In this article, let's talk about Huaguo Mountain.
There is a country overseas called Aolai Country. The country is close to the sea, and there is a mountain in the sea called Huaguo Mountain.
Interpreting the "Golden Elixir" in Journey to the West, scholars of the Alchemical School believe that the East belongs to wood, and flowers and fruits grow on wood. Wood can generate fire, and Sun Wukong is a monkey of the heart, which belongs to fire. Some people also believe that flowers belong to yin and fruits belong to yang. When they bloom and bear fruit, it is the "mysterious use of the vitality of a god". However, these interpretations are somewhat excessive, because more clues show that Huaguo Mountain is a setting inherited from previous works. In "The Story of the Journey to the West by the Tang Monk", the monkey escorting the Tang Monk is the Monkey King of Huaguo Mountain's Purple Cloud Cave with 84,000 copper-headed iron-forehead monkeys. In the Journey to the West drama from the late Yuan Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty, the hometown of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, is the Purple Cloud Cave in Huaguo Mountain. In the Journey to the West Pinghua from the same period as the drama, there is a line that says "There is Huaguo Mountain in the Western Regions, and there is a Water Curtain Cave at the foot of the mountain." The Huaguo Mountain in the drama and Pinghua is located in the Western Regions, and it is both the birthplace of Sun Wukong and the place where he was suppressed after causing trouble in the Heavenly Palace. Therefore, what should really be discussed is why the author changed the Huaguo Mountain in the Western Regions to a fairy mountain in the East China Sea. There are two possible reasons for setting Huaguo Mountain in the East China Sea. Firstly, it is proposed by scholars of the Alchemical School that the East belongs to wood, and wood generates fire. Fire symbolizes the heart monkey Sun Wukong. Secondly, the title of the book is Journey to the West, which actually includes two journeys to the west. In addition to the journey to obtain the scriptures, Sun Wukong's journey to seek immortality and enlightenment is the first journey to the west. Therefore, Huaguo Mountain is set in the East China Sea. In the Hundred-chapter Version, in addition to changing the location of Huaguo Mountain, Sun Wukong's background is also changed. In the Hundred-chapter Version, Sun Wukong is transformed from a fairy stone on the top of the mountain. > On top of that mountain, there is a fairy stone. The stone is three zhang six chi five cun high and has a circumference of two zhang four chi. Three zhang six chi five cun high corresponds to 365 degrees in the celestial sphere; the circumference of two zhang four chi corresponds to the 24 solar terms in the calendar. It has nine holes and eight openings, corresponding to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. In the other two versions, Sun Wukong has a different background. In the lost version of Journey to the West Pinghua, according to the remaining information, there is an old monkey spirit named Qitian Dasheng among the monkeys in Huaguo Mountain, and there is no mention of the setting of jumping out of the stone. In the Journey to the West drama, Sun Wukong has five siblings. In the Hundred-chapter Version, Sun Wukong is changed to a naturally born stone monkey, and this stone is extraordinary. The key point is "It has nine holes and eight openings, corresponding to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams." The annotation by Li Zhuowu, who claimed to be from the Ming Dynasty, mentions here: "This is the beginning of the heart, don't discuss the monkey." The human heart has exactly nine holes, four in the pulmonary veins, two in the pulmonary arteries, two in the venae cavae, and one in the aorta. The two pulmonary arteries are actually branches of one pulmonary artery, so the heart has eight holes. In the original work, it is not a monkey jumping out of the stone directly, but the stone cracks and an egg comes out, and when the egg encounters wind, it turns into a stone monkey. > One day, it cracked and produced a stone egg, which was about the size of a round ball. Because it saw the wind, it turned into a stone monkey with all five features and four limbs. This is impressive. The author did not explicitly state it, but it is obvious that Sun Wukong is born of heaven and earth. In ancient times, who could be called the son of heaven? Moreover, Sun Wukong is a monkey of the heart, born with a heart nurtured by heaven and earth. He is not just writing a novel, but also implying the ambition of "establishing a heart for heaven and earth" in his creation. > Learning to crawl and walk, bowing to the four directions. His eyes emitted two golden lights, shooting towards the celestial palace. It alarmed the compassionate and merciful Jade Emperor, the Supreme Heavenly Lord of the Xuanqiong High Heaven, who was seated in the Golden Palace, the Cloud Palace of the Lingxiao Precious Hall. The phrase "bowing to the four directions" should be like many animals, just born and unsteady on their feet, stumbling around. In folklore, this is called "bowing to the four directions". What is really impressive is