The Demon-Subduing Staff is Sha Wujing’s weapon in Journey to the West. The novel presents it as a precious fighting staff, closely connected with his former service as the Curtain-Lifting General and his later place among the scripture pilgrims.
Chapter 22 brings the staff into view at the Flowing-Sand River. Sha Wujing blocks and counters Zhu Bajie’s nine-toothed rake through sustained combat. His account of heavenly service also places the demon-subduing staff in his hand before his banishment, so it links the river monster with the officer he once was.
The staff helps distinguish the third disciple within the travelling group. The textual name does not by itself establish the crescent-bladed monk’s spade familiar from later depictions. Reading it as a precious staff preserves the novel’s identity while leaving later visual conventions clearly separate.