Princess Iron Fan
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Princess Iron Fan () is a character from the 16th century Chinese 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 ...
''. She is one of the most popular ''Journey to the West'' villains, alongside her husband the Bull Demon King, her son Red Boy, and Baigujing. In ''
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 ...
'', Princess Iron Fan made the villagers living near Flaming Mountains yield to her and offer her tribute like a goddess. She is also addressed as '' Rākṣasī'' ( 羅剎女; ''Luóchànǚ''). The statues of the Princess Iron Fan and Bull Demon King have been established at the Flaming Mountains Scenic Area in
Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
and have become a popular tourist destination.


''Journey to the West''

Princess Iron Fan is a beautiful demoness, married to the Bull Demon King and mother to the Red Boy. She was living in " Palmleaf Cave/
Grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...
" (棕櫚葉洞; ''Zōnglǘyèdòng''), up on "Jade Cloud Mountain" (玉雲山; ''Yùyúnshān'' (or "Emerald Cloud Mountain" (翠云山; ''Cuìyúnshān''))), awaiting her husband's return, but was also angry at him for his affair with a fox-spirit woman, Princess Jade Face. The Bull Demon King described his wife as an "immortal female with excellence in spiritual practice (female
Xian Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
)" and that she had "practiced self-cultivation since her youth". She possessed the magical-treasure, the Banana Leaf Fan (香蕉叶扇; ''Xiāngjiāoyèshàn''). The fan, made from banana leaves (not dissimilar to the Palm Leaf Fan (芭蕉扇; ''Bājiāoshàn''), one of 5 sacred treasures of Daode Tianzun/Laozi), is extremely large and has magical properties; the novel describes the palm-leaf fan as a spiritual treasure 'begotten' of Heaven and Earth at the back of Mount Kunlun at the time when chaos divided. It is a finest leaf of the "supreme yin", and that is why it can extinguish all fires, including the fires on the Flaming Mountains (the volcano that was created inadvertently by Wukong when he burst out of the aforementioned Laozi's Eight Trigrams
Crucible A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...
/
Brazier A brazier () is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet, but in some places it is made of terracotta. Its elevation helps circulate air, feed ...
500 years earlier). The palm-leaf fan is also described as being able to create giant whirlwinds; if a man is bodily fanned by it, he will "drift for eighty-four thousand miles before the cold wind subsides", and they're the subject of gravity again. The only know thing immune to the fan's winds is a 'Wind-Arresting elixir' (定风珠/定风丹; ''Dìngfēngzhū''/''Dìngfēngdān''), a bead of which was loaned to Sun Wukong from the Boddhisatva, Lingji, who had originally gotten it from Tathāgata Buddha. Beside the Banana Leaf Fan, Princess Iron Fan also wields a pair of blue-bladed treasure swords. Princess Iron Fan used this ability to extort favours from the residents near the mountains: by fanning only once each time, the fire would only be extinguished for a year before starting again. When Sun Wukong and his fellow pilgrims came to the region, they encountered an extremely hostile range of volcanic mountains that they could only pass if the volcanoes became inactive. Sun Wukong wanted to borrow her fan to subdue the Flaming Mountains, but she turned him down as the monkey had been on bad terms with her husband before, which was further soured when Wukong assisted Guanyin in subduing his son Red Boy. Sun Wukong, however, craftily transformed into a fly and flew into her mouth, down her throat, and into her soft belly. Once inside, Sun Wukong kicked and punched Princess Iron Fan's guts until she was in so much pain that she gave him a fan. However, the fan turned out to be a fake fan which intensified the flames instead of putting them out. Having barely escaped from the fire, Sun Wukong returned, pretending to be her husband through shape shifting and obtained the real fan. Soon afterwards, the real husband came home. Angry at what had happened, he pretended to be Zhu Bajie also through shape shifting and offered to carry the big fan. Lost in the moment of victory, Sun Wukong carelessly believed the Bull King and handed over the fan. Later, the
Jade Emperor In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of ...
sent his heavenly troops to help Sun Wukong defeat Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan for good, and she was forced to give them the real fan. After using the fan to extinguish the fire on the Flaming Mountain, Sun Wukong forgave the princess and returned the fan to her. The princess continued her spiritual practice, and eventually achieved success.


