Why Did the Marshal Tianpeng Transform into a Pig?

Why Did the Marshal Tianpeng Transform into a Pig?

I.
The fact that Zhu Bajie was once the Marshal Tianpeng was something he himself revealed. At that time, Bodhisattva Guanyin received a decree from Buddha to go to the Great Tang in the East to find someone to fetch the scriptures. On the way, she met him:

"I'm neither a wild boar nor an old swine. I was originally the Marshal Tianpeng in the Celestial River."
It was precisely because he announced his identity that Bodhisattva Guanyin thought this person could be of use, so she included him in the team going to fetch the scriptures. Later, when he met Sun Wukong at Gao Laozhuang, Zhu Bajie introduced his identity once again. So much so that Sun Wukong exclaimed:
"So you were originally the Water God of the Celestial River who descended to the mortal world. No wonder you know my name."
Unexpectedly, after hearing Sun Wukong's words, Zhu Bajie suddenly became resentful:
"Humph! You deceitful Protector of the Heavenly Horses. When you caused that trouble back then, you didn't know how much trouble you brought us. Now you come here to bully others again!"
That is to say, according to Zhu Bajie, when Sun Wukong made a havoc in Heaven, he was also implicated. Then we have to go back five hundred years and carefully review how Sun Wukong implicated the Marshal Tianpeng.
Back then, Sun Wukong thought the position of Protector of the Heavenly Horses was too low and rebelled against Heaven. Li Jing, the Pagoda - carrying Heavenly King, bypassed the proper order to submit a memorial and requested an imperial decree to subdue the demon. At that time, he led his own troops to besiege Huaguo Mountain. As a result, both the Great Spirit God and Nezha fought one after another but were defeated.
Later, Sun Wukong stole the flat peaches, drank the celestial wine, and stole the immortal pills, and rebelled against Heaven again. The Jade Emperor also sent Li Jing to lead the siege:
"The Jade Emperor was greatly enraged. He immediately dispatched the Four Heavenly Kings, along with Li Jing and Prince Nezha, and ordered the Twenty - eight Constellations, the Nine Luminaries, the Twelve Earthly Branches, the Five Tathagata Guardians, the Four Time - Keeping Officials, the Eastern and Western Stars, the Northern and Southern Gods, the Five Great Mountains and the Four Great Rivers, and all the celestial beings in the sky, a total of one hundred thousand heavenly troops."

II.
So, this time when the Jade Emperor dispatched troops, almost all the military generals were sent out. Was the Marshal Tianpeng among them?

In the setting of the world of Journey to the West, the water on earth also flows from the Celestial River. Theoretically, all the four seas and five great rivers in the world, including the sources of small streams, are part of the Celestial River. For example, when Sun Wukong went to the East Sea to ask for a weapon, the Dragon Queen noticed that the magic iron that fixed the sea bottom was shining and ran to tell the Dragon King:
"The magic iron that fixes the bottom of the Celestial River in our sea treasury has been shining with gorgeous rays and emitting auspicious air these days..."
This clearly mentions the magic iron that fixes the bottom of the Celestial River, indicating that the East Sea is actually connected to the Celestial River. It is estimated that Dayu's flood control was to manage the overflow of the Celestial River, which caused too much water to flow underground.
When they were at Tongtian River, Zhu Bajie clearly told Tang Seng and Sun Wukong that he had once been in charge of eighty - thousand naval troops:
"I used to be the governor of the Celestial River and was in charge of eighty - thousand naval soldiers..."
Since there were eighty - thousand naval troops, when the Jade Emperor sent troops to besiege Huaguo Mountain, an independent island in the East Sea, were these troops dispatched?
Part of them were dispatched!
In fact, just like Li Jing, when there is a war, the troops of other great gods are gathered together to fight. The troops of the Marshal Tianpeng are also scattered among other water gods. Usually, he probably only has a team of personal guards and not the full eighty - thousand naval troops. The so - called naval soldiers are actually mainly the dragon kings of the four seas and five great rivers, and the shrimp soldiers and crab generals they lead.
In Wujiguo, when Zhu Bajie went down into the well, he met the Well Dragon King, a former subordinate. As soon as he entered the Crystal Palace, he sat on the upper seat, and the Dragon King led the aquatic creatures to stand below and pay their respects. This is one of the few minor gods who called him Marshal:
"Marshal, I recently heard that you got a new life and converted to Buddhism to protect Tang Seng on his journey to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures. How did you get here?"

