The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 2 Read online

  Line 3—three cornered sedge: sanlengzi , scirpus yagara.

  Line 4—bridle bells, madou ling , also aristolochia debilis.

  Line 5—scriptures, jingjie , nepeta japonica, is read as jingjie , sūtras and rules.

  Line 6—Buddha’s spirit, fuling , poria cocos, is read as fu[o]ling .

  Line 7—myself I guard, fangji , stephania tetrandra; complete my tour, z[h]uli , bamboo oil, is read as zuli , to finish a journey or complete a preordained experience. For this last particular line, I thank Dr. Chow Tse-tsung (late professor of the University of Wisconsin) for suggesting the interpretation.

  Line 8—go home, huixiang , foeniculum vulgare, is read as huixiang . For scientific names of the Chinese herbs, I have followed the kind suggestion and assistance by Dr. Tai-loi Ma to consult the Zhongyao zhi , prepared by Zhongguo yixue kexueyuan yaowu yanjiusuo (4 vols., Beijing, 1959–61).

  4. Mountain: that is, the Spirit (Garuḍa) Mountain, the abode of Buddha.

  5. Eight-word brick wall: this may be a reference to the construction of a type of wall with cutaway corners so that it resembles the Chinese graph for eight, ba .

  6. Buddhas Alcove: literally, an alcove with ten thousand images of Buddha, wanfo ge .

  7. Great Hero: daxiong , a title of Buddha, which signifies his great power and wisdom to overcome all demonic barriers.

  8. Three honored Buddhas: that is, Śākyamuni and his two most beloved disciples.

  9. Pattra leaves: from the Borassus flabelliformis palm leaves used for writing.

  10. Vajra-guardians: Karl L. Reichelt in Truth and Tradition in Chinese Buddhism (Shanghai, 1927), p. 195, class these guardian deities “cherubs,” but their appearances hardly resemble those of their Western counterparts.

  11. This image of Guanyin is associated with one of her epiphanic manifestations, as the “Fish-basket Guanyin .” For an authoritative account, see Yü, pp. 419–38; 39–48. The manifestation forms part of the “South Sea” mythology developed for the goddess and her cult that is also pervasive of this novel. In another episode of this volume (chapters 47–49), the “Fish-basket Guanyin” will be prominently featured.

  12. This poem is another lyric written to the tune of “Moon Over West River.”

  13. Grey hair is literally “autumnal hair ,” a seasonal metaphor for hair turning white, made more conspicuous by the moonlight. The reference to the Han court refers by implication to the quarters of the imperial harem, where the palace maidens are particularly anxious about any sign of aging that may diminish their attractiveness.

  14. Towers of Qin : a common name for brothels.

  15. Yu Liang: (289–340), an official of the Jin period and a passionate poet. See Jinshu , j 73, in Ershiwushi 2: 1272b–c.

  16. Yuan Hong: (328–76), another Jin official and poet. See Jinshu, j 92, in Ershiwushi 2: 1321d–1322e.

  17. White snow: the reference here is to the whiteness of the moonlight and to a song or tune by such a name. The complete title is Yangchun baixue , a tune so lofty and rarefied that it was known only to a few persons. See Song Yu , “Dui Chu Wang wen ,” in Xiao Tong , Wenxuan 2 vols. (Hong Kong, 1936; reprint 1974), j 45, 2: 981.

  18. Icy strings: bingxian , refers to a lute (i.e., pipa) brought back from the region of Shu (the modern Sichuan) by one Bai Xiuzhen and presented to the Tang emperor, Xuanzong, in the Kaiyuan period (713–42). The instrument originated as an article of tribute from the territory of Sinkiang (modern, Xinjiang), the strings of which were said to be made from the silk of ice silkworms; hence the color and name.

  19. For some of the ideas underlying Wukong’s discourse here, see the Zhouyi Cantongqi , DZ 999, 20: 63–96, esp. j 10 and 41; SCC 2: 329–35.

  20. Obscure: that is, hui , obscure, dark, but it is also the official name of the last day in the lunar month, when the moon has the least light.

  21. Stroke: in the writings of Jing Fang (77–37 BCE) and Yu Fan (164–233 CE), two early alchemical theorists, the stages of the lunar movement are correlated with the eight trigrams (gua) developed in the discourse of Yijing or Classic of Change. According to the standard interpretation of the tradition, the broken lines of the trigrams symbolize the yin, whereas the unbroken lines betoken the yang. Thus the zhen trigram, associated with the third day of the month and first quarter of the moon, is depicted by the symbol , which has one unbroken or yang stroke. The dui trigram, associated with the eighth day, has the symbol , in which the two unbroken lines would indicate the ascendency of the yang. For a chart of the complete correlation, see Liu Ts’un-yan, “Taoist Self-Cultivation in Ming Thought,” in Self and Society in Ming Thought, ed. Wm. Theodore de Bary (New York and London, 1970), pp. 302–03.

