What are the 81 disasters in Journey to the West? –Ordeal 1st ~11st
Since childhood, I’ve often heard people talk about the characters from Journey to the West. I’ve watched the TV series based on Journey to the West and read books about characters like Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang. People always mention the ’81 Ordeals’, but I never really understood what they were. This year, with the rising popularity of the game Black Myth: Wukong, I decided to delve deeper into Journey to the West. Naturally, to study Journey to the West, we should first summarize the content of the ’81 Ordeals’. Those who are interested in the background of the game Black Myth: Wukong might also find this introduction helpful.
The First Ordeals: The Banishment of Jin Chanzi
The true implementation of the pilgrimage to obtain scriptures began after Sun Wukong was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain. As the Buddha of the present age, the
Tathagata spent 300 years carefully planning every detail of the pilgrimage. The banishment of his second disciple, Jin Chanzi, marked the official beginning of the journey (which is explained in detail later). For the Tathagata at that time, ‘fertile water shouldn’t flow to others’ fields’; the most ideal candidate for the pilgrimage would be one of his ten most favored disciples. In other words, if Jin Chanzi hadn’t been banished, others like Ananda or Kasyapa would have been. Those in the know understood that this banishment was a prelude to future elevation, but few were truly aware of this. To most people, seeing Jin Chanzi—one of the Tathagata’s most favored disciples who had practiced for over ten thousand years—suddenly demoted to an ordinary mortal, it was undoubtedly a great calamity. This Jin Chanzi is Tang Sanzang. In other words, Tang Sanzang was a junior leader directly appointed by the senior leader Buddha. You can roughly assume that Jinchanzi was the second disciple of the Tathagata Buddha, erased from memory and exiled to the human world as an ordinary person to complete a mission. In the human world, Jinchanzi is called Tang Sanzang.
The Second Ordeals: Surviving Several Attempts on His Life as a Fetus
Like the previous Ordeals, the book doesn’t explicitly detail the process of this one. Many people believe it was included just to fill the count, but I don’t think so. In my view, this Ordeals is not just filler; it’s one of the most significant in the ’81 Ordeals’. Why do I say this? The book repeatedly mentions: ‘Tang Sanzang is the reincarnation of the elder Jin Chanzi, a virtuous man in ten lifetimes, whose vital energy remained intact.’ Just think about it—being reborn as a human for ten consecutive lifetimes is already challenging (though it might be easier for someone like Jin Chanzi, considering that Kṣitigarbha, the lord of the underworld, is a Buddhist figure, and the ten Yama Kings work for him. If the Tathagata gave the word, Kṣitigarbha could easily arrange for Jin Chanzi to be reborn as a human for ten lifetimes). Being a good person for ten lifetimes is even harder. Furthermore, remaining entirely chaste during those lifetimes is an incredibly difficult feat. Why is that? Normally, the average male undergoes their first emission between the ages of 13 and 15, and at the latest by 18. For Jin Chanzi to keep his vital energy intact means that in his previous nine lives, he never married, never had sexual relations, and never even experienced a wet dream. This implies that he never lived past 20 years old in those nine lives, making him tragically short-lived. What a sorrowful fate!”
The Third Ordeals: Cast into the River at One Month Old
The Star Lord of the South Pole, following Guanyin Bodhisattva’s instructions, delivered Jin Chanzi to be reincarnated into the womb of Yin Wenjiao, resulting in the birth of Chen Xuanzang. When Liu Hong, Yin Wenjiao’s current husband, who had usurped the identity of the real scholar Chen Guangrui, saw the child, he wanted to kill him. Yin Wenjiao pleaded with him to wait until the next day. The following day, Yin Wenjiao threw the baby into the river, letting him drift downstream, leaving his fate to chance.
The Fourth Ordeals: Avenging His Parents
After being cast into the river, Chen Xuanzang was rescued by the elder Faming of Jinshan Temple, who gave him the childhood name Jiang Liuer and raised him until he was 18, when he
received the monastic name Xuanzang. Later, Xuanzang learned of his true parentage and went to Jiangzhou to find his mother, Yin Wenjiao. He received a letter from her and went to Chang’an to file a complaint with the emperor. Emperor Taizong dispatched people to arrest Liu Hong, who had murdered Chen Guangrui. Liu Hong was brought to Hongjiang Ferry, where his heart and liver were cut out alive to offer as a sacrifice to Chen Guangrui. Upon seeing the Chen family’s offerings, the Dragon King of Hongjiang restored Chen Guangrui to life. This part contains a lot of information, which I’ll gradually unpack and analyze later.
The Fifth Ordeals: Encountering a Tiger Upon Leaving the City
This Ordeals recounts how, eager to begin his pilgrimage, Tang Sanzang hastily set out westward in the dark with two imperial escorts. As they traveled through a mountainous area with rugged paths, they accidentally slipped into a pit and were captured by demons under the command of the Tiger Demon General Yin.
