… the definitive guide for your Journey to the West
Sun Wukong’s Enemies
Monkey King is Banished
Dec 20th
Drawings by Zhao Hongben and Qian Xiaodai from Monkey Subdues White-Skeleton Demon printed by Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House
In this scene, Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) is sent away by Tripitaka after he attacks the “white-skeleton demon” who has taken the form of an old, helpless woman looking for her daughter up in the mountains. Incidentally, that daughter was also the “white-skeleton demon” whom Sun Wukong had earlier killed with his Magical Cudgel, the same one he is wielding in this picture.
Unfortunately, Tripitaka believes in all his innocence that the woman was just a frail human being. Pigsy, also in shock says bad things about Sun Wukong to egg Tripitaka on but regrets it when Sun Wukong is sent away as Pigsy knows he is the strongest of them all. Sandy, less biased, but not a very persuasive or effective character, tries to stop Pigsy and Tripitaka from taking any action against Sun Wukong but to no avail. The consequences are dire as they will all later be captured after Sun Wukong goes home to the monkey’s lair in the Mountain of Flowers & Fruit.
NOTE: Most of Sun Wukong’s enemies actually have the power of transformation just as he does. So while he may have extraordinary powers, in the world of the Journey to the West, his only real strength over the others is his wit while his greatest weakness is his pride, especially in his belief that he is invincible.
“Demons” is a Misnomer
Dec 11th
Not sure where these drawings are from ... any help appreciated so I can credit the artists.
The premise of Journey to the West is that Tripitaka needs to obtain the Buddhist scriptures in order to save the people of the land of the South as they only know “greed, hedonism, promiscuity, and sins.”
What makes the trip so dangerous is that Tripitaka is a 10th generation monk whose flesh, when eaten, the demons believe will give them immortality. Interestingly though, these so-called demons also want to do good, just that they are lazy and want the easiest way out. Time and again we meet demons who tell each other, “let’s capture and eat Tripitaka so we don’t have to do good works and gain immediate immortality.” Some demons also turn over a new leaf and vow to only do good for the rest of their lives after encounters with Sun Wukong.
This a very different notion from the term “demons” as used by Westerners where demons are the incarnation of evil and there is nothing good about them. So I think there should be another term used and “monsters” would be much better as many of these creatures that fight Sun Wukong are actually ordinary animals like him that have learned supra normal abilities and magic through one way or another. In fact, the Monkey King, is also a “demon”. As they have decided to use these powers for evil means, their form becomes ugly unless they choose to disguise themselves into a more handsome form.
However, once they have died, which they usually do under Monkey King’s cudgel, they return to their original being.
"The strange fact is that the world goes on against all reasonable odds. A hundred years, and even unimaginable evil is just called history."
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