#I tried to add more linkbut insane enough there is a limit to how many links you can put on tumblr post

[the-monkey-ruler]

Is there a list of all the challenges the pilgrims went thru and what they mean/represent?

There is a list of all the challenges that the pilgrims went through as graciously given by GuanYin in the last chapter.

What they are meant to represent, though I think would be more up to the reader's interpretation, and while I would love to give each trial its own literary analysis, afraid that for 81 trials, that would come out to be more of an essay worthy of being a thesis than anything else.

But I could try to give a little snippet to each one.

1. Gold Cicada banished is the first ordeal [chap. 8]; Particularly the first few ordeals are just for Tang Sanzang (唐僧) in particular and that Sanzang's first life being banished from heaven does have a lot of meaning when it comes to how important both being attentive in a lesson and the rice the Golden Cicada (金蟬子) spilled. We do not know a lot about the Golden Cicada in particular beyond his role as the Buddha's second disciple, and his friendship with Immortal Zhen Yuanzi (hence why he wanted to give him the ginseng fruits). Also that the information about Sazang being the Golden Cicada was leaked and wasn't intended to be well-known among demons. For a more in-depth look at him, try here! Sanzang is based on the Monk Xuanzang who went on his own 17-year-long journey to India and from there recorded his own called the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions and was popularly re-told again and again until it was what inspired the Xiyouji we have today! Despite being the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, Sanzang was chosen for his own merit, being a kind and compassionate soul, hand-picked by Guanyin herself. He is to face many tribulations in his life starting at his birth.

2. Being almost killed after birth is the second ordeal [chap. 9]; Sanzang was about to be murdered by his stepdad Liu Hong with the help of his fellow boatman Li Biao until his mother had to save him. Liu Hong murdered his father, Chen Guangrui, but luckily he was saved by a river dragon that he contingency saved him before when he was trapped as a carp and Chen Guangrui put him back into the river. Moreso just highlights how he was separated from his parents and his mother's love which is something he’s leading bullied for. The river does have a lot of symbolic meeting later down the line, especially when they get to the end of the journey and again, they have to cross the river. But this is definitely the start of his new life and can also show how it’s also the start of his next life.

3. Being thrown in the river hardly a month old is the third ordeal [chap. 9]; That is kinda symbolic of him being put into fate's hands to lead him on his path to being a monk but more just setting him up for his monk life. He was founded by the Jinguang Temple and was raised as Jiang Liuer or River Float. Again this touches on how this is the start of his new life from the one that he could’ve been born into, but instead due to circumstances he was directed into a life of being a monk. I believe that the original Xuanzang started being a monk around 10 years old but here it shows that even before he was a year old he was adopted into the monastery.

4. Seeking parents and their vengeance is the fourth ordeal [chap. 9]; Sazang at the age of 18 was really pushed to find his parents after being bullied by his classmates. I did find it interesting as this was like the first time Sanzang was upset enough to get revenge for his parents, finding his maternal grandparents and blind fraternal grandmother and rallying soldiers to arrest the men that 'killed' his father and have them executed. All within the confines of the law of course but still the only time we see him trying to seek out that kind of justice. While the men were still brought to justice, his mother was in a horrible depression after being forced into marriage with her husband's murderer. Luckily the after does come back from healing underwater right now. Would have been a big happy family but his mother still took her own life despite clearing her name...

5. Meeting a tiger after leaving the city is the fifth ordeal [chap.13]; This was when General Yin (寅將軍) came and captured them as General Yin is the first yaoguai that Sanzang encounters and he is a tiger yaoguai.Kinda interesting as his element is meant to be fire and the tiger is a fire element as well. Hence why I believe why that Sanzang was the one to make Wukong's tiger pelt to show their connection and later down the line, he becomes a tiger as well. There is a legend that in the Han Dynasty Li Guang shot a tiger despite there being a lack of known tiger populations suggesting General Yin is an extinct North China tiger.

6. Falling into a pit and losing followers is the sixth ordeal [chap.13]; Sanzang losing his first two disciples sounds pretty traumatizing (though we never get their names) I know some media has it that they ran away to save themselves but these guys really tried to keep him safe but ended up dying as well. They were eaten by the Bear Mountain Lord (熊山君) and Occupier of a Special Place (特處士) These were the three monsters right outside Gongzhou city and it is said that because Sanzang was so eager to leave that morning extra early was the cause of their meeting. He was in such a rush they fell into his trap. To think he just started and just for his own enthusiasm he and others are to be punished for that. Horrible start to a journey. It was an a lot to say about these demons in particular, except that they were able to get away with their crimes and never address again. It was only because of Taibai Jinzing that he was able to survive.

7. The Double-Fork Ridge is the seventh ordeal [chap.13]; This is where he lost his followers and he was on his own, about to be eaten by just normal animals SEVERAL times. Very nature vs man fight right there as it was clear he was not able to handle it himself. Maybe this was the start of his having to humble himself that he really can't do this on his own. After losing his disciples and being saved Sanzang had to go up the mountain alone. It was only when Liu Boqin the hunter was able to save him last minute from being eaten alive that he was even able to make it to the next mountain. He did exercise their home of their relative's spirit free of charge for spending the night and they gracefully made him a vegetarian diet when he excused himself from dinner.

8. The Mountain of Two Frontiers is the eighth ordeal [chap. 13]; This is where he had to save Sun Wukong (孙悟空), and the start of where they are going through ordeals together. These two come from such different backgrounds with one being an ex-warlord and the other being a young monk. Ther are so many different dichotomies to be played with how Wukong and Sanzang reflect each other with how they but heard to how they interact with one another. Wukong being a symbolic meaning of the Mind while Sanzang is the symbolic meaning of the Heart. This being in the character 心 that they would both share. Esnically they are to both play the struggle on the journey as while they are struggling with different battle, both can reflect the other. Sanzang is battling a mental fight while Wukong’s battles are more of will. And both endure physical fights as well. Wukong Wukong it is about endurance while Sanzang it is about survival. Sanzang is going into the world to be question and tempted on everything he has ever known, while Wukong must learn how to rain in his desires for bloodshed and temper, both fighting an uphill battle. There are so many connections between the two but this start does show that Wkong was more than grateful to Sanzang for saving him from under the mountain and even comes back on his own because he does want to keep that promise. Sazang is more than happy to take him on but within their week he has already see how bloodthirsty Wukong is when they encountered 6 robbers. Wukong plays with them before killing them soundly which led to their first fight about what it means to value life. This was a lot about trying to have two flawed people with different worldviews can be around one another, knowing that one needs the other but the other knowing he has to repay him back while also having them both being on equal footing. Wukong is so much more powerful than Sanzang and Sanzang is just a normal human being trying his best in a terrifying situation. It’s also to be noted that symbolically they are two different philosophies as well, Sanzang has been written to be more Confucius in this version and Wukong practicing a more Daoist attitude. The start of their relationship is fascinating in that Wukong can show such gratitude but also let his rage get the best of him whenever he is met with criticism and Sanzang also has a quick temper and hates being proven wrong but is forced to see the world with new eyes full of dangers he never knew and has to keep moving on. They both are lost in their own worlds at the start but it is fascinating to see how they grow as the journey continues.

9. Changing horse at a steep brook is the ninth ordeal [chap.15]; Wukong fighting with The White Dragon Horse (白龍馬) and changing out the horse can have a LOT of meaning in a previous post. Paricualty how the horse and the monkey have such a deep meaning with one another when it comes to the Mind Monkey and the Horse of Will and what they mean for one another. Before the Havoc in Heaven with Wukong rejecting to be the Bimawen he wasn't ready to practice self-control and train his mind but how he captured Bailong and started the journey shows how this journey is his path to self-reflection. He is finally putting in the work and dedication needed to change who he is, at first as a sign of gratitude for his life being saved, but now it is also seen as him having the inner perspective that he needs to change if he wishes to show his gratitude and perhaps becomes a better version of himself. Bailong is the third son of Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea, and is called the third prince of Yulong. He was sentenced to death by his biological father for setting fire to the jewel in the temple and was rescued by Guanyin. He was waiting in Yingchou Stream of Snake Pan Mountain but he did lose his scales, horns sawed off, and formed into a horse for most of the journey.

10. Burning by fire at night is the tenth ordeal [chap.16]; this was mostly how Wukong rather than stopping the fire that the Jinchi Elder (金池长老) at the temple tried to kill Sanzang for his cassock, Wukong actually increase the flames so that Sanzang was the only one safe but everything around them burned to the ground. This could be about these monks' own hubris and how it was their own downfall, Wukong just took the chance to push it over the edge. But it is to show that anyone could be an enemy within the journey as well, there are good and bad yaoguai, good and bad celestials, and even good or bad monks, whether they be Daoist or Buddhist. Anyone can make mistakes and be pushed to the edge if the temptation is there, hence the need for constant struggle to keep oneself in check. This abbot, in particular, couldn't handle that he just lost everything in a fire and did commit suicide before Wukong could question him about the cassock. In his moment of greed, he let himself try to take the life of another person and instead lost every material wealth he valued, valued more than his own life apparently as he did not wish to continue to life without it.

11. Losing the cassock is the eleventh ordeal [chap.16]; this was Wukong's own hubris being his downfall as none of this would have happened if he listen to Sanzang and didn't show off their cassock. Sanzang was against the idea claiming that he didn't want to show off and perhaps draw attention to his own treasures but Wukong has always been a shameless individual (and we love him for that) and loves to show off even what isn't his. Letting the Jinchi Elder at the Abbey look at their cassock, leading to being taken by the Black Wind King (黑風怪) who was the one teaching the Jinchi Elder how to live longer in exchange to learn more about Buddhist scriptures. Funny enough it might be this that saved him as when Wukong got Guanyin to help capture him he was taken under his wing as the Mountain Guard of her sanctuary. At this point, more humans have died on this journey than demons lmao. Also Wukong first instinct of using vore as a tactic. This whole chapter was to symbolize greed and what it can do to a person. Even Black Wind King intended to go to the abbey to help stop the fire but was so intrigued with the cassock that he forgot about his friend, the Elder, and left with the treasures. One can't be able or willing to help their friends in a time of need if they are blinded by their own greed and this need to get rid of that greed. It is also in this chapter that Guanyin disguises herself as Lingxuzi (淩虛子) a wolf spirit that Wukong had killed Wukong jokes that Guanyin has turned into a demon, and Guanyin laughs along but does say how "One's origin means nothing." She is suggesting that it doesn't matter if one is a human or a demon for it is what is in the heart that matters, and Guanyin shows that if someone still has greed in their heart, then it is what makes them a demon. Even she could become a demon if she allowed greed in her heart for greed, hatred, and ignorance (plus two others) at the roots are suffering. Black Wind Demon's own greed led to the death of two of his friends White Robe Scholar (白衣秀士) and Lingxuzi despite their friendship.

12. Bringing Eight Rules to submission is the twelfth ordeal [chaps.18-19]; Zhu Bajie (豬八戒) being the 12th ordeal! I have definitely gone off about Bajie and changes throughout the story here but I do know there is a lot I didn't get a chance to say. Once a Marshall of Heaven was sent to earth after coping a feel on Chang'e when he was drunk he was reborn as a pig to regain his merit. Wukong pretending to be his wife Gao Cuilan to lure Bajie into a false sense of security is just hilarious all the way around but our first taste in how Bajie was pretending to be a hardworking man only to stop working once he thought he finally got what he wanted. I think this was kinda a jab at how people once they get what they want change into who they truly are. Bajie is to represent the desires, most of the body and mind as he lets his jealousy of Wukong cloud even his own judgment. His own slander and need to provoke Wukong is played both for comedy and drama within the story as it is only when Bajie started cutting off the desires of his heart does he becomes a team player, even becoming Wukong's best helper in fights as they work together to defeat demons and ride west. Although he never makes it to the point where he loses all his vices as Wukong or Sanzang did in the end, he still showed much more sincerity and concentration than at the start, the genuine desire to help others finally coming through. He is to represent a human's hard-working, simple, and straightforward qualities; you don't have to be the smartest or the strongest to still be valued by those around you. He is to represent a human's greedy and selfish nature but also that people have the ability for more than that as well. He is a to be a human, a god, and a pig in his nature. Even his name is a limitation set on him of what he can and cannot eat, a constant reminder that he is supposed to abide by these new rules for his own good. He is the clown of the story, there to offer entertainment through more low-brow humor while Wukong covers more high-brow human (piss jokes aside) but also Bajie is to be seen as what one's own insecurities can do to a person if they are overwhelmed by them, only being a harm to others and themself. I think a lot of people can relate to Bajie as well, as while Sanzang and Wukong are to be the heroes of the story Bajie is to be the one that still has vices that he must battle. Wukong struggles are far different from Bajie's own struggles and it depends on the person to who they can relate more. Bajie's different personality does make him hard to work with but more often than people find him cute and even relate to his desires for a simple life. He is a selfish, lazy, simple-minded, playful, and hard-working coward full of dichotomies and changes. They say his origin may lie with the story "猪臂金铃" by Gan Bao in Jin Dynasty. Or that he was inspired by He Bo Feng Yi, because the prototype of Feng Yi is a pig. Wu Zimu's "Meng Liang Lu" mentioned that "Tianpeng" was originally a Taoist fairy official. Some people also think that the prototype of Zhu Bajie comes from Indian Buddhist scriptures, as Chen Yinke said. There is a portrait of "Pig Head Bodhisattva" in the Thousand Buddha Caves in Kizil, Xinjiang, excavated in the early Tang Dynasty. He is called "Marizhitian" in Buddhist scriptures. Zhu Bajie has something in common.

13. Being blocked by the Yellow Wind Fiend is the thirteenth ordeal [chap. 20]; This one is funny cause Sanzang actually was worried about demons down this path, only for Wukong to assure him that he could handle it. And of course, Wukong got excited in a fight and left Sanzang alone so he can join Bajie in his fight against a Tiger Vanguard (虎先鋒). He was the one to actually use the "Golden Cicada Escape" to shed his tiger pelt and escape Wukong... which is gross. But he was killed by Bajie eventually. The first time I think Wukong gets his taste that he can't just fight he needs to learn how to protect. However, Wukong was blinded by Yellow Wind Demon (黃風怪) and his Samadhi Wind leading to Bajie having to help him out to be healed. Yellow Wind Demon is our first demon that is an escaped Heavenly beast that needed to be subdued and captured. He was able to gain his humanoid form by listing to scriptures at the food of Lingshan and stealing oil in a glass cup. Funny enough he is to be considered a demon that didn't see Saznag worth eating as he was already tired of cultivating from Taoism.

14. Seeking aid with Lingji is the fourteenth ordeal [chap. 21]; This was more just for them searching for someone that can subdue Yellow Wind Demon and they finally found Lingji Bodhisattva to get his weasel. Think this could be the first time Wukong starts to let it sink in that he needs to rely not only on other people but even start to get help from even immortals, celestials, or other Yoaguai if need be. It was also here that Wukong was the first time critically injured forcing him to rely on Bajie in his blinded state until Guanyin was able to heal his eyes.

15. Hard to cross Flowing-Sand is the fifteenth ordeal [chap. 22]; this is when they meet Sha Wujing (沙悟淨)! I do love this arc myself as they were only fighting because of miscommunication and Wujing didn't know that was the monk he was waiting for and that Wukong's first choice is often "hit first ask questions later." Also that Wujing possibly ate all of Sanzang's past lives. But needless to say, they were having trouble crossing the Flowing Sands River as it was far too long and too deep for anyone to travel without a boat. I did talk about Wujing's importance in the novel before and his importance to the book desire for his quiet role. He claims he made the monk's head into a necklace, not knowing what else he wished to do with them as not even a goose feather was able to flow on the Flowing-Sand River, so he knows they must have been special. Wukong and Bajie did make a plan to lure Wujing out of the river but because of Wukong's impatience, Wujing was able to get away from them time and time again. This led to Wukong having to get Guanyin who cleared up the whole miscommunication.

16. Taking in Sha Monk is the sixteenth ordeal [chap. 22]; I do find this funny that by crossing the river and then actually finally communicating with Wujing, Wujing has able to have the upper hand against two stronger opponents because of his location in the river. Maybe this could suggest this was harder on the group as either this was more than just replacing the previous guards, or that Wujing being an ex-cannibal was a larger hurdle to overcome. Wujing was the Rolling Curtain General in Heaven who broke a glass cup at the Peach Blossom Festival. Whether this is an act of anger, defiance, or even an accident is hard to tell but he was punished by being sent to the Flowing-Sands River to be pierced by flying swords for every seven days, being spared the death penalty. This is what lead him to hide in the river to avoid this punishment and eat all the fish in the river and started eating humans as well. Wujing plays the role of more of the last line of defense if Bajie or Wukong is out of the picture at the moment, leading to him having fewer moments of both skill display and power as his elder brothers are the ones to take the spotlight first. But he is the best when it comes to guarding and even underwater adventures, proving to be a reliable and level-headed member of the team. Though his anger and emotions do start to become more prevalent as time goes on, his stoic behavior melts as he becomes more emotive, both with happiness and sadness, throughout the journey. He is to be considered both gently and conservatively but not afraid of hardships and indispensable. He is considered rough after years of isolation but he is true intentions, and despite his brutish looks he has spiritual wisdom that he speaks a few times. he is to be loyal and selfish, he is most willing to bear the more laborious tasks of carrying the luggage but another sign of his dedication. While easy-going and obedient, he doesn't stand out too often due to his more quiet nature and thus being overshadowed by his louder elder brothers. While his obedience is noted he rarely gets a chance to speak his own thoughts, only showing more willingness to speak as the years go on. He is the least distracted of his brothers as he takes his role as a protector very seriously, trying earnestly to learn but also very laid back when it comes to participating otherwise. He's a symbol of 'clarity of mind' showing his obedience and kindness but at the cost of showing his own emotions. It is only in moments of crisis he is able to express himself, either expressing great anger or great encouragement to his brother in times of need. People see him often as the most unlucky of the pilgrims suffering the most for one of the weakest crimes, leading him to have a subdued spirit and lacking resistance to fighting back. But he has shown to be a righteous fighter with a strong will in both words and deeds and while he is content with his life, a contract to those that are eager for quick success and instant benefits, Wujing is able to enjoy in the present. Some scholars believe that the Wukong comes from the image of the deep sand god of Esoteric Buddhism from "The Poetry of the Tripitaka of the Tang Dynasty" as Shensha. Shensha God exists as an authentic Buddhist god however, in the scriptures translated by Zhu Tanwulan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Shensha and Fuqiu existed as evil spirits, rather than Dharma protectors. In the Tang Dynasty, the worship of Shensha God was serious

17. The Four Sages' epiphany is the seventeenth ordeal [chap. 23]; this was when they were met with Lishan Old Mother, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjusri Bodhisattva, and Puxian Bodhisattva disguised as a widow with three daughters. Of course, they were tested to give up the monk lifestyle for a good wife and a land full of luxury. And each one gave up that temptation. Sanzang for his mission, Wukong had no interest, and Wujing would rather focus on his redemption, but Bajie was the one to give in in the end (after being bulled a bit by his fellow brothers). This was more for comedic effect was Bajie was greedy and wanted to marry all three daughters, leading him to be blindfolded and resulting in a buried face and nose. He got trapped in a pearl shirt over it and when he woke in the morning tied to a tree he promised to give up the idea of finding a wife and focus on his goal to get the scriptures in the end.

18. The Five Villages Temple is the eighteenth ordeal [chap. 24]; this would most likely be when Wukong and the gang stole the ginseng fruits and were being punished for it. Sanzang denied them being off put how human-like they looked while Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing enjoyed three for themselves, Bajie wanting more afterwards. Because Qingfeng (清風) and Mingyue (明月) (both are to be about 1,200 to 1,300 years old but have child bodies) wouldn't stop insulting Sanzang and the gang Wukong lost his temper and destroyed their tree. The Great Zhenyuan Immortal (鎮元大仙) of the Abbey (a friend of the Golden Cicada) was going to boil them alive for ruining his ginseng fruit tree. Wukong was able to get away about twice times I think but they would run away all night only to be caught in the morning, meaning they went three days without sleep trying to run away. This was the first time Bajie, Wujing, and Wukong did something together and the first time the fillet was even mentioned to Bajie and Wujing. But otherwise, Wukong did feel responsible for Sanzang being punished when he was defending his students against the other immortals' accusations, even going so far as to say he will repay them back for the fruits himself because his disciples are his responsibility. But Wukong let his anger get the best of him and ruined the whole tree which only escalated the situation.

19. The ginseng hard to revive is the nineteenth ordeal [chap. 26]; Wukong tried serval times to trick Zhenyaun with imitation clones to avoid their beating without it working. This is where Wukong went to Gaunyin to fix the tree after he found he couldn't fix the tree himself. He relies on Guanyin a lot in these ordeals as she was able to heal the tree without huge issues from her previous experience. In the end, they were able to enjoy another taste of the ginseng fruits and even got the Immortal to be his sworn brother after that. The ginseng fruits are to be considered a sign of spiritual roots that needs 10,000 years to bloom, bear fruit, and ripen and giving 47,000 years on someone's lifespan if they eat one and 360 years just by smelling one. Zhenyaun is a master when it comes to roots and how everyone has spiritual roots and can return to these roots instead of the obstinate learning of emptiness and extinction, mistaking the human root and ignoring the immortal root

20. Banishing the Mind Monkey is the twentieth ordeal [chap. 27]; This was def the hardest time in the pilgrimage I have already talked about this a lot here about how it means who is right versus giving someone the benefit of the doubt. White Bone demon (白骨精) is clearly the bad guy and obviously wants to eat and kill Sanzang but also despite her intentions she hasn't done anything yet either. Wukong just knows demons enough that any demon trying to hide their true self is simply just trying to lure their prey into a false sense of security. And while Wukong is so very right to be suspicious, Sanzang also has that mindset that he should give everyone a chance until proven wrong. That whether Wukong is right or wrong, if he should be allowed to kill someone who hasn't hurt them yet and that Sanzang should trust Wukong's judge of character when it comes to how demons operate. Sanzang is still naive in his thinking of course but not having faith in his own disciples as well. Wukong has shown that he doesn't hesitate to distinguish between human and demon at this point but still, Wukong's understanding of how demons operate should have been listening too. Didn't help that every time Sanznag was about to believe him Bajie would turn up for payback at the teasing for being hung by Guanyin. This was the true test of the pilgrim's loyalty to only another as Sanzang let his anger get the best of him while Wukong was quick to show that he was right before risking Sanzang being kidnap and risking his life. This was all part of White Bone Demon's plan to separate Wukong from the group, allowing her to finally prey on Sanzang, until Wukong used the other gods of the day and night to hold her to finally get rid of her. Her plan still worked as Sanzang banished Wukong thinking he was out of control and not even he could help. She was the first demon to learn about eating Sanzang would give one a longer lifespan, something not even Yellow Wind knew about. This one is really a test of character and if you can to should judge a person on what they are or rather their action, but even then if their intentions are true or not. There is giving people the benefit of the doubt but there is also being naive and too trusting with one's own safety. The Bone Demon some inspiration from the drama "The Peony Pavilion", which was written almost at the same historical period as "Journey to the West", the heroine Du Liniang in the play was exhumed and opened by Liu Mengmei three years after her death, and was resurrected. The two married in private and Tang Xianzu clearly stated in the script "Inscription" that "it seems that the capital of the Jin Dynasty guards Li Zhongwen, and Guangzhou guards the affairs of the sons and daughters of General Feng Xiao." What is said is all about the "resurrection" of the young girl who was born in the sky in traditional Chinese culture.

21. Getting lost at Black Pine Forest is the twenty-first ordeal [chap. 28]; This was def how Sanzang was kidnapped by the Yellow Robe Demon (黃袍怪) right off the bat. He is another example of a celestial coming from heaven, but instead of being a beast that cultivated and came to earth, this is the first human/deity that does so. He was the Kuimu Wolf Star of the 28 stars in the sky but he wished to be with a Jade Servant and together they planned to escape heaven and meet on earth (because getting married in heaven is taboo). It was only when Bajie went to find food did he fall asleep on his duties, and as such Wujing follows after him thinking he got lost. And of course, Sanang is about to faint he gets so hungry and wanders off to get food and WALKS RIGHT INTO A DEMON LAIR. It was disguised as a pagoda and he thought he would find monks there but still. From there, Sanzang meets the princess to rely on her family where she is. But Yellow Robe Demon only let Sanzang go when the Princess asked him to and Bajie was under the delusion that he could protect Sanzang without Wukong's help. There is a lot of good Wujing and Bajie moments here since they are the one playing off each either but Bajie is getting a bigger head than he should have head only leads to more trouble down the line.

22. Sending a letter to Precious Image Kingdom is the twenty-second ordeal [chap.29]; It was only through the princess's mercy that Saznag was the one to send the king the Princess's letter about her kidnapping. This task was easy enough in itself but does lead Yellow Robe Demon to know that the monks gave away their position and thus starts his plan for revenge. Bajie of course volunteers himself to go save the princess thinking it would be fine, but Sanzang urges Wujing to join else he knows that Bajie is going to get killed. I do like how they worried about each other but now they are the ones to save a princess. I really think this is more Bajie's journey at this point, him being so full of himself now that Wukong is gone only to be knocked down to his lowerest when he sees that he really can't do all this on his own. It is given here that the gods of day and night do assist Bajie and Wujing when Sanzang in near, kinda like a boost, but without Sanzang near Bajie and Wujing lost the battle horribly. More great scenes of Wujing protecting the princess too. It is said this trial could be about the relationship between a husband and wife. Yellow Robe and the Princess are like the wood that restrains soil. The one who restrains the husband is a wife, the earth color is yellow, and she is a yellow woman; The "robe" is covered with wood and soil, but it is a loess garment, and the yellow robe is added to the body, which is also an image of exercising power at the right time. It describes the appearance of a devil, and it is called "blue face and blue hands", and the general shape is green with the color of wood.