The Sixth Ordeals: Falling into a Pit and Losing His Companions
After falling into the pit, the two escorts were brutally disemboweled and had their hearts gouged out by the Tiger Demon General Yin’s friends—demon bull and demon bear—who then chopped them up and ate them. Due to Tang Sanzang’s pure nature, the demons dared not eat him, and he was eventually rescued by the planet Venus. This Ordeals and the previous one could be considered a single trial, but they were split to highlight that Tang Sanzang lost his companions and to emphasize the hardships of the pilgrimage. Of course, these two Ordeals could easily be merged into one, suggesting that they might have been split just to fill the count for the ’81 Ordeals’.”
The Seventh Ordeal: On Shuangcha Ridge
After bidding farewell to the planet Venus, Tang Sanzang continued on alone and arrived at Shuangcha Ridge. There, he encountered a fierce tiger and found himself helpless and in grave danger. Fortunately, a hunter named Liu Boqin came to his rescue. Tang Sanzang then accompanied Liu Boqin to his home, where he performed Buddhist rites to help Liu Boqin’s father’s soul find peace and be reborn.
The Eighth Ordeal: At Liangjie Mountain
Fearing the dangers of the westward journey, Tang Sanzang asked Liu Boqin to escort him across Shuangcha Ridge and into the territory of Liangjie Mountain. When Liu Boqin was about to leave, Tang Sanzang pleaded with him to accompany him a bit further. At that moment, Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain (also known as Liangjie Mountain), sensed that his rescuer had arrived and loudly called out for his master to save him. Confused, Tang Sanzang, with the assistance of Liu Boqin, climbed to the top of Five Fingers Mountain, removed the golden seal placed by the Tathagata, and accepted Sun Wukong as his disciple.
Personally, I believe that after Tang Sanzang took Sun Wukong as his disciple, Sun Wukong was initially unruly and killed the six bandits representing the six senses: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. When Tang Sanzang scolded him, Sun Wukong became displeased and ran away. Upon Guanyin Bodhisattva’s advice, Tang Sanzang placed a magical headband on the repentant Sun Wukong. Angered, Sun Wukong wanted to strike Tang Sanzang dead with his staff, but Tang Sanzang quickly recited the incantation to tighten the headband, subduing Sun Wukong. From then on, even though Tang Sanzang had no martial abilities, he had the means to control the powerful Sun Wukong. This event could be considered a Ordeal, aptly named: Subduing Wukong.
Our Sun Wukong has finally appeared. I believe friends who have watched the TV version of Journey to the West know that in the TV series, Tang Sanzang is the surface clue of the story, and Sun Wukong is the protagonist of the story..
The Ninth Ordeal: The Horse Swap at the Steep Ravine
At the Eagle Sorrow Ravine in Snake Coil Mountain, a white dragon devoured Tang Sanzang‘s white horse, causing Tang Sanzang to weep and Sun Wukong to become furious. Six Ding, Six Jia, the Five Directional Deities, the Four Duty Gods, and the Eighteen Guardian Arhats, all sent by Guanyin Bodhisattva, took turns secretly protecting Tang Sanzang. Sun Wukong fought the white dragon so fiercely that it didn’t dare show its face. Eventually, the golden-headed deity summoned Guanyin Bodhisattva, who subdued the white dragon and transformed it into a white horse, which became Tang Sanzang‘s steed on the journey to the West. It should be noted that this little white dragon is actually a designated candidate by Guanyin Bodhisattva.
The Tenth Ordeal: The Night Fire
As Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong continued westward with their horse, they stopped at Guanyin Temple, where they had a contest of wealth with the abbot, Elder Jinchi. Greed
overtook the elder when he saw Tang Sanzang‘s precious cassock, and he plotted to steal it. That night, Jinchi incited the monks to set a fire, intending to burn Tang Sanzang and his disciples alive. Sun Wukong flew to Heaven and borrowed the “Fire Avoidance Cover” from the Broad-Eyed Heavenly King, which saved Tang Sanzang‘s room from the flames. Sun Wukong then blew the fire toward the other temple buildings, creating the scene of the Guanyin Temple ablaze.
For the 10th and 11th ordeal, they were mentioned in the CG of the Black Myth Wukong game, and I provided detailed explanations and introductions of many of the details. Interested readers can take a look at the video I made.
The Eleventh Ordeal: Losing the Cassock
Not far from Guanyin Temple was Black Wind Mountain, where the Black Bear Demon lived. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the fire, the Black Bear Demon stole the precious cassock from Elder Jinchi’s room. The demon intended to host a Buddhist robe assembly and celebrate his mother’s birthday with it. Sun Wukong confronted the Black Bear Demon at Black Wind Mountain, but could not defeat him. He then sought the help of Guanyin Bodhisattva, who subdued the Black Bear Demon and recovered the cassock.
So far, I have written a lot of content, it has been quite hard. I will wait for a while and see how it works.
