Cave of the Silken Web
Entry updated 12 January 2026. Tagged: Film.
Chinese silent film (1927; original title Pan si dong; vt Cave of the Spider Women; vt Cave of Spiders; vt Journey to the West – The Spiders Cave). Shanghai Shadowplay Company. Directed by Dan Do-yu. Written by Guan Ji'an. Cast includes Zhou Hongquan, Zhan Jiali (aka Dan Erchun), Jiang Meikang, Yin Mingzhu (aka Pearl Ing) and Wu Wenchao. 60+ minutes survive; original length unknown. Mainly black and white, but with some colour tinting.
The film is based on an episode in the Chinese novel Xi You Ji ["Journey to the West"] (1592) by Wu Ch'êng-ên, perhaps best known in the West through its abridged translation by Arthur Waley, Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China (1942), and the popular Japanese tv series Monkey (1979-1981) [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below]. Cave of the Silken Web was thought lost until a copy was found at the National Library of Norway in 2011, though the beginning and a middle sequence are missing. There are two sets of subtitles, one in Chinese and one in Norwegian, which differ: this entry is based on the English translation of the former arranged by the National Library of Norway.
A monk, called Xuanzang (Jiang) in the subtitles (but in other sources named Tang Sanzang or Tripitaka) has been sent by the Tang Emperor on a journey to India to collect Buddhist sutras (see Religion). He is accompanied by three disciples: a monkey, Sun Wukong (Wu); pigman Zhu Bajie (Zhou) and the humanoid man-eating Monster Sha Wujing (Zhan). Sun, the Monkey King, is a legendary character in Chinese Mythology [see again The Encyclopedia of Fantasy]; Zhu is the most inclined to succumb to base instincts; Sha, despite his former proclivities, is the calmest, most intelligent of the monk's companions. When Xuanzang seeks alms he is invited into a cave by seven beautiful women who are actually demons (see Gods and Demons), led by the Spider Queen (Yin) (called Lady Bodhisattva in the subtitles) and offered beefsteak, which he pushes away, declaring it "as bad as theatre, cinema and dance" (Norwegian subtitles: "By the Buddha! I'm vegetarian"). He is persuaded to bathe and some of the women join him (this is the missing middle section, so its loss might be due to censorship rather than misfortune), whilst the Spider Queen spins a web to prevent his escape. The waiting disciples become concerned. Zhu, armed with a rake, gains entrance only to be lured into the web: "You'll love it in the web, come in, come in." He is freed by Sun, who has Shapeshifted into one of the women; Zhu becomes amorous, desisting only when eventually Sun returns to his true form. The pair are attacked by two women wielding swords and a fire slave swinging a giant polyhedron-headed club (see Weapons): the women manage to detach Zhu's head, and toss it back and forth as his body tries to recapture it; it is eventually restored.
Meanwhile, the Spider Queen plans to marry Xuanzang, who is given a "love potion wine" (see Drugs) (Norwegian: "a cup of brandy") and wedding presents are sent by "Demon Kings from other caves" (Norwegian: "various good friends"). With the monk clearly in a drugged state, the pair are married and retreat to the bridal chamber: here the monk has a sight of his wife's true form, a giant spider (see Monsters). Sun saves the day: he "kindles the True Cleansing Fire and reduces the Cave of the Silken Web to smoking barren rock"; Sun, Zhu and Sha fight the spiderwomen and the guests, who are seen off by Sun's flames. The penultimate scene sees the women in the cave, reverted to their giant spider form and suffering the flames as the moral is stated "those who are moved to lust shall end up consumed by the flames of their own desire" (Norwegian: "because she surrendered to her desire, she was made to suffer"). Xuanzang and his disciples depart.
The reference to "theatre, cinema and dance" is presumably a deliberate anachronism from the original film, unless it is license by the translator. The Norwegian translation noticeably downplays the story's elements of Sex and the supernatural (the part of a wedding speech which includes "spring lust soaks the bridal bed" is skipped). The film was a success, with a sequel made: Xu Pansi dong (1930), which has been lost. Cave of the Silken Web (1967) was the third of four Hong Kong films released 1966-1968 based on Xi You Ji, and covers the same part of the story.
Though Huoshao Honglian-si ["The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple"] (1928), based on a story by Xiang Kairan, is usually said to be the first Chinese martial arts film, Cave of the Silken Web, which has martial art elements, preceded it by a year. Provided a definition of "martial heroes" is broad enough to include Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, then Cave of the Silken Web can also be considered an example of Wuxia. Xuanzang's role is effectively that of a damsel in distress with whom a local scoundrel is planning a forced wedding, so from a Western perspective this comes across as the gender-swapping of a Pulp Cliché (see Feminism); the hero of the film is Sun Wukong, the Monkey King – who, with Superpowers including shapeshifting and fire, has the qualities of a Superhero. The spider women also have Magical abilities: besides web-spinning, they can walk through walls. Cave of the Silken Web is an enjoyable film, with action, Humour, strong female characters and – for the time – reasonable special effects. [SP]
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