23. Changing into a tiger at the Golden Chimes Hall is the twenty-third ordeal [chap.30]; This one is another connection between Sanzang and the tiger as he was turned into one by Yellow Robe Demon and hunted by the people of the palace. He was stabbed, whipped, and captured and it was said id he didn't have the spirit protect him and that it isn't his destiny to die that night HE WOULD HAVE DIED from the torture. It was said that it was enough pain that 20 other monks would have died over it and reduced to minced meat. I cannot stress enough that he was TORTURED. He couldn't speak, he couldn't communicate, and no one believed him when he said he wasn't a demon... but no one listened. I really think this reflects how Wukong felt when Sanzang didn't listen to what he said. The tables were turned and Sanzang felt what Wukong felt in that moment of what it is like not to be listened to and being punished for trying to be honest. Yellow Robe was able to completely have everyone on his side with his good looks and magic abilities but at the same point, Sanzang was the object of ridicule here. And sadly this isn't included here but Bailong stepping up and trying to attack the Yellow Robe Demon himself. He didn't succeed but he did succeed in getting Bajie to go get Wukong which I really think it the crux of the story itself. Bajie knew he had to right to ask Wukong, he was the one that made Sanzang push him away even if that wasn't his intention. It was Bajie finally humbling himself and while he still wasn't honest in his intentions Wukong would clearly see that Bajie was trying to downplay his own grievances. There was a single scene where when Wukong was done teasing Bajie in that he wasn't coming he does ask to stop and let him bathe. He had killed about 10,000 hunters when he was back home and I think this was him trying to cleanse himself of that sin before going back to meet his brothers. I don't think he regrets what he did... but he defiantly didn't want them to know about what he has done when he was gone. That he was so quick to go back to being violent and murderous without any supervision and this single act was his only way to try to rid himself of that past. Even in the end when Wukong meets with Sanzang again, he acknowledges that Sanzang is the kind of man that even pities demons, not that he didn't believe him that she was a demon, but that even human OR demon Sanzang didn't agree to kill her before she commits any crimes (yet). And whether he was wrong or right for having that stance, he was still the one to push Wukong to leave which was his own downfall in giving up on Wukong. Wukong knew that White Bone was going to attack and his mission was to protect but over and over again Wukong shows that in coming back was how he recognizes the differences between them. Wukong was the one to accept that they may not agree on everything but didn't have to make them at odds. And it was in the end that Wujing and Bajie other addressed how they stood by and let Wujing get kicked out, kneeling down to show their regret for their inaction or sabotage. Wukong has the stance that he doesn't forgive easily, rather than dealing out punishment harshly but it was only here that we see him saving Sanzag in his tiger body. Sanzang even says that he owes everything to Wukong and that he should have all the merit for his actions. I think that Sanzang could learn through his own struggles what it means to be looked over and ignored when they were in the right as well, and only then could he see what he was putting Wukong through as well.

24. Meeting demons at Level-Top Mountain is the twenty-fourth ordeal [chap. 32]; this was the chapter they meet Golden Horned King (金角大��) and Silver Horned King (銀角大王). These two are also heavenly beings that fell from heaven, being Laozi's fire tenders that stole five of his magical weapons and wanted to make it big on earth. Funny enough Bajie was the first to get kidnapped here because he went on ahead after being bullied a bit more into it. Good stuff. Wukong just thought if worst came to worst he could save Bajie himself... but it did lead to Sanzang and Wujing being kidnapped as well while Wukong was trapped under ANOTHER mountain and very pissed about it. This is where we get to see Wukong's greatest show of strength when he was about to run a comet speed with a demon weight about two mountains on his back. But Wukong was sadly put under ANOTHER mountain and forced to stay there until he bullied the mountain deity to GET IT OFF HIM. From there he was about to infiltrate and learn about the Brother Kings from Sly Devil (精细鬼) and Wily Worm (伶俐虫) not to be caught in their treasure... only to be caught in their treasure.

25. Being hung high at Lotus-Flower Cave is the twenty-fifth ordeal [chap. 33]; this was when Wukong finally was able to infiltrate the cave as Nine-Tailed Vixen (九尾狐狸) who might be the same fox from Fengshen Yanyi. There is a lot of history to the Nine Tails, especially in other media but she isn't a major enemy in Xiyouji as she is in other media. She is meant to be a punishment to Kong Zhou (along with two other demons) when he claimed to make Nvwa his concubine and thus Nvwa sent the Nine-Tails (and company) to reach havoc for him and his kingdom as his new concubine. She was only taken out by Jiang Ziya in the end as he was the only one to overpower the control she had in the courts. The idea was while they were created for the sake of chaos they got addicted to and disobey's Nvwa's decree in the end. That all being said in Xiyouji It is noted that this is the ONLY demon that Wukong has ever bowed to, even under the disguise of the servants Hill-Pawing Tiger and Sea-Lolling Dragon. He was forced to show her the same respect as a servant would their superior, leaving him to tear up from pure frustration. But she is killed by him without much fanfare or acknowledgment of her heavenly ties or connections with Nvwa. This chapter was especially good as while the gang was tied up in the cave being hung up and Bajie was up there and saw Wukong's ass just knowing it was him. But Wukong is founded out and they had to battle Nine Tail's little brother King Fox Number Seven (狐阿七). I can't say much here as Bajie was the one to take him out and Laozi was just able to save his fire tenders before Wukong beat them both to death (he already beat Silver Horn to death Golden Horn was just left). These two had the most treasures out of any of the demons they have fought before but at the same point, they only used two out of the three in a useful manner. They were both cautious in their planning but in the end, they were still overwhelmed but Wukong's own cleverness and cunningness as they got lazy and allowed Wukong to take advantage of their laziness. If anything there is something to be said about how the heavens are making trials for the pilgrims and purposely making their road harder, yes it is for the sake of them reaching the 81 trails mark to be enlightened but at the same point Wukong is right to call them out on that behavior.

26. Saving the ruler of Black Rooster Kingdom is the twenty-sixth ordeal [chap.37]; This was when Sanzang was met with the Black Rooster Kingdom's dead king and how they had to save him from the well. This was surprisingly similar to how Sanzang's own father 'died' and then revived as well. Might be a call back to his own trauma. Pretty much the kings advisor, someone he thought, as a Daoist Immortal came by to help him with his drought issues and while the drought was dealt with the king gave his utter trust in the immortal. Sadly, the Daoist was actually a cultivated demon in disguise as he tricked the king into getting closer to a well to push them down, and essentially kill him. From there the demon transformed himself into the king, and took over his life, from his kingly duties to his family. It shows that people that help you and you come to trust can still be using you and stab you in the back.

27. Running into a demon's transformed body is the twenty-seventh ordeal [chap.37]; So this is the Lion-Lynx demon (獅猁怪) or rather the Azure Lion (青毛狮子怪) as he will become to know later in the novel when he returns but right now he is solo and pretending to be king of the Black Rooster Kingdom. Saznag was visited by the ghost of the king, whose body was preserved in a well, VERY similar to how Saznag's own father's body was preserved as well. But Wukong was able to have the King's body become alive again with a immortal pill from Laozi and this trial took a more diplomatic approach as it was their goal to convince the prince first that Lion-Lynx that has been pretending to be his father. This leads to a lot of reveals and can't say too much there besides a family being reunited which is lovely and might be how Sanzang was reflected with his own. (He was lucky that the Lynx-Lion was gelded else his mom could have made some baby demons.) I can't say much beyond it was seeing a demon wanting to take another person's life, and while he served as a fine king, he still murdered someone that trusted him and took over his life.

28. Meeting a fiend in Roaring Mountain is the twenty-eighth ordeal [chap. 40]; this is when Red Boy (紅孩兒) was on the trail, mostly trying to get the guys to come and save him. Wukong actually does a good job of steering Sanzang away from Red Boy until Sanzang heard a child's cries for help and can't help but need to help him. Another trap of course but it shows that Sanzang still wants to help anyone he can even if there are demons after him and that is still seen now when Red Boy says that his parents have died and he is all alone. Wukong either in a moment of lack of empathy or can see through Red Boy's lies suggests that the kid would be better off dead since his family is dead is actually funny not going to lie. Red Boy is the son of Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King but his inspiration comes from Shancai, who is Guanyin's faithful servant. Shancai in Buddist legends once traveled south to visit 53 teachers and achieved Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism is used here as an example of becoming a Buddha in one body, and its process of seeking the Dharma represents the various stages of Huayan entering the Dharma Realm. According to the 54 entries into the Dharma Realm of the old Huayan Sutra, Shancai is the son of the elder in Fucheng. When he is in the womb and born, all kinds of treasures emerged, so he was called good fortune boy/child of wealth. Later, he was taught by Manjusri Bodhisattva and traveled all over the southern countries to visit Bhikkhu Gongdeyun, and received the samadhi of reciting Buddha. It is more so that Red Boy is meant to be a reference to Shancai as while they have different backstories they are meant to be the same character as well.

29. The sage monk abducted by wind is the twenty-ninth ordeal [chap. 40]; Wukong gladly took the opportunity to carry Red Boy as they were traveling up the mountain as he thought this would be a great time to finally kill him. He attempts to throw Red Boy off a cliff he turns into a wind and kidnaps him right off the horse. They are getting more creative with how they kidnap him, even just taking him right in daylight without Wukong just being nearby. It might be another example of how Wukong was more focused on killing his enemy rather than trying to protect at the moment. This was a sweet moment for Wujing as he was the one to cheer Wukong on after they lost Sanzang, Wukong thought at this point, even if he tries to kill demons BEFORE they attempt to kidnap Sanzang it still doesn't matter. Really hits him hard that he thinks he is a failure and for the first time it shows that he really thinks he can't do it. That is until telling them how they are untied in this front, and no matter what as long as they stick together they can overcome any obstacle. Even Bajie is moved by his speech and agrees they must always try and says how he is sorry for even doubting their group. It was only then that they were able to move forward to save Sanzang.

30. The Mind Monkey being injured is the thirtieth ordeal [chap. 41]; this was honestly so sad with how Wukong was teary up from the smoke and sire and how it affected his eyes. Legit it looks like his old injuries from Laozi's furnace affecting his eyes as he feels that burning smoke, so painful that he passes out. It was here that Wukong is truly defeated in a combat situation and it's from someone he saw as family. He was going in with the hope to appeal to that family loyalty as he was DBK's sworn brother but was rejected again and again by Red Boy that he both didn't believe Wukong or that he just didn't care about those relations either. This lead to Bajie having to be the one to resuscitate Wukong while Wujing is terrified over his life. Wukong didn't want to attack Red Boy at least not when he found out that they were, what he considered, family. But in the end, it was not enough and while Wukong through he could handle the flames the pain from the smoke in his eyes lead him to faint. This is the ONLY time that Wukong has never been in such pain that he has fainted. No other treatment has ever put him in such a state, maybe the Yellow Wind demon but even then he was blinded, not down. Wujing really thought he died, starting to cry over Wukong's body because he thought he lost their brother. Bajie instead didn't believe it for a second, didn't think for a moment that Wukong was dead, and instead started right away to resuscitate him. It was like Wujing was overwhelmed with sadness while Bajie just couldn't even think of Wukong being defeated like that. It was only because they got to him in time that was Wukong not permanently hurt or perhaps even dead from such an attack.

31. Asking the sage to subdue monsters is the thirty-first ordeal [chap. 42]; this is when Wukong went to ask Guanyin to help subdue Red Boy which she does so as Red Boy himself was disguised as her and using her image to trick Bajie, leading to his capture. Gaunyin actually comes with the lotus platform of swords to capture Red Boy and I think that there is actually a big connection with how Red Boy and Wukong were similar when they were starting off as their own kings of the mountain. Similar to how Wukong was so powerful at the start of his warlord career, Red Boy as well showed great powers from the start, being more than powerful to run his own mountain. And that Red Boy is trying to fight people that are arguably stronger than him, only to be taken down by a Bodhisattva that being GuanYin while for Wukong it was Buddha. From there, after he tried to attack Guanyin again she subdued him with golden bands and was taken under to be a disciple. They are not exactly a one to one, but I like to think that Wukong saw a lot of his younger self in Red Boy and how he was going down that path of destruction that could only lead to hundreds of years of punishment if he wasn’t taken down at the moment. Maybe Wukong thinks about how he could’ve avoided a lot of the mistakes he made if he just had someone stronger than him make him see reason. Also that Red Boy is the one to become Shancai who does have a different origin story in Indian lore but in Xiyouji, Red Boy is the one to become the Child of Wealth and be at Guanyin's side forever, along with Muzha and Longnv.

32. Sinking in the Black River is the thirty-second ordeal [chap. 43]; This one is what I remember this is a more underwater adventure with Tuolong Black River God (鼉龍 or Xiao Mojie) and Wujing getting his timeline a bit more as it’s very much underwater. Wujing went underwater to find out who took Sazang again and it was Four Dragon King's sister's (I guess there are five siblings now) ninth son. But after the death of her husband Dragon King of Jingehe (The same dragon from the start of the novel actually), Ao Run (Bailong's father) was the one in charge of raising them. Surprisingly very little is being said about Bailong despite his imminent family being involved in this trial. Tuolong played a boatman as Sanzang and Bajie got on his craft only to flip the boat sending both Bajie and Sanzang into the water. Toulong was going to invite Ao Run to eat Sanzang (and Bajie is there) WITH him as a way of showing thanks for raising him all these years but in reality, it was because he has not done anything with his life and has been causing mischief, trying to get back in his Uncle's graces. Ao Run after being confronted by Wukong with these accusations of trying to eat Sazang admits that he thought his nephew was cultivating and had no idea of the trouble he was bringing. Ao Run sent his eldest son, Ao Moang, Bailong's eldest brother, to go subdue Toulong else Wukong was going to kill the guy himself. Wukong and Ao Moang were able to subdue him and Ao Moang took him back to Ao Run to be punished for his crimes. Wujing in this one finds Bajie and Sanzang and frees them luckily. This might have something to do with the youngest sibling, trying to prove himself by capturing Sanzang and giving it to Ao Run in honor of him, being his father figure, but in reality, he’s just being selfish, and jealous that all his other brothers were able to integrate with society just fine with respectable jobs but he has not. But this story does touch on children that grow up without a father, especially losing them quickly is to be seen as more sensitive. And how Toulong losing his father to the rules of heaven, shows his defiance of not falling the same rules that lead to his father's death. Toulong's sense of rebellion also comes from a sense of entitlement that he should be the exception to the rules for his own suffering as if trying to justify his actions to bring suffering to others.

33. Hauling at Cart Slow Kingdom is the thirty-third ordeal [chap. 44]; this one is definitely a personal favorite due to the humor, but there is a lot to be said when the gang comes to the kingdom that is enslaving Buddhist monks in favor of Taoist monks. The ones pulling the strings behind this abuse are Tiger Strength Great Immortal (虎力大仙), Elk Strength Great Immortal (鹿力大仙), and Antelope Strength Great Immortal (羊力大仙) that are controlling the king. This is the chapter most would recall Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing trick these three immortals into drinking their piss but I do find it fascinating how Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing take the places of the three pure ones when they are crashing the feast and take the places of the most important figures in heaven. Wukong as Laozi, Bajie as Yuanshi Tianzun, and Wujing as Lingbao Tianzun. I’m not sure if that was supposed to be meta-commentary about anything like how the three might be bringing in a new heaven or Age of Enlightenment themselves, but I did greatly enjoy the political symbolism that it could provide. This one definitely highlights how there were a lot of religious tensions between Daoism and Buddhism and how is that even because of these acknowledgments of the tensions, this book was banned in certain areas. But rather than Sanzang or anyone in the pilgrimage trying to refute Daoist beliefs, rather acknowledge that both are looking for the same thing when it comes to personal self-improvement and how well they can be different they can still respect one another (though there is some bias is that Buddism is better). Wukong saving the monks also shows how they put so much faith in waiting for Wukong and how he even gave each one of them a hair to keep them safe. It shows a great deal of compassion on his part from what I believe at this point. Not to mention I really think that this is the arc that is important more generally when it comes to character interactions as we get to see a lot of how they start to become more comfortable with one another. And this is just like in the Ginseng Fruit arc where they are all stealing food similar to before, but rather this time, they all agreed to cover each other’s backs.

34. A mighty contest is the thirty-fourth ordeal [chaps. 45-46]; In each of these test the immortal either loose face or die and honesty if they have kept the challenges simple with Saznag then they could have lived... sucks to be them. This one I do find to be one of my favorite segments personally only because it’s toeing the line of monks should not lie which Sanzang refuses to do however, it’s not lying because Wukong is simply changing the answers, kind of proving that the Yaoguai either had prior knowledge of what the answer should have been and can’t work around the new answers and rather Wukong is the one cheating for Sanzang rather than Sanzang cheating himself. Wukong definitely does most of the heavy lifting, but it shows his increasing durability throughout it all. Personally, think this was meant more to show off his powers and I could be missing the significance of each one of these powers, but that is what I am aware of. The first test of one of bringing the rain. Sanzang can't bring rain (he says a much) but Wukong goes up and THREATENS the people if they make rain for the Tiger he will beat them to death... so they don't and do rain on Sanzangn's turn. Diplomacy! Elk and Saznang have meditation content in which they try to cheat and a bug tries to break Sanzang's concentration. But Wukong turns into a bird and eats that thing and then turns into a centipede to break Elk's concentration and it works! Last is where they guess within the box and Antelope guesses fine clothes, peaches, and a Toaist disciple. Wukong goes into each box, tears up the clothes, eats the peaches leaving only pits, and shaves the disciple's head to make him a Buddhist monk. In each segment, Wukong was pulling the strings as Sanzang followed Wukong's instructions on what to say. They could have lived if they stop there but... nah. Tiger continues to have a head-cutting-off contest. Wukong has his head is cut off and it is kicked away, but he just regrows a new head while Tiger loses his head, and when he can not put it back on in time he dies. Elk tries to have a disemboweled contest but Wukong easily took out all his guts to "clean in there" while Elk died as he tries to gouge out his own heart. And finally, Antilope and Wukong could see who could live in boiling oil. Wukong pulled a prank and pretended to be dead but showed that he was just fine. Antilope did try to cheat and keep his oil cold but Wukogn quickly fixed that and he boiled alive. Overall a decided victory.

35. Expelling Daoists to prosper Buddhists is the thirty-fifth ordeal [chap. 47]; When the king saw that his advisors were indeed three Yaoguai that were most likely planning to kill him (similar to Lion-Lynx’s plan) he was shaken out of his stupor and saw the error of his ways. The monks that escaped at the start of this chapter were able to come back home and gave him back his hairs as they were finally freed from their sufferings. This kind of goes back to how the tensions between the two religious groups were high but I believe the intention was for there to show how despite differences there can be bridges to connect those gaps. Wukong being one of those bridges as he trained in Daosim and even received all his powers from it, but he is still a proud Buddhist monk as well. Having both knowledge did not hinder him, and either way, but if anything, it allowed him to excel in both philosophies. Wukong is nearly as familiar with scripture as. Sanzang is and even knows it a bit better in some cases. It kind of shows how that kind of relationship gap can be bridged through a general respect for both practices, and I think Wukong was meant to be that kind of representative for that respect.

36. Meeting a great water on the road is the thirty-sixth ordeal [chap. 47]; They are blocked by the very large river and as such stay with the Chen family (which funny enough is also the surname of Sanzang) and find out they have had to sacrifice their children to this demon for the past few years and after Sansang saying they have to help (Wukong suggesting buying more kids to sacrifice to save their own kids, no that is not a solution) Wukong and Bajie agree to go undercover as the children and fight the demon King of Spiritual Touch (靈感大王). The demon does get away but everyone thinks that is the end of that while the demon does see Saznag and plots to kidnap him being suggested by the Perch Mother. That was the trial itself rather than actually fighting The Spiritual Touch King. I’m not sure if there’s a lot of significance here besides perhaps highlighting how Sanzang misses his home, especially surrounded by people with his surname. That might be more of a plot detail, than huge significance allegory-wise.

37. Falling into the Heaven-Reaching River is the thirty-seventh ordeal [chap. 48]; this one was an elaborate trap as the gang is forced to walk across the huge river as it has iced overnight. I do enjoy this part only as Bajie was the one to make sure Bailong's horseshoes can walk on ice and Wukong even makes sure that the ice is thick before walking across it. Sadly while they were in the middle of the river this is when the Spiritual King breaks the ice and despite best efforts does kidnap Sanzang. As much as I did love how there was a lot of teamwork between Wukong, Wujing, and Bajie, as they were trying to lure the demon out of the water for Wukong to fight him properly, Spiritual King was able to escape due to its advantage of being underwater. As such this is what led to Wukong getting GuanYin again as he saw no other way that Bajie and Wujing could handle him on their own as the King locked himself up in his palace and no amount of goading was going to get him out again. Even faking they were hurt, to faking defeat wasn't enough to get the Spiritual King is risk fighting against them as he knew he was eventually going to lose.

38. The Fish-Basket revealing her body is the thirty-eighth ordeal [chap. 49]; I do find this particular way of entrapment to be very interesting as it touches upon Gaunyin and her connection with the fish basket. There’s actually a famous story about this as well, but the story is about a beautiful woman who is selling fish and comes to a village, and how every man in the village wants to marry her but she would only marry someone that would recite Suntras every day and release all the fish she has, and whoever could memorize the Suntras, would be able to marry her and pretty much it was inspiring people to learn more about Buddhism. The one man that was able to memorize all the scriptures she called for, decided to continue his life and still teach in her honor. It was a famous story, showing the fulfillment of learning scriptures. This arc was made in reference to that story and I do find that a great way to tie her into the narrative as well.

39. Meeting a fiend at Golden Helmet Mountain is the thirty-ninth ordeal [chap. 50]; This chapter I do find interesting the fact that this is another heavenly beast that escaped heaven Single Horned Rhinoceros King (獨角兕大王) and at this point, it’s almost standard for heavenly steeds to be the enemy for the sake of there being enough trials. This time Sanzang and the gang are in the middle of a snowy mountain and Wukong goes off to find food while leaving them in a circle. There’s actually a lot of symbolism in this chapter, especially when it comes to circles. Wukong creates a circle around his party as he goes off to try to find a village for food, a creation of his own making intended to keep them safe as long as they follow the instructions that he has given them. While, in the meantime, his party escapes the circle and put some of themselves in danger. This kind of circle symbolism is also seen in how Wukongs two iconic symbols are also circles that being his fillet and his golden hoop rod. His fillet is a circle that constraints, created for the purpose that he is to act in a certain limitation that he can't act solely on his own desires but rather focus on his own self-restraint to work with others but his staff is a circle that breaks his limits, allowing him to transition the limitation said he has been given through sheer force of will and power to overcome obstacles in his path. And it’s specifically here that Wukong gives his own limitations to the party but they bypass those limitations, and find themselves in danger. Similar to how when Wukong breaks his own limitation he puts himself in danger and others when he acts without thinking. It is almost karmic when Wukong tries to impose limitations on others when he himself is known for breaking these limits again and again and seeing what it feels like to be unheard when he only has the best intentions for his party. When Wukong tried to break into a new realm as the Jade Emperor he also had to except the dangers that came with that, hence, his punishment. It’s that kind of symbolism I personally think of when it comes to breaking barriers you have to also expect the risk that comes with it and accept it. Sanzang and the gang fall right into the Rhino King's trap and are taken in by him.

40. Heaven's gods find it hard to win is the fortieth ordeal [chaps. 51-52]; Not much to say he’ll personally except that this enemy has proven to be stupidly strong because of his magical item. The amount of extra power that this item has given him is insane, considering that Wukong needed to get the heavenly armies and Nezha in order to fight this guy, and it still didn’t win. But even Nezha lost all his weapons due to the Rhino King's Golden Ring to simply steal magical weapons from other people. Wukong lost his cudgel here, a symbol of his ability to break limitations and overcome the odds, and thus is left powerless without gods that also lost their magical weapons. And this is where I really enjoy seeing that Wukong really understands that he canceled all his problems through brute strength, but rather he needs to understand his problems in the first place in order to overcome them. He has the entire army of Heaven on his side but he can’t defeat this demon and it’s because he doesn’t understand how his powers walk in the first place but once he does understand where his powers came from. Once he learns even more about his enemy, he’s able to defeat him properly showing how cunning and willing Wukong can go when it comes to figuring out battle strategies and finding weaknesses in others. The amount of times that Wukong actually had to play peacemaker amount the troops because the armies were getting discouraged over losing the weapons is amazing, I don’t think it really shows how Wukong is also a great leader, especially when it comes to facing horrible odds against him. This is most likely the strongest enemy that Wukong has faced during the journey. Sun Wukong not only asked the Jade Emperor to find out the origin of this person, but also asked Li Tianwang, Nezha, Lei Gong, Huode Xingjun, Huanghe Shuibo, Tathagata, Eighteen Arhats and many other masters in the world of immortals and Buddhas for help

41. Asking the Buddha for the source is the forty-first ordeal [chap. 52]; Pretty much Wukong couldn’t find how to get any more information about his enemy, and of course had to go to the highest level to know who this guy was, and how to defeat him. If anything, I think it’s more of a humbling moment that Wukong had to do in order to ask than anything else, and it kind of shows how far he’s willing to go when it comes to protecting his party even if it means admitting that he needs help in the first place. And considering how prideful and arrogant Wukong is at the start of the story I think that’s a trial within itself. Even Sanzang at the end, admits that he should’ve listened to Wukong and promised to try to do better. A lot of humbling in the chapter. There is an actual legend to how Laozi got this Rhino in the first place as when Laozi was 8 or 9 years old he found a rapid divine bull that was eating people in the wild. Laozi and his brother at that young age went to cut the grass for baskets and play games. The bull came out of nowhere that has been eating people and the two confronted it for all its crimes to their neighbors. Laozi knew better than to hit it head-on rather than wait for the bull to run over him and stab it in its underbelly with his sickle. It ran away and they chased after it and after a fierce battle, they rode the bull down the mountain in their victory. From there Laozi took the bull as his own and domesticated him to eat only grass and pull plows and carts.

42. Being poisoned after drinking water is the forty-second ordeal [chap. 53]; it was actually a lot of symbolism when it comes to the Mother-Birthing River especially when it comes to Hindu mythology. There is an old legend about how a prince got pregnant himself when it was supposed to be his wife but he was still able to give birth. And that’s kind of reflected here as well when it comes to finding that kind of in qi energy and reaching enlightenment, I believe. It is quite interesting that the ones chosen here are Sanzang and Bajie. I think Sanzang was chosen for the symbolical representation similar to the prince while Bajie was for all the jokes that Wujing and Wukong absolutely throw his way because they find the whole situation Absolutely hilarious. They had to face off against Immortal Ruyi (如意真仙) who is Bull Demon King's younger broth and the Uncle of Red Boy. He was more of a nuisance than a threat as he kept making Wukong spill the Aborition Water so he had to get Wujing to help him out. Wukong claimed he only pared him because he is Demon Bull King's younger brother, or else he would have beaten him to death.

