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{{Short description|Chinese character in Journey to the West}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox Chinese
 | pic      = Xyj-shaseng.jpg
 | picsize  = 250px
 | piccap   = Sha Wujing in ''Xiyou yuanzhi'' ({{lang|zh-Hant|西遊原旨}}), published 1819.
 | t        = {{Linktext|沙|悟|淨}}
 | s        = {{Linktext|沙|悟|净}}
 | p        = Shā Wùjìng
 | w        = Sha<sup>1</sup> Wu<sup>4</sup>-ching<sup>4</sup>
 | mi       = {{IPAc-cmn|sh|a|1|-|wu|4|.|j|ing|4}}
 | j        = Saa<sup>1</sup> Ng<sup>6</sup>-zing<sup>6</sup>
 | y        = Sāa Nghjihng
 | ci       = {{IPAc-yue|s|aa|1|-|ng|6|.|z|ing|6}}
 | lmz      = So<sup>1</sup> Ngu<sup>3</sup>-zin<sup>3</sup>
 | gan      = Sa Ng Chhìn
 | kyujitai = {{Linktext|沙|悟|凈}}
 | shinjitai = {{Linktext|沙|悟|浄}}
 | hiragana = さ ごじょう
 | romaji   = Sa Gojō
 | hangul   = 사오정
 | rr       = Sa Ojeong
 | khm      = សា អ៊ូជីង
 | tha      = ซัวเจ๋ง
 | rtgs     = Sua Cheng{{efn|From a Teochew pronunciation of  {{zhi|c=沙僧}} "Monk Sha"}}
 | qn      = Sa Tăng ("Monk Sha"), Sa Ngộ Tĩnh or Sa Ngộ Tịnh
 | chuhan       = 沙僧, 沙悟淨
 | poj      = Sa Gō͘-chēng
}}

'''Sha Wujing''' ({{lang-zh|t=沙悟淨}}) is one of the three disciples of the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] pilgrim [[Tang Sanzang]] in the 16th-century novel ''[[Journey to the West]]'' written by [[Wu Cheng'en]] in the [[Ming dynasty]], although versions of his character predate the Ming novel. In the source novel, his background is the least developed of the pilgrims, and he contributes the least to their efforts. In the original Chinese story, he is a man-eating monster. In many Japanese versions, Sha Wujing is depicted as a [[Kappa (folklore)|Kappa]].

==Names==
His Buddhist [[Dharma name]], "Sha Wujing", given to him by the [[bodhisattva]] [[Guanyin]], means "[[sand]] [[satori|aware of]] purity". His name is rendered in [[Korean language|Korean]] as ''Sa Oh Jeong'', into [[Japanese language|Japanese]] as ''Sa Gojō'', into [[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Sino-Vietnamese]] as ''Sa Ngộ Tịnh''.

He is also known as "'''Monk Sha'''" ({{lang-zh|p=Shā Sēng|c=沙僧}}; Sa Tăng in [[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Sino-Vietnamese]]; ''Sua Cheng'' in [[Thai language|Thai]]) or '''Sha Heshang''' ({{lang|zh|沙[[wiktionary:和尚|和尚]]}} colloquial Chinese), both basically translating as "Sand Monk" or "Sand Priest".

==Overview==
Like [[Zhu Bajie]], Wujing was originally a [[general]] in [[Heaven]], more specifically a Curtain-Lifting General ({{zhi|c=卷帘大将|p=juǎnlián dàjiàng}}). His [[Fall from grace (disambiguation)|fall from grace]] happens when he broke a valuable [[Jade]] or [[Crystal]] [[vase]] or [[goblet]], during a Heavenly Peach Festival; some sources say that he had done this in a fit of rage while other sources say that he had done this unintentionally, and it was an accident.  Either way, he was punished by the [[Jade Emperor]], who had him struck 800 times with a rod and exiled to earth,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Wu Cheng'en |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ca-UDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT907 |title=Li Zhuowu Criticism of the Journey to the West |author2=Li Zhuowu |date=1 June 2006 |publisher=Yuelu Publishing House |isbn=978-7-80665-728-7 |pages=907–}}</ref> where he was to be [[Reincarnation|reincarnated]] as a terrible man-eating [[monster]]. There, he lived in the {{zhp|p=Liúshā-hé|c=流沙河|tr=flowing-[[sand]] [[river]]", or "[[quicksand]]-river}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-06-07 |title=Why did Sha Wujing wear a necklace with nine skulls? |url=https://www.chinatimes.com/hottopic/20150607001613-260809?chdtv |accessdate= |publisher=[[China Times]]}}</ref> The Japanese version depicts him as a [[Kappa (folklore)|Kappa]]. 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.

