Output:
The three things had now been accomplished;

One thought had brought all back to the good.

From now on all longed for a new golden age

With ideal weather and good harvests for ever.

The banquets went on for days, as did the giving of thanks, until they had been kept there for almost half a month. All that remained to do was complete the monastery and the shrine. One day the marquis invited the four monks to go to inspect them.

“How did you complete so enormous a project so quickly?” asked the Tang Priest in astonishment.

“I pressed the laborers to work night and day without stopping and insisted most urgently that they finish quickly,” the marquis replied. “Now I would like you gentlemen to come and inspect it.”

“You certainly are a most good and able marquis,” said Monkey with a smile. By now they had all reached the new monastery, where they were full of admiration for the towering halls and the majestic entrance. Monkey asked Sanzang to name the monastery.


Output:
“Very well,” Sanzang said, “I name it the Monastery of Salvation by Timely Rain.”

“Splendid,” said the marquis, “splendid.” He then issued a golden invitation to monks from far and wide to come to burn incense there. To the left of the Buddha hall was a shrine to the four pilgrims at which offerings were to be made in each of the four seasons every year. Temples had also been built for the thunder gods and dragon gods to thank them for their divine efforts. When the visit was over Sanzang ordered an early departure.

When the local people realized that the monks could be persuaded to stay no longer they all prepared parting gifts, none of which the travelers would accept. Then all the officials in the prefecture escorted them on their way for ten miles with a band playing and a great display of flags and canopies. Still loath to let the travelers go, the officials watched with tears in their eyes till they had disappeared from sight. Only then did the officials return to the city. Indeed:


Output:
The virtuous and holy monk left behind the Salvation Monastery;

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven dispensed great kindness.

If you don’t know how many more days after this departure it was that they finally saw the Tathagata Buddha, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Eighty-Eight

When the Dhyana Reaches Yuhua a Display of Magic Is Given

The Mind-Ape and the Mother of Wood Take Their Own Disciples

The story tells how after happily taking their leave of the marquis the Tang Priest turned to Monkey as he rode and said, “Worthy disciple, this good result was even better than rescuing the babies in Bhiksuland, and it was all your achievement.”

“In Bhiksuland you only saved 1,111 little boys,” said Friar Sand. “That’s no comparison with this heavy, soaking rain that’s saved tens of thousands of lives. I’ve been quietly admiring my big brother’s magical powers that extend right up to the heavens, as well as his mercy that covers the whole earth.”


Output:
“Merciful and good our big brother may be,” said Pig with a laugh, “but it’s just a show of being kind. Inside he’s a troublemaker. When he’s with me he treats me like dirt.”

“When have I ever treated you like dirt?” Monkey protested. “Often enough,” replied Pig. “You’re always seeing to it that I get tied up, hung up, boiled and steamed. After being so kind to all those tens of thousands of people in Fengxian you should have stayed there for half a year and let me have a few more good filling meals. Why did you have to be sending us on our way?”

When the venerable elder heard this he shouted, “You idiot! Can you think of nothing but your greed? Stop quarrelling and be on your way.” Daring say no more, Pig thrust out his snout, shouldered the luggage, and followed the master and his fellow disciples along the road, laughing loudly.

Time moved as fast as a shuttle, and soon it was late autumn. What could be seen was,

The end of ripples on the waters,

The mountains’ bones looking lean.


Output:
The mountains’ bones looking lean.

Red leaves fly around,

In the time of yellowing flowers.

Under the clear and frosty sky the nights seem longer;

The moon shines white through the windows.

Many the household fires in the evening light;

The water gleams cold all over the lake.

The clover fern is now white,

While knotweed blooms red.

Mandarins are green and oranges yellow;

Willows are withering and the millet is ripe.

Beside the desolate village wild geese land among the reeds;

Cocks call by the country inn while the beans are harvested.

When the four of them had been travelling for a long time they saw the towering shape of a city wall. “Wukong,” said Sanzang, waving his riding-crop, “you can see there’s another city there. I wonder where it is.”

“Neither of us have ever been here before,” Monkey replied, “so how could I know? Let’s go ahead and ask.”


Output:
Before the words were out of his mouth an old man appeared from among some trees. He was leaning on a stick, lightly dressed with coconut sandals on his feet and had a sash round his waist. The Tang Priest hastily dismounted and went over to greet the old man.

Returning his greeting as he leaned on his stick, the old man asked, “Where are you from, reverend sir?”

“I am a poor monk sent by the Tang court in the East to worship the Buddha in the Thunder Monastery and fetch the scriptures,” the Tang Priest replied, putting his hands together in front of his chest. “Now that I have come to this distinguished place I wonder which city it is that I can see in the distance, and I would ask you, venerable benefactor, to inform me.”


Output:
When the old man heard this he replied, “Enlightened master of the dhyana, this humble place of ours is Yuhua County in one of the prefectures of India. The lord of our city is a member of the king of India’s royal family who has been made prince of Yuhua. He is a very worthy prince who respects both Buddhist and Taoist clergy and cares deeply for the common people. If you go to see him he will certainly treat you with great respect.” Sanzang thanked the old man, who went off through the woods.

Sanzang then turned back to tell his disciples what had happened. The three of them were happily going to help the master back on his horse when Sanzang said, “It’s not far. There is no need to ride.” The four of them then walked to a street beside the city wall to take a look. This was an area where traders lived; it was crowded with people and business was good. The people looked and sounded no different from those of China. “Be careful, disciples,” said Sanzang. “On no account must you act wild.”


Output:
At that Pig bowed his head and Friar Sand covered his face, leaving only Monkey to support the master. On both sides of the road people were crowding in to look at them, shouting, “We only have eminent monks who subdue dragons and tigers here. We’ve never seen monks who subdue pigs and monkeys before.” This was more than Pig could stand.

Thrusting his snout at them he said, “Have you ever seen a monk in all your life who subdued the king of the pigs?” This gave all the people in the street so bad a fright that they fell back on both sides of them stumbling and tripping over, trying to get away.


Output:
“Put that snout away at once, you idiot,” said Monkey with a grin, “and don’t try to make yourself look pretty. Just pay attention while you’re crossing the bridge.” The idiot lowered his head and kept grinning. Once over the drawbridge they entered the city, where the main roads were bustling and prosperous with bars and houses of entertainment. It was indeed a city in a divine region, and there is a poem to prove it that goes,

An eternally iron-strong city like splendid brocade,

Full of fresh color, lying next to a river near mountains,

Connected by boat with lakes for the movement of goods.

A thousand wine-shops await behind curtains.

Everywhere smoke rises from towering buildings;

Each morning the lanes are filled with the hubbub of traders.

The look of the city was much like Chang’an:

Cock-crows and the barking of dogs were all just the same.


Output:
“I have heard tell of the foreigners in the West,” Sanzang thought with secret delight, “but I have never come here before. On close examination it is no different from our Great Tang. This must be what is meant by paradise.” When he learned that a bushel of hulled rice cost only four tenths of an ounce of silver and a pound of sesame oil only eight thousandths of an ounce of silver he realized that this truly was a place where crops grew in abundance.

After walking for quite a long time they reached the prince of Yuhua’s palace. On either side of the palace gates were the office of the remembrancer, the law courts, the prince’s kitchens and the government hostel.

“Disciples,” said Sanzang, “here is the palace. Wait while I go inside for the prince to inspect our passport and let us on our way.”

“We can’t very well stand at the gates while you go in, Master,” said Pig.


Output:
“Can you not see ‘Government Hostel’ written over that gateway?” Sanzang asked. “Go and sit there and see if you can buy some fodder for the horse. If the prince offers me a meal when I have my audience with him I will send for you to share it.”

“Go on in, Master, and don’t worry,” said Brother Monkey. “I can cope.” Friar Sand carried the luggage into the hostel, where the staff were so alarmed by their hideous faces that they did not dare ask them any questions or send them away but could only invite them to sit down.

Meanwhile the master changed his habit and hat and went straight into the prince’s palace with the passport in his hands. Soon he was met by a protocol officer who asked, “Where are you from, reverend sir?”


Output:
“I am a monk sent by the Great Tang in the East to worship the Lord Buddha and fetch the scriptures in the Great Thunder Monastery,” Sanzang replied. “Now that I have reached this distinguished place I would like to have my passport inspected and returned, which is why I have come to seek an audience with His Royal Highness.” The protocol officer passed this on, and as the prince was indeed an enlightened one he sent for Sanzang at once.

Sanzang bowed in greeting before the prince’s hall, and the prince invited him into the hall to sit down. When the prince read the passport that Sanzang handed him and saw the seals and signatures from so many countries on it he signed it himself, folded it up and put it on his table. “Venerable Teacher of the Nation,” he said, “you have passed through many countries on your way here from Great Tang. How long has your journey taken?”


Output:
“I have kept no record of the distance,” Sanzang said, “but some years ago the Boddhisattva Guanyin appeared to me and left an address in verse in which it was said that the road would be sixty thousand miles long. I have already seen fourteen winters and summers on my journey.”

“That means fourteen years,” the prince replied. “I should imagine that there were many delays along the way.”

“It would be hard to tell of them all,” said Sanzang. “There were thousands of monsters and I don’t know how much suffering to be endured before I could reach here.” The prince was so pleased with his visitor that he ordered his kitchens to prepare a vegetarian meal for him.

“I wish to inform Your Royal Highness that I have three disciples,” Sanzang said. “As they are waiting outside I will not be able to delay our journey by accepting the meal.” The prince then ordered his aides to go straight out to invite the venerable elder’s three disciples into the palace to share the meal.


Output:
When the aides went out with this invitation they said, “We can’t see them, we can’t see them.”

“There are three hideous monks sitting in the hostel,” one of their staff said. “Must be them.”

The aides and their staff then went to the hostel, where they asked the people in charge, “Which are the disciples of the monk from Great Tang who’s going to fetch the scriptures? His Royal Highness has invited them to a meal.”

As soon as Pig, who was sitting there snoozing, heard the word “meal” he could not help jumping up and saying, “We are, we are,” at the sight of which the palace aides’ souls flew from their bodies as they shivered and said, “A pig demon! A pig demon!”

When Monkey heard this he seized hold of Pig and said, “Act a bit more civilized, brother, and don’t be so wild.” When the officials saw Monkey they all said, “A monkey spirit! A monkey spirit!”

“There’s no need to be frightened,” said Friar Sand, raising his hands together in polite greeting. “We’re all disciples of the Tang Priest.”


