We are accustomed to calling creatures other than humans demons, and the many monsters in "Journey to the West" are well known. At the same time, even the gods of the heavenly realm, there are many people whose original forms are rare and exotic beasts, for example, none of the twenty-eight constellations are human.
The protagonist of the book, the heavenly group, the four-person group of masters and apprentices, is no exception, except for Tang Seng, none of whom are human, Sun Wukong is the stone egg turned into the wind after the fairy stone is exploded, and he is one of the four monkeys in the mixed world. Zhu Bajie was originally Marshal Tianpeng, but was later condemned and reincarnated, and became a wild pig because of the wrong pig; Even the white dragon horse, who can only be a foot force and a senior brother who is in charge of the ** door, is clearly born - it is the little white dragon who is the son of the Dragon King of the West Sea. Only the sand monk, who seems to be honest and responsible, is a little mysterious and mysterious in comparison.
In fact, more than one person in the original book has mentioned Sha Wujing's ontology, including himself, who has also introduced himself. But it's okay not to say it, but the answer is even more vague after they say it, because the Bull Demon King, Wuchao Zen Master and Sha Seng Deity all say differently, which makes people have a headache.
Damn curiosity told me that I couldn't just be confused, so after careful research and analysis, I got an answer that was at least convincing to myself, and thus lifted the veil of mystery ...... Sand Monk
If I rob it openly, and I am slapped by him, I will fly 108,000 miles. When I was a youkai, I used to know pig spirits and sand flow spirits. ”
These words come from the oral statement of the Bull Demon King in the chapter of "Three Thieves Banana Fan", which is easy to understand according to the literal meaning, that is, Zhu Bajie is a pig essence, and Sha Seng is a sand flow essence. The intersection between the Bull Demon King and these two is somewhat surprising, it seems that the boss of the Seven Great Sages is really well-connected, you must know that Sun Wukong has never even heard of these two before.
How did this come about, this has to be seen and mentioned at the time: Sun Wukong borrowed a banana fan from his sister-in-law Rakshasa in order to extinguish the fire of the Flaming Mountain, but was fanned away, and later although he borrowed the wind bead, but the iron fan princess did not borrow it as soon as the gate was closed, which also gave the monkey a headache, so he transformed into the appearance of the Bull Demon King and deceived the banana fan.
The Rakshasa woman was ashamed and annoyed, and informed the Bull Demon King of the matter, although the Bull Demon King was angry in his heart, he did not dare to act rashly, because at this time, the banana fan had fallen into the hands of Wukong, which can be described as an easy type of offense and defense, and it was really a ...... of "Kou can go, I can also go".Sorry to digress, let's get serious. The power of the banana fan Lao Niu will definitely not be able to resist, so he has to find a way, and it was at this time that he mentioned the ontology of Bajie and Sha Monk. In this case, the Bull Demon King naturally has no need to lie, so in his cognition, the sand monk is the sand flow spirit.
It's easy to say, but it's not easy to understand, because throughout "Journey to the West", the ontology of monsters is either animals or plants, and a bottom-line principle is that they are all living creatures and are alive. The only thing that can be considered a dead thing is the mediocre but scheming Lady of the White Bones, this guy is a white bone or a zombie, but before he becomes a white bone or a zombie, he is also alive, and he is still a human, which is fundamentally different from the "sand flow".
But as we said just now, the Bull Demon King has no need to lie in front of his wife, so could it be that he has a wrong understanding of the original form of the sand monk? Personally, I think it's not impossible, because even if Lao Niu and Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng know each other, they definitely don't have a deep friendship, and even Lao Niu still has this memory, and the two may have forgotten it, otherwise the two brothers, especially Bajie's temperament, will not mention a word.
Since they are not familiar with it, it is unlikely that either Bajie or Sha Seng will show their original form in front of the Bull Demon King, let alone pull others to tell them what they are, even if they say, they have to say how beautiful they were in Heaven back then, so the sand flow essence in the mouth of the Bull Demon King is likely to be understood or heard by himself.
For example, when I saw Zhu Bajie, needless to say, I could see at a glance that this guy was a stupid big black boar. But the sand monk is more vague, and although his monster characteristics are obvious, it is impossible to see what exactly it is. Then it is likely that the Bull Demon King casually asked at the time or afterwards - "Hey, what did that toothed kid change?" "Ah, you say he's like a sand spirit. ”
There is another possibility, that is, Sha Seng did not have a name before apprenticing to Tang Seng, Lao Niu didn't know what to call him, because Sha Seng lived in the quicksand river, so in order to call it convenient, he casually gave him the name of "Shaliu Jing", after all, the Bull Demon King didn't care what the other party was, at most he asked casually or thought casually, it was impossible to analyze this thing without sleeping in the middle of the night like me, so he was not responsible for his words.
Reasonable analysis, at least I don't think it makes much sense that the sand monk is transformed by the sand flow. Tall and vicious, you say he is a monster, but this sand flow is awkward no matter how you look at it, and even if it weren't for the Bull Demon King, no one might associate the sand monk with the sand flow spirit at all. In fact, don't say it, this statement is not groundless, but has a source, long before the "Journey to the West" was written, there are many related stories circulating among the people, although Wu Chengen created this book has a lot of his own things, but also refers to a large number of Buddhist classics, folk tales and even historical events, and about Tang Sanzang and Shaliu, there is still a little bit of origin.
The story goes like this, when Tang Sanzang learned the scriptures and walked to the desert, because he had not entered the water for a long time, and was exposed to the sun, he fainted, and at this moment, a miracle appeared.
