In Chapter 9 of Journey to the West, significant space is devoted to a philosophical exchange between a fisherman named Zhang Shao and a woodcutter named Li Ding.
This dialogue mirrors the structure and themes of a classical Chinese text titled Dialogues between the Fisherman and the Woodcutter, attributed to Shao Yong, a Song Dynasty philosopher. Earlier in the novel, the prologue quotes Shao Yong’s cosmological treatise Huangji Jingshi(The Supreme Principles Governing the World), suggesting the author, Wu Cheng’en, intentionally incorporated Shao’s ideas to frame the narrative’s metaphysical underpinnings.
Cultural Symbolism of Fishermen and Woodcutters
In traditional Chinese culture, fishermen and woodcutters are revered as symbols of wisdom, humility, and reclusive spirituality. Figures like Zhuangzi and Qu Yuan praised fishermen, such as Jiang Ziya, Fan Li, and Yan Ziling, as embodiments of Daoist detachment, while woodcutters often represented hermits or immortals.
Journey to the West features five woodcutters across its episodes, reflecting the author’s fascination with their archetype.
The Legend of Wang Zhi and the Rotted Axe
The most famous allusion to a woodcutter in ancient China is undoubtedly the legend of ”观棋烂柯”, which translates to “watching the chess game until his axe handle rotted away”.
This Jin Dynasty story, alluded to in the novel, tells of a woodcutter named Wang Zhi who ventures deep into Mount Shishi. There, he encounters children playing weiqi (Chinese chess) and singing. One child gives him a date-like fruit that erases his hunger. When Wang finally leaves, he discovers his axe handle has rotted. When he returned to his village, everything had changed. None of his contemporaries remained since centuries have passed in the mortal world—a metaphor for the distortion of time in mystical realms.
The inclusion of this dialogue underscores Journey to the West’s role as both a fantastical adventure and a vessel for cultural philosophy.
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