The story goes that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was, in the end, a demon-monkey: he understood nothing of official ranks and grades, never weighed his salary's height, and cared only that his name was entered. The immortal clerks of the two departments under his residence attended him morning and night; he knew nothing but three meals a day and one couch a night—nothing to fret him, free and unfettered. At his leisure he called on friends and roamed the palaces, made companions and swore brotherhood. Meeting the Three Pure Ones, he gave them an "old fellow"; meeting the Four Sovereigns, he gave them a "Your Majesty."
With the Nine Luminaries, the Generals of the Five Quarters, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Twelve Princes of the Year-Cycle, the Five Elders of the Five Regions, the star-officials of all Heaven, and the gods of River and Star, he was on brotherly terms, all on a mutual footing. Today he roamed east, tomorrow he drifted west; he came and went by cloud, and no one could fix his tracks.
One day at morning court, the Perfected One Xu Jingyang stepped from the ranks and bowed his head to report: "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, with nothing to do, idles and roams, making friends among the hosts of Heaven's constellations, calling all of them, high and low, his cronies. I fear that in his idleness trouble will breed. Better give him something to administer, and so forestall further mischief."
The Jade Emperor, hearing this, sent down a summons at once.
The Monkey King came in high good humor: "Your Majesty—what promotion or reward do you have for Old Sun?"
The Jade Emperor said: "Seeing that you are idle and unemployed, We give you a post. Go and take charge of the Garden of Peaches of Immortality; attend to it carefully, morning and night." The Great Sage gave delighted thanks, shouted his salute to the throne, and withdrew.
He could not wait to be busy. He went straight into the Garden of Peaches to survey it. The local garden god barred his way and asked: "Where is the Great Sage going?" The Great Sage said: "I am appointed by the Jade Emperor to oversee the Garden of Peaches, and am come to inspect it." The garden god hurriedly saluted, called up the whole crew—laborers to hoe the trees, laborers to carry water, laborers to tend the peaches, laborers to sweep and clean—to kowtow to the Great Sage, and led him in. Just look:
Slender and glowing, tree upon tree; Clustered and heavy, bough upon bough. Slender and glowing, the blossoms fill the trees; Clustered and heavy, the fruit weighs down the boughs. The fruit-burdened branches droop with brocade balls; The blossom-laden trees are massed with rouge. Now blooming, now setting, ripening through a thousand years; No summer, no winter, ten thousand ages slow. Those first to ripen wear the flushed face of wine; Those still unripe show green skins and stems. Congealed mist veils their green-fleshed bodies; Reflected sunlight shows their cinnabar forms. Strange flowers and rare plants beneath the trees, Their colors fresh through all four seasons. Pavilions and lodges to left and right; Circling clouds and rainbows wreath the air. No common stock of the mortal capital— The Queen Mother of the Jasper Pool planted them herself.
The Great Sage looked his fill, then asked the garden god: "How many trees are there in this garden?"
The garden god said: "Three thousand six hundred. The first twelve hundred, in front, bloom small and bear small fruit, ripening once in three thousand years: a man who eats them becomes an immortal and attains the Way, his body sound and light. The middle twelve hundred bear flowers in tiers and sweet fruit, ripening once in six thousand years: a man who eats them rides the rosy clouds and soars aloft, living forever without age. The last twelve hundred, behind, have purple-striped skin and pale-yellow pits, ripening once in nine thousand years: a man who eats them lives as long as Heaven and Earth, coeval with sun and moon." The Great Sage, hearing this, was overjoyed beyond bounds. That day he made a full count of the trees, inspected pavilion and tower, and went back to his residence.
From then on, every three or five days he came for his enjoyment—no more visiting friends, no more roaming abroad.
One day he saw that on the old trees' branches most of the peaches had ripened, and his heart longed to taste the new fruit. But the garden god, the laborers, and the clerks of his own residence hovered close, which made it awkward.
Suddenly he hit on a plan: "You all go wait outside the gate and let me rest a little while in this pavilion."
The immortals withdrew. Watch the Monkey King: off with cap and robes, up the great tree; he picked the fully ripened great peaches—many of them—and feasted at his ease right there among the branches. He ate his fill, dropped down, pinned on his cap, donned his robes, and called his retinue back to the residence. Two or three days later he was back with new tricks, stealing peaches to his heart's content.
