Yang Jiaofeng on the Journey to the West series of articles:
When we usually watch Journey to the West, there will be a fixed impression, that is, among the four Tang monks and apprentices, plus the White Dragon Horse, only Sun Wukong can identify the monster.
The key point that Sun Wukong can identify the yokai is that he has a pair of fire eyes and golden eyes, as long as the eyes emit golden light, no yokai can disguise his eyelids.
Even in the children's song "White Dragon Horse", there are also songs:
"What demons and ghosts, what beautiful women paint skins." What knives and mountains and seas of fire, what traps and tricks. Can't stop the wishful stick of the fire-eyed golden eye..."
So, what is the principle of Sun Wukong's fire-eyed golden eye, and does it really have such a great power, can it recognize the monster?
Yang Jiaofeng on the Journey to the West series of articles: Don't be deceived by the TV series, the golden eye of fire is just a pretext, And Sun Wukong does not rely on it to identify monsters!
One
Regarding the origin of Sun Wukong's fire-eyed golden eye, in fact, it is clearly recorded in the original work, when Sun Wukong was imprisoned in the Bagua furnace by Taishang Laojun, practiced for 7749 days, and practiced the fire-eyed golden eye:
"Sundanese is the wind, and where there is wind, there is no fire." It's just that the wind stirs up smoke, and makes a pair of eyes red, making it an old eye disease, so it is called 'fire eye golden eye'."
Literally, the eye of fire is the eye that has been smoked red, the golden eye, is it that Sun Wukong's pupils are golden yellow?
It seems to be the Bagua Furnace of Taishang Laojun, which has achieved Sun Wukong's fire-eyed golden eye, and it is full of power. In CCTV Journey to the West, after Sun Wukong jumped out of the Bagua furnace, his eyes blinked and blinked, releasing ten thousand golden rays, frightening everyone into a stream of urine.
In fact, Sun Wukong's eyes can shine, not because of the credit of Taishang Laojun, but because he was born, as soon as he was born. At that time, the stone egg that gave birth to Sun Wukong exploded, and a stone monkey jumped out of it, and the first thing he did was to worship the four directions and his eyes lit up:
"Because he saw the wind, he turned into a stone monkey." All five senses, all limbs. So he learned to climb and walk, and worshiped the four sides. Seeing two golden rays of light, he shot at the Dou Mansion. ”
It was because the Jade Emperor saw the golden light shining in the mortal world that he ordered the clairvoyant and the downwind ear to inquire about who was using mana?
Therefore, Sun Wukong's eyes could have been illuminated, not the credit of the Bagua furnace, but the Bagua furnace caused Sun Wukong to have eye disease and shed tears in the wind (smoke):
"Suddenly, open the furnace to get Dan." The great saint was rubbing his own nose with his hands, only to hear the sound of the stove, and to see the light..."
Two
Originally, Sun Wukong hid in the Bagua furnace, there was no fire here, but there was wind, so that Sun Wukong had been covering his eyes and rubbing his tears, and suddenly he saw the light when he opened his eyes, and it was not strange to see the eye disease.
Of course, Sun Wukong's tears of the wind and currents are not all the winds that will shed tears, and the natural wind is still not afraid, otherwise wouldn't he be unable to walk?
But if you encounter the wind from other yokai, it will not work, the light will make his eyes uncomfortable, and the heavy will make his eyes sore and unbearable, and the tears will not stop.
For example, the Yellow Wind King, CCTV Journey to the West, in order to make his blowing skills considerable, he got a bowl of golden sand. In fact, what people blow is the wind, without the help of any props, and it is the same as the nature of the Sundanese wind in the Bagua furnace:
"Turning back sharply, I looked at the Sundanese ground and opened my mouth three times, exhaled a breath, and blew out, and suddenly, a yellow wind blew up from the sky."
This wind blew out, and in an instant, Sun Wukong could not be overwhelmed, and his eyes could not be opened, and he fled into the wilderness. Later, when he encountered the Eight Precepts of the Pig, the matter of saving the Master had to be put aside, and let the Eight Precepts of the Pig quickly find a doctor to look at his eyes, and in the face of the question of the Eight Precepts of the Pig, he shouted:
"I was blown by that strange wind, blowing my eyes sore, and it would make me cry coldly."
