Journey to the West (vol. 2) Page 8

  These words sobered Sanzang up and woke him from his dream. He forgot his worries and thanked Monkey profusely: “I am profoundly grateful to you, good disciple, for your brilliant suggestion.” Now that the four of them had agreed on a plan we shall leave them discussing it.

  The queen's tutor and the post station superintendent went straight through the gates of the palace to the steps of the throne without waiting to be summoned. “Your Majesty's auspicious dream was completely justified,” they announced. “You two will be as happy together as fish and water.”

  When the queen heard their report she lifted the pearl curtain, came down from her dragon throne, and gave a smile that opened her cherry lips and showed her silvery teeth as she asked in her charming voice, “What did the emperor's brother say when you spoke to him?”

  “When we reached the post station and had bowed to the emperor's brother,” the queen's tutor replied, “we told him of the proposal of marriage. He tried to decline it, but fortunately his senior disciple agreed on his behalf. He would like his master to marry Your Majesty and sit on the throne as king. He asked that you should first return their passport and send the three disciples on their way West. When they come back with the scriptures they will pay their respects to their master and Your Majesty and ask for some money for their journey back to Great Tang.”

  “What did the emperor's brother say to that?” the queen asked with a smile.

  “He did not speak,” the tutor replied, “but he is willing to marry Your Majesty. The only thing is that his second disciple wants a betrothal feast first.”

  When the queen heard this she ordered the office that dealt with foreign relations to lay on a banquet. She also had the state carriage prepared to take her out of the city to welcome her lord and husband. The female officials obediently swept the palace clean and laid on a banquet in the hall. Those who were setting out the banquet moved as fast as fire, and those who were preparing the chariot did so with the speed of shooting stars. Western Liang was a country of women, but its state carriage was no less splendid than a Chinese one:

  Six dragons snorting out coloured clouds,

  A pair of phoenixes full of good omen.

  The six dragons supported the carriage as it came out,

  The pair of phoenixes were riding upon it.

  Fragrant were the perfumes,

  Dense the clouds of auspicious vapor.

  Officials with goldfish-shaped pendants of jade now crowded around;

  The women were all drawn up with their hair full of ornaments.

  Mandarin-duck fans gave shade to the carriage,

  While curtains of jade and pearl did shelter the queen.

  Beautifully sounded the songs to the panpipes

  While strings and woodwinds all played in harmony.

  A surge of joy soared up to the heavens;

  Boundless bliss poured out from the heart.

  The triple silken canopy shook the sky;

  Brilliant banners cast their light on the throne steps.

  Never before had the marriage cup here been drunk;

  Today the queen would be taking a husband.

  The carriage soon left the city and reached the Male-welcoming Post Station. At once the queen's arrival was announced to Sanzang and his disciples, who straightened up their clothes and came out to meet the queen's carriage. The queen raised the curtain and came out. “Which of these gentlemen is the Tang emperor's brother?” she asked.

  “The gentleman in front of the post station who is wearing a long gown,” the tutor replied. The queen took a very careful look at him with her phoenix eyes, her moth-eyebrows raised. He was indeed an exceptional sight. Look at him:

  A noble manner,

  Distinguished features.

  White teeth as if made of silver,

  A square-cut mouth with lips of red.

  The top of the head flat, the forehead broad and ample;

  Fine eyes, a clear brow, and a long jaw.

  His ears had the round lobes of a great man;

  His body was that of one with no ordinary talent.

  A handsome, intelligent and gallant gentleman;

  The ideal consort for the graceful queen.

  As the queen was gazing at him with delight and admiration she felt a great surge of desire and passion. Opening her cherry lips she said, “Younger brother of the Great Tang emperor, won't you ride in my royal carriage?” This made Sanzang blush from ear to ear. He was too embarrassed to look up at her.

  Pig, who was standing beside him, put his hands to his snout and devoured the queen with his eyes. She was a slim beauty:

  Brows like green willow,

  Flesh like mutton fat,

  Cheeks set off with plum blossom,

  Hair like the plumage of a golden phoenix.