One morning the Queen Mother of the West held a banquet, threw open the Precious Pavilion, and prepared in the Jasper Pool a "Grand Festival of the Peaches of Immortality." She bade the seven fairies—Red-Robe, White-Robe, Blue-Robe, Black-Robe, Purple-Robe, Yellow-Robe, and Green-Robe—each bear a flower basket and go to the Garden of Peaches to pick fruit for the feast. The seven fairies came straight to the garden gate, and found the garden god, the laborers, and the clerks of the two departments of the Great Sage's residence all standing guard there.
The fairies came forward: "We bear the Queen Mother's command, come to gather peaches for the banquet."
The garden god said: "Fair ladies, pray halt. This year is not like years past: the Jade Emperor has appointed the Great Sage Equal to Heaven to superintend here; we must report to the Great Sage before we dare open the garden." The fairies asked: "Where is the Great Sage?" The garden god said: "He is in the garden; feeling drowsy, he has gone to sleep in the pavilion." The fairies said: "In that case, let us go find him—we must not be delayed."
The garden god led them in together. They searched to the flower pavilion but found no one—only his cap and robes, no telling where he had gone. Nowhere in any direction could he be found. For the Great Sage, after playing a while and eating a few peaches, had shrunk into a little man two inches tall and gone to sleep beneath the dense leaves at the top of a great tree.
The seven fairies said: "We came bearing the command—if we cannot find the Great Sage, how dare we go back empty-handed?"
A clerk at the side said: "Since you bear the command, ladies, don't stand on ceremony. Our Great Sage is a confirmed wanderer; he has likely gone out of the garden to visit friends. Go pick your peaches; we will answer for you."
The fairies did as he said and went beneath the trees to pick. First they picked two baskets from the front trees, then three baskets from the middle; but when they came to the trees behind, the blossoms and fruit hung sparse—only a few green-skinned, fuzzy-stemmed ones remained. Every ripe peach, of course, the Monkey King had eaten. The seven fairies peered east and west, and spied upon a southern branch a single peach, half red, half white. The Blue-Robe fairy pulled the branch down; the Red-Robe fairy plucked the peach—and set the branch bobbing back up.
Now the Great Sage, transformed, had been sleeping on that very branch, and the jolt woke him.
The Great Sage resumed his true form, whipped the Gold-Banded Cudgel from his ear, flourished it to the thickness of a rice-bowl, and snapped: "What monsters are you, from what quarter, that dare steal my peaches!"
The seven fairies fell on their knees in panic: "Great Sage, calm your anger. We are no monsters—we are the seven fairies of the robes, sent by the Queen Mother to gather the immortal peaches, for the opening of the Precious Pavilion and the Grand Festival of the Peaches. Coming here, we first met the garden god and his fellows, then searched for the Great Sage and could not find you. Fearing to delay the Queen Mother's command, and unable to wait for you, we began picking first. We beg a thousand pardons." At this the Great Sage turned his wrath to laughter: "Rise, fair ladies. When the Queen Mother opens her pavilion and sets her feast, whom does she invite?" The fairies said: "The gathering keeps its old rules. Invited are the Buddha of the West and his Bodhisattvas and Arhats; Guanyin of the South Pole of the South; the Sage Emperor of Gracious Favor of the East; the immortal elders of the Ten Continents and Three Islands; the Dark Numen of the North Pole of the North; and the Great Immortal of the Yellow Horn of the Yellow Poles of the Center—these are the Five Elders of the Five Regions. Besides them, the Star Lords of the Five Bushels; the Three Pure Ones, Four Sovereigns, and Grand Unity heavenly immortals of the Upper Eight Caves; the Jade Emperor, Nine Terraces, and the gods of seas and mountains of the Middle Eight Caves; the Teacher of the Dark Realm and the worldly immortals of the Lower Eight Caves. Every venerable god, great and small, of every palace and hall, will attend the peach banquet together." The Great Sage laughed: "And am I asked?" The fairies said: "We heard no word of it." The Great Sage said: "I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. What could be simpler than giving Old Sun a seat of honor?" The fairies said: "That is the old rule of the feast; how this feast will be, we cannot say." The Great Sage said: "True enough—no fault of yours. Stand where you are, and let Old Sun go first and find out the news—whether I'm to be asked or not."
