The story goes on to tell how the Handsome Monkey King returned in glory to his homeland. Having exterminated the Demon King of Havoc, he had seized the demon's great cutlass, and day after day he drilled his troops: he had the little monkeys cut bamboo for spears and whittle wood for blades, prepare banners and flags, fashion whistles, advance and retreat, camp and entrench—and so they sported for a long while. Then one day, sitting quietly, he fell to thinking: "If we keep up this game in earnest, we may alarm some human king; or some king of birds or king of beasts may take offense at us, claiming we are drilling troops in rebellion, and come against us with his armies. You lot, with your bamboo poles and wooden knives—how would you stand against them? We need sharp swords and halberds. But where are we to get them?" At this the monkeys were all frightened, and said: "The Great King sees far—but where could such weapons be had?"
Just then four old monkeys came forward—two horse-monkeys with red rumps, and two long-armed gibbons—and stood before him: "Great King, if it's sharp weapons you want, the thing is easy."
Wukong said: "How so?" The four monkeys said: "From our mountain, eastward across two hundred li of water, lie the borders of the country of Aolai. In that country sits a throne, and the city is full of soldiers and civilians past counting—there must be smiths of gold, silver, copper, and iron. If the Great King goes there, he might buy or have made some weapons, and drill us in their use, to guard our mountain. That would be the true means of lasting peace." Wukong was overjoyed: "You lot play on here—I'll be back directly."
What a Monkey King! He sprang onto the Somersault Cloud and in an instant had crossed the two hundred li of water. Sure enough, there stood a walled city: six streets and three markets, ten thousand households and a thousand gates, folk coming and going all in broad open daylight.
Wukong thought to himself: "There must be weapons ready-made here. I could go down and buy a few—or better, work a little magic and simply gather a few."
He made the seal, recited the spell, drew in a breath from the quarter of the wind, and blew it out with a whoop—and it became a wind that flew sand and rolled stones, a terrifying sight.
Where the storm-cloud rose, it churned heaven and earth; Black fog and gloomy haze turned all the land to dusk. Waves in the rivers and seas overturned, and fish and crabs cowered; Trees in the mountains snapped, and tigers and wolves fled. Every kind of commerce lost its traders; Every sort of livelihood was seen no more. The king upon his throne withdrew into the inner palace; Civil and military lords before the steps hurried to their yamens. The throne of a thousand autumns was blown clean over; The five-phoenix tower rocked upon its very foundations.
Where the wind arose, it terrified the king of Aolai; the three streets and six markets all slammed their doors and shut their gates, and no one dared walk abroad.
Only then did Wukong bring his cloud down and march straight in through the palace gates. He searched all the way to the armory and the weapons hall, forced the doors, and looked: inside were weapons past counting—swords, spears, halberds, battle-axes, pole-axes, scythes, whips, rakes, claws, maces, bows, crossbows, forks, lances—every sort, all complete.
At the sight he rejoiced: "How many can one pair of hands carry? Better work the method of the divided body and haul them off."
What a Monkey King! He plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them to pieces in his mouth, spat them out, recited the spell, and cried "Change!"—and they became a thousand little monkeys, all scrambling and seizing: the strong made off with five or seven weapons apiece, the weak with two or three, and the whole armory was swept utterly bare. Straight onto the cloud-heads they rose; he worked a summoning spell, called up the gale, and led his little monkeys home.
Now the monkeys of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, great and small, were playing outside the cave when they heard the sound of wind, and beheld in mid-air a tangle, a swarm, an unbounded host of monkey spirits dropping toward them—and they scattered shrieking in every direction.
Presently the Handsome Monkey King brought his cloud down, gathered in the cloud and mist, gave his body one shake, took back his hairs, and heaped the weapons in disorder before the mountain, calling: "Little ones! Come and take your weapons!"
