Journey to the West 4

8/8/2019 Journey to the West 4

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Journey To The West 4

Chapter 4Dissatisfied at Being Appointed Protector of theHorsesNot Content with the Title of Equal of HeavenThe Great White Planet left the depths of thecave with the Handsome Monkey King, and theyascendedtogether on their clouds. As Sun Wukong'ssomersault cloud was exceptionally fast he

reached the SouthernGate of Heaven first, leaving the Great Whiteplanet far behind. Just as he was putting awayhis cloud to go in,his way was barred by the Heavenly GuardianVirudhaka and his powerful heavenly soldiersLiu, Gou, Bi,

Deng, Xin, Zhang, and Tao, who blocked thegate of Heaven with their spears and swordsand refused to lethim in."This old Great White planet is a trickster," saidSun Wukong. "He invited me here, so he has nobusiness tohave me kept out with spears and swords." Just

as he was kicking up a row the Planet suddenlyarrived.Sun Wukong flung his accusation at him: "Whydid you play this trick on me, you old fogy? Youtold me youcame with an Edict of Amnesty from the JadeEmperor to invite me here, so why did you

arrange for these


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people not to let me in through the gate ofHeaven?" The Great White Planet laughed."Don't be angry, Your Majesty. You've never

been here before, your name is not on thebooks here, and theheavenly soldiers have never met you. Ofcourse they could not let you in just for theasking. But when you'veseen His Celestial Majesty and been given officeamong the Immortals, you will be able to comeand go asyou wish, and nobody will try to stop you.""Be that as it may," said Sun Wukong, "I'm notgoing in." The Great White Planet would not lethim go andasked him to go in with him in spite of it all.As they approached the gate, the Planetshouted, "Heavenly officers of the gates of

Heaven, sergeants andsoldiers, let us in. This is an Immortal from thelower world, and I am carrying an edict from theJadeEmperor summoning him here." Only then didthe Heavenly King Zengzhang and his soldierswithdraw their

arms and stand back. Now the Monkey Kingbegan to trust the Great White Planet. He walkedslowly in withhim and looked at the view. Truly it was hisFirst ascent to the upper world,Sudden entry into paradise.Ten thousand beams of golden light shone witha reddish glow;


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A thousand strands of propitious vapour puffedout purple mist.See the Southern Gate of Heaven,

Deep green,Crystalline,Shimmering bright,Studded with jewels.On either side stood scores of heavenlymarshals,Tall as the roofbeams, next to the pillars,Holding metaltipped bows and banners.All around stood gods in golden armour,Brandishing their clubs and halberds,Wielding their cutlasses and swords.The outside was remarkable enough,But the inside astonished him.Here were several mighty pillars,Round which coiled tawnybearded dragons,

their gold scales gleaming in the sun.There were long bridges,Where strutted phoenixes, brilliant of plumageand with bright red crests.A rosy glow shone with heavenly light;Thick green mists obscured the Pole Star.In this heaven there are thirtythree heavenly

palaces:The Palace of Clouds Dispersed, the VaisravanaPalace, the palace ofFive Lores, the Sun Palace, the Palace ofFlowery Bliss,Every palace had golden animals on its roof.Then there were seventytwo precious halls:


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The Hall of Morning Audience, the Hall of Risinginto Space, the Precious Light Hall, the Hall ofthe

Heavenly Kings, the Hall of the Master ofMiracles,Jade unicorns on every column.On the Terrace of the Star of LongevityGrew flowers that never wither.Beside the Stove for Decocting Elixir,Were herbs that stay green for ever.In front of the Facing the Sage pavilionCrimson gauze clothes Glittered like stars;Lotus hatsShone with gold and jade.Jade hairpins and pearlsewn shoes,Golden seals on purple cords.As the golden bell tolled,The three classes of divinities approached the

steps and submitted memorials.As the heavenly drum was beaten,Ten thousand sage kings attended the JadeEmperor.Then they entered the Hall of Miraculous Mist,Where jade doors were studded with gold,And phoenixes danced before the crimson

gates.Winding arcades,Everywhere carved in openwork;Layer on Layer of eaves,With dragons and phoenixes soaring.On top was a majestically purple,Bright,Perfectly round,

