White-Clad Scholar

On the Black Wind Mountain of Chapter 17, a most extraordinary banquet is being prepared. Having come into possession of Tang Sanzang's brocaded cassock, the Black Bear Spirit is in high spirits. He has sent out invitations far and wide, summoning his circle of friends to a "Buddhist Robe Assembly"—ostensibly to admire a Buddhist treasure, but in truth, to flaunt his spoils of war. Among the invited guests is a "White-Clad Scholar," wearing a carefree head-cloth and a white cloth robe, holding a folding fan, and possessing every air of a man of letters. He is no scholar or gentleman, however, but a spirit cultivated from a white flower snake, calling himself "Lingxuzi." Together with another spirit, the Azure Wolf, he forms the core of the Black Bear Spirit's social circle. The collapse of this circle begins the very moment Wukong crashes the assembly.

The Black Bear Spirit's Social Circle: A Snake and a Wolf

The demonic ecology of Black Wind Mountain is not complex. The Black Bear Spirit is the overlord of the mountain, occupying the Black Wind Cave. Possessing formidable magical powers, he can trade dozens of blows with Sun Wukong without losing ground. The White-Clad Scholar and the Azure Wolf are his two "old friends"—the original text uses the word "friends," not "subordinates." This distinction is crucial: they are not the Black Bear Spirit's underlings, but fellow travelers who associate on equal footing.

Wu Cheng'en writes the relationship between these three demons with a distinct touch of worldly realism. At the end of Chapter 16, Wukong scouts Black Wind Mountain by night and sees from afar the three demons sitting together, drinking and chatting. The Azure Wolf suggests celebrating the Black Bear Spirit's birthday, but the Black Bear Spirit waves it away, instead introducing a more alluring topic: he has just acquired a brocaded cassock from the Guanyin Monastery and intends to hold a "Buddhist Robe Assembly" for everyone to admire. Upon hearing this, the White-Clad Scholar is full of praise, cheering repeatedly.

The scene is vividly rendered: three demons gathered under the moon, drinking and talking—discussing not slaughter and war, but the appreciation of treasures and social gatherings. Were it not for the fact that their true forms are a black bear, a white snake, and an azure wolf, this would be a perfect portrait of a scholarly gathering. Wu Cheng'en creates a subtle irony here—demons mimicking humans, playing the part convincingly, yet remaining demons at their core. The White-Clad Scholar's name, "Lingxuzi," is particularly telling: it is a name steeped in Daoist flavor, "Lingxu" implying a transcendence of the mundane and the mastery of the void. Yet, the one who claims this name is merely a snake spirit.

The relationship model of the three friends of Black Wind Mountain is quite rare in the demonic world of Journey to the West. Most demons are either solitary or exist in a hierarchy of master and servant—a great demon leading a pack of lackeys. Instances where demons address each other as "friends" and associate as equals, as the Black Bear Spirit does with the White-Clad Scholar and the Azure Wolf, are few and far between in the entire novel. Another similar example is the sworn brotherhood of the Seven Great Sages of the Bull Demon King, but that was a formal pact of higher standing. The three friends of Black Wind Mountain are more like neighbors—living on the same mountain, drinking and chatting when idle, and not interfering in each other's territories.

What role does the White-Clad Scholar play in this trio? Judging by his words and deeds, he is a sycophant. When the Black Bear Spirit proposes the assembly, he agrees instantly; when the Black Bear Spirit displays the cassock, he offers immediate flattery. He never proposes his own ideas, nor does he exhibit any independent judgment. This is not to say he lacks intellect—a demon capable of cultivating a human form, choosing the name Lingxuzi, and dressing as a scholar clearly possesses a fair amount of intelligence—but rather that his position in this relationship is inherently that of a "supporting actor." His magical power is far inferior to that of the Black Bear Spirit; on Black Wind Mountain, he exists by "borrowing light." With the Black Bear Spirit as a great sheltering tree, other demons dare not provoke him. Such dependency is common in the demon world, though here it is packaged in the dignified term "friend."

The Azure Wolf is similar to the White-Clad Scholar, acting as a dependent of Black Wind Mountain. However, his name is not as refined—he is simply a wolf, not even bothering to adopt a Daoist title. In contrast, the White-Clad Scholar has at least put effort into his "cultural packaging." This difference reflects two distinct paths of demonic cultivation: the Azure Wolf follows a crude path, refining nothing but brute strength; the White-Clad Scholar follows a "refined" path, cultivating not only a human form but also mimicking the mannerisms of human literati. Yet, whether refined or crude, the difference is negligible in the face of a truly powerful foe.

The Uninvited Guest at the Buddhist Robe Assembly

The Buddhist Robe Assembly was a storm stirred up by the Black Bear Spirit himself. Amidst the chaos of the fire at Guanyin Monastery, he stole Tang Sanzang's brocaded cassock—a treasure bestowed upon Tang Sanzang by Guanyin, inlaid with gold and jade and radiating a brilliant luster. Having obtained such a treasure, the Black Bear Spirit naturally wished to show it off, so he invited his peers and designated the event as the "Buddhist Robe Assembly."

