Great Demon Sun Wukong

As for why Chang'er calls Zhu Bajie Feng Meng, and what the story is between Zhu Bajie and Chang'er, we have to go back a long time. But before telling this story, we must first understand one thing: who exactly is Chang'er? Many people know Chang'er, but who is she really? And why did she become Hou Yi's wife? We must know that Hou Yi was the hero who shot down nine Golden Crows and became the emperor of the mortal world. If Chang'er were just an ordinary woman, how could she become Hou Yi's wife?

According to historical records, Chang'er is actually the daughter of Di Ku. So who is Di Ku? Di Ku is actually Di Jun, who later became the Demon Emperor of the Demon Clan ruling Heaven. However, at that time, Di Jun was not yet a Demon Emperor, but the emperor of the Human Clan. Di Jun was the third emperor among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. At age 15, he was enfeoffed as Xin Hou; at 30, he ascended by abdication, known as Gao Xin. Di Jun succeeded the Flame and Yellow Emperors and preceded Yao and Shun, laying the foundation of Huaxia, being recognized as the common human progenitor of the Huaxia nation and considered the first ancestor by the Shang Tribe.

Di Jun's grandfather's name was Xuan Xiao, the eldest son of Huang Di's concubine Nu Jie; his father was Jiao Ji, and Zhuanxu was his uncle. When Emperor Zhuanxu died, he inherited the throne, at the age of thirty. After Di Jun became the ruler of the world, with Bo as the capital, ruling with the virtue of wood, he was deeply loved by the people and was buried in his hometown, Xin, after his death, where Emperor Ku's Mausoleum was built.

Chang'er's mother was named Chang Yi, who was Di Jun's wife. Chang Yi was an extremely beautiful woman; Di Jun cherished her and also called her Chang Xi. Chang Xi and Di Jun had a son and a daughter; the son was Emperor Zhi, who was a debauched tyrant, and the daughter was the Moon Goddess Heng'e, who is actually Chang'er. In many ancient texts, Chang'er is mistaken as Di Jun's second wife, which is incorrect.

Chang Xi is Chang Xi, and Chang'er is Chang'er, they are not the same person. Furthermore, Chang Xi's name actually means birthing the moon, and Chang'er represents the moon, so this distinction must be clear. Di Jun's son, Emperor Zhi, was a tyrant given to excess. After Di Jun's death, Zhi, being Di Jun's eldest son, inherited the throne but ruled for only nine years before being overthrown by the dukes, who then promoted Tang Yao as the new emperor.

Therefore, Chang'er's lineage is extremely prestigious; according to later accounts, Chang'er was a princess at that time. Chang'er first met Zhu Bajie, also known as Feng Meng, when she was fifteen years old. (Here we'll temporarily refer to him as Feng Meng) That year was when Chang'er celebrated her twelfth birthday. Being the daughter of Di Jun, her birthday was certainly a grand national event. Di Jun celebrated with the people, and the banquet lasted three days and nights.

On Chang'er's birthday, Di Jun was very happy and asked her if she had any wishes. Chang'er thought for a moment and said she wished to go horseback riding and hunting. At that time, this was quite an extraordinary request as horseback riding and hunting were traditionally activities pursued by men. Ordinary ladies rarely engaged in such pursuits, let alone Di Jun's daughter. However, Di Jun, being of a kind disposition, and being elated on Chang'er's birthday, surprisingly agreed.

Thus, Di Jun, leading a group of ministers, mounted horses and took Chang'er, leaving the Imperial Palace for a hunting ground where Di Jun and others often hunted. Young Chang'er, at first hesitant to ride a horse, quickly learned the art of horse riding after being led around the ground a few times by the ministers. Di Jun was quite satisfied, and the group rode into the hunting ground.

Initially, Di Jun and the ministers casually chatted while watching Chang'er awkwardly shooting with a small bow and arrows. After all, Chang'er was not only a girl but also handling a bow and arrows for the first time, so how could she aim accurately? Watching such a child shooting randomly soon became uninteresting to the adults. Not long after, they were all drawn away by various game in the hunting ground and eventually dispersed.

After all, it was a place they visited often and seemed devoid of danger, leaving only Di Jun and Chang'er alone in the end. Di Jun, itching for the thrill, couldn't easily leave his daughter alone for his own pleasure and thus walked around a bit with her until little Chang'er got tired and dismounted to rest on a large rock.

At this moment, a sika deer suddenly ran by, and Di Jun could not restrain himself anymore. He instructed Chang'er not to wander off and immediately mounted his horse in pursuit. Poor little Chang'er was left behind by all the adults. However, Chang'er, being playful by nature, didn't mind, wandering around to look at various things by herself. It was at this moment that a spotted tiger suddenly sprang from the underbrush nearby.

The tiger was initially chasing that sika deer, but with the deer gone, it spotted the little girl. A hungry tiger, not caring who she was, pounced at little Chang'er. Chang'er, never having seen such a beast, was terrified and began to cry loudly. The tiger, indifferent to her cries, lunged with its maw ready to bite Chang'er's head. At this critical moment, an arrow suddenly whistled from the other side, followed by three golden arrows that shot through the tiger's head like lightning. The enormous force instantly killed the tiger and pinned it to a large tree on the other side.

Chang'er was petrified with fear, forgetting even to cry. Through her tear-blurred eyes, she saw someone rushing over to ask if she was okay. But Chang'er was so frightened that she didn't know how to respond. The person checked her over and found she wasn't hurt, which put him at ease. He patted Chang'er's little head and walked over to the tiger pinned to the tree. Because the person had his back to Chang'er, by the time she finally calmed down, she realized she couldn't see his face.

