The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 1 Read online

  Meanwhile Wukong succeeded in snatching the scimitar, pushed through the throng of little monkeys, and brought the scimitar down squarely onto the monster’s skull, cleaving it in two. He and the rest of the monkeys then fought their way into the cave and slaughtered all the imps, young and old. With a shake, he collected his hair back onto his body, but there were some monkeys that did not return to him. They were the little monkeys kidnaped by the Monstrous King from the Water-Curtain Cave.

  “Why are you here?” asked Wukong. The thirty or fifty of them all said tearfully, “After the Great King went away to seek the way of immortality, the monster menaced us for two whole years and finally carried us off to this place. Don’t these utensils belong to our cave? These stone pots and bowls were all taken by the creature.” “If these are our belongings,” said Wukong, “move them out of here.” He then set fire to the Water-Belly Cave and reduced it to ashes. “All of you,” he said to them, “follow me home.” “Great King,” the monkeys said, “when we came here, all we felt was wind rushing past us, and we seemed to float through the air until we arrived here. We don’t know the way. How can we go back to our home?” Wukong said, “That’s a magic trick of his. But there’s no difficulty! Now I know not only one thing but a hundred! I’m familiar with that trick too. Close your eyes, all of you, and don’t be afraid.”

  Dear Monkey King. He recited a spell, rode for a while on a fierce wind, and then lowered the direction of the cloud. “Little ones,” he cried, “open your eyes!” The monkeys felt solid ground beneath their feet and recognized their home territory. In great delight, every one of them ran back to the cave along the familiar roads and crowded in together with those waiting in the cave. They then lined up according to age and rank and paid tribute to the Monkey King. Wine and fruits were laid out for the welcome banquet. When asked how he had subdued the monster and rescued the young ones, Wukong presented a detailed rehearsal, and the monkeys broke into unending applause. “Where did you go, Great King?” they cried. “We never expected that you would acquire such skills!”

  “The year I left you all,” Wukong said, “I drifted with the waves across the Great Eastern Ocean and reached the West Aparagodānīya Continent. I then arrived at the South Jambūdvīpa Continent, where I learned human ways, wearing this garment and these shoes. I swaggered along with the clouds for eight or nine years, but I had yet to learn the Great Art. I then crossed the Great Western Ocean and reached the West Aparagodānīya Continent.17 After searching for a long time, I had the good fortune to discover an old Patriarch, who imparted to me the formula for enjoying the same age as Heaven, the secret of immortality.” “Such luck is hard to meet even after ten thousand afflictions!” the monkeys said, all congratulating him. “Little ones,” Wukong said, laughing again, “another delight is that our entire family now has a name.”

  “What is the name of the great king?”

  “My surname is Sun,” replied Wukong, “and my religious name is Wukong.” When the monkeys heard this, they all clapped their hands and shouted happily, “If the great king is Elder Sun, then we are all Junior Suns, Suns the Third, small Suns, tiny Suns—the Sun Family, the Sun Nation, and the Sun Cave!” So they all came and honored Elder Sun with large and small bowls of coconut and grape wine, of divine flowers and fruits. It was indeed one big happy family! Lo,

  The surname is one, the self’s returned to its source.

  This glory awaits—a name recorded in Heaven!

  We do not know what the result was and how Wukong would fare in this realm; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

  THREE

  Four Seas and a Thousand Mountains all bow to submit;

