Sha Wu Jing
Name
Sha Wu Jing
Meaning: Sha - surname meaning sand. Taken from his home, the River of Flowing Sand (Liu Sha He).
Wu - Awareness
Jing - Purity
Origin: Given to him by the Goddess Guanyin when he agreed to protect Tang San Zang on his journey.
Variations: Sha Wujing
English name(s): Sandy, Friar Sand, Sand.
Japanese pronunciation:
Sha Wu Jing - Sha Gojyo
Age
Unknown. Possibly in the range of Ba Jie's age.
Status
Water Demon.
Original Location
River of Flowing Sand.
Titles/Other Names
(1) Juan Lian Jiang Jun
His title of his post in heaven. The meaning translates roughly into General of Lifting Curtains.
Japanese pronunciation: Kenren Taisho
(2) Sha He Shang
The name Tan San Zang gave him when he became his disciple. He Shang means 'monk'. How creative. >D
(3) Golden Lohan
His title when he finally attained Buddha status (zheng guo). Doesn't mean anything special actually.
(4) Sha Seng
Seng means monk in Chinese. So, literally, 'Sand Monk' or 'Sha Monk'. So actually it's the same as Sha He Shang and is frequently used as a substitute for it.
Weapon
Demon Slaying Staff
It's kind of a monk staff, usually depicted with a crescent at one end and a wide double-curved blade with metal rings at the other. Supposedly, according to one of Wu Jing's poems, it can change its size as he wishes, but we don't see him taking advantage of this at all. Therefore I have to conclude that he was simply boasting. It's weight is probably not as heavy as the weapons of his two brothers, especially Wu Kong, but it also falls into the ultra-heavy category. Still, it's really not as impressive as its name implies. (Staff: Hey! It's not as if it's MY fault!) Oh. Yeah. >D That's possibly due to Wu Jing's mediocre fighting skills.
Magical Powers
(1) Cloud Riding
Flying. About the same speed as Ba Jie, which is not very fast.
(2) Transformation
I once said he has 'absolutely no remotely useful magical skills whatsoever'. I kinda forgot he could transform. *sweats* Yeah, he does transform, but only once, which kinda explains why I overlooked the whole thing. When Wu Kong wanted to trick the three demon Taoists, he helped by transforming into one of the three gods that the Taoists worship.
Abilities
(1) Water
He is an adept at fighting in deep waters, mainly because he spent a huge amount of time trapped at the bottom of a huge river. Therefore, he comes in handy when there's underwater fighting to be done, as Wu Kong can't fight underwater. Ba Jie and him team up against most of the underwater monsters they have to face, as Wu Jing can't hold his own.
(2) Fighting
He is the weakest of the three brothers at fighting. He's okay for taking down the minor demons and all the small fry but totally useless against the stronger demons. Oh, he's strong compared to humans of course, but compared to Wu Kong, Wu Jing is worse than mediocre. Wu Jing's only useful for clean-up work, or protecting San Zhang whenever demons are NOT around.
Probably his most useful ability is carrying the luggage. >D And acting as mediator between his quarreling brothers.
History
Wu Jing, when he was the Juan Lian Jiang Jun, accidentally broke a glass lamp during the Empress's Peach Banquet. He was given 800 strokes and banished to Earth by the Jade Emperor. All because of a single glass lamp. From this you can glimpse how corrupt and irrational the Jade Emperor is. The glass lamp was probably a favourite of his wife the Empress, and to pacify her, he had no qualms about banishing one of his generals from Heaven. It's at times like this that I wish that Wu Kong had killed him and taken over Heaven. At least he wouldn't have done something as nonsensical as that. And that's not the worst. Wu Jing was changed into a demon, and once every week, flying swords were sent down from Heaven to penetrate his chest a few hundred times over. He had nothing to eat, so every few days he had to go out of the river to eat a passerby. One day he attacked the Goddess Guanyin by accident and she advised him to redeem his sins by becoming San Zang's disciple and protecting him throughout his journey to the west. So he bided his time in the River of Flowing Sand until San Zang, Wu Kong and Ba Jie finally came along. Not knowing that they were the pilgrims, they fought and in the end because he couldn't fight in water Wu Kong had to ask for help from Guanyin. When Wu Jing realized that they were the pilgrims, he surrendered immediately, became San Zang's disciple, and joined them on their journey to the West.
Personality
He doesn't have one.
Okay, so that might be a exaggeration, but Wu Jing has a bland, pale, tasteless personality compared to his other two brothers. He doesn't play a very major part in the plot, except for a few times. His main function in the story is to carry the luggage. Really. Well, you can say he loves his brothers and master very much, as he is always worried to death whenever San Zhang disappears, and once when Wu Kong is almost killed by the Red Child, he cries while holding Wu Kong's cold body in his arms. That said, he never stands up for Wu Kong when he is in trouble with San Zhang. Probably because he doesn't have the backbone. But he helps, yes, he helps when Wu Kong and Ba Jie quarrel and he is very dedicated to the quest and San Zhang... unlike Ba Jie. And one time, when San Zang ignores Wu Kong's warning AGAIN and saves a kid who turns out to be the Red Child who then abducts him, and Wu Kong gets unusually discouraged and is tempted to give up, and Ba Jie takes advantage of this, suggesting that they disband and just go home, Wu Jing is the one who protests! He tells off his brothers and makes Wu Kong snap out of his depression. In fact, if it weren't for Wu Jing speaking out at moments like the one above, the journey would never have been completed. So, Wu Jing can be seen as the glue holding the group together, the good guy, the ever-dedicated one, the patient one, the baggage-carrier. Basically, Wu Jing is your average, normal, nice guy... as normal as a water demon turned Buddhist monk can be.
Images
Before and After *grin*
If you have information or comments about Sha Wu Jing please tell me.