Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Six-Eared Macaque, Six-Eared Monkey, 六耳猕猴
Category: Monkey
The Myth
The Liu Er Mihou, or Six-Eared Macaque, is a supernatural monkey appearing in the Chinese novel Journey to the West. It belongs to the Four Divine Monkeys, a group of extraordinary primates that exist outside the ordinary classifications of celestial beings and creatures. The other three are the Lingming Stone Monkey, represented by Sun Wukong; the Red-Rumped Horse Monkey; and the Tongbi Ape. The Six-Eared Macaque possesses six ears and supernatural perception, allowing it to hear events from a thousand miles away, understand human speech, discern the nature of things, and know what has happened and what is yet to come.
The Six-Eared Macaque is virtually indistinguishable from Sun Wukong. It copies his golden eyes, yellow hair, golden headband, tiger-skin skirt, travelling clothes, boots, and magical iron staff. Its martial abilities and supernatural powers are also equal to those of the original Monkey King. Even Sun Wukong’s companions, Guanyin, the celestial gods, and the judges of the underworld cannot determine which monkey is genuine.
The creature appears after Sun Wukong is expelled from the pilgrimage following a dispute with Tang Sanzang. Taking advantage of his absence, the Six-Eared Macaque assumes his appearance, attacks Tang Sanzang, steals the pilgrims’ luggage, and returns to Flower-Fruit Mountain. There, it gathers demon monkeys disguised as Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the White Dragon Horse, intending to establish a false pilgrimage of its own. When the real Sun Wukong returns, the two identical monkeys fight across the South Sea, Heaven, and the underworld, but nobody can distinguish them. The underworld deity King Qinguang eventually consults the supernatural hound-like being Di Ting, which recognizes the truth but refuses to reveal it directly, advising the monkeys to seek the Buddha instead.
At the Great Thunderclap Monastery, the Buddha identifies the impostor as the Six-Eared Macaque. He explains that its extraordinary hearing allows it to perceive distant events and understand the thoughts expressed through human speech, accounting for its ability to imitate Sun Wukong so perfectly. Terrified at being exposed, the creature attempts to flee, but the Buddha traps it beneath a golden alms bowl, forcing it to reveal its true form. Sun Wukong then kills the Six-Eared Macaque with his Ruyi Jingu Bang, ending the deception.
Sources
“The Six-Eared Macaque” (六耳獼猴). Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E8%80%B3%E7%8D%BC%E7%8C%B4