page_title: Monkeys in Chinese culture
section_title: Daoism
hierarchical_section_title: Monkeys in Chinese culture / Religious significance / Daoism
caption_attribution_description: English: Guanyin, Monkeys, and Crane (絹本墨画淡彩観音猿鶴図, kenpon bokuga tansai kannon　enkakuzu). Three hanging scrolls, 174.2 cm x 98.8 cm (Kannon), 173.9 cm x 98.8 cm (monkeys and crane, each). Ink and light color on silk. Located at Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, Japan. The scrolls have been designated as National Treasure of Japan in the category paintings.
context_page_description: Monkeys, particularly macaques and monkey-like gibbons, have played significant roles in Chinese culture for over two thousand years. Some examples familiar to English speakers include the zodiacal Year of the Monkey, the Monkey King Sun Wukong in the novel Journey to the West, and Monkey Kung Fu.
context_section_description: Daoism, like Buddhism, paradoxically treats monkeys as both foolish and wise animals.
  The (c. 4th–3rd centuries BCE) Daoist Zhuangzi illustrates the gibbon/macaque distinction (see Symbolism section).  The first story is about a jugong 狙公 "macaque/monkey trainer".
  To weary the spiritual intelligence by trying to unify things without knowing that they are already identical is called "three in the morning." Why is this called "three in the morning"? Once upon a time, there was a monkey keeper who was feeding little chestnuts to his charges. "I'll give you three in the morning and four in the evening," he told them. All the monkeys were angry. "All right, then," said the keeper, "I'll give you four in the morning and three in the evening." All the monkeys were happy with this arrangement. Without adversely affecting either the name or the reality of the amount that he fed them, the keeper acted in accordance with the feelings of the monkeys. He too recognized the mutual dependence of "this" and " that." Consequently, the sage harmonizes the right and wrong of things and rests at the center of the celestial potter's wheel. This is called "dual procession." (chap. 2, tr. Mair 1994:16–17) 
  Zhuangzi tells a yuan 猿 "gibbon" parable to the King of Wei.
  Master Chuang passed by the King of Wei wearing patched clothing made of coarse cloth and shoes tied together with twine. "How come you're so wretched, master?" asked the King of Wei. "It's poverty," said Master Chuang, "not wretchedness. When a scholar possesses the Way and integrity but cannot put them into practice, he is wretched. When his clothing is tattered and his shoes have holes in them, he is poor, not wretched. This is called, 'not having met with the right time': Has your majesty not seen the high-climbing gibbon? When it is on a nanmu, catalpa, or camphor tree [all tall, straight trees], the gibbon grasps the branches with its hands and feet or wraps around them with its tail, moving nimbly among them. Even Yi and P'engmeng [the famous mythical archers Houyi and his disciple] would not be able to take accurate aim at it. When, however, the gibbon is on a silkworm thorn, ramosissimus, thorny limebush, or matrimony vine [all short, thorny bushes], it moves furtively and glances sideways, shaking and trembling all the while. This is not because the gibbon's sinews and bones have become stiff and lost their suppleness, but because it finds itself in an inconvenient situation and cannot show off its ability. Now, if I am situated under a benighted ruler and confused ministers, and still wish not to be wretched, how could I be so?" (20, tr. Mair 1994:194) 
  The Daoist discipline of daoyin "guide and pull" is based on the notion that circulating and absorbing qi "breath; life force" in the body can lead to longevity or even immortality. Long-limbed animals were believed to be innately adept at absorbing qi and thus acquire "occult powers, including the ability to assume human shape, and to prolong their life to several hundred years" (van Gulik1967:38). For example, the (c. 4th century) Chunqiu Fanlu (tr. Van Gulik) says, "The gibbon resembles the macaque, but he is larger, and his colour is black. His forearms being long, he lives eight hundred years, because he is expert in controlling his breathing."
  The Baopuzi lists animals associated with longevity, including (chap. 3, tr. Luo 2003:4124, cf. Ware 1967:56), "A macaque may evolve into an ape after 800 years. After another 500 years it evolves into Jue, and Jue will evolve into Chanchu (toad) after 1,000 years."
  Another animal associated with longevity was the he 鶴 "crane", whose long neck and legs supposedly enabled the bird to absorb qi and live up to a thousand years. 
  The pair of yuanhe 猿鶴 "gibbon and crane", both of which were famous for their graceful movements, became a literary and artistic trope for a "long life". The (624) Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia quotes a Baopuzi story, not found in the received text, about King Mu of Zhou (r. 976–922 BCE). "When King Mu of the [Zhou] dynasty made his expedition to the south, hi
caption: Guanyin, gibbon, and crane scrolls, Muqi Fachang, 13th century
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