The Six-Eared Macaque is the false Monkey King of Journey to the West. After Sun Wukong is expelled for killing bandits, the macaque takes his exact appearance, strikes Tang Seng, and steals the scripture luggage. At Flower Fruit Mountain he even creates false versions of Tang Seng, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, intending to form another pilgrimage party and claim the scriptures for himself.
Sha Wujing discovers the imitation and seeks the real Wukong. The two monkey warriors then fight with matching iron staffs, voices, memories, and transformations. Tang Seng’s spell hurts both; the heavenly mirror, Guanyin, and the judges of the underworld cannot safely distinguish them. Dizang’s truth-hearing beast recognizes the difference but will not declare it while the two remain equally dangerous.
Tathagata finally explains that the impostor is one of the four world-disrupting primates. The Six-Eared Macaque can hear over a thousand li, understand hidden causes, and know what has happened before and after, allowing him to anticipate Wukong closely enough to become his living double. When exposed, he changes into a bee and tries to flee, but Tathagata covers him with a golden alms bowl. Wukong reveals his original form and kills him with the staff, ending the crisis and returning to Tang Seng’s company.
