Never rewatch Journey to the West without knowing this secret!

Setting out for the Western Paradise to fetch scriptures, the pilgrimage dragged on for decades with no sign of respite. And so, the mystical images of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Guan Yin Bodhisattva, and so on, became deeply etched into the memories of many generations of young audiences. However, even after watching or reading Journey to the West many times, there are mysteries that many readers and viewers still cannot fully grasp, most of which involve the Western Paradise or the Heavenly Court. For many readers captivated by Wu Qing En's novel, the film adaptations naturally raise the question, why did Sun Wukong once wreak havoc in heaven, disturb the Dragon Palace, and even descend into hell to cause chaos, beating the mortals until they were utterly defeated? Yet when imprisoned under Five Elements Mountain for over 500 years, the monkey suddenly became strangely weak, to the point that even the former mounts and pets of gods and buddhas made him have to seek help everywhere. Could there be a conspiracy or hidden agenda behind these events? To unravel this mystery, let us examine some key facts. Who is Sun Wukong's master? Certainly not Tang Sanzang, but the first teacher who taught him the 72 Transformations. Besides Sun Wukong, one character that has caused much mystery in Wu Qing En's work is the identity of Pewdie Patriarch. The teacher who imparted the 72 Transformations to the stone monkey at the beginning of the story. The origins of this figure are likely unknowable if we only read or watch Journey to the West. The name Pewdie Patriarch actually just means a teacher who cultivates impurity and attains enlightenment under a Bodhi tree. Journey to the West contains many details related to culture, religion in general, and other Chinese literary works in particular. To understand the author's hidden intentions, we must trace the similarities between Journey to the West and other works. A prime example that many believe shares numerous parallels is Investiture of the Gods. A work about King Wu's campaign against King Zhou, along with many mystical Taoist tales. According to the lore of Investiture of the Gods, Journey to the West, and other similar works, the primordial creator of heaven and earth, the supreme ancestor, is Hongjun Laozu. He is the highest, the most revered, and unmatched under heaven. Hongjun Laozu had six disciples, Laozi, Aiyi, Taisheng Laojun, Yuanzhi Tianzuan, Tongtian Jiaozhu, Jiedin, Zhou Enti, and Nuwa. Jiedin is the leader of the Western sect, traditionally said to be an incarnation of Shakyamuni. There are also opinions that Shakyamuni Buddha is a later incarnation of Jiedin. It is also known that Pewdie Patriarch belongs to Taoism. Then, considering the first three, the story continues as follows. The three senior disciples of Hongjun Laozu are Taisheng Laojun, Yuanzhi Tianzuan and Tongtian Jiaozhu split into two separate sects. Taisheng Laojun and Yuanzhi Tianzuan lead the Chan sect. The Chan sect is a school where each Taoist master or teacher typically accepts only one to three disciples. These disciples are carefully chosen. They are usually of supreme intellect and hidden immortal potential. Upon encountering the Tao, they joyfully cultivate self-nature and progress swiftly, thus being selected. Hence the sect is called Chan, meaning to expand and promote. Tongtian Jiaozhu is the founder of the Jie sect. This sect champions universal teaching without discrimination. According to Tongtian Jiaozhu, anyone can cultivate immortality. As long as the Tao heart is firm and one is willing to train, enlightenment is possible. Thus the Jie sect accepts all races as disciples. Most of his followers are transformed from beasts. Like Guilin Xingmu, who transformed from a turtle. Wuyun Xian, who transformed from a fish. Xushou Xian, who transformed from the green-haired lion. And it is for this reason of saving all beings that it is named the Jie sect. Jie means thorough and complete. Disagreements between the two sects' followers led to strife and rivalry. The Chan sect looks down on the Jie disciples as horned beasts and riffraff, even criticizing Tongtian Jiaozhu himself. The Jie sect accuses the Chan sect of elitism and discrimination, disrespecting their master. They seek to restore fairness. For both sects originate from the same root under Hongjun Laozu. From then on, the two factions clashed, descending to the mortal realm. One side aided the Shang dynasty, the other the Zhou. The followers of both sects endured countless chaotic battles to destroy each other. Resulting in heavy losses