  The autumn waves of her eyes were full of charm;

  Like bamboo shoot in spring was her graceful posture.

  Red tassels floated with elegance over her temples,

  Pearls and kingfisher feathers adorned her high-piled hair.

  Why talk now of the Princess Zhaojun's beauty?

  This queen is lovelier than the legendary Xi Shi.

  As her willow waist gently bends gold pendants tinkle;

  Her lotus feet move lightly with her limbs of jade.

  The Lady of the Moon could not compare with her;

  No heavenly fairy could be her match.

  Her exquisite palace clothes were not those of a mere mortal;

  She was the Queen Mother of the West come to the Jade Pool.

  Seeing how beautiful she was the idiot could not help drooling. His heart pounded and his limbs went weak; he melted like a snow lion next to a bonfire.

  When the queen came closer to Sanzang she took hold of him and said in a most beguiling voice, “Dear emperor's brother, won't you come into my dragon coach, ride back with me to the throne hall and marry me?” The venerable elder trembled, feeling unsteady on his feet. It was as if he were drunk or stupefied.

  “Don't be so shy and modest, Master,” urged monkey, who was standing beside him. “Please get into the carriage with your future wife. Have our passport returned to us as soon as possible so that we can continue on our journey to fetch the scriptures.” Sanzang could not bring himself to reply as he put his hand on Monkey, unable to hold back his tears.

  “Don't be so upset, Master,” Monkey said. “Here's your chance to enjoy wealth and honour, so make the most of it.” Sanzang had no choice but to do as Monkey bade him. Wiping his tears away he forced himself to smile as he stepped forward to

  Hold the queen's white hand

  Sitting in the dragon carriage.

  The queen was in raptures at the prospect of a husband;

  The elder in his terror wanted only to worship the Buddha.

  One longed to embrace her man in the candle-lit bedroom;

  The other wanted to see the

  World-honoured on Vulture Peak.

  The queen was sincere,

  The holy monk was pretending.

  The queen in her sincerity

  Hoped that they would grow old in harmony together.

  The holy monk pretending

  Controlled his tender feeling to nourish his primal spirit.

  One was so happy to see her husband

  She wished they could be man and wife in broad daylight.

  The other was afraid of woman's beauty,

  Longing to escape her clutches and climb to the Thunder Monastery.

  The two ascended the carriage together,

  But the Tang Priest's intentions were far away.

  When the civil and military officers saw their mistress enter the royal coach with the venerable Sanzang sitting beside her their faces were all wreathed in smiles. The procession turned around and went back into the city. Monkey told Friar Sand to carry the luggage while he led the horse as they followed behind the coach. Pig rushed wildly ahead, and when he reached the Tower of Five Phoenixes he started
shouting, “This is very fine and splendid, but it won't do, it won't do at all. We've got to have some wedding drinks to toast the groom.”

  He so alarmed the women officials carrying ceremonial insignia who were leading the procession that they all went back to the queen's carriage to report, “Your Majesty, the one with big ears and a long snout is making a row in front of the Tower of Five Phoenixes and demanding wedding drinks.”

  On hearing this the queen leant her fragrant shoulder against Sanzang, pressed her peach-blossom cheek against his, and opened her sandalwood-scented mouth to murmur in her seductive voice, “Dear emperor's brother, is the one with big ears and a long snout one of your distinguished disciples?”

  “He is my second disciple,” Sanzang replied. “He has an enormous appetite, and he has spent all his life trying to get good things to eat. We must lay on some food and drink for him before we can get on with things.” The queen then asked anxiously if the office dealing with foreign relation had yet prepared the banquet.

  “It is ready,” the women officials reported. “It is set out on the Eastern hall and includes both meat and vegetarian dishes.”

  “Why both sorts?” the queen asked.

  “Your subjects thought that the Tang emperor's brother and his distinguished disciples might be vegetarians,” the officials replied. “That was why we had both sorts of food provided.”

