Desert Sand

Lore & Background

Sha Wujing was originally a Curtain-Lifting General in Heaven. His fall from grace happened when he broke a valuable Jade or Crystal vase or goblet during a Heavenly Peach Festival; some sources say he did this in a fit of rage, while other sources say it was an accident. He was punished by the Jade Emperor, who had him struck 800 times with a rod and exiled to earth, where he was reincarnated as a terrible man-eating monster. Each day, seven flying swords sent from Heaven would stab him in the chest and then return. He had to live in the river full-time to avoid the punishment. His appearance was grisly: he had a red beard and sometimes had blue skin, and he was partially bald. He carried a magic wooden staff (made from a species of evergreen tree that grew on the moon, with a solid-gold core and decorated with 'countless pearly-threads'), which is named Xiangyaobaozhang, created for him by Lu Ban. Like Sun Wukong's staff, it can grow, shrink, lengthen, and shorten at will. He wore a necklace of skulls from nine monks he had devoured. Later, Guanyin recruited him, granted him respite from his suffering, converted him to Buddhism, and gave him the Dharma name Sha Wujing. He was instructed to wait for a monk who would call for him. After a misunderstanding with Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, he became Tang Sanzang's third disciple. At the journey's end, Buddha transformed him into an arhat known as the Golden-bodied Arhat.

Reader's Guide

Sha Wujing is the third disciple. His swimming ability is useful. He always carried a small gourd which he could turn into a huge one to cross rivers. He is kind-hearted, obedient, loyal to his master, and serves as a 'straight man' character. He knows only 18 forms of transformation (one-quarter of the full 72 that Wukong knows, and one-half of Bajie's 36).

Did You Know?

• His Buddhist Dharma name 'Sha Wujing' means 'sand aware of purity'.
• In many Japanese versions, Sha Wujing is depicted as a Kappa.