Heifeng Guai

Black Wind Demon
An illustration of Heifeng Guai surrenders to Guanyin
Traditional Chinese	黑風怪
Simplified Chinese	黑风怪
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hēifēng Guài
Black Bear Spirit
Traditional Chinese	黑熊精
Simplified Chinese	黑熊精
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hēixióng Jīng

Heifeng Guai (Chinese: 黑风怪), also translated as the Black Wind Demon, is a character from the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. He is a demon based in a cave on Black Wind Mountain (黑风山). His true form is a black bear, thus the demon is also known as the Black Bear Monster (Chinese: 黑熊精), but he appears as a dark-complexioned man armed with a Black Tassel Spear.

He steals Tang Sanzang's cassock during a fire. Sun Wukong goes to confront him later to take back the cassock but fails so he seeks help from Guanyin. The Black Wind Demon eventually surrenders to Guanyin after she uses one of the artifacts that the Buddha gave her (similar to the ring on Sun Wukong's head), and becomes the mountain's guardian deity.

Journey to the West

During their journey to obtain the scriptures, Tang Sanzang and his disciple encountered the Guanyin Temple. However, they were targeted by Elder Jinchi, a greedy and foolish monk, who set fire to the temple in an attempt to harm them. The Black Bear Spirit went to extinguish the fire but took the opportunity to steal the precious Kasaya robe bestowed upon Tang Sanzang by the Buddha. Sun Wukong engaged in multiple battles with the Black Bear Spirit but failed to retrieve the robe, so he sought help from Guanyin Bodhisattva in the South Sea.

Guanyin Bodhisattva transformed into Lingxu, a close friend who was supposed to celebrate the Black Bear Spirit's birthday, and presented an elixir as a gift. The Black Bear Spirit swallowed the elixir, disguised as Sun Wukong, but suffered great pain and revealed its true form. Guanyin Bodhisattva retrieved the Buddha's robe for Tang Sanzang and used the Golden Cincture to bind the Black Bear Spirit, compelling it to convert to Buddhism and become a guardian deity of Mount Laojia in the South Sea.

Prototype and scholarly commentary

Literary scholars trace the title "Black Wind Demon" back to the Yuan dynasty zaju version of Journey to the West written by Yang Jingxian. In this early play, the Black Bear Spirit did not exist. Instead, Zhu Bajie was called the "Black Wind King" (黑风大王) and lived in the "Black Wind Cave". Later, when Wu Cheng'en wrote the Ming dynasty novel, he separated these ideas by moving Bajie to Cloud-Pathway Cave (云栈洞) and creating the Black Bear Spirit to take over the Black Wind Cave setting.

Scholars of Chinese literature, including Geng Chuanming and Zhao Shuang, often analyze the Black Bear Spirit as a psychological and religious allegory. In Buddhist interpretations of Journey to the West, the monsters faced by the pilgrims are seen as "mental demons" (心魔), representing inner human weaknesses that must be overcome to achieve enlightenment. Within this interpretation, the Black Bear Spirit and Elder Jinchi are viewed as symbols of greed (贪) and attachment to worldly desires. Although both possess high spiritual cultivation and knowledge, they still become obsessed with obtaining the glowing cassock. Scholars also note that Guanyin placing a Restriction Hoop on the Black Bear Spirit parallels the hoop placed on Sun Wukong, who represents the restless "Monkey Mind." This symbolizes the idea that uncontrolled earthly desires must be restrained by Buddhist teachings before they can properly serve the Dharma.

In the original text, Wu Cheng'en describes the monster as a Xiongpi (熊罴), a term in ancient Chinese literature for a huge and powerful bear. Literary critic Zhao Shuang notes that the Black Bear Spirit's great strength comes from ancient Chinese bear worship traditions. In old Chinese myths, bears were often linked with great power, including legends of Yu the Great, who transformed into a giant bear while controlling the Great Flood. Zhao argues that Wu Cheng'en used this older bear image to emphasize the demon's powerful fighting ability.

In media

Further information: List of media adaptations of Journey to the West

Black Myth: Wukong

The Black Bear Spirit appears as the final boss of Chapter 1 in Black Myth: Wukong. In the game, he becomes corrupted after receiving the sacred relic called the "Craving Eyes" from the celestial court. He returns to Black Wind Mountain, rebuilds the Guanyin Monastery, and revives Elder Jinchi as an undead spirit. During the game, the player fights him at Bodhi Peak in a two-phase boss battle using black mist and fire attacks. After his defeat, he regrets his actions and returns to the South Sea to face Guanyin's judgment.