96 Systemizing Martial Practice
Even as he leaves no doubt that his protagonist specializes in staff fight-
ing, Dong Jieyuan supplies him with other weapons as well. In addition to
the staff, Facong is armed with a whip and a “prohibitions’ knife” (jiedao;
Sanskrit: šastraka). Mentioned also in Wang Shifu’s zaju version, the latter
has a Buddhist provenance. Monastic regulations list the “prohibitions’
knife” among the monk’s “eighteen belongings” (shiba wu), which include
such items as soap, water bottle, mat, begging bowl, and the Buddhist ring
staff (xizhang). Originally intended for such tasks as shaving the head, cut-
ting the fingernails, and mending clothes, the “prohibitions’ knife” was only
a few inches long. However, Dong Jieyuan’s literary fancy has enlarged it to
the size of a three-foot dragon-slaying sword.^45
Lu Zhishen
This fighting monk has been mentioned twice before, first as an example
of the literary topos of the meat-eating fighting-monk—like Huiming, Lu de-
lights in nothing better than animal flesh, especially dog meat—and second
because of his affiliation with the Mt. Wutai monasteries, which probably re-
flects their military renown. We have seen that historical Wutai monks did
go to war, and their heroism was mirrored in popular literature. We turn
now to the valiant monk’s typical weapon: the staff.
Lu Zhishen, also known as the “Tattooed Monk” (Hua Heshang), figures
in the enormously popular novel of physical heroism, Water Margin (Shuihu
zhuan). This early Ming novel derives from dramatic and oral antecedents,
which can be traced back to the Southern Song. It is noteworthy that even in
Fig. 16. Huiming manipulating the staff from horseback; woodblock illustration
dated 1498.