Yang Jiaofeng on the Journey to the West series of articles:
In "Journey to the West", there is such a character, although he has only appeared twice, but he left a deep impression on us. In particular, his flowing white hair, coupled with a protruding forehead and stomach, and a pair of bare feet, added a lot of joy.
This character is the barefoot immortal, who once went to the Heavenly Court to participate in the annual peach festival held by the Queen Mother's mother, but was deceived by Sun Wukong. After Sun Wukong stirred up the peach festival and stole the Golden Dan of Taishang Laojun, the barefoot immortal arrived late and ran to the Jade Emperor to complain.
So, what is the origin of the barefoot immortal, it does not look like it is not deeply involved in the world, why did it easily fall into sun wukong's deception?
Yang Jiaofeng on the Journey to the West series of articles: Journey to the West: Barefoot Immortal has participated in many peach meetings, why would he easily fall on Sun Wukong's pawn?
One
Before Sun Wukong stole the peach, he didn't actually know the Barefoot Immortal, but the Barefoot Immortal knew him.
Sun Wukong held a total of two positions in the Heavenly Court, one was Bow Ma Wen, and his term of office was half a month. One is the Qi Tian Dasheng, from front to back, the total term of office is about half a year.
When he was bowing to Ma Wen, he did not go out of the gate and did not go out, and he had always been at ease in supervising the horses in the imperial horse, and did not have the behavior of making friends with the gods of the heavenly court. After becoming a Qi Tian Dasheng, after all, he was not assigned any specific work content at the beginning, resulting in nothing to do all day, and he was left to make friends everywhere.
Although he also traveled from east to west:
"Today's journey to the east, tomorrow's westward swing, the clouds go to the clouds, and the whereabouts are uncertain."
But the chance of meeting the barefoot immortal cannot be said to be absent, but it is also very slim, after all, the entire "Journey to the West", and even the entire traditional Chinese mythological novel, does not mention where the barefoot immortal's dojo is and whether there is a specific place to live.
Because he did not know the barefoot immortal, after Sun Wukong stole the peach and was bumped into by the seven-clothed fairy, he met the barefoot immortal on the way to Yaochi, and only called him a veteran:
"Where's the old way?"
As a result, this barefoot immortal did not open which pot to mention which pot, saying that he was invited by the Queen Mother's mother to go to the peach feast. Just such a sentence touched Sun Wukong's newly injured heart, which made his eyes roll and deliberately deceive the barefoot immortal:
"I don't know. The Jade Emperor, because of the old Sun's sword fighting cloud disease, invited the old Sun Wulu to take the throne, first to His Highness Tongming to perform the ceremony, and then to the banquet. ”
Unexpectedly, the barefoot immortal actually believed it to be true, and really shifted the direction of his advance and went to the Tongming Hall instead.
Two
So what is the origin of this barefoot immortal, and why is it so easy to be deceived?
Regarding the origin of the barefoot immortals, there is such a poem described in the book "Journey to the West", which is as follows:
"The sky is misty and swaying, and the five-colored auspicious clouds are endless. The white crane sings in jiugao, and the purple zhi color shows thousand leaves. In the middle appeared a statue of a fairy, looking high and colorful. The divine dance rainbow neon mask Han Xiao, the waist hanging treasure basket is not dead. The name is Barefoot Great Luo Xian, special to the Peach Tim Shou Festival. ”
If you read more Journey to the West, you will find that all the characters who appear with Xiaguang Ruixiao are generally big people. This barefoot immortal, who was a great Luo Immortal, did not serve in the Heavenly Court, and this time he was invited to participate in the Peach Feast, so why did he also have the characteristics of a big man?
Unlike other immortals, the Barefoot Immortal had a treasure hoop hanging from his waist, which was actually a good thing.
This treasure basket is something similar to Wen Mu, just like every time the Tang monks and disciples go to a country, they have to take out the customs clearance document to let the king stamp, which is actually a symbol of status, proving that he comes from the Tang Dynasty.
And what can be called a treasure basket, and "no life and death", is immortality, then two things can achieve this effect. One is the book of life and death of the difu, and Sun Wukong destroyed the book of life and death and achieved immortality within the three realms.
Of course, immortality does not mean immortality, but there is no record in the underground government, black and white impermanence can not go to hook you on time, meet the big god, or encounter a natural disaster, or it is difficult to escape death.
Obviously, the book of life and death of the prefectural government cannot be taken away by an individual, or the kind that is carried with them, so what is the second explanation?
Three
The treasure basket in the barefoot immortal's waist is actually a fairy basket, to put it bluntly, it is his passport to unimpeded the Three Realms.