In addition to the strange wind, Sun Wukong's eyes are also afraid of smoke, when he first fought the red child in the fire cloud cave, he was actually not afraid of the red child's Samadhi true fire, as long as he read the fire avoidance tips, he could still prevent it, what he was really afraid of was smoke:
"When the demon saw him coming, he took a puff of smoke and sprayed it in his face. The walker turned back sharply, dazzled, and couldn't help but cry like rain. ”
Three
Because he was blown a puff of smoke by the red child, Sun Wukong's eyes could not be opened, and he panicked, which made him unable to read the fire avoidance tips, and he was burned by the fire and was stimulated by cold water, and almost died:
"This great saint was covered in fireworks, and the cannons were hard to resist, and he threw himself into the stream to put out the fire. How do you know that you are forced by cold water, make the fire attack the heart, the three souls are out of the house, the poor qi plugs the chest and the mouthpiece is cold, and the soul is scattered and lost! ”
It was precisely because Sun Wukong had this weakness that the later Golden Retriever roared down to the mortal, and took the purple golden bell of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and could blow wind, fire, and smoke, and even the bodhisattva said to Sun Wukong:
"You thief! If you hadn't stolen the bell, Don't say one Goku, it would be ten, and you wouldn't dare to get close! ”
Why sun wukong respected Guanyin Bodhisattva so much, why did he have to rely on Guanyin Bodhisattva to surrender the red child, because Guanyin Bodhisattva had great power. The things that Sun Wukong is most afraid of, but she is not afraid, such as the fireworks spewed out by the purple golden bell, she gently clicks:
"The bodhisattva whisked a few nectar branches together, and in a flash of time, there was no firework, and the yellow sand disappeared."
This move instantly made Sun Wukong prostrate his head and welcome the bodhisattva to come, and said that he had lost his evasion.
Of course, any skill is pros and cons, although Sun Wukong's eyes are afraid of the wind and smoke, but the good guys can recognize the monster. Like the three dozen white bone essences, isn't it that Sun Wukong opened his fire eyes and golden eyes to recognize the monster:
"Looking at the woman with golden eyes, he recognized that the woman was a goblin, put down the bowl, pulled the iron rod, and hit her head."
Then, the question comes, can Sun Wukong's fire-eyed golden eye really recognize the yokai, what is its principle, why some yokai can't recognize it, and what is the hidden plot behind this?
Four
In fact, there is no obvious difference between Sun Wukong's fire-eyed golden eyes and Tang Monk's naked eyes, if you have to say the difference, maybe the monkey's eyes are sharper.
For example, after the Tang monks and disciples had a hard time getting together, they went to the Four Saints to try the Zen Heart, when the Tang monks found that there was a manor in front of them, it felt a little strange, and Sun Wukong hurriedly checked it out:
"When the walker heard the words, he looked up sharply, and saw that the clouds in the middle of the air were shrouded in clouds, and the mist was covered, and he knew that it must be the Buddha Immortal Initiation..."
Sun Wukong actually can't identify a widow with three daughters, and who is incarnated by which bodhisattva each person is, only because there are auspicious clouds and mist above this manor.
Later, in order to explore the truth, Sun Wukong deliberately turned into a small insect to eavesdrop on the conversation between the Eight Precepts of the Pig and the family of four, trying to find out which bodhisattva it was incarnated.
But until the end of the bodhisattvas' temptations, he did not see who had come to test them, which is why he did not act rashly, and afterwards he explained:
"Yesterday, the sons and daughters of this family, I don't know where the bodhisattvas were, manifested me here, etc., I think they went in the middle of the night, and only suffered the eight precepts of the pig."
In fact, if you read journey to the West several times, you will find that all the great gods, especially the Lingshan Immortal Buddha, will bring ruixiao to their estates, such as the Little Lei Yin Temple:
"After passing through the ridge, down to the west flat, I suddenly saw the auspicious light and mist, the colored fog, there was a pavilion, and the faint bells were melodious."