And dazzling


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Golden gourdshaped finial;Below, fans hung from the hands of heavenlyconsorts,

While jade maidens proffered magic clothes.FerociousThe heavenly generals guarding the court;MajesticThe immortal officials protecting the throne.In the middle were set Crystal dishesFilled to overflowing with Great Monad Pills;Agate jarsIn which stood twisted coral trees.All the wonderful things in Heaven were there,None of which are seen on Earth:Golden gates, silver chariots, and a purplepalace;Precious plants, jade flowers, and jasper petals.The jade hares of the princes at court ran past

the alter;The golden rooks of the sages present flewdown low.The Monkey King was fated to come to Heaven,Rather than be sullied by the mortal world.The Great White Planet led the HandsomeMonkey King to the outside of the Hall of

Miraculous Mist. Hewent straight in to the imperial presence withoutwaiting to be summoned, and did obeisance tothe throne.Sun Wukong stood bolt upright beside him, notbothering with any court etiquette, but justconcentrating on


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listening to the Great White Planet make hisreport to the Jade Emperor: "In obedience to theDivine Edict,

your subject has brought the demon Immortalhere."The Jade Emperor lowered his curtain andasked, "And which of you is the demonImmortal?""Me," replied Sun Wukong, only now making aslight bow.The faces of the officials went white with horroras they exclaimed, "What a savage monkey! Hehas theimpudence to answer 'Me,' and without evenprostrating himself first! He must die!"In reply to this the Jade Emperor announced,"Sun Wukong is a demon Immortal of the lowerworld who has

only just obtained human form, so he is notacquainted with court procedure. We shallforgive him this time.""We thank you for your mercy," said theimmortal ministers. Only then did Sun Wukongexpress his respectby bowing low and chanting "naaaw" at the

top of his voice. The Jade Emperor ordered hisimmortal civiland military officials to find a vacancy in somedepartment for Sun Wukong.The Star Lord Wuqu stepped forward form theside and reported, "There are no vacancies inany of the


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palaces, halls, and departments of Heavenexcept for a superintendent in the ImperialStables."

"Then make him Protector of the Horses,"ordered the Jade Emperor. All the ministersthanked him for hismercy, apart from Sun Wukong, who justexpressed his respect with a loud "naaaw."The Jade Emperorthen told the Wood Planet to take him to theImperial Stables.The Wood Planet accompanied the delightedMonkey King to his post and then went back tothe palace. TheMonkey King then called together the deputyand the assistant superintendent, thebookkeeper, the grooms,and all the other officials, high and low, to find

out about the duties of his department. Hefound that he had tolook after a thousand heavenly horses:Chestnuts and stallions,Courser and chargers:Dragon and Purple Swallow,Pegasus and Sushun,

Jueti and Silver,Yaoniao and Flying Yellow,Taotu and Feathers,Red Hare and Faster Than Light,Dazzler and Horizon,Mistsoarer and Victory;Windchaser and Matchless,Flying Wing and Galloping Mist,

Lazy Whirlwind and Red Lightning,


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Bronze Cup and Drifting Cloud,Skewbald and TigerStripe,Dustfree and Purple Scales,

The Four Ferghana Steeds,The Eight Chargers and Nine Gallopers,Coursers that can cover three hundred milesAll these fine horses wereNeighing in the wind, chasing the lightning,mighty in spirit;Pawing the mist, climbing the clouds, great intheir strength.The Monkey King looked through the registerand counted the horses. In the stables thebookkeeper wasresponsible for ordering the fodder, the headgroom was in charge of currying the horses,chopping up andcooking the fodder, and giving them water; the

deputy superintendent and his assistant helpedto oversee thework. The Protector of the Horses looked afterhis charges, sleeping neither by day nor bynight. It is true thathe fooled around by day, but at night he lookedafter the animals with great diligence, waking

them up andmaking them eat whenever they fell asleep, andleading those still on their feet to the trough. Atthe sight ofhim the heavenly horses would prick up theirears and paw the ground, and they became fatand plump. Thusmore than half a month slipped by.


