Hong Haier, or Red Boy, is the Holy Infant Great King of Fire-Cloud Cave in Journey to the West. He is the son of the Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan, yet rules his own territory at Withered Pine Ravine on Mount Hao. Appearing as a small child in a red belly-band, he is already a practiced demon king, armed with a fire-point spear and supported by cave followers who obey his plans.
To seize Tang Seng, Red Boy disguises himself as a bound child hanging from a tree and calls for rescue. Compassion brings the pilgrims within reach, and he escapes with the monk. In battle he strikes his own nose to release Samadhi Fire from mouth and nostrils, burning Wukong and overwhelming the rain summoned by the Dragon Kings because ordinary water cannot extinguish the supernatural flame. Bajie is then deceived by Red Boy’s false Guanyin transformation and captured as well.
Wukong finally seeks the true Guanyin. She empties an ocean into a lotus-shaped testing ground, uses the heavenly blade lotus and five golden bands to immobilize the child, and forces him to submit step by step. Red Boy is not killed; Guanyin takes him as the Child of Good Fortune. His fire-point spear, bare-footed child form, red clothing, defiant expression, and sheets of three-colored sacred fire preserve the tension between youthful appearance and dangerous power.