Output:
“A stove god, a stove god,” was the officials’ reaction to the sight of him. Monkey then told Pig to lead the horse and Friar Sand to shoulder the carrying-pole as they followed the officials’ staff into the prince of Yuhua’s palace. The aides went ahead to announce them.

When the prince looked up and saw how ugly they were he too was frightened. “Do not be alarmed, Your Royal Highness,” said Sanzang, putting his hands together in front of his chest. “Although my rough disciples are ugly they have good hearts.”

Pig intoned a noise of respect and said, “How do you do?” This made the prince feel even more alarmed.

“All my rough disciples are from the wilds and the mountains and they do not know how to behave,” Sanzang explained, “so please forgive them.” Overcoming his fear, the prince told the superintendent of his kitchens to take the monks to eat in the Gauze Pavilion.


Output:
Sanzang thanked the prince, came down from the hall to proceed to the pavilion with his disciples, then grumbled at Pig, “You idiot,” he said, “you’ve not a shred of manners. If you had kept your mouth shut that would have been fine, but why did you have to be so coarse? That one remark from you was enough to knock a mountain over.”

“I did better by not making a respectful chant,” said Monkey, “and I saved a bit of my breath too.”

“You didn’t even intone the chant properly,” said Friar Sand to Pig. “First of all, you stuck your snout out and roared.”

“It makes me hopping mad,” said Pig. “The other day the master told me that the polite thing when I met someone was to say, ‘How do you do?’ I do it today and you tell me it’s wrong. How do you want me to behave?”


Output:
“I told you to say, ‘How do you do?’ when you meet people,” Sanzang replied, “but not to make such a fool of yourself when you meet a prince. As the saying goes, things, like people, come in grades. Why can’t you see the differences of social rank?” While he was still making these remarks the superintendent of the kitchens led servants in to set out tables and chairs and serve the vegetarian feast. Then the monks stopped talking and started eating their meal.

When the prince withdrew from the palace hall to his living quarters his three sons noticed his pallor and asked, “What has given you such a fright today, Father?”


Output:
“A most remarkable monk has arrived,” the prince replied. “He has been sent by the Great Tang in the East to worship the Buddha and fetch the scriptures, and he came to present his passport. When I invited him to take a meal he told me that he had some disciples outside the palace, so I asked them in. When they came in a moment later they didn’t kowtow to me but just said, ‘How do you do?’ That was upsetting enough. Then when I looked at them I saw that they were all as ugly as demons, which gave me quite a shock. That’s why I’m looking pale.”

Now the three young princes were no ordinary boys. They were all fond of the martial arts, so they stretched out their hands, rolled up their sleeves and said, “They must be evil spirits from the mountains disguised as

humans. Wait while we fetch our weapons and take a look at them.”


Output:
Splendid young princes! The eldest wielded a brow-high rod, the second a nine-toothed rake and the third a black-painted cudgel, and the three of them strode with great valour and spirit out of the palace, shouting, “What’s this about monks fetching scriptures? Where are they?”

“Young prince,” replied the superintendent of the kitchens and the others on their knees, “they’re eating in the Gauze Pavilion.”

The young princes then charged straight in without stopping to think as they shouted, “Are you men or monsters? Tell us at once and we’ll spare your lives.”

This gave Sanzang such a fright that he turned pale, dropped his bowl, bowed to them and replied, “I have come from Great Tang to fetch the scriptures. I am a man, not a monster.”

“You look human enough,” the princes said, “but the three ugly ones are definitely monsters.”


Output:
Pig kept eating and ignored them, while Friar Sand and Monkey bowed and said, “We’re all human. Our faces may be ugly but our hearts are good, and despite our clumsy bodies we have good natures. Where are you three from, and why are you shooting your mouths off so wildly?”

“These three gentlemen are His Royal Highness’s sons,” explained the superintendent of the kitchens and the others who were standing at the side of the pavilion.

“Well, Your Highnesses,” said Pig, throwing down his bowl, “what are you carrying those weapons for? Do you want a fight with us?”


Output:
The second prince strode forward wielding his rake in both hands to strike at Pig, which made him say with a chuckle, “That rake of yours is only fit to be the grandson of my one.” With that he stripped down, pulled his own rake out from his belt and swung it, making ten thousand beams of golden light, then went through some movements, leaving a thousand strands of auspicious vapor. The second prince was so terrified that his hands went weak and his muscles turned numb and he lost the nerve for any more showing off.

When Monkey saw that the oldest of the young princes was leaping about with a brow-high rod he brought his own gold-banded cudgel out from his ear and shook it to make it as thick as a bowl and twelve or thirteen feet long. Ramming it into the ground, he made a hole about three feet deep in which it stood upright, then said with a smile, “I’m giving you this cudgel.”


Output:
As soon as the prince heard this he threw his own rod down and went to take the cudgel, but though he pulled at it with all his strength he couldn’t move it by as much as a hair’s breath. Then he straightened himself up and shook it, but it was as if it had taken root. At this the third prince started acting wild, moving into the attack with his black-painted cudgel. Friar Sand dodged the blow, then brought out his own demon-quelling staff, and as he fingered it brilliant light and glowing, coloured clouds came from it, leaving the superintendent of the kitchens and the rest of them wide-eyed and speechless. The three young princes then kowtowed, saying, “Divine teachers, divine teachers, we mere mortals failed to recognize you. We beg you to give us a display of your powers.”

Monkey went up to them, effortlessly picked up his cudgel and said, “It’s too cramped here for me to do my stuff. I’m jumping up into the auto play around and give you something to see.”


Output:
The splendid Great Sage went whistling up by somersault and stood on an auspicious cloud of many colours up in mid-air about three hundred feet above the ground. Then he moved up and down and spun to left and right as he performed a Canopy from Which Flowers Are Scattered and a Twisting Dragon with his gold-banded club. At first both he and the cudgel moved like flowers being added to brocade, but later he could no longer be seen as the whole sky was filled with the whirling cudgel.

As he roared his approval from down below Pig could not keep still, and with a great shout of “I’m going to have a bit of fun too!” the splendid idiot rode a breeze up into the air and started swinging his rake. He went three times up, four times down, five times to the left, six times to the right, seven times forwards and eight times backwards as he ran through all the movements he knew, filling the air with a noise like a howling gale.


Output:
Just when he had warmed up Friar Sand said to Sanzang, “Master, let me go up and give a show too.” Springing up into the air with both feet, the splendid monk whirled his club through the air, which glittered with golden light. Wielding his demon-subduing cudgel he performed a Red Phoenix Facing the Sun and a Hungry Tiger Seizing Its Prey, attacking hard and defending with time to spare as he turned for a sudden forward thrust. The three brother disciples all gave a most imposing display of their magical powers. This was indeed

An image of the dhyana, no common sight;

The causation of the Great Way filling all of space.

Metal and wood fill the dharma-world with their might;

A pinch of elixir produces perfect unity.

The quality of these magic warriors is often displayed;

The splendor of their weapons is widely revered.

Lofty though India is,

The princes of Yuhua now return to the central truth.


Output:
This all so terrified the three young princes that they fell to their knees in the dust; and all the staff in the Gauze Pavilion, high and low, together with the senior prince in his palace, all the soldiers, civilians, men and women, Buddhist monks and nuns, Taoist clergy, lay people—everyone in fact—all invoked the Buddha, kowtowed, held sticks of incense and worshipped. Indeed:

All the monks were converted at the sight of the true images,

Bringing blessings to mankind and the joys of peace.

From here the achievement was won on the road to enlightenment;

All joined in meditation and worshipped the Buddha.

When the three of them had given a display of their heroic powers they brought their auspicious clouds down to land, put their weapons away, joined their hands together in homage to the Tang Priest, thanked him and took their seats again.


Output:
The three young princes hurried back into the palace to report to their father, “A most wonderful thing has happened, Father. Today has been a tremendous success. Did you see the performance in the sky just now?”

“When I saw the coloured clouds glowing in the sky a little while back I, your mother and everyone else in the inner palace burned incense and worshipped,” the prince, their father, replied. “I don’t know where the gods or immortals who had gathered there were from.”


Output: “They weren’t gods and immortals from somewhere else,” the young princes said. “They were the three hideous disciples of the monk who’s going to fetch the scriptures. One of them uses a gold-banded iron cudgel, one a nine-toothed take, and one a demon-quelling staff, all exactly the same as our three weapons. When we asked them to give us a display they said it was too cramped down here to be able to manage, so they’d go up into the sky to give us a show. Then they all went up on clouds, filling the sky with auspicious clouds and vapors. They only came down a moment ago, and they’re now sitting in the Gauze Pavilion. We are all very taken with them and we’d like to make them our teachers and learn their skills to protect the country with. This really will be an enormous achievement. I wonder what Your Majesty thinks.” When the prince, their father, heard this he was convinced and agreed.


Output:
Father and sons then went straight to the Gauze Pavilion, going on foot instead of by carriage, and without any parasols. The four travelers had by now packed up their luggage and were just about to go to the palace to thank the prince for the meal and start out on their journey again when they saw the prince of Yuhua and his sons come into the pavilion and prostrate themselves before them. The venerable elder hurriedly rose and prostrated himself to return the courtesy, while Monkey and the rest of them moved aside with a hint of a mocking grin. When the kowtowing was over the four travelers were happy to go into the palace on being invited to do so and take seats of honour.

Then the senior prince got up and said, “Tang Master, there is one thing I would like to ask of you, but I do not know whether your three illustrious disciples will grant it.”

“My disciples will obey any instruction that Your Royal Highness gives them,” Sanzang replied.


Output: “When I first saw you gentlemen,” said the prince, “I took you for pilgrim monks from distant Tang, and because I am a mere mortal with fleshly eyes I treated you in a most offhand way. It was only when I saw Teacher Sun, Teacher Zhu and Teacher Sand whirling around in the sky that I realized you are immortals and Buddhas. My three wretched sons have been fond of the martial arts all their lives and they now wish most sincerely to be accepted as your disciples and learn some of your skills. I beg that in the greatness of your hearts you will agree to be the salvation of my boys. I will certainly reward you with all the wealth of the city.”


Output:
When Brother Monkey heard this he could not restrain himself from replying with a chuckle, “You really don’t understand, Your Royal Highness. As monks we’d love to have disciples, and your fine sons have their hearts set on goodness. But you mustn’t talk about material benefits. As long as they can get on with us we’ll look after them.” This delighted the prince, who ordered a great banquet in the main hall of the palace. It was amazing: no sooner had he issued his order than everything was there. This is what could be seen:

Fluttering silken decorations,

Darkly fragrant incense smoke.