The barefoot immortal was different from the immortals who served in the Heavenly Court, and the reason why he was called a Sanxian was because he did not have a specific position, but he was still recorded in the Heavenly Court Immortal Records.
That is to say, he also served the Immortal Basket, which is somewhat similar to the past imperial examination, winning a jinshi, although recorded in the register, but did not become an official.
When Sun Wukong was invited by Taibai Venus to become an official in heaven, he was stopped at the South Heavenly Gate, and Taibai Venus explained to Sun Wukong:
"When you see Tianzun now, give xian zhen, take the official name, and follow you in and out backwards, who will stop you?"
That is to say, only those who have been enshrined in the Immortal Basket are eligible to freely enter and leave the Heavenly Court, because if they can freely enter and exit the Heavenly Garden, they will have the opportunity to participate in the Peach Festival and meet the Jade Emperor.
Later, after the Erlang God surrendered to Sun Wukong, he also mentioned to his brother who was born and died next to him:
"Brother Xian, Ru and others are not allowed to meet the Jade Emperor without being subjected to the Heavenly Basket." Teaching the Heavenly Armor Divine Soldier to hold, I returned to the Heavenly King and the Upper Realm. ”
The reason why the lion spirit did not even pay attention to the 100,000 Heavenly Soldiers, but could not break into the South Heavenly Gate and participate in the Peach Feast of the Queen Mother's Mother, was this. The lion spirit did not worship the immortals, and no one could call him a god, saying that the good point was the bodhisattva mount, and the bad point was a beast, a monster.
Because the barefoot Immortal did not serve in the Heavenly Court, if he wanted to enter and exit the Heavenly Court freely, he had to carry an ID card, and this treasure hoop pinned around his waist was his Immortal Hoop, which was his proof of unimpeded access to the Heavenly Court.
Four
However, people like Sun Wukong, who not only served the Immortal Basket, but also had their own Qi Tian Grand Saint Mansion in the Heavenly Court, why were they not eligible to participate in the Peach Feast?
The question about whether Sun Wukong was invited to the Peach Festival was mainly from the mouth of the Seven-Clothed Fairy:
"The upper council has its own old rules, please the Old Bodhisattva of the Western Heavenly Buddha, the Holy Monk And the Arhat, the Southern Antarctic Guanyin, and the Eastern Chong'en Holy Emperor... All the palaces and halls honored the gods and goddesses, and all went to the Peach Jiahui together. ”
In fact, the list of the Queen Mother and Lady is still very measured, and when the seven-clothed fairy expresses it, she also grasps the order from the outside to the inside, from top to bottom, from large to small, and there is no obvious omission.
In a previous issue, I also said that when Sun Wukong was Bow Ma Wen, he was actually eligible to participate in the peach feast. This time, when he became the Great Saint of Qi Tian, at least it would not be lower than the level of Bow Ma Wen, and even according to the old rules, did not he also mention that the big and small gods of each palace and hall were eligible to participate.
And the Qitian Grand Saint Mansion can also be regarded as an independent department, and how its palace is counted, it can also be called a palace:
"On the right side of the Peach Garden, there is a QiTian Grand Saint Mansion, and there are two divisions in the palace: a quiet division and a Ning Shen division, and the division has immortal officials, who are supported left and right."
In fact, whether Sun Wukong received an invitation to participate in the peach meeting or not, there is no table in the book, because he did not return to the house at all, and it is not clear whether anyone sent him an invitation, and he also specially ordered not to let the land and the soldiers enter the peach orchard:
"The seven-clothed fairy reached the head of the garden gate, only to see the land of the peach orchard, the Lux and the Second Division Immortal of the Qi Tianfu, all holding the door there."
You see, all the people were waiting at the gate of the Peach Orchard, and there was no one left in the Qi Tian Grand Saint Mansion.
Five
Most importantly, after Sun Wukong fixed the Seven-Clothed Fairy, he did not return to the Qi Tian Grand Saint Mansion to see if he had received the invitation, but directly ran to Yaochi.
Even if the list of participants mentioned by the Seven-Clothed Fairy did not include the Qi Tian Grand Saint Mansion, people had also explained it:
"This is the old rule of the upper meeting, and now the meeting does not know how."
Yes, after all, this year there is one more Qi Tian Grand Saint Mansion, they don't know whether they have invited monkeys to participate, and even if it is the old rules, there is no mention of barefoot immortals, aren't people also invited?
Although this is a suspicious case, the reaction of the barefoot immortal provides us with a very important evidence, that is, he actually believed Sun Wukong's words, even if he had doubts in his heart:
"I have been performing a ceremony in Yaochi for many years, how to go to the Tongming Hall to perform the ceremony first, and then go to Yaochi to attend the meeting?"
