Journey to the West (vol. 1) Read online

  The Jade Emperor, delighted with the suggestion, ordered that it should be put into effect. He told the Wenqu Star Officer to compose the edict, and commanded the Great White planet to persuade the monkey to accept the amnesty.

  The Great White Planet left Heaven by the Southern Gate, and brought his propitious cloud down by the Water Curtain Cave, where he said to the little monkeys, “I am an envoy from Heaven, and I am carrying a divine edict inviting your great king to the upper world. Go and tell him at once.”

  The little monkeys outside conveyed the message by relays into the depths of the cave: “Your Majesty, there's an old man outside carrying a document on his back. He says he's an envoy from Heaven with an invitation for you.” The Handsome Monkey King was delighted.

  He said, “I'd been thinking of going up to Heaven to have a look round for the past couple of days, and now a heavenly envoy has come to invite me.”

  “Ask him in at once,” he shouted, hastily straightening his clothes and going out to meet the envoy.

  The Planet came straight in, stood facing the South, and said, “I am the Great White Planet of the West, and I have come down to earth with an Edict of Amnesty and enlistment from the Jade Emperor to invite you to Heaven to be given office as an Immortal.”

  “I am very grateful to you, venerable Planet, for condescending to come here,” replied Sun Wukong with a smile; then he told his subjects to prepare a feast to entertain the visitor.

  “I'm afraid I can't delay,” replied the Planet, “as I am carrying a divine edict, so may I ask Your Majesty to come back with me now? We can talk at leisure after your glorious elevation.”

  “Thank you for coming,” said Sun Wukong. “I'm sorry you couldn't take some refreshments before leaving.” Then he called for his four Stalwart Generals and ordered them, “Give my sons and grandsons a thorough training. When I've had a look round in Heaven, I'll take you all to live with me up there.” The four Stalwart Generals accepted their orders, and the Monkey King made his cloud carry him up above the clouds. He was

  Raised to a high-ranking heavenly office,

  Listed among the courtiers in the clouds.

  If you don't know what office he was given, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

  Chapter 4

  Dissatisfied at Being Appointed Protector of the Horses

  Not Content with the Title of Equal of Heaven

  The Great White Planet left the depths of the cave with the Handsome Monkey King, and they ascended together on their clouds. As Sun Wukong's somersault cloud was exceptionally fast he reached the Southern Gate of Heaven first, leaving the Great White planet far behind. Just as he was putting away his cloud to go in, his way was barred by the Heavenly Guardian Virudhaka and his powerful heavenly soldiers Liu, Gou, Bi, Deng, Xin, Zhang, and Tao, who blocked the gate of Heaven with their spears and swords and refused to let him in.

  “This old Great White planet is a trickster,” said Sun Wukong. “He invited me here, so he has no business to have me kept out with spears and swords.” Just as he was kicking up a row the Planet suddenly arrived.

  Sun Wukong flung his accusation at him: “Why did you play this trick on me, you old fogy? You told me you came with an Edict of Amnesty from the Jade Emperor to invite me here, so why did you arrange for these people not to let me in through the gate of Heaven?” The Great White Planet laughed.

  “Don't be angry, Your Majesty. You've never been here before, your name is not on the books here, and the heavenly soldiers have never met you. Of course they could not let you in just for the asking. But when you've seen His Celestial Majesty and been given office among the Immortals, you will be able to come and go as you wish, and nobody will try to stop you.”

  “Be that as it may,” said Sun Wukong, “I'm not going in.” The Great White Planet would not let him go and asked him to go in with him in spite of it all.

  As they approached the gate, the Planet shouted, “Heavenly officers of the gates of Heaven, sergeants and soldiers, let us in. This is an Immortal from the lower world, and I am carrying an edict from the Jade Emperor summoning him here.” Only then did the Heavenly King Zengzhang and his soldiers withdraw their arms and stand back. Now the Monkey King began to trust the Great White Planet. He walked slowly in with him and looked at the view. Truly it was his

  First ascent to the upper world,

  Sudden entry into paradise.