Gold-inlaid tables hung with knotted silks,

Dazzling the eyes;

Lacquered chairs with cushions of brocade,

Making them even more splendid.

Fresh fruit,

Fragrant tea.

Three or four courses of pure confectioneries,

One or two servings of rich and pure breadrolls.

The crisp steamed honeycakes were even finer;

The deep-fried sweets were truly delicious.

There were jugs of mild rice-wine,


Output:
There were jugs of mild rice-wine,

Better than nectar when poured;

Servings of Yangxian tea that is fit for immortals,

More fragrant than cassia when held in the hands.

Every possible dish is provided;

All that is offered is outstanding.

Meanwhile there was singing, dancing, instrumental music, acrobatics and opera to entertain them. Master, disciples, the prince and his sons all had a day of delight, and after night fell unnoticed they dispersed. The princes then had beds and curtains set up in the pavilion and invited their teachers to turn in for the night; early the next morning they would piously burn incense and call on them again to ask them to teach their martial skills. These orders were obeyed, and hot, scented water was brought in for the travelers to bath in, after which everyone went to bed. At that time

The birds perched high in the trees and all was silent;

The poet came down from his couch to end his chanting.

The light of the Milky Way now filled the sky,


Output:
The light of the Milky Way now filled the sky,

And the grass grew thicker along the overgrown path.

The bang of a washing stick came from another courtyard;

The distant mountains and passes made one long for home.

The chirp of crickets expressed people’s feelings,

Chirruping at the bedside interrupted one’s dreams.

That describes the night. Early the next morning the prince and his three sons came to call on the venerable elder again. The previous day they had greeted each other with the etiquette appropriate to a prince, but today’s greetings were those appropriate to teachers.


Output:
The three young princes kowtowed to Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand, then asked with bows, “Will you let your disciples have a look at your weapons, honoured teachers?” As soon as Pig heard this request he happily brought out his iron rake and threw it on the ground, while Friar Sand tossed his staff against the wall. The second and third young princes sprang to their feet to pick them up, but they might just as well have been dragonflies trying to shake a stone pillar: they both strained themselves till they were red in the face without moving the weapons in the slightest. When their elder brother saw this he said, “Don’t waste your efforts, brothers. Our teachers’ weapons are all magical ones. Goodness only knows how heavy they are.”

“My rake’s not all that heavy,” said Pig with a smile. “It only weighs a couple of tons—5,048 pounds including the handle.”

The third prince then asked Friar Sand how heavy his staff was. “It’s 5,048 pounds too,” replied Friar Sand with a smile.


Output:
The oldest of the young princes then asked Brother Monkey to let him see the gold-banded cudgel. Monkey produced the needle from his ear, shook it in the wind to make it as thick as a rice bowl, and stood it upright in the ground in front of him, to the consternation and alarm of all the princes and officials. The three young princes then kowtowed again and said, “Teacher Zhu and Teacher Sand carry their weapons under their clothes where they can get them out. Why do you take yours out of your ear, Teacher Sun? How do you make it grow in the wind?”

“You wouldn’t realize that this isn’t some mere mortal object,” Monkey replied.

“When chaos was first parted the iron was cast:

Yu the Great had the work done himself.

When he unified the depths of rivers, lakes and seas

This cudgel served as a measuring rod.

In the prosperity after mountains and seas had been ordered

It floated to the gates of the Eastern Ocean.

Over the years it gave off a coloured glow,


Output:
Over the years it gave off a coloured glow,

Learned to shrink and to grow and shine with pure light.

It was my destiny to recover this rod

Which endlessly changes when I say the spell.

When I tell it to grow it fills the universe,

But it can be as tiny as a needle’s eye.

It’s known as As-You-Will and called gold-banded;

In Heaven and on Earth it is quite unique.

Its weight is thirteen thousand and five hundred pounds;

Whether thick or fine it can bring life or death.

Once it helped me make havoc in Heaven,

And took part when I attacked the Underworld.

It always succeeds in subduing dragons and tigers,

Everywhere wipes out monsters and ogres.

If it points up the sun goes dark;

Heaven, earth, gods, devils, all are afraid.

Passed on by magic since the birth of time,

This is no ordinary piece of iron.”

When the young princes had heard this they all started kowtowing endlessly, bowing over and over again as they earnestly begged for instruction.


Output:
“Which fighting skills do the three of you want to learn?” Monkey asked.

“The one of us who uses a rod wants to learn that,” the young princes replied, “the one who fights with a rake wants to learn the rake, and the staff man wants to learn the staff.”

“Teaching would be easy enough,” replied Monkey with a smile, “except that you’re all too weak to be able to use our weapons, so you won’t be able to master them. ‘A badly-drawn tiger only looks like a dog.’ As they used to say in the old days, ‘If the teaching isn’t strict it shows the teacher is idle; if the student doesn’t learn it’s his own fault.’ If you’re really sincere you’d better burn incense and bow to Heaven and Earth. I’ll give you some magic strength before teaching you how to fight.”

The three young princes were very pleased to hear him say this, and they at once carried in an incense table themselves, washed their hands, lit incense sticks and bowed to Heaven. This done, they asked their teachers to instruct them.


Output:
Monkey stepped down and said to the Tang Priest with a bow, “Please forgive your disciple, honoured Master. Ever since in your goodness you rescued me at the Double Boundary Mountain and I became a Buddhist all those years ago we’ve been travelling West. Although I’ve never done very much to repay your kindness I have crossed plenty of rivers and mountains and done everything I possibly could. Now that we’ve come to this land of the Buddha and had the good fortune of meeting these three young princes, they’ve taken us as their teachers of martial arts. As our pupils they’d be your pupils’ pupils, so I ask you respectfully, Master, to allow us to instruct them.”

Sanzang was delighted, and when Pig and Friar Sand saw Monkey bowing to him they kowtowed too and said, “Master, we’re stupid and too awkward with words to be able to explain things properly. Please take your dharma seat and let each of us take a pupil. It’ll be fun, and something to remind us of our journey West.” Sanzang was happy to agree.


Output: Monkey then took the three young princes into a quiet room behind the pavilion where he drew a star-chart of the Dipper and told them to prostrate themselves inside it while they shut their eyes and settled their spirits. Meanwhile he silently said the words of the spell, recited a mantra, and blew magic breath into the hearts of the three of them. He put their primal spirits back into their original home, taught them magical spells, gave each of them immense strength, applied the right heat, and performed a magic that replaced their old bodies and bones with new ones. After the heat circulated in a roundabout way through their bodies the three young princes came to, stood up, rubbed their faces, summoned up their spirits, and all found that they were much stronger. The eldest of them could pick up the gold-banded cudgel, the second could swing the nine-toothed rake, and the third could raise the demon-quelling staff.


Output: When the king saw this he was beside himself with delight, and arranged another vegetarian feast for the Tang Priest and his three disciples. In front of the banquet each of the princes was taught his own skill: the one who was learning the rod practised with the rod, the one who was learning the rake practised with the rake, and the one who was learning the staff practised with the staff. Though the young princes did manage a few turns and movements it took a lot of effort, and going through a series of movements left them gasping for breath, so that they could not go on. Besides this, the weapons they were using had the power of transformation, so that as the princes advanced, retreated, attacked and lifted the weapons shrunk, grew and went through amazing changes by themselves. But the princes were, after all, only mortals, and were unable to keep up with the speed of their weapons. Later that day the banquet came to an end.


Output: The next day the three princes came back once more to express their thanks and say, “We are very grateful to you, divine teachers, for giving us this strength, but when we try to spin your divine weapons around we can only move them with great difficulty. We would like to get smiths to make lighter copies of them, but we don’t know whether you would agree to that, Teachers.”


Output: “Great, great,” said Pig. “That’s the way to talk. You ought to have your own made because you can’t use our weapons, and anyhow we need them to protect the Dharma and beat monsters.” The princes then sent for smiths who bought ten thousand pounds of iron and steel, set up a workshop with a furnace in the front courtyard of the prince’s palace, and began to cast the weapons. On the first day the steel was made, and on the second Monkey and the other two were asked to bring out their gold-banded cudgel, nine-toothed rake and demon-quelling staff and put them under the matting shelter to be copied. The work went on by night and day without stopping.


Output: These weapons were the treasures they always carried with them that they could not be parted from for a moment. Normally they hid them about their persons. Now the weapons were protected by coloured light, so that when they were put in the yard of the workshop for several days many beams of radiance reached up to the heavens, while every kind of auspicious vapor blanketed the earth. That night an evil spirit, who was sitting out on a night watch in a cave called Tigermouth Cave on a mountain called Mount Leopard Head that was only some twenty-five miles from the city, noticed the glow and the auspicious vapors.


Output:
Going up on his cloud to investigate he saw that the light came from the city, whereupon he brought his cloud down and went closer for a better look. Discovering that the light was coming from the weapons, he thought with delight and desire, “What wonderful weapons, what splendid treasures. I wonder whose they are and why they’ve been left here. This must be my lucky chance. I’ll take them, I’ll take them.” His covetousness now moved, he created a mighty wind, scooped up all three weapons and took them back to his cave. Indeed:

Not for one moment must the Way be left;

What can be left is not the true Way.

Cultivation and trance will both be in vain

When divine arms have been taken away.

If you do not know how these weapons were found, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Eighty-Nine

The Tawny Lion Spirit Arranges a Rake Feast in Vain

Metal, Wood and Earth Make Havoc on Mount Leopard Head


Output:
The story tells how after days on end of hard work the smiths all went to sleep that night, only to get up at dawn to start again and find that the three weapons had disappeared from under the matting shelter. Dumbfounded with horror, they started looking for them everywhere, and when the three young princes came out of the inner quarters to watch, the smiths all kowtowed to them and said, “Young masters, we don’t know where the divine teachers’ three weapons have all gone.”

When the young princes heard this news they trembled and said, “We expect our masters put them away last night.” Rushing to the Gauze Pavilion, they found the white horse still tethered in the walkway and could not help shouting, “Teachers, are you still asleep?”

“We’re up,” Friar Sand replied, and opened the door of their room to let the young princes in.

When they saw that the weapons were not there they asked with alarm, “Masters, have you put your weapons away?”

“No,” replied Monkey, springing up.


Output:
“No,” replied Monkey, springing up.

