Bear Mountain Lord
Bear Mountain Lord is one of the three spirits of Double-Fork Ridge in chapter 13, a black bear demon who gives himself a grand title. Together with General Yin Tiger and the Wild Bull Lord, he devours two of Tripitaka's attendants on the first night of the journey west. His title reveals one of the novel's small but telling social habits among demons: even a flesh-eating mountain spirit wants a proper rank and a dignified name.
Three demons leap out of the night at Double-Fork Ridge, and one of them is a black bear spirit who calls himself Bear Mountain Lord. He is not the leader of the trio. General Yin Tiger is the tiger who leads, Wild Bull Lord is the bull who fills out the line, and Bear Mountain Lord stands in the middle, neither dominant nor negligible.
The three of them devour the two attendants who travel with Tripitaka, then disappear from the story. They are not slain, not rescued, and not seen again. But the title "Mountain Lord" is the interesting part. In old Chinese usage, "mountain lord" is a lofty title for a tiger; here the title is given to the bear instead, while the tiger settles for "general." That small mismatch gives the trio a comic and oddly ceremonial air. Even mountain monsters want rank.
Bear Mountain Lord is a good reminder that Journey to the West is full of low-level demons who still care about status. The name is grander than the creature deserves, and that is exactly the joke.
Related Figures
- General Yin Tiger - the tiger spirit who leads the trio
- Wild Bull Lord - the bull spirit among the three
- Tripitaka - the pilgrims' target, whose two attendants are eaten
- Venus Star - the old man who leads Tripitaka out of danger at dawn
- Black Bear Demon - a much stronger bear demon elsewhere in the novel
Story Appearances
First appears in: Chapter 13 - Gold Star Frees the Tiger Den; Boqin Keeps the Monk at Double-Fork Ridge
Tribulations
- 13