Baigujing is the main antagonist of the 2016 fantasy film The Monkey King 2, loosely based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. She was loosely based on the Baigujing from the original novel. In the film, she is a skeleton demoness who desired to eat the flesh of Tang Sanzang so she can live forever and avoid the Wheel of Reincarnation.
She was portrayed by Gong Li, who also played Xianniang in the 2020 live-action remake of Mulan and Hatsumomo in Memoirs of a Geisha.
Personality[]
Baigujing's greatest desire is to avoid the Wheel of Reincarnation for all eternity. This is why desires to eat Sanzang's flesh so that she can become immortal, but she is extremely careful upon seeing his disciples. She is also a trickster, who enjoys tricking the companion as she disguised three times to test their intelligence. Baigujing is also somewhat sadistic, as she taunts Sun Wukong to kill her.
Biography[]
Baigujing has been terrorized the Yun Hai Xi Kingdom for some time, eating humans to extend her lifespan and avoid the Wheel of Reincarnation. Upon learned that Tang Sanzang had arrived to her location, Baigujing plans to eat him so she can live forever. She disguises herself as an elderly woman lures his group into a cottage in the woods, and throws tainted dust into Sun Wukong's eyes to prevent him from seeing her true form immediately.
She then tells the group that she was forced to marry as a young girl, and when her village was suffering a famine, the people blamed her for it and even called her an evil demon, attempting to sacrifice her to the gods. Just when Sanzang is comforting her, she tries to kill him only to be stopped by Wukong, but manages to escape, leaving a fake corpse of the old lady behind. Sanzang, not believing that the old lady is a demon, reads the cite to tighten Wukong's magical circlet to punish the latter.
Baigujing reappears when the King of the kingdom begs Sanzang to exorcise her from their land. She demands the monk but Sanzang offers his help in enlightenment instead. She tells Wukong that they're both very alike and tries to persuade him to let her eat Sanzang, but he deceives and fights her. It's then that the King reveals his true colors, that it is him who kidnaps and kills the chilren to drink their blood in an desperate attempt to cure his disease. While he is trying to kill Sanzang, Wukong rescues the latter and the children. While the group is being celebrated as heroes, Baigujing possesses a young girl and her mother to approach Sanzang. Wukong beats both the girl and her mother to death, angering Sanzang, who then banishes him away. As soon as Wukong leaves, Baigujing kidnaps Sanzang.
In her lair, Baigujing gives Sanzang one day to convince her to the path of enlightenment. She also reveals that the story she told the group earlier was true, being her human life. Right before Sanzang's time is up, Wukong rescues him. Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing fight Baigujing and her army, and manage to mortally wound her. Just then the Buddha appears to collect her soul and banish it to oblivion, but Sanzang pleads him for one more chance. Despite Sanzang trying to convince her, Baigujing would rather die tainted than returning to the Wheel of Reincarnation, saddening the monk, who begs Wukong to kill him too. Although Wukong refuses at first, Sanzang says that he has to make an example to convince people, so Wukong kills him, turning his body into a statue. Thanks to Sanzang's sacrifice, Baigujing enters the Wheel of Reincarnation, reborn into another existence.
Afterwards, Sanzang is revived by the Guan Yin.
Trivia[]
- When Baigujing's poster first came out, there had been criticisms of her resembling Maleficent from the film of the same name.
Gallery[]
