The Origins of Red Boy
I believe I have found the origins of Red Boy (Hong hai'er, 紅孩兒), his name, and his fire powers from Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592). I plan to write an article for my research blog, but it probably won't be until next year. Until then, I want to post my findings here for all to read.
Although the 1592 edition of Journey to the West casts Red Boy as the son of Princess Iron Fan (Tieshan gongzhu, 鐵扇公主), an early-Ming zaju play that predates the novel says his mother is the demon goddess Hārītī (Guizimu, 鬼子母).
A 1st-century BCE Gandharan statue of Hārītī.
Scene 12 of the zaju play sees the Buddha trap Red Boy under his alms bowl in order to force Hārītī to mend her evil ways and convert to Buddhism. This story comes directly from Buddhist canon. Various sources tell how the demoness ate the children of untold numbers of human women, who eventually sought out the Buddha. The Enlightened One knew that Hārītī herself was the mother of 500 (or more) demon children and also that the youngest of them, a boy named either "Pingala" or "Priyankara" (sources vary), was her favorite. One version of the story ends with the demoness converting to Buddhism in order to save her beloved child, who had been hidden under the Buddha's alms bowl. Therefore, Red Boy can confidently be traced to Pingala-Priyankara.
A sketch of the Buddha's alms bowl.
The name Red Boy has puzzled me for some time, but thanks to art sent to me by an expert on Hārītī, I was able to crack the case. Some art shows Hārītī's son wearing red clothing—i.e. a "Red Boy".
Detail from a 1440s temple mural depicting Hariti and her red-clad son.
The early-Ming zaju play doesn't associate Red Boy with fire. This appears to be a product of the 1592 edition. The novel calls his power "True Samādhi Fire" (Sanmei zhenhuo, 三昧眞火). It's so powerful that nothing short of Guanyin's holy dew can extinguish it. So where did his power come from?
A modern drawing of Red Boy's fire powers.
Journey to the West (1592) states that Guanyin gives Red Boy the religious name "Boy of Goodly Wealth" (Shancai tongzi, 善財童子) after he submits to Buddhism. This is the Chinese name of "Sudhana", a child cultivator famous for studying under 53 divine and mortal masters in the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra (c. 200-300).
An 11th or 12th-century print of Sudhana (left) and one of his teachers (right).
Sudhana's ninth teacher, Jayoṣmāyatana (Shengre poluomen, 勝熱婆羅門), likely influenced Red Boy's fire powers. The brahmin is said to wield a fearsome holy fire called the "Samādhi light of adamantine flame" (Jingang yan sanmei guangming, 金剛焰三昧光明). It's so powerful that it scares even the gods and demons, but it's true purpose is to incinerate the ego and enlighten the mind. Sudhana comes one step closer to enlightenment by jumping into the flames as instructed.
A Song or Ming-era Japanese painting of the fire brahmin and Sudhana.
The Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra mentions that Jayoṣmāyatana practices extreme fire austerities on a flaming mountain. This is interesting because, despite Hārītī being Red Boy's mother in the early-Ming zaju play, Princess Iron Fan and the Flaming Mountain episode do appear later in scenes 18 to 20 of the production. Therefore, the author-compiler of Journey to the West (be it Wu Cheng'en or otherwise) could have combined the similar elements from each story, making Red Boy-Sudhana the son of Princess Iron Fan and giving him the brahmin's fire powers.
A 20th-century postcard depicting a battle between Princess Iron Fan and the Monkey King.