“The three weapons disappeared during the night,” the princes explained.

“Is my rake still there?” Pig asked as he scrambled to his feet.

“When we came out a moment ago we saw everyone searching for them,” the princes replied. “When they couldn’t find them we wondered if you had put them away, which is why we came to ask. As your treasures can shrink or grow we wonder if you’ve hidden them about yourselves to play a trick on us.”

“Honestly, we haven’t,” said Monkey. “Let’s all join the search.”

When they went to the matting shelter in the yard and could see that there really was no sign of the weapons Pig said, “You smiths must have stolen them. Bring’em out at once. Do it right now or I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you, I say.”


Output:
The smiths kowtowed desperately and said with tears pouring down their faces, “Your Lordships, we went to sleep last night because we’d been working so hard for days on end. When we got up this morning they’d gone. We’re only ordinary mortals. We could never have moved them. Spare our lives, Your Lordships, spare our lives.”

Monkey said with bitter regret, “It’s our fault. After we’d shown them what they look like to copy we should have kept them on us instead of leaving them lying there. I suppose our treasures’ glowing clouds and light must have alerted some monster who came and stole them during the night.”


Output: “Nonsense, brother,” Pig replied. “This is a peaceful, orderly sort of place, not somewhere in the wilds or the mountains. No monsters could possibly have come here. I’m sure it was those evil smiths who stole our weapons. They could tell they were treasures from the light shining from them. They must have left the palace last night and got a whole gang together to carry or drag them out. Bring’em here! I’m going to hit them.” The smiths kowtowed and swore to their innocence for all they were worth.


Output:
Amid all this commotion the senior prince came out, and when he asked what had happened the color drained from his face too. After muttering to himself in a low voice for a while he said, “Divine teachers, your weapons were not mere mortals’ ones. Even if there had been a hundred or more people they would never have been able to move them. Besides, my family has been ruling this city for five generations. I’m not boasting, but I do have a certain reputation for being a good man. The soldiers, civilians and artisans who live here fear my laws, and I am certain that they could never have had so wicked an idea. I hope that you divine teachers will think again.”

“No need for any more thinking about it,” replied Brother Monkey with a smile, “and no need to make the smiths suffer for what’s not their fault. I would like to ask Your Royal Highness if there are any evil monsters in the mountains and forests around the city.”


Output:
“That’s a very good question,” the prince replied. “There is a mountain North of the city called Mount Leopard Head, with a Tigermouth Cave in it. People often say that immortals, or tigers and wolves, or evil spirits live there. As I’ve never been there to find out the truth I am not sure what kind of creatures there are.”

“No need to say any more,” replied Monkey with a laugh. “It must be someone wicked from there who knew they were treasures and came during the night to steal them. Pig, Friar Sand,” he ordered, “stay here to guard the master and the city while I go for a look round.” He then told the smiths to keep the furnace burning and carry on forging the new weapons.

The splendid Monkey King took his leave of Sanzang and whistled out of sight. Soon he was on Mount Leopard Head, which took him but an instant as it was only ten miles from the city. As he climbed to the summit to look around he saw that there was quite an air of evil about it. Indeed, it was

A long dragon chain of hills,


Output:
A long dragon chain of hills,

A mighty formation.

Sharp peaks thrusting into the sky,

Streams flowing fast along chasms deep.

In front of the mountain grow cushions of rare plants;

Behind the mountain strange flowers form brocade.

Tall pine and ancient cypress,

Old trees and find bamboo.

Crows and magpies sing as they fly,

Cranes call and gibbons scream.

Below the beetling scar

David’s deer go in twos;

In front of the sheer rock-face

Are pairs of badgers and foxes.

Dragons from afar emerge briefly from the waters

Of the twisting, winding stream that runs deep under the ground.

This ridge runs right to the edge of Yuhua,

A place of beauty for a thousand ages.

Just as he was surveying the scene Monkey heard voices on the other side of the mountain, turned quickly round to look, and saw a couple of wolf-headed ogres climbing towards the Northwest and talking loudly as

they went.

“They must be monsters patrolling the mountain,” Monkey guessed. “I’m going to listen to what they have to say.”


Output:
Making magic with his hands and saying the words of a spell Monkey shook himself, turned into a butterfly, spread his wings and fluttered after them. It was a very lifelike transformation:

A pair of powdery wings,

Two silver antennae.

In the wind it files very fast;

In the sun it’s a leisurely dancer.

It crosses rivers and walls in a flash.

Enjoys stealing fragrance and playing with catkins.

This delicate creature loves the taste of fresh flowers

It shows its beauty and elegance as it pleases.

He flew to a spot right above the evil spirits’ heads, where he floated and listened to what they had to say. “Brother,” one of them shouted suddenly, “our chief keeps on striking it lucky. The other month he caught himself a real beauty to live with him in the cave, and he was as pleased as anything about that. Then last night he got the three weapons, which really are priceless treasures. Tomorrow there’s going to be a Rake Banquet to celebrate, so we’re all going to benefit.”


Output: “We’ve been quite lucky too,” the other replied, “being given these twenty ounces of silver to buy pigs and sleep. When we get to Qianfang Market we can have a few jugs of wine to start with, and then fiddle the accounts to make ourselves two or three ounces of silver to buy ourselves padded jackets for the winter. It’s great, isn’t it?” As they laughed and talked the two monsters hurried along the main path at a great speed.


Output: When Monkey heard about the banquet to celebrate the rake he was quietly delighted. He would have liked to kill the devils, but it was not their fault and, besides, he had no weapon. So he flew round till he was in front of them, turned back into himself and stood at a junction along the path. As the devils gradually came closer he blew a mouthful of magic saliva at them, recited the words Om Humkara and made a fixing spell that held the two wolf-headed spirits where they were. Their eyes were fixed in a stare, they could not open their mouths, and they stood upright, both legs rigid. Monkey then knocked them over, undid their clothes and searched them, finding the twenty ounces of silver in a purse carried by one of them in the belt of his kilt. Each of them was also carrying a white lacquered pass. One of these read “Wily Freak” and the other read “Freaky Wile.”


Output:
Having taken their silver and undone their passes the splendid Great Sage went straight back to the city, where he told the princes, the Tang Priest, the officials high and low and the smiths what had happened.

“I reckon my treasure’s the one that shone the brightest,” said Pig with a grin. “That’s why they’re buying pigs and sheep for a slap-up meal to celebrate. But how are we going to get it back?”

“We’ll all three of us go,” said Monkey. “This silver was for buying pigs and sheep. We’ll give it to the smiths: His Royal Highness can provide us with some animals. Pig, you turn yourself into Wily Freak, I’ll turn into Freaky Wile, and Friar Sand can be a trader selling pigs and sheep. We’ll go into Tigermouth Cave, and when it suits us we’ll grab our weapons, kill all the monsters, come back here to pack up and be on our way again.”

“Terrific,” said Friar Sand. “No time to lose. Let’s go.” The senior prince agreed with the plan and told his steward to buy seven or eight pigs and four or five sheep.


Output:
The three of them left their master and gave a great display of their magic powers once outside the city.

“Brother,” said Pig, “I’ve never seen that Wily Freak, so how can I possibly turn myself into his double?”

“I did fixing magic on him to keep him over there somewhere,” Monkey said, “and he won’t come round till tomorrow. I can remember what he looks like, so you stand still while I tell you how to change. Yes, like this…no, a bit more like that....That’s it. That’s him.”

While the idiot said an incantation Brother Monkey blew on him with magic breath, turned him into Wily Freak’s double and gave him a white pass to tuck in at his waist. Monkey then turned himself into Freaky Wile with a pass at his waist too, and Friar Sand made himself look like a travelling dealer in pigs and sheep. Then they drove the pigs and sheep together along the path West towards the mountain. Before long they were in a mountain gully, where they met another junior devil. He had the most horrible face. Just look:


Output:
A pair of round and bulging eyes

Shining like lanterns;

A head of red and bristly hair,

Blazing like fire.

A red nose,

A twisted mouth,

Sharp and pointy fangs;

Protruding ears,

A brow that seemed hacked into shape,

And a green and bloated face.

He was wearing a pale yellow tunic

And sandals made of sedge.

He looked most imposing, like some evil god,

As he hurried along like a vicious demon.

This devil was carrying a coloured lacquer invitation box under his left arm as he greeted Monkey and the other two with a call of “Freaky Wile, good to see you both. Did you buy us some pigs and sheep?”

“Can’t you see we’re driving them along?” Monkey replied.

“Who’s this gentleman?” the devil asked, looking at Friar Sand.

“He’s the dealer in pigs and sheep,” Monkey replied. “We still owe him a couple of ounces of silver, so we’re taking him home with us to fetch it. Where are you going?”

“To Bamboo Mountain to invite His Senior Majesty to the feast tomorrow morning,” the devil said.


Output:
Taking his cue from the devil’s tone of voice, Monkey then asked, “How many guests will there be altogether?”

“His Senior Majesty will take the place of honour,” the devil replied, “and with our own king, chiefs and the rest of them there’ll be over forty.”

As they were talking Pig called, “Get a move on! The pigs and sheep are going everywhere.”

“You go and invite them while I get a look at that invitation,” Monkey said, and as the devil regarded him as one of their own kind he opened the box, took out the invitation and handed it to Monkey. This is what Monkey read when he unfolded it: A banquet is being given tomorrow morning to celebrate the capture of the rake, and if you will condescend to cross the mountain, honoured ancestor, Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity, I will be deeply grateful.

With a hundred kowtows,

Your grandson,

Tawny Lion

When Monkey had read it he handed it back to the devil, who returned it to its case and carried on towards the Southeast.


Output:
“Brother,” Friar Sand asked, “what did it say on the invitation?”

“It was an invitation to the Rake Banquet,” Monkey replied. “It was signed, ‘with a hundred kowtows, your grandson Tawny Lion,’ and the invitation was being sent to the Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity.’”

“Tawny Lion must be a golden-haired lion who’s become a spirit,” said Friar Sand with a smile, “but I wonder who the Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity is.”

Pig’s reaction was to laugh and say, “He’s mine.”

“Why should he necessarily be yours?” Monkey asked.

“There’s an old saying that goes, ‘a mangy old sow can put a golden lion to flight,’” Pig replied. “That’s why I know he’s mine.” As they talked and laughed the three of them drove the pigs and sheep along till they could see the gates of Tigermouth Cave. Outside the gates there were,

Green mountains all around,

Ranges forming a mighty wall.

