People not only hold monkeys in great reverence, forming many customs of monkey worship for blessing and good fortune, but they have also derived numerous forms of entertainment and even physical exercises from monkeys' habits, movements, and expressions. These practices have greatly enriched people's cultural life and given the Monkey zodiac culture even greater vitality.
The monkey's image is playful, nimble, lively, and adorable, so people have a deep-rooted fondness for this primate that shares many similarities with humans. This affection extends beyond faith and worship into entertainment and even physical fitness, giving rise to a wide variety of monkey-related customs and traditions.
Sacrifice to the Monkey
The Monkey Sacrifice is a ritual performed by the Puyuma people of the Gaoshan ethnic group in Taiwan for adolescent boys aged twelve or thirteen to ward off misfortune and bring good luck during their initiation into the community. It is usually held in November after the early rice harvest and lasts for ten days, with the monkey slaughter taking place on the third day as a key part of the ceremony, intended to cultivate the boys' courage and bravery.
In some ethnic minority legends, it is believed that ancient great floods were all caused by monkeys, thus monkeys possess the ability to communicate between the realms of Yin and Yang (the spiritual and mortal worlds). These groups often build Monkey King temples and worship the Monkey King deity. Whenever a drought occurs, people would carry the Monkey King statue out of the temple and expose it to the scorching sun, believing that this would compel the Monkey King deity to bring rain.
Touching the Monkey (a folk custom of touching a stone monkey statue for good luck in the Chinese zodiac tradition).
In most parts of northern China, there is a custom of touching monkey carvings. Visitors or pilgrims to Beijing's Baiyun Guan (White Cloud Temple) often seek out and touch the three hidden monkey reliefs on the temple grounds, as it is believed that touching each one will bring blessings and good fortune. These three monkey carvings are small and not easy to find all at once, yet each one has been rubbed smooth and shiny by countless hands. Similarly, the monkey carvings on the Dulin Ancient Bridge in Cangzhou, Hebei, have been polished to a bright sheen by tourists. According to local legend, if you close your eyes tightly and touch the monkey with sincere devotion, the carving will bestow blessings upon you, ward off disasters, and cure illnesses.
Making Monkey figurines by kneading clay and tying materials together.
Every year from the second day of the second lunar month to the third day of the third lunar month, the grand temple fair honoring the ancestor Fuxi is held at the Taihao Mausoleum in Huaiyang, Henan Province. During the fair, a large number of "Nini Dogs" are sold. "Nini Dogs," also known as "Mausoleum Dogs," are a general term for various clay toys. They are painted with a black base and decorated with patterns of dots and lines in five colors: red, yellow, white, green, and blue. Except for the straw-hat tiger and dog shapes, all Nini Dog figures are in the form of monkeys, including human-faced monkeys, double-headed monkeys, monkey-headed swallows, tigers carrying monkeys, and monkeys carrying monkeys.
In certain areas of Shaanxi, there is a cloth-stitched toy often modeled as "two monkeys eating a peach." In the Baoji region of Shaanxi, whenever a young woman marries, her sister-in-law must make a cloth monkey with an exaggerated male organ, which is hidden in the dowry clothing chest and carried to the husband's home, kept secret from outsiders. These toys are clearly fertility talismans, carrying the wish for many children and thriving descendants.
Performing with Monkeys
Initially, performers merely imitated monkeys through costumes, walking postures, expressions, and language. It was only later that performances using monkeys to represent humans gradually emerged. By the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (420-589 CE) in China, monkey-training performances had already become quite sophisticated. According to Fu Xuan's "Rhapsody on the Ape and Monkey" (Yuanhou Fu), the monkey performers wore red headbands and red socks, with their faces heavily powdered and rouged. They scratched itches and picked at fleas, raised their eyebrows and furrowed their foreheads, appearing either sorrowful or angry, mimicking an old man's mournful wailing and long chanting, and imitating foreign women dancing. Even today, monkey performances remain the grand finale in acrobatic troupes, with acts such as monkeys dressing up, monkeys riding horses, and monkeys doing arithmetic being beloved by audiences.
Monkey Fist (a style of Chinese martial arts inspired by the agile and imitative movements of monkeys, often associated with the zodiac sign Monkey).
It is said that the renowned physician Hua Tuo once created the "Five Animal Frolics" (Wu Qin Xi), a set of exercises imitating the movements of five animals, including one that mimics the actions of monkeys. Regular practice of this set is believed to promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, and relax the tendons and meridians. In traditional Chinese martial arts, there is also a style known as "Monkey Fist" (Hou Quan). The movements of Monkey Fist must not only imitate the agility and nimbleness of monkeys but also conform to the technical characteristics of martial arts combat. These include actions such as emerging from a cave, peering into the distance, watching a peach, climbing, rejoicing, stepping on a branch, hiding a peach, squatting, eating a peach, scrambling, startling and fleeing, and entering a cave. These movements form the unified characteristics of Monkey Fist, combining form and technique. Today, Monkey Fist has become an important category within traditional Chinese martial arts.
Whether it is the worship of the Monkey God or the use of monkeys to enrich people's lives, both are expressions of people's immense fondness for the monkey zodiac image. This not only reflects the profound historical and cultural heritage of the monkey zodiac culture but also serves as an excellent testament to the mutually beneficial relationship between humans and monkeys over thousands of years.
Further Reading
Monkey Performance — One of the Imperial Hundred Entertainments
During China's feudal society, monkey performances were extremely popular. The Tang Dynasty (618-907) even included monkey shows as one of the imperial variety performances. The fact that monkeys could enter the palace to perform led to many complications. According to "Mufu Yanwen Lu" (Records of Hearsay from the Curtain Office) by the Song Dynasty scholar Bi Zhongxun: "When Emperor Zhaozong of Tang was forced to flee the capital, the only entertainer accompanying his carriage was a monkey trainer. The monkey was quite tame and could attend court sessions like an official. Emperor Zhaozong bestowed upon it a crimson robe and titled it 'Sun Gongfeng' (Attendant Sun). Thus, the poet Luo Yin wrote: 'Why not learn from Attendant Sun, who made the emperor laugh and received a crimson robe.'" Later, Zhu Wen usurped the throne, changing the Tang Dynasty to the Later Liang, and he also summoned this monkey for entertainment. Unexpectedly, as soon as the monkey saw Zhu Wen, it charged straight at him, leaping and striking violently. Terrified, Zhu Wen immediately ordered the monkey to be killed. It seems that even monkeys can possess a sense of loyalty and patriotism toward their ruler.