Huangmei Dawang

Huangmei Dawang (Chinese: 黃眉大王; trans. "Yellow-Browed Great King") is an antagonist in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. In the novel, he appears as one of the more powerful opponents faced by Sun Wukong and the pilgrims.[1]

Unlike many demons in the novel, who are escaped animals or spirits, the Yellow-Browed Great King has a celestial origin. He is the yellow-browed pageboy who serves Maitreya. After becoming bored with his heavenly duties, he steals two of his master's magical treasures and escapes to the mortal world.[2]

Journey to the West

In Journey to the West, Tang Sanzang and his disciples find a temple that looks like Thunder Monastery on Vulture Peak, the home of the Buddha. Tang Sanzang wants to enter and pay his respects, although Sun Wukong is suspicious. After they enter, the temple is revealed to be a magical trap created by the Yellow-Browed Great King, who captures Tang Sanzang and the other disciples.[3]

Sun Wukong escapes and fights the demon. The Yellow-Browed Great King uses two magical items stolen from Maitreya: the Golden Cymbals (Chinese: 金铙; pinyin: jīn náo), which can trap opponents inside them, and the Human-Race Pouch (Chinese: 人种袋; pinyin: rénzhǒng dài), a bag that can capture gods, immortals, and heroes. Sun Wukong is trapped inside the Golden Cymbals, but Kang Jinlong (Chinese: 亢金龙; pinyin: Kàng Jīnlóng; lit. 'Neck Golden Dragon') frees him by prying them open with his horn. Sun Wukong then asks many celestial allies for help, including the Twenty-Eight Mansions, the Five Great Dragon Kings, and heavenly generals, but the demon captures them with the Human-Race Pouch.[3]

With guidance from the heavenly official Gongcao Shizhe, Sun Wukong asks Guoshiwang Bodhisattva (國師王菩薩) for help. The bodhisattva sends Little Crown Prince Zhang (小張太子) and the Four Great Divine Generals. They fight the Yellow-Browed Great King, but neither side wins. The demon then uses the Human-Race Pouch to capture Little Crown Prince Zhang and the Four Great Divine Generals, forcing Sun Wukong to escape again.[4]

After failing to defeat the demon, Sun Wukong is told to find the demon's true master. He goes to Maitreya's paradise and explains what happened. Maitreya recognizes the demon as his escaped pageboy and agrees to help. Maitreya disguises himself as a melon farmer. Sun Wukong disguises himself as a melon, and tricks the demon into eating him. From inside the demon's stomach, Sun Wukong torments him until he gives up. The demon returns the stolen treasures and is taken back by Maitreya for punishment.[4]

Literary analysis and commentary

Qing dynasty Taoist Wuyizi said that "the Yellow-Browed Great King borrowed the all-encompassing 'cloth bag' that contained everything to collect the desires of all living beings, which was truly sorrowful. Fortunately, a single melon was enough to subdue it."[5]

Zhu Hongbo, a professor at the Chinese Department of East China Normal University, analyzes the Yellow-Browed Great King's role:[6]

The Yellow-Browed Demon as an unexpectedly formidable character. Despite his humble-sounding name, the Yellow-Browed Demon is one of the most persistent and troublesome foes encountered by Tang Sanzang and his disciples on their journey to the West. Unlike other demons who rely mostly on brute force to capture Tang Sanzang, the Yellow-Browed Demon cleverly sets up the Little Leiyin Temple as a trap, effectively using a "please enter the urn" tactic, demonstrating notable intelligence. However, his initial success is only part of the story. The Yellow-Browed Demon's great strength largely comes from two powerful magical weapons: the Golden Cymbals and a white cloth bag. Equipped with these, he is able to consistently gain the upper hand against Sun Wukong, causing him to become confused and desperate, rushing to call for help without first investigating the demon's true nature. In the end, it is Maitreya Buddha, the master of the Yellow-Browed Demon, who intervenes. Disguised as a melon farmer, Maitreya orchestrates a plan where Sun Wukong lures the demon deeper into the trap, allowing a coordinated inside-outside attack to finally subdue this formidable foe.