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On one morning that was a holiday all theofficials of the stables held a feast both towelcome and

congratulate the Protector of the Horses.In the middle of the party the Monkey Kingsuddenly put down his cup and asked, "Whatsort of office is this'Protector of the Horses?'""What the name suggests, that's all.""Which official grading does it carry?""Unclassified.""What does 'unclassified' mean?""Bottom grade," the others replied, going on toexplain, "It is a very low and unimportant office,and all youcan do in it is look after the horses. Evensomeone who works as conscientiously as YourHonour and gets the

horses so fat will get no more reward thansomeone saying 'good'; and if anything goes atall wrong you willbe held responsible, and if the losses areserious you will be fined and punished."The Monkey King flared up on hearing this,gnashed his teeth, and said in a great rage,

"How dare they treatme with such contempt? On the Mountain ofFlowers and Fruit I am a king and a patriarch.How dare he trickme into coming here to feed his horses for him?It's a low job for youngsters, not for me. I won'tdo it, I won't.


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I'm going back." He pushed the table over with acrash, took his treasure out of his ear, andshook it. It

became as thick as a rice bowl, and hebrandished it as he charged out of the ImperialStables to the SouthernGate of Heaven. As the celestial guards knewthat his name was on the register of immortalofficials they didnot dare to block his path, but let him outthrough the gate.He descended by cloud and was back on theMountain of Flowers and Fruit in an instant.Seeing the fourStalwart Generals and all the kings of themonsters drilling their troops there he shoutedin a shrill voice,"Children, I'm back." The monkeys all bowed to

him, took him into the heart of the cave, andasked him to siton his throne, while they prepared a banquet towelcome him back."Congratulations, Your Majesty," they all said."After over a dozen years up there you must becoming back

in glory and triumph.""What do you mean, over a dozen years?"asked the Monkey King. "I've only been away fora fortnight orso.""Your Majesty can't have noticed the timepassing in heaven. A day in heaven lasts aslong as a year on earth.

May we ask what office you held?"


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"It hurts me to tell you," replied the MonkeyKing with a wave of his hand. "I feel thoroughlyhumiliated.

That Jade Emperor doesn't know how to use agood man. A man like me'Protector of theHorses'. Thatmeant I had to feed his animals for him andwasn't even given an official grading. I didn'tknow this at first, soI fooled around in the Imperial Stables untiltoday, when I found out from my colleagueshow low the jobwas. I was so angry that I pushed the table overand quit the job. That's why I've come back.""Quite right too," the other monkeys said. "YourMajesty can be king in our cave paradise andenjoy as muchhonour and pleasure as you like, so why go and

be his groom?" Then they gave orders for wineto be broughtat once to cheer their king up.As they were drinking someone came in toreport, "Your Majesty, there are twoSinglehorned Devil Kingsoutside who want to see you."

"Ask them in," said the Monkey King, and thetwo formallydressed devil kings hurried intothe cave andprostrated themselves."Why have you come to see me?" asked theHandsome Monkey King; and they replied, "Wehave long heard


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that Your Majesty is looking for men of talent,but we were unable to see you before. Now thatYour Majesty

has been given heavenly office and come backin triumph, we would like to offer you this yellowrobe as atoken of our congratulations. We also hope thatyou will not reject us although we are low andworthless, butwill accept our humble services." An exultantMonkey King put on the yellow robe and hishappy subjectsbowed to him in order of precedence. The twodevil kings were appointed Commanders of theVan, and whenthey had thanked the Monkey King for this theyasked, "What office did Your Majesty hold whileyou were

all that time in Heaven?""The Jade Emperor has no respect for talent,"replied the Monkey King. "He made mesomething called'Protector of the Horses.'""Your Majesty has such miraculous powers:you should never have been feeding his horses

for him. Youshould have been made a 'Great Sage EqualingHeaven,' shouldn't you?" The Monkey King wasbesidehimself with delight at this suggestion, and hekept saying how splendid it was."Get me a banner made at once with the words'Great Sage Equaling Heaven' in big letters on it,

and put up a


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pole to hang it from," he ordered his fourStalwart Generals. "From now on I am to becalled 'Great Sage

