) appears 103 times . I believe Dasheng is also used to refer to the Buddha a few times, so please keep this in mind.

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.

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

Archive #42 – PDFs of Journey to the West Translations

Note : My blog is not monetized, so I am not making any money from this post. My hope is that the PDFs will make this legendary story more accessible to a wider audience. If you enjoyed the digital versions, please, please, please support the official releases.

Last updated : 08-17-2023

I’m happy to host a number of foreign language translations of the noted Chinese classic Journey to the West  ( Xiyouji ,  西遊記 , 1592 CE). This archive currently houses the following editions:

• French (only part two of two)
• Italian (see below)

As of this writing, I don’t yet have a modern Japanese translation. But you can read an original copy of the 1835 translation here .

I have also  included translations of the unofficial sequel, A Supplement to the Journey to the West ( Xiyoubu , 西遊補 , 1640), in the following languages:

I will add more languages to this archive as they become available. Please let me know if you have access to other editions.

Journey to the West ( Xiyouji )

1.a. complete.

1) This is a PDF for The Journey to the West (2012 Rev. ed.) translated by Anthony C. Yu.

Archive #11 – PDFs of the Journey to the West 2012 Revised Edition

2) This is a text PDF for Journey to the West (1993/2020) translated by W. J. F. Jenner.

Click to access Wu-Chengen-Journey-to-the-West-4-Volume-Boxed-Set-2003.pdf

The four-volume box set in my collection ( larger version ).

1.B. Abridged

1) This is a PDF for Monkey (1942/1984) translated by Arthur Waley in 30 chapters (1 to 15, 18 and 19, 22, 37 to 39, 44 to 46, 47 to 49, and 98 to 100). See  past book covers here .

Click to access Wu-Chengen_-Arthur-Waley-Monkey-Grove-Press-1984.pdf

2) This is a PDF for The Monkey and the Monk (2006): An Abridgement of The Journey to the West  translated by Anthony C. Yu in 31 chapters (1 to 15, 18 and 19, 22 and 23, 44 to 46, 53 to 55, 57 and 58, 84, and 98 to 100)

Click to access Anthony-C.-Yu-The-Monkey-and-the-Monk_-An-Abridgment-of-The-Journey-to-the-West-2006.pdf

The official cover ( larger version )

1.C. Audio Drama

I just learned of “The Fifth Monkey” and their Journey to the West – An Audio Drama Series , which presents a new English translation alongside the original Chinese . They explain:

One reason that led our team to start this audio drama project is to correct some of the mistranslations found in the Yu/Jenner translations. Most of them are very minor and we certainly understand what could have led to those mistakes, but we think it is worth exploring how we can help bring a more accurate presentation of the original text in the English language ( source ).

• Patreon (They post most regularly here)

The official logo ( larger version ).

This is a PDF for volume two (of two) for La Pérégrination vers l’Ouest (Xiyou ji) (1991) translated by André Lévy in 100 chapters. I was told by one French academic that this edition “is one of the best available in Western languages.” Hopefully I will find a PDF for volume one in the future.

Thank you to jyeet on the Journey to the West discord for locating the file.

Vol. 1 – [NOT YET AVAILABLE]

Vol. 2 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/French-JTTW-la-peregrination-vers-louest-Vol-2.pdf

The original two-volume boxed edition ( larger version ). Image found here .

This is a PDF for Die Reise in den Westen. Ein klassischer chinesischer Roman (2016) t ranslated by Eva Lüdi Kong in 100 chapters. It was awarded the Leipzig Book Fair prize in 2017. This version was converted from an ebook.

Click to access German-JTTW-Die-Reise-in-den-Westen.pdf

4. Hungarian

These are text PDFs for Nyugati utazás: avagy a majomkirály története (1969/1980) translated by Barnabás Csongor in two volumes. While the work covers the full 100 chapters, I’ve been told that it deletes the poems and occasionally paraphrases long-winded sections of text.

Thank you to Twitter user Jakabfi Károly for locating the files.

Vol 1 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Hungarian-JTTW-Nyugati-Utazas-Vol-1.pdf

Vol 2 – https://journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Hungarian-JTTW-Nyugati-Utazas-Vol-2.pdf

The official covers for volumes one and two ( larger version ). Image found here .

[ Note 10-19-23 : I was asked to remove the PDF from the archive per the publisher. I’m leaving the title here so others will know an Italian translation exists.]

