The scripture-seeking team arrives at the Gold-Dispensing Monastery(also translated as the Gold-Spreading Monastery) in the Kingdom of Sravasti, where they encounter Centipede Mountain(Hundred-Legs Mountain) and Rooster’s Crow Pass(Cock-Crow Pass).
“Our mountain here is named the Hundred-Legs Mountain;” replied the priest. “In previous years it had been quite safe. Recently, however, we don’t quite know what has taken place, but it may be that the seasonal cycles have produced a few centipede spirits, which have frequently injured people on the road. Though the wounds they inflict may not be lethal, they have certainly inhibited the travelers’ movement. Beneath our mountain is a pass by the name of Cock-Crow. People dare not walk through it until the cock has crowed. Because it’s getting late now, those merchants you saw don’t want to take an unnecessary risk. So they use our humble monastery for lodging, and they’ll leave after the cock has crowed.”
— Journey to the West, Chapter 93
This episode bears striking parallels to a historical legend involving Wu Zixu, a famed general and strategist of China’s Spring and Autumn Period, renowned for his loyalty and tragic quest for vengeance against the King of Chu.
Wu Zixu’s Legend and Its Echoes in Journey to the West
According to legend, while fleeing persecution by King Ping of Chu, Wu Zixu disguised himself as a commoner and was aided by a washerwoman by a riverside. Years later, after exacting revenge, Wu returned to honor the deceased benefactor by scattering gold grains into the river and sacrificing chickens on a nearby mountain, later named Chicken Mountain. The washerwoman was buried on Ant Mountain by the Xupu River, a site infested with centipedes and ants. To protect her remains, Wu released 500 chickens to devour the pests—a tale mirroring the Centipede Mountain and Rooster’s Crow Pass motifs in Journey to the West.
Real-World Parallels: Baohua Shan (Precious Flower Mountain)
In present-day Jurong City, Jiangsu Province (near Nanjing), there exists a mountain named Baohua Shan (Precious Flower Mountain)—the same name as the mountain in Sravasti Kingdom described in the novel. Notably, this real-world Baohua Shan is geographically close to sites associated with Wu Zixu’s legend.
Pilgrim said, “They told me that in your mountain here, the one named Hundred-Legs, there are centipedes that have become spirits recently and have harmed people during the night. The travelers and merchants have found that a great inconvenience. Since roosters are the natural foes of centipedes, I think you should select a thousand huge roosters and scatter them throughout the mountain so that these poisonous insects will be eliminated. You should change the name of this mountain also, and you should bestow a building decree to this monastery as a token of your gratitude for this monk’s care for the princess.”
Exceedingly pleased, the king immediately sent officials into the city to fetch the roosters. The name of the mountain was changed to Precious Flower. The Bureau of Labor was told to provide the necessary materials for the repair and renovation of the monastery, and its name was changed to the Royal Benefactor-of-Orphans Gold-Spreading Monastery of the Precious Flower Mountain.— Journey to the West, Chapter 95
Given that Wu Cheng’en, the author of Journey to the West, was deeply familiar with Jiangsu (likely born or long-resided there), scholars speculate he drew inspiration from local lore to craft this episode.
The Precious Flower Mountain episode exemplifies how Journey to the West weaves historical legends, regional geography, and moral allegory, a hallmark of novel’s syncretic narrative style.
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