Creepers clung to the sheer rock faces,

Thorns hung down from the towering cliffs.

Bird song came from all around the woods,


Output:
Bird song came from all around the woods,

While flowers gave a welcome by the entrance.

This cave was a match for the Peach Blossom Spring,

A place to avoid the troubles of the world.

As they came closer to the mouth of the cave they saw a crowd of evil spirits of every age and kind playing under the blossoming trees, and when they heard Pig’s shouts of “Hey! Hey!” as he drove the pigs and sheep they all came out to meet them. The pigs and sheep were caught and trussed up. The noise had by now disturbed the demon king inside, who came out with ten or more junior demons to ask, “Are you two back? How many animals did you buy?”

“Eight pigs and seven sheep—fifteen altogether,” Monkey replied. “The pigs cost sixteen ounces of silver and the sheep nine. We were only given twenty ounces, so we still owe five. This is the dealer who’s come with us for the silver.”

“Fetch five ounces of silver, little ones,” the demon king ordered on hearing this, “and send him on his way.”


Output:
“But the dealer hasn’t only come to get his silver,” Monkey replied. “He’s come to see the banquet too.”

“What nerve, Freaky Wile!” said the furious demon abusively. “You were sent off to buy things, not to talk about banquets.”

“As you’ve got those amazingly fine treasures, my lord,” Pig said, stepping forward, “what’s the harm in letting him have a look?”

“Damn you too, Wily Freak,” said the demon with an angry snort. “I got these treasures from inside the city of Yuhua. If this stranger sees them and talks about them in the city the word will get around and the prince will come to demand them. What’ll we do then?”

“My lord,” Monkey replied, “this dealer comes from the other side of Qianfang Market. That’s a long way from the city, and he’s not a city man either, so where would he go telling tales? Besides, he’s hungry, and the two of us haven’t eaten. If there’s any food and liquor in the place why don’t we give him some before sending him on his way?”


Output:
Before he could finish speaking a junior devil came out with five ounces of silver that he gave to Monkey, who in turn handed it to Friar Sand with the words, “Take your silver, stranger, then come round to the back for something to eat with us.”

Taking his courage in his hands, Friar Sand went into the cave with Pig and Monkey. When they reached the second hall inside they saw on a table in the middle of it the nine-toothed iron rake set up in all its dazzling brightness to receive offerings. At the Eastern end of the table was leant the gold-banded cudgel, and at the Western end the demon-quelling staff.

“Stranger,” said the demon king who was following them in, “that’s the rake shining so brightly in the middle. You’re welcome to look, but don’t tell anyone about it, whatever you do.” Friar Sand nodded in admiration.


Output:
Oh dear! This was a case of “when the owner sees what’s his he’s bound to pick it up.” Pig had always been a rough customer, and once he saw his rake he was not going to talk about the facts of the case, but charged over, pulled it down and swung it around as he turned back into himself. He struck straight at the evil spirit’s face, not caring now about the proper ways of using his weapon. Monkey and Friar Sand each rushed to one end of the table to grab his own weapon and turn back into himself. As the three brothers started lashing out wildly the demon king had to get out of their way in a hurry, go round to the back and fetch his four-bright halberd with its long handle and sharp, pointed butt.

Rushing into the courtyard, he used this to hold off the three weapons and shout at the top of his voice, “Who do you think you are, tricking me out of my treasures by impersonation?”


Output:
“I’ll get you, you hairy beast,” Monkey cursed back. “You don’t know who I am. I’m a disciple of Tang Sanzang, the holy monk from the East. When we came to Yuhua to present our passport the prince told his three sons to take us as their teachers of fighting skills. They were having weapons copied from ours. That was why ours were left in the courtyard for you to sneak into the city and steal in the middle of the night. And you accuse us of tricking them out of you by impersonation! Stay right there and try a taste of our three weapons.”

The evil spirit at once raised his halberd to fight back. They fought from the courtyard out through the front gate, three monks chasing a single demon. It was a splendid battle:

The cudgel whistled like the wind,

The rake’s blows came raining down.

The demon-quelling staff filled the sky with glowing mist;

The four-bright halberd gave off clouds.

They were like the three immortals refining elixir,

Making dazzling light that frightened gods and ghosts.


Output:
Monkey was brilliant at displaying his might;

The evil spirit was wrong to have stolen the treasures.

Marshal Tian Peng showed off his divine powers,

While the great general Sand was heroic and splendid.

As the three brothers fought with skill and one mind

A great battle took place in Tigermouth Cave.

The ogre was full of power and cunning,

A fit match for the four heroes.

They fought until the sun set in the West,

When the demon weakened and could hold out no longer.

After their long fight on Mount Leopard Head the evil spirit shouted at Friar Sand, “Watch this halberd!” As Friar Sand fell back to dodge the blow the evil spirit escaped through the opening he left and fled by wind to the Xun quarter to the Southeast.

Pig started rushing after him to catch him, but Monkey said, “Let him go. As the old saying goes, ‘never chase a desperate robber.’ Let’s leave him nothing to come back to.”


Output:
Pig agreed, and the three of them went back to the entrance of the cave, where they killed all the hundred and more evil spirits great and small. It turned out that they were all really tigers, wolves, tiger cats, leopards, red deer and goats. Monkey used one of his powers to bring all the valuables and fabrics, as well as the bodies of all the animals they had killed, the pigs and the sheep out of the cave. Friar Sand used some dry wood he found to start a fire that Pig fanned with both his ears. The cave was soon burnt out, and they took what they had brought with them back to the city.

The city gates were wide open; people had not yet gone to bed. The senior prince and his sons were still waiting in the Gauze Pavilion. The three disciples dropped all the dead wild animals and sheep as well as the valuables with loud thumps into the courtyard, filling it up as they called out, “Master, we’re back. We’ve won.”


Output:
The senior prince then expressed his thanks to them, the Tang priest was delighted, and the three young princes fell to their knees to bow.

“Don’t thank us,” Friar Sand said, helping them to their feet. “Come and see what we’ve got.”

“Where are they from?” the senior prince asked.

“The tigers, wolves, tiger cats, leopards, red deer and goats were all monsters that made themselves into spirits. When we’d got our weapons back we fought our way out through the gates. Their demon king is a golden-haired lion who fights with a four-bright halberd. He battled it out with us till nightfall, then ran away to the Southeast. Instead of chasing him we made sure he’d have nowhere to come back to by killing all these devils and bringing back all his things.”

This news both delighted and alarmed the senior prince: he was delighted at their triumphant return; worried that the demon would seek his revenge later.


Output: “Don’t worry, Your Royal Highness,” said Monkey. “I’ve thought about it very carefully, and I’ll deal with it properly. I promise to exterminate the demons completely before we go. We’ll definitely not leave you with trouble that’ll come back later. When we went there at noon we ran into a little green-faced, red-haired devil who was carrying an invitation. What it said on it was: ‘A banquet is being given tomorrow morning to celebrate the capture of the rake, and if you will condescend to cross the mountain, honoured ancestor, Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity, I will be deeply grateful.’ It was signed: ‘with a hundred kowtows, your grandson, Tawny Lion’. When the evil spirit was defeated just now he must have gone to have a word with his grandfather. They’re bound to come looking for us to get their revenge tomorrow morning, and when that happens I’ll wipe them all out for you.” The senior prince thanked him and had supper arranged. When master and disciples had eaten, everybody went to bed.


Output:
The story now tells of how the evil spirit really did head Southeast to Bamboo Mountain, in which there was a cave called the Nine-bend Twisty Cave where the evil spirit’s grandfather, the Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity, lived. That night the demon did not stop treading the wind until he reached the cave’s entrance in the last watch.

When he knocked on the gates and went in a junior devil greeted him with the words, “Your Majesty, Greenface brought the invitation last night, and the old gentleman invited him to say till this morning to go to your Rake Banquet with him. Why have you come here so very early to invite him yourself?”

“I hate to have to say it,” the evil spirit replied, “but the banquet is off.”

As they were talking Greenface came out from the inner part of the cave to say, “What are you doing here, Your Majesty? As soon as His Senior Majesty’s up he’s coming to the celebration with me.” The evil spirit was so distraught that he could say nothing, but only wave his hands.


Output: A little later the old demon got up and called for the evil spirit, who dropped his weapon and prostrated himself on the ground to kowtow, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Worthy grandson,” the old demon said, “you sent me an invitation yesterday, and this morning I’m on my way to the celebration. So why have you come yourself, looking so miserable and upset?”


Output: “I was taking a stroll in the moonlight the night before last,” the evil spirit replied, still kowtowing, “when I saw a dazzling light rising up to the sky from the city of Yuhua. I hurried there to take a look and saw that it came from three weapons in the prince’s palace: a nine-toothed rake with gold in it, a staff and a gold-banded cudgel. I used my magic to take them away and decided to have a Rake Banquet to celebrate. I sent some of my underlings to buy pigs, sheep and fruit for the feast that I invited you to come and enjoy, Grandfather. But after I sent Greenface over with the invitation yesterday Wily Freak and the other one who’d been told to buy pigs and sheep came back with a dealer, a stranger, for some silver. The stranger was all set on seeing the banquet. I refused as I was afraid he’d spread the news around. Then they said they were hungry and asked for some food to eat, so I told them to go round the back to eat. When they got inside and saw the weapons they said they were theirs. They


Output: saw the weapons they said they were theirs. They each snatched one and turned back into their real selves. One was a monk with a hairy face and a mouth like a thunder god’s, one was a monk with a long snout and big ears, and one was a monk with a really sinister face. The three of them yelled at me and started lashing out: they didn’t care at all. I just managed to fetch my four-bright halberd and come out to hold them at bay. When I asked them who they were and how they dared go in for impersonation they told me they were disciples of the Tang Priest who’s been sent to the Western Heaven by Great Tang in the East. When they went to present their passport on their way through the city the princes pressed them to stay and teach them martial arts. They said their three weapons had been left in the palace yard for copies of them to be made, and that I’d stolen them. Then they went for me with great fury. I didn’t know what those three monks are called, but they’re all very good fighters. As I was no match for


Output: all very good fighters. As I was no match for them by myself I had to run away and come here. If you have any love for your grandson I beg you to lend me your arms in order to get my revenge on those monks.”


Output:
After a moment’s silent thought the old demon replied with a smile, “So it’s them. Worthy grandson, you made a big mistake provoking him.”

“Do you know who they are, grandfather?” the other asked.