What a Great Sage! He made the seal, recited the spell, and said to the assembled fairies: "Stop! Stop! Stop!" It was the Body-Freezing Spell: the seven fairies stood fixed beneath the peach trees, staring, eyes rolled white. The Great Sage leapt onto an auspicious cloud, sprang out of the garden, and made straight for the road to the Jasper Pool. As he went, there on the other side:
A whole sky of auspicious haze, its light a-sway; Five-colored clouds of good omen fly unceasing. White cranes cry, their voices ringing through the nine marshes; Purple zhi-fungus shows its beauty, thousand-petaled. In their midst there stands revealed an immortal, His features natural, his bearing set apart. His spirit dances rainbow-hues against the sky; At his waist hangs the precious record of no birth, no death. His name: the Barefoot Great Immortal of Daluo, Come to the Feast of Peaches, to lengthen out his years.
The Barefoot Immortal ran straight into the Great Sage, who lowered his head and plotted: he would trick this true immortal, and slip away to the feast in his place. He asked: "Old Taoist, where are you bound?" The immortal said: "I am bidden by the Queen Mother to the Grand Festival of the Peaches." The Great Sage said: "You haven't heard, old Taoist. The Jade Emperor, because Old Sun's Somersault Cloud is swift, has sent Old Sun to invite you dignitaries by five routes—first to gather beneath the Hall of Universal Brightness for rehearsal of the rites, and only then to proceed to the banquet." The immortal was an open and upright soul, and took the lie for truth:
"But in other years the rehearsal of rites and the thanks were held at the Jasper Pool itself—why should I go first to the Hall of Universal Brightness?"
There was no help for it: he wheeled his auspicious cloud around and made for the Hall of Universal Brightness.
The Great Sage rode his cloud, recited a spell, shook his body, and changed—into the very likeness of the Barefoot Immortal—and sped on toward the Jasper Pool. Before long he reached the Precious Pavilion, checked his cloud, and walked softly in. Just look at the place:
Jasper incense wreathing and curling; Auspicious haze falling in showers. The jasper terrace spread with woven colors; The Precious Pavilion breathing mist upon mist. Phoenix soaring, simurgh rising—forms half-seen; Golden flowers and jade petals—shadows dipping, floating. Above, the nine-phoenix screen of cinnabar clouds, The purple-nirvana cushions of the Eight Treasures. Tables banded with gold on five-colored ground; Basins of dark jade in a thousand flowers. On the tables, dragon liver and phoenix marrow, Bear paws and ape lips— A hundred flavors, rarest of the rare, every one delicious; Strange fruits and fine dishes, every dish new-fangled.
All was laid out in perfect order—but as yet no immortal had come. The Great Sage looked his fill, when suddenly a wave of wine-scent struck his nostrils. He turned his head: beneath the long corridor on the right wall stood several wine-making officials and vat-tending laborers, directing water-carrying Taoists and fire-tending boys—all scrubbing jars and rinsing vats; the jade liquid and jasper nectar was already brewed, fine wines and splendid liquors.
The Great Sage's mouth watered past restraining; he would have drunk at once, but all those people stood about. So he worked a little magic: plucked a few hairs, tossed them into his mouth, chewed them fine, spat them out, recited the spell, cried "Change!"—and they became several sleep-insects, that flew into the faces of the crowd. Watch that crew: hands going limp, heads drooping, brows knitted, eyes closed, abandoning their tasks, all nodding off to sleep.
The Great Sage then helped himself to the hundred flavors and eight delicacies, the fine dishes and strange viands, walked into the long corridor, and leaning on vats and pressing against jars, drank his fill with both hands—deep and long. He drank for a good long while,
And got blind, dead drunk. Feeling himself over, he muttered: "Bad! Bad! Soon the invited guests will come—won't they blame me? If I'm caught in the pinch, what then? Better get back to my residence and sleep it off."
What a Great Sage! Swaying and swaggering, drunk, he blundered about at will—and presently took the wrong road: it was not his own residence, but the Tushita Palace of Heaven.