The barefoot immortal was not the first time to participate in the Peach Club, how could he be so easily deceived?
One reason is that the barefoot immortal is kind-hearted and a man of honor, and it is easy to trust others. It can be seen from the fact that he usually walks barefoot in all directions, he is still a fairly free person, and he did not think at all that who dared to be bold enough to falsely preach the Holy Will?
Then there was the fact that the barefoot immortal was quite active, and he was the first to arrive at the peach party. Because he was the first to come, he did not meet other immortals on the way to Yaochi, which made him believe Sun Wukong's words even more.
The third reason was that in the eyes of the Barefoot Immortal, Sun Wukong was the Great Sage of Qi Tian, and he was qualified to participate in the Peach Society, and he was also qualified to receive orders in front of the Jade Emperor. After all, judging from what the Jade Emperor did earlier, he trusted the monkey quite a bit and gave the monkey enough attention and support.
Six
However, after Sun Wukong deceived the Barefoot Immortal, and finally the Barefoot Immortal came to report the crime, a day passed, could it take a day for the Barefoot Immortal to go to the Tongming Hall?
After Sun Wukong stole peaches, stole immortal wine, and stole the elixir, the seven-clothed fairy, the staff of Yaochi, Taishang Laojun, and the barefoot immortal all ran to complain.
The first to file a complaint was the Queen Mother Niangniang, who also listened to the words of the Seven-Clothed Fairy before coming to file a complaint, and the Seven-Clothed Fairy explained that the reason for her late arrival was:
"The QiTian Great Saint Envoy Technique trapped me and so on, so it was late."
And how long did Sun Wukong trap them?
"But it is said that the seven-clothed fairy has received the Great Sage's fixation spell and can only be liberated every day in a week."
For a whole day and a night, twenty-four hours, after the Queen Mother had finished filing the complaint, the gang of Yaochi winemakers also came to complain, and when they had finished filing the complaint, Taishang Laojun came to file a complaint again, and when these people were finished, the barefoot immortal was late:
"The Queen Mother of Chenmeng attended the meeting yesterday, met the Great Sage of Qi Tian, and said to the minister long live the purpose, and he invited the minister to go to the Tongming Hall to perform the ceremony first before going to the meeting."
The barefoot immortal also mentioned that when he went to the meeting yesterday, he was deceived by Sun Wukong, and the monkey dared to falsely preach the holy will.
There is a doubt here, yesterday I went to the meeting, the barefoot immortal was the first to arrive, such a positive person. If you ran to the Tongming Hall and didn't see the performance, you should have rushed to Yaochi quickly, why did you wait for one night, until the next day, and then run to complain?
What medicine was contained in the gourd of the barefoot immortal, and why did he know that he had been deceived by Sun Wukong, but dragged it until all the dust had settled, and then he remembered to file a complaint?
Seven
In the heart of the barefoot immortal, there was still his own little nine-nine, and there was a reason why he didn't act rashly!
Although the barefoot immortal is a scattered immortal, political consciousness still has to be had. Otherwise, he could not have been favored by the Jade Emperor, who had been given a fairy basket and loved by the Queen Mother, and every year the Peach Festival invited him to participate.
As mentioned earlier, he knew Sun Wukong, which showed that everything that happened in the heavenly court, he was also concerned, not heartless, lungless, without political awareness and sensitivity.
In fact, the Jade Emperor's repeated connivance with Sun Wukong and deliberately installed the Qi Tian Grand Saint Mansion near the Peach Orchard had already aroused speculation from the people of the world. After the Jade Emperor directly installed Sun Wukong in the Peach Orchard of the Queen Mother's Mother, this speculation also made people believe that it was true.
Sun Wukong falsely preached the holy will, saying that this year's speech was not held in Yaochi, but instead in the Tongming Hall. The message conveyed by this sentence to the Barefoot Immortal is not just to change the location or change the flow of the banquet.
In fact, it is more like the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother are fighting for power, in previous years, the Peach Orchard was completely controlled by the Queen Mother, and when participating in the Peach Feast, the Jade Emperor was able to participate as a guest, and also had to wish the Queen Mother a happy birthday. And if you go to the Tongming Hall first to perform the ceremony, it proves that the gods put the Jade Emperor first, and the Queen Mother ranks second.
Even if the barefoot immortal first saw through Sun Wukong's ruse, he did not dare to act rashly, because there was also a problem of resistance and disrespect. Because he was not sure whether the Jade Emperor had given such an order to Sun Wukong, even if it was not in line with the customs of previous years, it was not unreasonable.
Therefore, what the barefoot immortal can do is to secretly observe and act on the opportunity.
