Topic summary
Zhu Bajie
Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three disciples of Tang Sanzang, along with Sun Wukong and Sha Heshang, and a major character of the 16th-century novel Journey to the West.
Zhu means "swine", and Bajie means "eight precepts". Before being recruited by the bodhisattvaGuanyin, Zhu Bajie was known as Zhu Gāngliè (豬剛巤), literally "Strong-Maned Pig". Buddhist scholars consider both expressions related to "Śīlapāramitā". In many English versions of the story, Zhu Bajie is called "Monk Pig", "Pig", "Piggy", or "Pigsy". Zhu Bajie is a complex and developed character in the novel.
He is portrayed as a fearsome humanoidmonster, part human and part pig, who often causes trouble for himself and his companions through laziness, gluttony, and lust. He looks up to his senior fellow disciple Sun Wukong as an older brother. Although he sometimes rebels when angered by Wukong's constant teasing, his schemes usually end in his own humiliation.
His Buddhist name "Zhu Wuneng", given by BodhisattvaGuanyin, means "pig (reincarnated) who is aware of ability" or "pig who rises to power", a reference to the fact that he values himself so much that he forgets his own grisly appearance. Tang Sanzang gave him the nickname Bājiè, meaning "eight restraints" or "eight commandments", to remind him of Buddhist discipline. In the original Chinese novel, he is often called dāizi (呆子), meaning "idiot".
Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, and even the narrator consistently refer to him as "the idiot" over the course of the story. Bodhisattvas and other heavenly beings usually refer to him as Tiānpéng (天蓬), his former title when he was a heavenly marshal known as Marshal Tianpeng (天篷元帅) (Tiānpéng Yuánshuài).
In modern times, Zhu Bajie is seen as a patron deity of masseuses, hostesses, and prostitutes in Taiwan and other parts of East Asia.