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

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.