The monkeys looked, and there stood Wukong alone on the open ground. They all ran up, kowtowed, and asked what it meant. Wukong told them all of it—the great wind, the carrying-off of the weapons, everything. When the monkeys had given thanks, they fell to scrambling for knives and snatching swords, clutching axes and wrestling for spears, bending bows and cranking crossbows, whooping and hollering—and played the whole day long.
The next day, as before, they drew up their camps. Wukong mustered the host of monkeys and counted upward of forty-seven thousand of them. The whole mountain's monstrous beasts were startled into attention: wolves, serpents, tigers, leopards, muntjacs and roe deer, foxes and wildcats, badgers and raccoon-dogs, lions and elephants, suanni and orangutans, bears and stags, wild boar and mountain cattle, antelope and blue rhinoceros, cunning beasts and divine mastiffs—demon kings of every kind, seventy-two caves in all, and every one came to pay homage and own the Monkey King as lord.
They brought tribute every year and answered the roll at each season's muster; some drilled with the ranks, some levied grain at each festival—all in fine order, till the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit was made strong as an iron bucket, a city of gold. The demon kings of every road brought in drums and gongs, banners and flags, helmets and armor, thronging and jostling, and day after day they practiced the war dance and drilled their hosts.
Just as the Handsome Monkey King was rejoicing, he said to the assembly: "You are all skilled with bow and crossbow, masters of your weapons—but this cutlass of mine is a clumsy thing and does not suit me. What's to be done?"
The four old monkeys stepped forward and reported: "The Great King is an immortal and a sage; common weapons will never serve. But tell us—can the Great King go beneath the water?" Wukong said: "Since I heard the Way, I have the merit of the seventy-two transformations of the Earthly Fiends; my Somersault Cloud has mightiest powers; I can vanish my body and escape my body, raise spells and lay spells; to Heaven above I have a road, into the earth below I have a gate; I walk on sun and moon without a shadow, enter metal and stone without hindrance; water cannot drown me, fire cannot burn me. Where is there that I cannot go?" The four monkeys said: "Since the Great King has such powers: under our iron-plated bridge, the water leads straight to the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea. If the Great King will only go down, find the old Dragon King, and ask him for some weapon—would that not content you?" At this Wukong rejoiced: "Wait—I'm off."
What a Monkey King! He sprang onto the bridge-head, worked the water-parting spell, made the seal, and with a plunge dove into the waves, parted the waters, and went straight down to the floor of the Eastern Ocean.
As he went along, a sea-patrolling yaksha barred his way and demanded: "You there, pushing through the water—which deity or saint are you? Speak plainly, that I may announce you and receive you properly."
Wukong said: "I am Sun Wukong, the Heaven-born sage of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, a close neighbor of your old Dragon King. How can you not know me?" At this the yaksha hurried back to the Crystal Palace and reported: "Great King! There is a Sun Wukong, Heaven-born sage of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, outside, who calls himself your close neighbor. He is about to arrive at the palace." The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, Ao Guang, rose at once and came out to welcome him with his dragon sons and grandsons, his shrimp soldiers and crab generals: "Immortal, pray enter—pray enter!" They went into the palace and met; after he was seated and tea was served, the Dragon King asked: "When did the immortal attain the Way, and what arts were you taught?" Wukong said: "After I was born I left home to cultivate my nature, and gained a body neither born nor destroyed. Of late, drilling my children and grandchildren to guard our mountain and cave, I found I had no weapon. Long have I heard that my worthy neighbor enjoys the pleasures of jasper palaces and shell-towered courts—you must have divine weapons to spare. I have come especially to beg one of you."
The Dragon King, thus addressed, could hardly refuse. He bade the superintendent Mandarin-fish bring out a great battle-knife and present it.
Wukong said: "Old Sun doesn't use knives. Pray give me something else."
The Dragon King then bade Major Mackerel, with the strength-laborer Eel, carry out a nine-pronged fork.
Wukong jumped down, took it in his hands, ran through a set with it, and set it down: "Light! Light! Light! It doesn't answer to my hand. Pray give me another."
