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

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 time 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.

“Accursed beasts,” shouted the Mighty Miracle God, “tell the Protector of the Horses at once that I am a heavenly general come on the orders of the Jade Emperor to subdue him. If you make him come out and surrender immediately it will save the lot of you from being wiped out.”

The devils went rushing into the cave and reported, “Disaster, disaster.”

“What disaster?” the Monkey King asked.

“There's a heavenly general outside who says he's come on the orders of the Jade Emperor to subdue you. If you go out and surrender immediately, he says he'll spare our lives.”

“Fetch me my armour,” said the Monkey King. He then donned his golden helmet, tied on his golden armour, put on his cloud-walking shoes, and took his As-You-Will gold-banded cudgel in his hand. He led his troops out of the cave and drew them up in battle array. The Mighty Miracle God gazed wide-eyed at the excellent Monkey King: