When we watch "Journey to the West", we will have such a feeling, many women in the story are simply more sexually open than Pan Jinlian.
In fact, this may be a misunderstanding.
Many of the sexually open women in "Journey to the West" are actually banshees, and banshees are not only not bound by human secular etiquette, but also have their own logic about the value of sex.
The Taoist theme in Journey to the West is secondary to the Buddhist theme.
Li Angang, a scholar of modern times, believes that "Journey to the West" embodies the teachings of Taoist Quanzhen sect.
Taoism is a religion of gentleness, so it is more tolerant of women.
Taoism's view of changes in life forms is unique, believing that people can cultivate into immortals.
The Journey to the West also says, "In the world, all those who have the Nine Skills can cultivate into immortals." ”
The Taoist theory of Chengxian influenced the shaping of women, especially banshees, in Journey to the West, who hoped to change into immortals through various means, including the ingestion of Yuanyang of the Tang monks.
In the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiang's "Legend of the Immortals and Female Pills" contains the female immortal Buddha female pills performing the "art of nourishing sexual handover", "setting up rooms to accommodate young people", "staying with them", "so thirty years, the color is more like twenty hours".
The Taoist "room remedy" is not patented by men, but is also applicable to women, which makes the female portrayal of "Journey to the West" have an indulgent color and a strong possessiveness of the opposite sex.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, The Taoist house technique was quite popular, which led to many women in the Journey to the West, especially the banshees, being covered with a layer of enchanting and indulgent colors, such as scorpion essence, mouse essence and jade rabbit essence, who not only seduced people with their charming appearance, but also offered to have fun with Tang monks.
This kind of sexual openness is completely different from worldly human beings such as Pan Jinlian, who value the Yuanyang of the Tang monks, and the intercourse is only a means, not an end, and the sex of secular human beings is for reproduction and pleasure.
Not only that, the secular women in "Journey to the West" are not only difficult to open up sexually, but also have many women's taoism advocated by Confucianism, which is completely different from the Taoist logic of female demons.
The secular women in Journey to the West are bound by the "three from four virtues" and earnestly practice this norm.
Although The mother of the Tang monk, Man Tangjiao, is a praised woman, she is "after all calm and white" due to her unfortunate loss of decorum.
Liu Quan's wife, Li Cuilian, was scolded by Liu Quan for disobeying the woman's way and leaving the boudoir without permission, and Li Cuilian could not bear the anger and hanged herself.
Other secular women are bound by Confucian morality, carefully guarding their own discipline, and once they lose their discipline, they will be blamed by others.
Even the king of the daughter country who took the initiative to be enthusiastic failed to break through the bottom line of sex and not obscenity.
The exception is Princess Tiefan, the wife of the Bull Demon King, who, although she is a banshee, also earnestly practices Confucian ethics, and although her husband is looking for flowers and willows outside, she still adheres to the way of women, but I feel that this is a tragedy.
In short, we must not equate the sexual openness of the banshee in "Journey to the West" with the sexual openness of women, which has its own era background and unique value logic.