43. Detained for marriage at Western Liang Kingdom is the forty-third ordeal [chap. 54]; this one was interesting, and the fact that the main villain, for most of the arc, wasn’t the scorpion demon, but rather it was the Ruler of Women's Country (女兒國國王), because she absolutely refused to let Sanzang go and holding him hostage until he agreed to her demands for marriage. Wukong of course says they cannot attack else they would have to kill all of her soldiers as well and does push for Sanzang to play along with her fantasies, even though Sanzang is absolutely terrified that he would be forced to fulfill the “marriage vows.” But I do think this one shows how much trust Sanzang has gathered for Wukong because he follows the instructions to play along in order to avoid fighting with the entire kingdom or the army and they just leave the kingdom last minute… which honestly would’ve worked if it wasn’t for the last-minute demon. I do love how protective Bajie gets in this one, even Wujing lifting Sanzang off the carriage to get him away from the queen, kinda reflecting on Bajie's own past actions with women and how he is coming around to the importance of boundaries. In the end, the queen admits to feeling ashamed of her actions once she sees how Sanzang and Wukong and gang had such powers and were meant for greater things than just being kings. She was convinced that their union was set up by the heavens and refused to let him say no. She was very direct in her approach, very different than before trying to seduce Sanzang with no hope as he was more frightful than tempted. She is the only woman that isn't a demon that has tried to seduce Sanzang and while she is honorable and respected she shows that same kind of tenacity. There are not all good humans in the book and at times the gang has to be creative with how to get around them. She was willing to give up her own country based on Sanzang's own beauty showing a single-minded desire to have him as their own.

44. Suffering at the Cave of the Lute is the forty-fourth ordeal [chap. 55]; if anything, this one just shows how another heavenly animal escapes and this being the Scorpion demon (蠍子精). This is one of the only times we see an attack actually affect Wukong beyond the samadhi powers as this kind of venom does hurt him extremely. He got horrible headaches from the poison, enough to take him out of the fight for quite a while. Wujing and Bajie were unable to help in that case. Funny enough this is also just because of this one power that Wukong acknowledges that brute strength cannot win against her, and hast to go to another person for help. In the end, they were able to sub to her and she has to be sent back to heaven, but this was definitely kind of leaning into the idea of being trapped by lustful desires. She was more of a pest that was listening in on Buddhist scriptures than anything else being brushed away by Buddha until she stung at him, being the only demon known to inflict damage on Buddha. She took Sanzang in his moment of freedom only to trap him in a similar hostage situation of being forced to marry but I do notice how she did prepare vegetarian meals for him alongside her human meals... so awkward but how polite? Sanzang rejected her every time until she was annoyed enough to tie him up until he changed his mind. It wasn't until Wukong at the Pleiades Star Offical (a rooster) to subdue the Scorpin Demon was about to be killed by Bajie as well. A noticed trait is that Bajie is usually the one to kill female demons that have committed similar crimes as him when it comes to sexually harassing people. I like to think it is to show Baije's own personal fight with his own sexual and romantic desires. The Scorpion Demon is taken from the Xiyouji Zaji play when they have the 17th episode "The Queen's Forced Marriage where the Queen's brutal side is the direct reflection of the demon and how the two are more connected in the play. Considering that the only other demons in that play were the Demon Bull Family it shows how she was considered quite popular with this arc as well.

45. Banishing again the Mind Monkey is the forty-fifth ordeal [chap. 56]; this is the Six-Eared Macaque (六耳獼猴) Arc and I kind of did a deep dive about the symbolic meaning of the monkey mind and all this here, but this is definitely one of the defining points of the chapter is right in the middle of the journey. I didn’t know that this was such a big question but apparently, a lot of people did wonder why did Wukong progress back into violent killings in this chapter in particular with the robber and while I do admit that Wukong has come a long way there hasn’t been yet a really defining point of him, addressing the fact that he does go overboard when it comes to his enemies when he believes that it’s justified. He has been doing a lot to show more empathy to his companions in even to other people, but I really think halfway through the journey. This is him trying to find more empathy for people that he believes don’t deserve second chances despite him receiving a second chance as well. It’s almost hypocritical for him to think that people he believes others should have to die for their crimes, and that he should be the judge, jury, and executioner in these circumstances. It might have been because even the family itself never really said they valued the son's life more so they only want to keep him as he has no other heir, which is also sad within itself that a family only sees value in the son at this point because he can continue the family rather than value him as a person that he’s just done so much damage. And Wukong also has such filial respect, and how much importance he puts to family and elders. Kind of pushed him to his limits even when this particular burglar has been given a second chance by Wukong by not killing him the first time he met with his group rather than just killing his leader. If anything Wukong probably thought he was already justified in showing him mercy and the guy just came back again trying to hurt his party after being shown that mercy was pushing him over the limit.

46. The macaque hard to distinguish is the forty-sixth ordeal [chaps. 57-58]; This shows the progression of how far Wukong has come, both were fighting enemies and fighting with himself and who his identity is. Wukong not fighting with his identity is one of the main things in Xiyouji that I think anyone could take away from it as Wukong has been shown to be defying limitations on himself but also never really having that kind of ability to fit in a category, either making him very alone as well. And I think this chapter really highlights how Wukong can either be seen as a character that fits nowhere or the only character that truly is able to bridge the gap between different realms and be able to fit everywhere thing. He was able to see the worst traits of himself being pushed into his face and overcomes what those traits inside of him mean and even what they represent. He never denies who he is but rather shows that he is much more than what he sued to be, that he can grow and change and learn and become more than what he once was. When Sanzang sent Wukong away in this arc he really thought that he could not help Wukong anymore and that he has failed as a teacher but rather it was Wukong's own battle that he had to fight first as no one can force himself to change besides Wukong. The Six-Eared Macaque created duplicates of the entire gang, planning on killing them all and replacing them so he can gain credit and glory for bringing back the scriptures and becoming the "Sun Wukong" of legend. It was only under Buddha's eyes that was he able to discern the two (and a hell cat) and the truth of the matter came to light about the four spiritual monkeys that are the same species as Wukong. The phrase "Six Ears" has two different meanings. 1. meaning "A third party, outside intervention," such as an eavesdropper when two people are to be having a private conversation. Like saying make sure a sixth ear isn't listening in. Something that Wukong even says at the start of the book when talking to master Puti about their classes. Guan Hanqing's "Butterfly Dream": "Three people make big mistakes, and six ears do not conspire." In the novels of the Ming Dynasty, there is also the phrase "six ears do not preach", and "six ears" has gradually become an external object that refers to the hindrance of "preaching". The 2. meaning in from Buddhism has the theory of "six roots" of "eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind". From the "six roots", "six consciousnesses" are born. It should be eliminated first on the road of practice. At the end of the story, when the demon is eliminated, this point is also pointed out: "God returns to the heart, the Zen formula is fixed, and the six senses eliminate the pill." This is to show how those that now the truth cannot be tricked by falsehoods as such, discerning between the true and false monkey. The truth must be false, and the truth will be let go; the false will be true, and the false will be attracted. It is because real practitioners are regarded as false practitioners, and false practitioners are also mistaken for real practitioners. Those who are "four monkeys mixed with the world" have the four minds of greed, anger, ignorance, and hindrance. Sun Wukong symbolizes the "mind", and the six-eared macaque is the "evil" that deceives it. " Longing and the contradiction of "superego". Just because Sun Wukong's mind is turbulent, and he is often in a state of "ego" but "ID", so "evil" has an opportunity to take advantage of. The process of Sun Wukong destroying the demon is the process of "doing good and eliminating evil" in one's heart. In fact, the Six-Eared Macaque not only symbolizes the delusion of Wukong alone, but also the delusion of the party as whole as they are originally one. Therefore, after the "false heart" was destroyed, there was a description of the master and apprentice and the other three also "cutting the two hearts", and the team worked together and went to the west.

47. The road blocked at the Mountain of Flames is the forty-seventh ordeal [chap. 59]; this one was a hard trial to get past as they were literally trying to go around flaming mountains, but this is like the first time I’ve actually seen where Wukong’s past actions have influenced the road ahead as the fire only started due to Wukong pushing Laozis furnace to earth. Not only did this cause tremendous changes to the landscape, but also it led to the people of us being punished as well in the crossfire. Innocent people were forced to enter these harsh heats and we’re only able to five because Princess Iron Fan (鐵扇公主) took advantage of the situation, making herself the immortal of the mountain. From there, she was actually able to gain power because of these grievances. I think this is very interesting and how even unintentional consequences can have large repercussions. Princess Iron Fan is a Rakshasa within the novel and mother of Red Boy and the wife of Demon Bull King. Princess Iron Fan is a symbol of material love but also envy as she is alone without both her son and husband at her side, taking her anger out on one she could without restraint at least. Her Xiyouji creation was inspired by three different courses the first being the 10 Rakshasa who is in charge of guarding and reciting the Lotus Sutra from Buddha lore. The Guizimu God also from Buddhism lore who lost her own child in a miscarriage sworn in the neck life to be a demon that eats other's children which did happen. She saw the error of her ways and came to the heavens to protect the Dharma. And the last is the Iron Fan Immortal who is a Taoist Immortal from the Xiyouji Play where she has different family relations such as being the sister of Li-shan Laomu and is connected to another legend where she was a Taoist Wind goddess that was friends with the Queen Mother (and Pilanpo), however after a slight party over the Queen Mother bringing her own wine Princess Iron Immortal went to earth where she became a demon. She never married in this version and plan to keep it that way and thus she was greatly offended when XingZhe kept hitting on her. All these inspired her Xiyouji debut.

48. Seeking the palm-leaf fan is the forty-eighth ordeal [chaps. 59-60]; this one was definitely the most elaborate, as this was a lot with the family situation. Wukong encountered their son Red Boy just a few years ago, and because of his intervention, Red Boy became a disciple under GuanYin, a position that could be considered even higher than being claimed as a deity in Eastern Heaven. Wukong isn't wrong in saying that their son is better off being a disciple under the goddess of mercy, rather than running amok on his own mountain, being a king, yes, but only building himself up to be taken down in a few years, similar to what Wukong had to go through. If anything, he could’ve saved him a lot of pain and suffering in the long run because his power and arrogance were going unchecked. But of course, no parent wants their child to be dethroned, and as such Princess Iron Fan wishes to get revenge on her son’s behalf. Wukong may have saved Red Boy’s life in the long run, but he did separate a family as well. There is something to be said when it comes to seeing two choices that both have negative consequences within them. At the time I’m sure Wukong wasn’t even thinking about how Princess Iron Fan or Bull Demon King (牛魔王) would react to seeing their son gone but definitely doesn’t make it any easier when he has to be the one to take responsibility for that separation. Wukong had to pretend to be Bull Demon King while he was away with his new concubine Jade-Faced Princess (玉面狐狸) who wanted to keep him to herself. She was the daughter of the Long Live Fox King who left behind all his fortune and Princess Jade Faced wanted someone strong enough to protect her and her territory. Wukong was able to get the fan but it was taken again by Bull Demon. This led to a confrontation between brothers and after Wukong's change of heart and mind, he sees how that change is being put to the test, being forced to fight someone he sees as a brother.

49. Binding the demon king is the forty-ninth ordeal [chap. 61]; Wukong is fighting someone that he sees as a brother, someone that he has looked up to for many years, and still looked up to him, even while they were fighting. They have similar paths and similar backgrounds and of being similar minds, these two really reflect each other but while one was able to hone his mind the other did not. He wanted to go easy on him because of their brotherhood and in fact, does time and time again, going easy on them because he doesn’t want to hurt his family. He sees Iron Fan as his sister-in-law and Bull King as his brother but because of his actions toward the child, they refused to help him in his quest. And this kind of tension and stress kept building and building until Wukong had to completely destroy their brotherhood and arrest Bull King, Wukong knew he couldn't leave without the fan else their entire journey would be put to a halt but both Iron Fan Princess and Demon Bull King refused to help Wukong, rather wishing to hinder his quest. And I think that kind of betrayal, no matter how emotionally justified, still hurts because Wukong is a very family-oriented guy. And I think that this arc being right after the Six Ears arc is a coincidence as that arc was supposed to symbolize Wukongs own turning point within the journey and now we get to see how Wukong is shedding his past relationships in order to move forward with his new life. Bull King was another reminder of his warlord years and well I’m sure he would never want to hurt his family… sometimes cutting people out of your life is the best way to move forward and heal at least in the circumstances. Also, Bajie being constantly there assisting Wukong and all the fights kind of shows how Wukong has moved on from his old brotherhood and has gained a new one. Wukong faced off against Bull Demon but at the same time, they are at a stalemate until Wukong gets backup from Nezha. The prototype for Bull Demon was Demon Bull Xisuo from “往世书” where Xisuo was an incarnation of Ashura and planned on doing harm to the world and was only stopped because the multi-armed goddess Durga was able to subdue him. This might make a connection to why Nezha who also had a multi-armed form, was the one to subdue Demon Bull King. this one I think, is without a doubt, the hardest fight that Wukong has to go through at least emotionally.

50. Sweeping the pagoda at Sacrifice Kingdom is the fiftieth ordeal [chap. 62]; this within itself wasn’t too much of a trial, but it was a moment that I really enjoyed between Wukong and Sanzang in how Sanzang has made his own promises to himself about sweeping pagodas they visit and how Wukong is insistent, that he still helps and stays up with him. There was no reason for this, no obligation, just Wukong and Sanzang cleaning a room together, which, of course, let the funny to encounter with Benbo'erba (奔波兒灞) and Babo'erben (灞波兒奔) at the top of the tower who just so happened to be bragging about the sacred treasure their master stole and how the monks took the blame for the fallout. Their boss has been causing the town a lot of grief and trouble and as such the monks were being blamed. The first two generations of monks were tortured to death so... extreme. But that wasn’t the trial itself. The real trial was the cleaning aspect, which I think shows that, despite all the demon fighting that was to still be considered of the utmost importance. This is probably the first time we see Wukong and Sanzang doing so domesticated together and I think it hits home how Wukong's change of mind and heart has affected how he interacts with those around him.

51. Recovering the treasure to save the monks is the fifty-first ordeal [chap. 63]; this one was more for the sake of clearing, the monks of this kingdom were blamed for the stolen treasure which is the Rishi mushroom (part of transitional Chinese medicine). It was stolen by the local dragons, and also the Nine-Headed Insect (九頭蟲) that convinced the Wansheng Dragon King (万圣龙王) his father-in-law and Wansheng Princess (萬聖公主) his wife and to do so. Wanseng Dragon wasn't always this high and mighty, between his Son-in-law's persuasion and his backing from Bull Demon King he became quite bold with his power. He was the one that Bull Demon King stopped his fight with Wukong so go have tea with. Friendship with Wukong has died, new friend is Wangsheng Draong King. This arc does tie in with another legend about the Nine-Heads which is why he got away with the story. It is because he’s actually connected to another legend. The Nine-Heads was most likely inspired by the Nine-Headed Bird from "Shan Hai Jing Da Huang Bei Jing" and how the legends grew that a house of blood drops will be blamed on them, similar to what happened in the story. Quan Xiaotian was about to bite off one of his heads before he ran away. And also it was just great to see Erlang Shen and how he and Wukong became sworn Brothers as well. (Please note that for years I was duped by the 1986 series into thinking the Wansheng Princess and Bailong were ex-finances like I believed that for YEARS). But also I have already done a whole thing as to why Wukong was so grateful to Erlang in the first place, mostly being that he was under the family-ties punishment order and he was supposed to kill all of Wukong's little suns, but give them time to hide and let them live, hence why Wukong is so grateful that he had a family to come home to. I could go on for days about Erlang and his importance and how he foils Wukong's own story but this is his only major character appearance.

52. Chanting poetry at the Brambled Forest is the fifty-second ordeal [chap. 64]; this one was particularly said, in some instances as this was one of the few times Sanzang was kidnapped by demons (that is common enough) but rather than trying to eat him or sexually harass him, instead spend the entire chapter reciting poetry to one another and talking about philosophy. Sanzang spends most of this chapter with three spirits Shiba Gong (勁節十八公), Guzhi Gong (孤直公), Lingkongzi (凌空子), and Fuyun Sou (拂雲叟), and their servants Naked demon (赤身鬼) and Apricot Immortal (杏仙) Sanzang has shown time, and time again that he does value all life and that includes demons as well. He doesn’t like the idea of Wukong killing them he does ask Wukong to spare them when he can... he just usually never gets a chance as they are already dead by the time he is recused. He never really gets a chance to show this kind of appreciation for life, because while Wukong does try to kill the demon to save Sanzang there are a lot of demons that are arrested and sent back to heaven. And I think that this is a great chapter to show how Sanzang does enjoy talking philosophy with other people, but it also shows how he would ever enjoy interacting with other Yaoguai when they are not harming him. Sanzang even asks Bajie to spare them in his rampage as while they did try to push Sanzang to marry Apricot Immortal he didn't think they actually hurt him. Wukong claims that even yaoguai that go through self-cultivation eventually give in and try to mooch off qi off of humans, as that is the quickest and easiest way to cultivate. Wukong has always had a “hit first, question later” mindset and I think it’s really submitted hear how he even treats Yaoguai similar to his warlord days with an iron fist. And perhaps how his empathy still needs room to grow.

53. Meeting disaster at Little Thunderclap is the fifty-third ordeal [chap. 65]; this was doing the fight with Yellow Brows Great King (黃眉大王) and when he was impersonating Buddha. Something I find very interesting is how Wujing, Bajie, and Sanzang all fell for his track, but Wukong KNOWS Buddha. Yes, fought with him, but definitely knows a fake when he sees it. Funny enough this guy isn’t trying to kill them for the sake of trying to gain immortality rather it’s similar to Six Ears desire for fame and glory particularly he says he’s after the right fruit. He wishes to be the one to deliver the scriptures to China and I think this is because he is also a fallen celestial that was a disciple of Maitreya Buddha. This one is a lot of Sanzang lamenting that Wukong was right and how he should’ve listened, which is very cathartic. But this could be an allegory about how the heavens aren’t perfect either and how anyone can be susceptible to their own desires if they let them get the best of them. Hence, why cultivation and practice are always a continual thing rather than a destination and you always have to keep yourself in check

54. The celestial gods being imprisoned is the fifty-fourth ordeal [chap. 66]; But also, this is another enemy that is extremely hard for Wukong to face head-on because of the magical items that he possesses the Golden Cymbals. While they did break that treasure he had another treasure to trap Wukong and his reinforcements in a bag. Twice. It starts to get very frustrating every time Wukong has to get more reinforcements to help his previous reinforcements. This leads to a lot of humiliation on Wukongs enough to make him cry and leads to him also having to use more elaborate schemes in order to defeat him… schemes which include turning into a watermelon seed to be eaten and jumping inside his belly until he gives up. Always a classic.

55. Being blocked by filth at Pulpy Persimmon Alley is the fifty-fifth ordeal [chap.67]; this one’s probably a very forgettable chapter as Python Demon (蟒蛇精) in this chapter doesn’t actually speak because it is said that she is not cultivated enough to speak. She has to rely on eating humans to cultivate rather than practicing, hence the increase in human killings. It is definitely a larger version of his animal form but she has not yet reached a humanoid form, just making her a giant monster at the moment. This one’s more banter between Wukong and Bajie when it came to them, trying to trap this demon together and honestly, I really did enjoy more of the interaction, in this chapter rather than any overarching themes, I believe. Wukong is again eaten by this demon and just grows until he punches a hole in her belly to kill her. Wukong considered this one of the weak demons he has encountered due to her low cultivation. But overall this was a good example of how Yaoguai try desperately to eat humans in order to take on a humanoid form of their own. Another popular legend of a snake demon is from “The White Snake,” where a Yaoguai and a human fall in love and it’s a forbidden tragic romance. That actually has no connection with this demon sadly, but I still thought that referencing other similar demon types could still provide some kind of insight.

56. Applying medication at the Scarlet-Purple Kingdom is the fifty-sixth ordeal [chaps. 68-69]; this is one of my favorite chapters, mostly because of the comedic aspects again. This one is about how Wukong ropes Bajie into agreeing that they are going to heal King Zhu Ziguo by taking a piece of paper and Wukong shoving it in Bajie's back pocket for a prank. The entire palace is terrified of what they look like having Wukong before medical practices behind a curtain at first. But this really shows Wukong's ingenuity and creativity when it comes to talking his way out of situations. The best example of this is how Wukong demands a little bit of every kind of medicine they have just so when he creates the end product no one in the kingdom is able to replicate what kind of medicine he did create. The creation itself has actually been of soot from a frying pan and Bailong’s own urine. Apparently, it has magical properties which I cannot deny but also that they had to ask BaiLong in the first place is absolutely hilarious to me. And then he proceeded to ask Ao Guang for rain, which last-minute the best he could do is sneeze a few times without his rain equipment leading to two kinds of dragon fluids in the medicine.'

57. Healing fatigue and infirmity is the fifty-seventh ordeal [chaps. 68-69]; Despite the questionable materials that Wukong used within the medicine in the end he was actually able to heal the king from his ailments, as he has shown that he just needed another, push to finally get himself out of bed so to speak. I’m not sure how much of the dragon fluids what part of that or if perhaps it was a placebo effect, but in the end, what mattered was that king was more than convinced that he was all healed up and then proceeded to say the source of his ailment started when he game depression from losing his wife. The reason he was fated to lose his wife was that he once shot two young birds, male, and female, children of the Bodhisattva Peacock King. After the Peacock King repented and the Buddha Mother ordered the king to suffer for three years losing his own mate, and he became ill. 

58. Subduing monster to recover a queen is the fifty-eighth ordeal [chaps. 69-71]; Wukong was able to infiltrate Sai Tai Sui (賽太歲) lair and even have the kidnapped queen who was his hostage help steal Saitaisui's magical treasures the Purple Gold Bells while he was under the disguise of Spring Grace (春娇), the queen's demon servant. It was with this help that Wukong was able to defeat him. The queen was protected all these years with his own treasure the Five-Colored Dress which made it impossible for anyone to touch her from Immortal Ziyang. It’s actually quite lovely to see how Wukong even cooperates with the captives in their own escape plan, as they already have a trusted position with the demon. Wukong disguises himself as Going and Coming (有来有去) and once he gets the treasure he still wanted to keep the treasure for himself, but in the end, Wukong shows how his patients and planning were able to win another battle. This demon was Guanyin's celestial beast that escaped heaven, her wolf mount, and she was glad to take him back to heaven.

59. Delusion by the seven passions is the fifty-ninth ordeal [chap. 72]; this one was quite sad to me, only in the fact that Sanzang insisted on being the one to get water on his own, as a thank you to his disciples for always being the ones to get food and water for him. He wanted to start putting in his own work, despite just being a human and leading by example. Sadly, this does lead him to be the only one to encounter the seven Spider Demons (蜘蛛精) and of course, being taken back to their home. Despite all his attempts to leave peacefully, he was unable to do so and even pleaded with them to let them go else they might have to face his disciples. In the end, I just find it quite sad to think that, despite him trying to just get something as simple as water he was punished for such things. The seven spider sisters are supposed to resemble the seven emotions so there’s a lot of symbolism with the sisters themselves. There is also an appearance of Wukong fighting the seven sisters and seven adopted sons, listed as Bee (蜜), Hornet (蚂), Cockroach (蠦), Cantharis (班), Grasshopper (蜢), Maggot (蜡), and Dragonfly (蜻). All of them were given the choice of either being adopted or eaten by the sisters... they choose "forced adoption".

60. Being wounded by Many Eyes is the sixtieth ordeal [chap. 73]; Wukong was very much solo in this arc of this kind of journey as his companions have been poisoned and leaving them unconscious by the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord (百眼魔君) who is the elder brother of the seven spider sisters. But their brother they did not share a cultivation master, but rather simply cultivated together by proximity. Wukong is actually very distraught for a lot of the chapter over the idea that his companions might really be dead. Hundred Eyes is powerful in that his eyes can produce golden lights that still inflict damage on Wukong's body of gold and steel. It’s only when he’s able to receive help by searching for his natural enemy himself that he was able to get what he needed not even from a person, but rather the same person that he used to fight the Scorpion Demon, the Star official Pleides... who is still a chicken. It was only with that chicken they were was able to subdue the centipede demon at the cost of his sisters. While the sisters call Hundred Eyes when Wukong held them hostage, Wukong offered to release them for the exchange of his party. The sisters begged their senior brother, but the senior brother abandoned them for eating Sanzang and as such Wukong took the sisters lives for his choice. The man was able to be subdued himself and even taken in by Plian who said he will keep him as his mountain's guardian, similar to Balck Wind Spirit and Gunayin. He was able to keep his life but this shows that even those that you considered family do not always have your best interests in heart and might betray you for their own selfish needs.

61. The way blocked at the Lion-Camel Kingdom is the sixty-first ordeal [chaps. 74-75]; this is arguably the largest amount of enemies that Wukong was forced to face and it is a possibility that Wukong could just go headfirst and defeat all of them. He does say he could make his staff as larger as a mountain range and smash his enemies to death. But the amount of damage that it could cost to the landscape and even leaving his party behind could have unspeakable consequences. Rather, it was so clever and amazing for Wukong to go behind, enemy territory, disguised himself as Small Wind Cutter (小钻风), and uncover information about his enemies, which is always a delight to see how Wukong it’s very clever and so charismatic that he’s able to sync on his feet quickly. Immediately he is indoctrinated within a demon army that they just give him all the information about their kings, Golden Winged Great Peng (金翅大鵬雕), Yellow Toothed Elephant (黃牙老象), and Azure Lion (青毛獅子) and be able to make plans for how to counteract the demons of camel ridge. We see a lot of changes in his reaction throughout this journey especially now that he’s actually becoming more remorseful when it comes to killing Yaoguai and especially when it comes to the protectiveness he feels for his group. If anything, this is a great chapter as it’s three-on-three with Peng, Elephant, and Lion verse Wujing, Bajie, and Wujing respectively. The Lion has the power to swallow enemies whole, Elephant can use their nose to capture people, and Peng with his golden wings to move faster than anyone else. Peng ate the king of Lion Camel Country 500 years ago, right after Wukong was imprisoned. He was the one to team up with Lion and Elephant to defeat Sun Wukong with their combined strength.

62. The fiends divided into three colors is the sixty-second ordeal [chaps. 74-77]; Wukong's first mission in order to counteract these demons is when it comes to trying to separate the group into three parts, leaving them far more defenseless than they have originally been. By creating rumors and lies within the ranks, he was able to disband the army by the thousands as they all left the stations leaving the path between his party and the other side of the mountain more unguarded than they originally planned. It was also through this that Wukong was able to even infiltrate their own caves and see these demons firsthand. Honestly, the amount of gaslighting Wukong does on these demons is actually masterful, and it kind of goes into that saying how knowledge is the most powerful weapon in any warfare kind of ideology. Also, very interesting to see Wukong very much voicing out to the younger demons that they are not going to get any benefits from serving their kings, very much a kind of rebellious attitude that I think follows him heavily down the line. While Wukong does disband the armies he still gets caught by the kings for a moment, first in Peng's flask which he had to use his three hairs gifted by Guanyin to escape, and the second being drunk by Lion and punishing his way in his stomach. He also breaks his teeth when trying to bite down on him but he bit on his Iron cudgel instead and then tying him up and has the other two surrender... only to fight Elephant later.