  From Ninefold Darkness ten species’ names are removed.1

  Now we were speaking of the Handsome Monkey King’s triumphant return to his home country. After slaying the Monstrous King of Havoc and wresting from him his huge scimitar, he practiced daily with the little monkeys the art of war, teaching them how to sharpen bamboos for making spears, file wood for making swords, arrange flags and banners, go on patrol, advance or retreat, and pitch camp. For a long time he played thus with them. Suddenly he grew quiet and sat down, thinking out loud to himself, “The game we are playing here may turn out to be something quite serious. Suppose we disturb the rulers of humans or of fowls and beasts, and they become offended; suppose they say that these military exercises of ours are subversive, and raise an army to destroy us. How can we meet them with our bamboo spears and wooden swords? We must have sharp swords and fine halberds. But what can be done at this moment?” When the monkeys heard this, they were all alarmed. “The great king’s observation is very sound,” they said, “but where can we obtain these things?” As they were speaking, four older monkeys came forward, two female monkeys with red buttocks and two bareback gibbons. Coming to the front, they said, “Great King, to be furnished with sharp-edged weapons is a very simple matter.” “How is it simple?” asked Wukong. The four monkeys replied, “East of our mountain, across two hundred miles of water, is the boundary of the Aolai Country. In that country there is a king who has numberless men and soldiers in his city, and there are bound to be all kinds of metalworks there. If the great king goes there, he can either buy weapons or have them made. Then you can teach us how to use them for the protection of our mountain, and this will be the stratagem for assuring ourselves of perpetuity.” When Wukong heard this, he was filled with delight. “Play here, all of you,” he said. “Let me make a trip.”

  Dear Monkey King! He quickly performed his cloud somersault and crossed the two hundred miles of water in no time. On the other side he did indeed discover a city with broad streets and huge marketplaces, countless houses and numerous arches. Under the clear sky and bright sun, people were coming and going constantly. Wukong thought to himself, “There must be ready-made weapons around here. But going down there to buy a few pieces from them is not as good a bargain as acquiring them by magic.” He therefore made the magic sign and recited a spell. Facing the ground on the southwest, he took a deep breath and then blew it out. At once it became a mighty wind, hurtling pebbles and rocks through the air. It was truly terrifying:

  Thick clouds in vast formation moved o’er the world;

  Black fog and dusky vapor darkened the Earth;

  Waves churned in seas and rivers, affrighting fishes and crabs;

  Boughs broke in mountain forests, wolves and tigers taking flight.

  Traders and merchants were gone from stores and shops.

  No single man was seen at sundry marts and malls.

  The king retreated to his chamber from the royal court.

  Officials, martial and civil, returned to their homes.

  This wind toppled Buddha’s throne of a thousand years

  And shook to its foundations the Five-Phoenix Tower.

  The wind arose and separated the king from his subjects in the Aolai Country. Throughout the various boulevards and marketplaces, every family bolted the doors and windows and no one dared go outside. Wukong then lowered the direction of his cloud and rushed straight through the imperial gate. He found his way to the armory, knocked open the doors, and saw that there were countless weapons inside. Scimitars, spears, swords, halberds, battle-axes, scythes, whips, rakes, drumsticks, drums, bows, arrows, forks, and lances—every kind was available. Highly pleased, Wukong said to himself, “How many pieces can I possibly carry by myself? I’d better use the magic of body division to transport them.” Dear Monkey King! He plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them to pieces in his mouth, and spat them out. Reciting the spell, he cried, “Change!” They changed into thousands of little monkeys, who snatched and grabbed the weapons. Those that were stronger took six or seven pieces, the weaker ones two or three pieces, and together they emptied out the armory. Wukong then mounted the cloud and performed the magic of displacement by calling up a great wind, which carried all the little monkeys back to their home.

  We tell you now about the v
arious monkeys, both great and small, who were playing outside the cave of the Flower-Fruit Mountain. They suddenly heard the sound of wind and saw in midair a huge horde of monkeys approaching, the sight of which made them all flee in terror and hide. In a moment, Wukong lowered his cloud and, shaking himself, collected the pieces of hair back onto his body. All the weapons were piled in front of the mountain. “Little ones,” he shouted, “come and receive your weapons!” The monkeys looked and saw Wukong standing alone on level ground. They came running to kowtow and ask what had happened. Wukong then recounted to them how he had made use of the mighty wind to transport the weapons. After expressing their gratitude, the monkeys all went to grab at the scimitars and snatch at the swords, to wield the axes and scramble for spears, to stretch the bows and mount the arrows. Shouting and screaming, they played all day long.