that shook heaven and earth. After the great and earth-shaking battle between the Jie sect and others, which I will detail later. Tongtian Jiaozhu, though the younger disciple, possesses immense power and wields four divine swords to form the immortal slaying formation. Along with his numerous disciples and formidable personal abilities to create the myriad immortals formation. Such that even Yuanchuan Qianzuan and Taisheng Laojun combined could not break it. They then had to invite two other masters, Zhou Enti and Jie Ding, to gang up on Tongtian Jiaozhu. And only then was he forced to concede defeat. In the end, most of the Jie sect disciples were defeated and enshrined on the investiture of the gods to serve in heaven. Some were converted and taken to the west by the two western sect masters, some were killed and sent to the underworld for reincarnation. Tongtian Jiaozhu fell out with his two elder brothers, and it took Hongjun Laozu stepping in to mediate their conflict. Nevertheless, many analyses theorize that Tongtian Jiaozhu, though defeated and forced into hiding to cultivate in some remote corner, never abandoned his desire for revenge. From the above, various theories converge on the same conclusion, that Sun Wukong's master, Pewdie Patriarch, is actually Tongtian Jiaozhu. There is much evidence for this as follows. First as motive, Tongtian Jiaozhu likely used Wukong to disrupt heaven and plunge the realm into chaos, as revenge for his defeat long ago. During the journey, Taishang Laojun and all the Chan sect disciples, Yang Jian, Nezha, Li Jing, and others, were Wukong's opponents and fought fierce battles with him. Taishang even tried to incinerate Wukong with the Eight Trigrams Furnace, proving the monkey was not a disciple of the other side. Because those four were allied with Taishang Laojun, only Tongtian Jiaozhu, his younger brother and rival, could be the master. In fact, compared to the higher-ups, just Taishang Laojun, Yuanchun Tianzun, or even their disciples like Taizhenren, Nezha, or Yang Jian could have matched or subdued Wukong. So why go to the trouble of inviting the Buddha? No need to use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken. Clearly, Taishang Laojun knew that behind Wukong stood a powerful protector, not so easily dealt with. It is even very likely that Wukong was merely a strategic pawn, serving as the vanguard for a potential full-scale overthrow that Tongtian Jiaozhu might launch. Therefore, acting rashly and prematurely eliminating Wukong could very well lead to confronting Tongtian Jiaozhu once more. Taishang Laojun may have seen through this scheme and gone to the trouble of inviting Buddha Rolai from the west to subdue Sun Wukong. Also hinting at the intent to form a powerful alliance with the western sect, sending a threatening message to Tongtian Jiaozhu. Second, why did gods like Feng Yunleiyu, Urshiba Xiu, etc., all avoid the scene when Sun Wukong wrecked heaven, leaving it to Jia sect members to deal with? Likely these gods were mostly disciples of Tongtian Jiaozhu who ascended via the investiture of the gods, and as mentioned, they knew Sun Wukong was their junior fellow disciple, so they stayed away to avoid internal conflict. And third, among the sect masters, only Tongtian Jiaozhu accepted disciples freely without background checks, anyone from hairy, horned, or spiky beings, as long as they had spiritual nature and wished to cultivate, he took them all. Therefore, a rough fellow like Sun Wukong suited his taste, while other masters were strict, requiring clean records, proper Taoist roots, no prior offenses, etc. A grand conspiracy lies behind the character of the handsome monkey king. As analyzed above, almost all of Sun Wukong's martial arts and magic are Taoist. The 72 transformations are a signature Taoist skill. The two western sect masters, Zhunti and Jiayin, are certainly not his teacher. In Journey to the West, Yuanzhi Tianzun and Taisheng Laojun appear in opposition to Sun Wukong. Thus these two cannot possibly be Sun Wukong's master. Thus the only remaining possibility is the last of the three pure one sect masters, Tongtian Jiaozhu, also known as Lingbao Tianzun, who is the teacher of this mischievous monkey. Tongtian Jiaozhu's full title is Shangqing Tongtian Jiaozhu Lingbao Tianzun. In The Investiture of the Gods, Lingbao Tianzun is seen as a defiant rebel with profound magical powers, who in the final battle single-handedly fought against the four great sect masters ganging up on him. Moreover, his disciples were also unique, many with deep powers, and his defining concept was no discrimination in teaching. Any disciple, regardless