The Dragon King laughed: "Immortal, did you not look? That fork weighs three thousand six hundred catties!" Wukong said: "Doesn't answer to my hand! Doesn't answer!" The Dragon King, alarmed at heart, bade Admiral Bream and General Carp carry out a halberd with a painted shaft—a halberd weighing seven thousand two hundred catties.
Wukong ran up, took it in hand, threw a few postures, ran through a couple of passes, and planted it upright in the middle of the hall: "Still light! Light! Light!"
The old Dragon King grew truly afraid: "Immortal, this halberd is the heaviest thing in my palace. There are no other weapons." Wukong laughed: "As the ancients said: 'You'd never worry that the Dragon King of the Sea lacks treasure!' Go and look again. If you find something to my liking, I'll pay the full price." The Dragon King said: "Truly, in very truth, there is no more."
As they spoke, the Dragon Queen and the Dragon Princess came forward from behind: "Great King, this sage before your eyes is plainly no small matter. That divine iron in our sea-treasury, the treasure that fixed the depths of the River of Heaven—these last days it has been glowing with rosy light, its auspicious vapor rising. Can it be that its hour has come to come forth—and to meet this sage?"
The Dragon King said: "That was the plummet the Great Yu used, when he governed the waters, to fix the depths of rivers and seas—a piece of divine iron. What use could it be?" The Dragon Queen said: "Never mind use or no use—give it to him, let him alter it as he will, and see him out the palace gate. That will be the end of it."
The old Dragon King agreed, and told Wukong everything. Wukong said: "Bring it out for me to see." The Dragon King waved his hands: "It cannot be carried! It cannot be lifted! The immortal must go see for himself." Wukong said: "Where is it? Take me there." The Dragon King led him indeed into the middle of the sea-treasury—and suddenly there were ten thousand shafts of golden light.
The Dragon King pointed: "The thing that glows—that is it." Wukong tucked up his robe and stepped forward and felt it: an iron pillar, about a bushel-measure around, two zhang and more in length.
He seized it with both hands with all his strength: "Too thick! Too long by half! If it were shorter and thinner, I could use it."
At his words the treasure shrank several feet and slimmed a full span. Wukong hefted it again: "Thinner still would be better!" And the treasure truly grew a few measures thinner. Wukong, overjoyed, carried it out of the sea-treasury to look at it: at either end were two golden bands, and between them a length of black iron; close against the bands was engraved a line of characters, reading: "The As-You-Will Gold-Banded Cudgel. Weight: thirteen thousand five hundred catties."
He rejoiced in his heart: "This treasure, I'll wager, follows a man's will!"
As he walked, thinking aloud and hefting it in his hand: "A little shorter and thinner still would be perfect!" By the time he had brought it outside, it was two zhang long and no thicker than a rice-bowl. Watch him work his magic, throwing open his whole repertoire, whirling it round and round the Crystal Palace—till the old Dragon King's gallbladder froze and his heart pounded, the little dragon princes' souls flew out and scattered; turtles, soft-shelled turtles, water-lizards all drew in their necks; fish, shrimp, crabs, and monsters all hid their heads.
Wukong took the treasure in his hand and sat down in state upon the throne of the Crystal Palace.
