The Nine-Headed Insect, also known as the Nine-Headed Bird or Nine-Headed Avian, is a mythical creature in Chinese legends and serves as the original inspiration for the Nine-Headed Insect featured in the mythological novel Journey to the West.
This creature is documented in ancient texts such as the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu). In Chu culture, it was revered as a totem, though in later folklore, it became feared as an ominous harbinger of misfortune.
The most defining trait of the Nine-Headed Bird is, as its name suggests, its nine heads. Legends recount that one of its heads was bitten off by the Celestial Dog, causing the creature to bleed endlessly.
In Journey to the West, this myth is echoed when Er Lang Shen’s Howling Celestial Hound tears off one of the heads of the Nine-Headed Insect during a climactic battle.
When that son-in-law saw that things were going badly, he rolled on the ground immediately and changed back into his original form. Spreading his wings, he soared into the air. Erlang took out his golden bow, affixed a silver pellet, and sent it hurtling toward the insect. The fiend quickly flapped his wings and darted down, wanting to bite Erlang. Just when another head popped out from the middle of his torso, however, the small hound of Erlang leaped into the air with a terrific bark and bit it clean off. In great pain, the fiend fled toward the north sea.
— Journey to the West, Chapter 63
Three thieves in Journey to the West
Interestingly, in Journey to the West, the Nine-Headed Insect, his wife, and his father-in-law all share a habit of stealing. The Nine-Headed Insect and his father-in-law stole the sacred relic from the top of the Golden Light Temple’s pagoda, while the Princess (his wife) stole the Lingzhi herb cultivated by the Queen Mother of the West.
Alongside his wife, the Princess of All Saints Old Dragon, and his father-in-law(the All Saints Old Dragon), the Nine-Headed Insect forms a thieving trio with a penchant for stealing divine treasures. Their crimes include:
- Stealing the Buddhist Relic from the summit of the Golden Light Pagoda, plunging the kingdom into chaos.
- The princess’s theft of the Lingzhi Herb, a mystical plant cultivated by the Queen Mother of the West.
This all came about because our All Saints Old Dragon once gave birth to a daughter by the name of Princess All Saints, who was blessed with the loveliest features and the most extraordinary talents. She took in a husband by the name of Nine-Heads, who also had vast magic powers. Year before last, he came here with the Dragon King and, exerting great divine strength, sent down a rainstorm of blood to have the treasure pagoda defiled. Then he stole the śarīra Buddhist treasure10 from the building. Thereafter the princess also went up to the great Heaven where she stole the nine-leaved agaric, which the Lady Queen Mother planted before the Hall of Divine Mists. The plant and the Buddhist treasure are both kept now at the bottom of the lagoon, lighting up the place with their golden beams and colored hues night and day.
— Journey to the West, Chapter 62
Their actions trigger a celestial investigation led by Sun Wukong, culminating in a fierce battle where the Nine-Headed Insect is ultimately defeated by the combined efforts of Sun Wukong, Er Lang Shen, and his loyal hound.
The Nine-Headed Insect’s portrayal in Journey to the West reflects traditional Chinese views of hybrid creatures as embodiments of chaos and moral corruption.
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