《西遊記》 牛魔王 캐릭터의 불교 문화적 해석

Abstract

The novel from the Ming Dynasty, 《Journey to the West》 features a number of unique and colorful monster characters. They were born as monster characters with new significance, breaking away from the traditional monster character of “supernatural beings with negative values.” Among the many monster characters in the 《Journey to the West》, the Bull Monster King appeared even before Son Wukong began his journey, and its name is constantly mentioned in the work even after journey. In addition, the characters surrounding the Bull Monster King have repeatedly influenced the hardships of the Son Wukong and his party. Unlike other monsters whose hardships end in a single face-in a single encounter, the Bull Monster King and monsters related to him have a substantial proportion in the work in that they have a lasting and organic influence. The motif of the character of Bull Monster King is “bull,” a livestock familiar to humans. Bull was often used as a symbol of the 'heart' in Buddhism. The Buddhist symbolic significance was examined by comparing the shape of the cow in the Kao-an’s Drawings of the Ten Bulls and the character of Bull Monster King. In addition, through the analysis of the relationship between Bull Monster King and the surrounding monster, it was analyzed how Bull Monster King interacts with them and what significance their relationship holds in the hardships of the Journey. Finally, Buddhist cultural interpretation was attempted by comparing and analyzing the transformation techniques of Bull Monster King and Son Wukong.