''Journey to the South''

According to Journey to the South, Princess Iron Fan is depicted as a goddess. She is the daughter of Yuhuan Shengmu and has a younger brother named Shan Cheng. When Huaguang Dadi (the protagonist of ''Journey to the South'') stole the Golden Pagoda from his mother, Princess Iron Fan disguised herself and carried her iron fan, long spear, and sharp knife to seek revenge. In their first battle, the princess defeated Huaguang. Later, Huaguang coincidentally encountered an immortal who revealed his connection with Princess Iron Fan. After obtaining a Wind-Calming Pill from the immortal, Huaguang successfully captured Princess Iron Fan and married her. Due to the story of their marriage, Princess Iron Fan is worshipped alongside Huaguang Dadi in the in , Nangan Township.


Other legends

Her origins are unclear, but some legends depicted her as a Taoist goddess and the ancestor of the wind gods who was entrusted by the heavenly court, and all the wind gods were under her jurisdiction. She is said to be the mentor of Meng Po, the goddess of forgetfulness. In '' Yuan
zaju ''Zaju'' was a form of Chinese opera which provided entertainment through a synthesis of recitations of prose and poetry, dance, singing, and mime, with a certain emphasis on comedy (or, happy endings). Although with diverse and earlier roots, ''z ...
'' tradition, she is the sister of Lishan Laomu (Old Mother of the Li Mountain) and was originally a friend of the
Queen Mother of the West The Queen Mother of the West, known by #Names, various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion and Chinese mythology, mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient ...
, Pilanpo and belonged to Taoism. She once had a dispute with the Queen Mother of the West because the Queen Mother of the West brought her own wine. As a result, she rose up against the scene and turned against the heaven.


Adaptations

* The subject of the first Chinese animated feature film is a liberally adapted version of the encounter between Sun Wukong and Princess Iron Fan entitled '' Princess Iron Fan'' (1941). * Princess Iron Fan (1966) by
Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers (HK) Limited () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, operating from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shang ...
* An adaptation of this occurs in the 24th episode of the Japanese television adaptation '' Saiyuuki'', "The Fires of Jealousy". * In the adaptation in the 1996 ''Journey to the West'' series, the Princess and Bull King have already known Monkey since childhood (they went to the same school that taught Monkey his fighting abilities) and were willing to give him the fan. But their obnoxious son, Red Boy, refuses to let his mother give the fan, thus forcing Monkey to enter her belly to force her to give him the fan. * The ''
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...
'' series Son Goku's wife Chi Chi is based on the character. When she first appeared, her mission alongside Goku was to find the Bansho fan to put out the fire in her father's castle. * The '' Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics)'' series had the Iron Queen, who was wed to the ox-like king Jun Kun and, in her first appearance, set an eternal fire on Mount Stormtop with her magic that could only be put out with the Fan of Fen Xing. * In '' Act-Age'', competing actresses Kei Yonagi and Chiyoko Momoshiro are both cast to interpret Princess Iron Fan in an original play centered around the character. *In the film '' Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West'', she appeared under the name Queen Iron Fan, as the secondary antagonist. *In the anime '' Dinosaur King'', one of the villains, Sheer, is mistaken briefly for Princess Iron Fan ("lady tessen"). *She also appears in the 2020 Lego Monkie Kid show as a secondary antagonist. *
Poppy Liu Poppy Liu ( zh, c=柳波, p=Liǔ Bō) is a Chinese-American actress known for her roles in '' Sunnyside'', '' Hacks'', ''iCarly'', and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life and education Liu was born in Xi'an, China. Her family moved to Minnesota whe ...
plays Princess Iron Fan in the 2023
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
series '' American Born Chinese''.


See also

* List of media adaptations of ''Journey to the West''


References


Sources

* * * * {{journey to the West Journey to the West characters Fictional demons