by Wu Cheng-En
It is a treasure made when Chaos was first parted.
The fire caused by this fan
Shines and dazzles
Like red silk lightning;
Burns and blazes
Like crimson gauze sunsets.
Not a wisp of smoke,
Only a mountain covered in flame,
Turning the pines on its ridges into trees of fire,
And the cypresses by its crags into lanterns.
The beasts in their dens, fearful for their lives,
Rush hither and thither;
The birds in the woods, to save their feathers,
Fly far and high.
The magic fire that roars up to the sky,
Destroys the rocks, dries up the streams, and makes all red.
The Great Sage trembled with fear at the sight of this evil fire. “This is terrible,” he said. “It may do me no harm, but I can't save those hairs of mine. If they are caught by the fire they'll burn the way hair does.”
So he shook himself and took the hair back on his body, leaving just one behind as a facsimile of himself. Then, to avoid disaster by fire, his real self somersaulted upwards, reciting a spell to ward off the fire, and escaped from the inferno. He went straight back to the Lotus Flower Cave in the hope of rescuing his master. He rushed to the cave doors, brought his cloud down to land, and found over a hundred little devils there with smashed heads, broken legs, and open wounds. They had all been wounded by his magical other selves and were now standing there howling in agony. At the sight of them the Great Sage could not restrain his evil and murderous nature; he laid into them, swinging his iron cudgel. The poor devils, who were the fruit of so much hard work to acquire human form, became so many pieces of worn and hairy hide once more.
Having wiped out all the little devils the Great Sage stormed into the cave to free his master. Seeing more dazzling flames inside he was struck by a thought that filled him with panic: “That's done it. The fire's come in through the back door. There's no way I'll be able to rescue the Master.” Terrified though he was, he looked more carefully and saw that it was not flames but a golden glow. Pulling himself together he looked inside and saw that the light came from a vase in “mutton-fat” jade.
“What a beauty,” he thought with glee. “That's the vase that shone on the mountain when those two little devils were carrying it. I took it off them, then the demon king found it when he searched me later. Now I see that it shines when they keep it here too.” Watch him as he takes such pleasure in stealing the vase that instead of rescuing his master he gets out of the cave as fast as he can. He was just outside when the demon king appeared from the South, brandishing his magic sword and the fan. Before the Great Sage could take evasive action the demon raised the sword and hacked at his face. But the Great Sage immediately soared into the air on a somersault cloud and disappeared without trace.
Back at the cave mouth the demon king was so distressed by the sight of the corpses of his spirits all over the place that he threw back his head and groaned, and could not help wailing loudly at the pain of it. This is proved by a poem that goes:
Wicked the ape, and stubborn the evil horse,
That had their souls reborn in mortal form.
Because in their folly they left the halls of Heaven
They forgot themselves and landed in these hills.
Woeful the swan that loses the flock;
Tearful the demon soldiers whose race is destroyed.
When will their sin be done and their bonds released
So that they may return to their heavenly home?
Overcome with remorse, the Senior Demon King sobbed at every step as he went into the cave. Although all the objects and furniture were still in the cave it was silent and deserted. It made him even more lonely and depressed. He sat alone in the cave, slumped on the stone table, the sword leaning against it, and the fan behind his neck again. Thus he drifted into sleep. Indeed:
Happiness braces the spirit;
Sorrow just sends you to sleep.
The story goes on to tell how the Great Sage Sun turned his somersault cloud round and brought it to a stop in front of the mountain. As he wanted to rescue his master he fastened the vase securely at his waist and went back to the cave to reconnoiter. The doors were wide open, and the silence was unbroken, so he crept stealthily inside to find the old demon slumped against the stone table, fast asleep. The Plantain Fan stick out from his clothes at his shoulder, half covering the back of his head, and the Seven-star Sword was still leaning against the table. Monkey made his way forward very quietly, pulled the fan out, then turned and whooshed out. This was because the fan had rubbed against the monster's hair, waking him up. As soon as he looked up and saw that Monkey had stolen the fan he grabbed for his sword and went after him. By now Monkey was already outside the doors, the fan safely tucked in his belt and his iron cudgel in his hands as he met the monster's onslaught. It was a splendid fight.
The angry demon king,
Beside himself with fury,
Angry enough to swallow Monkey whole.
Unable to let off his rage,
Viciously he cursed the ape;
“You're always trying to fool with me.
You've killed so many of my people,
And you've taken away my treasures.
There'll be no mercy in this fight:
We'll see who's to survive.”
The Great Sage yelled back at the demon:
“You haven't a lick of sense.
For a beginner like you to fight against me
Would be like trying to smash a rock with eggs.”
The sword was met by the iron cudgel
As both sides fought without giving quarter.
In clash after clash they struggled for mastery,
Turning and twisting to show their skill in arms.
To rescue the pilgrim priest,
And visit the Buddha on Vulture Peak,
Metal and Fire would not yield to each other,
And the chaos of the elements destroyed their friendship.
As they showed their martial prowess and magic powers,
They sent stones and sand flying with their display of skill.
As they fought the sun was slowly setting;
The frightened demon was the first to quit.
