Taishang Laojun is the ancient Daoist elder of Tushita Palace in Journey to the West. During the Havoc in Heaven, Sun Wukong steals his elixir pills. Laojun later strikes the fleeing monkey with the Vajra Cutter, helping Erlang capture him, and places him in the Eight-Trigram Furnace for forty-nine days. Wukong survives, emerges with fiery golden eyes, and kicks over the furnace, sending bricks down to form the Flaming Mountains.
Several later ordeals begin when Laojun’s attendants or property escape. Gold Horn and Silver Horn are his furnace boys, carrying treasures including the Purple-Gold Red Gourd; the Azure Bull Demon is his mount and steals the Vajra Cutter, which can seize the weapons of gods and pilgrims alike. In each case Wukong eventually reaches Tushita Palace, and Laojun identifies the runaway, recovers the treasure, and restores order.
The novel presents him as an alchemist, treasure-master, and senior member of Heaven rather than a battlefield commander. Furnace, elixirs, fan, gourd, and Vajra Cutter surround him, while his difficult relationship with Wukong links the monkey’s transformed eyesight to several later encounters.