At the sight of it he came suddenly to his senses: "The Tushita Palace stands above the Thirty-Three Heavens, the dwelling of the Most High Lord Lao on the Heaven of Parting Sorrow—how did I stumble in here? Well—so be it! All this time I've meant to pay the old fellow a visit and never had the chance; since my errant feet have brought me here, I may as well look in on him."
He straightened his robes and blundered in—but no Lord Lao was to be seen, not a soul anywhere. For the old Lord was on the high terrace of vermilion hills in the three-story tower above, expounding the Way to the Ancient Buddha of the Burning Lamp, with his immortal boys, generals, officials, and clerks all standing to left and right, listening. The Great Sage went straight into the elixir chamber, searched without finding anyone—only, beside the elixir stove, fire burning in the furnace. To left and right of the furnace stood five gourds, and every gourd was full of the finished Golden Elixir.
The Great Sage rejoiced: "This stuff is the supremest treasure of the immortals. Since I attained the Way and saw through the truth that the outer and inner are one, I've wanted some elixir to help me along—but never had time at home. Today the chance is mine: I've stumbled on the very thing. While Old Lao is out, let me eat a few pills and try the taste."
He tipped out the gourds, every one, and ate them all up—just like eating fried beans.
In a moment elixir filled him and the wine wore off. He reckoned with himself again: "Bad! Very bad! This trouble is bigger than Heaven itself. If the Jade Emperor hears of it, my life won't be worth keeping. Flee! Flee! Flee! Better to go down below and be a king!"
He bolted out of the Tushita Palace—not by the old road, but out the Western Gate of Heaven, working the Body-Hiding Spell to make his escape. He brought his cloud down and returned to the borders of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. There—banners flashing, halberds gleaming: the four Champions and the demon kings of the seventy-two caves were drilling in arms.
The Great Sage called out: "Little ones! I have come!"
The monsters dropped their weapons and knelt: "Great Sage, how could you be so easy in your mind—leaving us all this long while, never once looking in!" The Great Sage said: "It hasn't been long! It hasn't been long!" Talking as he went, he walked straight into the depths of the cave heaven. The four Champions tidied a place for him to rest, and knocked their heads in homage.
They all asked: "This hundred years or ten the Great Sage spent in Heaven—what office did you really hold?"
The Great Sage laughed: "I remember barely half a year—what's all this talk of hundreds and tens?" The Champions said: "One day in Heaven is one year down below." The Great Sage said: "Here's the good of it: the Jade Emperor took a fancy to me this time, and truly enfeoffed me as 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven,' raised me a residence, set up two departments, Quietude and Still-Spirit, with immortal clerks and guards to wait on me. Later, seeing I had nothing to do, he set me to keep the Garden of Peaches. Then came the Queen Mother's 'Grand Festival of the Peaches,' and I was not invited—so without waiting to be asked, I went first to the Jasper Pool, and her immortal dainties and immortal wines, I stole and ate and drank them all. Coming out of the Jasper Pool, stumbling and staggering, I wandered by mistake into Old Lao's palace—and his five gourds of Golden Elixir I stole and swallowed too. Only, fearing the Jade Emperor's wrath, I came out through the gate of Heaven."
At this the monsters were overjoyed.
They laid out wine and fruit to welcome him home; a stone bowl of coconut wine was filled to the brim and offered. The Great Sage took one sip and grimaced: "Not good! Not good!"
Generals Beng and Ba said: "The Great Sage, living in the palace of Heaven, has drunk immortal wine and eaten immortal dishes—no wonder coconut wine tastes poor to you. As the saying goes: 'Sweet or not sweet, it's the water of home.'" The Great Sage said: "And you are the other half of the proverb: 'Kin or not kin, the folk of home.' When I was making free in the Jasper Pool this morning, I saw beneath the long corridor jars and flasks past counting, all of that same jade nectar—none of you has ever tasted it. Wait: I'll go steal a few bottles back, and you shall each drink half a cup—one and all of you, immortal and ageless." The monkeys rejoiced beyond measure.
