Mystery of "Journey to the West" - (Illustrated Collector's Edition)

Author: Qu Xiaoqiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The (pantheon) of ancient China includes (divine officials), many of which are imaginary—there were no such positions in the mortal world. However, the position of "Bimawen" was not entirely without basis. According to some (tales of the strange and marvelous), during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a horse belonging to a general from Zhao suddenly died. Someone saved it using a creature resembling an ape, so later, people often placed monkeys in stables, believing this would prevent horses from catching (epidemics). Traditional Chinese medicine also held this view. For example, in the 《》 (Essential Techniques for Farming) written by Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it is said: "Always tie a macaque in the horse stable to make horses fearless of evil and free them from a hundred diseases." In the 《》 (Compendium of Materia Medica) by Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty, there is also the claim: "Keep a female monkey in the horse stable to ward off horse epidemics." "Bimawen" and "bimawen" (, ward off horse epidemics) sound the same, so in 《》 (Journey to the West), the Jade Emperor's heavenly court fabricated a position called "Bimawen" specifically for Sun Wukong to fill. Later, Sun Wukong learned from his colleagues that Bimawen was a low-ranking, insignificant position ("," unranked), and he flew into a rage, gritting his teeth: "To mock me like this! Back in my Flower-Fruit Mountain, I was king and ancestor—how could they trick me into tending horses? Horse tending is a task for young, lowly brats, not something worthy of me! I won't do it! I won't do it!" With a roar, he overturned the official desk and stormed out of the heavenly gate, returning to Flower-Fruit Mountain. The monkeys there were also greatly displeased: "Your Majesty rules over this blessed land of Flower-Fruit Mountain, enjoying so much respect and joy—why would you agree to be their stablehand?" (Chapter 4). To be fair, given Sun Wukong's abilities, the position of Bimawen was far inferior to the prestige of Zhu Bajie's heavenly rank as Marshal Tianpeng or the prominence of Sha Wujing's heavenly rank as General Who Rolls the Curtain. No wonder he felt wronged. Thus, in this story, Sun Wukong shows a strong sense of self-respect. Even during the Journey to the West, he remained angered by being called "Bimawen." If any demon dared to remind him of this, he would seek revenge with even greater fury. This passage in 《》 has clear social significance. Wu Cheng'en is unmistakably satirizing the ruling class's incompetence in using people. Wu Cheng'en, a renowned literary figure of his time, only became a "" (a type of scholar) in his forties and a county magistrate in Changxing in his sixties. Through Sun Wukong's rebellion, Wu Cheng'en was venting his own frustrations as well as those of all the talented scholars who had been overlooked by society!