After thirty or forty rounds of fighting against Monkey, by when the day was almost over, the demon king could hold out no longer and he broke away, defeated. He made off to the Southwest, heading for the Crushed Dragon Cave.
Monkey then brought his cloud down to land and rushed straight back into the Lotus Flower Cave, where he freed the Tang Priest, Pig, and Friar Sand. The three of them thanked Monkey for delivering them from dire peril, then asked where the demons had gone.
To this Monkey replied, “The Junior Demon King is inside the gourd, and I reckon he must have dissolved by now. I've just beaten the Senior King, and he's gone back to the Crushed Dragon Cave. As for the little devils from the cave, I killed half of them with my magical extra bodies, then wiped out the wounded survivors of the rout who came back here. That's how I was able to get in here to rescue you.”
The Tang Priest thanked him no end: “I'm so grateful to you for your great efforts, disciple.”
“You're telling me it was a great effort,” laughed Monkey. “You lot only had to put up with the pain of being hung up, but I wasn't allowed to stand still for a moment. I was more rushed than a postal courier with an urgent message, having to charge around all over the place without stopping. I was only able to put the demons down because I stole their treasures.”
“Show us the gourd, brother,” said Pig.
“I think he must have dissolved by now.” Monkey took the vase from his belt and then produced the Dazzling Golden Cord and the fan before bringing the gourd out in his hands.
“Don't look inside,” he said, “don't. When he put me in there I tricked him into taking the lid off and letting me get away by
swilling saliva round in my mouth. We absolutely mustn't take the lid off in case he plays a trick on us and escapes too.” In their happiness master and disciples found the rice, noodles and vegetables in the cave, cleaned up the stove and cooking pots, and made themselves a vegetarian meal. When they were full they went to sleep in the cave. Nothing worth recounting happened that night, and before long the new day dawned.
The Senior Demon King meanwhile had gone straight to the Crushed Dragon Mountain, where he called together all the she-devils and told them how his mother had been murdered, his brother put in the gourd, the devil soldiers all killed and the treasures stolen.
At this the she-devils all wept. After they had been wailing for a long time he said, “Try not to upset yourselves. I still have my Seven-star Sword, and I'm going to parade all you women soldiers behind the Crushed Dragon Mountain, where I'll borrow some troops from my relatives. My mind is made up: I'll capture Sun the Novice and have my revenge on him.”
The words were not out of his mouth before a little devil from outside the doors reported, “Your Majesty, your lord uncle from the other side of the mountains is here with soldiers.” At this news the Senior Demon King quickly put on white mourning garments and went out to greet him in person. This lord uncle was King Septimus Fox, the younger brother of the demon king's mother, and he had heard from devils of his who were out patrolling the mountains how Monkey had killed his sister then impersonated her to steal his nephew's treasures and was fighting him in the battle of Flat-top Mountain that same day. Septimus Fox was bringing over two hundred of his own devil troops to help in the battle when he called for news at his sister's place on the way. As soon as he stepped inside and saw the demon king in mourning for his mother the two of them started to weep aloud. After weeping for some time the demon king bowed to him and told him what had happened. In his anger Septimus told the demon king to change out of his mourning clothes, pick up his sword, call the roll of women soldiers and join forces with him. They then set off on winds and clouds towards the Northeast.
The Great Sage had just told Friar Sand to get the breakfast ready as they would set off straight after eating it when he heard the sound of a wind. Going outside to look he saw a host of demon soldiers approaching from the Southwest. This alarmed him, so he ran back in a hurry and shouted to Pig, “Brother, that evil spirit is back again with reinforcements.”
Sanzang went pale with fright at the news. “Disciple,” he asked, “what can this mean?”
“Don't worry,” chuckled Monkey, “don't worry. Fetch me all their treasures.” The Great Sage then tucked the gourd and the vase in his belt, put the Dazzling Golden Cord in his sleeve, stuck the Plantain Fan behind his shoulder, and whirled the iron cudgel around with both his hands. Friar Sand he ordered to stay put inside the cave guarding the master, while he asked Pig to come outside with his rake to meet the enemy.
When the demons' line of battle was drawn up King Septimus Fox took command. He had a jade face and long whiskers, a brow of steel and ears like swords. His helmet was of refined gold, he wore chainmail armor and he held a heaven-square halberd.
“I'll get you, you bold and impudent ape,” he shouted. “How dare you treat people so badly? You've stolen the treasures, wounded my relations, killed the demon soldiers, and to top it all occupied their cave palace. All of you stretch your heads out to be executed while I avenge my sister's family.”
“You hairy crowd, you misery-makers,” replied Monkey, “you can't realize what powers I have. Don't go-take this from my cudgel.” The monster twisted round to avoid the blow, then struck back at his head with the heaven-square halberd. The two of them fought three or four rounds on the mountain-top until the monster was too weak to continue. He fled from the field, followed by Monkey until he was blocked by the Senior Demon King. When these two had fought three more rounds Septimus Fox came back into the attack. Seeing this from where he was at the edge of the battle Pig brandished his nine-toothed rake to stop him. The battle went on undecided for a long time with each fighter blocked by another until the demon king called up all the demon troops to surround Pig.