[[File:Sha Wujing in Beijing opera.JPG|thumb|left|Character as portrayed in [[Peking opera]]]]
Wujing's appearance was grisly. He had a red beard and sometimes had blue skin, and he was partially bald. He was sometimes much bigger and stronger than an average human being. He still carried the weapon he had in Heaven, a magic wooden staff (made from a species of evergreen tree that grew on the moon, holds within it a solid-gold core and the outside is decorated with "countless pearly-threads"), which is named {{zhp|p=Xiangyaobaozhang|c=降妖寶杖|l=Monster-subduing Precious Rod}}, created for him by [[Lu Ban]] (often depicted in artwork as a [[Monk's spade]]).  Like Sun Wukong's [[Ruyi Jingu Bang]], Wujing's ''Xiangyaobaozhang'' is capable of growing, shrinking, lengthening and shortening at will.  A necklace consisting of skulls made him look even more terrible; according to one story, an earlier group of nine monks on a pilgrimage west to fetch the scriptures met their end at the hands of Wujing. Heedless of their pleas for mercy, he devoured them, sucked the marrow from their bones, and threw their skulls into the river. Unlike his other victims, whose bone sank to the river bottom, these skulls of the nine monks floated. This fascinated and delighted Wujing, who strung them on a rope and played with them when he was bored.
[[File:Sha Wujing (沙悟淨).jpg|alt=Sha Wujing Lantern Display|thumb|Sha Wujing lantern display during a Mid-Autumn Festival Event in Singapore.]]
Later, Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion, and her disciple, Prince [[Muzha (mythology)|Moksha]], came searching for powerful bodyguards in preparation of [[Tang Sanzang]]'s journey west. She recruited Wujing, in exchange for which, she granted some respite from his suffering. She then converted him to Buddhism and gave him his Dharma name, {{zhp|p=Shā Wùjìng|c=沙悟淨}}; his surname ''Shā'' ("Sand") was taken from his river home, while his given name ''Wùjìng'' means "Awakened-to/Aware-of Purity". Finally, he was instructed to wait for a monk who would call for him. When Wujing does meet Tang Sanzang, he is mistaken for an enemy and attacked by [[Sun Wukong]] and [[Zhu Bajie]]. Guanyin is forced to intervene for the sake of the journey.

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Wujing became the third [[Śrāvaka|disciple]] of Tang Sanzang,<ref name="Cheng Fan 2011">{{cite book |author=Cheng Fan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wy16DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |title=Four Masterpieces of Chinese Classical Literature: Children's Edition |date=1 January 2011 |publisher=Jilin Publishing Group Co., Ltd. |isbn=978-7-5463-4555-0 |pages=10–}}</ref> who called him {{zhi|p=Shā-héshàng|c=沙和尚|tr=sand priest}}.<ref>a {{Transliteration|zh|héshàng}} is a Buddhist monk or priest in charge of a temple; in Japanese, {{Transliteration|ja|oshō}}</ref> Now, he was clad in a Buddhist [[pilgrim]]'s robe. During the Journey to the West, his swimming ability was useful. He always carried a small gourd which he could turn into a huge one, in order to cross rivers. Wujing was a kind-hearted and obedient person and loyal to his master, and, compared to his fellow disciples, Wujing serves as a '[[Straight man]]' character. Amongst the trio, he was likely the most polite and the most logical. Some adaptations portray him as also being bookish and philosophical.  At the journey's end, Buddha transformed him into an [[arhat]] known as the ''Golden-bodied Arhat'' ({{zhi|p=Jīnshēn luóhàn|c=金身羅漢}}).

As the third disciple, even though his fighting skills are not as great as that of Wukong or Bajie, he is still a great warrior protecting Tang Sanzang and can use his intellect as well as his strength to beat the enemy. He knows only 18 forms of transformation (one-quarter of the full 72 that Wukong knows, and one-half of Bajie's 36) and, in the middle of the story, admits as much.

