Bull King
Description
The husband of Princess [Rakshasi](/rakshasi), the Bull King was one of many Yaoguai Kings that had sworn brotherhood with Wukong before their rebellion against the Celestial Court. After Wukong was defeated by Buddha of the West, Bull King returned home to find that his wife was pregnant after being forced to drink from the River of Child-Bearing as punishment for her husband's actions. Though he had a good relationship with [Red Boy](/red-boy) initially, when he learned of his true origins and the pain it caused his mother, Red Boy grew increasingly hostile and no longer treated the Bull King as his father.
Nonetheless, Wukong arrives later on to request for Princess Rakhasi's fan to help in the Tang Monk's journey west. Though Princess Rakhasi is willing to lend her fan, Red Boy flatly refuses. A dumbfounded Bull King is unable to pick a side as Red Boy impulsively challenges Wukong's group and is beaten, which results in Princess Rakhasi reneging on her earlier promise and being attacked while the Bull King's own mistress is killed. It is at this point of rock bottom that Wukong advises his sworn brother to find a good master to serve, as it is the only way out for wicked demons such as themselves.
Unable to control his anger for what happened to his wife and mistress, however, Bull King lashed out to the Heavenly Court and was violently subdued by Heavenly King Li, [Nezha](/nezha), and [Wukong](/sun-wukong). After being subdued and sent to the Celestial Court, Bull King follows Wukong's advise and converts to Buddhism. After a century of practice, Bull King was allowed to finally return home, where he led a much more peaceful and conservative life.
Despite this, the Celestial Court calls him to action once more to fight against Wukong, an act that he is compelled to aid. As Wukong's senses are being split and gifted by [Erlang Shen](/erlang-shen), the Bull King, for making the hardest decision to betray his brother, was given [Wukong's body](/grieved-body). Though on opposite sides, the Bull King rushed to his old friend as he laid dying, who lamented of the Bull King's poor luck, and warns him that he had also believed that the Celestial Court would've left him alone once he reached enlightenment, but his very presence had always been perceived as a threat.
Bull King returned home depressed and continuously mourned his old friend, becoming weak and sickly; a shell of his former self.
Background
Renowned as the mighty king, his life was far from plain,
His spirit spanned the three realms, his fame touched four domains.
Among the guais, a hero grand, wild and untamed,
The sudden arrival of dharma left his homeland forever changed.
With shadow as his companion, true enlightenment within him lay.
In days of yore, the Bull King converted to Buddhism and, within a century, completed his practice and returned to the Flaming Mountains.
Overjoyed, Rakshasi and Pingping loudly celebrated his return and hosted a grand banquet in his honor.
During the banquet, the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains asked, "My king, why did you return so hastily?"
The Bull King replied, "An old friend, with whom I had some misunderstandings in the past, helped me achieve a great merit. The Bodhisattva then pleaded with the Buddha on my behalf, granting me the grace to return. From now on, I will stay in the mountain and go nowhere else."
From that day on, the Bull King's temperament changed drastically. His former wild and unrestrained nature was no longer seen. He declined all invitations, ceased his travels, and instead stayed in Flaming Mountains, helping Rakshasi with household affairs and training the bull soldiers, living a very peaceful life.
Several decades later, Red Boy received instructions from the Bodhisattva and returned to Flaming Mountains to serve his parents. The family of four enjoyed a period of peace.
However, Rakshasi gradually noticed something unusual about the Bull King. He became increasingly thin, his face showing signs of aging, and he ate less, as if weighed down by heavy worries. More strangely, the Bull King sometimes transformed into his original form, retreating to the mountain peaks, retching.
The furry celestial maidens serving Rakshasi said, "The King might be suffering from a rare bovine illness."
The fox maidens serving Pingping said, "The King, aware of his past sins, might have learned an ascetic practice in Mount Lingshan and is now undergoing it."
The Keeper of Flaming Mountains said, "The King's mind is trapped in the past intertwines with his old friend, unable to break free. Those past events have become an invisible shackles, and from which, he never escape."
Journey to the West
The Bull King was the oldest and most senior of the seven demon kings that Wukong had assembled when he was about to stage his attack on the Jade Emperor's palace. After Wukong's subjugation by the Tathagata Buddha, Bull King would meet and marry [Princess Iron Fan](/rakshasi), and she would bear him a son, [Red Boy](/red-boy).
The Bull King is indirectly dragged in to a conflict with Wukong when he and his spouse become angry after Wukong's group attack Red Boy for capturing the Tang Monk. Bull King dueled Wukong for the first time evenly but cancelled the duel after a messenger informed him a party he wished to attend. Furthermore, Wukong caused his wife considerable pain by morphing into fly to get into her stomach, and morphed into the Bull King to trick her into giving her Bamboo Fan. In response, the Bull King transformed into [Zhu Bajie](/zhu-bajie) before stealing the fan back from Wukong.
When Wukong realizes this, he engages the Bull King in fierce combat, with Bajie later joining in as the Bull King proved stubborn. The long fight continued to drag on as even the Celestial Court noticed the events and sent Heavenly King Li, [Nezha](/nezha), and the celestial army to help the pair defeat the Bull King. Though Nezha successfully decapitated the Bull King multiple times, the Bull King's magic allowed him to regrow his head. In response, Nezha used one of his flaming wheels to tighten around one of the Bull King's horns to cause extreme amounts of pain, while Heavenly King Li used his demon-revealing mirror to prevent Bull King from transforming out of the situation. It was at this point that the Bull King finally surrendered, and he would be taken back to Buddha to await punishment.