  22. To face: that is, wang . The full moon on the fifteenth day of the lunar month is thought to be facing the sun perfectly.

  23. Two Eights: er ba . The fundamental source for this term may be found in a poem of the Zhou Yi cantongqi , DZ 999, 20: 76. The poem reads:

  When Two Quarters fuse their essence,

  The cosmic body is thus formed.

  Two Eights will make up one catty:

  The Way of Change is right and lasting.

  , , , .

  The commentary by the Song Neo-Confucian philosopher, Zhu Xi (1130–1200), in the Zhou Yi cantongqi kaoyi , 11a (SBBY) interprets the numbers as the two periods of eight days during the first and the last quarter of the month (see n.21), thus agreeing with one part of Sun Wukong’s exposition in the novel. Many Daoist commentators in the Daozang and elsewhere, however, tend to follow the literal meaning of line 3 and read er ba as referring to two eight-ounce units of medicine or chemicals. The two portions add up to one catty (or Chinese “pound”) of materials used in alchemy. For example, two lines of another heptasyllabic regulated poem (# 32) by Zhang Boduan, the Song Quanzhen patriarch, in the Wuzhen pian of DZ 263: 730, read:

  Medicine, weighing one catty, requires Two Eights;

  Regulating “fire times” depends on yin-yang.

  , .

  “Fire times” (more recently translated as “fire phasing”) refers to the temporal regulation of heat in the process of both external and internal alchemy. According to SCC 2: 330, the familiar term may indicate either “the right moments for carrying out the chemical operations” or “the strength of the heating” in such esoteric processes. See also the entry under “huohou” in ET 1: 526–31. In the modern vernacular, the term is used in cookbooks and by chefs for food preparation.

  24. Nine Times Nine: the product is eighty-one, which in the narrative represents the number of perfection. See chapter 99 of XYJ (p. 1116), where Guanyin explicitly declares that “in the gate of Buddha, Nine Times Nine will lead one to return to the real (guizhen ) or authenticity.” The statement resonates more with Quanzhen Daoism than Buddhism. However, eighty-one as a number may refer also to the eighty-one species of illusion or misleading thoughts arising from pride, folly, wrath, and desire. There are nine grades of such illusion, according to Buddhist teachings, in each of the nine realms of desire. Overcoming them, one is on the path to true enlightenment.

  25. As noted in item 9 of introduction III in JW 1, the first three lines of this regulated quatrain are verbatim quotations from poem 32 in Zhang Boduan’s “Wuzhen pian,” in DZ 263, 4: 730. The last line of Zhang’s poem reads instead: “, The warm nourishment you have smelted [or forged] is like something you may cook or fry.”

  26. Three parties: that is, sanjia . As discussed in introduction IV in relation to JW, chapter 1, this term can have multiple references. In the immediate context, Sha Monk’s diction may point to the three disciples. They in their symbolic roles and meanings may correlate further with different phasal energetics and physiological elements like jing, qi, shen (i.e., spermal essence, pneumatics, and spirit or energy), crucial to internal alchemy and repeatedly mentioned in the teachings of Patriarch Subhodi, Monkey’s first teacher in chapters 1 and 2.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  1. Wate
r Litany: a vicious and envious woman when she was alive, the wife of the ruler, Liang Wudi (502–49), appeared to him in his dreams as a great serpent or dragon after she died. For her, the emperor had ten scrolls of litany performed, after which his wife became a devī, thanked him, and ascended to Heaven. See “Wude Chi huanghou ,” Nan shi , j 12, in Ershiwushi 3: 2576; and the Yuan Buddhist text, Shishi jigu lue , j 2 (2 vols., Taipei, 1972).

  2. “Mind . . . means”: fangbian zhi xin , the mind or intelligence which uses skillful means (i.e., Upāya) to assist or save others.

  3. Lord Wenchang: Wenchang Dijun , also named Zitong Dijun , “was revered throughout late imperial China as the patron saint of literature, guardian of morality and giver of sons.” See entry on “Wenchang” in ET 2: 1033–34, and the focused study by Terry Kleeman in A God’s Own Tale: The Book of Transformations of Wenchang, the Divine Lord of Zitong (Albany, 1994).