“The one with a long snout and big ears is Zhu Bajie,” the old demon said, “and the one with a horrible face is Friar Sand. They’re not too bad. But the one with a hairy face and a mouth like a thunder god is called Sun the Novice. He’s got really tremendous magical powers. When he made great havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago a hundred thousand heavenly troops couldn’t catch him. And he’s a most determined hunter. He’s like a policeman who’ll search mountains and seas, smash caves, storm cities and cause all sorts of trouble. Why did you have to provoke him? Never mind. I’ll go with you and capture those so-and-sos and the prince of Yuhua to avenge you.”


Output:
On hearing this the evil spirit kowtowed again in thanks. The senior demon immediately mustered his grandsons Monkey Lion, Snowy Lion, Leo, Gryphon, Raccoon-dog Lion and Elephant-fighter, each of whom carried a sharp weapon. With Tawny Lion leading the way each of them set off a powerful gale that carried them straight to Mount Leopard Head, where there was an all-pervasive smell of smoke and fire and all that could be heard was sobbing. When they looked more closely they saw Wily Freak and Freaky Wile weeping for their lord.

“Are you the real Freak and Wile or impostors?” the evil spirit shouted as he went up to them.


Output: Falling to their knees and kowtowing with tears in their eyes, the two devils replied, “We’re no impostors. After we were given the silver to buy pigs and sheep yesterday we met a monk with a hairy face and a mouth like a thunder god in the wide valley to the West of the mountain. When he spat on us our legs went all weak, our mouths went stiff, we couldn’t speak and we couldn’t move. He knocked us over, found and stole our silver and took our passes off us. We were left in a daze till we came round just now. When we got home we found the place still on fire and all the buildings burnt down. We were crying so bitterly because you, my lord, and all the chiefs had disappeared. We don’t know how the fire was started.”


Output:
When the evil spirit heard this he could not stop his tears from gushing forth as he stamped his feet in fury, let loose heaven-shaking roars and exclaimed in hatred and fury, “Damned baldies! Vicious beasts! How could you be so evil? You’ve destroyed my cave palace and burnt my beauty to death. You’ve killed everyone, young and old, in the household. I’m so angry I could die!”

The old demon then told Monkey Lion to take hold of Tawny Lion, saying, “Grandson, what’s done is done. Upsetting yourself won’t do you any good. What you must do now is summon up all your energy to catch those monks in the city.”


Output: The evil spirit was still crying as he replied, “Grandfather, this mountain palace of mine wasn’t built in a day. Now those damned baldies have destroyed everything! My life’s not worth living!” With that he broke free and flung himself forward to smash his head against the rock-face, only stopping after Snowy Lion and Monkey Lion had made great efforts to calm him. They then left the cave and all headed for the city.


Output:
With a roaring wind and in a thick fog they approached the city, so frightening all the people living outside the city wall that they abandoned their belongings and dragged or carried their children with them as they fled into the city. Once the people were all inside the gates were shut. A report was then made to the palace that a disaster was upon them. When the prince, who was taking a vegetarian breakfast in the Gauze Pavilion with the Tang Priest and the others, heard this report he went out to ask about it: “A whole crowd of evil spirits are heading for the city with sandstorms, flying stones, fogs and wind.”

“Whatever shall we do?” asked the prince, deeply alarmed.


Output:
“All stop worrying,” said Brother Monkey, “all stop worrying. It’s the evil spirit from Tigermouth Cave who ran away when he was beaten yesterday. He went to the Southeast to gang up with the Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity or whatever he’s called and now he’s here. We brothers are going out. Tell them to shut all the city gates, and send men to hold the city wall.” The prince ordered that the city gates be shut, sent men to the wall, and went with his sons and the Tang Priest to inspect. The army’s banners blotted out the sun, and the cannon fire reached the sky as Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand left the city amid wind and clouds to give battle. Indeed:

Because they were careless the weapons were lost,

Which led to attacks by the devilish host.

If you do not know the outcome of the battle listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Ninety

By Giving and Receiving the Master and the Lion Turn into One

After Stealing the Way and Obstructing Dhyana Ninefold Numinosity Is Pacified


Output:
The story tells how the Great Sage Sun left the city with Pig and Friar Sand and looked the monsters in the face to see that they were all lions of various kinds. The Tawny Lion Spirit was leading, with Leo and Elephant-fighter Lion on his left, Gryphon and Raccoon-dog Lion on his right and Monkey Lion with Snowy Lion behind him. In the middle of them all was a nine-headed lion. The ogre Greenface was holding a canopy of brocade embroidered with flowers just behind the nine-headed lion; while Wily Freak and Freaky Wile carried a pair of red flags. They were all drawn up at a hollow place.

In his rough way Pig went up to them to shout abusively, “Ogres! Thieves! Treasure-stealers! What did you go there and gang up with that hairy lot for?”


Output:
To this the Tawny Lion Spirit retorted, gnashing his teeth in fury, “Vicious baldies! When I was alone yesterday the three of you beat me and I had to run away. You should have done right, instead of burning my cave palace, destroying my mountain home and murdering my family. My hatred for you is as great as the ocean. Stay where you are and take this from my halberd!”

The splendid Pig raised his rake to parry the blow. When the two of them had just started fighting and neither was yet coming out on top Monkey Lion joined in, swinging his spiked iron club, as did Snowy Lion with his three-edged mace.


Output:
“Welcome,” shouted Pig. Watch him as he charges straight forward to meet their onslaught and fight with them all. Friar Sand quickly pulled his demon-quelling staff out from where he was at the side and hurried forward to help Pig, at which Leo Spirit, Gryphon Spirit, Elephant-fighter Spirit and Raccoon-dog Spirit all piled in. The Great Sage Monkey held the evil spirits at bay with his gold-banded cudgel. Leo fought with a club, Snowy with a bronze hammer, Elephant-fighter with a steel spear and Raccoon-dog with a battleaxe.

The fight between the seven lion spirits and the three ferocious monks was a splendid one:

Club, hammer, spear, axe and three-edged mace,

Spiked club, ball-staff and four-bright halberd:

Seven lions with seven deadly weapons,

Shouting their war cries as they surround three monks.

Powerful was the Great Sage’s gold-banded cudgel;

Friar Sand’s staff was almost matchless in the world.

Pig moved around with the power of a whirlwind

As his flashing rake gave off baleful light.


Output:
As his flashing rake gave off baleful light.

All, displaying their might, blocked before and behind,

Held off the onslaughts with daring and courage.

From the walls of the city the prince lent support,

Where his soldiers felt braver as they beat drums and gongs.

Throwing and thrusting, all showed off their magic,

Turning heaven and earth both dark and upside-down.

After the evil spirits had been fighting the Great Sage and the two others for half a day, night fell. Pig by now was dribbling and his legs were going weak, so he feinted with his rake and fled in defeat.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Snowy Lion and Monkey Lion shouted. “Take this!”

The idiot could not dodge them, and he took a heavy blow from the mace on his spine that laid him flat on the ground crying out, “I’m done for, I’m done for!”

The two lion spirits grabbed Pig by the bristles on his neck and by his tail and carried him over to see the nine-headed lion, “Grandfather,” they reported, “we’ve caught one of them.”


Output:
Before the words were out of their mouths Friar Sand and Monkey also had to fall back, beaten. When the evil spirits all came after them Monkey pulled out a handful of hairs, chewed them to pieces, spat them out, shouted, “Change!” and turned them into more than one hundred little Monkeys who went round and round, surrounding Snowy, Leo, Elephant-fighter, Raccoon-dog and Tawny Lion. Friar Sand and Monkey then came forward to join in the fight again. Later that night they caught Leo and Gryphon and put Raccoon-dog and Elephant-fighter to flight.

When Tawny Lion reported to the old demon that two of the lions had been lost the demon ordered, “Tie Pig up but don’t kill him. When they give our lions back we’ll return Pig to them. If they’re stupid enough to kill them we’ll make Pig pay with his life.” That evening all the fiends slept outside the city.


Output:
The story now turns to the Great Sage Sun, who carried the two lion spirits to beside the city wall, from where the senior prince saw him and ordered that the gates be opened. Twenty or thirty officers were sent out with rope to tie the lion spirits up and carry them into the city. The Great Sage then put his magic hairs away and went straight with Friar Sand to the wall tower, where he saw the Tang Priest.

“This is a terrible business,” the Tang Priest said. “Is Wuneng still alive?”

“No problem,” Brother Monkey replied. “As we’ve captured a couple of the evil spirits they won’t possibly dare harm him. Have them tied up tight. I’ll swap them for Pig tomorrow morning.”


Output:
The three young princes then kowtowed to Monkey and said, “When you were fighting them at first you were by yourself, Teacher. Then when you pretended to run away and came back again there were over a hundred of you. How was that done? When you came back to the city wall after capturing the evil spirits there was only one of you again. What magical powers did you use to do that?”

“I have 84,000 hairs on my body,” Monkey replied. “Each of them can become ten, and the ten become a hundred, so I can do millions and millions of transformations. It’s extra body magic.” The princes all kowtowed as a vegetarian feast was brought to the tower for them. All along the battlements lanterns and banners were displayed. There was the sound of clappers, bells, gongs and drums as the watches were changed, arrows passed on, cannons fired and warcries shouted.


Output:
Soon it was dawn, and the old demon sent for Tawny Lion Spirit to make a plan of action: “You must all use your wits to capture Sun the Novice and Friar Sand while I make a secret flight up onto the wall to capture their master, the old prince and his sons. I’ll take them back to the Nine-bend Twisty Cave and wait for you to come back in triumph.”

Accepting this plan, Tawny Lion took Monkey Lion, Snowy Lion, Elephant-fighter and Raccoon-dog back to beside the city wall, all carrying their weapons and demanding battle amid winds and fog.


Output:
On the other side Monkey and Friar Sand jumped on the wall, where Monkey yelled abusively at the top of his voice, “Thieving damned ogres! Give me my brother Pig back this moment and I’ll spare your lives. If you don’t I’ll smash your bones to powder and chop you all into little pieces.” With no further argument the evil spirits all charged into the attack. The Great Sage and Friar Sand had to use skill and cunning to hold the five lions at bay. This fight was very different from the one on the previous day.

As an evil wind howled across the land

Black fog blotted out the sky.

Moving stones and flying sands alarmed both gods and demons;

As the trees in the forest fell the tigers and wolves were afraid.