  The following day, they marched in formation as usual. Assembling the monkeys, Wukong found that there were forty-seven thousand of them. This assembly greatly impressed all the wild beasts of the mountain—wolves, insects, tigers, leopards, mouse deer, fallow deer, river deer, foxes, wild cats, badgers, lions, elephants, apes, bears, antelopes, boars, muskoxen, chamois, green one-horn buffaloes, wild hares, and giant mastiffs. Led by the various demon kings of no fewer than seventy-two caves, they all came to pay homage to the Monkey King. Henceforth they brought annual tributes and answered the roll call made every season. Some of them joined in the maneuvers; others supplied provisions in accordance with their rank. In an orderly fashion, they made the entire Flower-Fruit Mountain as strong as an iron bucket or a city of metal. The various demon kings also presented metal drums, colored banners, and helmets. The hurly-burly of marching and drilling went on day after day.

  While the Handsome Monkey King was enjoying all this, he suddenly said to the multitude, “You all have become adept with the bow and arrow and proficient in the use of weapons. But this scimitar of mine is truly cumbersome, not at all to my liking. What can I do?” The four elder monkeys came forward and memorialized, “The great king is a divine sage, and therefore it is not fit for him to use an earthly weapon. We do not know, however, whether the great king is able to take a journey through water?” “Since I have known the Way,” said Wukong, “I have the ability of seventy-two transformations. The cloud somersault has unlimited power. I am familiar with the magic of body concealment and the magic of displacement. I can find my way to Heaven or I can enter the Earth. I can walk past the sun and the moon without casting a shadow, and I can penetrate stone and metal without hindrance. Water cannot drown me, nor fire burn me. Is there any place I can’t go to?” “It’s a good thing that the great king possesses such powers,” said the four monkeys, “for the water below this sheet iron bridge of ours flows directly into the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Ocean. If you are willing to go down there, Great King, you will find the old Dragon King, from whom you may request some kind of weapon. Won’t that be to your liking?” Hearing this, Wukong said with delight, “Let me make the trip!”

  Dear Monkey King! He jumped to the bridgehead and employed the magic of water restriction. Making the magic sign with his fingers, he leaped into the waves, which parted for him, and he followed the waterway straight to the bottom of the Eastern Ocean. As he was walking, he suddenly ran into a yakṣa2 on patrol, who stopped him with the question, “What divine sage is this who comes pushing through the water? Speak plainly so that I can announce your arrival.” Wukong said, “I am the Heaven-born sage Sun Wukong of the Flower-Fruit Mountain, a near neighbor of your old Dragon King. How is it that you don’t recognize me?” When the yakṣa heard this, he hurried back to the Water-Crystal Palace to report. “Great King,” he said, “there is outside a Heaven-born sage of the Flower-Fruit Mountain named Sun Wukong. He claims that he is a near neighbor of yours, and he is about to arrive at the palace.” Aoguang, the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean, arose immediately; accompanied by dragon sons and grandsons, shrimp soldiers and crab generals, he came out for the reception. “High Immortal,” he said, “please come in!” They went into the palace for proper introduction, and after offering Wukong the honored seat and tea, the king asked, “When did the high immortal become accomplished in the Way, and what kind of divine magic did he receive?” Wukong said, “Since the time of my birth, I have left the family to practice self-cultivation. I have now acquired a birthless and deathless body. Recently I have been teaching my children how to protect our mountain cave, but unfortunately I am without an appropriate weapon. I have heard that my noble neighbor, who has long enjoyed living in this green-jade palace and its shell portals, must have many divine weapons to spare. I came specifically to ask for one of them.”

  When the Dragon King heard this, he could hardly refuse. So he ordered a perch commander to bring out a long-handled scimitar, and presented it to his visitor. “Old Monkey doesn’t know how to use a scimitar,” said Wukong. “I beg you to give me something else.” The Dragon King then commanded a whiting lieutenant together with an eel porter to carry out a nine-pronged fork. Jumping down from his seat, Wukong took hold of it and tried a few thrusts. He put it down, saying, “Light! Much too light! And it doesn’t suit my hand. I beg you to give me another one.” “High Immortal,” said the Dragon King, laughing, “won’t you even take a closer look? This fork weighs three thousand six hundred pounds.” “It doesn’t suit my hand,” Wukong said, “it doesn’t suit my hand!” The Dragon King was becoming rather fearful; he ordered a bream admiral and a carp brigadier to carry out a giant halberd, weighing seven thousand two hundred pounds. When he saw this, Wukong ran forward and took hold of it. He tried a few thrusts and parries and then stuck it in the ground, saying, “It’s still light! Much too light!” The old Dragon King was completely unnerved. “High Immortal,” he said, “there’s no weapon in my palace heavier than this halberd.” Laughing, Wukong said, “As the old saying goes, ‘Who worries about the Dragon King’s lacking treasures!’ Go and look some more, and if you find something I like, I’ll offer you a good price.” “There really aren’t any more here,” said the Dragon King.