63. Meeting calamity in the city is the sixty-third ordeal [chaps. 76-77]; Sadly despite best efforts Sanzang is still captured and taken to the demon city that we have created. This is only because Wukong was able to capture Elephant and keep him hostage. He knew when he was captured by his trunk to just stab him from Bajie's advice, but Sanzang truly believing that the demons have learned a lesson asks for Wukong to let them go once Elephant says they will just escort them out of the mountain and they can continue living in their demon city. Sadly, Peng finds that he cannot live with a slight. Despite Wukong subduing Lion and Elephants he still left them alive and Peng organized another attack, tricking the party and leading to Sanzang being captured. This again leads to another battle between all six of them with Wukong fighting Peng, Bajie fighting Elephant, and Wujing fighting Lion. Which does end with the entire pilgrimage being captured due to their secret abilities until Wukong is able to escape and stop them from being cooked alive in a giant steam pot. However, Peng hearing this, spreads the rumor that Sanzang has already been eaten, trying to deter Wukong from saving him. Instead, this plan backfires and leads to Wukong and Bajie destroying the entire demon city and the entire mountain once they heard rumors that Sanzang was eaten and plan to avenge in a single night by destroying the entire demon army and kingdom. Teamwork makes the dream work!

64. Requesting Buddha to subdue the demons is the sixty-fourth ordeal [chap. 77]; Wukong actually goes to Buddha himself once he believes that Sanzang is dead to complain about how he could do this to him. Wukong went in and destroyed the entire city of demons to avenge his master but it still didn't bring him back, he was distraught and blamed Buddha himself for doing this to him. He goes right to Western Heaven to blame Buddha for this enough and there he demands that he fulfill Sanzang's mission himself as his last wish or for Buddha to let him go since he just plans on playing these games. Of course, Buddha explains to him that Sanzang is not dead in his mission and isn’t destroyed, but in fact, goes himself to take down the demons as one of them is, in fact, his uncle, due to interesting relationships. This is what led to the Lion, Elephant, and Peng are to be taken back as heavenly beasts. Lion is the steed of Manjusri Bodhisattva and escaped earlier as well when he was the Lion-Lynx King and pretending to be a prince's dad. The Elephant is the steed of Puxian Bodhisattvawho was actually blown down to earth by the Yellow Wind Demon who was one of the first demons. Being the six-tusked white elephant means he was most likely inspired by Sakyamuni and his white elephants that he road with six tusks as well. The white elephant holds a lot of symbolism connected to Bodhisattvas showing his connection to heaven. And Peng is the most connected to the heavens, making him the eldest brother of the trio as he is to be subdued by the Tathagata Buddha himself, similar to how Wukong had to be subdued by him. Peng tried to fight off Tathagata but as Lion and Elephant were panicking at their own masters he was quickly taken down. Peng was a descendant of a phoenix and his sister a Peacock as another demon that ate Tathagata Buddha. Instead of killing the Peacock, Tathagata Buddha made her his godmother, making Peng his Uncle, hence their connection. Pengs, or rather Garudas, are known to be dragon eaters in Indian mythos, being their natural predators but they are usually seen as more positive symbols in literal beyond Xiyouji or even Fengshen Yanyi. The Golden Peng here is VERY similar to Wukong in both his arrogance and his symbolism. Great Peng is also an of the unity of the Buddha and the demon, similar to Wukong as well, but while Peng was given his stance in Buddhism, he rejected it for the sake of glory, while Wukong is working TOWARDS that stance of enlightenment. They are reverse mirrors of each other, coming from different backgrounds but having similar fillings in life for their pursuit of powers. Peng and Wukong are both cunning and clever but while Peng was fighting to become glorious, Wukong fights with himself to become a better person.

65. Rescuing the lads at Bhiksu is the sixty-fifth ordeal [chap. 78]; this one was definitely one of the most convoluted trials as this was a White Deer Spirit (白鹿精) tricking the King of Bhiksu into thinking that his illness can only be healed with the hearts of 10,000 baby boys. Sanzang is moved to compassion and asks Wukong to save the boys he gets thousands of local spirits to take the boys into the woods, and feeds them fruits until he’s cleared up the mess with the kingdom. The mess was White Deer being the King’s father-in-law, and saying that this was the best way for him to heal. There’s a very funny moment where Wukong is pretending he is Sanzang because now the White Deer is saying that they should just eat Sanzang and I’m not sure if a human would gain immortality by eating Sanzang but I think it’s safe to say he’s been very much manipulated. Wukong pretends to be Sanzang when he is asked for his heart, Wukong literally starts ripping out nine hearts from his chest and says he doesn’t have a black heart to give. I think this shows how he thinks of Sanzang and how he greatly enjoys using his body to scare his enemies. White Deer Spirit was originally the mount of the Star of Antarctica and escaped when he was not paying attention, also stealing his panlong crutch as a weapon.

66. Distinguishing the true from the deviate is the sixty-sixth ordeal [chap. 79]; Sadly White Deer's plan to use his adopted daughter White-Faced Vixen Spirit (白面狐狸) is what leads to her own death as she was the one in charge of feeding lies to the king and uncovering her as a demon trying to use him for power. White Deer has the audacity to try to defend himself saying that he should be allowed to practice his own beliefs, but Wukong quickly shuts that down when he says that it doesn’t come at the cost of sacrificing literally thousands of other lives for his own selfish benefits, which I think shows his own kind of growth of how he shouldn’t sacrifice other for the sake of his own gains. Similar to how Wukong showed very little empathy for his sworn brothers' armies in the past (while Wukong's army was safe his sworn brothers' armies were captured by the heavens), and now see how he is changing his worldview that it doesn’t matter who you sacrifice know when it should be the cost of your own benefit. Similar to how White Deer is subdued, but in the end it cost him his own adopted daughter White Vixen who died. The Vixen is a symbol of how often foxes are used to symbolize the fall of a country, like in the Nine-Tails Fox story, White Vixen here was poisoning the mind of the king with false promises and using her beauty to cover her scandals. She is killed by Bajie again showing the continuous trend of Bajie being the one to fight demons that use their power of seduction to get what they want.

67. Saving a fiend at a pine forest is the sixty-seventh ordeal [chap. 80]; I find this trial to be absolutely fascinating, especially when it came to like how far the journey mates have come, but also shows that Sanzang still refuses to compromise on his own beliefs. Lady Earth Flow (金鼻白毛老鼠精) is of course, pretending to be a woman in need and while Sanzang is all for helping her Wukong tells him that she could be a demon in disguise that could hurt him. And of course, Bajie says otherwise. If anything Sanzang was actually more prone not to believe Bajie at this point, especially when he accused Wukong of just wanting to sleep with the woman himself, and Sanzang knowing Bajie is lying at that point started to walk away from the fiend. But she played the old “what kind of monk doesn’t help someone who asks for help” and Sanzang does feel guilty for compromising his morals. He explains to Wukong that while he does agree that there was a high chance that she could be a demon in this could all be a trick, he cannot give up a chance to help someone that still calls for help, human or a demon. And it’s that kind of mine said that put him in danger a lot but it’s also that kind of mine said that I think is very hard to keep especially after everything he’s been through. He’s still willing to put himself in danger if that means he can help someone that’s actually in need. Yes, that could be considered very foolish of him, but I think it also shows that he’s still very brave as well, that he doesn’t want to become someone that questions every single person he helps just for the sake of himself.

68. Falling sick in a priestly chamber is the sixty-eighth ordeal [chap. 81]; this chapter is very interesting because it actually dives into what the Golden Cicada actually did in order to be forced down to earth to live out 10 lifetimes. This is the only real connection we get to learn about the Golden Cicada as a lot of this before it’s just brushing off his punishment of defying the scripture in a vague way. And honestly, it’s understandable because the Golden Cicada really isn’t that vital to the story, rather, this is just about Sanzang’s own merit. I think a lot of people get confused that Sanzang was chosen because he was the Golden Cicada, but I really don’t think that’s the case. Rather Sanzang was chosen because of what he has accomplished, hence why GuanYin had to go look for someone to complete the mission in the first place. She didn’t immediately suggest him and that wasn’t the entire plan, but rather it was just the perfect opportunity for Sanzang to live out his final 10th lifetime and because of what he has accomplished in the past before. Sanzang has done a lot of work himself, and it is a shame when people usually brush it off to think it’s just because of who he used to be rather than who he is. He does fall ill and Wukong and the gang stay at a monastery for him to heal up and rest. Meanwhile, a certain female demon is keeping her distance but rather aiming for OTHER monks in the meantime.

69. Being imprisoned at the Bottomless Cave is the sixty-ninth ordeal [chaps. 81-83]; this is of course when Lady Earth Flow finally shows her true colors, and it shows that she is in fact, a Yaoguai. Surprisingly took quite a while, and she even waited until after Sanzang was feeling better to kidnap him, of course. In the meantime, she kidnapped other monks, making the whole vibe of the arc kind of like a murder mystery, but it really wasn’t in murder mystery because it’s very obvious that it was her. But to the rest of the monks, they were just wondering who could be attacking them while Wukong immediately confronted her but sadly she was able to slip away and steal Sanzang. Wukong was able to infiltrate the cave and see that she recognized King Li and Nezha as both her godfather and godbrother that he went to heaven to confront them. From there, they accused him of lying and tired him up with rope and the whole debacle of Wukong not wanting to sue King Li. This led to one thing after another, honestly of trying to appease Wukong who wanted to roll all the way to the jade emperor’s court to sue. Luckily, the star of Venus was able to come and down, and of course, Nezha and King Li were able to get the lost adopted relative under control. She was a heavenly pest in heaven, a golden nose albino rate, and was considered to be the Banquan Guanyin as she took two candle sticks from Tathagata after being vouched by King Li and Nezha she was renamed Banquan Guanyin and took on the mantle Lady Earth Flow.

There is legends of Cintāmaṇi or the 如意寶珠 a wish-fulfilling jewel within both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The Cintāmaṇi is one of several Mani Jewel images found in Buddhist scripture. Later texts portray the Mani Gem in an unexpected way. It was said to have been owned by the god Indra in the beginning, but it fell to the ground during a conflict with the Asuras, granting the wishes of those who possess it. The Mani Pearl is also spewed out by the Treasure-Vomiting Rat/Ferret(吐宝鼠) in Vaisravana's hand. The rat is on a lot of statues of Vaisravana in the Devaraja Halls but the few Tibetan buddhist temples have the rat actually spewing out pearls that gathered in a bowl at the bottom of the wall painting. This rat is probably an inspiration for Lady Earth Flow being the adopted daughter of Li Jing, who merged with most of Vaisravana's iconography

70. Difficulty in going through Dharma-Destroying Kingdom is the seventieth ordeal [chap. 84]; this one was more insane over how in the first place this all came to be. The Ruler of the Kingdom of Miefa (滅法國) has slaughtered 9,996 monks within his kingdom within just 2 years and was aiming to go for 10,000 monks to kill. Not only is this just a ludicrous amount of people dying within the time frame, but specifically that he wanted to kill monks because priests in the past have 'slandered' them. Gee, I wondered why. The gang tries to bypass through under the disguise of merchants but are trapped in wardrobe boxes when trying to hide and are taken to the king directly as the boxes were "stolen goods." But Wukong at this point has stopped himself from attacking first and asking questions later, showing that he rather use manipulation tactics to show people the error of their ways. Wukong in the middle of the night, he made thousands of razor blades and decides to shave every head within the kingdom, not a single head was spared in that whole kingdom to make them all look like monks as well. Luckily this entire act was met with the king humbling himself a great amount when Sanzang and company came in to ask for permission for the travel receipts. If anything Wukong was the one really leading the situation, changing the foundation of an entire kingdom enough that they changed the name to Dharma-Honoring Kingdom. Really shows what a leader Wukong can be and how intelligent he is to convince an entire kingdom.

71. Meeting demons at Mist-Concealing Mountain is the seventy-first ordeal [chaps. 85-86]; this one, in particular, is one of the most emotional chapters, without a doubt as this is another chapter where the King of the Southern Hill (南山大王) tricks Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing into believing that Sanzang was eaten, and in fact, he gives them a fake human head to sell it. Wukong at first sees through the first deceptions but when they are given a real human head (of someone else) this lead to them all mourning Sanzang. This demon knows that he is not strong enough to actually fight Wukong head-on, and is one of the few demons we see that doesn’t have a treasure or special ability to fight Wukong. He understands he’s not strong enough and thus he has to use more tactics than usual with the help of his vanguard Iron Backed Grey Wolf (铁背苍狼). It’s actually very sad to see how much the gang goes through the morning process because they think Sanzang is truly dead. Big mistake on the Southern Hill King's part in thinking that they would leave after three days of mourning because instead of leaving or anything like that, Wukong and Bajie both agree that they should avenge the master and kill every demon within the cave, and then burn the cave to the ground. Not a lot of symbolism, though it’s very straightforward, especially when it comes to avenging one's master but it’s great teamwork to be seen and the reunion is absolutely adorable. Wukong back and forth between saving Sanzang from his ropes and killing the passed-out demon not knowing which is the better option. But Sanzang gives thanks to the dead man whose real head was used because if it was not for him, his disciples wouldn’t have tried to invade the cave and then save him in the process. The demon was said to cause havoc in the Zheyue Lianhuan Cave of Yinwu Mountain, referring to Mount Zhongnan, which is one of the birthplaces of Taoism and an excellent place to cultivate immortals. This leopard spirit claims to be the king of the southern hill, but he is boasting as the narrator in the original book calls him the old monster of the southern island.

72. Seeking rain at Phoenix-Immortal Prefecture is the seventy-second ordeal [chap. 87]; this one, in particular, is more about how Heaven interacts with the Earth, and how heads of state or responsible for their people in particular. It’s common in Chinese mythos, that if there’s ever a great famine, or if there are just natural disasters, it is to be blamed on the current king or person in charge of the province. And this was a way of saying the person in charge at the moment is a bad omen, and that should either be removed from power or they appease heaven forever for crimes they commit. This includes usually tax refunds, pardoning people, and giving back to the community in some way or form in order to not only appease the community doing these hard times but also to appease heaven. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. And in this case, the King of Phoenix-Immortal Prefecture (凤仙郡王), insulted Heaven by flipping a table when his wife gave him some terrible news. As such the land around him with the drought for about three years. The king was unaware of his crimes because he was in a fit of rage and once he was able to rectify said crimes rain was able to come back to the prefect.

73. Losing their weapons is the seventy-third ordeal [chap. 88]; this chapter is focused on Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing's weapons because this is the chapter where the three all take on disciples that is in the form of three princes. They were so incredibly amazed by the gang's magical powers and weapons, that they practically beg to be taught under them. Of course, because the princes want little copies of the masters' weapons, the weapons were sent to the forge to get measured. Sadly, when they were out of the sites was when Tawny Lion Demon (黃獅精) was able to snag them in the middle of the night. This does lead to more shenanigans than originally thought, but it’s quite interesting to see how Wukong was able to bless these princes with supernatural powers in order to keep them strong and young even longer than they originally intended. Luckily, Wukong has about to find out where their weapons were taken thanks to Shifty (刁钻古怪) and Freaky (古怪刁钻), two demons that were talking too loud. It is noted that these demons do not usually involve themselves in the affairs of humans and were considered to be very low-key until this point.

74. The festival of the rake is the seventy-fourth ordeal [chap. 89]; the original weapons were going to be taken by the Tawny Lion and like his six other brothers, Gibbon-Lion (猱獅) Snow Lion (雪獅) Suanyi (狻猊) Baize (白澤) Wildcat (伏狸) Elephant-Baiter (摶象) who just wanted to go for that fame and recognition from the weapon festival that was to be held soon. Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing designed themselves to be Shifty, Freaky, and a goose header to infiltrate inside. I do enjoy this as this is the first time we see Wujing use his transformation powers and the group's first infiltration mission together. The demons seem to have often made trade with humans and even buy their food stock supplies from them. they were not about to make it far as another demon Child Blue Face was able to call them out on their inconstancies. It is revealed that these seven brothers are the god-grandson of a heavenly beast Grand Saint of Nine Spirits (九靈元聖) and feel the right to take the weapons. I can’t say too much about the implications of this battle but I do want to just reiterate how the heavenly beast often wants to go down to earth, and why did they adopt other demons into the family or simply create a new family it is quite often to be met with disaster, how they brought them into the schemes. Funny enough while Nine Spirit is high in power he does not have a humanoid form yet, whether it be from his own choice or that he hasn't had enough time to cultivate one, he still was able to amass an army and speak without any trouble. But it is nice to see demon civilizations that are not hunted down just for being demons, rather it is always a moment of being provoked on either side that starts this conflict, and in this case, it is theft.

75. Meeting disaster at Bamboo-Knot Mountain is the seventy-fifth ordeal [chap. 90]; it was definitely at the height of the battle after losing his grandchildren does Nine Spirits finally joins the battle, does more clever tricks of trying to figure out who these people are, and from there Wukong finds Nine Spirits' owner Tianzun in order to wrangle him in. In the end, it’s very sad to say that the runaway heavenly beast lost all his grandchildren because of this constant battle between the two. If anything, I do find it kind of a reflection of how Wukong also treated his subjects as his own grandchildren and what kind of devastation it would feel to lose any of them. Wukong lost his own subjects, those that he saw as his own adopted grandkids and similar Nine Spirit lost all seven of his adopted grandsons. Nine Spirits at this point did not kidnap Sanzang for the sake of immortality but rather wanted vengeance for his own children’s lives. While he was a loving grandfather he still indulged in his grandchildren's theft when he knew they were outgunned from the start, leading to the loose of all his family. He does kidnap the princes and all of the group other than Wukong but the main idea was to have revenge for his little lions rather than the idea of eating.

76. Suffering at Mysterious Flower Cave is the seventy-sixth ordeal [chap. 91]; this one was just sad how Sanzang can’t even do a simple thing like worshiping without the risk of being kidnapped. Wukong just let him out of the site for a single second and the Yaoguai pounced on it, just a second before Wukong could warn Sanzang to look out. This one is mostly dealing with three demons King of Cold Protection (辟寒大王), King of Heat Protection (辟暑大王), and King of Dust Protection (辟塵大王) that have been tricking a monastery into that they are Buddhist deities and have been stealing the oil supply the entire time. At this particular moment, when Sanzang was bowing to give respect Wukong was just a fraction too late to tell him about his suspicions and Sanzang was quickly winded away. I actually really enjoy this chapter for the sole purpose that Sanzang tries to warn his kidnappers not to take him, and actually brags about his disciples. It makes the demons more alarmed, but he did try to spare their lives. At this point, Sanzang knows strong demons versus weaker demons and does try to give them a warning about his disciples for their own sake. Even when the rhinos plan to eat him quickly, Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing are already at their door and they try to hide Sanznag.

77. Capturing the rhinoceroses is the seventy-seventh ordeal [chap. 92]; Sadly despite being on time to stop the demons, Wujing and Bajie do get kidnapped themselves and Wukong need it back up to save them. This leads to him asking the four-star offices to help with taking them down, and they tried to run away to the west, the Dragon Prince of the West Sea, Ao Moang, (Bailong's brother) stops them and helps Wukong in their capture. They are about to free Bajie and Wujing and Bajie killed Cold Protection, but they were able to arrest Dust Protection and Heat Protection who would be executed. Kind of brutal, but it is interesting to see how Wukong how has become very well-versed in which criminals go where to be properly charged for their crimes rather than being the executor himself. Something that he has brought about is that he knows exactly who to go to, and for what solution as he has ties with every person. I think it kind of just pushes on the fact that Wukong rather than being seen as the only one of his kind, rather sees himself as being connected to everyone and therefore can go where he pleases to get help, advice, or backup.

78. Being forced to marry at India is the seventy-eighth ordeal [chaps. 93-95]; this one is a personal favorite as it doesn’t get a lot of attention, but the Jade Rabbit Spirit (玉兔精) is the enemy of this particular arc where she is trying to sleep with Sanzang under the guise of being the princess. The Jade Rabbit already has a lot of lore behind them, and this one is quite interesting how instead of playing a pet, or at least a supporting role, they are the antagonist within the story. In the end, it actually touches back to Bajie and his connection with Chang’e as they had to get her to retrieve her pet back to the Moon Palace. They have to go to a kingdom to find the real princess but once the real princess has been revealed, Jade Rabbit does kidnap Sanzang for a while instead of trying to play princes any longer. This is supposed to be another test of preserving one’s body, which Sanzang completes flawlessly, and even Wujing has some great one-liners in this. Bajie despite all that he has done so far, still shows that he is head over heels for Chang’e still for one seeing her Wukong has to slap him out of his stupor. The Jade Rabbit usually smashes medicine in the Moon Palace but this time they slipped out of the palace and fled to earth and took over the appearance of Princess of Tianzhu who was reincarnated by Su'e. Su'e was a fairy that kicked the Jade Rabbit while in the Moon Palace, something that the Jade Rabbit still has a grudge against, and thus in Su'e reincarnation, the Jade Rabbit planned to have revenge by taking her likeness and kidnapping Sanzang to be her husband as the cherry on top. There are serval legends of the Jade Rabbit, one being that they are Hou Yi transformed by the Jade Emporer after his shooting of the ten suns and another is that they were once owned by the Queen Mother and a gift to Chang'e who was turned into a toad when she came to the Moon Palace to have a partner to help her create medicine. However, the toad legend was dropped cause it wasn't that popular with people when it came to Chang'e's beauty. Another legend has it that Wu Gang, the woodcutter on the moon was offered a meal by a fox, monkey, and rabbit. The fox and monkey gave him food but the rabbit offered itself and threw itself in the fire. As such Wu Gang and Chang'e were so moved that the rabbit became immortal and became the Jade Rabbit. Another is that the Jade Rabbit is one of the zodiac animals under the Jade Emporer. Or that the Jade Rabbit is actually the incarnation of Chang'e. In Taoism, the Jade Rabbit is often opposite to the Golden Crow, representing the coordination of yin and yang in the cultivation of the golden elixir. There are a lot of legends is what I'm trying to say.

79. Jailed at Bronze Estrade Prefecture is the seventy-ninth ordeal [chap. 97]; this one is absolutely one such defining chapter because it is a reflection of the first arc that Wukong and Sanzang went on together. Because in this one, they also face robbers that have come to steal from them. But rather than in the original site where Wukong fought the six robbers and let them get a few hits on him so he could kill them… can you freeze in them all and ties them up so they can be properly arrested for their crimes. This is such a big difference from where he was at the start of the journey, where he would just kill them for their transgressions, but it shows that he found it recognizes that he knows how powerful he could be, and while yes he could kill them without any effort, he decides to subdue the humans rather than killing them, and I think this shows growth from his past actions to his present actions. Of course, they still get blamed for the murder of Squire Kou (寇洪) because they were the 'last people there' when it was actually the robbers they just arrested. Kou was a kind man trying to feed 10,000 monks and he just reached 9,996 when he was luckily visited by the gang to complete his number. Sadly, he was killed the next morning and his family wanted swift justice, and his wife made it to frame Sanang and the gang as she blamed them for this calamity in the first place. They have to spend the night in jail but Wukong just pretends he’s a ghost, and told them to let them go, get the robber's testimonies, or else he’ll still haunt them. The wife admits her false allegations from fright and the four are sent off again. Wukong even goes to Hell to make sure that Kou gets his life back and even gets to live longer for his good deeds.

80. Delivered of mortal stock at Cloud-Transcending Ferry is the eightieth ordeal [chap. 98]; this one it’s kind of tricky, as technically Sanzang "dies" in this circumstance of events. He goes through a transformation, similar to that of a cicada when he loses his mortal shell in favor of his new immortal body as they watch his old body float down the stream. This can be similar to how he was first brought into the world, floating down the stream to keep him safe and now he is still watching himself float as he enters a new life for himself. The gang watches his body go down the stream as Bajie, Wujing, and Wukong are already immortal and when they finally cross from then on, he finally reaches his long way to go of reaching the Mount. It’s very emotional probably what he has to go through seeing his own model carcass leave him, but in return is the new body he attends. And while this most likely is not a trial I do want to say they were almost ricked by Ananda (阿傩) and Kasyapa (伽叶) two of Buddha's disciples that if they did not bribe them with material goods they wouldn't give the scriptures and while Wukong wished to report them they give in... only to give them FAKE scriptures. They were only aware when White Heroic Honored One warned them and they went straight back to complain and get the real ones. Buddha pardon them saying that since they came in with empty hands they were to get empty scriptures and they could be used as scriptures if one was already enlightened... which is kinda rude considering the scripture were there to help that in the first place. But in the end, gave them his alms bowl, the one that was gifted to him by Gaunyin and funny enough the whole room called the two out for their shameless behavior of asking monks for gifts in the first place. But they still kept the bowl.

81. Thrown off by the White Turtle [chap. 99]; and the final last-minute trial in order for them to reach enlightenment was being thrown off by the Great White Turtle (大白老鼋) and soiling in the scriptures they work so hard to attain. This is the same turtle whose home was taken away by the King of Spiritual Touch and once he was taken back to Guanyin this turtled offered to take them across the large river in promised that Sanzang would have how long he has until he can cultivate into a human body as he is already so old. However with all the confusion, Sanzang forgot to ask Buddha and thus the turtle shakes them off his back, ruining some of the scripture. The four try desperately to salvage what was wet by drying them on a rock and all throughout the night man deities, demons, and spirits tried to take the scriptures if not for Wukong and Sanzang mere presence of enlightenment. Heaven and Earth were both so envious of the descriptions that both gods and demons were trying to snatch them away. The scriptures was dried by some were ripped, leaving their make on the rock and thus it is called Scripture Drying Boulder or something. Wukong in all his wisdom says it is because neither the Heavens nor the Earth is perfect either and as such having perfect scriptures, would not fit such a World. Instead, there should be room for doubt and should be room for ambiguity in order for the world to resonate with the scriptures. I do find it quite philosophically and interesting that a book that is saturated with religious allegories still tries to push for the idea that there should be a sense of searching for one’s own path as well and not all the answers are going to be in scriptures, but rather you’re going to have to take things into your own account of what you believe as well. Also, this is supposed to reference Xuanzang’s own pilgrimage back home and how he also lost some scriptures in a river and spent many years trying to recover that lost information. It’s such a tragedy that he spent so many years getting them, only to lose some on the way back, but I greatly enjoy how Wukong within this novel explains that not everything in the world can be perfect and as such fits to have imperfect scriptures in an imperfect world.