Fierce was the spear of steel and bright the axe,

Merciless the rod, the halberd and the brazen hammer.

They wished they could swallow Monkey up whole,

And capture Friar Sand live and kicking.

The Great Sage’s As-You-Will cudgel

Could attack and defend with miraculous effect.


Output:
Could attack and defend with miraculous effect.

Friar Sand’s demon-quelling staff

Had won its fame outside the Hall of Miraculous Mist.

Now that it moved with its magical powers,

It would achieve glory in the West by wiping out demons.

While the five lion spirits with coats of different colours were fighting really well with Monkey and Friar Sand the old demon flew on a black cloud straight to the wall tower, where he shook his heads, which gave the military and civil officials, Sanzang, the senior prince and the soldiers guarding the wall such a fright that they all fell off. The demon then charged into the tower, opened his mouths, took Sanzang, the senior prince and his sons in them one by one, and went back to the hollow ground, where he took Pig in another mouth, one of the nine he had in his nine heads. One mouth held the Tang Priest, one Pig, one the senior prince, one his eldest son, one the second son and one the third son.


Output:
With six mouths full of six people he still had three mouths empty and wide open as he roared, “I’m going back ahead.” The five junior lion spirits all fought more bravely than ever now that they had seen their grandfather’s triumph.

As soon as Monkey heard the yells from the wall and realized he had fallen for a trick, he gave Friar Sand a quick shout to be careful then pulled all the hairs off his arms, put them in his mouth, chewed them up and spat them out as well over a thousand little Monkeys who swarmed into the attack. They knocked Monkey Lion over, took Snowy alive, captured Elephant-fighter, laid Raccoon-dog Lion low and killed Tawny Lion; but as they returned to the city wall with a great hubbub they let Greenface, Wily Freak and Freaky Wile escape. When the officers on the wall saw what had happened they opened the gates, tied up the five lion spirits with ropes and carried them into the city.


Output:
But before they could deal with them the princess appeared, sobbing and weeping, to say, “Holy teachers, His Royal Highness the prince, our sons and your master are all dead. How ever is this isolated city to survive?”

Putting his magic hairs away, Monkey bowed to her and said, “Don’t upset yourself, Princess. It was only because I’d captured seven of his lion spirits that the old demon carried off my master, His Royal Highness and your sons with catching magic. I’m certain they’ll come to no harm. My brother-disciple and I will go to his mountain first thing tomorrow morning, and I can guarantee that we’ll catch the old demon and bring your four princes back to you.”

When the princess and her womenfolk heard this they all bowed to Monkey and said, “We pray that His Royal Highness and his sons will all be safe and that our dynasty will be secure.” When their bowing was done the womenfolk all returned to the palace in tears.


Output:
“Skin the Tawny Lion spirit we killed,” Brother Monkey instructed the officials, “and have the five who are still alive securely tied up and put under lock and key. Bring us some vegetarian food to eat before we go to sleep. Stop worrying: I promise nothing will go wrong.”

The next morning the Great Sage took Friar Sand up on an auspicious cloud. Before long they were at the top of Bamboo Mountain, and as they brought their cloud down to look they saw that it was magnificent:

Rows of jutting peaks,

Sheer and craggy ridges.

In the deep gill waters gently flow;

Flowers weave a fragrant brocade before the beetling cliff,

Where the ridges twist and double back,

Encircled by the ancient winding paths.

When the crane comes the pine has a companion,

And the rock is left alone as the cloud drifts away.

The black ape heads for brightness when looking for fruit;

The deer rejoice in the warming sun as they search for flowers.

The green phoenix sings sweetly

And the golden bird’s melodies never stop.


Output:
And the golden bird’s melodies never stop.

In spring the peach blossom contends with the plum;

In summer the willow and locust trees are rivals.

In autumn are carpets of chrysanthemums,

And in winter the snow flies all around.

Here there is beauty throughout the year,

Where the scenery can compare with Yingzhou’s magic land.

As the two of them were standing on the mountain admiring the view Greenface suddenly appeared in a ravine between cliffs. He was holding a short cudgel. “Where do you think you’re going?” Monkey shouted. “I’m here.”

This gave the young devil such a fright that he went running and tumbling down the ravine. Monkey and Friar Sand went straight after him but could find no sign of where he had gone. When they went further and searched around they found a cave palace with double gates of mottled stone that were firmly closed. Above the gates a stone tablet was set on which was written in large block letters:

NINE-BEND TWISTY CAVE,

MIGHTY BAMBOO MOUNTAIN


Output:
NINE-BEND TWISTY CAVE,

MIGHTY BAMBOO MOUNTAIN

Now when the junior devil ran inside the cave he had shut the gates firmly behind him. Once inside he reported to the old demon, “My lord, those two monks are outside.”

“Have your lord, Monkey Lion, Snowy Lion, Elephant-fighter and Raccoon-dog come back yet?” the old demon asked.

“I haven’t seen them,” the junior demon replied.

“There were just the two monks looking around from high up on the peak. As soon as I saw them I turned and ran. As they came after me I shut the gates.”

The old demon bowed his head in silence at this news. After a while his tears began to flow as he called out, “This is terrible. My grandson Tawny Lion is dead. My grandsons Monkey Lion and the rest of them have all been captured by those monks and taken into the city. How am I to get my revenge?”


Output:
Pig was tied up nearby, crammed in together with the Tang Priest and the princes, terrified and miserable until he heard the old demon saying that his grandsons had been captured and taken into the city. At this he said with quiet delight, “Don’t be afraid, Master. Cheer up, Your Royal Highness. My elder brother has won. He’s captured the whole lot of the devils and he’s found his way here to rescue us.”

When he had said this the old demon could be heard shouting, “Little ones, guard the place well while I go out to catch those other two monks. Then we can punish them all together.”


Output:
Watch him as he strides off without armor or weapons. When he heard Monkey shouting he threw the gates of the cave wide open and went straight for him, not deigning to answer. Monkey raised his iron cudgel to stop him with a blow to the head while Friar Sand swung his staff at him. As the demon shook his principal head the eight other heads to left and right of it all opened their mouths, with which they gently picked Monkey and Friar Sand up and carried them into the cave.

“Fetch rope,” he ordered; and Wily Freak, Freaky Wile and Greenface, who had come back after their escape the previous night, brought two ropes with which they tied the two of them up very securely. “Impudent ape,” said the old demon, “you captured my seven grandsons. But now I’ve caught you four monks and the four princes I’ve got enough to ransom them with. Little ones, get some thorns and willow rods and beat this ape for me to avenge my grandson Tawny Lion.”


Output:
The three junior devils then beat Monkey with willow rods, but Monkey’s body had been so toughened that all the rods could do was to scratch his itches. He made no sound and was not in the least bothered, no matter how hard they hit him. The sight of it, however, made Pig, the Tang Priest and the princes all feel their hair standing on end. Before long the rods started to break up, but the demons kept on till evening, keeping no count of the number of strokes.

Friar Sand was most upset to see Monkey being given so long a flogging, so he said, “Let me take a hundred or so for him.”

“Don’t be so impatient,” the old demon replied, “you’ll get your beating tomorrow. You’ll all be done in turn.”

“That means it’ll be me the day after tomorrow,” said Pig with alarm. The beating continued for a while as night slowly fell.


Output:
“Little ones,” the old demon called, “stop for now. Light the lamp and go for something to eat and drink. I’m off to my Brocade Cloud Den for a little shut-eye. You three have all had a hard time, so keep a close watch on them. We’ll carry on with the beatings tomorrow.” The three junior devils moved a lamp over and hit Monkey some more on the top of his head with their willow rods, tic-tic-toc, toc-toc-tic, like the rhythm of a wooden clapper, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. By then it was very late and they all fell asleep.

Monkey now used escaping magic to shrink himself, wriggled out of his bonds, shook his fur, straightened up his clothes, took the cudgel out of his ear and shook it till it was as thick as a well-bucket and about twenty feet long.


Output:
Then he said to the three junior devils, “You animals, you hit me an awful lot of times, and now I’m going to return the compliment. I’ll just shove this at you and see how you like it.” One gentle push from the cudgels turned the three devils into three lumps of minced pork. Monkey then turned up the lamp and released Friar Sand.

Pig, who was feeling desperate about being tied up, could not stop himself from yelling at the top of his voice, “My hands and feet are tied up so tight they’re swollen. Why don’t you come and free me?”


Output: The idiot’s shout at once woke up the old demon, who rolled straight out of bed and called out, “Who’s setting them free?” The moment Monkey heard this he blew out the lamp, smashed his way through several sets of doors with his cudgel and fled, not bothering about Friar Sand and the rest of them, while the old demon went into the main hall shouting, “Little ones, why’s there no light? Don’t let them get away!” He shouted once without getting an answer, then again, and still no answer.


Output:
When he fetched a lantern and looked all he could see were three gory lumps of minced meat on the floor. The prince, his sons, the Tang Priest and Pig were still there, but Monkey and Friar Sand had disappeared. He lit a torch, searched the front and the back and could find only Friar Sand, who was still standing pressed against the wall of a corridor. The demon knocked him down, tied him up as before, and carried on looking for Monkey. Seeing that pair after pair of his doors had been smashed down, he realized that Monkey had destroyed them in his flight. Instead of giving chase he patched up and blockaded the doors and guarded his home.

The story now tells how Monkey left the Nine-bend Twisty Cave and rode by auspicious cloud straight back to the city of Yuhua, where all the local deities and spirits as well as the god of the city could be seen bowing in mid-air to greet him.


Output:
“Why have you only come to see me today?” Monkey asked. “When we knew that the worthy prince was entertaining you in Yuhua, Great Sage,” they replied, “we did not venture to greet you. But now that the princes have been captured by ogres and you have subdued those monsters we have come to welcome you with kowtows.” While Monkey was abusing them the Gold-headed Protector and the Six Ding and Six Jia generals escorted a local deity in and made him kneel on the ground.

“Great Sage,” they said, “we’ve arrested this ground devil.”

“What are you making a noise here for instead of guarding my master on Bamboo Mountain?” Monkey yelled.


Output:
“Great Sage,” the Ding and Jia gods replied, “the evil spirit caught the Curtain-raising General and tied him up again after you escaped. As we could see how great his magic powers are we’ve brought the local deity of Bamboo Mountain here. He knows all about that evil spirit’s background, so we beg you to question him, Great Sage, and find out how best to deal with him and deliver the holy monks and worthy princes from their suffering.” When Monkey heard this he was delighted.

