Squire Ox

Among the three demons of Double-Fork Ridge, the last one is called "Squire Ox." The first character of the Chinese name points to a bull, so this is a bull spirit - not Bull Demon King, who can churn the seas, but a wild bull demon who haunts a barren mountain and feeds on passersby. Together with General Yin Tiger, a tiger spirit, and Bear Mountain Lord, a bear spirit, he forms the ridge's "three-man gang." In chapter 13 they eat the two servants of Tripitaka, and then vanish from the story forever. Yet the title he gives himself - "squire" - is far more interesting than his handful of pages would suggest.

The name "squire": a scholar's title worn by a demon

"Squire" in classical Chinese refers to a cultured man who lives in retirement and does not seek office. Before Zhuge Liang entered public service, he could be called a squire. Tao Yuanming, after withdrawing to the fields, could also be called one. The title carries a glow of elegance, detachment, and moral reserve. It suggests, "I do not lack ability; I simply disdain official life."

A bull spirit eating travelers in the wilderness and calling himself "Squire Ox" is a deliberate clash of tones. Wu Cheng'en repeats this trick throughout Journey to the West: demons wrap themselves in human titles that sound refined, as if vocabulary alone could soften their brutality. General Yin Tiger has a military title. Bear Mountain Lord borrows a noble one. Squire Ox borrows the word of the recluse scholar. The three names cover the social range of warrior, aristocrat, and literatus, forming a tiny parody of human society.

The satire is not limited to Double-Fork Ridge. Throughout the book, demons are obsessed with human labels. Yellow-Robed Demon wants a royal marriage. King Golden Horn calls himself a king. The Tiger, Deer, and Ram Immortals all want to be state tutors. They do not want to remain demons in the mountains. They want a title. Squire Ox is the same vanity wearing a slightly more polished coat: not a court title, but a title that pretends to stand above the court.

The word "Squire" also plays on the Chinese "special" or "singular" sense of the first character. Read one way, the name means "the bull spirit who is also a squire." Read another, it means "a particularly elegant squire." Either way, the joke is the same: this wild bull demon cares a great deal about how he appears. He is not a rough brute, at least not in his own mind. He is a demon with taste. Of course, taste and cannibalism do not cancel each other out. He and the other two spirits still eat the servants dry.

From a narrative angle, Squire Ox exists to complete the number three. Three has a strong pulse in Chinese storytelling - three visits, three bows, three strikes - and Wu Cheng'en needs three demons to create the pressure of being swallowed by a den of beasts. With only General Yin Tiger, the scene is a tiger attack. With three spirits, it becomes a trap. Squire Ox fills the third slot and gives the trio a touch of class.

There is no link between Squire Ox and Bull Demon King, despite both being bovine spirits. One is a minor mountain spirit who appears once and disappears. The other is a giant demon king, sworn brother of Sun Wukong, with two strongholds and a full household. The distance between them is the distance between a house cat and a tiger.

Related figures

• General Yin Tiger - the tiger spirit who leads the Double-Fork Ridge trio
• Bear Mountain Lord - the black bear spirit in the same trio
• Tripitaka - the prey of the Double-Fork Ridge spirits, whose two attendants are eaten
• Bull Demon King - another bull spirit, but one at an entirely different scale and with no relation to Squire Ox