He smiled at the Dragon King: "Many thanks for my worthy neighbor's generosity." The Dragon King said: "I dare not, I dare not." Wukong said: "This iron, useful as it is, leaves one thing more to say." The Dragon King said: "What more does the immortal require?" Wukong said: "Had there been no such iron, well and good. But now that I hold it in my hand, I have no armor to go with it. What of that? If you have any war-gear here, you might as well give me a suit, and I'll thank you for the lot together." The Dragon King said: "That, indeed, we have not." Wukong said: "'One guest does not trouble two hosts.' If you have none, then I shall certainly not leave this door." The Dragon King said: "I must trouble the immortal to try another sea; there, perhaps, you may find some." Wukong said: "'Better to sit at one house than run to three.' Ten thousand parts I beg one suit." The Dragon King said: "Truly we have none; had we any, we would offer it at once." Wukong said: "If you truly have none, then let me try this iron on you!" The Dragon King, panicked, said: "Immortal! Pray don't strike! Pray don't strike! Let me see whether my brothers have any—they shall send a suit." Wukong said: "And where are your brothers?" The Dragon King said: "My brothers are Ao Qin, Dragon King of the Southern Sea; Ao Shun, Dragon King of the Northern Sea; and Ao Run, Dragon King of the Western Sea." Wukong said: "Old Sun won't go calling! Won't go! As the proverb says, 'A promise of three is not worth the sight of two'—just send me one suit, high or low as you please, and have done." The old Dragon said: "The immortal need not go. Here I have an iron drum and a golden bell: whenever urgent business arises, beat the drum till it booms and strike the bell till it rings, and my brothers will arrive within the moment." Wukong said: "Since that's so—quick! Beat the drum and ring the bell!" And indeed the water-lizard general went off to ring the bell, and the turtle marshal came forward to beat the drum.
Presently, where the bell and drum sounded, the three Dragon Kings of the seas were truly startled, and within moments they arrived and all met outside.
Ao Qin said: "Elder brother, what urgent business calls for drum and bell?"
The old Dragon said: "Worthy brothers—it's a shame to speak of it! Some 'Heaven-born sage' of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit came this morning to claim me as neighbor, then demanded a weapon. We offered a steel fork: too small. We presented a painted halberd: too light. Then he took for himself, with his own hands, that piece of divine treasure-iron that anchors the bed of the River of Heaven, and put it through its paces. Now he sits in my palace demanding war-gear. I have none—that is why I rang the bell and beat the drum and called you brothers here. Have you any gear? Give him a suit and see him out the door." Ao Qin, hearing this, was furious: "Brothers—let us muster our troops and take him!" The old Dragon said: "Speak not of taking! That iron—brush it and you die, graze it and you perish; touch it and the skin breaks; scrape it and the sinews tear!" Ao Run, Dragon King of the Western Sea, said: "Second Brother, don't cross hands with him. Just piece together a suit of gear and get him out the door; then present a memorial to Heaven above, and Heaven itself will destroy him." Ao Shun, Dragon King of the Northern Sea, said: "Well said. I have a pair of cloud-walking boots of lotus-fiber thread." Ao Run said: "I have brought a coat of golden chain-mail." Ao Qin said: "I have a purple-gold crown with phoenix wings." The old Dragon was delighted, led them into the Crystal Palace to be presented, and these were offered up.
Wukong donned the golden crown and golden mail, thrust his feet into the cloud-boots, swung the As-You-Will Cudgel, fought his way out the gate, and called to the assembled Dragon Kings: "Sorry for the disturbance! Sorry for the disturbance!"
The Dragon Kings of the four seas, mightily resentful, went off together to draft a memorial to Heaven above—but of that no more just now.
Watch this Monkey King: he parted the waters and returned straight to the iron-plated bridge-head, sprang up out of the waves—and there were the four old monkeys, leading all the monkeys, waiting at the bridge. Suddenly they saw Wukong leap out from beyond the waves without one drop of water on him, gleaming gold, walking up onto the bridge.
The monkeys all fell on their knees in awe: "Great King—what splendor! What splendor!"
Wukong, his face bright as spring, mounted the throne on high and stood the iron cudgel upright in the middle of the hall. The monkeys, knowing no better, all came to try lifting the treasure—but it was like dragonflies shaking an iron tree: not a hair's breadth would it stir.
One after another they bit their fingers and stuck out their tongues: "Gracious heavens! So heavy—however did you manage to carry it here!"
