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

Monkey stood proud as he replied, “My master is the Tang Emperor's sworn brother, and his title is Sanzang. The Tang Emperor has a minister called Wei Zheng who beheaded the old dragon of the Jing River in a dream because Heaven ordered him to. When the Tang Emperor came back to life after dreaming that he had toured the Underworld, he held a Great Water and Land Mass to save the souls of all those who had been unjustly slain. Because my master preached on the scriptures with such broad compassion the Bodhisattva Guanyin instructed him to travel West. My master made a solemn vow volunteering gladly to do this in order to express his full loyalty to his country, and was given a letter of credence by the Tang Emperor. This was three days before the full moon in the ninth month of the thirteenth year of the reign-period Tien Guan. After leaving the lands of the East he came to the Double-boundary Mountain, where he took me to be his senior disciple; my name is Sun Wukong, Sun the Novice, or Brother Monkey. Then he came to Gao Village in the Land of Stubet, where he took his second disciple, called Zhu Bajie, Zhu Wuneng, or Pig. At the Flowing Sands River he took his third disciple, Sha Wujing, or Friar Sand. Then the day before yesterday he took on a lay brother at the Precious Wood Monastery to be our porter.”

On hearing all this the fiend, who had no way of searching the Tang Priest, or of using a crafty approach to questioning Monkey, glared angrily and said, “When you left the East you were travelling alone. Of the four followers you picked up the three regular monks are no problem. But I won't stand for your taking that lay brother. I'm sure the fellow was kidnapped. What's he called? Does he have an official ordination license? Bring him forward to make a statement.”

At this the real king began to tremble as the asked, “Master, what shall I say?”

“Don't be afraid,” said Monkey, giving him a pinch. “I'll speak for you.”

The splendid Great Sage hurried forward and yelled to the fiend at the top of his voice, “Your Majesty, this old lay brother is dumb, and a bit deaf too. But when he was young he once went to the Western Heaven, so he knows the way. I'm very familiar with his background, so I beg Your Majesty in your mercy to allow me to speak on his behalf.”

“Unless you want to be punished you'd better make a full and frank statement at once,” said the fiend.

To this Monkey said,

“The brother now confessing is getting on in years,

Struck both deaf and dumb, and bankrupt too.

Long have his family lived in this region

Till five years ago catastrophe struck.

No rain fell, and the people suffered drought;

Monarch and commoners all kept and fast.

Incense was burned amid their prayers to Heaven,

But for hundreds of miles no clouds could be seen.

When all of the people were in agonies of hunger,

A wizard from Zhongshan suddenly arrived.

He showed his great powers to bring the wind and rain,

Then secretly murdered the ruler of the country,

Pushed him down the well in the palace's garden,

Took the throne himself in the king's own likeness.

Luckily I came and did a great good deed,

Raising the dead and restoring him to life.

Then he volunteered to act as our porter

And go to the West together with us monks.

The false king is really a very evil wizard;

The lay brother is in fact the true king in disguise.”

Hearing this as he sat in his palace's throne hall, the fiend was so frightened that his heart leapt like a little deer, and his face flushed. He drew away at once and was just about to flee, but he was unarmed. He turned round to see that one of the officers of the palace guard who had a sword at his waist was standing stock-still like an idiot because Monkey's magic had immobilized him.

The fiend grabbed the sword and rose into the air on a cloud, to the thunderous fury of Friar Sand and loud complaints from Pig about Monkey's impatience: “If you'd taken it a bit more gently you could have calmed him down and got him. If he gets away on his cloud now, where ever will you find him?”

“Stop that awful din, brothers,” laughed Monkey. “Let's ask the prince to come down and pay his respects to his father, and invite the queen and the consorts to bow to their husband.” He then recited the words to lift the immobilizing spell, and said, “When the officials come to, tell them all to come and pay homage to their sovereign. Then it will be known who is the real king. Tell everyone what has happened so that the truth can be known. I'm off to find the demon.” The splendid Great Sage then gave Pig and Friar Sand his parting instructions: “Look after them all-king and ministers, father and son, queen and consorts, and our master.” By the time he had finished speaking he had already disappeared.

He was already up in the ninth layer of cloud, looking all around for the fiend. He saw that the wretch had got away with his life and was fleeing back to the East. Monkey was soon close behind him and shouting, “Where do you think you're going, monster? Monkey's after you.”

The fiend turned to look, raised his sword, and shouted, “You scoundrel, Monkey. It was none of your business that I was sitting on someone else's throne. Why did you have to come here righting wrongs and giving my secret away?”

“I'll get you, you cheeky monster,” chuckled Monkey. “Don't imagine you'll ever be a king again. As you knew who I was you should have made yourself scarce instead of giving my master a bad time. What sort of confession were you trying to extort from him? The one you got just now? If you won't go, tough guy, try a taste of my cudgel.” The fiend dodged the blow then struck back at Monkey's face with his sword. Once the two of them were in action it was a splendid fight. Indeed:

Fierce was the Monkey king, and strong the demon monarch,

As cudgel parried sword while they fought against each other.

For one whole day the Three Worlds are in cloud

Just because a monarch recovered his throne.”

After a few rounds the fiend realized that he was no match for Monkey and fled back to the city by the way he had come. He rushed through the two lines of civil and military officials before the white jade steps, turned himself into the likeness of the Tang Priest with a shake of his body, and stood holding his hands together before the steps of the throne hall.

When the Great Sage caught the monster up and had raised his cudgel to strike him down the monster said, “Disciple, it's me, don't hit me.” Monkey then raised his cudgel to strike the real Tang Priest, who also said, “Disciple, it's me, don't hit me.” Both Tang Priests were so alike as to be indistinguishable.

“If I kill the Tang Priest who is really the demon in disguise, that will be a great achievement,” thought Monkey. “But if I killed my real master that would be terrible.” So he had to stay his hand while he asked Pig and Friar Sand, “Which one is the fiend and which is our master? Point the fiend out to me and I'll kill him.”

“You made such a noise when you were fighting up there,” said Pig, “that I blinked, and when I opened my eyes again there were two masters. I don't know which is the real one.”

As soon as he heard this Monkey made magic with his hands, said the words of the spell, and called on all the devas who guard the dharma, the Six Dings, the Six Jias, the Protectors of the Four Quarters and the Centre, the Four Duty Gods, and the Eighteen Guardians of the Faith, as well as the local deities and mountain gods: “I'm here to subdue a demon, but the demon has turned himself into my master. They're so alike I can't tell them apart. As you have secret understanding, please invite my master to enter the throne hall so that I can capture the fiend.”