  Ten thousand beams of golden light shone with a reddish glow;

  A thousand strands of propitious vapour puffed out purple mist.

  See the Southern Gate of Heaven,

  Deep green,

  Crystalline,

  Shimmering bright,

  Studded with jewels.

  On either side stood scores of heavenly marshals,

  Tall as the roofbeams, next to the pillars,

  Holding metal-tipped bows and banners.

  All around stood gods in golden armour,

  Brandishing their clubs and halberds,

  Wielding their cutlasses and swords.

  The outside was remarkable enough,

  But the inside astonished him.

  Here were several mighty pillars,

  Round which coiled tawny-bearded dragons, their gold scales gleaming in the sun.

  There were long bridges,

  Where strutted phoenixes, brilliant of plumage and with bright red crests.

  A rosy glow shone with heavenly light;

  Thick green mists obscured the Pole Star.

  In this heaven there are thirty-three heavenly palaces:

  The Palace of Clouds Dispersed, the Vaisravana Palace, the palace of

  Five Lores, the Sun Palace, the Palace of Flowery Bliss,

  Every palace had golden animals on its roof.

  Then there were seventy-two precious halls:

  The Hall of Morning Audience, the Hall of Rising into Space, the Precious Light Hall, the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of the Master of Miracles,

  Jade unicorns on every column.

  On the Terrace of the Star of Longevity

  Grew flowers that never wither.

  Beside the Stove for Decocting Elixir,

  Were herbs that stay green for ever.

  In front of the Facing the Sage pavilion

  Crimson gauze clothes Glittered like stars;

  Lotus hats

  Shone with gold and jade.

  Jade hairpins and pearl-sewn shoes,

  Golden seals on purple cords.

  As the golden bell tolled,

  The three classes of divinities approached the steps and submitted memorials.

  As the heavenly drum was beaten,

  Ten thousand sage kings attended the Jade Emperor.

  Then they entered the Hall of Miraculous Mist,

  Where jade doors were studded with gold,

  And phoenixes danced before the crimson gates.

  Winding arcades,

  Everywhere carved in openwork;

  Layer on Layer of eaves,

  With dragons and phoenixes soaring.

  On top was a majestically purple,

  Bright,

  Perfectly round,

  And dazzling

  Golden gourd-shaped finial;

  Below, fans hung from the hands of heavenly consorts,

  While jade maidens proffered magic clothes.

  Ferocious

  The heavenly generals guarding the court;

  Majestic

  The immortal officials protecting the throne.

  In the middle were set Crystal dishes

  Filled to overflowing with Great Monad Pills;

  Agate jars

  In which stood twisted coral trees.

  All the wonderful things in Heaven were there,

  None of which are seen on Earth:

  Golden gates, silver chariots, and a purple palace;

  Precious plants, jade flowers, and jasper petals.

  The jade hares of the princes at cour
t ran past the alter;

  The golden rooks of the sages present flew down low.

  The Monkey King was fated to come to Heaven,

  Rather than be sullied by the mortal world.

  The Great White Planet led the Handsome Monkey King to the outside of the Hall of Miraculous Mist. He went straight in to the imperial presence without waiting to be summoned, and did obeisance to the throne.

  Sun Wukong stood bolt upright beside him, not bothering with any court etiquette, but just concentrating on listening to the Great White Planet make his report to the Jade Emperor: “In obedience to the Divine Edict, your subject has brought the demon Immortal here.”

  The Jade Emperor lowered his curtain and asked, “And which of you is the demon Immortal?”

  “Me,” replied Sun Wukong, only now making a slight bow.

  The faces of the officials went white with horror as they exclaimed, “What a savage monkey! He has the impudence to answer 'Me,' and without even prostrating himself first! He must die!”

  In reply to this the Jade Emperor announced, “Sun Wukong is a demon Immortal of the lower world who has only just obtained human form, so he is not acquainted with court procedure. We shall forgive him this time.”

  “We thank you for your mercy,” said the immortal ministers. Only then did Sun Wukong express his respect by bowing low and chanting “na-a-aw" at the top of his voice. The Jade Emperor ordered his immortal civil and military officials to find a vacancy in some department for Sun Wukong.

