Chinese
Nine Tripod Cauldrons
九鼎
The legitimacy to rule all under heaven. They rest with dynasties of virtue.
VesselFirst recorded c. 400 BCE
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Photograph: A Japanese woodblock print of about 1824 by Yashima Gakutei, Sun Wukong. The monkey king in red robes stands on ground spread with clouds, a long staff on his back, blowing out a swarm of tiny monkeys.
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2,681 × 3,000 PX2681×3000
ArchiveChinese · Weapon
Ruyi Jingu Bang
如意金箍棒
Weighs 13,500 catties. Grows and shrinks at will, down to a needle for tucking in the ear.
- Owner
- Sun Wukong
- Maker
- An iron pillar once used by King Yu to measure the sea
- First record
- Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West1592
- Gallery
- Chinese
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
Sun Wukong went to the palace of the Dragon King of the East Sea in search of a weapon. When he rejected every spear and sword offered as too light, the Dragon King pointed to an iron pillar lodged at the bottom of the sea, once used by King Yu of Xia to measure the depths when he controlled the floods.
The pillar shone and shrank as Sun Wukong approached. Gold bands circled its ends, and it was inscribed "Ruyi Jingu Bang, weight 13,500 catties."
The staff grew as tall as heaven or shrank as small as a needle at his wish. Sun Wukong usually carried it reduced to a needle inside his ear.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows The Monkey King Songokū, from the Chinese novel Journey to the West(Japan, probably 1824), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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