“The old demon came down to Bamboo Mountain the year before last,” the local deity said, shivering and shaking as he kowtowed. “The Nine-bend Twisty Cave used to be the den of six lions. Once the old demon came the six lions all took him as their grandfather. He is a nine-headed lion called the Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity. If you want to deal with him you must go to the Wonderful Crag Palace in the uttermost East and fetch his master here to subdue him. Nobody else can possibly do it.”


Output:
When Monkey heard this he thought for a long time before saying, “The Wonderful Crag Palace in the uttermost East is where the Heavenly Honoured Saviour of the Great Monad lives. Yes, he does have just such a nine-headed lion under his throne. Protector, Jias,” he ordered, “go back with the local deity and keep a secret watch on the master, my brother disciple, the prince of the city and his sons. The city god must guard the wall and moat. Off you go.” The gods all took up guard as instructed.

The Great Sage set off his somersault cloud and traveled through the night till it was about the last watch, when he reached the Eastern Gate of Heaven, where he ran into the Heavenly King Virupaksa with his retinue of heavenly soldiers and warriors, who stopped, put their hands together in greeting and asked, “Where are you going, Great Sage?”


Output:
“I’m off to the Wonderful Crag Palace,” Monkey replied when he had returned their greetings. “Why have you come to the Eastern Heaven instead of following your road to the Western Heaven?” Virupaksa asked. “When we reached the city of Yuhua,” Monkey replied, “the prince of the city entertained us and told his three sons to take us as their teachers of martial arts. We had a most unpleasant surprise: coming up against a gang of lion monsters. Now I’m going to ask the Heavenly Honoured Saviour of the Great Monad, the chief monster’s owner, to subdue him and save my master.”

“It was because you wanted to be a teacher that you provoked that trouble with the lions,” said the heavenly king. “How true,” replied Monkey with a smile, “how true.” The heavenly soldiers and warriors all raised joined hands in greeting then stood aside to let him pass. Monkey went in through the Eastern Gate of Heaven and was soon at the Wonderful Crag Palace. This is what could be seen:

Coloured clouds behind coloured clouds,


Output:
Coloured clouds behind coloured clouds,

Purple mists and rich, green vegetation.

The roof-tiles are a surge of golden flame,

And at the gates are imposing beasts of jade.

Flowers grow between gate towers, round which red mists drift;

The sun shines on turquoise vapors rising from the woods.

All the immortals pay their respects,

And a thousand sages make everything flourish.

The halls of the palace are like layers of brocade;

Windows and pavilions open on all sides.

Azure dragons glow with sacred clouds;

Golden beams of brilliant light come from the magic mists.

This is a land of splendor and eternal joy,

The Wonderful Crag Palace in the uttermost East.


Output:
The Wonderful Crag Palace in the uttermost East.

There was an immortal boy wearing a rainbow mantle standing at the palace gates, and as soon as he noticed the Great Sage he went in to report, “My lord, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who made havoc in Heaven is here.” When the Heavenly Honoured Saviour of the Great Monad heard this he ordered all the immortals in attendance on him to go out to welcome Monkey and bring him into the palace. Here the Heavenly Honoured One was sitting on a nine-coloured lotus throne amid countless rays of auspicious light, and when he saw Monkey he came down from his throne to greet him while Monkey bowed to him from below.

“Great Sage,” the Heavenly Honoured One said, returning his bow, “I haven’t seen you for years, but I did hear that you have abandoned the Way for Buddhism and are escorting the Tang Priest to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven. I presume that you have now succeeded.”


Output: “Not yet,” Monkey replied, “but near enough. I have escorted the Tang Priest as far as Yuhua, where the prince told his three sons to take me and the other two as their teachers of martial arts and had copies of our three magic weapons made. The weapons were, to our surprise, stolen one night. When I searched for them the next day I found that they had been stolen by a spirit turned by a golden-haired lion from Tigermouth Cave on Mount Leopard Head. I tricked them back from him by cunning, whereupon the spirit ganged up with some other lion spirits to give me a tremendous fight. One of them is a nine-headed lion with enormous magic powers who carried my master, Pig, the prince and his three sons to the Ninebend Twisty Cave on Mount Bamboo. When Friar Sand and I went to look for them the next day we were carried off too. He had me tied up and hit so often I lost count. Luckily I was able to make my get-away by magic, but they’re still suffering there. When I questioned the local deity I found out that you


Output: I questioned the local deity I found out that you were his master, Heavenly Honoured One, which is why I’m here to ask you to subdue the lion and rescue them.”


Output:
As soon as the Heavenly Honoured One heard this he sent his immortal officers to the lion house to call out his lionkeeper slave and question him. The lionkeeper slave was sleeping so deeply that the officers had to push and shake him before they could wake him up and drag him into the main hall. Here the Heavenly Honoured One asked him, “Where is the lion?”

All the slave could do was to kowtow with tears streaming down his face, pleading, “Spare me, spare me.”

“The Great Sage Sun is here,” the Heavenly Honoured One replied, “so I won’t have you beaten just yet. You must explain this instant your carelessness in letting the nine-headed lion escape.”

“My lord,” the lionkeeper replied, “I stole and drank a jug of wine I saw in the Sweet Dew Palace of the Great Chiliocosm. Before I realized what had happened I was dead drunk. It must have slipped its chains and got away.”


Output:
“That wine was given me by Lord Lao Zi of the Supreme Ultimate,” the Heavenly Honoured One replied. “It’s called Cyclical Nectar, and after drinking that you would have slept for three days. How many days has the lion been gone?”

“What the local deity said was that he went down there the year before last, which would mean two years or more,” the Great Sage said.

“That’s right,” the Heavenly Honoured One said with a smile, “A day in the palaces of Heaven is a year in the mortal world. Get up,” he said to the lion-tamer. “I’ll spare your life. Come down to the lower world with the Great Sage and me to recapture him. You immortals can all go back. None of you need come with us.”

The Heavenly Honoured One, the lion-keeper slave and the Great Sage all went by cloud straight to Bamboo Mountain, where the Protectors of the Four Quarters and the Centre, the Six Dings, the Six Jias and the local deity of the mountain all knelt to greet them.


Output:
“Has my master been harmed while you people have been protecting him?” Brother Monkey asked.

“The evil spirit was so angry that he went to sleep,” the gods replied. “He didn’t torture them any more.”

“That Primal Sage of mine is a true soul who has long cultivated the Way,” the Heavenly Honoured One remarked. “A single call from him will go up to the Three Sages and down to the Underworld. He wouldn’t kill anyone lightly. Great Sage Sun, go to his gates, challenge him to battle and draw him outside for us to catch.”

As soon as Monkey heard this he sprang towards the mouth of the cave, brandishing his cudgel and shouting loudly and abusively, “Damned evil spirit, give me my people back! Damned evil spirit, give me my people back!” He shouted several times, but the old demon was fast asleep and nobody answered. Monkey lost his patience, swung his cudgel and smashed his way inside, still cursing.


Output:
Only then did the old demon wake up, rise to his feet and yell with great fury, “I’m coming for you!” He shook his heads and opened his jaws to pick Monkey up.

As Monkey turned and fled the evil spirit chased after him till they were outside the cave, shouting, “Where do you think you’re going, you thieving ape?”

“How dare you go on behaving so dreadfully!” said Monkey with a grin from where he was standing on the top of a high cliff. “You haven’t even got the sense to realize that your life’s at stake. Don’t you see your master’s here?”

By the time the evil spirit reached the cliff in pursuit of Monkey the Heavenly Honoured One had said a spell and shouted, “I’m here, my little Primal Sage.” Recognizing his master, the monster gave up the struggle and lay down with all four feet on the ground, kowtowing.


Output: The lionkeeper then ran over to him, took hold of his mane, and punched him hundreds of times on the neck, saying abusively, “Why did you run away, animal? You got me into terrible trouble.” The lion kept his mouths shut and said nothing, not daring to move, and the lionkeeper only stopped hitting him when his fist was tired out. When a brocade saddlecloth had been put on the animal’s back the Heavenly Honoured One mounted and shouted to it to go. They then rose up on coloured clouds and went straight back to the Wonderful Crag Palace.


Output: After addressing his thanks skywards the Great Sage went into the cave and freed first the prince of Yuhua, then Sanzang, then Pig, Friar Sand and the three young princes. After this they made a leisurely search of the cave and led everyone outside. Pig then fetched some dry brushwood, piled it at the front and the back, and started a fire that left the Nine-bend Twisty Cave looking like a ruined, burnt-out kiln. Monkey released all the gods, ordered the local deity to keep guard on it, and told Pig and Friar Sand to use their magic to carry the four princes back to the city while he helped the Tang Priest along. They were soon back at the city, where the princess and the officials all came out to greet them. It was now getting dark, and a vegetarian feast was provided for everyone to enjoy. The venerable elder and his disciples slept in the Gauze Pavilion once more, and the princes in the living quarters of the palace. Of that night no more need be said.


Output:
The next day the prince issued an order for another great vegetarian banquet to be laid on. Each of the officials high and low in the palace expressed his gratitude, and Monkey asked for butchers to slaughter the six lions who were still alive, skin them like the tawny lion, and prepare their meat to be eaten. The prince, who was delighted with this proposal, gave the order for them to be killed. One animal was kept for the inside and outside palace staff, one was given to the chief administrator and the other officials in the palace, and the flesh of the other five was cut into lumps weighing one or two ounces that officers distributed among the soldiers and civilians inside and outside the city wall so that they could all eat a little. Thus the people could both try the taste and overcome their fear. Every single household was most impressed.

By now the smiths had made the three weapons and were kowtowing to Monkey, saying, “My lord, we have finished our work.”

“How heavy are they?” Monkey asked.


Output:
“How heavy are they?” Monkey asked.

“The gold-banded cudgel weighs a thousand pounds,” the smiths replied, “and the nine-toothed rake and the demon-quelling staff each eight hundred pounds.”

“That’ll do,” said Monkey, who then had the three princes asked to come out. As each took his weapon they said to the senior prince, “Your Royal Highness, our weapons have now been finished.”

“They almost cost both your father and yourselves their lives,” the senior prince replied. “Thanks to our divine teachers’ powers,” the young princes said, “we were all saved and the evil spirits have been wiped out. We’ll have no trouble from them in future. Now this really is a world at peace with calm seas and rivers running clear.” The four princes then rewarded the smiths and went to the Gauze Pavilion to thank the teachers.