Zhizhujing

Zhizhujing (Chinese: 蜘蛛精; lit. 'The Spider Demonesses') 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.

Diorama at Haw Par Villa, Singapore, depicting two of the Spider Demonesses trying to seduce Tang Sanzang.

Spider demons appear in other Chinese stories outside of Journey to the West, such as in Yiyuan (異苑·蜘蛛魅) and Zibuyu (子不语), which refer to spider entities that may transform into male or female humans and engage in romantic or dangerous entanglements.^[1]

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 Pansi Cave [zh] (盘丝洞; 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.^[2]

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 (百眼魔君) 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.^[2]

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" (七情六欲) 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.^[3]

In popular culture

Further information: List of media adaptations of Journey to the West

The story of the spider demons in Pansi Cave is one of the most frequently adapted episodes from 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.^[4] For decades, the film was thought lost until a copy was rediscovered in Norway in 2011.^[5] The tale was later adapted by Shaw Brothers Studio in their 1967 film The Cave of the Silken Web, which offered a more elaborate and visually stylized portrayal of the spider spirits.^[6]

The spider sisters are also set to be featured in the highly anticipated video game Black Myth: Wukong. Trailers for the game have showcased a new interpretation of the classic story, hinting at a more complex relationship between the spider spirits and the game's protagonist.^[7]