III.
On the journey to fetch the scriptures, when fighting the Green Bull Demon, Sun Wukong once went to Heaven to ask for help. In fact, the Water Virtue Star Lord mobilized all the naval forces in Heaven:

"Upon hearing this, the Water Virtue Star Lord dismissed all the dragon kings of the four seas, five lakes, eight rivers, four great rivers, three main rivers, nine tributaries, and all other places. Then he adjusted his crown and belt and went out of the palace gate to receive them."
During the siege of Huaguo Mountain, only the naval troops of the four great rivers among the eight rivers and four great rivers were dispatched. Calculated according to the above proportion, there were probably less than ten thousand soldiers. It is very likely that the water gods who were on duty in Heaven that day happened to be those in charge of the four great rivers, so they were called along, while most of the other water gods were in their own water territories on earth.
From this, we can know that the Marshal Tianpeng did not go to besiege Huaguo Mountain at that time.
So, when Sun Wukong jumped out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, surely the Marshal Tianpeng couldn't escape this time. Did he fight?
No, he didn't!
After Sun Wukong came out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he first pushed Lord Laozi to the ground, and then rushed towards theHall of the Celestial Vault. Along the way, the Four Heavenly Kings and the Nine Luminaries who should have been there were all beaten away. The Nine Luminaries closed the door and hid, and the Four Heavenly Kings disappeared without a trace.
Fortunately, Wang Lingguan, the assistant of the Marshal of the True Spirit, was on duty in front of theHall of the Celestial Vault that day. He blocked Sun Wukong with his own strength. Then the Marshal of the True Spirit dispatched thirty - six Thunder Generals:
"Quickly, the Marshal of the True Spirit sent an order to the Thunder Mansion, and thirty - six Thunder Generals were summoned to surround the Great Sage in the center."
Since the Marshal of the True Spirit knew that Sun Wukong was coming, why didn't he take action himself but instead ordered the thirty - six Thunder Generals to fight?
It's simple. He had a more important task and it was not convenient for him to fight. Otherwise, he wouldn't have just disappeared after dispatching the reinforcements.

IV.
So, where was the Marshal of the True Spirit at that time and why was it not convenient for him to fight?

He was protecting the emperor!
The fact that the Marshal of the True Spirit could discover that Sun Wukong was charging towards theHall of the Celestial Vault proved that he was nearby. He wanted to drive Sun Wukong away without disturbing the Jade Emperor, so he sent someone to call the thirty - six Thunder Generals to protect the emperor.
Because his purpose was to try not to disturb the Jade Emperor, while making these arrangements, he also had to find a way to calm the Jade Emperor. Unfortunately, he failed:
"At that time, the gods gathered around the Great Sage, but they couldn't get close. There was so much shouting and fighting that it soon alerted the Jade Emperor."
The word "soon" proves that they originally didn't want to alert the Jade Emperor, but unfortunately, the Jade Emperor still found out. After learning that Sun Wukong was coming, the Jade Emperor didn't order others to protect him but directly asked the people around him to call Buddha Tathagata:
"Then he issued an order for the Patrol Spirit Officer and the Marshal of the Righteousness and Sagehood to go to the West to invite the Buddha to subdue the demon."
Judging from how the Marshal of the Righteousness and Sagehood described Sun Wukong to Buddha Tathagata, they must have been near theHall of the Celestial Vault. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to report Sun Wukong's every move in such detail.
When Buddha Tathagata subdued Sun Wukong and was about to leave, two people ran out from beside the Jade Emperor in theHall of the Celestial Vault:
"After Buddha Tathagata annihilated the demon monkey, he called Ananda and Kasyapa to return to the Western Paradise together. At that time, Tianpeng and Tianyou rushed out of theHall of the Celestial Vault and said, 'Please wait a moment, Buddha. Our Lord is coming.'"
So, have you noticed? The four saints who appeared in theHall of the Celestial Vault at the same time were actually the Four Saints of the North Pole:
"The True Lord Marshal Tianpeng, the True Lord Deputy Marshal Tianyou (also known as the Deputy Marshal Tianyou), the True Lord Yisheng Baode, and the True Lord Lingying Yousheng."