Wukong stepped forward, opened his hand, and gathered it up in one grasp. He laughed at the assembly: "Everything has its master. This treasure lay anchored in the sea-treasury—who knows how many thousands and hundreds of years—and this very year, of all years, it gave off its light. The Dragon King took it for a bar of black iron; he called it the divine treasure that anchors the bed of the River of Heaven. Those fellows could neither carry nor lift it, so they invited me to go take it in person. Then the treasure was two zhang and more in length, a bushel-measure thick; I took it in my grasp, thinking it too big, and it shrank a good deal; I bade it smaller, and it shrank a good deal more; I bade it smaller again, and it shrank again; and when I held it up and looked at it against the daylight, there was a line of characters upon it: 'The As-You-Will Gold-Banded Cudgel, thirteen thousand five hundred catties.' Stand back, all of you, and watch me call on it to change once more." He hefted the treasure in his hand and called: "Small! Small! Small!"—and at once it shrank to the likeness of an embroidery needle, small enough to tuck inside the ear and hide away.
The monkeys were astounded: "Great King! Take it out again and show us!"
The Monkey King indeed took it from his ear, set it on his open palm, and called: "Big! Big! Big!"—and at once it grew to a bushel-measure thick and two zhang long. He played with it to his heart's content, leapt onto the bridge, walked out of the cave, and with the treasure clenched in his fist worked the divine power of Heaven-Matching, Earth-Sharing: he bent at the waist, cried "Grow!"—and he grew ten thousand zhang tall: head like Mount Tai, waist like a soaring ridge, eyes like lightning, mouth like a basin of blood, teeth like swords and halberds; and the cudgel in his hand thrust upward to the Thirty-Three Heavens and pressed down to the Eighteenth Hell of Earth. The tigers, leopards, wolves, and serpents, the monstrous host of the whole mountain, the demon kings of the seventy-two caves—all were terrified into kowtows and worship, their souls scattered and flying, trembling in every limb. In an instant he gathered in his magic form, shrank the treasure back into an embroidery needle, hid it in his ear, and returned to his cave. The demon kings of every cave came hurrying to offer congratulations.
Then they threw open the banners and beat the gongs till they rang. Rare delicacies of a hundred flavors were spread; coconut wine and grape syrup were poured to the brim; and he feasted and drank with his host for hours. Afterward they drilled as before. The Monkey King enfeoffed the four old monkeys as Champion Generals: the two red-rumped horse-monkeys he named Marshal Ma and Marshal Liu, the two long-armed gibbons General Beng and General Ba; and to the four Champions he entrusted the whole business of camps, entrenchments, rewards, and punishments.
His heart at rest, he rode the clouds and mists day after day, roaming the four seas, taking his pleasure among a thousand mountains. Showing his arts, he sought out heroes everywhere; working his magic, he gathered worthy friends far and wide. About this time he swore brotherhood with six others: the Bull Demon King, the Dragon-Demon King, the Roc-Demon King, the Lion-and-Camel King, the Macaque King, and the Yu-Rong King—together with the Handsome Monkey King himself, seven in all.
Day after day they talked of letters and discoursed on arms, passed the wine-cup and sent it round, made music with strings and song and dance, going at dawn and returning at dusk—there was nothing they did not enjoy. A distance of ten thousand li they counted no more than a stroll across the courtyard: as the saying goes, a nod of the head carries you three thousand li, a twist of the waist eight hundred more.
One day, in his cave, he bade the four Champions prepare a banquet and invite the six kings to drink. They slaughtered cattle and horses, sacrificed to Heaven and feasted the Earth, and bade the monstrous host dance and sing—and all drank themselves dead drunk. He saw the six kings off, then rewarded the officers great and small, and beneath the pines by the iron-plated bridge fell fast asleep in a trice. The four Champions stood guard round him with the host, not daring to raise their voices.
There the Handsome Monkey King, in his sleep, saw two men approach with a warrant in their hands, bearing the three characters "Sun Wukong." They came up close to him, and without a word of explanation slipped a cord about him, bound his soul, and hauled the Handsome Monkey King's spirit away—stumbling, staggering—straight to the edge of a city. Sobering by degrees, the Monkey King suddenly lifted his head and looked: on the city wall was an iron tablet bearing three great characters—"The Realm of Darkness."
The Handsome Monkey King came wide awake at once: "The Realm of Darkness is where King Yama dwells. How did I come here?"