Equaling Heaven,' not 'Your Majesty' or 'King'.Pass this order on to all the other kings of themonsters." Wewill leave him at this point.When the Jade Emperor held his morning courtthe next day the Heavenly Teacher Zhang ledthe deputy andassistant superintendents of the ImperialStables to the vermilion steps, bowed low, andreported, "YourMajesty, Sun Wukong, the new Protector of theHorses, left Heaven yesterday because hethought his officewas too humble."Just as he was speaking the Heavenly Guardian

Virudhaka came from the Southern Gate ofHeaven with hisheavenly soldiers and reported, "The Protectorof the Horses has gone out through the gate.We do not knowwhy."On hearing this the Jade Emperor commanded,

"Let the two divine officials return to theirposts; we shall sendheavenly soldiers to capture this devil."

The pagodabearing Heavenly King Li Jing andPrince Nezha stepped forward from the ranks ofthose


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attending the audience, and they memorialized,"Your Imperial Majesty, we beg you to commandus, your

incompetent servants, to subdue this fiend."The Emperor was delighted with thissuggestion, and heappointed the Pagodabearing Heavenly Kingas Demon quelling High Marshal, and PrinceNezha as GreatGod of the Seas. He told them to take theirforces down to the lower world at once.Heavenly King Li and Nezha kowtowed, tooktheir leave, went straight back to their ownpalace, andassembled their troops, commanders andofficers. They put the Mighty Miracle God incharge of thevanguard, and General Fishbelly in command of

the rear, while General Yaksa was madeadjutant. Within aninstant they were outside the Southern Gate ofHeaven, and they went straight to the Mountainof Flowers andFruit. They chose a piece of level and openground on which to construct a fortified camp,

and ordered theMighty Miracle God to issue the challenge tobattle. On receiving this order the MightyMiracle God tied onhis armour firmly and went to the Water CurtainCave, holding his flowerspreading battleaxe.When he got


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there he saw huge numbers of devilswolves,tigers and leopardswielding spears,brandishing swords,

leaping around, fighting each other, and makinga great noise outside the little entrance to thecave."Accursed beasts," shouted the Mighty MiracleGod, "tell the Protector of the Horses at oncethat I am aheavenly general come on the orders of theJade Emperor to subdue him. If you make himcome out andsurrender immediately it will save the lot of youfrom being wiped out."The devils went rushing into the cave andreported, "Disaster, disaster.""What disaster?" the Monkey King asked."There's a heavenly general outside who says

he's come on the orders of the Jade Emperor tosubdue you. Ifyou go out and surrender immediately, he sayshe'll spare our lives.""Fetch me my armour," said the Monkey King.He then donned his golden helmet, tied on hisgolden armour,

put on his cloudwalking shoes, and took hisAsYouWill goldbanded cudgel in his hand.He led histroops out of the cave and drew them up inbattle array. The Mighty Miracle God gazedwideeyed at theexcellent Monkey King:On his body was gleaming golden armour,

On his head a dazzling golden helmet,


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In his hand a goldbanded club,On his feet a pair of cloudwalking shoes tomatch.

