Plantain Fan

Princess Iron Fan lived in the Plantain Cave on Mount Cuiyun, and the fan in her hand could raise a great wind and could also quench the fire of the Flaming Mountains. Whenever the fire was about to rise, the people of the country came to her cave to ask for the loan of it.

When the pilgrims came to the Flaming Mountains the road was cut by the flames. Sun Wukong went to the Plantain Cave to borrow the fan, and Princess Iron Fan, angry over Red Boy’s being taken by Guanyin, drove him off with her sword and then blew him far away with one wave of it.

Wukong came back with the Wind-Stilling Pill, got into her belly and forced her to give up the fan. Princess Iron Fan produced a false one; Wukong carried it to the mountains and fanned hard, and the fire only burned the higher.

Wukong then took Niu Mowang’s shape and tricked the true fan away, and Niu Mowang took Zhu Bajie’s shape and took it back. The two fought from Mount Jilei to the Flaming Mountains, and Li Jing, Nezha and the heavenly soldiers of the four quarters came and closed in.

When Niu Mowang had been taken, Princess Iron Fan gave up the true fan at last. Wukong fanned again and again: the first stroke put out the fire, the second raised a wind, and after the third a fine rain fell, and the pilgrims and the people of the country could cross the mountains.

Having crossed, Wukong returned the fan to Princess Iron Fan. She put it away, shut her cave, and went on cultivating on Mount Cuiyun.