The two men said: "Your span of years in the world of light has run out. We two, bearing our warrant, have come to fetch you." Hearing this, the Monkey King said: "I, Old Sun, am beyond the Three Realms and outside the Five Elements, no longer subject to your jurisdiction. How, in your muddled blindness, do you dare come to fetch me?" The two Death-Summoners only pulled and hauled the more, determined to drag him inside.
Then the Monkey King's temper rose. From his ear he whipped out his treasure, gave it one flourish to the thickness of a rice-bowl, raised it lightly, and beat the two Death-Summoners into meat paste. He untied the cord, flung it away, gripped his cudgel, and fought his way into the city.
The Ox-Headed ghosts fled east and hid west; the Horse-Faced ghosts ran south and scurried north; the ghost-soldiers rushed up to the Hall of Dark Judgment crying: "Great Kings! Trouble! Trouble! A hairy-faced Thunder God is fighting his way in!"
The Ten Kings of the Underworld, in a panic, hastily straightened their robes and came to look. Seeing how fierce his aspect was, they drew up in order and called out in unison: "Immortal, pray tell us your name! Immortal, pray tell us your name!" The Monkey King said: "Since you don't know me, how dared you send men to fetch me?" The Ten Kings said: "We wouldn't presume! We wouldn't presume! Our summoners must have gone astray." The Monkey King said: "I am Sun Wukong, the Heaven-born sage of the Water Curtain Cave on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. And what offices do you hold?" The Ten Kings bowed low: "We are the Ten Kings of the Underworld, the sons of Heaven of the dark realm." Wukong said: "Quick—give your names, and escape a beating!" The Ten Kings said: "We are King Qinguang, King Chujiang, King Songdi, King Wuguan, King Yama, King Pingdeng, King Taishan, King Dushi, King Biancheng, and King Zhuanlun." Wukong said: "Since you have ascended to kingship, you are of the class of numinous and responsive powers—how can you be so blind to right and wrong? I, Old Sun, have cultivated immortality and attained the Way, my life is coeval with Heaven's; I have risen beyond the Three Realms and leapt out of the Five Elements. Why did you send men to arrest me?" The Ten Kings said: "Let the immortal cease his anger. In all the world there are many of the same name and surname. Perhaps the Death-Summoners went to the wrong man?" Wukong said: "Nonsense! Nonsense! As the common saying goes: 'Officials may err, clerks may err—the men they send do not err.' Quick—bring the registers of life and death for me to see!" At this the Ten Kings invited him up into the hall to examine them.
Cudgel in hand, Wukong strode straight up into the Hall of Dark Judgment and sat down on high, facing south, in the very center. The Ten Kings bade the Recording Judge of the case bring out the documents for inspection. The judge, not daring to delay, went to the registry and carried out five or six volumes of records, together with the registers of the ten categories, and searched them one by one. Naked creatures, hairy creatures, feathered creatures, winged creatures, scaly and shelled creatures—none bore his name. Then they came to the register of the monkey kind: for this monkey resembles man yet is not entered among men; resembles the naked creatures yet dwells not in their borders; resembles the beasts yet is not subject to the unicorn's rule; resembles the birds yet is not governed by the phoenix. There was a separate volume for them, and Wukong searched it himself, all the way to number 1,350 in the section of souls—and there at last was entered the name Sun Wukong: a heaven-born stone monkey, allotted a span of three hundred and forty-two years, to die a natural death.
Wukong said: "I keep no count of my years—strike out the name, and there's an end! Bring the brush!"
The judge in haste presented the brush, fully charged with thick ink. Wukong took the register, crossed out every name entered among the monkey kind.
He flung down the register: "Settled! Settled! No longer are you any concern of yours!"
Cudgel swinging, he fought his way out of the Realm of Darkness. The Ten Kings dared not come near him; they went off together to the Emerald Cloud Palace, and with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, lord and teacher of the underworld, consulted on drafting a memorial to be heard in Heaven above—but of that no more.