The Great Sage went out the cave door, tumbled through another somersault, worked the Body-Hiding Spell, and made straight for the Festival of the Peaches. He entered the pavilions of the Jasper Pool: the wine-makers, vat-tenders, water-carriers, and fire-boys were still snoring, unwaked. He tucked two of the biggest jars under his arms, one on either side, took two more, one in each hand, wheeled his cloud around, and came back. There, with all the monkeys gathered in the cave, he held an "Immortal Wine Feast," each drinking several cups, happy beyond telling—but of that no more.
Now the story tells how the seven fairies, held by the Great Sage's Body-Freezing Spell, could only be freed after a full day's round.
Each with her flower basket, they returned and reported to the Queen Mother: "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven worked his spell and held us fast—that is why we are so late."
The Queen Mother asked: "How many peaches did you pick?" The fairies said: "Only two baskets of small ones, and three of the middle ones. As for the great ones behind—not half a peach: all eaten by the Great Sage, we think. And while we were searching, out he came of a sudden, raging and striking, and asked who was asked to the feast. We told him all about the gathering, and he froze us where we stood, and where he went we never knew. Only just now did the spell break and we come back."
At this the Queen Mother went straight to the Jade Emperor and laid the whole matter before him.
Before she had finished, the whole crew of wine-makers came with the officials to report: "Some person unknown has thrown the Grand Festival of the Peaches into disorder, stolen and drunk the jade nectar and jasper syrup, and stolen and eaten the eight delicacies and hundred flavors besides."
Then four great Celestial Masters came up to announce: "The Most High Patriarch of the Way is come." The Jade Emperor went out with the Queen Mother to receive him.
Lord Lao completed his court homage and said: "In my palace I had refined some 'Nine-Times-Refined Golden Elixir,' in wait upon Your Majesty's 'Assembly of the Elixir Origin'—and a thief has stolen it. I come specially to inform Your Majesty."
The Jade Emperor's flesh crept at the news.
Shortly after, the immortal clerks of the Great Sage's residence came kowtowing: "The Great Sage Sun would not keep to his post; he went out wandering yesterday and has not returned to this hour—where he is, none can say."
The Jade Emperor's misgivings deepened.
Then the Barefoot Immortal himself bowed low and reported: "Your subject, bidden by the Queen Mother to yesterday's feast, met by chance the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who told me Your Majesty had commanded him to invite us all first to the Hall of Universal Brightness to rehearse the rites before attending the feast. Following his words, your subject returned to the outside of the Hall of Universal Brightness, found no dragon chariot nor phoenix carriage of Your Majesty, and hastened here to wait."
The Jade Emperor was more startled still: "The villain forged an edict and gulled our worthy lord! Quick—bid the Investigating Numinary Officer hunt down the fellow's trail!"
The Numinary Officer took the command, went out from the hall, searched high and low, and got the whole tale in detail.
He returned and reported: "He who has thrown the palaces of Heaven into disorder is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven."
And he recounted the whole affair from the first. The Jade Emperor's fury was great. He dispatched the Four Heavenly Kings, together with Heavenly King Li and Prince Nezha, to muster the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Nine Luminaries, the Twelve Princes of the Year-Cycle, the Revealers of the Five Quarters, the Four Duty Officers of the Hours, the Star-Lords of East and West, the Two Gods of South and North, the Five Peaks and Four Rivers, and the star-officials of all Heaven—a hundred thousand celestial soldiers in all—to cast below, around the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, a net of Heaven and earth in eighteen layers, and there besiege and surely seize the villain for punishment.
