In Journey to the West, there are 132 major demons alongside countless minor ones. These major demons are distributed across the four continents as follows:
- 73 in Purvavideha (Dongsheng Shenzhou), the Eastern Continent,
- 54 in Aparagodaniya (Xiniu Hezhou), the Western Continent,
- 1 in Uttara-kuru (Beiju Luzhou), the Northern Continent,
- 4 in Jambudvipa (Nanzhan Buzhou), the Southern Continent.
Notably, Tathagata Buddha’s claim that Aparagodaniya (the Western Continent) is a land of purity and virtue is sharply contradicted by the novel’s depiction.
Those of our West Aparagodaniya are neither covetous nor prone to kill; the control their humor and tamper their spirit. There is, to be sure, no illuminate of the first order, but everyone is certain to attain longevity.
— Journey to the West, Chapter 8
The Realm Overrun by Demons
If we disregard the distinction between major and minor demons, the Lion Camel Ridge (Shituo Ling or Lion Camel State) stands out as the most demon-infested hellscape in the story. This nightmarish realm is ruled by three demon kings—the Lion King, the Elephant King, and the Roc King—whose tyranny turns the land into a literal “sea of blood and mountain of bones.” The horror is so overwhelming that even Sun Wukong, famed for his bravery, is momentarily terrified. The original text vividly captures this:
We were telling you about that Great Sage Sun, who walked inside the cave to look left and right. He saw:
A mound of skeletons,
A forest of dead bones;
Human hair packed together as blankets,
And human flesh trodden as dirt and dust;
Human tendons knotted on the trees
Were dried, parched, and shiny like silver.
In truth there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood;
Indeed the putrid stench was terrible!
The little fiends on the east
Gouged out flesh from living persons;
The brazen demons on the west
Boiled and cooked fresh human meat.
Only Handsome Monkey King had such heroic gall;
No other mortal would dare enter this door.— Journey to the West, Chapter 75
Irony and Symbolism
The concentration of demons in the West—despite Buddha’s praise for Aparagodaniya—highlights the novel’s recurring theme – the irony of hypocrisy. The Lion Camel Ridge episode, in particular, underscores the fragility of cosmic order and the pervasiveness of corruption, even in lands supposedly under divine protection.
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