The Monkey King fought his way out of the city—when suddenly he tripped over a knot of grass, staggered, and came awake with a start. It had all been a dream of Nanke.
He had barely stretched himself when the four Champions and all the monkeys cried out: "Great King—how much wine did you drink, to sleep a whole night and still not wake?"
Wukong said: "The sleep was nothing. I dreamed two men came to fetch me and dragged me to the gates of the Realm of Darkness. Then I came to my senses and showed my powers: I clamored my way into the Hall of Dark Judgment, wrangled with those Ten Kings, and made them show me the registers of life and death. Every name there was of our kind, I crossed out—every one. We are no longer subject to that crew." The monkeys knocked their heads and gave thanks. From that time on, the mountain monkeys all had ageless lives, for in the courts of darkness their names were no more.
When the Handsome Monkey King had told the whole story, the four Champions reported it to the demon kings of every cave, and all came to offer congratulations. Within a few days his six sworn brothers came to felicitate him too; and hearing how the names had been struck out, each rejoiced anew, and daily they gathered for pleasure—but of that no more.
Now the story turns to the Most Venerable Jade Emperor of Heaven, the Great Compassionate One. One day, seated in state in the Cloud Palace of the Golden Gates, the Hall of Divine Mists, with his civil and military immortals gathered for morning court, the Perfected One Qiu Hongji announced: "Your Majesty, outside the Hall of Universal Brightness, Ao Guang, Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, presents a memorial and awaits your summons." The Jade Emperor gave the word: "Let him be brought in."
Ao Guang was escorted beneath the Hall of Divine Mists and completed his obeisance. A page of the court received the memorial and passed it up, and the Jade Emperor read it from the first line to the last. The memorial said:
Your subject Ao Guang, little dragon of the Eastern Sea in the Eastern Continent of Superior Body, of the watery realm below, humbly addresses the Great Sage Lord, the High Emperor of the Azure Vault. Of late there is one Sun Wukong, a demon-immortal born on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit and dwelling in the Water Curtain Cave, who has oppressed and abused your subject: he seated himself by force in my watery house, demanded weapons, worked spells and showed his might; demanded war-gear, unleashed his fury and flaunted his power. He has alarmed and injured the water tribes and terrified away the turtles and water-lizards. The Dragon King of the Southern Sea trembles in every scale; the Dragon King of the Western Sea is wretched and despairing; the Dragon King of the Northern Sea has bowed his head and surrendered. Your subject Ao Guang bowed low with his whole body and presented the divine treasure-iron cudgel, the phoenix-wing golden crown, with the chain-mail and cloud-walking boots, and saw him out with full courtesy. Yet still he flourished his arts and displayed his powers, saying only, "Sorry for the disturbance! Sorry for the disturbance!" He is indeed without rival, and most hard to restrain. Your subject now makes this report and awaits your sacred judgment. I humbly beg that celestial soldiers be sent to seize this demon, so that seas and mountains may again know peace and the watery realm below may rest secure. Respectfully submitted.
The Sage Emperor finished reading and gave command: "Let the dragon god return to his sea. We shall send generals to take him." The old Dragon King knocked his head in thanks and withdrew. Then the Celestial Master, the Immortal Elder Ge, announced: "Your Majesty, King Qinguang of the underworld brings a memorial from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, lord and teacher of the Dark Realm, and asks to present it." A Jade Maiden of the court received the memorial and passed it up, and the Jade Emperor likewise read it from beginning to end. It said:
"The realm of darkness is the shadow-court of Earth. Heaven has its gods and Earth its ghosts, yin and yang wheeling in turn; birds have their life and beasts their death, male and female in endless succession. Birth upon birth, change upon change, the female conceived and the male formed—this is the natural order, which cannot be altered. Now there is Sun Wukong, a heaven-born demon-monkey of the Water Curtain Cave on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, who runs wild and does violence and will not answer summons. Working his magic, he beat to death the ghost-officers of the Ninefold Darkness; leaning on his power, he alarmed and affronted the Ten Kings, those compassionate lords. He wrought havoc in the courts of darkness and forced the striking-out of his name; so that the whole monkey kind now runs unrestrained, and the macaque tribe enjoys lengthened years; the wheel of rebirth is stilled, and none of them knows death. This humble monk has prepared this memorial, intrusion though it be upon the heavenly majesty. I beg that celestial soldiers be dispatched to subdue this demon, that yin and yang be set in order and the courts of earth forever calmed. Respectfully submitted."