  The Star Lord Wuqu stepped forward form the side and reported, “There are no vacancies in any of the palaces, halls, and departments of Heaven except for a superintendent in the Imperial Stables.”

  “Then make him Protector of the Horses,” ordered the Jade Emperor. All the ministers thanked him for his mercy, apart from Sun Wukong, who just expressed his respect with a loud “na-a-aw.” The Jade Emperor then told the Wood Planet to take him to the Imperial Stables.

  The Wood Planet accompanied the delighted Monkey King to his post and then went back to the palace. The Monkey King then called together the deputy and the assistant superintendent, the book-keeper, the grooms, and all the other officials, high and low, to find out about the duties of his department. He found that he had to look after a thousand heavenly horses:

  Chestnuts and stallions,

  Courser and chargers:

  Dragon and Purple Swallow,

  Pegasus and Sushun,

  Jueti and Silver,

  Yaoniao and Flying Yellow,

  Taotu and Feathers,

  Red Hare and Faster Than Light,

  Dazzler and Horizon,

  Mist-soarer and Victory;

  Wind-chaser and Matchless,

  Flying Wing and Galloping Mist,

  Lazy Whirlwind and Red Lightning,

  Bronze Cup and Drifting Cloud,

  Skewbald and Tiger-Stripe,

  Dustfree and Purple Scales,

  The Four Ferghana Steeds,

  The Eight Chargers and Nine Gallopers,

  Coursers that can cover three hundred miles-

  All these fine horses were

  Neighing in the wind, chasing the lightning, mighty in spirit;

  Pawing the mist, climbing the clouds, great in their strength.

  The Monkey King looked through the register and counted the horses. In the stables the book-keeper was responsible for ordering the fodder, the head groom was in charge of currying the horses, chopping up and cooking the fodder, and giving them water; the deputy superintendent and his assistant helped to oversee the work. The Protector of the Horses looked after his charges, sleeping neither by day nor by night. It is true that he fooled around by day, but at night he looked after the animals with great diligence, waking them up and making them eat whenever they fell asleep, and leading those still on their feet to the trough. At the sight of him the heavenly horses would prick up their ears and paw the ground, and they became fat and plump. Thus more than half a month slipped by.

  On one morning that was a holiday all the officials of the stables held a feast both to welcome and congratulate the Protector of the Horses.

  In the middle of the party the Monkey King suddenly put down his cup and asked, “What sort of office is this 'Protector of the Horses?'”

  “What the name suggests, that's all.”

  “Which official grading does it carry?”

  “Unclassified.”

  “What does 'unclassified' mean?”

  “Bottom grade,” the others replied, going on to explain, “It is a very low and unimportant office, and all you can do in it is look after the horses. Even someone who works as conscientiously as Your Honour and gets the horses so fat will get no more reward than someone saying 'good'; and if anything goes at all wrong you will be held responsible, and if the losses are serious you will be fined and punished.”

  The Monkey King flared up on hearing this, gnashed his teeth, and said in a great rage, “How dare they treat me with such contempt? On the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit I am a king and a patriarch. How dare he trick me into coming here to feed his horses for him? It's a low job for youngsters, not for me. I won't do it, I won't. I'm going back.” He pushed the table over with a crash, took his treasure out of his ear, and shook it. It became as thick as a rice bowl, and he brandished it as he charged out of the Imperial Stables to the Southern Gate of Heaven. As the celestial guards knew that his name was on the register of immortal officials they did not dare to block his path, but let him out through the gate.

  He descended by cloud and was back on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit in an instant. Seeing the four Stalwart Generals and all the kings of the monsters drilling their troops there he shouted in a shrill voice, “Children, I'm back.” The monkeys all bowed to him, took him into the heart of the cave, and asked him to sit on his throne, while they prepared a banquet to welcome him back.

  “Congratulations, Your Majesty,” they all said. “After over a dozen years up there you must be coming back in glory and triumph.”

  “What do you mean, over a dozen years?” asked the Monkey King. “I've only been away for a fortnight or so.”