of origin or nature, as long as they had some spiritual spark, he accepted and could teach. Clearly, this master is even more exceptional than the legendary sage teacher of 10,000 generations. This is a prominent and distinguishing characteristic of this sect master compared to the others. He could teach any disciple, from black turtles, rabbits, elephants, lions. Therefore, the Jia sect had a huge number of followers. But this also caused uneven quality among disciples, good and evil mixed, quantity over quality. Meanwhile, among the other four sect masters, Taisheng Laojun and Yuanquan Tianzun together taught only 12 disciples in total. As for the Western sect, their rules for accepting disciples were too strict, with limited numbers. Generally, they required good character, clean background, extraordinary aptitude, and so on, before acceptance. Later, when Taisheng and Yuanquan were at a disadvantage, they conspired with the Western sect. In fact, at that time Buddhism had just been introduced to China. Meaning they used external forces to defeat their junior disciple and have his sect destroyed. Tang Tianjiaozhu, given his temperament, would he submit or secretly teach a gifted monkey to prove he still exists? Moreover, granting martial power and divine abilities to a wild-natured monkey, did he consider the consequences? Actually, he had already thought it through, and that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted Sun Wukong to cause chaos in the world. He wanted revenge for the injustice that forced his sect to be destroyed. Revenge to shatter the heavenly order. This act is like handing a gun, specifically a powerful weapon to a child. The consequences are disastrous. Moreover, teaching no morality or character, no discussion of background or life principles, only mystical power. Clearly reflects Tang Tianjiaozhu's distinctive philosophy in accepting disciples. And aside from his ulterior motive, who would do such extremely dangerous things? As for Rolai using the mountain to trap Sun Wukong in the final battle. That was actually the tip of the iceberg beneath. It was the Second Great War, when the four sect leaders joined forces to suppress Tang Tianjiaozhu. Because with Sun Wukong's power, Taishang Laojun or Yuanzhi Qianzun could have easily subdued him, why summon Rolai? Only Tang Tianjiaozhu lurking behind could cause such upheaval. Making the two elder brothers feel insufficient to resist and need outside reinforcements. And Sun Wukong could rampage through heaven because he had a powerful backer. The prestige of Master Tang Tianjiaozhu remained, so the 28 constellations, the celestial officials and all heavenly generals. And all heavenly warriors recognized this little junior brother, so they turned a blind eye and let him push forward. If not, then when Wukong caused havoc in heaven, the ones who fought him were precisely the battle generals from outside the Jia sect. For example, Erlang Shen Yun Jian and Li Jing with his son Nezha. Tang Tianjiaozhu used the destruction of Wukong to throw the world into chaos. It didn't stop there, that opportunity gathered old disciples to create more disorder and overthrow heaven's order. Heaven discovered this scheme in time, so Taishang and Yuanzhi urgently summoned the Buddha from the western sect to suppress the rebellion while it was still nascent. If not, Wukong, no matter how powerful, likely wouldn't have required Rolai and all the Buddhas to intervene. This mighty armed force was meant to intimidate the old Jia sect followers and demonstrate enough power to make Tang Tianjiaozhu retreat. Speaking of this, you surely recall that during the pilgrimage, Wukong faced a calamity at Wuzhuang Temple. After searching everywhere for someone who could save the ginseng tree, he went to his old master, who refused to acknowledge him. The monkey's master had merely used him as a pawn from the very beginning. And he ultimately returned to failure after this grand scheme to overturn heaven. Remember, he had also told Wukong not to repay him, and if trouble arose, never to mention his name. Perhaps after the scheme failed, Tang Tianjiaozhu went into hiding. At that point, why continue and cause more heartache? Some other points further support this conclusion. When reading Journey to the West, everyone senses to some degree and is astonished by the inconsistency in Wukong's martial and magical abilities. When he caused havoc in heaven, the great sage seemed invincible. Yet when facing minor demons during the pilgrimage, he became hesitant and constrained. He was often beaten and had to flee for help. What accounts for this? Here are some reasons. First, most