AND THAT IS ALL THE TRAILS IN THE 14-YEAR JOURNEY!

[angstandhappiness]

FASCINATING TO READ, THANKS other than some confusing misspellings

Is there a list of all the challenges the pilgrims went thru and what they mean/represent?

There is a list of all the challenges that the pilgrims went through as graciously given by GuanYin in the last chapter.

What they are meant to represent, though I think would be more up to the reader's interpretation, and while I would love to give each trial its own literary analysis, afraid that for 81 trials, that would come out to be more of an essay worthy of being a thesis than anything else.

But I could try to give a little snippet to each one.

1. Gold Cicada banished is the first ordeal [chap. 8]; Particularly the first few ordeals are just for Tang Sanzang (唐僧) in particular and that Sanzang's first life being banished from heaven does have a lot of meaning when it comes to how important both being attentive in a lesson and the rice the Golden Cicada (金蟬子) spilled. We do not know a lot about the Golden Cicada in particular beyond his role as the Buddha's second disciple, and his friendship with Immortal Zhen Yuanzi (hence why he wanted to give him the ginseng fruits). Also that the information about Sazang being the Golden Cicada was leaked and wasn't intended to be well-known among demons. For a more in-depth look at him, try here! Sanzang is based on the Monk Xuanzang who went on his own 17-year-long journey to India and from there recorded his own called the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions and was popularly re-told again and again until it was what inspired the Xiyouji we have today! Despite being the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, Sanzang was chosen for his own merit, being a kind and compassionate soul, hand-picked by Guanyin herself. He is to face many tribulations in his life starting at his birth.

2. Being almost killed after birth is the second ordeal [chap. 9]; Sanzang was about to be murdered by his stepdad Liu Hong with the help of his fellow boatman Li Biao until his mother had to save him. Liu Hong murdered his father, Chen Guangrui, but luckily he was saved by a river dragon that he contingency saved him before when he was trapped as a carp and Chen Guangrui put him back into the river. Moreso just highlights how he was separated from his parents and his mother's love which is something he’s leading bullied for. The river does have a lot of symbolic meeting later down the line, especially when they get to the end of the journey and again, they have to cross the river. But this is definitely the start of his new life and can also show how it’s also the start of his next life.

3. Being thrown in the river hardly a month old is the third ordeal [chap. 9]; That is kinda symbolic of him being put into fate's hands to lead him on his path to being a monk but more just setting him up for his monk life. He was founded by the Jinguang Temple and was raised as Jiang Liuer or River Float. Again this touches on how this is the start of his new life from the one that he could’ve been born into, but instead due to circumstances he was directed into a life of being a monk. I believe that the original Xuanzang started being a monk around 10 years old but here it shows that even before he was a year old he was adopted into the monastery.

4. Seeking parents and their vengeance is the fourth ordeal [chap. 9]; Sazang at the age of 18 was really pushed to find his parents after being bullied by his classmates. I did find it interesting as this was like the first time Sanzang was upset enough to get revenge for his parents, finding his maternal grandparents and blind fraternal grandmother and rallying soldiers to arrest the men that 'killed' his father and have them executed. All within the confines of the law of course but still the only time we see him trying to seek out that kind of justice. While the men were still brought to justice, his mother was in a horrible depression after being forced into marriage with her husband's murderer. Luckily the after does come back from healing underwater right now. Would have been a big happy family but his mother still took her own life despite clearing her name...

5. Meeting a tiger after leaving the city is the fifth ordeal [chap.13]; This was when General Yin (寅將軍) came and captured them as General Yin is the first yaoguai that Sanzang encounters and he is a tiger yaoguai.Kinda interesting as his element is meant to be fire and the tiger is a fire element as well. Hence why I believe why that Sanzang was the one to make Wukong's tiger pelt to show their connection and later down the line, he becomes a tiger as well. There is a legend that in the Han Dynasty Li Guang shot a tiger despite there being a lack of known tiger populations suggesting General Yin is an extinct North China tiger.

6. Falling into a pit and losing followers is the sixth ordeal [chap.13]; Sanzang losing his first two disciples sounds pretty traumatizing (though we never get their names) I know some media has it that they ran away to save themselves but these guys really tried to keep him safe but ended up dying as well. They were eaten by the Bear Mountain Lord (熊山君) and Occupier of a Special Place (特處士) These were the three monsters right outside Gongzhou city and it is said that because Sanzang was so eager to leave that morning extra early was the cause of their meeting. He was in such a rush they fell into his trap. To think he just started and just for his own enthusiasm he and others are to be punished for that. Horrible start to a journey. It was an a lot to say about these demons in particular, except that they were able to get away with their crimes and never address again. It was only because of Taibai Jinzing that he was able to survive.

7. The Double-Fork Ridge is the seventh ordeal [chap.13]; This is where he lost his followers and he was on his own, about to be eaten by just normal animals SEVERAL times. Very nature vs man fight right there as it was clear he was not able to handle it himself. Maybe this was the start of his having to humble himself that he really can't do this on his own. After losing his disciples and being saved Sanzang had to go up the mountain alone. It was only when Liu Boqin the hunter was able to save him last minute from being eaten alive that he was even able to make it to the next mountain. He did exercise their home of their relative's spirit free of charge for spending the night and they gracefully made him a vegetarian diet when he excused himself from dinner.

8. The Mountain of Two Frontiers is the eighth ordeal [chap. 13]; This is where he had to save Sun Wukong (孙悟空), and the start of where they are going through ordeals together. These two come from such different backgrounds with one being an ex-warlord and the other being a young monk. Ther are so many different dichotomies to be played with how Wukong and Sanzang reflect each other with how they but heard to how they interact with one another. Wukong being a symbolic meaning of the Mind while Sanzang is the symbolic meaning of the Heart. This being in the character 心 that they would both share. Esnically they are to both play the struggle on the journey as while they are struggling with different battle, both can reflect the other. Sanzang is battling a mental fight while Wukong’s battles are more of will. And both endure physical fights as well. Wukong Wukong it is about endurance while Sanzang it is about survival. Sanzang is going into the world to be question and tempted on everything he has ever known, while Wukong must learn how to rain in his desires for bloodshed and temper, both fighting an uphill battle. There are so many connections between the two but this start does show that Wkong was more than grateful to Sanzang for saving him from under the mountain and even comes back on his own because he does want to keep that promise. Sazang is more than happy to take him on but within their week he has already see how bloodthirsty Wukong is when they encountered 6 robbers. Wukong plays with them before killing them soundly which led to their first fight about what it means to value life. This was a lot about trying to have two flawed people with different worldviews can be around one another, knowing that one needs the other but the other knowing he has to repay him back while also having them both being on equal footing. Wukong is so much more powerful than Sanzang and Sanzang is just a normal human being trying his best in a terrifying situation. It’s also to be noted that symbolically they are two different philosophies as well, Sanzang has been written to be more Confucius in this version and Wukong practicing a more Daoist attitude. The start of their relationship is fascinating in that Wukong can show such gratitude but also let his rage get the best of him whenever he is met with criticism and Sanzang also has a quick temper and hates being proven wrong but is forced to see the world with new eyes full of dangers he never knew and has to keep moving on. They both are lost in their own worlds at the start but it is fascinating to see how they grow as the journey continues.

9. Changing horse at a steep brook is the ninth ordeal [chap.15]; Wukong fighting with The White Dragon Horse (白龍馬) and changing out the horse can have a LOT of meaning in a previous post. Paricualty how the horse and the monkey have such a deep meaning with one another when it comes to the Mind Monkey and the Horse of Will and what they mean for one another. Before the Havoc in Heaven with Wukong rejecting to be the Bimawen he wasn't ready to practice self-control and train his mind but how he captured Bailong and started the journey shows how this journey is his path to self-reflection. He is finally putting in the work and dedication needed to change who he is, at first as a sign of gratitude for his life being saved, but now it is also seen as him having the inner perspective that he needs to change if he wishes to show his gratitude and perhaps becomes a better version of himself. Bailong is the third son of Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea, and is called the third prince of Yulong. He was sentenced to death by his biological father for setting fire to the jewel in the temple and was rescued by Guanyin. He was waiting in Yingchou Stream of Snake Pan Mountain but he did lose his scales, horns sawed off, and formed into a horse for most of the journey.

10. Burning by fire at night is the tenth ordeal [chap.16]; this was mostly how Wukong rather than stopping the fire that the Jinchi Elder (金池长老) at the temple tried to kill Sanzang for his cassock, Wukong actually increase the flames so that Sanzang was the only one safe but everything around them burned to the ground. This could be about these monks' own hubris and how it was their own downfall, Wukong just took the chance to push it over the edge. But it is to show that anyone could be an enemy within the journey as well, there are good and bad yaoguai, good and bad celestials, and even good or bad monks, whether they be Daoist or Buddhist. Anyone can make mistakes and be pushed to the edge if the temptation is there, hence the need for constant struggle to keep oneself in check. This abbot, in particular, couldn't handle that he just lost everything in a fire and did commit suicide before Wukong could question him about the cassock. In his moment of greed, he let himself try to take the life of another person and instead lost every material wealth he valued, valued more than his own life apparently as he did not wish to continue to life without it.

11. Losing the cassock is the eleventh ordeal [chap.16]; this was Wukong's own hubris being his downfall as none of this would have happened if he listen to Sanzang and didn't show off their cassock. Sanzang was against the idea claiming that he didn't want to show off and perhaps draw attention to his own treasures but Wukong has always been a shameless individual (and we love him for that) and loves to show off even what isn't his. Letting the Jinchi Elder at the Abbey look at their cassock, leading to being taken by the Black Wind King (黑風怪) who was the one teaching the Jinchi Elder how to live longer in exchange to learn more about Buddhist scriptures. Funny enough it might be this that saved him as when Wukong got Guanyin to help capture him he was taken under his wing as the Mountain Guard of her sanctuary. At this point, more humans have died on this journey than demons lmao. Also Wukong first instinct of using vore as a tactic. This whole chapter was to symbolize greed and what it can do to a person. Even Black Wind King intended to go to the abbey to help stop the fire but was so intrigued with the cassock that he forgot about his friend, the Elder, and left with the treasures. One can't be able or willing to help their friends in a time of need if they are blinded by their own greed and this need to get rid of that greed. It is also in this chapter that Guanyin disguises herself as Lingxuzi (淩虛子) a wolf spirit that Wukong had killed Wukong jokes that Guanyin has turned into a demon, and Guanyin laughs along but does say how "One's origin means nothing." She is suggesting that it doesn't matter if one is a human or a demon for it is what is in the heart that matters, and Guanyin shows that if someone still has greed in their heart, then it is what makes them a demon. Even she could become a demon if she allowed greed in her heart for greed, hatred, and ignorance (plus two others) at the roots are suffering. Black Wind Demon's own greed led to the death of two of his friends White Robe Scholar (白衣秀士) and Lingxuzi despite their friendship.

12. Bringing Eight Rules to submission is the twelfth ordeal [chaps.18-19]; Zhu Bajie (豬八戒) being the 12th ordeal! I have definitely gone off about Bajie and changes throughout the story here but I do know there is a lot I didn't get a chance to say. Once a Marshall of Heaven was sent to earth after coping a feel on Chang'e when he was drunk he was reborn as a pig to regain his merit. Wukong pretending to be his wife Gao Cuilan to lure Bajie into a false sense of security is just hilarious all the way around but our first taste in how Bajie was pretending to be a hardworking man only to stop working once he thought he finally got what he wanted. I think this was kinda a jab at how people once they get what they want change into who they truly are. Bajie is to represent the desires, most of the body and mind as he lets his jealousy of Wukong cloud even his own judgment. His own slander and need to provoke Wukong is played both for comedy and drama within the story as it is only when Bajie started cutting off the desires of his heart does he becomes a team player, even becoming Wukong's best helper in fights as they work together to defeat demons and ride west. Although he never makes it to the point where he loses all his vices as Wukong or Sanzang did in the end, he still showed much more sincerity and concentration than at the start, the genuine desire to help others finally coming through. He is to represent a human's hard-working, simple, and straightforward qualities; you don't have to be the smartest or the strongest to still be valued by those around you. He is to represent a human's greedy and selfish nature but also that people have the ability for more than that as well. He is a to be a human, a god, and a pig in his nature. Even his name is a limitation set on him of what he can and cannot eat, a constant reminder that he is supposed to abide by these new rules for his own good. He is the clown of the story, there to offer entertainment through more low-brow humor while Wukong covers more high-brow human (piss jokes aside) but also Bajie is to be seen as what one's own insecurities can do to a person if they are overwhelmed by them, only being a harm to others and themself. I think a lot of people can relate to Bajie as well, as while Sanzang and Wukong are to be the heroes of the story Bajie is to be the one that still has vices that he must battle. Wukong struggles are far different from Bajie's own struggles and it depends on the person to who they can relate more. Bajie's different personality does make him hard to work with but more often than people find him cute and even relate to his desires for a simple life. He is a selfish, lazy, simple-minded, playful, and hard-working coward full of dichotomies and changes. They say his origin may lie with the story "猪臂金铃" by Gan Bao in Jin Dynasty. Or that he was inspired by He Bo Feng Yi, because the prototype of Feng Yi is a pig. Wu Zimu's "Meng Liang Lu" mentioned that "Tianpeng" was originally a Taoist fairy official. Some people also think that the prototype of Zhu Bajie comes from Indian Buddhist scriptures, as Chen Yinke said. There is a portrait of "Pig Head Bodhisattva" in the Thousand Buddha Caves in Kizil, Xinjiang, excavated in the early Tang Dynasty. He is called "Marizhitian" in Buddhist scriptures. Zhu Bajie has something in common.

13. Being blocked by the Yellow Wind Fiend is the thirteenth ordeal [chap. 20]; This one is funny cause Sanzang actually was worried about demons down this path, only for Wukong to assure him that he could handle it. And of course, Wukong got excited in a fight and left Sanzang alone so he can join Bajie in his fight against a Tiger Vanguard (虎先鋒). He was the one to actually use the "Golden Cicada Escape" to shed his tiger pelt and escape Wukong... which is gross. But he was killed by Bajie eventually. The first time I think Wukong gets his taste that he can't just fight he needs to learn how to protect. However, Wukong was blinded by Yellow Wind Demon (黃風怪) and his Samadhi Wind leading to Bajie having to help him out to be healed. Yellow Wind Demon is our first demon that is an escaped Heavenly beast that needed to be subdued and captured. He was able to gain his humanoid form by listing to scriptures at the food of Lingshan and stealing oil in a glass cup. Funny enough he is to be considered a demon that didn't see Saznag worth eating as he was already tired of cultivating from Taoism.

14. Seeking aid with Lingji is the fourteenth ordeal [chap. 21]; This was more just for them searching for someone that can subdue Yellow Wind Demon and they finally found Lingji Bodhisattva to get his weasel. Think this could be the first time Wukong starts to let it sink in that he needs to rely not only on other people but even start to get help from even immortals, celestials, or other Yoaguai if need be. It was also here that Wukong was the first time critically injured forcing him to rely on Bajie in his blinded state until Guanyin was able to heal his eyes.

15. Hard to cross Flowing-Sand is the fifteenth ordeal [chap. 22]; this is when they meet Sha Wujing (沙悟淨)! I do love this arc myself as they were only fighting because of miscommunication and Wujing didn't know that was the monk he was waiting for and that Wukong's first choice is often "hit first ask questions later." Also that Wujing possibly ate all of Sanzang's past lives. But needless to say, they were having trouble crossing the Flowing Sands River as it was far too long and too deep for anyone to travel without a boat. I did talk about Wujing's importance in the novel before and his importance to the book desire for his quiet role. He claims he made the monk's head into a necklace, not knowing what else he wished to do with them as not even a goose feather was able to flow on the Flowing-Sand River, so he knows they must have been special. Wukong and Bajie did make a plan to lure Wujing out of the river but because of Wukong's impatience, Wujing was able to get away from them time and time again. This led to Wukong having to get Guanyin who cleared up the whole miscommunication.

16. Taking in Sha Monk is the sixteenth ordeal [chap. 22]; I do find this funny that by crossing the river and then actually finally communicating with Wujing, Wujing has able to have the upper hand against two stronger opponents because of his location in the river. Maybe this could suggest this was harder on the group as either this was more than just replacing the previous guards, or that Wujing being an ex-cannibal was a larger hurdle to overcome. Wujing was the Rolling Curtain General in Heaven who broke a glass cup at the Peach Blossom Festival. Whether this is an act of anger, defiance, or even an accident is hard to tell but he was punished by being sent to the Flowing-Sands River to be pierced by flying swords for every seven days, being spared the death penalty. This is what lead him to hide in the river to avoid this punishment and eat all the fish in the river and started eating humans as well. Wujing plays the role of more of the last line of defense if Bajie or Wukong is out of the picture at the moment, leading to him having fewer moments of both skill display and power as his elder brothers are the ones to take the spotlight first. But he is the best when it comes to guarding and even underwater adventures, proving to be a reliable and level-headed member of the team. Though his anger and emotions do start to become more prevalent as time goes on, his stoic behavior melts as he becomes more emotive, both with happiness and sadness, throughout the journey. He is to be considered both gently and conservatively but not afraid of hardships and indispensable. He is considered rough after years of isolation but he is true intentions, and despite his brutish looks he has spiritual wisdom that he speaks a few times. he is to be loyal and selfish, he is most willing to bear the more laborious tasks of carrying the luggage but another sign of his dedication. While easy-going and obedient, he doesn't stand out too often due to his more quiet nature and thus being overshadowed by his louder elder brothers. While his obedience is noted he rarely gets a chance to speak his own thoughts, only showing more willingness to speak as the years go on. He is the least distracted of his brothers as he takes his role as a protector very seriously, trying earnestly to learn but also very laid back when it comes to participating otherwise. He's a symbol of 'clarity of mind' showing his obedience and kindness but at the cost of showing his own emotions. It is only in moments of crisis he is able to express himself, either expressing great anger or great encouragement to his brother in times of need. People see him often as the most unlucky of the pilgrims suffering the most for one of the weakest crimes, leading him to have a subdued spirit and lacking resistance to fighting back. But he has shown to be a righteous fighter with a strong will in both words and deeds and while he is content with his life, a contract to those that are eager for quick success and instant benefits, Wujing is able to enjoy in the present. Some scholars believe that the Wukong comes from the image of the deep sand god of Esoteric Buddhism from "The Poetry of the Tripitaka of the Tang Dynasty" as Shensha. Shensha God exists as an authentic Buddhist god however, in the scriptures translated by Zhu Tanwulan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Shensha and Fuqiu existed as evil spirits, rather than Dharma protectors. In the Tang Dynasty, the worship of Shensha God was serious

17. The Four Sages' epiphany is the seventeenth ordeal [chap. 23]; this was when they were met with Lishan Old Mother, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjusri Bodhisattva, and Puxian Bodhisattva disguised as a widow with three daughters. Of course, they were tested to give up the monk lifestyle for a good wife and a land full of luxury. And each one gave up that temptation. Sanzang for his mission, Wukong had no interest, and Wujing would rather focus on his redemption, but Bajie was the one to give in in the end (after being bulled a bit by his fellow brothers). This was more for comedic effect was Bajie was greedy and wanted to marry all three daughters, leading him to be blindfolded and resulting in a buried face and nose. He got trapped in a pearl shirt over it and when he woke in the morning tied to a tree he promised to give up the idea of finding a wife and focus on his goal to get the scriptures in the end.

18. The Five Villages Temple is the eighteenth ordeal [chap. 24]; this would most likely be when Wukong and the gang stole the ginseng fruits and were being punished for it. Sanzang denied them being off put how human-like they looked while Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing enjoyed three for themselves, Bajie wanting more afterwards. Because Qingfeng (清風) and Mingyue (明月) (both are to be about 1,200 to 1,300 years old but have child bodies) wouldn't stop insulting Sanzang and the gang Wukong lost his temper and destroyed their tree. The Great Zhenyuan Immortal (鎮元大仙) of the Abbey (a friend of the Golden Cicada) was going to boil them alive for ruining his ginseng fruit tree. Wukong was able to get away about twice times I think but they would run away all night only to be caught in the morning, meaning they went three days without sleep trying to run away. This was the first time Bajie, Wujing, and Wukong did something together and the first time the fillet was even mentioned to Bajie and Wujing. But otherwise, Wukong did feel responsible for Sanzang being punished when he was defending his students against the other immortals' accusations, even going so far as to say he will repay them back for the fruits himself because his disciples are his responsibility. But Wukong let his anger get the best of him and ruined the whole tree which only escalated the situation.

19. The ginseng hard to revive is the nineteenth ordeal [chap. 26]; Wukong tried serval times to trick Zhenyaun with imitation clones to avoid their beating without it working. This is where Wukong went to Gaunyin to fix the tree after he found he couldn't fix the tree himself. He relies on Guanyin a lot in these ordeals as she was able to heal the tree without huge issues from her previous experience. In the end, they were able to enjoy another taste of the ginseng fruits and even got the Immortal to be his sworn brother after that. The ginseng fruits are to be considered a sign of spiritual roots that needs 10,000 years to bloom, bear fruit, and ripen and giving 47,000 years on someone's lifespan if they eat one and 360 years just by smelling one. Zhenyaun is a master when it comes to roots and how everyone has spiritual roots and can return to these roots instead of the obstinate learning of emptiness and extinction, mistaking the human root and ignoring the immortal root

20. Banishing the Mind Monkey is the twentieth ordeal [chap. 27]; This was def the hardest time in the pilgrimage I have already talked about this a lot here about how it means who is right versus giving someone the benefit of the doubt. White Bone demon (白骨精) is clearly the bad guy and obviously wants to eat and kill Sanzang but also despite her intentions she hasn't done anything yet either. Wukong just knows demons enough that any demon trying to hide their true self is simply just trying to lure their prey into a false sense of security. And while Wukong is so very right to be suspicious, Sanzang also has that mindset that he should give everyone a chance until proven wrong. That whether Wukong is right or wrong, if he should be allowed to kill someone who hasn't hurt them yet and that Sanzang should trust Wukong's judge of character when it comes to how demons operate. Sanzang is still naive in his thinking of course but not having faith in his own disciples as well. Wukong has shown that he doesn't hesitate to distinguish between human and demon at this point but still, Wukong's understanding of how demons operate should have been listening too. Didn't help that every time Sanznag was about to believe him Bajie would turn up for payback at the teasing for being hung by Guanyin. This was the true test of the pilgrim's loyalty to only another as Sanzang let his anger get the best of him while Wukong was quick to show that he was right before risking Sanzang being kidnap and risking his life. This was all part of White Bone Demon's plan to separate Wukong from the group, allowing her to finally prey on Sanzang, until Wukong used the other gods of the day and night to hold her to finally get rid of her. Her plan still worked as Sanzang banished Wukong thinking he was out of control and not even he could help. She was the first demon to learn about eating Sanzang would give one a longer lifespan, something not even Yellow Wind knew about. This one is really a test of character and if you can to should judge a person on what they are or rather their action, but even then if their intentions are true or not. There is giving people the benefit of the doubt but there is also being naive and too trusting with one's own safety. The Bone Demon some inspiration from the drama "The Peony Pavilion", which was written almost at the same historical period as "Journey to the West", the heroine Du Liniang in the play was exhumed and opened by Liu Mengmei three years after her death, and was resurrected. The two married in private and Tang Xianzu clearly stated in the script "Inscription" that "it seems that the capital of the Jin Dynasty guards Li Zhongwen, and Guangzhou guards the affairs of the sons and daughters of General Feng Xiao." What is said is all about the "resurrection" of the young girl who was born in the sky in traditional Chinese culture.

21. Getting lost at Black Pine Forest is the twenty-first ordeal [chap. 28]; This was def how Sanzang was kidnapped by the Yellow Robe Demon (黃袍怪) right off the bat. He is another example of a celestial coming from heaven, but instead of being a beast that cultivated and came to earth, this is the first human/deity that does so. He was the Kuimu Wolf Star of the 28 stars in the sky but he wished to be with a Jade Servant and together they planned to escape heaven and meet on earth (because getting married in heaven is taboo). It was only when Bajie went to find food did he fall asleep on his duties, and as such Wujing follows after him thinking he got lost. And of course, Sanang is about to faint he gets so hungry and wanders off to get food and WALKS RIGHT INTO A DEMON LAIR. It was disguised as a pagoda and he thought he would find monks there but still. From there, Sanzang meets the princess to rely on her family where she is. But Yellow Robe Demon only let Sanzang go when the Princess asked him to and Bajie was under the delusion that he could protect Sanzang without Wukong's help. There is a lot of good Wujing and Bajie moments here since they are the one playing off each either but Bajie is getting a bigger head than he should have head only leads to more trouble down the line.

22. Sending a letter to Precious Image Kingdom is the twenty-second ordeal [chap.29]; It was only through the princess's mercy that Saznag was the one to send the king the Princess's letter about her kidnapping. This task was easy enough in itself but does lead Yellow Robe Demon to know that the monks gave away their position and thus starts his plan for revenge. Bajie of course volunteers himself to go save the princess thinking it would be fine, but Sanzang urges Wujing to join else he knows that Bajie is going to get killed. I do like how they worried about each other but now they are the ones to save a princess. I really think this is more Bajie's journey at this point, him being so full of himself now that Wukong is gone only to be knocked down to his lowerest when he sees that he really can't do all this on his own. It is given here that the gods of day and night do assist Bajie and Wujing when Sanzang in near, kinda like a boost, but without Sanzang near Bajie and Wujing lost the battle horribly. More great scenes of Wujing protecting the princess too. It is said this trial could be about the relationship between a husband and wife. Yellow Robe and the Princess are like the wood that restrains soil. The one who restrains the husband is a wife, the earth color is yellow, and she is a yellow woman; The "robe" is covered with wood and soil, but it is a loess garment, and the yellow robe is added to the body, which is also an image of exercising power at the right time. It describes the appearance of a devil, and it is called "blue face and blue hands", and the general shape is green with the color of wood.