V.
From this, we can draw a conclusion that the Four Saints of the North Pole are actually responsible for the safety of the Jade Emperor and are his close ministers.

Generally, such divine generals are personally appointed by the Jade Emperor. Just like Sun Wukong's position as the Protector of the Heavenly Horses, they are not casually appointed as mountain gods or earth gods and sent to other places. Instead, they are kept by the emperor's side:
"The Jade Emperor held a banquet for the celestial beings, and they were arranged in ranks according to their grades. He conferred the title of Marshal on him to manage the Celestial River and be in charge of the naval troops."
This is why later, when the transformed Gao Cuilan by Sun Wukong told Zhu Bajie in Gao Laozhuang that Gao Taigong had invited another mage to subdue him, he replied:
"Even if your father is devout enough to invite the Marshal of the Nine Heavens to Subdue Demons to the mortal world, I've also met him before. He wouldn't dare to do anything to me."
The Marshal of the Nine Heavens to Subdue Demons is the Marshal of the True Spirit, also known as the True Martial Great Emperor. He and the Marshal Tianpeng belong to the Four Saints of the North Pole and are colleagues.
What are the thirty - six Thunder Generals dispatched by the Marshal of the True Spirit for?
They are the imperial guards!
They usually take turns to guard the Four Heavenly Gates. It is similar to the guards of the Forbidden City in the Ming and Qing dynasties. When there is a rebellion and the palace is under siege, naturally the leader of the imperial guards around the Jade Emperor will dispatch the guards to defend. If you have watched the TV series The Life of Yongzheng, then the Four Saints of the North Pole are similar to Tulichen, Delengtai, and Zhang Wuge, who protect the emperor.
When it comes to suppressing rebellions, the emperor generally doesn't send the imperial guards to the battlefield, unless there is a need to supervise other military generals. This is why although Li Jing almost took away all the heavenly troops, he couldn't take away the Four Saints of the North Pole and the thirty - six Thunder Generals.
Of course, there are also the exalted Sanqing and Siyu in Heaven. Two of the Sanqing have retired, and only Lord Laozi is still offering advice to the Jade Emperor. The Siyu are similar to the cabinet. Various imperial decrees basically come from the Siyu. When there is a real war, they are the commanders and don't go to the front with swords.

VI.
Since the Four Saints of the North Pole were protecting the emperor in theHall of the Celestial Vault, it is understandable that the Marshal of the True Spirit wanted to hide the matter from the Jade Emperor at first. But when the situation got out of control, except for the Marshal of the Righteousness and Sagehood who went to Lingshan to deliver the imperial decree, why didn't the other three saints, especially the Marshal Tianpeng, take action?

Some people say that the Marshal Tianpeng was too weak. He had fought against Sun Wukong before and was defeated, so he didn't dare to fight.
Indeed, if you haven't read the original Journey to the West but only watched the CCTV version, the Marshal Tianpeng did seem to have fought against Sun Wukong when the latter was the Protector of the Heavenly Horses.
At that time, just after Sun Wukong became the Protector of the Heavenly Horses and was riding a heavenly horse to graze in the Celestial River, he met the Marshal Tianpeng. With just a few moves, he defeated the marshal. From then on, every time Zhu Bajie heard the name Sun Wukong, he would tremble with fear. For example, when he was in Gao Laozhuang, upon hearing the transformed Gao Cuilan (by Sun Wukong) mention that it was Sun Wukong who was going to subdue him, he was so scared that he wanted to leave:
"You don't know. That Protector of the Heavenly Horses who made a havoc in Heaven has some skills. I'm afraid I can't handle him. I don't want to lose face and look bad."
However, Zhu Bajie's fear of Sun Wukong was not because he was defeated by Sun Wukong when the latter was the Protector of the Heavenly Horses. In fact, this part is not mentioned in the original book, which means they had no interaction before.
But thinking that even a minor Wang Lingguan could resist Sun Wukong's attack, even if the Marshal Tianpeng was not very capable, he shouldn't be so scared of Sun Wukong, right?
In fact, Zhu Bajie is really not very capable. When facing Sun Wukong, all he can do is brag. First, he talked about how great he was when he was the Marshal Tianpeng, and then he started boasting about his nine - toothed rake:
"Why should I be afraid of your copper head, iron brain, and steel body? One strike of my rake and your soul will disappear and your spirit will fade!"

