Mount Huaguo () or Flowers and Fruit Mountain, is a major area featured in the novel ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'' (16th century). A number of real-world locations have been connected with the Mount Huaguo, although the eponymous mountain in

Lianyungang Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

is most commonly identified as its source of inspiration. According to folklore, when

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

Bodhisattva passed through Flower Fruit Mountain, she meditated on a large rock. Imbued with divine essence, the stone miraculously gave birth to Sun Wukong. In a folktale, the mother goddess

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is a mother goddess, culture hero, and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humani ...

sacrificed herself, transforming into thousands of colorful crystals to repair the sky. One of these crystals fell onto Flower and Fruit Mountain, where it absorbed the essence of the sun and moon, eventually giving birth to a stone monkey.

Description

In the novel, this mountain is located in the country of Aolai (傲來) in the Eastern Continent of Superior Deity (), also known in Anthony C. Yu's translation as the " Pūrvavideha Continent". It is known as the birthplace of

Sun Wukong Sun Wukong (, Mandarin pronunciation: ), also known as the Monkey King, is a literary and religious figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. In the novel, Sun Wukong is a monk ...

, the main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of ''

''. The large mountain has many demons and monkeys in its population and contains many hidden areas, such as the Shuilian Cave. After Sun Wukong bravely rushes through a large waterfall and into this cave, every individual in the mountain acknowledges him as their king. After Sun Wukong becomes "Handsome Monkey King" (美猴王, měi hóuwáng), this mountain becomes exceedingly civilized and well-trained for various future conflicts, such as war. This can be seen in the fact that Sun Wukong often left this mountain for various reasons, including his eventual task of protecting

Tang Sanzang Tang Sanzang is a Buddhist monk and pilgrim who is a central character in the 16th century novel ''Journey to the West'' by Wu Cheng'en. His birth surname name was Chen (), but having been found in a river as a baby--he was abandoned after bir ...

on his journey to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Due to the natural and civilized ways of this mountain set by Sun Wukong, this mountain continues to thrive even after 500 years of conflict. A "Water Curtain Cave" or "Shuilian Cave" is featured within the novel

, written in the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. Very early on,

becomes the king of this cave, and it is generally used for all the monkeys to train within and generally rest. Before such an event, Wukong, with his bravery, nominated himself to be the monkey that would rush through the Mount Huaguo's great

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

in order to see what was behind it. He discovered :''Emerald moss piled up in heaps of blue,'' :''White clouds like drifting jade,'' :''While the light flickered among wisps of coloured mist.'' :''A quiet house with peaceful windows,'' :''Flowers growing on the smooth bench;'' :''Dragon pearls hanging in niches,'' :''Exotic blooms all around.'' :''Traces of fire beside the stove,'' :''Scraps of food in the vessels by the table.'' :''Adorable stone chairs and beds,'' :''Even better stone plates and bowls.'' :''One or two tall bamboos,'' :''Three or four sprigs of plum blossom,'' :''A few pines that always attract rain,'' :''All just like a real home.'' Following this, Wukong :''took a good, long look and then scampered to the middle of the bridge, from where he noticed a stone tablet. On the tablet had been carved in big square letters: ''HAPPY LAND OF THE MOUNTAIN OF FLOWERS AND FRUIT, CAVE HEAVEN OF THE WATER CURTAIN'' (

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

: 花果山福地、水帘洞洞天). The stone monkey was beside himself with glee. ''He rushed away, shut his eyes, crouched, and leapt back through the waterfall.'' After many points following this, Sun Wukong returned to the Water Curtain Cave for miscellaneous reasons, either while returning from his celestial master, or because of an issue with his enlightened master, Sanzang.

Prototype

The subject has been widely discussed by scholars, and several real-world mountains have been named as "real" Flower Fruit Mountain, becoming popular tourist attractions in China. There is no consensus among Chinese academics regarding the true prototype of Flower Fruit Mountain. * Huaguoshan in Lianyungang, Jiangsu: In the first ''Journey to the West'' academic symposium in 1982, many experts agreed that Huaguoshan in Lianyungang is the "hometown of Sun Wukong". Today, Huaguoshan in Lianyungang has developed into a tourist attraction. *Huaguoshan in Loufan, Shanxi: After over two decades of research, scholars such as Meng Fanren, Li Guocheng, and Professor Li Angang, president of the

China Journey to the West Culture Research Committee China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, have concluded that Huaguoshan in Loufan is the prototype of the legendary Huaguoshan. Local records indicate that there were already temples dedicated to the Monkey King in the area before the novel Journey to the West was written. *Baoshan Mountain in Shunchang, Fujian: Wang Yimin, a curator of the Shunchang County Museum in Fujian Province, has proposed that the "birthplace of Sun Wukong" is Baoshan Mountain. The main evidence for this claim is the discovery of a joint tomb of Sun Wukong and his brothers dating back to the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. Additionally, many landscapes in Baoshan that resemble those described in ''Journey to the West'' have been found, such as the fairy-patterned Stone and Gaojia Village. *

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...

in Shandong: In 2006, scholar Du Guichen, after extensive research, proposed that Mount Tai in Shandong Province is the prototype of Huaguoshan. His argument is primarily based on the discovery of several landmarks in the area, such as Aolai Peak and the Sun-drying Sutra Stone, which predate the Ming Dynasty and correspond to place names mentioned in ''Journey to the West''. *Huaguoshan in Yiyang, Luoyang, Henan: In 2008, several experts noted that the name "Huaguoshan" in Yiyang first appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty's ''

Taiping Huanyu Ji The ''Taiping Huanyu Ji'' (), or "Universal Geography of the Taiping Era 76–983" is a 10th-century AD geographical treatise by Chinese scholar Yue Shi 樂史 (930–1007), written during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song in the Northern So ...

'', predating the Ming Dynasty novel ''Journey to the West''. Due to its proximity to Yanshi County, the hometown of

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

, these scholars argue that Yiyang's Huaguoshan is the most likely prototype for the legendary Huaguoshan. *Yangxian Mountain in Yixing, Jiangsu: In 2009, Xing Huiling, a researcher at

Henan University Henan University (HENU; ) is a provincial public university in Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, Henan, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Henan and co-funded with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of the Double First-Class Const ...

, proposed that Yangxian Mountain in Yixing is the prototype of Huaguoshan. Shi Guoxing, the chief editor of the local gazetteers for Shanzhuan and Taihua Towns in Yixing, provided multiple pieces of evidence to support this claim. * in Ningbo, Zhejiang: Scholar Fang Dong has proposed that Siming Mountain in Ningbo is likely the prototype of Huaguoshan based on the striking similarities between the geographical features of Siming Mountain and the descriptions of Huaguoshan in ''Journey to the West''. He also points out that the name "Chanyuan Cave" in Siming Mountain closely resembles the "Water Curtain Cave" in Huaguoshan.

References

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