  4. Complete Truth Order: Quanzhen , the reference to this particular segment of organized Daoism should be familiar to the readers of the novel. The depiction of the Daoist may be in part satirical, but, as in other instances already noted, the term Quanzhen could also be a generic metaphor for Daoist.

  5. On aurification in China, see SCC 5/2 (1974): 2–14, 62–71, 188–223.

  6. Three years: the novelistic time scheme (chronotope) of this episode is not the most consistent. As the narrative has it, it should have been eight years ago when the drought began. The drought lasted for three years: then came the Daoist, who then murdered the ruler after two years. Three more years elapsed before the dead king appeared to Tripitaka. I have not, however, tried to emend the text of XYJ.

  7. Equal-to-Heaven: although the sacrality of this mountain in northeastern coastal region of China was firmly established in antiquity (see Record of the Historian, j 28, in Ershiwushi 1: 0114d–0115a), it was in the Tang that the worship thereof gained momentum. The title, King Equal-to-Heaven , was conferred in the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan period (726) to the mountain deity. That title might have inspired the novelistic author to use it on Sun Wukong.

  8. “Weaving grass ropes . . . mouth”: an allusion to two classic stories on how to repay the kindness of others. In the first story, a certain Wei Ke in the Spring and Autumn period had been told by his father that his favorite concubine should be allowed to remarry to someone should he die. Later, when the father became seriously ill, the man reversed his decision and wanted the concubine buried alive with him. Reasoning, however, that he should obey his father’s sane command given when he was well rather than the wish made in his delirium (“illness brings disorder; I shall follow his sanity , ”), Wei Ke prevented the burial and married off the concubine. Hard pushed in battle afterwards, Wei was assisted by an old man, who entangled his foe’s cavalry with ropes woven of grass. In his dream that night, he was told that the old man was the concubine’s father. See Zuo Commentary , Duke Xuan , Year 15 (SSJZS 2: 1888). In the second story, one Yang Bao was only nine years old when he rescued a yellow bird in the mountain from attack by kites and hawks. After staying with Yang for over three months and having fully recovered, the bird flew away. That night, a yellow-robed youth appeared to Yang, bowing repeatedly and saying, “I’m the messenger of the Lady Queen Mother of the West. In gratitude for your kindness and assistance, please accept these four white jade bracelets, which should preserve your descendants from vice and bring them prosperity and success.” The source may be found in the Xu Qixie ji (Shanghai, 1937). The two stories provide the formation of the Chinese idiom, jiecao hanhuan , a phrase signifying deep and proper repayment of kindness.

  9. “Drawing . . . heron”: references to a common saying, originating from the famous Han general Ma Yuan , who coined the maxim to caution his nephews from indulging in futile political discussions with flippant companions. See Hou Han shu , j 54, “Ma Yuan zhuan,” in Ershiwushi 1: 0748. Ma’s maxim says: “when one fails in the drawing a tiger, it will look like a dog; and, when one fails in the carving of a heron, it will look like a duck.”

  10. Local spirit: a pun on the term tudi (disciple), which is homophonous to local spirit, tudi .

  11. A quotation of the last two lines of a regulated quatrain by the Tang poet, Li She . There is a small mistake in the XYJ text, for the Daoyuan (Daoist courtyard, although the dao graph here could be interpreted to mean “religious”) of the first line should be zhuyuan (bamboo courtyard). Our translation follows the original. See “Ti Helin si sengshe ,” in QTS, j 477, 7: 5429. The English translation is that by John A. Turner, S.J., in his A Golden Treasury of Chinese Poetry, comp. and ed. John H. Deeney (Hong Kong, 1976), p. 191.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  1. Nine Springs: a literal translation of jiuquan , but most Chinese lexicons define it as the same as jiuyuan , the name of burial sites reserved in antiquity for ministers of the rank of dafu . In common usage, the term has become a metaphor for Hades or death.

  2. Youli: , the name of place where King Wen of Zhou was imprisoned for private misgivings over the tyrannical policies of King Zhou , last ruler of the Yin, as well as for his reputed virtue. See Records of the Historian , j 3, in Ershiwushi 1: 0012.

  3. Xiao He: (?–193 BCE), who helped the first emperor of the Han to unity the nation as his prime minister, was the author of many laws. See the Han shu , j 39, in Ershiwushi 1: 456–458.