His devil eyes shone like stars,His ears were long and hard.His sturdy frame could be transformed at will,His voice rang clearly as a bell.The sharpmouthed Horse Protector withprotruding teethWanted to become a Sage Equaling Heaven.The Mighty Miracle God shouted in a harshvoice, "Insolent ape! Don't you recognize me?"The Great Sage Sun Wukong replied at once,"I've never met you before. How should I knowwhich wretchedlittle deity you are? Tell me your name at once.""I'll get you, you conceited baboon. So youdon't know who I am? I am the Heavenly

General Mighty Miracle,the commander of the vanguard for HeavenlyKing Li, the Pagodabearer. I have come hereon the orders ofthe Jade Emperor to accept your surrender.Take off your armour at once and submit to themercy of Heaven,

or I'll wipe out every animal on the mountain.And if you so much as hint at a refusal, I'llsmash you topowder.""Stop talking so big, you lousy god," retortedthe furious Monkey King, "and give that longtongue of yours a


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rest. I'd just love to kill you with this cudgel ofmine, but if I did there'd be no one to deliver mymessage for

me, so I'll spare your life. Hurry back to Heavenand tell that Jade Emperor that he doesn't knowhow to use agood man. Why did he make me waste myinfinite powers on feeding his horses for him?Take a look atwhat's written on my standard. If he's willing togive me this title officially, I'll call off my troopsand letHeaven and Earth continue in peace; but if herefuses I'm coming up to the Hall of MiraculousMist to knockhim off his dragon throne." When the MightyMiracle God heard this he looked hard and sawthat a tall pole

had been planted outside the entrance to thecave, on which hung a banner reading GREATSAGEEQUALING HEAVEN."Heh, heh, heh," he mocked, "you ignorant ape.What shameless effrontery, to want to be a'Great Sage

Equaling Heaven!' Take that!" He swung withhis battleaxe at the Monkey King who, quiteunflustered,parried with his gold banded cudgel. It was afine battle:The cudgel was called AsYouWill,The axe was named Flower Spreader.As soon as the two met,

You could not tell which was better:


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Axe and clubLocked together.One was concealing his magic powers,

One was a bigmouthed boaster.They used their magicTo breathe out cloud and mist;When they opened their handsThey scattered sand and dust.The heavenly general was a master of magic;Endless were the changes the Monkey Kingcould make.When the cudgel was raised it was like a dragonplaying in the water;As the axe came down it was a phoenix amongthe flowers.Although the fame of Miracle was knownthroughout the world,His skill was no match for his enemy.

If the Great Sage lightly twirled his club,A mere touch would paralyze.The Mighty Miracle God was no match for hisopponent. He hastened to block the MonkeyKing's first blowwith his axe, which broke in two with a crunch.He fled for his life as fast as he could, and the

Monkey Kingsaid mockingly, "You bag of pus, I'll spare youthis time. Hurry back with my message, andlook sharp aboutit."The Mighty Miracle God returned to his camp,went straight to the Pagodabearing HeavenlyKing Li Jing,


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knelt before him, and said with an awkwardlaugh, "The Protector of the Horses has reallytremendous magic

powers. I was no match for him. He beat me,and now I have come to take my punishment.""This fool has ruined our morale," exploded theHeavenly King Li in a fury. "Take him away, andoff with hishead."Prince Nezha, who was standing to one side,stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Do not beangry, YourMajesty. Forgive the Mighty Miracle God, and letme go and do battle; then we'll see who's boss."Theheavenly king accepted his advice, and toldMighty Miracle God to go back and look afterthe camp while he

awaited his punishment.When he had put on his armour and helmet,Prince Nezha charged straight out of the campto the WaterCurtain Cave. Sun Wukong, who was just goingto pull back his troops, saw the ferocity of hisonslaught.

What a fine prince he was:His hair in tufts barely covers his scalp,His cloak not over his shoulders.How striking his intelligence,How elegant his air.Indeed he is the scion of a unicorn in Heaven;In truth he is a phoenix Immortal from theclouds.


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The seed of dragons is different from thecommon herd;This fine youth is not at all like mortals.