A golden-armored god shouted for Tang Seng to get up! At the same time, he pointed out where the water source was. Master Sanzang woke up suddenly, although he hadn't figured out whether the Golden Armor God was a dream or a reality, but with the belief that a dead horse would be a live horse doctor, he continued to get up and hurry, and soon found the water source.
Many friends who know this story think that this golden armor god is the prototype of the creation of the sand monk, because it is related to the desert, so there is a saying of "sand flow spirit" in "Journey to the West", and the river where he lives is also set by the author as the quicksand river.
But is that the final conclusion? No, because also in the original book, Zen Master Wuchao gave another answer......
The second person to mention the original form of the sand monk is the mysterious Wuchao Zen master, who originally said "The wild boar carries the burden, and the water monster meets in front". It is easy to understand that the wild boar is responsible for carrying the burden, that is, the main job of Zhu Bajie at that time was to be responsible for carrying the burden, and soon the master and apprentice encountered the quicksand river blocking the road, and then subdued the sand monk, and the "water monster encounter" was fulfilled. So according to Wuchao Zen Master, the original form of the sand monk is undoubtedly the water monster, which is the most recognized statement, after all, the sand monk comes from the river, and the water nature is also quite good, even if it is not analyzed, it looks more reliable than the "sand flow essence". At the same time, in terms of appearance, the sand monk is indeed very close to the water creatures such as black fish and catfish.
First of all, more than one monster in the book said that the sand monk had an "unlucky face" when talking about his appearance. What is a bad face? It is a bad luck that is not lost in the dark, and the face is ugly, and the most important feature is "mourning", as if someone has died in the family. This is also very consistent with some fish in the water, because unlike most mammals, fish cannot express emotions through expressions, so some fish look stupid and unlucky, completely emotionless, very close to the "bad face" of the sand monk.
Secondly, Tang Seng once expounded the appearance of Sha Seng from another direction - his mouth is like a blood basin, his eyes are flashing, and his teeth are lined with nails. To be honest, this appearance is too general, it belongs to a typical monster face, fierce beasts, fierce beasts can be described in this way, such as tigers, lions, bears, wild boars, etc., of course, including some fierce fish. Therefore, although the specific species of the sand monk cannot be locked here, the possibility that the sand monk is a water monster can not be ruled out.
Finally, there is also a relatively specific description of the appearance of the sand monk in the book - green is not green, black is not black, and the face is obscure; Long not long, short not short, barefoot and tendoned. The eyes flickered, like a double lamp at the bottom of the stove; The corners of the mouth are like the slaughterer's fire bowl. Fangs support the blade of the sword, and the red hair is unkempt and fluffy. A roar was like thunder, and the feet were rushing like the wind.
There are a lot of words, but they are still vague, and I still feel that many things can be described in this way, but there is one place here that is relatively obvious, that is, "the corner of the mouth". The so-called corner of the mouth undoubtedly refers to the whiskers on the side of the mouth, and the whiskers of mammals are closer to the hair, only the whiskers of fish are like a **, Yaya forks.
Therefore, combined with the prophecy of Zen Master Wuchao, the physiognomy of the sand monk, and the fact that he came out of the water, the possibility that this brain-bothering Sha Wujing is indeed a fish monster is indeed greater than that of the sand flow monster. Some people may say that Zhu Bajie plays more slippery, is he also a water monster. This is a bit of a pole, Bajie water battle is strong, but he usually does not live in the water, and Sha Seng lived underwater before apprenticeship with Tang Seng. So personally, I think that he is a fish monster or a water monster is very likely and more reliable.
After analyzing for a long time, many non-original parties may be confused, because in their eyes, Sha Seng should be the only one of the three brothers, and they didn't see that in the 83 version of "Journey to the West", only he and Tang Seng are individuals. This statement actually doesn't stand up to scrutiny at all, because the TV series that is regarded as a classic is very different from the original book in many places, except for the general trend, almost all the details have changed, and even the sixth version of Wukong, who thinks he is unparalleled in the world, is actually far from the original book. However, there are very few original parties of "Journey to the West", and most people's contact with "Journey to the West" started from this drama, so this kind of fake answer at a glance has the highest support rate.
In fact, in addition to the TV series, Monk Sha also described himself as a human being twice in the original book, and once he said it more vaguely:
Since he was a child, he has been vigorous, and he has wandered thousands of miles. Heroes are famous in the world, and heroes are in shape. All countries and Kyushu are at my disposal, and the five lakes and seas collide with me. It's all because of learning the way to wander the world, just to find a teacher and travel in the wilderness. ”
The other time was very blunt:
Lao Shayuan is an ordinary man, and he visits the Tao for fear of reincarnation. ”
It is unlikely that he himself will not be able or necessary to lie about this, so does it mean that the essence of the sand monk is the human race? No, no, because from these two self-reports, we can clearly see that at this time, the Sha Seng is not talking about Sha Wujing, but the former curtain general! To put it simply, it is a mortal who has a good talent and is not willing to fall into the six realms of reincarnation at the beginning, and after unremitting efforts, he visits the teacher to practice and finally becomes a god. This has nothing to do with the nature of the ogre king who was later demoted to the Netherworld.
With all of this in mind, we can make a bold but reasonable assumption:
Sha Wujing was originally a mortal, but he was talented, and geniuses were often unwilling to accept the status quo, so he went through many hardships, and finally got what he wanted, and became the "curtain general" of the heavenly court by chance.
However, due to the fact that he later broke the glass cup, the curtain general was demoted to the lower realm, and experienced the same reincarnation as Marshal Tianpeng, becoming a spirit of unknown fish, known as the "water monster". At the same time, because he lives in the sand flow of rivers all the year round, he is called "sand flow monster" by some unknown people.
This may be the final answer......