of Wukong's martial and magical techniques possess super high attack power and super speed. Leans toward close combat, not magic. Wukong's fighting style is mainly guerrilla tactics, indirect one-on-one or magical duels. Wukong often outmatches his opponents. Even if you read the story, you'd realize how formidable his magical power truly is. Of course, compared to the standard of demon ranks, any demon who hears Sun Wukong's name would be somewhat terrified. Most demons rely on magical treasures or artifacts from celestial immortals, while Wukong excels in close combat, not magic. Thus, it's understandable that he would sometimes be countered. Second, Wukong's true strength is not that he is invincible across the heavens. The main reason he could cause such chaos is that many senior celestial brothers and sisters, out of fellow discipleship and due to the backing of his master, refrained from killing him. Third, after 500 years under the mountain being tortured in oil, acid, and all kinds of cruel punishments during the demon-catching journey, the old monkey's body was worn out, greatly affecting his martial arts and magic. The Great War Between the Chan and GSX The war began when King Zhou of Shang visited the Temple of Nuwa and wrote a disrespectful poem, enraging the goddess. After calculating that the Shang Dynasty had only 28 years left, Nuwa sent three demons from the Xianyuan Tomb to bewitch King Zhou, hastening Shang's fall, but they were not to kill anyone. One of them was a thousand-year-old fox spirit named Daji, who possessed the body of a beautiful girl presented to the king. Favored by the king, the false Daji gradually abused power, eliminating loyal ministers with boiling oil and red-hot bronze pillars. She conspired with the king to kill Empress Jiang and the two princes, Yingde and Yinghong. Additionally, the false Daji sought to harm the four great feudal lords. King Zhou summoned them to court, then imprisoned the western lord, Ji Chong. Later, Ji Chong escaped prison and sought help from Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya was a disciple of Yuanzhi Tianzun on Kunlun Mountain and was ordered by his master to help the Zhou Dynasty overthrow the Shang. On the other side, King Zhou was aided by Tangtian Jiaozhu and the Jia sect, who sent 36 armies to attack the western Qi settlement, suppressing Ji Chong's rebellion. In this battle, backed by the Chan sect, the Zhou army defeated King Zhou's 36 forces. Yet King Zhou remained depraved and cruel, refusing to repent. So the allied feudal lords had to join forces and attack. In the final brutal battle, King Zhou's army suffered a crushing defeat. King Zhou set himself on fire, and Daji was also killed. Jiang Ziya was granted the authority to confer godhood by Yuanzhi Tianzun. And King Wu of Zhou, that is GFA, son of Ji Chong, was also given the right to infest the lords. Due to conflicting views on accepting disciples, friction grew between the two sects, leading Tangtian Jiaozhu to choose to support King Zhou. Knowing that Jiang Ziya, Yuanzhi Tianzun's disciple, supported King Wu. Among these, two battles gathered all the mighty gods and immortals, described as extraordinarily fierce and grand, namely the Immortal Slaying Formation and the Myriad Immortals Formation. In the Investiture of the Gods, it is worth noting. There is an extremely powerful formation called the Immortal Slaying Formation. This formation was set up by Tangtian Jiaozhu using four peerless swords. And all the immortals had to join forces to break it. Speaking of the Immortal Slaying Formation, one cannot help but mention the four ultimate treasured swords used to erect the formation. Namely the Immortal Slaying Sword, the Immortal Trapping Sword, the Immortal Damaging Sword, and the Immortal Execution Sword. It is said that hanging them at the four gates of the formation stirs thunder and wind, and even immortals would lose their heads. However, Tangtian Jiaozhu was not the one who forged those four swords. Long ago, the master of the three, Taishang Laojun, Yuanzhi Tianzun, and Tangtian Jiaozhu, Hongjun Laozu discovered these swords. But knowing their killing aura was too great and could bring disaster, he decided not to give them to any disciple and hid them at Mount Fenbao. However, Tangtian Jiaozhu accidentally found them and stored them in his Baiku Palace. Hadn't caused immortals to face calamity, Hongjun Laozu's worries were not unfounded. In the end, to protect his sect and followers, Tangtian Jiaozhu used those four swords against his two elder brothers. The formation sword order, east gate hangs the Immortal Slaying Sword, north the