Sanzang meanwhile was sitting in the cave hearing the shouts and the shaking of the ground. He told Friar Sand to go outside and see whether or not his brother was winning. Friar Sand raised his demon-quelling staff and charged out with a roar, putting the devilish horde to flight. Seeing that things were going badly, Septimus turned to flee, only to be caught a blow on the back from Pig's rake as Pig came after him. At this nine jets of blood gushed out of him, and the poor spirit's true being carried on ahead of him. When Pig grabbed him and tore off his clothes he saw that Septimus was in fact a fox spirit.
At the sight of his uncle being wounded the demon king broke away from Monkey and raised his sword to strike at Pig, who parried with his rake. While the two of them were fighting it out Friar Sand came up and struck at the demon king with his staff. This was more than the demon could cope with, so he set off on his wind and cloud, fleeing South with Pig and Friar Sand close on his heels. Seeing this the Great Sage at once went soaring up into the sky on his cloud. He brought out the vase to catch the old demon in.
“King Golden Horn,” he shouted, and the old demon, imagining that one of his defeated little devils was calling, turned to reply. Into the vase he whistled, and Monkey put on a label reading:
To the Great Lord Lao: to be dealt with urgently in accordance with the Statutes and Ordinances.
The Seven-star Sword fell to the ground, and it too was now Monkey's. “You've got the sword, brother,” said Pig as he came towards him, “but where's the evil spirit?”
“He's done for,” laughed Monkey. “I've got him in this vase.” Like Pig, Friar Sand was delighted when he heard.
Now that all the evil spirits had been wiped out the disciples went back into the cave to tell the good news to Sanzang: “The mountain has been cleaned up and the demons no longer exist. Please mount, Master, and we'll be on our way.” Sanzang was beside himself with joy. Master and disciples ate their breakfast, got their baggage and horse ready, and hurried on their way West.
As they were walking along a blind man suddenly appeared beside the path, went up to them, and seized Sanzang's horse.
“Where are you going, monk?” he asked. “Give me back my treasures.”
“That's done it,” said Pig with horror. “It's the old demon here to demand his treasures back.”
When Monkey looked carefully and saw that it was the Supreme Lord Lao Zi he rushed up to him, greeted him and asked, “Where are you going, old fellow?”
The venerable elder at once rose up to his throne in the realm of jade, drew himself upright amid the nine mists and called, “Sun the Novice, give me back my treasures.” The Great Sage rose into the air and asked. “What treasures?”
“I use the gourd to keep cinnabar and the vase to hold water,” replied the Lord Lao. “The precious sword I use for refining demons, the fan for fanning my fire, and the cord for tying round my gown. One of those two demons was a servant boy who looked after my golden furnace, and the other a servant who looked after my silver furnace. They stole my treasures and came down to the mortal world. I could not find them anywhere. You have done a very good deed in capturing them.”
“You're very rude indeed, old fellow,” said the Great Sage. “You deserve to be charged with laxity for allowing members of your household to become evil spirits.”
“Don't blame the wrong person,” said Lord Lao. “It was nothing to do with me. It was the Bodhisattva from the sea who asked me for the loan of them three times, and sent them here to be turned into monsters to test whether your master and his disciples truly wanted to go to the West.”
On hearing this the Great Sage thought, “That Bodhisattva is a terrible old liar. When she delivered me and told me to protect the Tang Priest on his journey to the West to fetch the scriptures I said that the journey would be tough and difficult. She promised to come and help me whenever thin
gs were really desperate. But so far from helping she's sent evil spirits to play me up and give me a hard time. The liar. She deserves to be an old maid all her life. If the old fellow hadn't come here himself I most certainly would not have given them back to him. But now that you've told me all this you'd better have them.”
When the Lord Lao had his five treasures back he took the stoppers out of the gourd and the vase and tipped out two wisps of immortal vapor. As he pointed at them they turned into his two servants of the gold and silver furnace who waited on him on either side. Then a myriad rays of coloured light appeared and they floated back to the Tushita Palace and drifted straight on up to the Daluo Heaven.
If you don't know what happened afterwards, or how the Great Sage Sun protected the Tang Priest, or when they reached the Western Heaven, listen to the explanations in the next installment.
Chapter 36
When the Mind-Ape Stands Correct All Evil Causes Submit
When the Side-Gate Is Smashed the Moon Appears in Its Brightness
The story tells how Sun the Novice brought his cloud down to land and told the master and his fellow-disciples all about the Bodhisattva borrowing the two servant lads and Lord Lao recovering his treasures. Sanzang expressed his thanks at great length, then with great determination and pious sincerity prepared to head West for all he was worth. As he climbed into the saddle, Pig shouldered the luggage, Friar Sand held the horse's bridle, and Monkey cleared a path straight ahead down the mountainside with his iron cudgel. We can give no full account of how they slept in the rain, dined off the wind, were wrapped in frost and exposed to the dew. When they had been travelling for a long time they found the way forward blocked by another mountain.
“Disciples,” shouted Sanzang from the back of his horse, “just look at how high and craggy that mountain is. You must be very careful and on your guard; I'm afraid that monsters may attack us.”