==Historical origins==
Sha Wujing is the end result of embellishing a supernatural figure mentioned in Monk Hui Li's ({{zhi|c=慧立}}) 7th-century account of the historical [[Xuanzang]] called {{zhp|p=Daciensi Sanzang Fashi Zhuan |c=大慈恩寺三藏法師傳|tr=A Biography of the Tripitaka-master of the Great Ci'en Monastery}}. According to the text, Xuanzang spilled his surplus of water while in the deserts near [[Dunhuang]]. After several days without liquid, Xuanzang had a dream where a tall spirit wielding a [[ji (polearm)|''ji'']] (halberd) chastised him for sleeping on such an important journey to get scriptures from India. He immediately woke up and got on his horse, which took off in a different direction than what he wanted to go. They finally came to an oasis with green grass and fresh water.<ref>Dudbridge, Glen. ''The Hsi-Yu Chi: A Study of Antecedents to the Sixteenth-Century Chinese Novel''. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1970, pp. 18–19</ref>

The {{zhp|p=Tang Sanzang ji|c=唐三藏记|tr=Record of the Tang Monk Tripitaka}}, a book of unknown date appearing in an 11th-century Japanese collection of tales known as {{Transliteration|ja|Jōbodai shū}} ({{lang|ja|成菩堤集}}), states Xuanzang (Tang Sanzang) was magically provided food and drink by a [[Deva (Buddhism)|Deva]] while in the {{zhi|tr=Flowing Sands|p=liusha|c=流沙|out=tr}} desert.<ref>The original source says "Moving sands," but here the wording is changed to conform with that commonly used in English translations of the tale. {{zhi|tr=Moving Sands|p=liusha|c=流沙|out=tr}} was a common term for the desert area of the northwestern territories of China (Dudbridge, p. 19 n. 3).</ref>  The compiler of the {{Transliteration|ja|Jōbodai shū}} explained: "This is the reason for the name Spirit of the Deep Sands ({{zhi|p=Shensha shen|c=深沙神}})."<ref>Dudbridge, p. 19</ref> After performing a pilgrimage to China in 838–839, the Japanese Buddhist monk {{Transliteration|ja|Jōgyō}} ({{lang|ja|常晓}}) wrote a report which mentions Xuanzang's fabled exchange with the deity, as well as equates ''Shensha shen'' with King [[Vaiśravaṇa]], one of the [[Four Heavenly Kings]] of Buddhism.<ref>Dudbridge, pp. 19–20</ref> Therefore, the ''Tang Sanzang ji'' most likely hails from the Tang Dynasty (618–907). The ''Jōbodai shū'' also mentions the god manifested itself before the famous Chinese Buddhist monk [[Faxian]] (c. 4th century) during his pilgrimage to India. ''Shensha shen'' tells him: "I am manifested in an aspect of fury. My head is like a crimson bowl. My two hands are like the nets of heaven and earth. From my neck hang the heads of seven demons. About my limbs are eight serpents, and two demon heads seem to engulf my (nether-) limbs…"<ref name=dud>Dudbridge, p. 20</ref>

[[File: Journey to the West Gods.jpg|thumb|The golden statues at the Rua Yai City Pillar Shrine in [[Suphan Buri]], [[Thailand]]]]
By the compiling of the "''Kōzanji'' version" ({{lang|zh|高山记}}, 13th century), the earliest known edition of ''Journey to the West,'' ''Shensha shen'' was transformed into a blood thirsty demon who had continuously eaten Tang Sanzang's past reincarnations. The demon tells him: "Slung here from my neck are the dry bones from when I twice before devoured you, monk!"<ref name=dud/> ''Shensha Shen'' only helps him to pass over the deep sands with the aid of a magic golden bridge after Tang Sanzang threatens him with heavenly retribution.<ref>Dudbridge, pp. 20–21</ref>

As can be seen, the complete version of ''Journey to the West'' anonymously published in 1592 borrowed liberally from tales concerning ''Shensha shen''. The character of Sha Wujing was given his monstrous appearance and dress. The skulls of the nine Buddhist monks hanging from his head recalls both the demon skulls worn by the spirit, and the skulls of Tang Sanzang's past incarnations worn by his wrathful counterpart from the ''Kōzanji'' version. His home of the {{zhi||out=tr|tr=Flowing Sands River|p=Liusha he|c=流沙河}}  is derived from the "Flowing Sands" desert inhabited by ''Shensha shen''. Sha Wujing also aids Tang Sanzang pass over the Flowing Sands River by tying his nine skulls into a makeshift raft.<ref>Yu, Anthony C. ''The Journey to the West'' (Vol. 1). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980, pp. 440–441.</ref>
==See also==
[[File:Cartoons on Streets of Lianyungang 2.jpg|thumb|Cartoons of Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing on the streets of [[Lianyungang]]]]
* [[List of media adaptations of Journey to the West|List of media adaptations of ''Journey to the West'']]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
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{{Commons category|Sha Wujing}}
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[[Category:Journey to the West characters]]
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