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

On his mountain the monkey was soon able to run and jump, feed from plants and trees, drink from brooks and springs, pick mountain flowers and look for fruit. He made friends with the wolves, went around with the tigers and leopards, was on good terms with the deer, and had the other monkeys and apes for relations. At night he slept under the rockfaces, and he roamed around the peaks and caves by day. As the saying so rightly goes, “There is no calendar in the mountains, and when winter's over you don't know the time of year.” On hot mornings he and all the other monkeys would play under the shade of some pines to avoid the heat. Just look at them all:

Climbing trees, picking flowers, looking for fruit;

Throwing pellets, playing knucklebones;

Running round sandy hollows, building stone pagodas;

Chasing dragonflies and catching locusts;

Worshipping the sky and visiting Bodhisattvas;

Tearing off creepers and weaving straw hats;

Catching fleas then popping them with their teeth and fingers;

Grooming their coats and sharpening their nails;

Beating, scratching, pushing, squashing, tearing and tugging;

Playing all over the place under the pine trees;

Washing themselves beside the green stream.

After playing, the monkeys would go and bathe in the stream, a mountain torrent that tumbled along like rolling melons. There is an old saying, “Birds have bird language and, animals have animal talk.”

All the monkeys said to each other, “I wonder where that water comes from. We've got nothing else to do today, so wouldn't it be fun to go upstream and find its source?” With a shout they all ran off, leading their children and calling to their brothers. They climbed up the mountain beside the stream until they reached its source, where a waterfall cascaded from a spring. They saw

One white rainbow arching,

A thousand strands of flying snow,

Unbroken by the sea winds,

Still there under the moon.

Cold air divides the greeny crags,

Splashes moisten the mountainside;

A noble waterfall cascades,

Hanging suspended like a curtain.

The monkeys clapped their hands and explained with delight, “What lovely water. It must go all the way to the bottom of the mountain and join the waves of the sea.”

Then one monkey made a suggestion: “If anyone is clever enough to go through the fall, find the source, and come out in one piece, let's make him our king.” When this challenge had been shouted three times, the stone monkey leapt out from the crowd and answered at the top of his voice, “I'll go, I'll go.” Splendid monkey! Indeed:

Today he will make his name;

Tomorrow his destiny shall triumph.

He is fated to live here;

As a King he will enter the Immortals' palace.

Watch him as he shuts his eyes, crouches, and springs, leaping straight into the waterfall. When he opened his eyes and raised his head to look round, he saw neither water nor waves. A bridge stood in front of him, as large as life. He stopped, calmed himself, took a closer look, and saw that the bridge was made of iron. The water that rushed under it poured out through a fissure in the rocks, screening the gateway to the bridge. He started walking towards the bridge, and as he looked he made out what seemed to be a house. It was a really good place. He saw:

Emerald moss piled up in heaps of blue,

White clouds like drifting jade,

While the light flickered among wisps of coloured mist.

A quiet house with peaceful windows,

Flowers growing on the smooth bench;

Dragon pearls hanging in niches,

Exotic blooms all around.

Traces of fire beside the stove,

Scraps of food in the vessels by the table.

Adorable stone chairs and beds,

Even better stone plates and bowls.

One or two tall bamboos,

Three or four sprigs of plum blossom,

A few pines that always attract rain,

All just like a real home.

He took a good, long look and then scampered to the middle of the bridge, from where he noticed a stone tablet. On the tablet had been carved in big square letters: HAPPY LAND OF THE MOUNTAIN OF FLOWERS AND FRUIT, CAVE HEAVEN OF THE WATER CURTAIN. The stone monkey was beside himself with glee. He rushed away, shut his eyes, crouched, and leapt back through the waterfall.

“We're in luck, we're in luck,” he said with a chuckle. All the other monkeys crowded round him asking, “What's it like in there? How deep is the water?”

“There's no water, none at all,” replied the stone monkey. “There's an iron bridge, and on the other side of the bridge there's a house that must have been made by Heaven and Earth.”

“How ever could you see a house there?” the other monkeys asked. The stone monkey chuckled again.

“The water here comes under the bridge and through the rocks, and it hides the gateway to the bridge from view. There are flowers and trees by the bridge, and a stone house too. Inside the house are stone rooms, a stone stove, stone bowls, stone plates, stone beds, and even stone benches. In the middle of it all is a tablet which says ' Happy Land of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, Cave Heaven of the Water Curtain'. It's just the place for us to settle down in-there's room there for thousands. Let's all move in, then we won't have to put up with any more nonsense from heaven. In there

We can hide there from the wind,

And shelter from the rain,

With nothing to fear from frost and snow,

And never a rumble of thunder.

The coloured mists glow bright

And the place smells lucky.

The pine and bamboo will always be beautiful,

And rare flowers blossom every day.”

The other monkeys were all so delighted to hear this that they said, “You go first and take us with you.”

The stone monkey shut his eyes, crouched, and leapt in again, shouting, “Follow me in, follow me in.” The braver monkeys all jumped through. The more timid ones peered forward, shrank back, rubbed their ears, scratched their cheeks, shouted, and yelled at the top of their voices, before going in, all clinging to each other. After rushing across the bridge they all grabbed plates and snatched bowls, bagged stoves and fought over beds, and moved everything around. Monkeys are born naughty and they could not keep quiet for a single moment until they had worn themselves out moving things around.

The stone monkey sat himself in the main seat and said, “Gentlemen, A man who breaks his word is worthless. Just now you said that if anyone was clever enough to come in here and get out again in one piece, you'd make him king. Well, then. I've come in and gone out, and gone out and come in. I've found you gentlemen a cave heaven where you can sleep in peace and all settle down to live in bliss. Why haven't you made me king?” On hearing this all the monkeys bowed and prostrated themselves, not daring to disobey.

They lined up in groups in order of age and paid their homage as at court, all acclaiming him as the “Great King of a Thousand Years.” The stone monkey then took the throne, made the word “stone” taboo, and called himself Handsome Monkey King. There is a poem to prove it that goes:

All things are born from the Three positives;

The magic stone was quick with the essence of sun and moon.

An egg was turned into a monkey to complete the Great Way;

He was lent a name so that the elixir would be complete.

Looking inside he perceives nothing because it has no form,

Outside he uses his intelligence to create visible things.

Men have always been like this:

Those who are called kings and sages do just as they wish.

Taking control of his host of monkeys, apes, gibbons and others, the Handsome Monkey King divided them into rulers and subjects, assistants and officers. In the morning they roamed the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit and in the evening they settled down for the night in the Water Curtain Cave. They made a compact that they would not join the ranks of the birds or go with the running beasts. They had their own king, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.