In Chapter 17, Sun Wukong tracks the cassock to Black Wind Mountain. He first encounters a minor demon on the mountain path and, through questioning, learns of the assembly. Wukong transforms into a bee and flies to the Black Wind Cave, where he indeed sees the entrance adorned with lanterns and streamers in a festive atmosphere. The White-Clad Scholar and the Azure Wolf have already arrived—they are the first guests of the assembly.

Wukong does not mince words. He reveals his original form and charges in, wielding the Ruyi Jingu Bang. The Azure Wolf is slightly slow to react and is struck dead by a single blow—or rather, he cannot react in time because Wukong's strike is simply too fast. The White-Clad Scholar meets a similar fate: seeing Wukong kill the Azure Wolf, he turns to flee, but how could the escape speed of a snake spirit possibly outpace the Somersault Cloud? With one strike from Wukong, the White-Clad Scholar is killed instantly, revealing his true form—a white flower snake, lying dead on the ground.

The entire process is so swift it hardly feels like a battle. From the moment Wukong strikes to the death of the White-Clad Scholar, barely ten seconds pass. There is no dialogue, no challenging of the opponent, no exchange of blows—Wukong simply kills his way through. This stands in stark contrast to Wukong's attitude when dealing with the Black Bear Spirit: against the Black Bear Spirit, Wukong must fight for dozens of rounds and eventually seek the help of Guanyin; against the White-Clad Scholar, a single blow suffices.

The death of the White-Clad Scholar reveals a cruel truth: his "scholar" disguise is meaningless in the face of true violence. He may adopt an elegant Daoist name, wear a white cloth robe, and hold a folding fan to look like a man of letters, but none of this allows him to survive a second longer under the Ruyi Jingu Bang. His cultivation is too low—so low that he does not even have the chance to flee. The name "Lingxuzi" ultimately becomes a joke: one who "masters the void," yet he cannot even fly into the void.

In terms of narrative function, the deaths of the White-Clad Scholar and the Azure Wolf serve as a foil for the Black Bear Spirit. By having Wukong easily dispatch two minor demons, the reader is led to believe that Black Wind Mountain is nothing special; then, when he encounters the Black Bear Spirit and falls into a grueling struggle, this contrast creates a sense of tension. If Wukong had fought the Black Bear Spirit to a standstill from the start, the reader would not find the Black Bear Spirit particularly impressive—after all, there are plenty of formidable demons on the pilgrimage. But by letting Wukong one-shot two others first, only to hit a wall with the third, the threat of the Black Bear Spirit is immediately amplified. The White-Clad Scholar is a "supporting" character; his existence and death serve only to highlight others.

Snake Spirit or Wolf Spirit? A Textual Controversy

Regarding the true form of the White-Clad Scholar, there is a minor controversy in the original text. In Chapter 16, when Wukong eavesdrops on the three demons, the narrative describes the White-Clad Scholar as a white flower snake spirit; however, in some versions of the annotations and later derivative works, it is claimed that he is the Azure Wolf spirit, and the other is the snake. This confusion may stem from the fact that Wu Cheng'en's descriptions of these two minor characters between Chapters 16 and 17 are not particularly detailed—after all, they are merely transitional figures, and whether one is a snake or a wolf has no impact on the main plot.

However, looking at the image of the "White-Clad Scholar," the snake spirit explanation is more plausible. In traditional Chinese culture, snakes have a deep association with the color "white"—the most famous being Bai Suzhen of The Legend of the White Snake, a white snake that cultivated into a breathtaking beauty. Although the White-Clad Scholar is a male figure, the "white clothing" setting aligns perfectly with the traditional imagery of snake spirits. Furthermore, snakes possess the characteristic of "shedding skin," symbolizing change and disguise—the White-Clad Scholar's act of packaging himself as a man of letters echoes the imagery of a snake shedding its skin to don a new face.

The wolf spirit is better suited to the word "Azure"—the azure wolf is a common image in ancient Chinese literature, implying coarseness, wildness, and a lack of refinement. If the Azure Wolf spirit were instead dressed in white and acting as a scholar, it would be a mismatch in terms of literary imagery.

Related Characters

• Black Bear Spirit — Overlord of Black Wind Mountain, friend of the White-Clad Scholar, and organizer of the Buddhist Robe Assembly; later recruited by Guanyin as a mountain-guarding deity.
• Sun Wukong — The protagonist who slew the White-Clad Scholar and the Azure Wolf Spirit while pursuing the recovery of the Brocaded Cassock.
• Guanyin — The one who ultimately subdued the Black Bear Spirit, indirectly bringing the story of the Three Friends of Black Wind Mountain to an end.
• Tang Sanzang — The original owner of the Brocaded Cassock; the theft of the cassock was the catalyst for the Buddhist Robe Assembly.
• Golden Pool Elder — Abbot of Guanyin Monastery, who set fire to the temple out of greed for the cassock, allowing the Black Bear Spirit to steal it amidst the chaos.