  4. Tumi , or , the Rubus commersonii.

  5. This lyric is written to the tune of “Moon Over West River,” but it is a rare tour de force because it is one of double stanzas governed, in the original Chinese, by a single rhyme scheme.

  6. Empty-self: the stalk of the plant is hollow, and thus its very nature (tixing ) is made a symbol of emptiness or vacuity (kong ).

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  1. Tiered towers: for the meaning of this term and those that follow in the text, see JW 1, chapter 22, n. 6, and chapter 19, nn. 6–9.

  2. Form’s emptiness: “form is emptiness and emptiness is form” are the famous opening words of the Heart Sūtra. See JW 1, chapter 19 for the full text.

  3. Sovereign state: shangguo or shangbang , sovereign or superior state has been used traditionally as a euphemistic term for China, particularly in relation to the surrounding states beyond the borders. On occasion, however, the term could also be used to refer to one’s own state, in periods when there was more than one contending state in China.

  4. Li Shimin: , the name of emperor Taizong. As noted in our introduction, the historical Xuanzang left China in defiance of imperial proscription against traveling abroad because the empire had not been fully united or secure in the very beginning of the emperor’s reign. The novelistic author, whether by deliberate invention or unquestioning compliance with the one emerging from the Tripitaka legend in antecedent tale or drama, continues to narrate a different chronology and state of affairs between ruler and the pilgrim prior to and during the scripture journey.

  5. Mendicant worker: xingtong daoren . The term from the last two Chinese graphs may look exactly the same as the term for a Daoist, but in Buddhist orders, a worker has been named a daoren since antiquity. My translation follows the proper meaning that seems to obtain in context, thereby sacrificing the nice pun in the last two lines of Wukong’s subsequent verse deposition.

  6. Wutai Mountain: [alternately, ] . A famous mountain near the northeastern border of Shansi province, the patron saint of which is Mañjuśrī.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  1. Omitting only four short lines at the very beginning and with minor alterations in diction and syntax, this long descriptive poem repeats almost verbatim the one found in JW 1, chapter 20.

  2. Human carriage: the Chinese word is jiao , which is a homophone to jiao . The Tang Monk’s question on “what human person is calling (ren jiao)” thus was regarded by his disciple as a pun.

  3. Wood Mother: the text of XYJ here has the phrase, benmu , meaning “original mother,” which makes little sense. My translation thus follows the texts of the Xiyou zhen
quan, Xiyou yuanzhi, and Xinshuo Xiyouji (the major Qing editions), and construes the correct term to be mumu . It is one metaphor that is consistently used on Eight Rules throughout the novel.

  4. Roaring Mountain: a Hao Shan can be found in “Xici sijing ,” in Classic of Mountain and Sea, j 2. See Shanhaijing jiaozhu, p. 60; Mathieu, 1:119.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  1. This is another lyric written to the tune of “Moon Over West River.”

  2. See JW 1, chapters 3 and 4.

  3. Child Sudhana: Shancai tongzi , the Boy Skilled in Wealth, so named because all kinds of rare jewels and treasures appeared with him at the time of his birth. In Buddhist iconography, he and the Girl Skilled in Wealth (Shancai tongnü) are often seen as the attendants of the Bodhisattva Guanyin (see chapter 42). For the accounts of Sudhana, see the Huayan jing , the Avataṁsaka sütra, of which there are three major translations in the history of Chinese Buddhism. The last section of this lengthy scripture is named “Entry into the Realm of Reality” or Ru fajie pin , the bulk of which is devoted to the story of Sudhana’s quest for enlightenment. In this episode of the novel, however, the XYJ author is saying that the Child Sudhana prior to his submission to Buddhism was the demon, Red Boy, though this particular line of the poem already anticipates his conversion and elevation. For a convenient modern critical edition with annotations of the Ru fajie pin, see Xinyi Yuayan Ru Fajie pin , translated and annotated by Yang Wenzhong , 2 vols. (Taipei, 2004). For an English translation of the sūtra itself, see Thomas Cleary, The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra, 3 vols. (Boulder, 1984–1987). For an illuminating study of Huayan Buddhism’s contribution to Chinese fiction, specifically to the novel XYJ, see Qiancheng Li, Fictions of Enlightenment, pp. 21–48, 49–89.

  4. Suiren: , the mythological figure who invented fire in China by drilling wood.

  5. Samādhi fire: see JW 1, chapter 7, n. 3. For further explanation of the term in Daoism, see entry on “Sanmei zhenhuo ,” in ZHDJDCD, p. 1191.