  “Dear emperor's brother,” said the queen with another little laugh of pleasure as she rubbed herself against Sanzang's fragrant cheek, “do you eat meat or vegetarian food?”

  “I eat vegetarian food,” Sanzang replied, “but I have never given up wine. We must have a few cups of light wine for my second disciple to drink.”

  Before he had finished speaking the queen's tutor said to the queen, “If it pleases Your Majesty, will you come to the Eastern hall for the banquet? Today is an auspicious day, and at a lucky hour tonight you may marry the emperor's brother. Tomorrow a new ecliptic begins, and I beg that the emperor's younger brother will enter the throne hall tomorrow to take his throne facing South as monarch and inaugurate a new reign.”

  The queen was delighted by this suggestion. Descending from the coach hand-in-hand with Sanzang she went in through the palace's main gate. This is what they saw and heard:

  Magic music wafting down from a gallery,

  As the turquoise carriage came within the palace.

  The phoenix gates stood wide open amid gentle light;

  The harem in all its splendor was not closed.

  Incense smoke curled aloft in the unicorn hall;

  Shadows were moving behind the peacock screen.

  The buildings were magnificent as those of a mighty state;

  The jade halls and golden horses were even more splendid.

  When they reached the Eastern hall the harmonious sounds of panpipes and singing could be heard and two rows of powdered beauties seen. In the middle of the hall two sumptuous banquets were set out; a vegetarian one to the left and a meat one on the right. Below were two rows of individual places. The queen folded back her sleeves, took a jade goblet with her ten delicate fingers, and led Sanzang to the feast. Monkey went up to her and said, “We are all vegetarians, so would you ask my master to sit at the vegetarian feast to the left while three places are set below him for us three disciples?”

  “Yes, that's right,” said the queen's tutor. “Master and disciples are like father and sons. It would be wrong to seat them side by side.” The women officials quickly rearranged the seating, and the queen gave goblets to each of them as she led them to their places. Monkey gave the Tang Priest a look to remind him to return her courtesies, at which he came down from his seat with a jade goblet in his hand and led the queen to her place. The civil and military officials all kowtowed to the queen in gratitude and took their seats in order of precedence on either side. Only then did the music cease and the toasts begin.

  Pig did not worry about anything as he relaxed his belly and ate for all he was worth. He did not care whether it was jadeflake rice, steamed buns, sweet cakes, mushrooms, gill fungus, bamboo shoots, tree-ear fungus, day lilies, agar, laver, turnips, taro, devilpepper, yams or sealwort: he wolfed the whole lot down together. Then he drank some six or seven goblets of wine and shouted, “Fill it up, bring me another. I want a big goblet. Give me a few more drinks, then we can all go off and do what we've got to do.”

  “What is there so important that makes us have to leave this fine banquet?” Friar Sand asked.

  “There's an old saying,” replied the idiot with a grin, “'that each man should stick to his trade. Some of us are getting married now, and others of us have to be on our way to fetch the scriptures. We mustn't ruin everything for the sake of a few more drinks. We want our passport returned as soon as possible. As they say, 'The warriors stay on their horses, all of them pressing ahead.'“ When the queen heard this she sent for big cups, and the officials in attendance quickly fetched some parrot-shaped goblets, cormorant ladles, golden baskets, silver beakers, glass chargers, crystal dishes, immortals' bowls and amber goblets. Ambrosial liquor was now served out and everybody drank of it.

  Sanzang then bowed, rose to his feet, put his hands together in front of his chest and said to the queen, “Your Majesty, I am very grateful for this sumptuous banquet. We have had enough now. Could you now go to the throne hall and return the passport so that I may see the three of them off from the city tomorrow morning?” Doing as he asked, the queen led Sanzang by the hand as they ended the banquet and climbed the steps to the throne hall, where she invited the Tang Priest to sit on the throne.