VII.
But when Sun Wukong really stuck his head out for him to hit, he got scared:
"With a swoosh, the rake sparkled with fire, but it didn't even touch a bit of his scalp. It scared Zhu Bajie so much that his hands and feet went numb..."
If the direct confrontation between Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie doesn't show the gap clearly enough, let's make a comparison through an intermediary, for example, Kui Mulang.
Zhu Bajie and Sha Heshang fought against Kui Mulang twice and were defeated both times. Especially the second time, in front of the king of Baoxiangguo, they boasted that they could capture the demon easily. But they were thoroughly defeated by Kui Mulang. At that time, the book stated that even if Zhu Bajie and Sha Heshang were multiplied by twenty, they still couldn't match the demon:
"Speaking of combat skills, not to mention two monks, even twenty of them couldn't defeat that demon."
After Sun Wukong joined the fight, in just a few rounds, he beat Kui Mulang so badly that he didn't dare to come out again. Was it because Sun Wukong ate his inner elixir, which greatly weakened his strength and increased Sun Wukong's? He was afraid of Sun Wukong because once bitten by a snake, he was scared of ropes for ten years. He was so frightened by the previous beating that his legs trembled when he saw Sun Wukong.
For this reason, the book specifically emphasized why Kui Mulang suddenly became so timid:
"He was one of the divine generals who was scared by Sun Wukong when the Great Sage made a havoc in Heaven. He hid in the mountain stream to avoid disaster..."
You know, when Sun Wukong made a havoc in Heaven, he was fighting against the combination of the Twenty - eight Constellations. Kui Mulang was just one of the Twenty - eight Constellations, and he could beat Zhu Bajie so severely. One can imagine how many Zhu Bajies Sun Wukong could defeat.

VIII.
In fact, when facing the Green Bull Demon, Sun Wukong muttered to himself when he went to Heaven to seek help:
"There are more heavenly generals in Heaven who are not as good as this old monkey, and fewer who are better. When I made a ruckus in Heaven, the Jade Emperor dispatched one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and set up an inescapable net, yet not a single general dared to fight me."
If Kui Mulang is not enough to illustrate the point, we can also make a comparison with the King of the Southern Mountain, that is, the Leopard Demon.
It can be said that when fighting the Leopard Demon, Zhu Bajie exerted all his abilities, and at best, it was only a draw. But for Sun Wukong, dealing with the Leopard Demon was much easier. It was just a matter of plucking out one hair. If that wasn't enough, then two:
"He plucked another hair, made a copy in the same way, and threw it on the demon's face, where it got into his nostrils. The two bugs, one entered from the left and the other from the right. The old demon yawned, stretched his body, let out two yawns, and then fell asleep with a snore."
Calculated in this way, Zhu Bajie's strength is roughly equivalent to two of Sun Wukong's hairs!
Of course, the reason why Zhu Bajie was appreciated by the Jade Emperor was probably not his martial prowess, but his physique. It was really suitable for managing the naval forces and dredging the rivers. Zhu Bajie demonstrated this when clearing the path in the Thorn Ridge and when digging through the stinking alley in Tuoluo Village:
"...With a black face and round eyes like the sun and moon... With rough skin trained to be tougher than an iron cage... Four white hooves towering high, a long, sword - like mane and a body stretching a hundred zhang..."
This is no ordinary pig. It's more like an aircraft carrier. If this thing were roaming in the Celestial River with a group of soldiers on it, who could stop it?
This is where Zhu Bajie's "strength" lies. He knows he is not really capable. Apart from bluffing, he has no other real skills.