23. Changing into a tiger at the Golden Chimes Hall is the twenty-third ordeal [chap.30]; This one is another connection between Sanzang and the tiger as he was turned into one by Yellow Robe Demon and hunted by the people of the palace. He was stabbed, whipped, and captured and it was said id he didn't have the spirit protect him and that it isn't his destiny to die that night HE WOULD HAVE DIED from the torture. It was said that it was enough pain that 20 other monks would have died over it and reduced to minced meat. I cannot stress enough that he was TORTURED. He couldn't speak, he couldn't communicate, and no one believed him when he said he wasn't a demon... but no one listened. I really think this reflects how Wukong felt when Sanzang didn't listen to what he said. The tables were turned and Sanzang felt what Wukong felt in that moment of what it is like not to be listened to and being punished for trying to be honest. Yellow Robe was able to completely have everyone on his side with his good looks and magic abilities but at the same point, Sanzang was the object of ridicule here. And sadly this isn't included here but Bailong stepping up and trying to attack the Yellow Robe Demon himself. He didn't succeed but he did succeed in getting Bajie to go get Wukong which I really think it the crux of the story itself. Bajie knew he had to right to ask Wukong, he was the one that made Sanzang push him away even if that wasn't his intention. It was Bajie finally humbling himself and while he still wasn't honest in his intentions Wukong would clearly see that Bajie was trying to downplay his own grievances. There was a single scene where when Wukong was done teasing Bajie in that he wasn't coming he does ask to stop and let him bathe. He had killed about 10,000 hunters when he was back home and I think this was him trying to cleanse himself of that sin before going back to meet his brothers. I don't think he regrets what he did... but he defiantly didn't want them to know about what he has done when he was gone. That he was so quick to go back to being violent and murderous without any supervision and this single act was his only way to try to rid himself of that past. Even in the end when Wukong meets with Sanzang again, he acknowledges that Sanzang is the kind of man that even pities demons, not that he didn't believe him that she was a demon, but that even human OR demon Sanzang didn't agree to kill her before she commits any crimes (yet). And whether he was wrong or right for having that stance, he was still the one to push Wukong to leave which was his own downfall in giving up on Wukong. Wukong knew that White Bone was going to attack and his mission was to protect but over and over again Wukong shows that in coming back was how he recognizes the differences between them. Wukong was the one to accept that they may not agree on everything but didn't have to make them at odds. And it was in the end that Wujing and Bajie other addressed how they stood by and let Wujing get kicked out, kneeling down to show their regret for their inaction or sabotage. Wukong has the stance that he doesn't forgive easily, rather than dealing out punishment harshly but it was only here that we see him saving Sanzag in his tiger body. Sanzang even says that he owes everything to Wukong and that he should have all the merit for his actions. I think that Sanzang could learn through his own struggles what it means to be looked over and ignored when they were in the right as well, and only then could he see what he was putting Wukong through as well.

24. Meeting demons at Level-Top Mountain is the twenty-fourth ordeal [chap. 32]; this was the chapter they meet Golden Horned King (金角大王) and Silver Horned King (銀角大王). These two are also heavenly beings that fell from heaven, being Laozi's fire tenders that stole five of his magical weapons and wanted to make it big on earth. Funny enough Bajie was the first to get kidnapped here because he went on ahead after being bullied a bit more into it. Good stuff. Wukong just thought if worst came to worst he could save Bajie himself... but it did lead to Sanzang and Wujing being kidnapped as well while Wukong was trapped under ANOTHER mountain and very pissed about it. This is where we get to see Wukong's greatest show of strength when he was about to run a comet speed with a demon weight about two mountains on his back. But Wukong was sadly put under ANOTHER mountain and forced to stay there until he bullied the mountain deity to GET IT OFF HIM. From there he was about to infiltrate and learn about the Brother Kings from Sly Devil (精细鬼) and Wily Worm (伶俐虫) not to be caught in their treasure... only to be caught in their treasure.

25. Being hung high at Lotus-Flower Cave is the twenty-fifth ordeal [chap. 33]; this was when Wukong finally was able to infiltrate the cave as Nine-Tailed Vixen (九尾狐狸) who might be the same fox from Fengshen Yanyi. There is a lot of history to the Nine Tails, especially in other media but she isn't a major enemy in Xiyouji as she is in other media. She is meant to be a punishment to Kong Zhou (along with two other demons) when he claimed to make Nvwa his concubine and thus Nvwa sent the Nine-Tails (and company) to reach havoc for him and his kingdom as his new concubine. She was only taken out by Jiang Ziya in the end as he was the only one to overpower the control she had in the courts. The idea was while they were created for the sake of chaos they got addicted to and disobey's Nvwa's decree in the end. That all being said in Xiyouji It is noted that this is the ONLY demon that Wukong has ever bowed to, even under the disguise of the servants Hill-Pawing Tiger and Sea-Lolling Dragon. He was forced to show her the same respect as a servant would their superior, leaving him to tear up from pure frustration. But she is killed by him without much fanfare or acknowledgment of her heavenly ties or connections with Nvwa. This chapter was especially good as while the gang was tied up in the cave being hung up and Bajie was up there and saw Wukong's ass just knowing it was him. But Wukong is founded out and they had to battle Nine Tail's little brother King Fox Number Seven (狐阿七). I can't say much here as Bajie was the one to take him out and Laozi was just able to save his fire tenders before Wukong beat them both to death (he already beat Silver Horn to death Golden Horn was just left). These two had the most treasures out of any of the demons they have fought before but at the same point, they only used two out of the three in a useful manner. They were both cautious in their planning but in the end, they were still overwhelmed but Wukong's own cleverness and cunningness as they got lazy and allowed Wukong to take advantage of their laziness. If anything there is something to be said about how the heavens are making trials for the pilgrims and purposely making their road harder, yes it is for the sake of them reaching the 81 trails mark to be enlightened but at the same point Wukong is right to call them out on that behavior.

26. Saving the ruler of Black Rooster Kingdom is the twenty-sixth ordeal [chap.37]; This was when Sanzang was met with the Black Rooster Kingdom's dead king and how they had to save him from the well. This was surprisingly similar to how Sanzang's own father 'died' and then revived as well. Might be a call back to his own trauma. Pretty much the kings advisor, someone he thought, as a Daoist Immortal came by to help him with his drought issues and while the drought was dealt with the king gave his utter trust in the immortal. Sadly, the Daoist was actually a cultivated demon in disguise as he tricked the king into getting closer to a well to push them down, and essentially kill him. From there the demon transformed himself into the king, and took over his life, from his kingly duties to his family. It shows that people that help you and you come to trust can still be using you and stab you in the back.

27. Running into a demon's transformed body is the twenty-seventh ordeal [chap.37]; So this is the Lion-Lynx demon (獅猁怪) or rather the Azure Lion (青毛狮子怪) as he will become to know later in the novel when he returns but right now he is solo and pretending to be king of the Black Rooster Kingdom. Saznag was visited by the ghost of the king, whose body was preserved in a well, VERY similar to how Saznag's own father's body was preserved as well. But Wukong was able to have the King's body become alive again with a immortal pill from Laozi and this trial took a more diplomatic approach as it was their goal to convince the prince first that Lion-Lynx that has been pretending to be his father. This leads to a lot of reveals and can't say too much there besides a family being reunited which is lovely and might be how Sanzang was reflected with his own. (He was lucky that the Lynx-Lion was gelded else his mom could have made some baby demons.) I can't say much beyond it was seeing a demon wanting to take another person's life, and while he served as a fine king, he still murdered someone that trusted him and took over his life.

28. Meeting a fiend in Roaring Mountain is the twenty-eighth ordeal [chap. 40]; this is when Red Boy (紅孩兒) was on the trail, mostly trying to get the guys to come and save him. Wukong actually does a good job of steering Sanzang away from Red Boy until Sanzang heard a child's cries for help and can't help but need to help him. Another trap of course but it shows that Sanzang still wants to help anyone he can even if there are demons after him and that is still seen now when Red Boy says that his parents have died and he is all alone. Wukong either in a moment of lack of empathy or can see through Red Boy's lies suggests that the kid would be better off dead since his family is dead is actually funny not going to lie. Red Boy is the son of Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King but his inspiration comes from Shancai, who is Guanyin's faithful servant. Shancai in Buddist legends once traveled south to visit 53 teachers and achieved Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism is used here as an example of becoming a Buddha in one body, and its process of seeking the Dharma represents the various stages of Huayan entering the Dharma Realm. According to the 54 entries into the Dharma Realm of the old Huayan Sutra, Shancai is the son of the elder in Fucheng. When he is in the womb and born, all kinds of treasures emerged, so he was called good fortune boy/child of wealth. Later, he was taught by Manjusri Bodhisattva and traveled all over the southern countries to visit Bhikkhu Gongdeyun, and received the samadhi of reciting Buddha. It is more so that Red Boy is meant to be a reference to Shancai as while they have different backstories they are meant to be the same character as well.

29. The sage monk abducted by wind is the twenty-ninth ordeal [chap. 40]; Wukong gladly took the opportunity to carry Red Boy as they were traveling up the mountain as he thought this would be a great time to finally kill him. He attempts to throw Red Boy off a cliff he turns into a wind and kidnaps him right off the horse. They are getting more creative with how they kidnap him, even just taking him right in daylight without Wukong just being nearby. It might be another example of how Wukong was more focused on killing his enemy rather than trying to protect at the moment. This was a sweet moment for Wujing as he was the one to cheer Wukong on after they lost Sanzang, Wukong thought at this point, even if he tries to kill demons BEFORE they attempt to kidnap Sanzang it still doesn't matter. Really hits him hard that he thinks he is a failure and for the first time it shows that he really thinks he can't do it. That is until telling them how they are untied in this front, and no matter what as long as they stick together they can overcome any obstacle. Even Bajie is moved by his speech and agrees they must always try and says how he is sorry for even doubting their group. It was only then that they were able to move forward to save Sanzang.

30. The Mind Monkey being injured is the thirtieth ordeal [chap. 41]; this was honestly so sad with how Wukong was teary up from the smoke and sire and how it affected his eyes. Legit it looks like his old injuries from Laozi's furnace affecting his eyes as he feels that burning smoke, so painful that he passes out. It was here that Wukong is truly defeated in a combat situation and it's from someone he saw as family. He was going in with the hope to appeal to that family loyalty as he was DBK's sworn brother but was rejected again and again by Red Boy that he both didn't believe Wukong or that he just didn't care about those relations either. This lead to Bajie having to be the one to resuscitate Wukong while Wujing is terrified over his life. Wukong didn't want to attack Red Boy at least not when he found out that they were, what he considered, family. But in the end, it was not enough and while Wukong through he could handle the flames the pain from the smoke in his eyes lead him to faint. This is the ONLY time that Wukong has never been in such pain that he has fainted. No other treatment has ever put him in such a state, maybe the Yellow Wind demon but even then he was blinded, not down. Wujing really thought he died, starting to cry over Wukong's body because he thought he lost their brother. Bajie instead didn't believe it for a second, didn't think for a moment that Wukong was dead, and instead started right away to resuscitate him. It was like Wujing was overwhelmed with sadness while Bajie just couldn't even think of Wukong being defeated like that. It was only because they got to him in time that was Wukong not permanently hurt or perhaps even dead from such an attack.

31. Asking the sage to subdue monsters is the thirty-first ordeal [chap. 42]; this is when Wukong went to ask Guanyin to help subdue Red Boy which she does so as Red Boy himself was disguised as her and using her image to trick Bajie, leading to his capture. Gaunyin actually comes with the lotus platform of swords to capture Red Boy and I think that there is actually a big connection with how Red Boy and Wukong were similar when they were starting off as their own kings of the mountain. Similar to how Wukong was so powerful at the start of his warlord career, Red Boy as well showed great powers from the start, being more than powerful to run his own mountain. And that Red Boy is trying to fight people that are arguably stronger than him, only to be taken down by a Bodhisattva that being GuanYin while for Wukong it was Buddha. From there, after he tried to attack Guanyin again she subdued him with golden bands and was taken under to be a disciple. They are not exactly a one to one, but I like to think that Wukong saw a lot of his younger self in Red Boy and how he was going down that path of destruction that could only lead to hundreds of years of punishment if he wasn’t taken down at the moment. Maybe Wukong thinks about how he could’ve avoided a lot of the mistakes he made if he just had someone stronger than him make him see reason. Also that Red Boy is the one to become Shancai who does have a different origin story in Indian lore but in Xiyouji, Red Boy is the one to become the Child of Wealth and be at Guanyin's side forever, along with Muzha and Longnv.

32. Sinking in the Black River is the thirty-second ordeal [chap. 43]; This one is what I remember this is a more underwater adventure with Tuolong Black River God (鼉龍 or Xiao Mojie) and Wujing getting his timeline a bit more as it’s very much underwater. Wujing went underwater to find out who took Sazang again and it was Four Dragon King's sister's (I guess there are five siblings now) ninth son. But after the death of her husband Dragon King of Jingehe (The same dragon from the start of the novel actually), Ao Run (Bailong's father) was the one in charge of raising them. Surprisingly very little is being said about Bailong despite his imminent family being involved in this trial. Tuolong played a boatman as Sanzang and Bajie got on his craft only to flip the boat sending both Bajie and Sanzang into the water. Toulong was going to invite Ao Run to eat Sanzang (and Bajie is there) WITH him as a way of showing thanks for raising him all these years but in reality, it was because he has not done anything with his life and has been causing mischief, trying to get back in his Uncle's graces. Ao Run after being confronted by Wukong with these accusations of trying to eat Sazang admits that he thought his nephew was cultivating and had no idea of the trouble he was bringing. Ao Run sent his eldest son, Ao Moang, Bailong's eldest brother, to go subdue Toulong else Wukong was going to kill the guy himself. Wukong and Ao Moang were able to subdue him and Ao Moang took him back to Ao Run to be punished for his crimes. Wujing in this one finds Bajie and Sanzang and frees them luckily. This might have something to do with the youngest sibling, trying to prove himself by capturing Sanzang and giving it to Ao Run in honor of him, being his father figure, but in reality, he’s just being selfish, and jealous that all his other brothers were able to integrate with society just fine with respectable jobs but he has not. But this story does touch on children that grow up without a father, especially losing them quickly is to be seen as more sensitive. And how Toulong losing his father to the rules of heaven, shows his defiance of not falling the same rules that lead to his father's death. Toulong's sense of rebellion also comes from a sense of entitlement that he should be the exception to the rules for his own suffering as if trying to justify his actions to bring suffering to others.

33. Hauling at Cart Slow Kingdom is the thirty-third ordeal [chap. 44]; this one is definitely a personal favorite due to the humor, but there is a lot to be said when the gang comes to the kingdom that is enslaving Buddhist monks in favor of Taoist monks. The ones pulling the strings behind this abuse are Tiger Strength Great Immortal (虎力大仙), Elk Strength Great Immortal (鹿力大仙), and Antelope Strength Great Immortal (羊力大仙) that are controlling the king. This is the chapter most would recall Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing trick these three immortals into drinking their piss but I do find it fascinating how Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing take the places of the three pure ones when they are crashing the feast and take the places of the most important figures in heaven. Wukong as Laozi, Bajie as Yuanshi Tianzun, and Wujing as Lingbao Tianzun. I’m not sure if that was supposed to be meta-commentary about anything like how the three might be bringing in a new heaven or Age of Enlightenment themselves, but I did greatly enjoy the political symbolism that it could provide. This one definitely highlights how there were a lot of religious tensions between Daoism and Buddhism and how is that even because of these acknowledgments of the tensions, this book was banned in certain areas. But rather than Sanzang or anyone in the pilgrimage trying to refute Daoist beliefs, rather acknowledge that both are looking for the same thing when it comes to personal self-improvement and how well they can be different they can still respect one another (though there is some bias is that Buddism is better). Wukong saving the monks also shows how they put so much faith in waiting for Wukong and how he even gave each one of them a hair to keep them safe. It shows a great deal of compassion on his part from what I believe at this point. Not to mention I really think that this is the arc that is important more generally when it comes to character interactions as we get to see a lot of how they start to become more comfortable with one another. And this is just like in the Ginseng Fruit arc where they are all stealing food similar to before, but rather this time, they all agreed to cover each other’s backs.

34. A mighty contest is the thirty-fourth ordeal [chaps. 45-46]; In each of these test the immortal either loose face or die and honesty if they have kept the challenges simple with Saznag then they could have lived... sucks to be them. This one I do find to be one of my favorite segments personally only because it’s toeing the line of monks should not lie which Sanzang refuses to do however, it’s not lying because Wukong is simply changing the answers, kind of proving that the Yaoguai either had prior knowledge of what the answer should have been and can’t work around the new answers and rather Wukong is the one cheating for Sanzang rather than Sanzang cheating himself. Wukong definitely does most of the heavy lifting, but it shows his increasing durability throughout it all. Personally, think this was meant more to show off his powers and I could be missing the significance of each one of these powers, but that is what I am aware of. The first test of one of bringing the rain. Sanzang can't bring rain (he says a much) but Wukong goes up and THREATENS the people if they make rain for the Tiger he will beat them to death... so they don't and do rain on Sanzangn's turn. Diplomacy! Elk and Saznang have meditation content in which they try to cheat and a bug tries to break Sanzang's concentration. But Wukong turns into a bird and eats that thing and then turns into a centipede to break Elk's concentration and it works! Last is where they guess within the box and Antelope guesses fine clothes, peaches, and a Toaist disciple. Wukong goes into each box, tears up the clothes, eats the peaches leaving only pits, and shaves the disciple's head to make him a Buddhist monk. In each segment, Wukong was pulling the strings as Sanzang followed Wukong's instructions on what to say. They could have lived if they stop there but... nah. Tiger continues to have a head-cutting-off contest. Wukong has his head is cut off and it is kicked away, but he just regrows a new head while Tiger loses his head, and when he can not put it back on in time he dies. Elk tries to have a disemboweled contest but Wukong easily took out all his guts to "clean in there" while Elk died as he tries to gouge out his own heart. And finally, Antilope and Wukong could see who could live in boiling oil. Wukong pulled a prank and pretended to be dead but showed that he was just fine. Antilope did try to cheat and keep his oil cold but Wukogn quickly fixed that and he boiled alive. Overall a decided victory.

35. Expelling Daoists to prosper Buddhists is the thirty-fifth ordeal [chap. 47]; When the king saw that his advisors were indeed three Yaoguai that were most likely planning to kill him (similar to Lion-Lynx’s plan) he was shaken out of his stupor and saw the error of his ways. The monks that escaped at the start of this chapter were able to come back home and gave him back his hairs as they were finally freed from their sufferings. This kind of goes back to how the tensions between the two religious groups were high but I believe the intention was for there to show how despite differences there can be bridges to connect those gaps. Wukong being one of those bridges as he trained in Daosim and even received all his powers from it, but he is still a proud Buddhist monk as well. Having both knowledge did not hinder him, and either way, but if anything, it allowed him to excel in both philosophies. Wukong is nearly as familiar with scripture as. Sanzang is and even knows it a bit better in some cases. It kind of shows how that kind of relationship gap can be bridged through a general respect for both practices, and I think Wukong was meant to be that kind of representative for that respect.

36. Meeting a great water on the road is the thirty-sixth ordeal [chap. 47]; They are blocked by the very large river and as such stay with the Chen family (which funny enough is also the surname of Sanzang) and find out they have had to sacrifice their children to this demon for the past few years and after Sansang saying they have to help (Wukong suggesting buying more kids to sacrifice to save their own kids, no that is not a solution) Wukong and Bajie agree to go undercover as the children and fight the demon King of Spiritual Touch (靈感大王). The demon does get away but everyone thinks that is the end of that while the demon does see Saznag and plots to kidnap him being suggested by the Perch Mother. That was the trial itself rather than actually fighting The Spiritual Touch King. I’m not sure if there’s a lot of significance here besides perhaps highlighting how Sanzang misses his home, especially surrounded by people with his surname. That might be more of a plot detail, than huge significance allegory-wise.

37. Falling into the Heaven-Reaching River is the thirty-seventh ordeal [chap. 48]; this one was an elaborate trap as the gang is forced to walk across the huge river as it has iced overnight. I do enjoy this part only as Bajie was the one to make sure Bailong's horseshoes can walk on ice and Wukong even makes sure that the ice is thick before walking across it. Sadly while they were in the middle of the river this is when the Spiritual King breaks the ice and despite best efforts does kidnap Sanzang. As much as I did love how there was a lot of teamwork between Wukong, Wujing, and Bajie, as they were trying to lure the demon out of the water for Wukong to fight him properly, Spiritual King was able to escape due to its advantage of being underwater. As such this is what led to Wukong getting GuanYin again as he saw no other way that Bajie and Wujing could handle him on their own as the King locked himself up in his palace and no amount of goading was going to get him out again. Even faking they were hurt, to faking defeat wasn't enough to get the Spiritual King is risk fighting against them as he knew he was eventually going to lose.

38. The Fish-Basket revealing her body is the thirty-eighth ordeal [chap. 49]; I do find this particular way of entrapment to be very interesting as it touches upon Gaunyin and her connection with the fish basket. There’s actually a famous story about this as well, but the story is about a beautiful woman who is selling fish and comes to a village, and how every man in the village wants to marry her but she would only marry someone that would recite Suntras every day and release all the fish she has, and whoever could memorize the Suntras, would be able to marry her and pretty much it was inspiring people to learn more about Buddhism. The one man that was able to memorize all the scriptures she called for, decided to continue his life and still teach in her honor. It was a famous story, showing the fulfillment of learning scriptures. This arc was made in reference to that story and I do find that a great way to tie her into the narrative as well.

39. Meeting a fiend at Golden Helmet Mountain is the thirty-ninth ordeal [chap. 50]; This chapter I do find interesting the fact that this is another heavenly beast that escaped heaven Single Horned Rhinoceros King (獨角兕大王) and at this point, it’s almost standard for heavenly steeds to be the enemy for the sake of there being enough trials. This time Sanzang and the gang are in the middle of a snowy mountain and Wukong goes off to find food while leaving them in a circle. There’s actually a lot of symbolism in this chapter, especially when it comes to circles. Wukong creates a circle around his party as he goes off to try to find a village for food, a creation of his own making intended to keep them safe as long as they follow the instructions that he has given them. While, in the meantime, his party escapes the circle and put some of themselves in danger. This kind of circle symbolism is also seen in how Wukongs two iconic symbols are also circles that being his fillet and his golden hoop rod. His fillet is a circle that constraints, created for the purpose that he is to act in a certain limitation that he can't act solely on his own desires but rather focus on his own self-restraint to work with others but his staff is a circle that breaks his limits, allowing him to transition the limitation said he has been given through sheer force of will and power to overcome obstacles in his path. And it’s specifically here that Wukong gives his own limitations to the party but they bypass those limitations, and find themselves in danger. Similar to how when Wukong breaks his own limitation he puts himself in danger and others when he acts without thinking. It is almost karmic when Wukong tries to impose limitations on others when he himself is known for breaking these limits again and again and seeing what it feels like to be unheard when he only has the best intentions for his party. When Wukong tried to break into a new realm as the Jade Emperor he also had to except the dangers that came with that, hence, his punishment. It’s that kind of symbolism I personally think of when it comes to breaking barriers you have to also expect the risk that comes with it and accept it. Sanzang and the gang fall right into the Rhino King's trap and are taken in by him.

40. Heaven's gods find it hard to win is the fortieth ordeal [chaps. 51-52]; Not much to say he’ll personally except that this enemy has proven to be stupidly strong because of his magical item. The amount of extra power that this item has given him is insane, considering that Wukong needed to get the heavenly armies and Nezha in order to fight this guy, and it still didn’t win. But even Nezha lost all his weapons due to the Rhino King's Golden Ring to simply steal magical weapons from other people. Wukong lost his cudgel here, a symbol of his ability to break limitations and overcome the odds, and thus is left powerless without gods that also lost their magical weapons. And this is where I really enjoy seeing that Wukong really understands that he canceled all his problems through brute strength, but rather he needs to understand his problems in the first place in order to overcome them. He has the entire army of Heaven on his side but he can’t defeat this demon and it’s because he doesn’t understand how his powers walk in the first place but once he does understand where his powers came from. Once he learns even more about his enemy, he’s able to defeat him properly showing how cunning and willing Wukong can go when it comes to figuring out battle strategies and finding weaknesses in others. The amount of times that Wukong actually had to play peacemaker amount the troops because the armies were getting discouraged over losing the weapons is amazing, I don’t think it really shows how Wukong is also a great leader, especially when it comes to facing horrible odds against him. This is most likely the strongest enemy that Wukong has faced during the journey. Sun Wukong not only asked the Jade Emperor to find out the origin of this person, but also asked Li Tianwang, Nezha, Lei Gong, Huode Xingjun, Huanghe Shuibo, Tathagata, Eighteen Arhats and many other masters in the world of immortals and Buddhas for help

41. Asking the Buddha for the source is the forty-first ordeal [chap. 52]; Pretty much Wukong couldn’t find how to get any more information about his enemy, and of course had to go to the highest level to know who this guy was, and how to defeat him. If anything, I think it’s more of a humbling moment that Wukong had to do in order to ask than anything else, and it kind of shows how far he’s willing to go when it comes to protecting his party even if it means admitting that he needs help in the first place. And considering how prideful and arrogant Wukong is at the start of the story I think that’s a trial within itself. Even Sanzang at the end, admits that he should’ve listened to Wukong and promised to try to do better. A lot of humbling in the chapter. There is an actual legend to how Laozi got this Rhino in the first place as when Laozi was 8 or 9 years old he found a rapid divine bull that was eating people in the wild. Laozi and his brother at that young age went to cut the grass for baskets and play games. The bull came out of nowhere that has been eating people and the two confronted it for all its crimes to their neighbors. Laozi knew better than to hit it head-on rather than wait for the bull to run over him and stab it in its underbelly with his sickle. It ran away and they chased after it and after a fierce battle, they rode the bull down the mountain in their victory. From there Laozi took the bull as his own and domesticated him to eat only grass and pull plows and carts.

42. Being poisoned after drinking water is the forty-second ordeal [chap. 53]; it was actually a lot of symbolism when it comes to the Mother-Birthing River especially when it comes to Hindu mythology. There is an old legend about how a prince got pregnant himself when it was supposed to be his wife but he was still able to give birth. And that’s kind of reflected here as well when it comes to finding that kind of in qi energy and reaching enlightenment, I believe. It is quite interesting that the ones chosen here are Sanzang and Bajie. I think Sanzang was chosen for the symbolical representation similar to the prince while Bajie was for all the jokes that Wujing and Wukong absolutely throw his way because they find the whole situation Absolutely hilarious. They had to face off against Immortal Ruyi (如意真仙) who is Bull Demon King's younger broth and the Uncle of Red Boy. He was more of a nuisance than a threat as he kept making Wukong spill the Aborition Water so he had to get Wujing to help him out. Wukong claimed he only pared him because he is Demon Bull King's younger brother, or else he would have beaten him to death.