Slaughter Immortal Sword, west the Trapping Immortal Sword, and south the Absolute Immortal Sword. Tangtian Jiaozhu stood on the Eight Trigrams Platform to command the formation while Chan Sect Immortals came to watch. They saw only four swords, yet a deadly aura rose to the sky, winds howled, and myriad strange transformations occurred. Where did the Immortal Slaying Formation originate? None of the Chan Sect Immortals dared enter the formation, for once inside they would surely die. Their master Yuanzhi Tianzun tried to charge in alone, relying on his agarwood palanquin, which had four lotus flowers radiating dazzling light. Yet at each gate, Yuanzhi Tianzun had one lotus flower severed by a sword. Taisheng Laojun, the eldest senior brother, also had to use his most powerful technique, one chi transforms into three pure ones, splitting into three to fight Tangtian. Though he struck Tangtian's head three times with his staff, he could not break the formation and had to retreat, calling it terrifying. How to break the Immortal Slaying Formation? To break it, four great divine powers must enter the four gates simultaneously. Meanwhile, the Chan Sect had only Laojun and Yuanzhi. Fortunately, Jun Ti Daoxer saw 200 lotus flowers bloom, matching the 200 Immortals on both sides. So he came to welcome those destined ones to the Western Paradise. He also invited the Western Sect leader, Jieding Daoxer, to assist. The four great powers joined forces, each taking a gate, Taisheng at West, Yuanzhi at East, Jieding at South, Jun Ti at North. Yuanzhi radiated light and lotus flowers to block the Immortal Slaying Sword, Jieding used his three relics to block the Slaughter Immortal Sword, Laojun used his Linglong Pagoda to block the Trapping Immortal Sword. Jun Ti used his seven treasure banner, manifested a thousand lotus flowers, and blocked the Absolute Immortal Sword. After the four great powers struck the four gates, Tang Tian Jiaozhu clapped four times, and then thunder rumbled, the Immortal Slaying Formation scattered, and rivers of light burst forth. The three banners blazed with fire, and the wind held fiercely. However, due to Tang Tian Jiaozhu's insufficient power, he was suppressed by four opponents. But finally he was struck on the back by Laojun's staff, and Yuanzhi hit his shoulder with the Jade Mace. Jun Ti struck his eye with a banner. When he tried to lift his shoulder, he was immediately struck by Randang, a disciple of the Qiong Sect. Guangding Haizhu struck him down, while Tang Tian Jiaozhu was being suppressed by the four. The Qiong Sect disciples successively came up to help seize the four Immortal Swords. Guangchengzi obtained the Zhuxian Sword, Zhijingzi obtained the Luxian Sword, Yuding Xunran obtained the Xianxian Sword, and Daoxing Tianzuan obtained the Juexian Sword. With such unity, the Qiong Sect was finally able to break the Immortal Slaying Formation. The four precious swords were all seized, the Immortal Slaying Formation shattered, and Tang Tian Jiaozhu turned into light and fled. The Jia Sect disciples, seeing their master defeated, also secretly fled in all directions. The Myriad Immortals Formation, the Final Battle. According to legends passed down for millennia, the Myriad Immortals Formation was the final formation that Tang Tian Jiaozhu established to settle scores with Jiang Ziya and the Qiong Sect. A formation appeared with many Immortals of strange forms and appearances, such as had never been seen since the creation of the world. With a thousand layers of murderous aura, this was considered the largest and most dangerous formation, attracting Immortals from all eight realms. The battle shook heaven, smoke and incense billowed, the Myriad Immortals Formation gathered all the Immortals from both Qiong and Jia Sects. Tang Tian Jiaozhu poured all the strength of the Jia Sect into this battle, forcing Yuanzhi Qianzun and Taisheng Laojun to personally descend to the mortal world once again. And commanding all disciples and the Jade Void to find a way to break the formation, creating an earth-shattering battle with Tang Tian Jiaozhu. The Myriad Immortals Formation became a brutal battle, where countless strange beings, just for a bit of fame, lost their reputations, their corpses lay in the formation, and their souls were sent to the investiture of the god's platform. With the assistance of the two Taoists Xuan Ti and Jia Yin, the Myriad Immortals Formation was finally completely broken by the Qiong Sect. Its power dissipated, the Jia Sect suffered a great defeat, and Tang Tian Jiaozhu once again became the vanquished. And this is also the final pass, before entering Mai, the Allied Army.