IX.
However, he was really lucky. With the recommendation of his master, he managed to become one of the Four Saints of the North Pole in Heaven. Because he knew his own limitations, he would definitely avoid taking action to prevent revealing his true self.
Even after being reincarnated as a pig, still retaining his memories and skills, and being given a special weapon to deal with the monkey, he still didn't dare to easily challenge Sun Wukong. As soon as he heard that Sun Wukong was coming, he fled immediately. Finally, cornered at his doorstep and having no other choice, he swung his rake once and then surrendered.
Some people may wonder that if Zhu Bajie's combat power is really extremely low, why does Sun Wukong always like to take him along whenever he goes to subdue demons?
Haha, this question puzzles not only us but also Zhu Bajie himself. "I'm so incompetent and lazy. Why does Brother Monkey always take me to subdue demons? I can't even defeat the demons," he wonders.
Guess what Sun Wukong replied?
"Brother, although you don't have much ability, you're still a being. As the saying goes, even a fart can add a bit of wind. You can also boost my courage a little."
Sun Wukong's perception of Zhu Bajie is that he's just there to add a bit of something. He's just taking a companion along because he feels lonely when going into battle. Of course, there is also some sarcasm in Sun Wukong's words. After all, Zhu Bajie did contribute a lot during the journey to fetch the scriptures. He even saved Sun Wukong's life when they were dealing with the Red Boy:
"Zhu Bajie rubbed his hands until they were warm, then covered his seven orifices and applied a massage technique. The Monkey King had been forced by the cold water, with his qi blocked in the dantian and unable to make a sound. Fortunately, thanks to Zhu Bajie's rubbing and massaging, in a short while, the qi passed through the three barriers, reached the Mingtang, and opened the orifices..."

X.
Having said all this, it's time to return to our topic. When Sun Wukong made a ruckus in Heaven, the Marshal Tianpeng was right beside the Jade Emperor. Why didn't he take action?
On the one hand, they had the task of protecting the emperor. Before Sun Wukong broke into the Hall of Lingxiao, it was not appropriate for them to take action.
On the other hand, the Marshal Tianpeng's abilities were really not up to par. Being defeated by Sun Wukong would be a minor matter if he took action. But if his true incompetence was exposed, how could he continue to stay in Heaven in the future?
However, it was precisely because of Sun Wukong's direct charge into the Hall of Lingxiao that the Jade Emperor realized the incompetence of the heavenly gods and the bloatedness of the celestial institutions. Indeed, so many generals and marshals were being supported, but when a real crisis came, not a single one was useful. They still had to rely on Wang Lingguan. Remember, when Sun Wukong first went to Heaven to be the Protector of the Heavenly Horses, the scene he saw when he entered the Southern Heavenly Gate was a group of marshals:
"Behold, the Southern Heavenly Gate was made of deep blue glass and decorated with bright jade. Dozens of Heavenly Marshals were lined up on both sides, each one leaning against the beams and pillars, holding axes and banners."
After that, even the Marshal of the True Spirit was demoted to the mortal world to become the True Martial Great Emperor. Since then, he has been extremely cautious and dare not leave Wudang Mountain without an imperial decree:
"Now that the Great Sage has come, I have to act. But without an imperial decree from the upper realm, I dare not start a battle rashly. If I send the gods to fight, I'm afraid the Jade Emperor will blame me..."
The Marshal Tianpeng's situation was even worse. Just because he flirted with a palace maid in the Moon Palace, he was whipped three thousand times and banished to the mortal world to become a pig. The Curtain - Rolling General was also implicated. When Sun Wukong made a ruckus in Heaven, he probably even forgot to roll up the curtain, let alone take action. So, when he accidentally broke a glass cup (as written in the book), he was also banished to the mortal world.
As a result, whenever Zhu Bajie saw Sun Wukong, he would complain. "There have been no wars in Heaven for years. You, this troublemaker, stirred things up. Not only can I no longer slack off, but I can't even be a marshal anymore. You damned Protector of the Heavenly Horses."
Sun Wukong just chuckled and said, "You blockhead. You can still slack off in my company. After all, you can still add a bit of something and boost my courage."