43. Detained for marriage at Western Liang Kingdom is the forty-third ordeal [chap. 54]; this one was interesting, and the fact that the main villain, for most of the arc, wasn’t the scorpion demon, but rather it was the Ruler of Women's Country (女兒國國王), because she absolutely refused to let Sanzang go and holding him hostage until he agreed to her demands for marriage. Wukong of course says they cannot attack else they would have to kill all of her soldiers as well and does push for Sanzang to play along with her fantasies, even though Sanzang is absolutely terrified that he would be forced to fulfill the “marriage vows.” But I do think this one shows how much trust Sanzang has gathered for Wukong because he follows the instructions to play along in order to avoid fighting with the entire kingdom or the army and they just leave the kingdom last minute… which honestly would’ve worked if it wasn’t for the last-minute demon. I do love how protective Bajie gets in this one, even Wujing lifting Sanzang off the carriage to get him away from the queen, kinda reflecting on Bajie's own past actions with women and how he is coming around to the importance of boundaries. In the end, the queen admits to feeling ashamed of her actions once she sees how Sanzang and Wukong and gang had such powers and were meant for greater things than just being kings. She was convinced that their union was set up by the heavens and refused to let him say no. She was very direct in her approach, very different than before trying to seduce Sanzang with no hope as he was more frightful than tempted. She is the only woman that isn't a demon that has tried to seduce Sanzang and while she is honorable and respected she shows that same kind of tenacity. There are not all good humans in the book and at times the gang has to be creative with how to get around them. She was willing to give up her own country based on Sanzang's own beauty showing a single-minded desire to have him as their own.

44. Suffering at the Cave of the Lute is the forty-fourth ordeal [chap. 55]; if anything, this one just shows how another heavenly animal escapes and this being the Scorpion demon (蠍子精). This is one of the only times we see an attack actually affect Wukong beyond the samadhi powers as this kind of venom does hurt him extremely. He got horrible headaches from the poison, enough to take him out of the fight for quite a while. Wujing and Bajie were unable to help in that case. Funny enough this is also just because of this one power that Wukong acknowledges that brute strength cannot win against her, and hast to go to another person for help. In the end, they were able to sub to her and she has to be sent back to heaven, but this was definitely kind of leaning into the idea of being trapped by lustful desires. She was more of a pest that was listening in on Buddhist scriptures than anything else being brushed away by Buddha until she stung at him, being the only demon known to inflict damage on Buddha. She took Sanzang in his moment of freedom only to trap him in a similar hostage situation of being forced to marry but I do notice how she did prepare vegetarian meals for him alongside her human meals... so awkward but how polite? Sanzang rejected her every time until she was annoyed enough to tie him up until he changed his mind. It wasn't until Wukong at the Pleiades Star Offical (a rooster) to subdue the Scorpin Demon was about to be killed by Bajie as well. A noticed trait is that Bajie is usually the one to kill female demons that have committed similar crimes as him when it comes to sexually harassing people. I like to think it is to show Baije's own personal fight with his own sexual and romantic desires. The Scorpion Demon is taken from the Xiyouji Zaji play when they have the 17th episode "The Queen's Forced Marriage where the Queen's brutal side is the direct reflection of the demon and how the two are more connected in the play. Considering that the only other demons in that play were the Demon Bull Family it shows how she was considered quite popular with this arc as well.

45. Banishing again the Mind Monkey is the forty-fifth ordeal [chap. 56]; this is the Six-Eared Macaque (六耳獼猴) Arc and I kind of did a deep dive about the symbolic meaning of the monkey mind and all this here, but this is definitely one of the defining points of the chapter is right in the middle of the journey. I didn’t know that this was such a big question but apparently, a lot of people did wonder why did Wukong progress back into violent killings in this chapter in particular with the robber and while I do admit that Wukong has come a long way there hasn’t been yet a really defining point of him, addressing the fact that he does go overboard when it comes to his enemies when he believes that it’s justified. He has been doing a lot to show more empathy to his companions in even to other people, but I really think halfway through the journey. This is him trying to find more empathy for people that he believes don’t deserve second chances despite him receiving a second chance as well. It’s almost hypocritical for him to think that people he believes others should have to die for their crimes, and that he should be the judge, jury, and executioner in these circumstances. It might have been because even the family itself never really said they valued the son's life more so they only want to keep him as he has no other heir, which is also sad within itself that a family only sees value in the son at this point because he can continue the family rather than value him as a person that he’s just done so much damage. And Wukong also has such filial respect, and how much importance he puts to family and elders. Kind of pushed him to his limits even when this particular burglar has been given a second chance by Wukong by not killing him the first time he met with his group rather than just killing his leader. If anything Wukong probably thought he was already justified in showing him mercy and the guy just came back again trying to hurt his party after being shown that mercy was pushing him over the limit.

46. The macaque hard to distinguish is the forty-sixth ordeal [chaps. 57-58]; This shows the progression of how far Wukong has come, both were fighting enemies and fighting with himself and who his identity is. Wukong not fighting with his identity is one of the main things in Xiyouji that I think anyone could take away from it as Wukong has been shown to be defying limitations on himself but also never really having that kind of ability to fit in a category, either making him very alone as well. And I think this chapter really highlights how Wukong can either be seen as a character that fits nowhere or the only character that truly is able to bridge the gap between different realms and be able to fit everywhere thing. He was able to see the worst traits of himself being pushed into his face and overcomes what those traits inside of him mean and even what they represent. He never denies who he is but rather shows that he is much more than what he sued to be, that he can grow and change and learn and become more than what he once was. When Sanzang sent Wukong away in this arc he really thought that he could not help Wukong anymore and that he has failed as a teacher but rather it was Wukong's own battle that he had to fight first as no one can force himself to change besides Wukong. The Six-Eared Macaque created duplicates of the entire gang, planning on killing them all and replacing them so he can gain credit and glory for bringing back the scriptures and becoming the "Sun Wukong" of legend. It was only under Buddha's eyes that was he able to discern the two (and a hell cat) and the truth of the matter came to light about the four spiritual monkeys that are the same species as Wukong. The phrase "Six Ears" has two different meanings. 1. meaning "A third party, outside intervention," such as an eavesdropper when two people are to be having a private conversation. Like saying make sure a sixth ear isn't listening in. Something that Wukong even says at the start of the book when talking to master Puti about their classes. Guan Hanqing's "Butterfly Dream": "Three people make big mistakes, and six ears do not conspire." In the novels of the Ming Dynasty, there is also the phrase "six ears do not preach", and "six ears" has gradually become an external object that refers to the hindrance of "preaching". The 2. meaning in from Buddhism has the theory of "six roots" of "eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind". From the "six roots", "six consciousnesses" are born. It should be eliminated first on the road of practice. At the end of the story, when the demon is eliminated, this point is also pointed out: "God returns to the heart, the Zen formula is fixed, and the six senses eliminate the pill." This is to show how those that now the truth cannot be tricked by falsehoods as such, discerning between the true and false monkey. The truth must be false, and the truth will be let go; the false will be true, and the false will be attracted. It is because real practitioners are regarded as false practitioners, and false practitioners are also mistaken for real practitioners. Those who are "four monkeys mixed with the world" have the four minds of greed, anger, ignorance, and hindrance. Sun Wukong symbolizes the "mind", and the six-eared macaque is the "evil" that deceives it. " Longing and the contradiction of "superego". Just because Sun Wukong's mind is turbulent, and he is often in a state of "ego" but "ID", so "evil" has an opportunity to take advantage of. The process of Sun Wukong destroying the demon is the process of "doing good and eliminating evil" in one's heart. In fact, the Six-Eared Macaque not only symbolizes the delusion of Wukong alone, but also the delusion of the party as whole as they are originally one. Therefore, after the "false heart" was destroyed, there was a description of the master and apprentice and the other three also "cutting the two hearts", and the team worked together and went to the west.

47. The road blocked at the Mountain of Flames is the forty-seventh ordeal [chap. 59]; this one was a hard trial to get past as they were literally trying to go around flaming mountains, but this is like the first time I’ve actually seen where Wukong’s past actions have influenced the road ahead as the fire only started due to Wukong pushing Laozis furnace to earth. Not only did this cause tremendous changes to the landscape, but also it led to the people of us being punished as well in the crossfire. Innocent people were forced to enter these harsh heats and we’re only able to five because Princess Iron Fan (鐵扇公主) took advantage of the situation, making herself the immortal of the mountain. From there, she was actually able to gain power because of these grievances. I think this is very interesting and how even unintentional consequences can have large repercussions. Princess Iron Fan is a Rakshasa within the novel and mother of Red Boy and the wife of Demon Bull King. Princess Iron Fan is a symbol of material love but also envy as she is alone without both her son and husband at her side, taking her anger out on one she could without restraint at least. Her Xiyouji creation was inspired by three different courses the first being the 10 Rakshasa who is in charge of guarding and reciting the Lotus Sutra from Buddha lore. The Guizimu God also from Buddhism lore who lost her own child in a miscarriage sworn in the neck life to be a demon that eats other's children which did happen. She saw the error of her ways and came to the heavens to protect the Dharma. And the last is the Iron Fan Immortal who is a Taoist Immortal from the Xiyouji Play where she has different family relations such as being the sister of Li-shan Laomu and is connected to another legend where she was a Taoist Wind goddess that was friends with the Queen Mother (and Pilanpo), however after a slight party over the Queen Mother bringing her own wine Princess Iron Immortal went to earth where she became a demon. She never married in this version and plan to keep it that way and thus she was greatly offended when XingZhe kept hitting on her. All these inspired her Xiyouji debut.

48. Seeking the palm-leaf fan is the forty-eighth ordeal [chaps. 59-60]; this one was definitely the most elaborate, as this was a lot with the family situation. Wukong encountered their son Red Boy just a few years ago, and because of his intervention, Red Boy became a disciple under GuanYin, a position that could be considered even higher than being claimed as a deity in Eastern Heaven. Wukong isn't wrong in saying that their son is better off being a disciple under the goddess of mercy, rather than running amok on his own mountain, being a king, yes, but only building himself up to be taken down in a few years, similar to what Wukong had to go through. If anything, he could’ve saved him a lot of pain and suffering in the long run because his power and arrogance were going unchecked. But of course, no parent wants their child to be dethroned, and as such Princess Iron Fan wishes to get revenge on her son’s behalf. Wukong may have saved Red Boy’s life in the long run, but he did separate a family as well. There is something to be said when it comes to seeing two choices that both have negative consequences within them. At the time I’m sure Wukong wasn’t even thinking about how Princess Iron Fan or Bull Demon King (牛魔王) would react to seeing their son gone but definitely doesn’t make it any easier when he has to be the one to take responsibility for that separation. Wukong had to pretend to be Bull Demon King while he was away with his new concubine Jade-Faced Princess (玉面狐狸) who wanted to keep him to herself. She was the daughter of the Long Live Fox King who left behind all his fortune and Princess Jade Faced wanted someone strong enough to protect her and her territory. Wukong was able to get the fan but it was taken again by Bull Demon. This led to a confrontation between brothers and after Wukong's change of heart and mind, he sees how that change is being put to the test, being forced to fight someone he sees as a brother.

49. Binding the demon king is the forty-ninth ordeal [chap. 61]; Wukong is fighting someone that he sees as a brother, someone that he has looked up to for many years, and still looked up to him, even while they were fighting. They have similar paths and similar backgrounds and of being similar minds, these two really reflect each other but while one was able to hone his mind the other did not. He wanted to go easy on him because of their brotherhood and in fact, does time and time again, going easy on them because he doesn’t want to hurt his family. He sees Iron Fan as his sister-in-law and Bull King as his brother but because of his actions toward the child, they refused to help him in his quest. And this kind of tension and stress kept building and building until Wukong had to completely destroy their brotherhood and arrest Bull King, Wukong knew he couldn't leave without the fan else their entire journey would be put to a halt but both Iron Fan Princess and Demon Bull King refused to help Wukong, rather wishing to hinder his quest. And I think that kind of betrayal, no matter how emotionally justified, still hurts because Wukong is a very family-oriented guy. And I think that this arc being right after the Six Ears arc is a coincidence as that arc was supposed to symbolize Wukongs own turning point within the journey and now we get to see how Wukong is shedding his past relationships in order to move forward with his new life. Bull King was another reminder of his warlord years and well I’m sure he would never want to hurt his family… sometimes cutting people out of your life is the best way to move forward and heal at least in the circumstances. Also, Bajie being constantly there assisting Wukong and all the fights kind of shows how Wukong has moved on from his old brotherhood and has gained a new one. Wukong faced off against Bull Demon but at the same time, they are at a stalemate until Wukong gets backup from Nezha. The prototype for Bull Demon was Demon Bull Xisuo from “往世书” where Xisuo was an incarnation of Ashura and planned on doing harm to the world and was only stopped because the multi-armed goddess Durga was able to subdue him. This might make a connection to why Nezha who also had a multi-armed form, was the one to subdue Demon Bull King. this one I think, is without a doubt, the hardest fight that Wukong has to go through at least emotionally.

50. Sweeping the pagoda at Sacrifice Kingdom is the fiftieth ordeal [chap. 62]; this within itself wasn’t too much of a trial, but it was a moment that I really enjoyed between Wukong and Sanzang in how Sanzang has made his own promises to himself about sweeping pagodas they visit and how Wukong is insistent, that he still helps and stays up with him. There was no reason for this, no obligation, just Wukong and Sanzang cleaning a room together, which, of course, let the funny to encounter with Benbo'erba (奔波兒灞) and Babo'erben (灞波兒奔) at the top of the tower who just so happened to be bragging about the sacred treasure their master stole and how the monks took the blame for the fallout. Their boss has been causing the town a lot of grief and trouble and as such the monks were being blamed. The first two generations of monks were tortured to death so... extreme. But that wasn’t the trial itself. The real trial was the cleaning aspect, which I think shows that, despite all the demon fighting that was to still be considered of the utmost importance. This is probably the first time we see Wukong and Sanzang doing so domesticated together and I think it hits home how Wukong's change of mind and heart has affected how he interacts with those around him.

51. Recovering the treasure to save the monks is the fifty-first ordeal [chap. 63]; this one was more for the sake of clearing, the monks of this kingdom were blamed for the stolen treasure which is the Rishi mushroom (part of transitional Chinese medicine). It was stolen by the local dragons, and also the Nine-Headed Insect (九頭蟲) that convinced the Wansheng Dragon King (万圣龙王) his father-in-law and Wansheng Princess (萬聖公主) his wife and to do so. Wanseng Dragon wasn't always this high and mighty, between his Son-in-law's persuasion and his backing from Bull Demon King he became quite bold with his power. He was the one that Bull Demon King stopped his fight with Wukong so go have tea with. Friendship with Wukong has died, new friend is Wangsheng Draong King. This arc does tie in with another legend about the Nine-Heads which is why he got away with the story. It is because he’s actually connected to another legend. The Nine-Heads was most likely inspired by the Nine-Headed Bird from "Shan Hai Jing Da Huang Bei Jing" and how the legends grew that a house of blood drops will be blamed on them, similar to what happened in the story. Quan Xiaotian was about to bite off one of his heads before he ran away. And also it was just great to see Erlang Shen and how he and Wukong became sworn Brothers as well. (Please note that for years I was duped by the 1986 series into thinking the Wansheng Princess and Bailong were ex-finances like I believed that for YEARS). But also I have already done a whole thing as to why Wukong was so grateful to Erlang in the first place, mostly being that he was under the family-ties punishment order and he was supposed to kill all of Wukong's little suns, but give them time to hide and let them live, hence why Wukong is so grateful that he had a family to come home to. I could go on for days about Erlang and his importance and how he foils Wukong's own story but this is his only major character appearance.

52. Chanting poetry at the Brambled Forest is the fifty-second ordeal [chap. 64]; this one was particularly said, in some instances as this was one of the few times Sanzang was kidnapped by demons (that is common enough) but rather than trying to eat him or sexually harass him, instead spend the entire chapter reciting poetry to one another and talking about philosophy. Sanzang spends most of this chapter with three spirits Shiba Gong (勁節十八公), Guzhi Gong (孤直公), Lingkongzi (凌空子), and Fuyun Sou (拂雲叟), and their servants Naked demon (赤身鬼) and Apricot Immortal (杏仙) Sanzang has shown time, and time again that he does value all life and that includes demons as well. He doesn’t like the idea of Wukong killing them he does ask Wukong to spare them when he can... he just usually never gets a chance as they are already dead by the time he is recused. He never really gets a chance to show this kind of appreciation for life, because while Wukong does try to kill the demon to save Sanzang there are a lot of demons that are arrested and sent back to heaven. And I think that this is a great chapter to show how Sanzang does enjoy talking philosophy with other people, but it also shows how he would ever enjoy interacting with other Yaoguai when they are not harming him. Sanzang even asks Bajie to spare them in his rampage as while they did try to push Sanzang to marry Apricot Immortal he didn't think they actually hurt him. Wukong claims that even yaoguai that go through self-cultivation eventually give in and try to mooch off qi off of humans, as that is the quickest and easiest way to cultivate. Wukong has always had a “hit first, question later” mindset and I think it’s really submitted hear how he even treats Yaoguai similar to his warlord days with an iron fist. And perhaps how his empathy still needs room to grow.

53. Meeting disaster at Little Thunderclap is the fifty-third ordeal [chap. 65]; this was doing the fight with Yellow Brows Great King (黃眉大王) and when he was impersonating Buddha. Something I find very interesting is how Wujing, Bajie, and Sanzang all fell for his track, but Wukong KNOWS Buddha. Yes, fought with him, but definitely knows a fake when he sees it. Funny enough this guy isn’t trying to kill them for the sake of trying to gain immortality rather it’s similar to Six Ears desire for fame and glory particularly he says he’s after the right fruit. He wishes to be the one to deliver the scriptures to China and I think this is because he is also a fallen celestial that was a disciple of Maitreya Buddha. This one is a lot of Sanzang lamenting that Wukong was right and how he should’ve listened, which is very cathartic. But this could be an allegory about how the heavens aren’t perfect either and how anyone can be susceptible to their own desires if they let them get the best of them. Hence, why cultivation and practice are always a continual thing rather than a destination and you always have to keep yourself in check

54. The celestial gods being imprisoned is the fifty-fourth ordeal [chap. 66]; But also, this is another enemy that is extremely hard for Wukong to face head-on because of the magical items that he possesses the Golden Cymbals. While they did break that treasure he had another treasure to trap Wukong and his reinforcements in a bag. Twice. It starts to get very frustrating every time Wukong has to get more reinforcements to help his previous reinforcements. This leads to a lot of humiliation on Wukongs enough to make him cry and leads to him also having to use more elaborate schemes in order to defeat him… schemes which include turning into a watermelon seed to be eaten and jumping inside his belly until he gives up. Always a classic.

55. Being blocked by filth at Pulpy Persimmon Alley is the fifty-fifth ordeal [chap.67]; this one’s probably a very forgettable chapter as Python Demon (蟒蛇精) in this chapter doesn’t actually speak because it is said that she is not cultivated enough to speak. She has to rely on eating humans to cultivate rather than practicing, hence the increase in human killings. It is definitely a larger version of his animal form but she has not yet reached a humanoid form, just making her a giant monster at the moment. This one’s more banter between Wukong and Bajie when it came to them, trying to trap this demon together and honestly, I really did enjoy more of the interaction, in this chapter rather than any overarching themes, I believe. Wukong is again eaten by this demon and just grows until he punches a hole in her belly to kill her. Wukong considered this one of the weak demons he has encountered due to her low cultivation. But overall this was a good example of how Yaoguai try desperately to eat humans in order to take on a humanoid form of their own. Another popular legend of a snake demon is from “The White Snake,” where a Yaoguai and a human fall in love and it’s a forbidden tragic romance. That actually has no connection with this demon sadly, but I still thought that referencing other similar demon types could still provide some kind of insight.

56. Applying medication at the Scarlet-Purple Kingdom is the fifty-sixth ordeal [chaps. 68-69]; this is one of my favorite chapters, mostly because of the comedic aspects again. This one is about how Wukong ropes Bajie into agreeing that they are going to heal King Zhu Ziguo by taking a piece of paper and Wukong shoving it in Bajie's back pocket for a prank. The entire palace is terrified of what they look like having Wukong before medical practices behind a curtain at first. But this really shows Wukong's ingenuity and creativity when it comes to talking his way out of situations. The best example of this is how Wukong demands a little bit of every kind of medicine they have just so when he creates the end product no one in the kingdom is able to replicate what kind of medicine he did create. The creation itself has actually been of soot from a frying pan and Bailong’s own urine. Apparently, it has magical properties which I cannot deny but also that they had to ask BaiLong in the first place is absolutely hilarious to me. And then he proceeded to ask Ao Guang for rain, which last-minute the best he could do is sneeze a few times without his rain equipment leading to two kinds of dragon fluids in the medicine.'

57. Healing fatigue and infirmity is the fifty-seventh ordeal [chaps. 68-69]; Despite the questionable materials that Wukong used within the medicine in the end he was actually able to heal the king from his ailments, as he has shown that he just needed another, push to finally get himself out of bed so to speak. I’m not sure how much of the dragon fluids what part of that or if perhaps it was a placebo effect, but in the end, what mattered was that king was more than convinced that he was all healed up and then proceeded to say the source of his ailment started when he game depression from losing his wife. The reason he was fated to lose his wife was that he once shot two young birds, male, and female, children of the Bodhisattva Peacock King. After the Peacock King repented and the Buddha Mother ordered the king to suffer for three years losing his own mate, and he became ill. 

58. Subduing monster to recover a queen is the fifty-eighth ordeal [chaps. 69-71]; Wukong was able to infiltrate Sai Tai Sui (賽太歲) lair and even have the kidnapped queen who was his hostage help steal Saitaisui's magical treasures the Purple Gold Bells while he was under the disguise of Spring Grace (春娇), the queen's demon servant. It was with this help that Wukong was able to defeat him. The queen was protected all these years with his own treasure the Five-Colored Dress which made it impossible for anyone to touch her from Immortal Ziyang. It’s actually quite lovely to see how Wukong even cooperates with the captives in their own escape plan, as they already have a trusted position with the demon. Wukong disguises himself as Going and Coming (有来有去) and once he gets the treasure he still wanted to keep the treasure for himself, but in the end, Wukong shows how his patients and planning were able to win another battle. This demon was Guanyin's celestial beast that escaped heaven, her wolf mount, and she was glad to take him back to heaven.

59. Delusion by the seven passions is the fifty-ninth ordeal [chap. 72]; this one was quite sad to me, only in the fact that Sanzang insisted on being the one to get water on his own, as a thank you to his disciples for always being the ones to get food and water for him. He wanted to start putting in his own work, despite just being a human and leading by example. Sadly, this does lead him to be the only one to encounter the seven Spider Demons (蜘蛛精) and of course, being taken back to their home. Despite all his attempts to leave peacefully, he was unable to do so and even pleaded with them to let them go else they might have to face his disciples. In the end, I just find it quite sad to think that, despite him trying to just get something as simple as water he was punished for such things. The seven spider sisters are supposed to resemble the seven emotions so there’s a lot of symbolism with the sisters themselves. There is also an appearance of Wukong fighting the seven sisters and seven adopted sons, listed as Bee (蜜), Hornet (蚂), Cockroach (蠦), Cantharis (班), Grasshopper (蜢), Maggot (蜡), and Dragonfly (蜻). All of them were given the choice of either being adopted or eaten by the sisters... they choose "forced adoption".

60. Being wounded by Many Eyes is the sixtieth ordeal [chap. 73]; Wukong was very much solo in this arc of this kind of journey as his companions have been poisoned and leaving them unconscious by the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord (百眼魔君) who is the elder brother of the seven spider sisters. But their brother they did not share a cultivation master, but rather simply cultivated together by proximity. Wukong is actually very distraught for a lot of the chapter over the idea that his companions might really be dead. Hundred Eyes is powerful in that his eyes can produce golden lights that still inflict damage on Wukong's body of gold and steel. It’s only when he’s able to receive help by searching for his natural enemy himself that he was able to get what he needed not even from a person, but rather the same person that he used to fight the Scorpion Demon, the Star official Pleides... who is still a chicken. It was only with that chicken they were was able to subdue the centipede demon at the cost of his sisters. While the sisters call Hundred Eyes when Wukong held them hostage, Wukong offered to release them for the exchange of his party. The sisters begged their senior brother, but the senior brother abandoned them for eating Sanzang and as such Wukong took the sisters lives for his choice. The man was able to be subdued himself and even taken in by Plian who said he will keep him as his mountain's guardian, similar to Balck Wind Spirit and Gunayin. He was able to keep his life but this shows that even those that you considered family do not always have your best interests in heart and might betray you for their own selfish needs.

61. The way blocked at the Lion-Camel Kingdom is the sixty-first ordeal [chaps. 74-75]; this is arguably the largest amount of enemies that Wukong was forced to face and it is a possibility that Wukong could just go headfirst and defeat all of them. He does say he could make his staff as larger as a mountain range and smash his enemies to death. But the amount of damage that it could cost to the landscape and even leaving his party behind could have unspeakable consequences. Rather, it was so clever and amazing for Wukong to go behind, enemy territory, disguised himself as Small Wind Cutter (小钻风), and uncover information about his enemies, which is always a delight to see how Wukong it’s very clever and so charismatic that he’s able to sync on his feet quickly. Immediately he is indoctrinated within a demon army that they just give him all the information about their kings, Golden Winged Great Peng (金翅大鵬雕), Yellow Toothed Elephant (黃牙老象), and Azure Lion (青毛獅子) and be able to make plans for how to counteract the demons of camel ridge. We see a lot of changes in his reaction throughout this journey especially now that he’s actually becoming more remorseful when it comes to killing Yaoguai and especially when it comes to the protectiveness he feels for his group. If anything, this is a great chapter as it’s three-on-three with Peng, Elephant, and Lion verse Wujing, Bajie, and Wujing respectively. The Lion has the power to swallow enemies whole, Elephant can use their nose to capture people, and Peng with his golden wings to move faster than anyone else. Peng ate the king of Lion Camel Country 500 years ago, right after Wukong was imprisoned. He was the one to team up with Lion and Elephant to defeat Sun Wukong with their combined strength.