With him he carries six divine weapons;Endless his transformations as he soarsthrough the air.Now he has received an edict from the JadeEmperor's mouth,Making him Commander of the Three Templesof the Masses.Sun Wukong went up to him and asked, "Whoselittle boy are you then? What do you mean,charging up tomy door?""Stinking monkey fiend," shouted Prince Nezha,"don't you know who I am? I am Nezha, the thirdson of thepagodabearing Heavenly King, and I have been

commanded by the Jade Emperor to come hereand arrestyou.""You do talk big, don't you, little prince," saidSun Wukong, laughing at him. "But as you'vestill got all yourmilk teeth and are still wet behind the ears I'll

spare your life and I won't hit you. Do you seewhat it says onmy standard? Go and tell the Jade Emperor thatif he gives me that title I'll call off my armies andsubmit tohim once more. But if he doesn't do what I wanthim to, I'll surely attack the Hall of MiraculousMist." Nezha


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looked up and saw the words "Great SageEqualing Heaven.""You wicked monkey! How dare you give

yourself a title like that, whatever your magicpowers may be!Don't worry, all you're getting is my sword.""Give me a few swipes, then," replied SunWukong, "I won't move.""Change," yelled Nezha in a passion, and atonce he had three heads and six arms, whichmade him look mostferocious. In his hands he held six weapons, ademonbeheading sword, a demonhackingcutlass, ademonbinding rope, a demonquelling pestle,an embroidered ball, and a firewheelandwielding allthese he rushed straight at Sun Wukong.

At the sight of him Sun Wukong exclaimed withastonishment, "Well, my boy, you certainlyknow a trick ortwo. But just behave yourself and watch what Ican do." Our dear Great Sage shouted"Change," and he toohad three heads and six arms. He shook his

goldbanded cudgel, and it turned into threecudgels, which hegripped with his six hands to ward off Nezha'sblows. It was a great fight, and it made the earthshake and themountains tremble:Sixarmed Prince NezhaHeavenborn Monkey King:

Wellmatched opponents,


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Both in the same class.One sent down to the lower world on a mission,The other priding himself as a fighting bull.

Fast moves the point of the demonbeheadingsword,And evil spirits fear the demonhacking cutlass,The demonbinding rope flies like a dragon,While the demonquelling pestle has the headof a wolf,The firewheel flashes with lightning,And the embroidered ball shoots everywhere.The Great Sage's three AsYouWill cudgelsBlock and parry with consummate skill.Though many hardfought rounds proveinconclusive,The prince refuses to call the battle off;Making his six weapons multiply in number,He throws them in their millions at the Monkey

King's head,But the Monkey King, fearless, roars withlaughterAs his iron clubs whirl and think for themselves.One becomes a thousand; one thousand, ten;Their wild dance fills the sky as if with dragons.All the demon kings shut their gates in terror;

Every goblin on the mountain finds some placeto hide.Cloudblack, the anger of the heavenly troops;Whistling like the wind, the goldbandedcudgels.On the one side,The bloodcurdling warcries of the heavenlyhost.

On the other,


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The spinechilling banners of the monkeyfiends.Both parties are equal in fighting courage;

Neither could be said to be the winner.Prince Nezha and Sun Wukong both used theirdivine powers to the full as they fought thirtyrounds. Whenthe six weapons of the prince turned intothousands and tens of thousands, so did SunWukong's goldbandedcudgel. The air was filled as if with drops of rainor shooting stars, and there was no way oftelling who waswinning. As Sun Wukong was deft of hand andquick of eye, he plucked one of the hairs fromhis body in themidst of the fray and shouted "Change!" Itchanged into his own double to mislead Nezha

while his real selfleapt round till he was behind Nezha and struckat his left shoulder. Nezha was in the middle ofperforming aspell when he heard the whistle of the cudgelthrough the air and twisted away as fast as hecould. But he was

unable to avoid the blow and had to fleewounded. He brought his magic to an end, puthis six weapons away,reverted to his true appearance, and abandonedthe field of battle in defeat.This had all been observed by Heavenly King Li,who was on the point of sending reinforcementswhen his


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son appeared before him and reported in fearand trembling, "Father, the Protector of theHorses is very

powerful. My magic was outclassed and he haswounded me in the shoulder."The color drained from the face of thehorrorstruck Heavenly King as he said, "If thecreature has magicpowers like that, how are we going to defeathim?""Outside the gates of the cave," the prince wenton to report, "there is a banner on a pole thatreads 'GreatSage Equaling Heaven'. He bragged that if theJade Emperor gave him this title he would calleverything off;otherwise he said he would attack the Hall ofMiraculous Mist."

