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09 Xuan Zang
high-definition creative commons posters depicting Xuan Zang from The Journey to the West, together with further information.
After scoring first in the imperial examinations, Ch’en O marries Wen-ch’iao but is murdered by a bandit who usurps his governorship. His pregnant wife saves their infant son by floating him downriver. Raised as the monk Xuan Zang, the boy learns his true identity at seventeen. He reunites his family, avenges his father with imperial troops, and Ch’en O’s soul is restored by a grateful dragon king.
This dramatic episode beautifully allegorizes core Buddhist tenets of karmic retribution and compassionate action. Ch’en O’s murder settles a past-life debt, while his merciful act of releasing a golden carp earns the Dragon King’s protection. Additionally, divine intervention by the Bodhisattva Kuan-yin secures the infant’s destiny. Ultimately, Xuan Zang’s return to monastic life illustrates that spiritual cultivation transcends both worldly Confucian success and ancestral vengeance.
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