Three Borrowings of the Palm-Leaf Fan

The Flaming Mountain

Wukong battles the Bull Demon King to borrow the fan that quenches the Flaming Mountain’s fire.

West of the pilgrims’ road lies the Flaming Mountain, whose fires burn for a thousand li and can be quenched only by the palm-leaf fan of Princess Iron Fan. Sun Wukong borrows the fan three times: first he shrinks into a midge, enters her stomach and extorts a fan — only to find it a false one that fans the flames higher. He then battles her husband, the Bull Demon King, from mountain to river with Zhu Bajie and heaven’s hosts at his side until the true fan is won. With one sweep of its leaves the mountain’s fire dies, and the road west turns passable once more.