"In that case," said the Heavenly King, "we'lldisengage now, go back to Heaven, and requestthat moreheavenly troops be sent to capture this wretch.There is plenty of time." The prince, in pain andunable to goon fighting, went back to Heaven with the

Heavenly King and put in this request, but ofthat no more for themoment.Watch as the Monkey King returns to themountain in triumph to receive thecongratulations of theseventytwo kings of the monsters and his sixsworn brothers. There was great drinking and

singing in the


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cave paradise. Sun Wukong said to his sixsworn brothers, "As I've called myself GreatSage Equaling

Heaven, you can all call yourselves great sagestoo.""Honorable brother, you're right," roared theBull Demon King. "I shall call myself the GreatSage MatchingHeaven.""I'll be the Great Sage Overturning the Sea,"said the Salamander Demon King."I'll be the Great Sage Throwing Heaven intoConfusion," said the Roc Demon King."I'll be the Great Sage Who Moves Mountains,"said the Camel Demon King."I'll be the Great Sage Who Travels with theWind," said the Macaque King."And I'll be the Great Sage Who Drives Away

Gods," said the Lion King. The seven greatsages then did justas they pleased and gave themselves the titlesthey chose, and after enjoying themselves allday they wenthome.Heavenly King Li and Prince Nezha led their

forces straight to the Palace of Miraculous Mistand made thisrequest: "We, your subjects, took our forcesdown to the lower world, under your DivineEdict, to subdue theimmortal fiend Sun Wukong. But to our surprisewe found that his magical powers were toofarreaching for


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us to be able to defeat him. We therefore hopethat Your Imperial Majesty will send more troopsto

exterminate him.""How could a mere monkey goblin have suchgreat powers that you actually need moretroops?" asked theJade Emperor.Prince Nezha then came forward andmemorialized, "We beg Your Majesty to spareus the deaths we deserve.That monkey fiend has an iron cudgel that heused to defeat the Mighty Miracle God andwounded me on theshoulder. He has set a banner up outside theentrance to his cave that reads 'Great SageEqualing Heaven,' andhe says that if you give him this office he will

stop fighting and submit; otherwise he willattack the Hall ofMiraculous Mist."When the Jade Emperor heard this he asked inhorror, "How dare that monkey fiend talk sowildly? Send allthe generals to execute him at once."

As he spoke the Great White Planet steppedforward from the ranks of officials. "Thatmonkey fiend knowshow to talk," he suggested, "but he has no ideaabout real power. If more soldiers were sent tofight him, theymight not be able to overcome him at once andtheir energies would be wasted. But if Your

Imperial Majesty


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were to show your great mercy, you could senddown a pacificatory amnesty and let him be aGreat Sage

Equaling Heaven. It would only be an empty titlethat he was given, just an honoraryappointment.""What do you mean by an honoraryappointment?" asked the Jade Emperor."He would be called a Great Sage EqualingHeaven, but he would not be given anyresponsibility or paid anysalary. He would be kept between Heaven andEarth, where his evil nature would be undercontrol and hewould be kept from wickedness. Thus Heavenand Earth can be at peace, while sea and skyenjoytranquillity." The Jade Emperor approved this

suggestion and ordered that a new edict shouldbe issued for theGreat White Planet to deliver.The Great White Planet left once more throughthe Southern Gate of Heaven and went straightto have a lookat the Water Curtain Cave on the Mountain of

Flowers and Fruit. It was quite different frombefore. There wasan aweinspiring and spinechillingatmosphere, and every kind of fiend waspresent. They were roaring andleaping around with their swords, spears,cutlasses and staves. As soon as they saw theGreat White Planet

they all went for him.


