Zhizhujing () are seven spider yaoguai sisters in the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. These alluring yet dangerous demonesses serve as a significant obstacle for Tang Sanzang and his disciples on their pilgrimage. In modern times, they have become iconic characters in Chinese popular culture, frequently appearing in film, television, and video games.
Spider demons appear in other Chinese stories outside of Journey to the West, such as in Yiyuan () and Zibuyu (), which refer to spider entities that may transform into male or female humans and engage in romantic or dangerous entanglements.History of Chinese Folk Tales: From the Pre-Qin Dynasty to the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties Qilian Xiuxiuwei Information Technology Co., Ltd., p. 119,
Appearance in Journey to the West The most detailed account of spider demons appears in Chapters 72 and 73 of the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. In this episode, a group of seven spider demons resides in the (; lit. 'Coiled Silk Cave'). The spirits are portrayed as seductive women who have cultivated spiritual powers for a thousand years. Their primary objective is to capture the monk Tang Sanzang, whose flesh is believed to grant immortality to demons. They succeed in abducting him and prepare to cook him when his disciple, Sun Wukong, locates their hiding place.
The spider demons' main weapon is a powerful silk spun from their navels, which they use to entrap their victims. In their initial confrontation, the silk proves strong enough to bind even Sun Wukong, although he ultimately escapes. Later, the group of disciples encounters the spirits bathing in a mountain spring. Zhu Bajie, deceived by their beauty, approaches them and is captured. The spider spirits eventually seek refuge in a nearby temple overseen by their elder brother, Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord () who is later revealed to be a giant centipede spirit. With assistance from a bodhisattva, Pilanpo, Sun Wukong defeats both the centipede and the spider demons. In the original narrative, the spider spirits are killed and revert to their true arachnid forms upon death.
Interpretations According to some Buddhist scholars, the seven spider demons in Journey to the West are interpreted as symbolic representations of the "seven emotions and six desires" () that obstruct spiritual cultivation. These emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire—along with the sensory cravings of the human body, are viewed as sources of delusion and attachment in Buddhist philosophy. Tang Sanzang’s entrapment by the spider demons is seen as an allegory for the struggles of the flesh and mind that a spiritual practitioner must overcome in pursuit of enlightenment.
In popular culture
The story of the spider demons in Pansi Cave has been adapted in several films and other works based on Journey to the West. The 1927 silent film The Cave of the Silken Web, directed by Dan Duyu, is considered China's first fantasy film and features spider demons as the central antagonists. The film was thought to be lost for decades until a copy was rediscovered in Norway in 2011. The story was later adapted by Shaw Brothers Studio in the 1967 film The Cave of the Silken Web, which featured a more elaborate portrayal of the spider spirits.
The spider sisters also appear in the 2024 video game Black Myth: Wukong. The game establishes that Violet Spider was once a courtier of the Celestial Court and had a relationship with Zhu Bajie when he was still Marshal Tianpeng. After they were separated, Violet Spider became a spider guai and later lived with her eight daughters in Webbed Hollow. Zhu Bajie later returns to Webbed Hollow with the Destined One while searching for the fourth relic of Sun Wukong, the Envious Tongue. Violet Spider possesses the relic, which is later taken from her by the Hundred-Eyed Daoist. Violet Spider and her daughters then fight the Hundred-Eyed Daoist alongside the Destined One, but Violet Spider is killed in the battle.
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