Zhu Bajie

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Zhu Bajie
15th-century depiction of Zhu Bajie
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	豬八戒
Simplified Chinese	猪八戒
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhū Bājiè Wade–Giles Chu1 Pa1-chieh4 IPA [ʈʂú pá.tɕjê] Gan Romanization Chu Pa̍t Kāi Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jyū Baatgaai Jyutping Zyu1 Baat3-gaai3 IPA [tsy˥ pat̚˧.kaj˧] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tu Pat-kài
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Trư Bát Giới
Chữ Hán	豬八戒
Thai name
Thai	ตือโป๊ยก่าย
RTGS	Tue Poikai (from Teochew "Tu poih-kài")
Korean name
Hangul	저팔계
Hanja	豬八戒
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Jeo Palgye
Japanese name
Kanji	猪八戒
Hiragana	ちょ はっかい
Transcriptions Romanization Cho Hakkai
Khmer name
Khmer	ជូ ប៉ាចេ

Zhu Bajie,^[a] also named Zhu Wuneng,^[b] is one of the three helpers of Tang Sanzang, along with Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, and a major character of the 16th century novel Journey to the West. Zhu means "swine" and Bajie means "eight precepts". Prior to his being recruited by the bodhisattva, Guanyin, Zhu Bajie went by "Zhu Gāngliè" (豬剛巤; literally "Strong-Maned Pig"). Buddhist scholars consider that both expressions are related to "Śīla pāramitā". In many English versions of the story, Zhu Bajie is called "Monk Pig", "Pig", "Piggy", or "Pigsy".

Zhu Bajie is a complex and developed character in the novel. He looks like a terrible humanoid-pig monster, part human and part pig, who often gets himself and his companions into trouble through his laziness, gluttony, and propensity for lusting after pretty women. He looks up to his senior disciple Sun Wukong as a big brother. Though he occasionally acts rebelliously when injured by Wukong's constant teasing, his schemes usually end in his own humiliation.

His Buddhist name "Zhu Wuneng", given by Bodhisattva Guanyin, means "pig (reincarnated) who is aware of ability" or "pig who rises to power", a reference to the fact that he values himself so much as to forget his own grisly appearance. Tang Sanzang gave him the nickname Bājiè which means "eight restraints" or "eight commandments" to remind him of his Buddhist diet.

In the original Chinese novel, he is often called dāizi (呆子), meaning "idiot". Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, and even the author consistently refers to him as "the idiot" over the course of the story. Bodhisattvas and other heavenly beings usually refer to him as "Tiānpéng" (天蓬), his former title when he was a heavenly marshal.

In modern times, Zhu Bajie is seen as a patron deity of masseuses, hostesses, and prostitutes within Taiwan and other parts of East Asia.^[1]

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