  “No,” he said, “it would be wrong. As Your Majesty's tutor said, a new ecliptic begins tomorrow: only then will I dare to take the throne. Today the passport must be stamped so that they can be sent on their way.”

  The queen accepted his suggestions, sat on the dragon throne again, had a gilt chair placed to the left of it for Sanzang to sit on, and told the disciples to bring the passport. The Great Sage asked Friar Sand to open the cloth wrapper and take it out, then offered it with both hands to the queen, who examined it carefully. At the top were nine stamps from the Great Tang emperor's seals, and underneath were the seals of the countries of Elephantia, Wuji and Tarrycart. When she had looked at them the queen said with a delightful, tinkling smile in her voice, “Is your surname Chen, emperor's brother?”

  “My lay surname was Chen,” he replied, “and my religious name is Xuanzang. It was when the Tang emperor in his wisdom and mercy took me as his younger brother that he granted me the surname Tang.”

  “Why do your illustrious disciples' names not appear on the passport?” the queen asked.

  “My three stupid disciples are not men of Tang.” Sanzang replied.

  “But if they are not from Tang why have they come here with you?” the queen asked again.

  “My senior disciple,” Sanzang answered, “was originally from the country of Aolai in the Eastern Continent of Superior Body. My second disciple is from Gao Village in Stubet in the Western Continent of Cattle-gift. My third disciple is from the Flowing Sands River. They were all punished for offences against the laws of Heaven until the Bodhisattva Guanyin delivered them from their sufferings. Since then they have been converted to the faith and have volunteered to escort me on my journey to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven to redeem their past crimes. I won each of them during the journey, which is why their religious names have not been entered on the passport.”

  “Would you like me to add their names to it?” said the queen.

  “If that is Your Majesty's pleasure,” Sanzang replied. The queen then sent for brush and inkstone, and when she had rubbed the ink-stick on the stone to produce a thick and fragrant ink with which she filled the hairs of her writing brush she wrote the names of the three disciples-Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng and Sha Wujing-at the bottom of the passport. Then she stamped it fair and square with her royal seal, wrote her signature, and handed it down to Monkey, who
told Friar Sand to wrap it up again carefully.

  The queen then presented them with a dish of small pieces of gold and silver, came down from her throne and said to Monkey, “You three must take this to help with the costs of your journey and go to the Western Heaven as quickly as you can. When you come back with the scriptures we shall richly reward you again.”

  “We are men of religion,” said Brother Monkey, “and we do not accept gold and silver. There will be places along the way for us to beg food from.” Seeing that they were not going to accept it the queen had ten bolts of damask and brocade brought out that she gave to Monkey with the words, “You are in such a hurry that we do not have time for this to be made up. Please take this to have some clothes made on the journey to keep you warm.”

  “We monks may not wear damask or brocade,” Monkey said. “We are only allowed to cover ourselves with cotton cloth.” Seeing that he would not accept the silk either, the queen ordered that three pints of rice be brought out to provide them with a meal on their journey. The moment Pig heard the word “rice” he took it and put it with the bundles of luggage. “Brother,” Monkey said to him, “the luggage is very heavy now. Will you be able to carry the rice as well?”

  “You wouldn't know that rice is best eaten the same day it's cooked,” Pig replied. “One meal and it'll be finished.” He then put his hands together in thanks.

  “May I trouble Your Majesty to come with me while I escort my disciples out of the city?” Sanzang asked. “When I have given them some parting instructions about their journey West I shall come back to enjoy perpetual glory with Your Majesty. Only when I am freed from these cares and worries will we be able to join together like a pair of phoenixes.” Not realizing that this was a trick, the queen sent for her coach and climbed into it, leaning her fragrant shoulder against Sanzang as they rode Westwards out of the city. Bowls has been filled with clean water and fine incense put in all the burners. This was because the people were seeing their queen in her carriage and also because they were seeing a man, the emperor's younger brother. All of them, young and old alike, were women with powdered and lovely faces, and green-black hair piled high in cloud coiffures. The coach was soon out of the town and outside the Western gate.