62. The fiends divided into three colors is the sixty-second ordeal [chaps. 74-77]; Wukong's first mission in order to counteract these demons is when it comes to trying to separate the group into three parts, leaving them far more defenseless than they have originally been. By creating rumors and lies within the ranks, he was able to disband the army by the thousands as they all left the stations leaving the path between his party and the other side of the mountain more unguarded than they originally planned. It was also through this that Wukong was able to even infiltrate their own caves and see these demons firsthand. Honestly, the amount of gaslighting Wukong does on these demons is actually masterful, and it kind of goes into that saying how knowledge is the most powerful weapon in any warfare kind of ideology. Also, very interesting to see Wukong very much voicing out to the younger demons that they are not going to get any benefits from serving their kings, very much a kind of rebellious attitude that I think follows him heavily down the line. While Wukong does disband the armies he still gets caught by the kings for a moment, first in Peng's flask which he had to use his three hairs gifted by Guanyin to escape, and the second being drunk by Lion and punishing his way in his stomach. He also breaks his teeth when trying to bite down on him but he bit on his Iron cudgel instead and then tying him up and has the other two surrender... only to fight Elephant later.

63. Meeting calamity in the city is the sixty-third ordeal [chaps. 76-77]; Sadly despite best efforts Sanzang is still captured and taken to the demon city that we have created. This is only because Wukong was able to capture Elephant and keep him hostage. He knew when he was captured by his trunk to just stab him from Bajie's advice, but Sanzang truly believing that the demons have learned a lesson asks for Wukong to let them go once Elephant says they will just escort them out of the mountain and they can continue living in their demon city. Sadly, Peng finds that he cannot live with a slight. Despite Wukong subduing Lion and Elephants he still left them alive and Peng organized another attack, tricking the party and leading to Sanzang being captured. This again leads to another battle between all six of them with Wukong fighting Peng, Bajie fighting Elephant, and Wujing fighting Lion. Which does end with the entire pilgrimage being captured due to their secret abilities until Wukong is able to escape and stop them from being cooked alive in a giant steam pot. However, Peng hearing this, spreads the rumor that Sanzang has already been eaten, trying to deter Wukong from saving him. Instead, this plan backfires and leads to Wukong and Bajie destroying the entire demon city and the entire mountain once they heard rumors that Sanzang was eaten and plan to avenge in a single night by destroying the entire demon army and kingdom. Teamwork makes the dream work!

64. Requesting Buddha to subdue the demons is the sixty-fourth ordeal [chap. 77]; Wukong actually goes to Buddha himself once he believes that Sanzang is dead to complain about how he could do this to him. Wukong went in and destroyed the entire city of demons to avenge his master but it still didn't bring him back, he was distraught and blamed Buddha himself for doing this to him. He goes right to Western Heaven to blame Buddha for this enough and there he demands that he fulfill Sanzang's mission himself as his last wish or for Buddha to let him go since he just plans on playing these games. Of course, Buddha explains to him that Sanzang is not dead in his mission and isn’t destroyed, but in fact, goes himself to take down the demons as one of them is, in fact, his uncle, due to interesting relationships. This is what led to the Lion, Elephant, and Peng are to be taken back as heavenly beasts. Lion is the steed of Manjusri Bodhisattva and escaped earlier as well when he was the Lion-Lynx King and pretending to be a prince's dad. The Elephant is the steed of Puxian Bodhisattvawho was actually blown down to earth by the Yellow Wind Demon who was one of the first demons. Being the six-tusked white elephant means he was most likely inspired by Sakyamuni and his white elephants that he road with six tusks as well. The white elephant holds a lot of symbolism connected to Bodhisattvas showing his connection to heaven. And Peng is the most connected to the heavens, making him the eldest brother of the trio as he is to be subdued by the Tathagata Buddha himself, similar to how Wukong had to be subdued by him. Peng tried to fight off Tathagata but as Lion and Elephant were panicking at their own masters he was quickly taken down. Peng was a descendant of a phoenix and his sister a Peacock as another demon that ate Tathagata Buddha. Instead of killing the Peacock, Tathagata Buddha made her his godmother, making Peng his Uncle, hence their connection. Pengs, or rather Garudas, are known to be dragon eaters in Indian mythos, being their natural predators but they are usually seen as more positive symbols in literal beyond Xiyouji or even Fengshen Yanyi. The Golden Peng here is VERY similar to Wukong in both his arrogance and his symbolism. Great Peng is also an of the unity of the Buddha and the demon, similar to Wukong as well, but while Peng was given his stance in Buddhism, he rejected it for the sake of glory, while Wukong is working TOWARDS that stance of enlightenment. They are reverse mirrors of each other, coming from different backgrounds but having similar fillings in life for their pursuit of powers. Peng and Wukong are both cunning and clever but while Peng was fighting to become glorious, Wukong fights with himself to become a better person.

65. Rescuing the lads at Bhiksu is the sixty-fifth ordeal [chap. 78]; this one was definitely one of the most convoluted trials as this was a White Deer Spirit (白鹿精) tricking the King of Bhiksu into thinking that his illness can only be healed with the hearts of 10,000 baby boys. Sanzang is moved to compassion and asks Wukong to save the boys he gets thousands of local spirits to take the boys into the woods, and feeds them fruits until he’s cleared up the mess with the kingdom. The mess was White Deer being the King’s father-in-law, and saying that this was the best way for him to heal. There’s a very funny moment where Wukong is pretending he is Sanzang because now the White Deer is saying that they should just eat Sanzang and I’m not sure if a human would gain immortality by eating Sanzang but I think it’s safe to say he’s been very much manipulated. Wukong pretends to be Sanzang when he is asked for his heart, Wukong literally starts ripping out nine hearts from his chest and says he doesn’t have a black heart to give. I think this shows how he thinks of Sanzang and how he greatly enjoys using his body to scare his enemies. White Deer Spirit was originally the mount of the Star of Antarctica and escaped when he was not paying attention, also stealing his panlong crutch as a weapon.

66. Distinguishing the true from the deviate is the sixty-sixth ordeal [chap. 79]; Sadly White Deer's plan to use his adopted daughter White-Faced Vixen Spirit (白面狐狸) is what leads to her own death as she was the one in charge of feeding lies to the king and uncovering her as a demon trying to use him for power. White Deer has the audacity to try to defend himself saying that he should be allowed to practice his own beliefs, but Wukong quickly shuts that down when he says that it doesn’t come at the cost of sacrificing literally thousands of other lives for his own selfish benefits, which I think shows his own kind of growth of how he shouldn’t sacrifice other for the sake of his own gains. Similar to how Wukong showed very little empathy for his sworn brothers' armies in the past (while Wukong's army was safe his sworn brothers' armies were captured by the heavens), and now see how he is changing his worldview that it doesn’t matter who you sacrifice know when it should be the cost of your own benefit. Similar to how White Deer is subdued, but in the end it cost him his own adopted daughter White Vixen who died. The Vixen is a symbol of how often foxes are used to symbolize the fall of a country, like in the Nine-Tails Fox story, White Vixen here was poisoning the mind of the king with false promises and using her beauty to cover her scandals. She is killed by Bajie again showing the continuous trend of Bajie being the one to fight demons that use their power of seduction to get what they want.

67. Saving a fiend at a pine forest is the sixty-seventh ordeal [chap. 80]; I find this trial to be absolutely fascinating, especially when it came to like how far the journey mates have come, but also shows that Sanzang still refuses to compromise on his own beliefs. Lady Earth Flow (金鼻白毛老鼠精) is of course, pretending to be a woman in need and while Sanzang is all for helping her Wukong tells him that she could be a demon in disguise that could hurt him. And of course, Bajie says otherwise. If anything Sanzang was actually more prone not to believe Bajie at this point, especially when he accused Wukong of just wanting to sleep with the woman himself, and Sanzang knowing Bajie is lying at that point started to walk away from the fiend. But she played the old “what kind of monk doesn’t help someone who asks for help” and Sanzang does feel guilty for compromising his morals. He explains to Wukong that while he does agree that there was a high chance that she could be a demon in this could all be a trick, he cannot give up a chance to help someone that still calls for help, human or a demon. And it’s that kind of mine said that put him in danger a lot but it’s also that kind of mine said that I think is very hard to keep especially after everything he’s been through. He’s still willing to put himself in danger if that means he can help someone that’s actually in need. Yes, that could be considered very foolish of him, but I think it also shows that he’s still very brave as well, that he doesn’t want to become someone that questions every single person he helps just for the sake of himself.

68. Falling sick in a priestly chamber is the sixty-eighth ordeal [chap. 81]; this chapter is very interesting because it actually dives into what the Golden Cicada actually did in order to be forced down to earth to live out 10 lifetimes. This is the only real connection we get to learn about the Golden Cicada as a lot of this before it’s just brushing off his punishment of defying the scripture in a vague way. And honestly, it’s understandable because the Golden Cicada really isn’t that vital to the story, rather, this is just about Sanzang’s own merit. I think a lot of people get confused that Sanzang was chosen because he was the Golden Cicada, but I really don’t think that’s the case. Rather Sanzang was chosen because of what he has accomplished, hence why GuanYin had to go look for someone to complete the mission in the first place. She didn’t immediately suggest him and that wasn’t the entire plan, but rather it was just the perfect opportunity for Sanzang to live out his final 10th lifetime and because of what he has accomplished in the past before. Sanzang has done a lot of work himself, and it is a shame when people usually brush it off to think it’s just because of who he used to be rather than who he is. He does fall ill and Wukong and the gang stay at a monastery for him to heal up and rest. Meanwhile, a certain female demon is keeping her distance but rather aiming for OTHER monks in the meantime.

69. Being imprisoned at the Bottomless Cave is the sixty-ninth ordeal [chaps. 81-83]; this is of course when Lady Earth Flow finally shows her true colors, and it shows that she is in fact, a Yaoguai. Surprisingly took quite a while, and she even waited until after Sanzang was feeling better to kidnap him, of course. In the meantime, she kidnapped other monks, making the whole vibe of the arc kind of like a murder mystery, but it really wasn’t in murder mystery because it’s very obvious that it was her. But to the rest of the monks, they were just wondering who could be attacking them while Wukong immediately confronted her but sadly she was able to slip away and steal Sanzang. Wukong was able to infiltrate the cave and see that she recognized King Li and Nezha as both her godfather and godbrother that he went to heaven to confront them. From there, they accused him of lying and tired him up with rope and the whole debacle of Wukong not wanting to sue King Li. This led to one thing after another, honestly of trying to appease Wukong who wanted to roll all the way to the jade emperor’s court to sue. Luckily, the star of Venus was able to come and down, and of course, Nezha and King Li were able to get the lost adopted relative under control. She was a heavenly pest in heaven, a golden nose albino rate, and was considered to be the Banquan Guanyin as she took two candle sticks from Tathagata after being vouched by King Li and Nezha she was renamed Banquan Guanyin and took on the mantle Lady Earth Flow.

70. Difficulty in going through Dharma-Destroying Kingdom is the seventieth ordeal [chap. 84]; this one was more insane over how in the first place this all came to be. The Ruler of the Kingdom of Miefa (滅法國) has slaughtered 9,996 monks within his kingdom within just 2 years and was aiming to go for 10,000 monks to kill. Not only is this just a ludicrous amount of people dying within the time frame, but specifically that he wanted to kill monks because priests in the past have 'slandered' them. Gee, I wondered why. The gang tries to bypass through under the disguise of merchants but are trapped in wardrobe boxes when trying to hide and are taken to the king directly as the boxes were "stolen goods." But Wukong at this point has stopped himself from attacking first and asking questions later, showing that he rather use manipulation tactics to show people the error of their ways. Wukong in the middle of the night, he made thousands of razor blades and decides to shave every head within the kingdom, not a single head was spared in that whole kingdom to make them all look like monks as well. Luckily this entire act was met with the king humbling himself a great amount when Sanzang and company came in to ask for permission for the travel receipts. If anything Wukong was the one really leading the situation, changing the foundation of an entire kingdom enough that they changed the name to Dharma-Honoring Kingdom. Really shows what a leader Wukong can be and how intelligent he is to convince an entire kingdom.

71. Meeting demons at Mist-Concealing Mountain is the seventy-first ordeal [chaps. 85-86]; this one, in particular, is one of the most emotional chapters, without a doubt as this is another chapter where the King of the Southern Hill (南山大王) tricks Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing into believing that Sanzang was eaten, and in fact, he gives them a fake human head to sell it. Wukong at first sees through the first deceptions but when they are given a real human head (of someone else) this lead to them all mourning Sanzang. This demon knows that he is not strong enough to actually fight Wukong head-on, and is one of the few demons we see that doesn’t have a treasure or special ability to fight Wukong. He understands he’s not strong enough and thus he has to use more tactics than usual with the help of his vanguard Iron Backed Grey Wolf (铁背苍狼). It’s actually very sad to see how much the gang goes through the morning process because they think Sanzang is truly dead. Big mistake on the Southern Hill King's part in thinking that they would leave after three days of mourning because instead of leaving or anything like that, Wukong and Bajie both agree that they should avenge the master and kill every demon within the cave, and then burn the cave to the ground. Not a lot of symbolism, though it’s very straightforward, especially when it comes to avenging one's master but it’s great teamwork to be seen and the reunion is absolutely adorable. Wukong back and forth between saving Sanzang from his ropes and killing the passed-out demon not knowing which is the better option. But Sanzang gives thanks to the dead man whose real head was used because if it was not for him, his disciples wouldn’t have tried to invade the cave and then save him in the process. The demon was said to cause havoc in the Zheyue Lianhuan Cave of Yinwu Mountain, referring to Mount Zhongnan, which is one of the birthplaces of Taoism and an excellent place to cultivate immortals. This leopard spirit claims to be the king of the southern hill, but he is boasting as the narrator in the original book calls him the old monster of the southern island.

72. Seeking rain at Phoenix-Immortal Prefecture is the seventy-second ordeal [chap. 87]; this one, in particular, is more about how Heaven interacts with the Earth, and how heads of state or responsible for their people in particular. It’s common in Chinese mythos, that if there’s ever a great famine, or if there are just natural disasters, it is to be blamed on the current king or person in charge of the province. And this was a way of saying the person in charge at the moment is a bad omen, and that should either be removed from power or they appease heaven forever for crimes they commit. This includes usually tax refunds, pardoning people, and giving back to the community in some way or form in order to not only appease the community doing these hard times but also to appease heaven. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. And in this case, the King of Phoenix-Immortal Prefecture (凤仙郡王), insulted Heaven by flipping a table when his wife gave him some terrible news. As such the land around him with the drought for about three years. The king was unaware of his crimes because he was in a fit of rage and once he was able to rectify said crimes rain was able to come back to the prefect.

73. Losing their weapons is the seventy-third ordeal [chap. 88]; this chapter is focused on Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing's weapons because this is the chapter where the three all take on disciples that is in the form of three princes. They were so incredibly amazed by the gang's magical powers and weapons, that they practically beg to be taught under them. Of course, because the princes want little copies of the masters' weapons, the weapons were sent to the forge to get measured. Sadly, when they were out of the sites was when Tawny Lion Demon (黃獅精) was able to snag them in the middle of the night. This does lead to more shenanigans than originally thought, but it’s quite interesting to see how Wukong was able to bless these princes with supernatural powers in order to keep them strong and young even longer than they originally intended. Luckily, Wukong has about to find out where their weapons were taken thanks to Shifty (刁钻古怪) and Freaky (古怪刁钻), two demons that were talking too loud. It is noted that these demons do not usually involve themselves in the affairs of humans and were considered to be very low-key until this point.

74. The festival of the rake is the seventy-fourth ordeal [chap. 89]; the original weapons were going to be taken by the Tawny Lion and like his six other brothers, Gibbon-Lion (猱獅) Snow Lion (雪獅) Suanyi (狻猊) Baize (白澤) Wildcat (伏狸) Elephant-Baiter (摶象) who just wanted to go for that fame and recognition from the weapon festival that was to be held soon. Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing designed themselves to be Shifty, Freaky, and a goose header to infiltrate inside. I do enjoy this as this is the first time we see Wujing use his transformation powers and the group's first infiltration mission together. The demons seem to have often made trade with humans and even buy their food stock supplies from them. they were not about to make it far as another demon Child Blue Face was able to call them out on their inconstancies. It is revealed that these seven brothers are the god-grandson of a heavenly beast Grand Saint of Nine Spirits (九靈元聖) and feel the right to take the weapons. I can’t say too much about the implications of this battle but I do want to just reiterate how the heavenly beast often wants to go down to earth, and why did they adopt other demons into the family or simply create a new family it is quite often to be met with disaster, how they brought them into the schemes. Funny enough while Nine Spirit is high in power he does not have a humanoid form yet, whether it be from his own choice or that he hasn't had enough time to cultivate one, he still was able to amass an army and speak without any trouble. But it is nice to see demon civilizations that are not hunted down just for being demons, rather it is always a moment of being provoked on either side that starts this conflict, and in this case, it is theft.

75. Meeting disaster at Bamboo-Knot Mountain is the seventy-fifth ordeal [chap. 90]; it was definitely at the height of the battle after losing his grandchildren does Nine Spirits finally joins the battle, does more clever tricks of trying to figure out who these people are, and from there Wukong finds Nine Spirits' owner Tianzun in order to wrangle him in. In the end, it’s very sad to say that the runaway heavenly beast lost all his grandchildren because of this constant battle between the two. If anything, I do find it kind of a reflection of how Wukong also treated his subjects as his own grandchildren and what kind of devastation it would feel to lose any of them. Wukong lost his own subjects, those that he saw as his own adopted grandkids and similar Nine Spirit lost all seven of his adopted grandsons. Nine Spirits at this point did not kidnap Sanzang for the sake of immortality but rather wanted vengeance for his own children’s lives. While he was a loving grandfather he still indulged in his grandchildren's theft when he knew they were outgunned from the start, leading to the loose of all his family. He does kidnap the princes and all of the group other than Wukong but the main idea was to have revenge for his little lions rather than the idea of eating.

76. Suffering at Mysterious Flower Cave is the seventy-sixth ordeal [chap. 91]; this one was just sad how Sanzang can’t even do a simple thing like worshiping without the risk of being kidnapped. Wukong just let him out of the site for a single second and the Yaoguai pounced on it, just a second before Wukong could warn Sanzang to look out. This one is mostly dealing with three demons King of Cold Protection (辟寒大王), King of Heat Protection (辟暑大王), and King of Dust Protection (辟塵大王) that have been tricking a monastery into that they are Buddhist deities and have been stealing the oil supply the entire time. At this particular moment, when Sanzang was bowing to give respect Wukong was just a fraction too late to tell him about his suspicions and Sanzang was quickly winded away. I actually really enjoy this chapter for the sole purpose that Sanzang tries to warn his kidnappers not to take him, and actually brags about his disciples. It makes the demons more alarmed, but he did try to spare their lives. At this point, Sanzang knows strong demons versus weaker demons and does try to give them a warning about his disciples for their own sake. Even when the rhinos plan to eat him quickly, Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing are already at their door and they try to hide Sanznag.

77. Capturing the rhinoceroses is the seventy-seventh ordeal [chap. 92]; Sadly despite being on time to stop the demons, Wujing and Bajie do get kidnapped themselves and Wukong need it back up to save them. This leads to him asking the four-star offices to help with taking them down, and they tried to run away to the west, the Dragon Prince of the West Sea, Ao Moang, (Bailong's brother) stops them and helps Wukong in their capture. They are about to free Bajie and Wujing and Bajie killed Cold Protection, but they were able to arrest Dust Protection and Heat Protection who would be executed. Kind of brutal, but it is interesting to see how Wukong how has become very well-versed in which criminals go where to be properly charged for their crimes rather than being the executor himself. Something that he has brought about is that he knows exactly who to go to, and for what solution as he has ties with every person. I think it kind of just pushes on the fact that Wukong rather than being seen as the only one of his kind, rather sees himself as being connected to everyone and therefore can go where he pleases to get help, advice, or backup.

78. Being forced to marry at India is the seventy-eighth ordeal [chaps. 93-95]; this one is a personal favorite as it doesn’t get a lot of attention, but the Jade Rabbit Spirit (玉兔精) is the enemy of this particular arc where she is trying to sleep with Sanzang under the guise of being the princess. The Jade Rabbit already has a lot of lore behind them, and this one is quite interesting how instead of playing a pet, or at least a supporting role, they are the antagonist within the story. In the end, it actually touches back to Bajie and his connection with Chang’e as they had to get her to retrieve her pet back to the Moon Palace. They have to go to a kingdom to find the real princess but once the real princess has been revealed, Jade Rabbit does kidnap Sanzang for a while instead of trying to play princes any longer. This is supposed to be another test of preserving one’s body, which Sanzang completes flawlessly, and even Wujing has some great one-liners in this. Bajie despite all that he has done so far, still shows that he is head over heels for Chang’e still for one seeing her Wukong has to slap him out of his stupor. The Jade Rabbit usually smashes medicine in the Moon Palace but this time they slipped out of the palace and fled to earth and took over the appearance of Princess of Tianzhu who was reincarnated by Su'e. Su'e was a fairy that kicked the Jade Rabbit while in the Moon Palace, something that the Jade Rabbit still has a grudge against, and thus in Su'e reincarnation, the Jade Rabbit planned to have revenge by taking her likeness and kidnapping Sanzang to be her husband as the cherry on top. There are serval legends of the Jade Rabbit, one being that they are Hou Yi transformed by the Jade Emporer after his shooting of the ten suns and another is that they were once owned by the Queen Mother and a gift to Chang'e who was turned into a toad when she came to the Moon Palace to have a partner to help her create medicine. However, the toad legend was dropped cause it wasn't that popular with people when it came to Chang'e's beauty. Another legend has it that Wu Gang, the woodcutter on the moon was offered a meal by a fox, monkey, and rabbit. The fox and monkey gave him food but the rabbit offered itself and threw itself in the fire. As such Wu Gang and Chang'e were so moved that the rabbit became immortal and became the Jade Rabbit. Another is that the Jade Rabbit is one of the zodiac animals under the Jade Emporer. Or that the Jade Rabbit is actually the incarnation of Chang'e. In Taoism, the Jade Rabbit is often opposite to the Golden Crow, representing the coordination of yin and yang in the cultivation of the golden elixir. There are a lot of legends is what I'm trying to say.

79. Jailed at Bronze Estrade Prefecture is the seventy-ninth ordeal [chap. 97]; this one is absolutely one such defining chapter because it is a reflection of the first arc that Wukong and Sanzang went on together. Because in this one, they also face robbers that have come to steal from them. But rather than in the original site where Wukong fought the six robbers and let them get a few hits on him so he could kill them… can you freeze in them all and ties them up so they can be properly arrested for their crimes. This is such a big difference from where he was at the start of the journey, where he would just kill them for their transgressions, but it shows that he found it recognizes that he knows how powerful he could be, and while yes he could kill them without any effort, he decides to subdue the humans rather than killing them, and I think this shows growth from his past actions to his present actions. Of course, they still get blamed for the murder of Squire Kou (寇洪) because they were the 'last people there' when it was actually the robbers they just arrested. Kou was a kind man trying to feed 10,000 monks and he just reached 9,996 when he was luckily visited by the gang to complete his number. Sadly, he was killed the next morning and his family wanted swift justice, and his wife made it to frame Sanang and the gang as she blamed them for this calamity in the first place. They have to spend the night in jail but Wukong just pretends he’s a ghost, and told them to let them go, get the robber's testimonies, or else he’ll still haunt them. The wife admits her false allegations from fright and the four are sent off again. Wukong even goes to Hell to make sure that Kou gets his life back and even gets to live longer for his good deeds.

80. Delivered of mortal stock at Cloud-Transcending Ferry is the eightieth ordeal [chap. 98]; this one it’s kind of tricky, as technically Sanzang "dies" in this circumstance of events. He goes through a transformation, similar to that of a cicada when he loses his mortal shell in favor of his new immortal body as they watch his old body float down the stream. This can be similar to how he was first brought into the world, floating down the stream to keep him safe and now he is still watching himself float as he enters a new life for himself. The gang watches his body go down the stream as Bajie, Wujing, and Wukong are already immortal and when they finally cross from then on, he finally reaches his long way to go of reaching the Mount. It’s very emotional probably what he has to go through seeing his own model carcass leave him, but in return is the new body he attends. And while this most likely is not a trial I do want to say they were almost ricked by Ananda (阿傩) and Kasyapa (伽叶) two of Buddha's disciples that if they did not bribe them with material goods they wouldn't give the scriptures and while Wukong wished to report them they give in... only to give them FAKE scriptures. They were only aware when White Heroic Honored One warned them and they went straight back to complain and get the real ones. Buddha pardon them saying that since they came in with empty hands they were to get empty scriptures and they could be used as scriptures if one was already enlightened... which is kinda rude considering the scripture were there to help that in the first place. But in the end, gave them his alms bowl, the one that was gifted to him by Gaunyin and funny enough the whole room called the two out for their shameless behavior of asking monks for gifts in the first place. But they still kept the bowl.

81. Thrown off by the White Turtle [chap. 99]; and the final last-minute trial in order for them to reach enlightenment was being thrown off by the Great White Turtle (大白老鼋) and soiling in the scriptures they work so hard to attain. This is the same turtle whose home was taken away by the King of Spiritual Touch and once he was taken back to Guanyin this turtled offered to take them across the large river in promised that Sanzang would have how long he has until he can cultivate into a human body as he is already so old. However with all the confusion, Sanzang forgot to ask Buddha and thus the turtle shakes them off his back, ruining some of the scripture. The four try desperately to salvage what was wet by drying them on a rock and all throughout the night man deities, demons, and spirits tried to take the scriptures if not for Wukong and Sanzang mere presence of enlightenment. Heaven and Earth were both so envious of the descriptions that both gods and demons were trying to snatch them away. The scriptures was dried by some were ripped, leaving their make on the rock and thus it is called Scripture Drying Boulder or something. Wukong in all his wisdom says it is because neither the Heavens nor the Earth is perfect either and as such having perfect scriptures, would not fit such a World. Instead, there should be room for doubt and should be room for ambiguity in order for the world to resonate with the scriptures. I do find it quite philosophically and interesting that a book that is saturated with religious allegories still tries to push for the idea that there should be a sense of searching for one’s own path as well and not all the answers are going to be in scriptures, but rather you’re going to have to take things into your own account of what you believe as well. Also, this is supposed to reference Xuanzang’s own pilgrimage back home and how he also lost some scriptures in a river and spent many years trying to recover that lost information. It’s such a tragedy that he spent so many years getting them, only to lose some on the way back, but I greatly enjoy how Wukong within this novel explains that not everything in the world can be perfect and as such fits to have imperfect scriptures in an imperfect world.

AND THAT IS ALL THE TRAILS IN THE 14-YEAR JOURNEY!