Description
The husband of Princess [Rakshasi](/rakshasi), the Bull King was one of many Yaoguai Kings that had sworn brotherhood with Wukong before their rebellion against the Celestial Court. After Wukong was defeated by Buddha of the West, Bull King returned home to find that his wife was pregnant after being forced to drink from the River of Child-Bearing as punishment for her husband's actions. Though he had a good relationship with [Red Boy](/red-boy) initially, when he learned of his true origins and the pain it caused his mother, Red Boy grew increasingly hostile and no longer treated the Bull King as his father.
Nonetheless, Wukong arrives later on to request for Princess Rakhasi's fan to help in the Tang Monk's journey west. Though Princess Rakhasi is willing to lend her fan, Red Boy flatly refuses. A dumbfounded Bull King is unable to pick a side as Red Boy impulsively challenges Wukong's group and is beaten, which results in Princess Rakhasi reneging on her earlier promise and being attacked while the Bull King's own mistress is killed. It is at this point of rock bottom that Wukong advises his sworn brother to find a good master to serve, as it is the only way out for wicked demons such as themselves.
Unable to control his anger for what happened to his wife and mistress, however, Bull King lashed out to the Heavenly Court and was violently subdued by Heavenly King Li, [Nezha](/nezha), and [Wukong](/sun-wukong). After being subdued and sent to the Celestial Court, Bull King follows Wukong's advise and converts to Buddhism. After a century of practice, Bull King was allowed to finally return home, where he led a much more peaceful and conservative life.
Despite this, the Celestial Court calls him to action once more to fight against Wukong, an act that he is compelled to aid. As Wukong's senses are being split and gifted by [Erlang Shen](/erlang-shen), the Bull King, for making the hardest decision to betray his brother, was given [Wukong's body](/grieved-body). Though on opposite sides, the Bull King rushed to his old friend as he laid dying, who lamented of the Bull King's poor luck, and warns him that he had also believed that the Celestial Court would've left him alone once he reached enlightenment, but his very presence had always been perceived as a threat.
Bull King returned home depressed and continuously mourned his old friend, becoming weak and sickly; a shell of his former self.
Background
Renowned as the mighty king, his life was far from plain,
His spirit spanned the three realms, his fame touched four domains.
Among the guais, a hero grand, wild and untamed,
The sudden arrival of dharma left his homeland forever changed.
With shadow as his companion, true enlightenment within him lay.
In days of yore, the Bull King converted to Buddhism and, within a century, completed his practice and returned to the Flaming Mountains.
Overjoyed, Rakshasi and Pingping loudly celebrated his return and hosted a grand banquet in his honor.
During the banquet, the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains asked, "My king, why did you return so hastily?"
The Bull King replied, "An old friend, with whom I had some misunderstandings in the past, helped me achieve a great merit. The Bodhisattva then pleaded with the Buddha on my behalf, granting me the grace to return. From now on, I will stay in the mountain and go nowhere else."
From that day on, the Bull King's temperament changed drastically. His former wild and unrestrained nature was no longer seen. He declined all invitations, ceased his travels, and instead stayed in Flaming Mountains, helping Rakshasi with household affairs and training the bull soldiers, living a very peaceful life.
Several decades later, Red Boy received instructions from the Bodhisattva and returned to Flaming Mountains to serve his parents. The family of four enjoyed a period of peace.
However, Rakshasi gradually noticed something unusual about the Bull King. He became increasingly thin, his face showing signs of aging, and he ate less, as if weighed down by heavy worries. More strangely, the Bull King sometimes transformed into his original form, retreating to the mountain peaks, retching.
The furry celestial maidens serving Rakshasi said, "The King might be suffering from a rare bovine illness."
The fox maidens serving Pingping said, "The King, aware of his past sins, might have learned an ascetic practice in Mount Lingshan and is now undergoing it."
The Keeper of Flaming Mountains said, "The King's mind is trapped in the past intertwines with his old friend, unable to break free. Those past events have become an invisible shackles, and from which, he never escape."
Journey to the West
The Bull King was the oldest and most senior of the seven demon kings that Wukong had assembled when he was about to stage his attack on the Jade Emperor's palace. After Wukong's subjugation by the Tathagata Buddha, Bull King would meet and marry [Princess Iron Fan](/rakshasi), and she would bear him a son, [Red Boy](/red-boy).
The Bull King is indirectly dragged in to a conflict with Wukong when he and his spouse become angry after Wukong's group attack Red Boy for capturing the Tang Monk. Bull King dueled Wukong for the first time evenly but cancelled the duel after a messenger informed him a party he wished to attend. Furthermore, Wukong caused his wife considerable pain by morphing into fly to get into her stomach, and morphed into the Bull King to trick her into giving her Bamboo Fan. In response, the Bull King transformed into [Zhu Bajie](/zhu-bajie) before stealing the fan back from Wukong.
When Wukong realizes this, he engages the Bull King in fierce combat, with Bajie later joining in as the Bull King proved stubborn. The long fight continued to drag on as even the Celestial Court noticed the events and sent Heavenly King Li, [Nezha](/nezha), and the celestial army to help the pair defeat the Bull King. Though Nezha successfully decapitated the Bull King multiple times, the Bull King's magic allowed him to regrow his head. In response, Nezha used one of his flaming wheels to tighten around one of the Bull King's horns to cause extreme amounts of pain, while Heavenly King Li used his demon-revealing mirror to prevent Bull King from transforming out of the situation. It was at this point that the Bull King finally surrendered, and he would be taken back to Buddha to await punishment.
Details
typeCharacter
locationFlaming Mountains