that his two eyes emitted light, even alarming the Jade Emperor. > Seeing the wind, he turned into a stone monkey, bowing to the four directions, his eyes emitting golden light, shooting towards the celestial palace. Now he eats and drinks, and the golden light is about to disappear. The Thousand-Mile Eye and the Wind-Listening Ear came back and said that there was a stone monkey, and the golden light disappeared after eating. When a person is born, they cry loudly, but they gradually stop crying after eating. Here, after Sun Wukong was born, his gaze alarmed his heavenly father and earthly mother, which corresponds to the birth of a human being. Then in the original work, it is about Sun Wukong and the monkeys becoming one, and after making a bet, they discover the Water Curtain Cave. > Look at him closing his eyes and crouching down, then leaping into the waterfall spring, suddenly opening his eyes and looking up, there is no water or waves inside, but a clear bridge. He stopped and concentrated, looking carefully again, it turned out to be an iron bridge. The water under the bridge flows through the stone holes and flows out, blocking the bridge gate. But he bent down and went up to the bridge, walked again and looked, it seemed like a place where someone lived, truly a good place. Only see that: Green moss piles up blue, white clouds float like jade, shining with patches of smoke and clouds. The empty window is quiet, the smooth stool board blooms with flowers. Dragon pearls hang in the milk cave, winding and full of strange flowers on the ground. The stove is next to the cliff with traces of fire, and the jars and pots on the table are covered with food scraps. The stone seat and stone bed are really lovely, and the stone basin and stone bowl are even more praiseworthy. Also, there are two or three bamboo trees, five or six plum blossoms. Several green pines often bring rain, completely resembling a person's home. In the remaining "Journey to the West Pinghua", we can know that the Water Curtain Cave and the Iron Bridge are settings inherited from previous works. Later, it is mentioned that there are ready-made furniture inside, so why is that? When Sun Wukong discovered the Water Curtain Cave, it was not in an abandoned state, but in a used state with "traces of fire next to the stove and jars and pots on the table covered with food scraps". It seems that someone has been there all the time. Li Zhuowu, who claimed to be from the Ming Dynasty, made four annotations here when he discovered the Water Curtain Cave. The first one is when the monkeys made a bet "Whoever has the ability to go in and find the source", and the annotation afterwards says "In this world, who has the ability to go in and find the source? It's a pity! It's a pity!" The second one is in "Huaguo Mountain, the Water Curtain Cave", and the annotation afterwards says "Everyone has this cave, but unfortunately they haven't seen it." The third one is in "On the other side of the bridge is a house built by heaven and earth", and the annotation says "Who doesn't have a house, just can't enjoy it." The fourth one is in "Let's all go in and live there, so as not to be affected by the anger of heaven." The annotation says "So as not to be affected by the anger of heaven, who can say such words?" In summary, the Water Curtain Cave is actually a metaphor for a peaceful place deep in the human heart. Here, you can do whatever you want. Everything is available here, created by heaven and earth, as if it was specially created for you by heaven. When you encounter setbacks and bad luck, you will think of this place. When you think of this place, you will find temporary peace in your heart. Sun Wukong spent three to five hundred years of happy time in the Water Curtain Cave, but the human heart grows. After three to five hundred years, Sun Wukong felt sadness for the first time. > The Monkey King enjoyed innocence and happiness for three to five hundred years. One day, during a feast with the monkeys, he suddenly felt sad and shed tears. Why did Sun Wukong suddenly feel sad? Because for the first time, he sensed something fearful: death. In the book, through the mouth of the "Communicating Back Monkey", it is said that Sun Wukong's "Dao Heart" was awakened. > Suddenly, a communicating back monkey jumped out from among the group of monkeys and shouted loudly, "If the Great King has such far-sightedness, it is truly the awakening of the Dao Heart! Among the five insects in the world, only three have names and forms, and they do not submit to the control of the King of Hell." The so-called "Dao Heart" is a concept in Confucianism, corresponding to the "Human Heart". The Human Heart is the original desire of human beings, while the Dao Heart is the moral reason of human beings. The awakening of the Dao Heart means that from this moment on, the Human Heart begins to sprout the idea of upward pursuit. Thinking back to the poem at the beginning of the original work, "To know the origin of creation, one must read Journey to the West to understand the story of the release of suffering." In Journey to the West, when Sun Wukong felt sad about death, the first "suffering" began, "releasing suffering". How to free oneself from the spiritual suffering? Let's talk about it next time.