This week, Tripitaka, aka Xuanzang, and Monkey King, newly named Sun Pilgrim, meet for the first time. Wukong gets all the gear that you typically see him depicted wearing in “pilgrim monkey” mode: the tiger skin pelt, the silk shirt, and that famous hat…
What I found truly great about the character is that every challenge and danger is met Wukong with a wisecrack. The tiger is here to furnish him with traveling clothes, the robbers are here to give him traveling money. Then he defeats them and takes their things.
It’s a kind of stoic mentality in which the obstacle becomes the way that we could all do well to remember when beset by hardships. Anyway, here are some more images of the Monkey King in pilgrimage gear:
Something you might notice about the hat is that it’s often depicted without the flower imprints or even without the ‘hat’ part at all. My theory is that he tore it off when Tripitaka recites the spell for the first time and he starts tearing at it. The most important part of this particular fashion item is the gold band or fillet that binds to his head and gives him serious headaches. So it’s understandable why artist would choose to focus on depicting only the fillet itself. For more information about the fillet, please see Jim’s excellent article on its origins and use throughout Buddhist history (spoiler alert: he talks about its uses in later chapters): https://journeytothewestresearch.wordpress.com/2017/12/16/the-purpose-and-possible-origin-of-sun-wukongs-golden-fillet/
The first leg of the journey is marked by Wukong defecting from Tripitaka and being persuaded back to his side by Guan Yin. It’s a common motif that will repeat itself in later chapters as the two are virtual opposites (the monkey is all about action, the monk is all about reflection).
The Monkey King being tricked with clothes into becoming obedient is also symbolic, as clothes are a civilizing force and a distinguishing factor between the human and the animal. That Monkey is given clothes by a divine force through a human monk hints at the spiritual component of clothing, and reminds us of how our own primal natures might be tamed by the clothes and guises society causes us to wear. But rather than view clothing as a purely constrictive element, the novel seems to suggest that its disciplinary properties are what help the wearer attain self-control and eventual enlightenment.
What do you think? Are clothes (and more specifically uniforms) a tool for mass oppression, or a means to self-understanding and control?
Let us know in the comments, and until next time…
Journey on!