Eight
At the beginning, Sun Wukong's abnormal behavior was actually confirming the speculation that the barefoot immortal had made and the Jade Emperor would then fight for power with the Queen Mother.
For example, running to Yaochi to wreak havoc and making the Queen Mother's peach blossom unsuccessful, these things are also an extension of the Arrangement of the Jade Emperor to let Sun Wukong take care of the Peach Orchard in the eyes of the Barefoot Immortal.
However, after Sun Wukong swept away all the elixirs of Taishang Laojun, he was a little confused. After all, the immortal elixir refined by Lao Jun, mainly for the Jade Emperor's Kaidanyuan Assembly, was similar to the Peach Assembly.
The barefoot immortal couldn't figure it out, the monkey destroyed the Queen Mother's Peach Conference, and then destroyed the Jade Emperor's Danyuan Conference, what the hell was this kid, why did he do this?
Because the barefoot immortal couldn't think straight, and didn't dare to act rashly, it was only after the Queen Mother, the wine maker, and the Taishang Laojun filed a complaint, and he, the first person to be deceived, came late and also sued Sun Wukong.
This state of his really annoyed the Jade Emperor, yes, whoever was angry, after all, Sun Wukong was a false transmission of the Holy Will, today he can deceive the barefoot Immortal, tomorrow is not even Li Tianwang can fool?
"This house is passing on its will, making a fool of xianqing, and quickly picketing the spirit officials to visit this trail!"
Through the words of the Jade Emperor, the Barefoot Immortal analyzed that Sun Wukong stole the peach, destroyed the peach society, or even stole the elixir, the Jade Emperor was actually not angry, what he was really angry about was the false transmission of the Holy Will, which made the Barefoot Immortal wonder again.
Therefore, he would go to the Andian Assembly and deliberately run over and donate a few dates to the Buddha.
"Deeply feel the mana, subdue the demon monkey." Nothing can be respected, and two pears and several dates are dedicated. ”
Nine
In fact, in terms of status, the barefoot immortals are not as low as coming to the Buddha, to be honest, if the Buddha is not eligible to participate in the peach meeting.
Although the seven-clothed fairy also said that there was a Western Heavenly Buddha among the people invited, this Buddha did not refer to the Buddha of Rulai, but to the ancient Buddha who burned the lamp.
When Sun Wukong made a big fuss about the peach meeting, the Buddha did not come to the grand meeting, but the ancient Buddha came to burn the lamp, and took advantage of the period before the meeting to discuss with the Taishang Laojun:
"It turned out that the old man and the ancient Buddha who burned the lamp preached on the Zhuling Dan platform on the three-story high pavilion, and all the fairy children, immortal generals, immortal officials, and immortal officials stood around to listen to the lecture."
In fact, the Buddha came to the Heavenly Court once, and after surrendering to Sun Wukong, he did not participate in the Peach Society again:
"Since the ambush of the ape and the antian, I do not know the year and month, but there are half a thousand years in the mortal world, and it is now the day of Meng Qiu's hope."
This also shows that in the past five hundred years, the Buddha has never left the Spirit Mountain again. During this time, the Heavenly Court still organized the Peach Society, otherwise, the Roller Blind General would not have been demoted to the mortal world because he broke a glass glass at the Peach Meeting.
Speaking of the thing that the rolling curtain will be degraded, in fact, it is still the love of the barefoot immortal:
"Only because the Queen Mother lowered the peach and set up a feast to invite the generals." The jade glass was broken by a lost hand, and the souls of the gods flew away... Thanks to the barefoot Great Heavenly Immortal, Yue Ban Qi Song released me. ”
Because of the Antian Assembly, the Buddha's first appearance, as a barefoot immortal who was present at the time, did not say anything, it was indeed impossible to say.
As for the pears and dates he sent, they were not good things, and when the birthday star played chess with the Emperor of Donghua, he ate the dates as a snack. When he was in the kingdom of bhikkhus, the birthday star gave the king three dates to eat, and in the face of the eight precepts of the pig, he mentioned that there were:
"I'll give you a few pounds another day."
Perhaps the barefoot immortal saw that the Queen Mother had sent Rulai Buddha several large peaches, which made him suspicious that Sun Wukong had secretly eaten all the large peaches, so he deliberately took out a few dates to chill the Buddha.
But no matter what, he could enshrine the Immortal Basket and hang this treasure hoop on his body at all times, which proved that he was one of the most trusted people of the Jade Emperor. It is not difficult to explain why as soon as he interceded, the Jade Emperor released the rolling curtain general and did not punish him to death.
It can also be explained that Sun Wukong falsely passed on the holy will, why he deceived him and replaced him with others, and he really did not necessarily be deceived.
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!