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"Will your commander please come forward,"said the Planet. "I would trouble you to informyour Great Sage

that I am a heavenly envoy sent by the JadeEmperor, and I am carrying a divine edict withan invitation forhim."The fiends rushed in to report, "There's an oldman outside who says he's come from Heavenwith an edict ofinvitation for you."When Sun Wukong heard this he said, "I'm gladhe's come. I expect he's that Great White Planetwho camebefore. Although I wasn't given a decent job lasttime I went to Heaven, I did get up there andlearn my wayaround. If it's him again, his intentions must be

good." He told his commanders to put on a bigdisplay ofbanners and drums and to turn out a guard ofhonour to welcome him.Then the Great Sage, wearing his helmet, hisyellow robe over his armour, and hiscloudwalking shoes,

hurried out of the cave at the head of hismonkey host, bowed in greeting, and shouted ina loud voice, "Pleasecome in, venerable Planet. Forgive me for notbeing here to welcome you."The Planet walked straight into the cave, stoodfacing the South and said, "Great Sage, whenyou left the


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Imperial Stables because you found the post toohumble, the officials of that departmentnaturally reported the

matter to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperordecreed that all officials have to work their wayup from thebottom, and asked why you objected to itsbeing humble. After this Heavenly King Li tookNezha down to thelower world to do battle with you. Your divinepowers, Great Sage, were more than theyexpected, and theysuffered defeat. On their return to Heaven theyreported that you had set up a banner andwanted to be a 'GreatSage Equaling Heaven'. All the generals wantedto punish you; but I, Great Sage, ran the risk ofpunishment

by suggesting that the armies should not becalled out, and that Your Majesty should begiven a post instead.The Jade Emperor approved my memorial, andthat is why I have come here to invite you.""I am most grateful for this honour after thetrouble I caused you earlier," replied Sun

Wukong, "but I am notsure whether there is such a title as 'Great SageEqualing Heaven' in the upper world.""After obtaining imperial approval for this title,"said the Planet, "I came down bearing a decree.If anythinggoes wrong, I'll bear the responsibility."


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A highly delighted Sun Wukong tried hishardest to persuade the Planet to stay to abanquet, but without

success, so he went with him by propitiouscloud to the Southern Gate of Heaven. Theheavenly generals andsoldiers all greeted them with respectfullyfolded arms, and they went straight to the Hallof Miraculous Mist.The Great White Planet did obeisance and said,"In obedience to the imperial edict your subjecthassummoned Sun Wukong, the Protector of theHorses, and he is present.""Let Sun Wukong come forward," said the JadeEmperor. "We do now proclaim you Great SageEqualingHeaven. Your rank is now very high. Let there

be no more mischief from you." The monkeysimply chanted"naaaw" to express his thanks to theEmperor. The Jade Emperor then ordered thetwo officials in charge ofpublic works, Zhang and Lu, to build aresidence for the Great Sage Equaling Heaven

to the left of the PeachOrchard. In the residence there were to be twooffices: a Tranquillity Office and a Calm DivinityOffice. Boththese offices were to have immortal clerks andsenior and junior assistants. He then told theStar Lords of the


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Constellation Five to escort Sun Wukong to hispost, and in addition gave him two bottles ofimperial wine

and ten golden flowers, and admonished him tosettle down and keep out of mischief. TheMonkey Kingaccepted the order and went that same day withthe Star Lords of the Constellation Five to hisresidence,where he opened the bottles of wine anddrained them dry with the help of all present. Hethen saw the starofficials off and returned to his own palace.From then on he lived in happiness and content,and enjoyeduntrammelled pleasure in the Palace. Truly,His immortal name was for ever inscribed in theregister of eternal life,

To be transmitted for ten thousand ages, free ofthe wheel of rebirth.If you don't know what happened next, listen to

the explanation in the next installment.

Documents

Journey to the West 4