The gods mustered their hosts at once and left the palace of Heaven. This descent—just look at it:
Yellow winds rolling, rolling, darkening the sky; Purple mists surging, surging, dimming all the earth. Only because a demon-monkey insulted the Lord on High, The host of saints must descend upon the mortal dust. The Four Heavenly Kings, the Revealers of the Five Quarters: The Four Heavenly Kings hold the general command; The Revealers of the Five Quarters marshal the many troops. Pagoda-Bearing Li directs the central army; Fierce Nezha leads the van. Star Rahu heads the inspection; Star Ketu follows, towering in might. The Star of Great Yin, spirits high; The Star of Great Sun, shining bright. The Five Planet Stars, every one a hero; The Nine Luminaries, all spoiling for a fight. The Princes of the Year-Cycle—Zi, Wu, Mao, You— Each and all are mighty celestial guards. The Five Plagues and Five Peaks deployed from east to west; The Six Dings and Six Jias marching right and left. The Dragon Gods of the Four Rivers, split above and below; The Twenty-Eight Constellations ranked in serried ranks. Horn, Neck, Root, Room lead the whole array; Straddler, Trotter, Stomach, Pleiades are practiced tumblers. Dipper, Ox, Maid, Emptiness, Rooftop, House, Wall— Every one of them a stalwart; Heart, Tail, Winnowing-Basket, every star a hero; Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Spread, Wings, Chariot-Board— Wielding spears and brandishing swords, showing forth their power. The clouds halt, the mists descend upon the mortal world; Before the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit the camp is pitched.
The poem says:
The Heaven-born Monkey King, transformations past all count, Stole elixir, stole the wine, and reveled in his mountain nest. All for his havoc at the Feast of Peaches, A hundred thousand celestial soldiers cast their net.
Then Heavenly King Li gave the command: the celestial soldiers entrenched their camp and sealed the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit so tight not a drop of water could leak through. Above and below they spread the eighteen layers of Heaven's net and Earth's snare, and first sent the Nine Fierce Luminaries to give battle. The Nine Luminaries led their troops straight to the cave, and there before the door were the monkeys great and small, leaping and playing.
The star-officials cried in harsh voices: "You little demons! Where is your Great Sage? We are heavenly gods mustered from the upper world, come to subdue your rebellious Great Sage. Bid him come quickly and surrender! If he says one half of the word 'no,' you shall all be destroyed to a beast!"
The little demons scurried in with the news: "Great Sage—trouble! trouble! Nine fierce gods stand outside, claiming to be heavenly gods from the upper world, come to take the Great Sage."
Now the Great Sage was just dividing the immortal wine among the demon kings of the seventy-two caves and the four Champions. At the report he took no notice whatever: "While there's wine today, today we'll drink—never mind the rights and wrongs outside the door!"
Before the words were done, another troop of little demons came leaping: "Those nine fierce gods, with wicked words and wild talk, are at the gate calling us out to battle!" The Great Sage laughed: "Never mind them. 'With wine and verse, seize the day's delight; of fame and fortune, never ask the hour.' " Scarce had he finished when yet another troop came running: "Master! Those nine fierce gods have smashed the gate—they're breaking in!" The Great Sage flared: "These hairy little gods—insufferably rude! I'd have let the matter drop—why must they come to my door to bully me?" He ordered the one-horned ghost kings to lead the demon kings of the seventy-two caves out to form the line, while Old Sun followed with the four Champions.
The ghost kings swiftly led the demon troops out to meet the foe—but the Nine Fierce Luminaries fell on them all together, and pinned them at the iron-plated bridge-head, so that none could get out.
Amid the din the Great Sage arrived. He shouted "Make way!" whipped out the iron cudgel, flourished it to the thickness of a rice-bowl, twelve feet long, threw open his guard, and fought his way out. Which of the Nine Luminaries dared stand against him? They were beaten back on the spot.
The Nine Luminaries steadied their line and cried: "You reckless Protector of Horses, with no thought of life or death! You have committed the Ten Deadly Sins: first stealing the peaches, then stealing the wine, wrecking the Grand Festival of the Peaches, then stealing Lord Lao's elixir, and then carrying off the imperial wine to revel here! Sin upon sin—do you not know it?"
The Great Sage laughed: "These little matters—all true! All true! And what will you do about it?" The Nine Luminaries said: "We bear the Jade Emperor's golden command, leading the host here to take you. Submit at once, and spare these living creatures their lives! If not, we will flatten this mountain and overturn this cave!" The Great Sage roared: "Measure yourselves, you hairy gods! What magic have you, to dare such swollen words? Stand not there—take a stroke of Old Sun's cudgel!" And the Nine Luminaries all charged together.
The Handsome Monkey King, not one whit afraid, swung his Gold-Banded Cudgel, parrying left and blocking right, and fought the Nine Luminaries till their sinews wilted and their strength ran soft; one after another they dragged their weapons reversed and fled the field, hurrying into the marshal's tent to tell the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King: "That Monkey King is fierce beyond all! We could not stand against him—we come back defeated."
