| Tang Sanzang | |
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Other Names |
Tang Sanzang, Jiāng Li, Xuánzàng, Tang Seng, Tripitaka |
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First Appearance |
Journey to the West |
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Created by |
Nameless Oral Storytellers of the Song Dynasty |
Origin[]
Tang Sanzang is a Buddhist monk and pilgrim who is a central character in the 16th century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. Tang Sanzang is based on the historical Tang dynasty monk Xuanzang.In some English translations of Journey to the West, the title is rendered as Tripitaka which is the original Sanskrit term for the Sanzangjing. His name Tang Sanzang reflects his status as an oath brother of Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty.
He is a reincarnation of Golden Cicada, a disciple of the Buddha. Tang Sanzang's original family name was Chen, the posthumous son of Palace Graduate Chen Guangrui and Yin Wenjiao, the daughter of chief minister Yin Kaishen. After being awarded the first place in a national examination, Chen Guangrui was appointed Prefect of Jiangzhou (modern Jiujiang). While on his way to take office, he was murdered by a ferryman named Liu Hong, who also abducts his wife and takes his place as Prefect. When Chen's son is born, Yin Wenjiao puts the baby on a wooden board and sets him floating adrift down the Yangzi River, out of fear of him being killed by Liu Hong. The baby reaches Gold Mountain Monastery and is found by the Abbot, who gives him the nickname "Jiāngliú" (江流, lit. "River Float"). The abbot sees that River Float is taken care of, and when he grows up and becomes a Buddhist novice, he gives him the Dharma name Xuanzang. When Xuanzang turns 18, he is reunited with his father, whose body was saved from death by the Dragon King of River Hong; together they look for Lady Yin and bring Liu Hong to justice.
He is sent by the Emperor Taizong on a mission to Tianzhu (an ancient Chinese name for India) to fetch a set of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures back to China for the purpose of spreading Buddhism in his native land. He becomes sworn brothers with the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, and the emperor sees him off from the capital Chang'an with two escorts to accompany him. This contrasts with the historical Xuanzang, who disobeyed the Emperor's orders against foreign travel and did not have his permission.
Tang Sanzang is helpless at defending himself and his two escorts are killed during his first encounter with demons after his departure from Chang'an. The bodhisattva Guanyin helps Tang Sanzang find three powerful supernatural beings—Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing (a monkey, pig and fish spirit, respectively)—to aid and protect him on his journey. The three become Tang Sanzang's disciples and receive enlightenment and redemption for their past sins once the pilgrimage is complete.
Along the journey, Tang Sanzang is constantly terrorized by monsters and demons due to a legend which says that one can attain immortality by consuming his flesh because he is a reincarnation of a holy being. One of his disciples is caught by a monster, and the other falls into the Tongtian River, also known as the River of Communion with Heaven. Not to mention, there are several attempts on marrying him made by demons such as the Jade Rabbit, the Scorpion Spirit, and the Golden-Nose Mouse Spirit.
At the end of the novel, Tang Sanzang is appointed as the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit. This is a nod to the fact that, in Buddhism, sandalwood (and, by extension, sandalwood incense) is seen as having the power to distill purity by burning-away negative spiritual impurities; Tang Sanzang, as Golden Cicada, had dismissed the Buddha's teachings and-so was sentenced to re-incarnate as a Buddhist ten consecutive times to distill himself spiritually, expelling spiritual impurities until only purity was left, ultimately achieving Buddhahood, making him the "Buddha of Sandalwood Merit".
Notes[]
- Journey to the West inspired Akira Toriyama to create the manga series Dragon Ball; Bulma is loosely based on the character Tang Sanzang from the Chinese classic novel "Journey to the West.