Heifeng Guai

Heifeng Guai (Chinese: 黑風怪), also translated as the Black Wind Demon, is a character from the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. He is a demon based in a cave on Black Wind Mountain (黑風山). His true form is a black bear but he appears as a dark-complexioned man armed with a Black Tassel Spear. He steals Tang Sanzang's cassock during a fire. Sun Wukong goes to confront him later to take back the cassock but fails so he seeks help from Guanyin. The Black Wind Demon eventually surrenders to Guanyin after she uses one of the artifacts that the Buddha gave her (similar to the ring on Sun Wukong's head), and becomes the mountain's guardian deity.[1][2][3][4]

Heifeng Guai surrenders to Guanyin

Journey to the West

During their journey to obtain the scriptures, Tang Sanzang and his disciple encountered the Guanyin Temple. However, they were targeted by Elder Jinchi, a greedy and foolish monk, who set fire to the temple in an attempt to harm them. The Black Bear Spirit went to extinguish the fire but took the opportunity to steal the precious Kasaya robe bestowed upon Tang Sanzang by the Buddha. Sun Wukong engaged in multiple battles with the Black Bear Spirit but failed to retrieve the robe, so he sought help from Guanyin Bodhisattva in the South Sea.[5]

Guanyin Bodhisattva transformed into Lingxu, a close friend who was supposed to celebrate the Black Bear Spirit's birthday, and presented an elixir as a gift. The Black Bear Spirit swallowed the elixir, disguised as Sun Wukong, but suffered great pain and revealed its true form. Guanyin Bodhisattva retrieved the Buddha's robe for Tang Sanzang and used the Golden Cincture to bind the Black Bear Spirit, compelling it to convert to Buddhism and become a guardian deity of Mount Laojia in the South Sea.[5]

References
  1. Wu Cheng-en: Journey to the West, chapter 23.
  2. 鸭绿江的传说 (in Chinese). 中国民间文艺出版社. 1984.
  3. 民間故事 (1989). 遼寧民間故事集(二) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 遠流出版. ISBN 978-957-32-0069-7.
  4. Meeting, Association for Asian Studies (1 January 1990). Violence in China: Essays in Culture and Counterculture. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0113-2.
  5. 育光 (1984). 七彩神火: 满族民间传说故事 (in Chinese). 吉林人民出版社.


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