Etymology – “bull demon king”

The character of Niu Mo Wang is a figure who features in the story of Journey to the West, a classic Chinese novel written and published anonymously by Wu Cheng’en during the 16th century.

Niu Mo Wang is a yaoguai, similar to the Japanese Yokai and from where the term originates. In the story of Journey to the West, Niu Mo Wang is the Master of the “Mountain of Fire” (Huoyanshan) that burns constantly, causing a lot of dryness and an unbearable heat in a volcanic region that blocks the passage of Tang Sanzang and his troop.

The Monkey King, Sun Wu Kong tries to steal the magical bajiaoshan from Tiě shàn gōngzhǔ, better known in English translations as Princess Iron Fan, the wife of Niu Mo Wang. The bajiaoshan is a large palm-leaf fan capable of creating whirl-winds and would be capable of causing the volcanoes in the area to become inactive, allowing Tang Sanzang and company to pass through.

Here it gets a bit confusing, as when reading the accounts given under Niu Mo Wang, Sun Wu Kong is able to defeat the Bull King with the help of a Buddhist deity, Nezha. When looking at entries under Princess Iron Fan, Sun Wu Kong is able to trick her into giving him the fan or to outright steal it.

Sun Wu Kong is able to help Tang Sanzang and his friends get past the volcanoes of Niu Mo Wang’s territory and the fan is returned. Again, in the account under Princess Iron Fan, Niu Mo Wang tricks Sun Wu Kong into giving the fan back by being the pig Zhu Bajie.

Children

It’s mentioned that Niu Mo Wang and Tiě shàn gōngzhǔ have a son named Hong Haier, “Red Child.”