The Italian text is called Viaggio in occidente (1998/2008) . It was translated by Serafino Balduzzi and published in two volumes. It is based on the French edition published in 1991. The work covers all 100 chapters.

This is a PDF for Małpi bunt (1976) translated by Tadeusz Żbikowski. It is a 14 chapter abridgement of the first 20 chapters of the original.

Thank you to Twitter user Friend_Pretend for locating the file.

Click to access Polish-JTTW-Malpi-bunt-1976.pdf

The official cover ( larger version ).

7. Romanian

This is a text PDF for Călătorie spre soare – a pune (1971) translated by Corneliu Rudescu and Fănică N. Gheorghe. It appears to be an abridgment.

Thank you to greencicadarchivist on the Journey to the West discord for locating the file.

Click to access Romanian-JTTW-U_Ceng_En_Calatorie_Spre_Soare_Apune_pdf.pdf

11. Vietnamese

This is a text PDF for Tây Du Ký translated by Như Sơn, Mai Xuân Hải, and Phương Oanh. The 100 chapters were originally split between 10 volumes and published from 1982 to 1988. The volumes were later transcribed and combined to make a single eBook via an online community in 2013 ( see here ). I have converted it into a PDF.

Click to access Vietnamese-JTTW-Tay-Du-Ky.pdf

The covers for the original ten volumes ( larger version ). Image found here .

A Supplement to the Journey to the West ( Xiyoubu )

A) This is a PDF for Further Adventures on the Journey to the West – Master of Silent Whistle Studio (2020) translated by Qianchng Li and Robert E. Hegel.

Click to access Further-Adventures-on-the-Journey-to-the-West-Master-of-Silent-Whistle-Studio-2020.pdf

B) This is a PDF for Tower of Myriad Mirrors: A Supplement to Journey to the West (2000) translated by Shuen-fu Lin and Larry J. Schulz. This version was converted from Mobi.

Click to access English-Xiyoubu-Lin-Shuen-fu_Dong-Yue-Schulz-Tung-Yueh-The-tower-of-myriad-mirrors_-a-supplement-to-Journey-to-the-West.pdf

2. Hungarian

This is a text PDF for Ami a nyugati utazásból kimaradt  (1957/1980) translated by Barnabás Csongor.

My thanks again to Twitter user Jakabfi Károly.

Click to access Hungarian-Xiyoubu-tung_jue_ami_a_nyugati_utazasbol_kimaradt.pdf

Update : 08-17-23

I forgot to mention that I have previously archived two other Chinese classics. The first is Creation of the Gods ( Fengshen yanyi , 封神演義 , c. 1620; a.k.a. Investiture of the Gods ), a sort of prequel to JTTW.

Archive #17 – PDFs of Creation of the Gods Library of Chinese Classics Chinese-English Bilingual Edition (Vols. 1-4)

The second is Journey to the South  ( Nanyouji ,  南遊記 , c. 1570s-1580s). This is NOT a direct sequel to JTTW. It instead follows the adventures of a martial god from Chinese folk religion. However, Sun Wukong makes a guest appearance in chapters one and seventeen.

Archive #40 – Journey to the South (Nanyouji) English Translation PDF

These have been posted for educational purposes. No malicious copyright infringement is intended. If you enjoyed the digital versions, please support the official releases.

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• Pokémon Forums
• General Pokémon Discussion

Theory: GameFreak is going to complete the Journey to the West team as starters.

• Thread starter Zeta
• Start date Sep 11, 2010

More options

Bulbapædist.

• Sep 11, 2010

Just throwing this out there: Gen 4 - Sun Wukong as Fire/Fighting Infernape Gen 5 - Zhu Bajie as Fire/Fighting Pokabu. Future Gens: Sha Wujing as Water/Fighting Kappa starter. Xuanzang's dragon horse as ???/Fighting horse/naga/dragon hybrid.  

is obsessed with Noivern!

...that would be awesome. But no, I don't think Xuanzang will be a part of it. He's not a fighting member of the team, after all. *edit* Wait, crap, what am I talking about? You mean Xuanzang's horse, right? And yes, a Dragon/Fighting type would be awesome. Also, what would Blaziken represent?  

• Thread starter

Oh, I meant Xuanzang's horse. The horse didn't have a name in the novel, or at least not one I could discern quickly. Blaziken is unrelated and just coincidental. Xuanzang could himself be made a Psychic Legendary or something when his four sidekicks are complete.  

I thought something was up when you said that Xuanzang was the horse...  

• I understand this is an old thread, but want to reply anyway

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