In Journey to the West, Huangmei Dawang's fake Small Thunder Monastery (小雷音寺) is often viewed as a criticism of blind faith and outward religious appearance. During this story arc, Tang Sanzang immediately bows before the grand architecture and glowing statues of the fake temple, ignoring Sun Wukong's warnings that the place carries a demonic aura. Researcher Liu Chiung-yun (劉瓊云) describes Tang Seng as "forever enslaved by phenomena" (恆常受表象奴役), interpreting the scene as a commentary on attachment to superficial forms (相). Tang Seng's mistake highlights the danger of trusting external religious appearances instead of genuine spiritual understanding. Huangmei Dawang's ability to imitate the Buddha also shows how evil can disguise itself as goodness.[7]

As a direct disciple of Maitreya, Huangmei Dawang blurs the line between the divine and the demonic. Using stolen heavenly treasures such as the golden cymbals and the human-seed bag (人种袋), he defeats the pilgrims and celestial generals with ease.[8] Literary historian Yang Yi interprets the story as a satire of Ming dynasty bureaucracy, arguing that the novel portrays the most dangerous threats as coming from figures connected to the highest heavenly powers. When Maitreya finally intervenes, Huangmei Dawang receives little punishment and is simply taken back to Heaven, which Yang sees as a criticism of feudal nepotism and corruption.[9]

In media

The Yellow-Browed Great King is featured in the video game Black Myth: Wukong, with the game expanding on his character. Presenting him with a unique philosophical motivation, in this interpretation, he seems driven by a cynical view of human and demon nature, believing that desire is an inescapable part of existence. He serves as the final boss of chapter 3 "White Snow, Ice Cold" and engages the protagonist, the "Destined One", in battle twice. the Yellow-Browed Great King managed to not only subdue Kang Jinlong into his service but also successfully slayed the Snake General by forcing the New West into an unexpected winter, causing both the snake and turtle generals to hibernate, recruited 4 disciples that were opposites to the companions of Tang Sanzang, which included Non-White (the opposite of Bai Longma), Non-Able (the opposite of Zhu Bajie), Non-Pure (the opposite of Sha Wujing), and Non-Void (the opposite of Sun Wukong), taking in a group of Heluo Fish due to them seemingly bowing towards him in reverence, and turning the Third Prince of Flowing Sand's 4 divine generals into twisted monstrosities.[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ 曽, 佑瑄; 王, 敏; 東, 龍男 (1989). 妖怪・黄眉大王をたいじする [Defeat the monster King Yellow Eyebrow]. 岩崎書店.
  2. ↑ 《西遊記》中的精怪與神仙研究 [A Study on the Spirits and Immortals in Journey to the West] (PDF). University of South China.
  3. 1 2 西遊記（附妖怪手冊） (in Chinese). 中華書局（香港）有限公司. 18 November 2024. ISBN 978-988-8862-76-4.
  4. 1 2 中文經典100句: 西遊記 (in Chinese). 商周出版. 11 September 2008. ISBN 978-986-6571-26-8.
  5. ↑ Dong Peiwen, editor-in-chief. The True Meaning of Journey to the West: Deciphering the Secrets of Taoism in Journey to the West (Part 1). Beijing. Religious Culture Publishing House. 2015.11. 188
  6. ↑ Zhu Hongbo, editor-in-chief, Interesting Stories about the Characters in Journey to the West, Shanghai, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2008.07, pp. 306-309
  7. ↑ Kao, Ya-Ning (2012). "聖教與戲言——論世本《西遊記》中意義的遊戲 [Sacred Teachings and Playful Words: The Play of Meaning in Journey to the West]" (PDF). Bulletin of the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, Academia Sinica (in Chinese). 36: 1–43. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  8. ↑ Wu, Cheng'en. "Chapter 66". Journey to the West. 佛祖道："他是我面前司磬的一個黃眉童兒... 我此來，專為這小雷音妖怪也")
  9. ↑ Yang, Yi (2008). "《西游记》：中国神话文化的大器晚成 [Journey to the West: The Late-Blooming Masterpiece of Chinese Mythological Culture]". Chinese Folklore Society (中国民俗学网) (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  10. ↑ "5 Black Myth: Wukong characters and their book analogues to help you better play the game". South China Morning Post. 3 September 2024.
  11. ↑ 《黑神話：悟空》攻略：主線劇情整理，天命人尋回大聖6根之旅、真結局懶人包. Yahoo News (in Chinese). 29 August 2024.
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