  As they were speaking, the dragon mother and her daughter slipped out and said, “Great King, we can see that this is definitely not a sage with meager abilities. Inside our ocean treasury is that piece of rare magic iron by which the depth of the Heavenly River3 is fixed. These past few days the iron has been glowing with a strange and lovely light. Could this be a sign that it should be taken out to meet this sage?” “That,” said the Dragon King, “was the measure with which the Great Yu4 fixed the depths of rivers and oceans when he conquered the Flood. It’s a piece of magic iron, but of what use could it be to him?” “Let’s not be concerned with whether he could find any use for it,” said the dragon mother. “Let’s give it to him, and he can do whatever he wants with it. The important thing is to get him out of this palace!” The old Dragon King agreed and told Wukong the whole story. “Take it out and let me see it,” said Wukong. Waving his hands, the Dragon King said, “We can’t move it! We can’t even lift it! The high immortal must go there himself to take a look.” “Where is it?” asked Wukong. “Take me there.”

  The Dragon King accordingly led him to the center of the ocean treasury, where all at once they saw a thousand shafts of golden light. Pointing to the spot, the Dragon King said, “That’s it—the thing that is glowing.” Wukong girded up his clothes and went forward to touch it: it was an iron rod more than twenty feet long and as thick as a barrel. Using all his might, he lifted it with both hands, saying, “It’s a little too long and too thick. It would be more serviceable if it were somewhat shorter and thinner.” Hardly had he finished speaking when the treasure shrunk a few feet in length and became a layer thinner. “Smaller still would be even better,” said Wukong, giving it another bounce in his hands. Again the treasure became smaller. Highly pleased, Wukong took it out of the ocean treasury to examine it. He found a golden hoop at each end, with solid black iron in between. Immediately adjacent to on
e of the hoops was the inscription, “The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod. Weight: thirteen thousand five hundred pounds.” He thought to himself in secret delight, “This treasure, I suppose, must be most compliant with one’s wishes.” As he walked, he was deliberating in his mind and murmuring to himself, bouncing the rod in his hands, “Shorter and thinner still would be marvelous!” By the time he took it outside, the rod was no more than twenty feet in length and had the thickness of a rice bowl.

  See how he displayed his power now! He wielded the rod to make lunges and passes, engaging in mock combat all the way back to the Water-Crystal Palace. The old Dragon King was so terrified that he shook with fear, and the dragon princes were all panic-stricken. Sea-turtles and tortoises drew in their necks; fishes, shrimps, and crabs all hid themselves. Wukong held the treasure in his hands and sat in the Water-Crystal Palace. Laughing, he said to the Dragon King, “I am indebted to my good neighbor for his profound kindness.” “Please don’t mention it,” said the Dragon King. “This piece of iron is very useful,” said Wukong, “but I have one further statement to make.” “What sort of statement does the high immortal wish to make?” asked the Dragon King. Wukong said, “Had there been no such iron, I would have let the matter drop. Now that I have it in my hands, I can see that I am wearing the wrong kind of clothes to go with it. What am I to do? If you have any martial apparel, you might as well give me some too. I would thank you most heartily.” “This, I confess, is not in my possession,” said the Dragon King. Wukong said, “A solitary guest will not disturb two hosts. Even if you claim that you don’t have any, I shall never walk out of this door.” “Let the high immortal take the trouble of going to another ocean,” said the Dragon King. “He might turn up something there.” “To visit three homes is not as convenient as sitting in one,” said Wukong, “I beg you to give me one outfit.” “I really don’t have one,” said the Dragon King, “for if I did, I would have presented it to you.”