All she could see was on that person's back, there was a fiery red bow, absurdly large. The person carefully pulled out the three arrows from the tiger's head, then slung the tiger's carcass over his shoulder. Just as he turned around to perhaps say goodbye to Chang'er, the instant he turned, Chang'er saw the ghastly tiger's head and burst into tears again. The person quickly turned around and said, "I'm leaving now; the adults from your family will be back soon," then carried the tiger's body away.

This person who shot the tiger dead with one arrow was Feng Meng, who could release three arrows in one shot. Feng Meng appeared because he and his friends were heading to another place, and upon passing by here, he got a bit hungry and ventured into the woods to hunt. He happened to spot the tiger and chased after it. Just now, he mentioned that her family's adults would be back because he heard the noise of footsteps, realizing this little girl wasn't ordinary.

After Di Jun returned and found out Chang'er was unhurt, he breathed a sigh of relief. This incident was thus deeply imprinted in young Chang'er's mind. As time went by, a few years later, Chang'er was seventeen. That year, Di Jun recruited talented sages from all over the world. Two individuals, with unparalleled archery skills, stood out among everyone.

One of them was Feng Meng, and the other was Hou Yi. However, since Feng Meng was taciturn and always regarded Hou Yi as an elder brother, Di Jun appointed Hou Yi as the Archery Official, granting him a red bow and reeds. Hou Yi didn't fall short of Di Jun's high expectations; when Bai Nian rebelled, Hou Yi and Feng Meng together quickly subdued the rebellion. Of course, this is another story.

Thus, Hou Yi became the Archery Official. Once again, by coincidence, the already exceedingly beautiful Chang'er met Hou Yi. At that time, although Di Jun had rewarded Hou Yi the red bow and reeds, which were incredibly precious, Hou Yi usually carried his commonly used Phoenix Wing Flame Bow.

Subsequently, events unfolded simply: Chang'er mistook Hou Yi, with the Phoenix Wing Flame Bow on his back, for Feng Meng. Coupled with Hou Yi's instant infatuation with Chang'er, the two of them, under Di Jun's encouragement, got married joyously. Back then, this was an event that shook the entire nation. Chang'er just like that married Hou Yi. Later, when Di Jun died, Emperor Yao ascended the throne. One day, ten suns appeared in the sky. Hou Yi, to shoot down the suns and save all beings, melded the Phoenix Wing Flame Bow and the red bow into the Sun Shooting Divine Bow, reforged the reeds, and successfully shot down nine suns.

Because Hou Yi achieved unparalleled feats for the well-being of the people, the folks in the Mortal World revered Hou Yi as "Da Yi." He also shot down ferocious beasts and venomous snakes to protect people, earning the title "God of Archery" among the populace. Hou Yi's prestige reached an all-time high, even rivalling Yao. However, good times didn't last long, and one day, Chang'er accidentally discovered she had mistaken someone all along.

Because once when Hou Yi was drunk, he uttered a sentence: "Actually, I really let my brother Feng Meng down. Back then, if he hadn't given me his Phoenix Wing Flame Bow, I wouldn't have been able to shoot down the nine suns. It's just a pity my brother cares little for fame and fortune!"

Chang'er felt as if she was struck by lightning; the main reason she had married Hou Yi was out of gratitude for the life-saving grace from years ago. But now she suddenly learned that Hou Yi's Phoenix Wing Flame Bow was Feng Meng's, meaning it was Feng Meng who saved her back then?

Below is a story from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, which you might be interested in:,

[The Yellow Emperor begot Luo Ming, Luo Ming begot White Horse, White Horse became Gun. Di Jun begot Yuhao, Yuhao begot Yinliang, Yinliang begot Fanyu, who was the first to make boats. Fanyu begot Xizhong, Xizhong begot Jiguan, Jiguan was the first to make chariots with wood. Shaohao begot Pan, Pan was the first to make bows and arrows. Di Jun granted Yi the red bow and white arrows, to support the lower kingdom. Yi was the first to relieve the hundreds of hardships of the lower lands. Di Jun begot Yan Long, Yan Long was for instruments. Di Jun had eight sons, who were the first to perform music and dance. Di Jun begot three bodies, the three bodies begot Yi Jun, Yi Jun was the first to decay, who made the common people decay. Hou Ji sowed the hundred grains. Hou Ji's grandson was called Shu Jun, who was the first to plow with oxen. Da Bi Chi Yin was the first to form nations. Yu and Gun were the first to distribute the land, determining the Nine Provinces. Yandi's wife, Chishui's son listened to Yan, and gave birth to Yanju. Yanju begot Jie Bing, Jie Bing begot Xi Qi, Xi Qi begot Zhurong, Zhurong descended and dwelled along Jiangshui, giving birth to Gonggong. Gonggong begot Shuqie, Shuqie had squared forelocks, who restored land to settle along Jiangshui. Gonggong begot Hou Tu, Hou Tu begot Yemeng, Yemeng begot Twelve of the Year. The flood was sky-high, Gun stole the emperor's resting soil to dam the flood without awaiting the emperor's command. The emperor ordered Zhurong to kill Gun in the feather wilderness. Gun reincarnated into Yu, and the emperor then commanded Yu to complete the distribution of the land and settle Nine Provinces.](To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly pass, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)