  “Your Majesty can't have noticed the time passing in heaven. A day in heaven lasts as long as a year on earth. May we ask what office you held?”

  “It hurts me to tell you,” replied the Monkey King with a wave of his hand. “I feel thoroughly humiliated. That Jade Emperor doesn't know how to use a good man. A man like me-'Protector of the Horses'. That meant I had to feed his animals for him and wasn't even given an official grading. I didn't know this at first, so I fooled around in the Imperial Stables until today, when I found out from my colleagues how low the job was. I was so angry that I pushed the table over and quit the job. That's why I've come back.”

  “Quite right too,” the other monkeys said. “Your Majesty can be king in our cave paradise and enjoy as much honour and pleasure as you like, so why go and be his groom?” Then they gave orders for wine to be brought at once to cheer their king up.

  As they were drinking someone came in to report, “Your Majesty, there are two Single-horned Devil Kings outside who want to see you.”

  “Ask them in,” said the Monkey King, and the two formally-dressed devil kings hurried into the cave and prostrated themselves.

  “Why have you come to see me?” asked the Handsome Monkey King; and they replied, “We have long heard that Your Majesty is looking for men of talent, but we were unable to see you before. Now that Your Majesty has been given heavenly office and come back in triumph, we would like to offer you this yellow robe as a token of our congratulations. We also hope that you will not reject us although we are low and worthless, but will accept our humble services.” An exultant Monkey King put on the yellow robe and his happy subjects bowed to him in order of precedence. The two devil kings were appointed Commanders of the Van, and when they had thanked the Monkey King for this they asked, “What office did Your Majesty hold while you were all that t
ime in Heaven?”

  “The Jade Emperor has no respect for talent,” replied the Monkey King. “He made me something called 'Protector of the Horses.'”

  “Your Majesty has such miraculous powers: you should never have been feeding his horses for him. You should have been made a 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven,' shouldn't you?” The Monkey King was beside himself with delight at this suggestion, and he kept saying how splendid it was.

  “Get me a banner made at once with the words 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven' in big letters on it, and put up a pole to hang it from,” he ordered his four Stalwart Generals. “From now on I am to be called 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven,' not 'Your Majesty' or 'King'. Pass this order on to all the other kings of the monsters.” We will leave him at this point.

  When the Jade Emperor held his morning court the next day the Heavenly Teacher Zhang led the deputy and assistant superintendents of the Imperial Stables to the vermilion steps, bowed low, and reported, “Your Majesty, Sun Wukong, the new Protector of the Horses, left Heaven yesterday because he thought his office was too humble.”

  Just as he was speaking the Heavenly Guardian Virudhaka came from the Southern Gate of Heaven with his heavenly soldiers and reported, “The Protector of the Horses has gone out through the gate. We do not know why.”

  On hearing this the Jade Emperor commanded, “Let the two divine officials return to their posts; we shall send heavenly soldiers to capture this devil.”

  The pagoda-bearing Heavenly King Li Jing and Prince Nezha stepped forward from the ranks of those attending the audience, and they memorialized, “Your Imperial Majesty, we beg you to command us, your incompetent servants, to subdue this fiend.” The Emperor was delighted with this suggestion, and he appointed the Pagoda-bearing Heavenly King as Demon quelling High Marshal, and Prince Nezha as Great God of the Seas. He told them to take their forces down to the lower world at once.

  Heavenly King Li and Nezha kowtowed, took their leave, went straight back to their own palace, and assembled their troops, commanders and officers. They put the Mighty Miracle God in charge of the vanguard, and General Fishbelly in command of the rear, while General Yaksa was made adjutant. Within an instant they were outside the Southern Gate of Heaven, and they went straight to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. They chose a piece of level and open ground on which to construct a fortified camp, and ordered the Mighty Miracle God to issue the challenge to battle. On receiving this order the Mighty Miracle God tied on his armour firmly and went to the Water Curtain Cave, holding his flower-spreading battle-axe. When he got there he saw huge numbers of devils-wolves, tigers and leopards-wielding spears, brandishing swords, leaping around, fighting each other, and making a great noise outside the little entrance to the cave.