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Contents:
Introduction
1. The Outcomes of Each RoundMonkey and Erlang’s great battle consisted of a sequence of many rounds, all based on transformations, intellect and combat skills. A description of each round and their results are listed in the following. From the overall results, Erlang has 6 wins, Monkey has 1 win (from playing dirty) and 4 rounds are draws/undetermined. From these statistics, it is apparent that Lord Erlang emerged as the victor. 1.1. Round 1Type: Combat Monkey and Erlang’s opening fight. The two of them duelled for over 300 bouts. Result: Draw. 1.2. Round 2Type: Transformation & combat After a long 300-bout fruitless fight, Erlang exerted his magic and transformed himself into a 100,000 feet tall giant. Monkey then imitated his opponent’s form and turned himself into a giant too, the same size as Erlang’s form. They resumed in combat. Result: None - a draw until Wukong fled for the safety of his fellow monkeys, to keep them safe from Erlang’s soldiers. 1.3. Round 3Type: Transformation Monkey turns himself into a sparrow and flees by flying away. Erlang notices this transformation and turns himself into a sparrow hawk to attack. Result: Erlang wins. 1.4. Round 4Type: Transformation When Monkey now changes into a cormorant to be able to fly higher, out of Erlang’s hawk’s reach. Erlang was aware of this and transforms into an ocean crane to give chase. Result: Erlang wins. 1.5. Round 5Type: Transformation & intellect Monkey was afraid of Erlang’s powerful transformations and turns himself into a small fish to hide in a stream. Erlang changes into a fish hawk and scans the stream for Monkey’s trace. He cleverly identifies the fish that was Monkey and attempts to catch it. Result: Erlang wins. 1.6. Round 6Type: Transformation Monkey immediately darts out of the water when he sees Erlang and changes into a water snake. Erlang transforms into a grey crane to catch the water snake. Result: Erlang wins. 1.7. Round 7Type: Transformation & intellect Monkey sees that Erlang had turned into a crane to chase him, so he wittily transformed into a spotted bustard to oppose Erlang’s crane. Result: Monkey wins - Erlang as a crane did not dare approach the bustard [1]. 1.8. Round 8Type: Transformation & combat When Monkey changed into a bustard, Erlang was afraid to approach it. Instead, Erlang reverted to his original form and took out his pellet bow. With the bow, he aimed at Monkey’s bustard and succeeded with a strong direct hit. Result: Erlang wins. 1.9. Round 9Type: Transformation & intellect After being knocked far back by Erlang’s pellet, Monkey now executes one of his best disguises, transforming himself into an Earth deity temple. When Erlang arrives at the scene, he manages to deduce that the temple was really a flawed transformation of Monkey and proceeds to attack its eyes and teeth, forcing Monkey to flee in panic. Result: Erlang wins. 1.10. Round 10Type: Transformation Monkey flees all the way to Erlang’s residence, where Monkey assumes the form of Erlang himself, fooling everyone at the place. Erlang chases Monkey his own home and is informed of another Lord Erlang inside, who he exposes as Wukong. Result: None. 1.11. Round 11Type: Combat The endgame of Sun Wukong and Lord Erlang’s battle. While the two were locked in combat, Supreme Exalted Lord Lao throws down his Diamond Cutter (jingang zhuo, 金刚琢) hoop, which knocks Monkey down from behind. Erlang’s dog bites onto Monkey to prevent him from escaping, leading to Monkey’s ultimate arrest. Result: None - an unfair victory for Erlang. 2. The Better Demon QuellerApart from battling and arresting Monkey, Erlang has made a second appearance later on in chapter 63 of Journey to the West. At this time, Erlang and his six brothers of Plum Mountain (meishan, 梅山) were returning home from a hunting trip, close to where Monkey and Pigsy were struggling to fight against the Nine-Headed Beast (jiutou chong, 九头虫). With no success, Monkey decided to might as well ask his former superior opponent Lord Erlang to lend a helping hand since he was passing by [src. 2]. The Nine-Headed Beast was then finally defeated single-handedly by one shot of Erlang's bow [src. 3]. Without Erlang's help, Monkey and Pigsy together could not have beaten Nine Heads, proving Erlang to be significantly stronger than Monkey and Pigsy combined. “Eight Rules,” said Pilgrim, “those seven sages [of Plum Mountain] happen to be my bond-brothers. We should detain them and ask them to help us do battle. If we succeed, it’ll be a wonderful opportunity for us.”
