This week sees the emperor, Tang Taizong, attempt to keep good on all the promises he made while in the underworld. Like the farming couple who stockpiled rooms full of goods in the afterlife because they burned every penny ever made in their current life. Quick digression: the practice of burning paper representations of stuff in the hopes that the dead will get them in the afterlife is still alive and strong throughout Asia. People today burn everything from paper money to paper jewels, mansions, iPhones (gotta make grandpa has the newest one every year) and even paper Mercedes… As with all forms of religious devotion, it can sometimes go a little overboard, but it beats the original practice of burning real stuff in sacrifice! Okay, digression over.
But what happens if the kindly couple refuses to take your payment? You build a giant temple in their honor and use it to educate the masses on how to attain enlightenment with a grand mass of course!
And so, through a rather long series of unfortunate and fortunate events, Guanyin finds the perfect moment to reveal herself to the emperor and task the kingdom with producing a monk worthy of undertaking the Journey to the West. What’s also interesting is how she gets an audience with the emperor and a chance to challenge Xuanzang, the fabled Tripitaka who will lead the great quest. She comes with treasures which she will sell for an astronomical fee unless the recipient is truly worthy–then she will part with it for nothing. It’s the ‘game recognize game’ test reserved for the forces of good, and because we have a court full of good people, she’s allowed to enter the grand mass (despite her and her disciple taking on the guises of sore-covered monks).
So what kind of treasures did she bring? A magical staff and a cassock. Like Wukong’s staff, Xuanzang’s has become so iconic that you can tell a statue is of the great priest just by its presence.
But what is a cassock? It’s a priestly robe that, in Xuanzang’s case, resembles a large red cape with a gold brick pattern on it. At least, that’s how it’s usually depicted:
And there you have it. The next time you’re looking at a statue of a monk and are unsure who the heck it is, just look for the signature staff and gold cassock for a surefire clue. Until next time…
Journey on!