This kind of sign is somewhat similar to the Golden Light Temple Buddha Treasure of the Sacrifice Kingdom, except that the light emitted by the Buddha Treasure is more intense, and everyone can notice, while the light here is not too obvious, and the sharp eyes can only see.
Five
Compared to the youkai's cave house, unless it is the kind of person with its own black cloud, Sun Wukong cannot recognize it.
For example, the manor of the spider spirit, as well as the manor of the centipede spirit, Sun Wukong did not find the abnormality, the former did not prevent the Tang monk from going to the fast himself, and the latter did not find that this was a monster den.
The reason why the centipede spirit was later recognized was not because of the fire-eyed golden eye that the Daoist was transformed by the demon, but because there was a problem with the tea sent by the Daoist:
"The walker was obedient, took the tea bell, and had already seen that the tea clock on the plate was two black dates..."
Because of doubts, he did not drink, but did not stop Tang Monk, Pig Eight Precepts, Sha Monk and others from drinking, until they all fell to the ground with stomach pain, and he was sure that the Daoist priest in front of him was not a good person.
The second way for Sun Wukong to identify yokai is to smell the wind, if the wind is not a natural wind, his eyes will be uncomfortable, which is one of the reasons he mentioned earlier that he identifies the white bone essence:
"There will be strange things in the mountains, but the mountains are full of essence." Sure enough, there was a goblin on this mountain, and when Sun Dasheng went, he alarmed the monster. He was in the clouds, stepping on the wind..."
Itself here is high and sparsely populated, at the first time a woman appears, it is most likely a monster, plus this white bone essence is stepping on the yin wind, cold and fluttering, people can't help but be alert.
Sun Wukong and Tang Monk have something in common, that is, they only believe what they see with their eyes, of course, judging that the White Bone Essence is a monster, he did not rely on speculation, but saw that the white bone essence changed people's clothes with pink skeletons hidden inside:
"I am an ancestor who is a tiger, why did you have a ghost in your sleeve to coax me?" You have hidden from all, but you have not concealed me!" I recognize you as a leprechaun! ”
Six
Generally, yokai haunting, either wind, or fog, or clouds, in short, it will never be a natural phenomenon, which is also an experience for Sun Wukong to judge whether there will be yokai haunting.
For example, before the red child was tied to a tree to confuse the Tang monks, there was a vision in the mountain:
"The masters and disciples were just terrified, and they saw that there was a red cloud in the hollow of the mountain, and it went straight into the nine heavens, and gathered a cloud of fire, and the walkers were horrified..."
For example, in the black pine forest, before the golden-nosed white-haired rat essence appeared, the mountain forest was also black:
"Suddenly, I saw that there was a black qi in the south of Lin Nan, and the bones were all coming up, and the walkers were horrified..."
Before the leopard essence of the Mist Hidden Mountain appeared, the wind and fog rose in the mountain, and even the mortal Tang Monks with naked eyes could recognize that this celestial phenomenon was abnormal, and there must be a monster in front of them:
"The masters and disciples were frightened and frightened, and when they were on their way, they only heard a gust of wind, and Sanzang was afraid..."
In addition to looking at the anomalies in the sky to identify the monsters, another way for Sun Wukong to identify the monsters is to smell the smell.
This, in fact, is related to the living environment, such as perennial fishing, there must be a fishy smell on the body, perennial pig killing, there must be a smell of raw meat on the body, perennial farming, the taste of the body is different.
For example, a dog, if the person in front of you is a dog dealer, it will run away when it smells from afar.
For example, like Liu Boqin near the Two Realms Mountain, the Jackal, Tiger and Leopard walked around when they saw him, because he had a smell on him, and the animals were afraid of him:
"I live here, and I live by beating some wolves and tigers, and catching some snakes and insects to survive, so the beasts are afraid that I will leave."
He even wanted Tang Monk to eat tiger meat, and said that as long as he ate tiger meat, you would have to walk around when the tiger encountered you in the future.
Seven
Monsters are the same, as long as the animal becomes a sperm, it itself will carry the unique taste of this animal, lingering, this is Sun Wukong often said that the demon qi.
