Bull Demon King, also translated as the Ox King, also-known by his self-proclaimed title the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, and as Dàliwáng (大力王, lit, "King [of] Great Might"/"King Powerful") and as Niú Dàli (牛大力, lit, "Great Might Bull/Ox"/"Powerful Bull/Ox"), is a fictional character from the 16th century novel Journey to the West.
He is the estranged-husband of the Princess Iron Fan and father of Red Boy. He is a demon king originally-based in the "Palm leaf Cave/Grotto" (棕櫚葉洞; Zōnglǘyèdòng), up on "Jade Cloud Mountain" (玉雲山' Yùyúnshān), with his wife, before betraying his wife for a younger demoness, Princess Jade-Countenance, a female Huli jing, of the "Sky-Scraping Cave" on "Accumulated-Thunder Mountain" .[1]
Bull King is a major antagonist of the novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, and its multiple adaptations. He can be considered the main antagonist in the remake of Journey to the West, despite his limited appearances. He also appears as the main villain in the 2014 film The Monkey King and as the main antagonist in . He is one of the most popular Journey to the West villains, alongside his wife Princess Iron Fan, his son the Red Boy, the Six-Eared Macaque, and the Baigujing.
He was possibly influenced by Ox-Head, one of the guardians of hell in Chinese mythology.
In the early chapters of the novel, he becomes sworn brothers with Sun Wukong and six other demon kings, the Saurian Demon King, the Single-Horned Demon King, the Roc Demon King, the Lion Spirit King, the Macaque Spirit King and the Snub-nosed monkey Spirit King . He is ranked the most senior of the seven, and styles himself "Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven" .
He later meets and marries Princess Iron Fan and they have a son, Red Boy. He appears again in a later chapter when the protagonists arrive at the Flaming Mountains along their journey.[2] Sun Wukong disguises himself as Bull Demon King to deceive Princess Iron Fan and takes away her Banana Leaf Fan. The real Bull Demon King visits Princess Iron Fan, who then realises she has been tricked. Bull Demon King disguises himself as Zhu Bajie to trick Sun Wukong and retrieves the fan.
In the ensuing fight against Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, Bull Demon King reveals his true form, a giant white bull, and attempts to charge towards his opponents. Heavenly forces, including Devaraja Li and his third son, Prince Nezha show up, with orders from the Buddha and the Jade Emperor to capture the Bull Demon King. When Prince Nezha fails to vanquish Bull Demon King after repeatedly beheading him (as the Bull Demon King also knew the arts of the 72 Transformations; 七十二變化 / 地煞 / 地煞數; Qīshí'Èr Bianhua, lit. "72 Terrestrial Killers"), he attaches one of his flaming wheels to the Bull Demon King's horns--horrifically burning him and causing him great pain--whilst Devaraja Li uses an "imp-reflecting mirror" (照妖镜; Zhàoyāojìng) to prevent the Bull Demon King from shapeshifting and escaping. After the Bull Demon King is captured, they brings him to Heaven to let the Jade Emperor decide his fate.[3] [4]