19 Opulence in The Journey to the West

Wu Cheng’en’s Journey to the West details the pilgrimages of monks and emperors who traverse the underworld. Much of the language surrounding chapter eleven, titled “Having toured the Underworld, Taizong returns to life; Having presented melons and fruits, Liu Quan marries again” is commercialist. There is an opulence and grandeur to Cheng’en’s depiction of hell that can be rationalized by studying Stephen Teiser’s article titled “Having Once Died and Returned to Life: Representations of Hell in Medieval China.” Teiser argues that medieval depictions of hell emphasize the impermanence of the underworld by urging humans to work from samsara towards nirvana. This underworld impermanence, and, specifically, how materialism coexists with this impermanence, is evident in Cheng’en’s utilization of poetry and transactional relationships. Chapter eleven in Journey to the West illustrates that human vice and the transitory nature of the underworld necessitate the presence of human wealth. 

In Teiser’s article, he discusses both canonical and noncanonical interpretations of hell. He says that “if we look closely at the canonical sources, we discover the almost unwavering assertion of the ultimate irrelevance of the underworld. On the one hand, the hell regions are displayed with great fervor, while on the other hand they are greeted with agnosticism and derision. This ambivalent attitude is not as paradoxical as it sounds.”^[1] He continues by explaining that, “In common with some Brahmanical and Jain conceptions, hell in early Indian Buddhism was simply the lowest path of existence in the round of birth and rebirth governed by karma. Hell was the most unpleasant of the five (later six) paths of rebirth that constituted the realm of desire.”^[2] Here, Teiser introduces the idea that hell is simply a phase of transformation, rather than a final resting place. Additionally, he states that “The tortures of the underworld are hardly arbitrary; most kinds of torture correspond formally to the nefarious deeds that are their cause.”^[3] As such, hell is both an impermanent fixture and a symbol of human vice. This explains why works such as Journey to the West contain such heavy language concerning money and general human wealth. Teiser argues that tortures of hell “encourage the cultivation of morality” by appealing to both religious and non-religious audiences.^[4] For a non-monastic audience, representations of hell were used as an ethical lure, intending to scare the non layman into Buddhist devotion. Contrastingly, “Representations of hell serve a different purpose for monks: for them, the torments of hell are used to illustrate to meditators the power of their own mental fabrications, the manner in which they are responsible for constructing the world around them and for filling that world not just with the tortures of hell but also with…less corporeal forms of self-doubt and delusion.”^[5] Through this lens, the presence of human wealth in the underworld is simultaneously a symbol of immorality, a temptation for the pilgrims who traverse its lands, and a means of giving these pilgrims a way to relate with their surroundings. 

In Journey to the West, Cheng’en utilizes poetry to introduce the theme of materialism prevalent in chapter eleven. Describing the messenger Cui, Cheng’en says, “His head’s black gauze hat dangled pliant bands: His waist’s rhino horns displayed plates of gold… He wore a silk robe circled by holy light.”^[6] Here, the juxtaposition between ‘holy’ and ‘gold’ suggests that religion and wealth function bureaucratically in the underworld. The grandeur of Cui’s outfit is meant to support his authority as an official messenger. It is additionally significant that Cui is the first person Taizong meets after exiting the Tower of the Five Phoenixes. The opulence of Cui’s outfit implies that the underworld constructs its authority based upon what its human inhabitants find impressive. Wealth is not used merely to awe and impress in this chapter; it is also used to overwhelm and scare the pilgrims who gaze upon it. When Taizong approaches the central gate of hell, “hordes of fierce Bull-heads stand; On the right, gruesome Horse-faces line up. Gold placards turn to greet the ghosts of the dead.”^[7] In this scenario, riches contrast with the gruesome severed heads of animals. The underworld invokes fear in the passing traveler by displaying its violence among its opulence. Together, the violence and wealth reinforce ideas of human vice and imperfection. 

Transactions in chapter eleven, particularly the hungry ghosts who require Taizong to give them money, continue the story’s theme of human vice. When ghosts prevent Taizong from passing, a judge tells him, “these are the spirits of various princes and their underlings, of brigands and robbers from sundry places. Through works of injustice, both theirs and others’, they perished and are now cut off from salvation because there is none to receive them or care for them. Since they have no money or belongings, they are ghosts abandoned to hunger and cold. Only if Your Majesty can give them some money will I be able to offer you deliverance.”^[8] Here, the underworld forces Taizong to utilize human money to get through hell. Interestingly, Taizong uses money because of the vices of humans unrelated to him. This suggests that humans will necessarily bring a materialist mindset, no matter if they exist in the world of the dead or the living.

The presence of commercialism in chapter eleven in Journey to the West implies that because hell is occupied by humans, it will inevitably become preoccupied with human wealth itself. Chengen enforces themes of materialism through his use of poetry and transactions. The flowery language of the poetry itself reflects the opulence it describes, specifically seen in the descriptions of Cui and the central gate of hell. The transaction between Taizong and the ghosts who require money reflects the irreversible effects of human vice, as Taizong must pay for their actions despite his own innocence. These themes reflect broader canonical ideals about medieval Chinese attitudes towards hell. Because hell was the lowest path of existence in the cycle of death and rebirth, it was imperfect and prone to mortal influence.

Bibliography

Wu, Cheng’en 吳承恩, “Having Toured the Underworld, Taizong Returns to Life; Having Presented Melons and Fruits, Liu Quan Marries Again,” in Xi you ji 西遊記. Translated by Anthony C. Yu. University of Chicago Press, 2012. 252-268.

Teiser, Stephen F. “Having Once Died and Returned to Life: Representations of Hell in Medieval China.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies Vol. 48, No. 2 (December 1988): 433-464.