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

This brought the tears pouring down Sanzang's cheeks as he replied, “This is what the ancients mean when they said,

Long before the ripe ones the green plums always fall;

The harshness of heaven hits the childless worst of all.”

Monkey smiled at this and said, “Let me ask some more questions. Tell me, sir, how much property does your family have?”

“Quite a lot,” the younger old man replied. “About seven hundred acres of paddy fields, a thousand acres of dry fields, eighty or ninety fields of hay, two or three hundred water-buffalo and oxen, twenty or thirty donkeys and horses, and goodness only knows how many pigs, sheep, chickens and geese. We have more old grain piled up at home than we can eat, and more clothes than we can wear. That is the extent of our family's property.”

“It's a pity you're so stingy with all your wealth,” said Monkey.

“How can you accuse us of being stingy?” the old man asked.

“If you're so rich,” said Monkey, “why give your own children to be sacrificed? You could buy a boy for fifty ounces and a girl for a hundred. With all the other expenses together it shouldn't cost you more than two hundred ounces of silver to keep your own children. Wouldn't that be better?”

To this the younger old man replied through his tears, “My lord, you don't realize that the Great King is miraculously responsive, and that he often calls on this household.”

“If he comes here have you seen what he looks like and how tall he is?” asked Brother Monkey.

“We don't see him,” the younger old man replied, “we just know that the Great King is coming when we smell a fragrant wind. Then we burn huge amounts of incense and all of us, young and old alike, prostrate ourselves in the direction of the wind. He knows every trifling detail about our household-even about our spoons and the bowls we use-and remembers all our dates of birth. He will only accept our own son and daughter. Never mind two or three hundred ounces of silver: we could not buy identical-looking children of exactly the same age for tens of thousands of ounces.”

“So it's like that,” said Monkey. “Very well then, bring your son out for me to take a look at him.” Chen Qing hurried to the inner part of the house, brought Guan-given back with him into the hall, and set the boy down in front of the lamp. Not realizing the mortal danger he was in the little boy leapt about, filled his sleeves with fruit, ate and played around. Monkey looked at him, said a spell silently, shook himself, and made himself look just like Guan-given. Then the two boys started to jump and dance in front of the lamp, giving the two old men such a shock that they fell to their knees.

“That was a terrible thing for him to do, venerable sirs,” said Sanzang.

“But the gentleman was talking to us a moment ago,” said the old man. “How can he have turned into the exact likeness of my son? When you call them they respond and move together. This shock has shortened our lives. Please return to your normal appearance!” Monkey rubbed his face and was himself once more. “What powers you have, my lord,” said the old man, still on his knees.

“Was I like your son?” Monkey asked.

“Yes, just like him,” the old man replied. “Same face, same voice, same clothes, same height.”

“You didn't look carefully enough,” said Monkey. “Get some scales and weigh me to see if I'm the same weight as him.”

“Yes, yes, the same weight,” the old man said.

“Would I do for the sacrifice like that?” asked Monkey.

“Perfect,” said the old man, “just perfect. You would be accepted.”

“I shall take the child's place and keep him alive for your family to have descendants to burn incense to you,” said Monkey. “I shall be offered to the Great King instead.” At this Chen Qing kowtowed as he knelt there, saying, “My lord, if in your mercy you were to take his place I will give His Reverence the Tang Priest a thousand ounces of silver towards the cost of his journey to the Western Heaven.”

“Aren't you going to reward me?” asked Monkey.

“But if you are sacrificed in the boy's place it will be the end of you,” said the old man.

“What do you mean?” Monkey asked.

“The Great King will eat you,” the old man replied.

“He'd dare to eat me?” said Monkey.

“The only reason he might not eat you would be if he thought you would taste too high,” the old man said.

“Let Heaven do as it will,” said Monkey. “If I'm eaten up it'll be because I'm fated to have a short life; and if I'm not eaten it'll be because I'm lucky. Take me to the sacrifice.”

While Chen Qing kowtowed, expressed his thanks, and presented them with five hundred ounces of silver Chen Cheng neither kowtowed nor thanked Monkey, but leant against the doorway sobbing. As soon as Brother Monkey noticed this he went up to him, took hold of his clothes, and said, “Old man, is it because you can't bear to lose your daughter that you're not giving me anything or thanking me?”

Only then did Chen Cheng fall to his knees and reply, “Yes, I cannot bear to lose her. It is enough that in your great kindness you are saving my nephew by taking his place. But I have no son. She is my only child and she would weep for me bitterly after my death. I cannot bear to lose her.”

“Then you'd better go along at once and cook five bushels of rice and some good vegetarian dishes for that long-snouted venerable gentleman to eat. Then I'll make him turn into the likeness of your daughter and the two of us will be able to take part in the sacrifice. We'll see if we can do a meritorious deed and save your children's lives.”

These words came as a great shock to Pig, who said, “Brother, if you turn yourself into a spirit and leave me to die you'll be dragging me into disaster.”

“Brother,” said Monkey, “as the saying goes, a chicken doesn't eat what it doesn't earn. We came in here and were given an ample meal, but you had to complain that you were still hungry. Why aren't you willing to help them in their crisis?”

“But, brother,” protested Pig, “I can't do transformations.”

“You can do thirty-six transformations,” said Monkey. “How can you possibly deny that?”

“Wuneng,” Sanzang said to Pig, “what your brother says is absolutely correct, and he has made the right decision. As the saying goes, to save a human life is better than building a seven-storied pagoda. If you do this you will be thanking our hosts for their generous hospitality and accumulating good karma for yourself. Besides, it will be fun for you and your brother on this cool night when you have nothing else to do.”

“What are you saying, Master?” said Pig. “I can only change into a hill, a tree, a rock, a scabby elephant, a water-buffalo or a big, fat man. It'd be pretty hard for me to turn into a little girl.”

“Pay no attention to him,” said Monkey to Chen Cheng, “but bring your daughter out for me to see.”

Chen Cheng then hurried inside and came back into the hall with Pan of Gold in his arms; and everyone in the household, young and old, wives and concubines, members of the family and other relations, all came in to kowtow and beg Monkey to save the child's life. Round her hair the little girl was wearing a patterned turquoise headband from which hung ornaments representing the eight precious things. Her jacket was of red and yellow shot ramie, and over is she wore a cape in green imperial satin with a checked collar. Her skirt was of scarlet flowered silk, her shoes were of pink ramie and shaped like frogs' heads, and her trousers were of raw silk with gold thread. She was holding a piece of fruit in her hand and eating it.

“There's the girl,” said Monkey. “Make yourself like her at once. We're off to the sacrifice.”