In fact, these are related to the living habits of the yokai, if you encounter a yokai who has been out of the yokai environment for a long time and loves to be clean, Sun Wukong will not be able to recognize it.
Like the yellow eyebrow monster of the Little Lei Yin Temple, in fact, Sun Wukong could not recognize him, and in the face of Tang Monk's question, he could only answer that he felt a hint of ferocity:
"Master, that place is a monastery, but I don't know that in the midst of the Zen light and mist, there is some fierceness."
In fact, the fierceness here is not seen by Sun Wukong, or perceived, but smelled, after all, in addition to the yellow eyebrow monster, the others are real little monsters:
"It turns out that the Buddha on the lotus seat is a demon king, and all the Aro and so on are all little monsters."
And the Green Lion Essence of the Wuji Kingdom has no subordinates, plus he has been the king for a long time, Sun Wukong can't recognize it. If it wasn't for the old king to dream to Tang Monk, let Sun Wukong preconceived, and make sure that he was facing a monster, otherwise he would really miss it.
In fact, it is also true, after the Green Lion Spirit transformed into a Tang monk, Sun Wukong could not recognize it, and he also moved soldiers everywhere:
"Old Sun has descended on the demon here, and the demon has become my master, and the gas is the same, which is really difficult to identify." Ru and other secret informants ask master to go to the temple and let me capture the demon. ”
Here Sun Wukong clearly said that the way he judged this demon was to smell the smell, but unfortunately, his smell was the same as that of the Tang monk, so he could not recognize it.
Eight
And the demon qi thing is indeed related to the living environment, not to mention the monsters, even Sun Wukong himself, who has been in Huaguo Mountain for a long time, will also have demon qi on his body.
After three dozen white bone essences, Sun Wukong was driven back to Huaguo Mountain by Tang Monk, and later the Eight Precepts of the Pig came to ask for help, originally 100,000 urgent things, but Sun Wukong was going to take a bath when he left.
It made the Pig Eight Precepts very confused, so Sun Wukong specially explained:
"You know, since I came back, I've been a bit goblin in the past few days." Master is a man who loves to be clean, and I am afraid that he will hate me. ”
The so-called goblin qi here refers to the unique taste of the monkey spirit, Sun Wukong may have less on his body, but his group of monkey monkey grandchildren has a strong smell, and with them, there is no smell on the body.
For example, in Jinping Province, there are three rhinoceros essences transformed into Buddhas to deceive sesame oil, sun wukong is not identified by the golden eye of fire, but by taste, a fishy smell, and later also follow the taste to find the cave house:
"Good great sage, hurrying up and fighting clouds, rising in mid-air, smelling the fishy wind, and rushing up to the northeast."
However, the method of identifying the yokai by smelling the demon qi is not particularly accurate, if they encounter the great god, the yokai they change will have their own demon qi, and Sun Wukong will not be able to recognize it.
For example, when Guanyin Bodhisattva and Sun Wukong went to surrender the Black Bear Essence, the Bodhisattva became a snake essence, and Sun Wukong was stupid at that time:
"Wonderful! Oh well! Is it a goblin bodhisattva, or a bodhisattva goblin?"
The reason why he made such an exclamation was because the snake spirit transformed into Guanyin Bodhisattva not only looked like, but even smelled the same, so that Sun Wukong couldn't figure out whether he was facing a bodhisattva or a goblin.
Therefore, Sun Wukong's fire-eyed golden eye cannot recognize the monster at all, if it has to be said to have some effect, it is equivalent to the role of the old cold leg. Old cold legs, everyone understands, a heavy humidity, the legs hurt, the legs hurt, you can predict that it will rain.
He really relies on one look, two smells, and three speculations, not only him, but also the great god guanyin bodhisattva to identify the yokai, it is the same.
As for the fire-eyed golden eye, it is an old eye disease that sheds tears in the wind (smoke), which is really not a special function, after all, when Sun Wukong was born, he could see the golden light, and the eyes were red or not, it had nothing to do with it.
My name is Yang Jiaofeng, look at the journey to the west from a different perspective, you will find different fun, like please pay attention to it!