Heavenly King Li at once called out the Four Heavenly Kings and the Twenty-Eight Constellations, and the whole array came forth to fight. The Great Sage, no whit daunted, marshaled the one-horned ghost kings, the demon kings of the seventy-two caves, and the four Champions, and drew up his line outside the cave door. Watch this pitched battle—what a terrifying sight:
Cold wind soughing; weird mists dark and dank. On that side banners flying their colors; On this side halberds flashing their light. Roll upon roll of gleaming helmets; Tier upon tier of shining mail. The gleaming helmets rolling in the sun Like silver chimes rung against the sky; The shining mail tiered along the cliffs Like ice-mountains pressing on the ground. Great battle-knives fly cloud-quick, lightning-swift; Pillared-white spears pierce mist and thread the clouds. Square-heaven halberds, tiger-eye whips, Ranged like a tangled forest; Bronze swords, four-bright shovels, Arrayed like dense-planted trees. Bent bows and stiff crossbows with their eagle-feathered shafts; Short staves and serpent spears, soul-snatching both. The Great Sage with his single As-You-Will cudgel Turns and sweeps and battles the heavenly gods, Till no bird crosses the empty air, And tiger and wolf flee through the mountains. He flings sand and rolls stones till the cosmos blackens; He scatters earth and whips up dust till the universe dims. Only hear the clashing and crashing, startling heaven and earth, The dread and dreadful din that shakes the gods and ghosts.
This battle was drawn up at the hour of Chen and fought in chaos till the sun sank behind the western hills. The one-horned ghost kings and the monsters of the seventy-two caves were every one taken by the heavenly gods; only the four Champions and the host of monkeys escaped, hidden deep in the Water Curtain Cave.
With his single cudgel the Great Sage held off the Four Heavenly Kings, Pagoda-Bearing Li, and Prince Nezha—all in mid-air—fighting on for a good long while. When the Great Sage saw the sky darkening, he plucked a handful of hairs, tossed them into his mouth, chewed and spat them out, cried "Change!"—and they became a thousand Great Sages, every one wielding a Gold-Banded Cudgel: they beat back Prince Nezha and worsted the five Heavenly Kings.
Victorious, the Great Sage gathered in his hairs and turned quickly back toward the cave. At the iron-plated bridge-head he found the four Champions leading the host to kowtow and welcome him—weeping three great choking sobs, then laughing three great cackling laughs.
The Great Sage said: "You see me—and weep and laugh both. Why?"
The four Champions said: "This morning we led the host against the Heavenly Kings, and the demon kings of the seventy-two caves and the one-horned ghost kings were all seized by the gods. We barely escaped with our lives—that is why we wept. But now we see the Great Sage return in triumph, not a scratch upon him—that is why we laugh." The Great Sage said: "Victory and defeat are the common lot of soldiers. As the ancients said: 'Kill ten thousand of the enemy, and three thousand of your own are lost.' And those officers they took were tigers, leopards, wolves, serpents, badgers, roe deer, foxes, and the like—not one of my own kind was harmed. Why grieve? True, I beat them off with my Body-Dividing Spell, but they will camp at the foot of my mountain still. Let us guard the passes close, eat our fill, sleep sound, and store up our spirits. At daybreak watch me work a great magic, take these heavenly generals, and be avenged for you all." The four Champions and the monkeys drank several bowls of coconut wine and slept sound—but of that no more.
The Four Heavenly Kings drew back their troops and ceased from battle; each reported his exploits: some had taken tigers and leopards, some lions and elephants, some wolves, serpents, foxes, and badgers—but not one monkey spirit had they caught. Then indeed they entrenched their camp anew, threw up the great stockade, rewarded the officers who had won merit, instructed the soldiers of Heaven's net and Earth's snare—each man his bell, each his watch-cry—and sealed the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit in a ring of iron, waiting only for morning and the great battle. Each received his orders, and every post was strictly held. Truly:
The demon-monkey's revolt has startled heaven and earth; Net and snare are spread, watched by day and night.
But as to what was done after daybreak—listen to the explanation in the next chapter.