Wu Cheng-en - Journey to the West (vol. 1)

This news made Pig and Friar Sand feel as if they had been let out through the gates of Hell. They scurried away with the horse and the baggage, and going round to the other end of the Moon Waters Cave they called “Master” outside the back entrance. Sanzang recognized their voices and called back from among the thorn bushes. Friar Sand made his way through the undergrowth, helped his master out, and hurriedly helped him mount the horse.

When he was threatened by the terrible blue-faced monster

He was lucky to meet the devout princess.

Escaping from the golden hook, the turtle

Swam off through the waves with a flick of his tail.

With Pig leading and Friar Sand bringing up the rear, they left the pine forest and traveled along the main track. The two disciples grumbled and complained, while Sanzang tried to conciliate them. Every evening they would find lodgings, and they would be up again at cock-crow. They covered stage after stage of their journey, sometimes longer and sometimes shorter, and before they realized it they had done ninety-nine miles. Suddenly they looked up and there was a fine city in front of them. This was Elephantia, and it was a splendid place:

Distant clouds,

A long road;

Although this was a distant land,

The scenery was as fine as home.

Auspicious mists enshrouded the city;

Fresh breezes were blowing under the clear moon.

Towering mountains, seen from afar,

Were spread out like a picture.

Rivers flowed rippling,

Like streams of crushed jasper.

There were fields upon fields of farmland

Where new crops sprouted close together.

A handful of fishermen worked three stretches of water,

A wood-gatherer carried twigs from a couple of hills.

The outer wall

And the inner wall of the city,

Were rock-solid.

The houses

And homes

Vied in elegance.

Nine-storied pavilions were like palaces,

High towers like imperial columns.

There was a Hall of the Great Ultimate,

A Flowery Canopied Hall,

A Hall of Incense,

A Hall of Literary Perusal,

A Hall of Government Proclaimed,

A Hall of Splendor Extended,

All with steps of jade and gold

Where civil and military officers stood in their ranks.

There was also a Great Brightness Palace,

A Palace of Shining Radiance,

A Palace of Eternal Joy,

A Palace of Illustrious Purity,

A Palace of Established Enlightenment,

A Palace of Inexhaustible Glory.

In every palace were gongs, drums, pipes and flutes,

Lamenting the sorrows of spring and the harem's woes.

Then there were imperial parks

Where dew bathed the flowers' tender petals;

And royal canals

Where willows bent their slender waists in the wind.

On the highways

Were belted gentlemen in official hats,

Attired in all their splendor

As they rode in five-horsed chariots;

In remote corners

Were archers with bows and arrows

Whose shots split the clouds apart

And skewered pairs of hawks.

What with the willow-lined streets,

And the houses full of music,

This spring scene rivaled the Luoyang Bridge.

The pilgrim who was seeking the sutras

Was torn with nostalgia for the Great Tang;

The disciples accompanying their master

In a rest-house found happiness in their dream.

Gazing at the view of Elephantia the master and his two disciples dealt with the luggage and the horse and settled down in a rest-house.

The Tang Priest went on foot to the palace gates, where he said to the High Custodian of the gate, “I beg you to report that there is a monk from the Tang Court who has come for a personal audience with His Majesty and has a letter of credentials.”

A eunuch messenger hurried to the white jade steps and announced, “Your Majesty, a distinguished priest from the Tang Court has come for an audience as he has a letter of credentials to deliver.” The king was delighted to hear that he was from the mighty land of Tang and was himself a venerable and holy monk, so he gave his approval at once with the words, “Call him in.”

Sanzang was summoned to the golden steps, where he danced in obeisance and called out the correct greeting. On either side the many civil and military officers all sighed with admiration and said, “What impressive music and ritual this gentleman from that distinguished country has.”

“Venerable sir, why have you come to my country?” the king asked.

“I am a Buddhist from the land of Tang,” Sanzang replied, “and I am going to the Western Heaven on the Emperor's orders to fetch the scriptures. I am carrying a letter of credentials, and now that I have arrived in Your Majesty's country it seems proper to hand it to you. Not knowing whether to advance or retreat, I must apologize for disturbing the Dragon Countenance.”

“If you have Tang credentials,” the king replied, “bring them here for me to see.” Sanzang handed the letter up respectfully with both hands and unfolded it on the king's table. It read:

From the Tang Emperor of the Great Tang Kingdom, who reigns by order of Heaven, in the Southern Continent of Jambudvipa.

Despite our feeble virtues we have succeeded to the throne, and in worshipping the gods and ruling the people we are as careful morning and night as if we were on the edge of a precipice or treading on thin ice. Because we failed to save the Dragon King of the Jing River, punishment was visited on our august self; our souls were rushed to the underworld and we became a guest in the land of death. As our lifespan was not yet over, the Lord of Darkness sent us back to the world of the living. We held a Great Assembly of monks and built a holy altar where the souls of the dead could be brought over to the other side. To our great gratitude the Bodhisattva Guanyin, the deliverer from suffering, appeared in person and told us that there is a Buddha in the West who has scriptures that will save the lost and bring lonely souls who have nobody to help them over to the other side. We have therefore especially commissioned the Patriarch Xuanzang to make the long journey across countless mountains to seek for the scriptures and psalms. Should he come to any countries in the West we hope that on seeing this letter they will allow him to go on his way and not impede this predestined good deed. This is addressed to whom it may concern. Given by His Imperial Majesty on an auspicious day in the autumn of the thirteenth year of Then Guan of the Great Tang.

When he had read this letter, which bore nine imperial seals, the king sealed it with his great seal and handed it back to Sanzang, who thanked him as he took it. “Not only did I have a letter of credentials to present,” he reported, “I have also brought a family letter to deliver to Your Majesty.” The king was delighted and asked what it was. “I happened to meet Your Majesty's third princess, who was carried off by the Yellow-Robed Monster of the Moon Waters Cave in the Bowl Mountain, and she gave me this letter to deliver to you.” Tears poured from the king's eyes at the news, and he said, “It is thirteen years since I saw her last, and I don't know how many military and civil officers I can have dismissed or degraded, and how many of the ladies-in-waiting, serving maids, and eunuchs I have had beaten to death since then. I imagined that she had wandered out of the palace and lost her way, and I looked for her everywhere. Even when all the ordinary citizens were interrogated I could find no news of her whereabouts. I never thought that an evil monster could have carried her off. Hearing this all of a sudden makes me weep for sorrow.” Sanzang produced the letter from his sleeve and handed it to the king, who on seeing the words, “All is well” on the outside felt so weak in his hands that he could not open it. He ordered a Grand Scholar from the Academy of Letters to climb the steps of the throne and read it aloud. As the Grand Scholar climbed the steps of the throne, the civil and military officials in front of the throne room and the empresses, royal consorts, and palace ladies behind it all listened intently. The Grand Scholar opened it and read aloud: