page_title: Zhu Bajie
section_title: Pre-existence
hierarchical_section_title: Zhu Bajie / Pre-existence
caption_attribution_description: English: Tiānpéng Yuánshuài(天蓬元帅)
context_page_description: Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Tang Sanzang and a major character of the 16th century novel Journey to the West. Zhu means "swine" and Bajie means "eight precepts". Buddhist scholars consider that both expressions are related to "Śīla pāramitā". In many English versions of the story, Zhu Bajie is called "Pigsy" or "Pig".
  Zhu Bajie is a complex and developed character in the novel. He looks like a terrible monster, part human and part pig, who often gets himself and his companions into trouble through his laziness, gluttony, and propensity for lusting after pretty women. He is jealous of Sun Wukong and always tries to bring him down.
  His Buddhist name "Zhu Wuneng", given by Bodhisattva Guanyin, means "pig who is aware of ability" or "pig who rises to power", a reference to the fact that he values himself so much as to forget his own grisly appearance. Tang Sanzang gave him the nickname Bājiè which means "eight restraints" or "eight commandments" to remind him of his Buddhist diet.
  In the original Chinese novel, he is often called dāizi, meaning "idiot".
context_section_description: In traditional Chinese Taoism, there is a divine goddess named Doumu Yuanjun (斗姆元君) who was acclaimed as the mother of all the constellations, even the Emperor Zi-Wei is her son. She has four faces while one of them is akin to a pig's face. Tiānpéng Yuánshuài (天蓬元帅; lit. "Marshal Heavenly Mugwort") is one of her most significant understrappers, which is the head general of the North Pole.
  According to the depiction in the chapter 217 of 《道法会元》, a biography of Taoism and Chinese mythical stories compiled in Ming Dynasty; Tiānpéng Yuánshuài was a blazing powerful marshal in the North Pole. A phrase depicts his appearance as:
  He was scarily imposing with three heads and six arms, red hair, red armor all over; Holding a magic seal, an axe, a firm rope in left hands and a convulsion bell, a symbolic artifact of constellations and a long sword in right. He leads 360,000 warriors; travels along with scary and dark gas, in which there is a five-colored cloud. Numerous deities with great respect always greet his arrivals.
  Under his reign, there are a mass of strong myrmidons, with a piece of description withdrawn from ancient books and records of Taoism, three of the most outstanding ones are:
  "Mahatma of heaven": with height of over a hundred feet, wearing a light-colored gown, disheveled long hair, could create incantatory power with his fingers, holding a sharp sword in his right hand.
  "The Great General of mixed pneuma": Wearing a high crest and golden corselet the whole body, equipped by a bow, an arrow, and a halberd.
  "Four-eyed thunder marshal": Aged, with four eyes and a walks with a crutch. Accompanied by two august emissaries.
  Also, there are 36 generals and a group of Divine warriors under his dominion; anyhow, as is depicted in myth of Chinese Taoism, he is the commander of a huge deity system in the Northern Pole, in which a great number of valiant deity generals and warriors who all controlled by the Emperor Zi-Wei.
  In the novel, after he is punished and becomes Zhu Bajie, there is an obvious recession in both his confidence and power which makes him less militant and lazier as we can find in many parts in the original passage. However, with the remains of power he used to have in his preexistence, he is still capable of fighting against most of the devils appear in their way of journey and in this regard, Sun Wukong always prefers to bring him together when having battles with enemies although they have intermittent personal conflicts all the way.
caption: 天篷元帥 (Tian Peng Yuan Shuai)
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