3. Characters' Views on the BattleThere have been several mentions of Wukong and Erlang’s battle delivered by various characters throughout the Journey to the West novel. I list five of the most notable ones below, all of which imply that Wukong is a defeated opponent of Erlang. 3.1. Wukong HimselfThe words of Sun Wukong, who was one of the main belligerents of the battle, are unarguable. The Monkey King himself has made quite a few mentions of Erlang when introducing his past to other characters in the novel. The most significant of all these mentions of his defeat lies with Monkey’s introduction of his and Erlang’s history to Pigsy, as recorded in chapter 63, where Monkey directly states that he is a defeated war opponent of Lord Erlang and has no face to greet him [src. 4-6]. Below are a series of textual references of Monkey’s notable mentions on his loss against Erlang [src. 7-9]. “Eight Rules,” said Pilgrim, “those seven sages happen to be my bond-brothers. We should detain them and ask them to help us do battle. If we succeed, it’ll be a wonderful opportunity for us.” “If they’re your brothers,” replied Eight Rules, “we should indeed ask them to stay.” “But they have in their midst Big Brother Illustrious Sagacity [Erlang],” said Pilgrim, “who once defeated me. I’m a little embarrassed about showing myself abruptly to him. […]”
[…] “You didn’t know about this, did you?” said Pilgrim. “When I caused such turmoil in Heaven by stealing the magic pills, the immortal peaches, and the imperial wine, I was captured by the Little Sage Erlang and taken to the Polestar Palace. […]” Bowing his head, Pilgrim thought to himself, “Those warriors in Heaven whose abilities are not as good as old Monkey’s are plentiful, but those just as good are few. Remember when I caused great havoc in the Celestial Palace: the Jade Emperor sent out one hundred thousand Heaven soldiers with cosmic nets, but there is not a single person who could stand up to me. They found my match only when they called up the Little Sage Erlang. […]” 3.2. GuanyinBodhisattva Guanyin is known to be one of the wisest characters in not just Journey to the West, but in all of Chinese folklore as well. With her eyes of wisdom (huiyan, 慧眼), she is able to gain insight into all matters anywhere. Her knowledge of the world’s affairs is undoubted, and thus everybody knows she gives the finest advice, all based on her wise assessments. Naturally, Guanyin’s recommendation of dispatching Lord Erlang to arrest the monkey demon was errorless [src. 10-11]. Through her insights, she knows in mind that in the entire celestial palace, only the Jade Emperor’s nephew Erlang has the skills to rival and conquer the Great Sage. Guanyin’s judgement is surely unquestionable. […] Guanyin folded her hands and said to him [Jade Emperor]. “Your Majesty, let not your mind be troubled! This humble cleric will recommend a god who can capture the monkey.” “Which one would you recommend?” said the Jade Emperor. “Your Majesty’s nephew,” said the Bodhisattva, “the Immortal Master of Illustrious Sagacity Erlang, who is living at the mouth of the River of Libations in the Guan Prefecture and enjoying the incense and oblations offered to him from the Region Below. […]”
3.3. LaoziSupreme Exalted Lord Lao was a significant supporting force during Monkey and Erlang’s battle. He was the one who ultimately ended the long fight by knocking Monkey down from behind with his Diamond Cutter (see para. 1.11). Later on in the novel, Monkey pays Laozi a visit to borrow an elixir as requested by Tripitaka. There, Laozi complains to Monkey about him being such a troublemaker and, in passing, fully credits Erlang to have been the one who defeated him [src. 12-13]. Not taking any of Erlang’s great merit, you cannot deny the words of the patriarch of Daoism [2] himself. “Monkey,” said Laozi, “when you caused great disruption in Heaven five hundred years ago, you stole and consumed countless efficacious elixirs of mine. And when we sent the Little Sage Erlang to arrest you and bring you to the Region Above, you were sent to be refined in my elixir brazier for forty-nine days and made me squander who knows how much charcoal. […]”