The Jade Emperor finished reading and gave command: "Let the lords of darkness return to the courts below. We shall send generals to take him." King Qinguang likewise knocked his head in thanks and withdrew.
The Great Venerable One summoned his civil and military immortals and asked: "In what year was this demon-monkey born, of what generation, that he has attained such powers?"
Before the words were done, Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear stepped out from the ranks: "This monkey is the stone monkey born of Heaven three hundred years ago. We thought nothing of him at the time; who knows where, in these latter years, he has cultivated immortality—he subdues dragons and tames tigers, and has struck his name from the registers of death." The Jade Emperor said: "Which of our divine generals will go down and subdue him?" Before the words were done, the Planet Venus, the Great White Gold Star, stepped from the ranks, bowed his head, and reported: "Within the Three Realms of your sacred domain, all that have nine apertures may cultivate immortality. Now this monkey is a body reared by Heaven and Earth, a form quickened by sun and moon: he too holds up the sky and treads the earth, feeds on dew and dines on the rosy clouds. Now that he has attained the immortal Way and can subdue dragons and tame tigers—wherein does he differ from any other? Your subject proposes that Your Majesty, mindful of the kindly grace of Creation, send down an edict of amnesty, summon him to the upper world, bestow on him some office, great or small, enroll his name upon the registers, and keep him under restraint here. If he accepts the mandate of Heaven, promotion and reward may follow; if he defies it, then let him be seized. Thus we neither weary the hosts nor trouble the armies, and win over an immortal by the proper way."
The Jade Emperor was pleased: "Let it be as you propose." He bade the Literary Star draft the edict, and bade the Gold Star of Venus go down and offer the amnesty.
The Gold Star took the edict, passed out the South Gate of Heaven, brought his auspicious cloud down, and came straight to the Water Curtain Cave on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. He said to the little monkeys: "I am an envoy from Heaven, bearing a sacred edict, come to invite your Great King to the upper world. Go quickly and announce me!"
The little monkeys outside the cave passed the word, ring by ring, deep into the recesses of the cave heaven: "Great King! There's an old man outside, carrying a wrapped document. He says he's an envoy from Heaven above, with a sacred edict inviting you." The Handsome Monkey King was overjoyed: "These two days I've been thinking I'd like to go up to Heaven and look around—and now here comes an envoy of Heaven to invite me." He called: "Bring him in, quick!"
The Monkey King hurriedly straightened his cap and robes and went out the door to receive him.
The Gold Star came straight up the middle and took his stand facing south: "I am the Gold Star of Venus of the West, bearing the Jade Emperor's edict of amnesty, come down to invite you up to Heaven to receive the immortal register."
Wukong laughed: "I am much obliged that the Old Star has descended." He called: "Little ones! Prepare a banquet to entertain him." The Gold Star said: "The sacred edict is upon me—I dare not linger. I beg the Great King to come along at once; after your honorable promotion, we shall have leisure to talk." Wukong said: "Thanks for the visit—my apologies for the poor welcome! My apologies!" Then he summoned the four Champions and instructed them: "Drill the children and grandchildren with care. Wait till I've gone up to Heaven and had a look at the road—then I'll take you all up to live there together." The four Champions received his command.
The Monkey King and the Gold Star leapt up upon the cloud-heads and rose into the vault of heaven. Truly:
Lifted high to the rank of highest-grade immortal of Heaven, His name enrolled among the cloud-court's precious registers.
But as to what office and honors he was to receive—listen to the explanation in the next chapter.