Dust-Dispelling King

Among three brothers, there is always a youngest. Plotting scams under the shadow of King Bi-Han and fighting side-by-side with King Bi-Shu, King Bi-Chen was the least experienced and lowest-ranking of the three Rhinoceros Spirits of the Xuanying Cave on Azure Dragon Mountain. Yet, his end was far more vivid than that of his two elder brothers—he was captured by having his nose pierced. A rope was threaded through his nostrils, and he was led away just like a common ox used for plowing. For a demon who had once posed as a Buddha in the skies above Jinping Prefecture, the humiliation of this end far exceeded the simple act of being killed.

The Youngest of the Three Rhinoceroses: Division of Labor with Bi-Han and Bi-Shu

King Bi-Chen resided in the Xuanying Cave of Azure Dragon Mountain alongside King Bi-Han and King Bi-Shu. Taken together, their names—Bi-Han (Warding off Cold), Bi-Shu (Warding off Heat), and Bi-Chen (Warding off Dust)—completely encompass the three types of talismanic powers attributed to rhinoceros horns in traditional Chinese culture. The "dust" in Bi-Chen's name can be understood as the filth of the mortal world or the interference of mundane dust; thus, "warding off dust" means resisting the turbid qi of the world. Together, the three names serve as a complete instructional manual on the efficacy of rhinoceros horns.

In the scam at Jinping Prefecture, King Bi-Chen served as the third of the three fake Buddhas. Every year on the Lantern Festival, the three would ride the clouds to the skies above Jinping Prefecture, "manifesting" as Buddha statues to collect the butter and incense oil offered by the people. Within the brotherhood, King Bi-Chen's status was that of the "third-in-command"—major decisions were made by King Bi-Han, the brunt of the fighting was borne by King Bi-Shu, and King Bi-Chen largely followed the lead of his elder brothers.

However, being the "youngest" did not mean he was dispensable. The illusion would be incomplete without any one of the three statues—the concepts of the "Three Buddhas of the Three Ages" and the "Trikaya" (Three Bodies of Buddha) are deeply ingrained in Chinese Buddhism. The people of Jinping Prefecture would only find it doctrinally correct if they saw three statues floating in the sky; two would instead arouse suspicion. The presence of King Bi-Chen was a structural necessity for the scam to succeed.

In Chapter 91, after Sun Wukong saw through the ruse of the fake Buddhas, the three Rhinoceros Spirits retreated to the Xuanying Cave and captured Tang Sanzang. In the subsequent battle, King Bi-Chen fought shoulder-to-shoulder with his brothers against the combined assault of Wukong and the Four Wood Bird Stars.

Captured by the Nose: Another Bovine Demon Pierced

During the hunt in Chapter 92, the Four Wood Bird Stars reverted to their true forms to besiege the three Rhinoceros Spirits, while Prince Moang, son of the Dragon King, led the aquatic troops to block their retreat. Caught in a pincer attack, the three spirits were defeated. King Bi-Han was slain, King Bi-Shu was bitten to death, and King Bi-Chen was captured by having his nose pierced.

"Piercing the nose"—using a rope through a rhinoceros's nostrils to control it—is the basic method humans use to tame cattle, and it is the signature way of dealing with bovine demons in Journey to the West. The same technique appeared in Chapter 52 with the Single-Horn Rhinoceros King (Green Bull Spirit), where Taishang Laojun used the Diamond Jade Bracelet to pierce the Green Bull's nose and lead him back to the Tusita Palace by a rope.

These two "nose-piercing" scenes form a poignant contrast. After the Green Bull Spirit was pierced, Laojun led him back to heaven to continue serving as a mount—humiliating, yes, but at least he survived and had a home to return to. What of King Bi-Chen? No one came to claim him. He had no heavenly background and no original master. After the piercing, what awaited him was not a homecoming, but death, followed by having his horn sawn off and divided.

Both were bovine demons, and both were captured by the nose, yet their fates were worlds apart. The Green Bull Spirit had Taishang Laojun as a patron, so the piercing was a "leash to go home"; King Bi-Chen had no such patron, so the piercing was "the binding before the slaughter." This contrast reaffirms a cruel law that appears repeatedly in Journey to the West: a demon's end depends not on what it has done, but on who stands behind it. Demons with masters are "taken back"; demons without masters are "slaughtered and butchered."

King Bi-Chen's horn, along with those of his two brothers, was sawn off and presented to the Jade Emperor. A rhinoceros that had once played the part of a Buddha before thousands of people ended its existence as a gift for the highest authority in heaven. For the full story of the three Rhinoceros Spirits, see the entry for King Bi-Han.

Related Characters

• King Bi-Han — The eldest brother and leader of the three Rhinoceros Spirits; the mastermind behind the Jinping Prefecture scam.
• King Bi-Shu — The second brother; killed by the Four Wood Bird Stars.
• Sun Wukong — The primary antagonist; he exposed the fake Buddha scam and summoned the Four Wood Bird Stars to assist in the fight.
• The Four Wood Bird Stars — Jiao Wood Dragon, Dou Wood Xie, Kui Wood Wolf, and Jing Wood Han; they hunted and killed the three Rhinoceros Spirits.
• Prince Moang — Son of the West Sea Dragon King; he led the aquatic troops in the encirclement.
• Single-Horn Rhinoceros King — Also a bovine demon captured by the nose, but survived because he had Taishang Laojun as a patron—forming a sharp contrast to the fate of King Bi-Chen.