Xuanzang (fictional character)
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The fictional character Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘; pinyin: Xuánzàng; Wade-Giles: Hsüan-tsang) is a central character of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. For most of the novel he is known as Táng-sānzàng, the title Sānzàng (三藏 "three collections") referring to his mission to seek the Sānzàngjīng, the "Three Collections of (Buddhist) Scriptures". In some English translations, the title is rendered as Tripitaka (tripitaka, Sanskrit; Devanagari: त्रिपिटक is the original Sanskrit term for the Sānzàngjīng). He is also commonly referred to as Táng-sēng (唐僧 "Tang-monk"), which is a courtesy name that, like the former name, reflects his status as the adopted "brother" of the Tang emperor, Taizong. As "Tripitaka" he is a leading character in the cult Japanese Television series Monkey.
[edit] Character
In the story, he is constantly terrorized by monsters and demons because of a legend that they would obtain immortality by eating the flesh of a holy man. While he is a pacifist who has no fighting ability of his own, he is flanked by his three powerful disciples - Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing - themselves "monsters" who have vowed to protect him on his journey in order to atone for their sins in Heaven; while the heavenly origins of Wukong are up for debate, both Bajie and Wujing (and even the horse on which Xuanzang rides) were once minor deities in Heaven who were cast to Earth for their wrongdoings.
(As a side note, the stone monkey was indeed hatched from a stone egg on Earth and did his mischief in Heaven after a time, those deeds being the "sins in Heaven" that led to his servitude.
[edit] Historical background
Xuanzang is partly modelled after the historical Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk of the same name, whose life was the book's inspiration; the real Xuanzang made a perilous journey on foot from China to India (and back again) to obtain Buddhist sutras.
In contrast to the Tang Dynasty monk who was a wise and learned scholar (he was in his late 20s when he left for India), Xuanzang is presented as a young boy monk who is extremely naive, showing idealistic compassion without wisdom. Xuanzang is usually quick to fall for the facades of demons who have disguised themselves as innocent humans, whereas Sun Wukong can see through them with his magic powers (specifically a special sort of eyesight that sees through the said disguises). This frequently leads to tension when Sun Wukong attacks and kills apparently innocent humans when the demon has in fact simply abandoned the dead corpse and run away. One such popular instance was when the White Bone Demon (白骨夫人, Chinese: Bai Gu Fu Ren) disguised three times as family members—first, a young woman. After Wukong "killed" the woman, the demon escaped, but Wukong was punished by Xuanzang for it. The second was the young woman's elderly mother, looking for her daughter. The third was the young woman's elderly father, searching for his wife and child. Upon the "death" of the father by Wukong's hands, Wukong finally killed the demon before she got away. Xuanzang, convinced that Wukong had actually killed three family members, sent him away, despite protests. Xuanzang usually punishes him by chanting the words of the headache sutra (緊箍咒) given to Xuanzang by Guanyin to control Wukong, which causes the latter's headband to contract and give him acute headaches.
In recent years, a mural on the wall of a mountain pass on the way to the China/India border was discovered that is purported to show the real Xuanzang flanked by a small hairy man that some scholars have theorized might have been the inspiration for the character of the Monkey King.[citation needed]
As Sun Wukong is often worshiped as a protector god, so is Xuanzang, albeit mistakenly[citation needed]. Ksitigarbha, a bodhisattva in Buddhism, is occasionally mistaken for Xuanzang due the fact that Ksitigarbha is often portrayed like Xuanzang, with the robes, crown and staff of a monk.