3.4. Earth Deity at the Mountain of FlamesWhen the Earth deity at the Mountain of Flames introduces the setting to the pilgrims, he reveals that he used to be a Daoist who watched over Laozi’s furnace. He continues to explain that it was in fact Monkey who caused the flames of the mountain, when he knocked over Laozi’s furnace after being sentenced to be burnt there when he was arrested by Lord Erlang [src. 14-15]. This Earthy deity who used to reside in Heaven must know the matters of Heaven and Earth, and his statements are therefore most valid. “You can’t possibly recognize me now,” said the local spirit [Earth deity]. “There was no such mountain in this place originally. Five hundred years ago, when the Great Sage caused great disturbance in the Celestial Palace, you were caught by Illustrious Sagacity [Erlang] and taken in custody to Laozi. […]”
3.5. Author Wu Cheng'enSee para. 4. 4. The Direct Words of the AuthorFrom the written words of JTTW author Wu Cheng’en himself, it is evident that he intended to write Lord Erlang as a more powerful character than Sun Wukong. This is gathered from his use of words for the title chapter 6, the chapter where the great battle takes place. See src. 16 for reference, translated by Prof. Anthony C. Yu (2012). Guanyin, attending the banquet, inquires into the cause; A more accurate translation of this title would be: Guanyin, attending the feast, enquires [] into the cause;  [Src. 18] The original Chinese title of chapter 6; yellow: "displays prestige", red: "subdues" [by the author] From this line alone, it is clear that the author has written Erlang to have suppressed Monkey [src. 17-18]. The use of the phrase “displaying prestige” gives the impression that Erlang’s power is much greater, and allows him to be presented as more prestigious, in comparison to Monkey. The next point lies with the single word “subdue". This one word is highly effective in expressing the ultimate outcome of Monkey and Erlang’s fight, proving that even the author himself acknowledges that God Erlang has truly beaten the Monkey King. ConclusionSupported by the many reasons above, Lord Erlang is certainly more powerful than Sun Wukong. All this is evident from textual references by the outcomes of each round during the enduring sequence of the Monkey vs Erlang battle, statements of perspective made by various characters throughout the novel on Erlang’s achievement in arresting Monkey (particular Monkey himself admitting to be Erlang’s defeated opponent) and last but not least, the Journey to the West author’s intention of writing Erlang as a stronger character as indicated in his choice of words. I was not in the brightest state of mind when writing up this article, but I do hope it is clear enough for readers to understand the main conclusion: the Monkey King never did (and probably never will) defeat Lord Erlang, nor are his powers greater. - Notes[1] bustard (鸨)
From the words of author Wu Cheng’en explaining this analogy, translated by Anthony C. Yu (2012): When Erlang saw that the monkey had changed into such a vulgar creature—for the spotted bustard is the basest and most promiscuous of birds, mating indiscriminately with phoenixes, hawks, or crows—he refused to approach him. Changing back into his true form, […]. Context: at the time when Monkey changed into the bustard, Erlang was in the form of a crane (see para. 1.6-1.7), hence he as a bird didn’t go near the lustful bustard. [2] patriarch of Daoism (道教之祖) The historical philosopher Laozi (c. 571-442 BC?, 老子, lit: Master Lao), born Li Er (李耳), is traditionally believed to be the founder of the religion Daoism (a.k.a. Taoism), hence his venerable title “Patriarch of Daoism” (a.k.a. Patriarch of Dao - daozu, 道祖). [3] Little Sage (小圣) “Little Sage” is a title of God Erlang. I am not certain why he is so called, but it iss likely that the JTTW author implemented this name as a literary balance to contrast with the Great Sage, both being the strongest warriors with just the Great Sage appearing to be more arrogant since his title is self-proclaimed.
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