Week 7 Reading : The Monkey King, Part A
This reading is from the Chinese folklore unit and I chose to read this story from the attention-grabbing title. I thought it could be a fun and lighthearted read about a crazy monkey. The story is about a monkey who wants to gain eternal life and rebel against heaven. Overall, it was a great start to this unit.
The Handsome King of the Apes
Away in the East there was an island with a high rock. This was a special rock for it had absorbed all the seed power of heaven and earth, and sun and moon. One day the rock burst and an egg came out and from the egg came an ape. The ape learned how to live and grew older. One day, the ape went to a waterfall to cool off and plunged off a high cliff. The stone ape jumped off the cliff to challenge the bet of being king and he landed on a hidden iron bridge below. He came back and told the other apes the news and they all journeyed back down with him. The apes named the stone ape Handsome King of the Apes and he appointed apes to be on his counsel.
The Great Sea
One day, the King of the Apes began to weep at dinner for he was saddened that nobody came to attack them for they were growing weaker and older. His counsel began to sob but one ape came forward and claimed if they attain three grades escapes the rod of rebirth and live long into the Heavens. The three kinds of beings was one being they live in caves and on holy mountains, which pleased the king and they celebrated. Then the following morning the King built a raft and poled his way through the Great Sea until he reached Asia. On his way, he attacked a fisherman and stole his clothes and then wandered all the famous spots around the city. He began to learn the teachings of the Buddha and he did this for nine years until he decided to float over the Western Sea. He searched until he found a high mountain and on the mountain was a man singing.
Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name
The King bowed to a wood-chopper who was singing songs taught to him by a saint. The King begged to meet this saint and the wood-chopper claimed he wasn't far away and they were at the Mountain of the Heart. The wood-chopper told the king the saint lives in a cave and he is called the Discerner and he has many disciples. The king left at once to find him but the gate was locked to his cave so he went up a tree and devoured the seed. He had come in search of the truth and a disciple appeared, ushering the king to the saint. He greeted the master and introduced himself as the stone ape. The master ordered his disciple to instruct Sun Wu Kung (the stone ape's new name) to learn manners and good labor practices.
The Master
Sun Wu Kung began dancing for joy and was not acting in wild nature like the master claimed. The master said there were 360 ways to unlock the truth and asked the ape which way he would like to learn. He asked about the magic way in terms of securing eternal life but that wasn't the answer. He then asked the way of science and how there are nine schools of the three faiths but they wouldn't provide eternal life either. Then he asked about the way of repose but that way would't give eternal life either. Then he asked about the way of deeds but again it wouldn't give eternal life. The master pretended to get angry and scold the ape and gave him three blows across the head. The disciples were thrilled for this was a good thing for he was ready for third watch of the night. The master then went to bed and hummed a stanza until the ape came in waiting.
Learning the Art
The master was angry for being awakened by the ape and the reason for him coming was to be the third watch of the night. The master granted the ape the intelligence and for them to speak freely to each other. The master murmured a magical incantation and after, he went back to lay down and sleep. From that moment, he began practicing the correct role of breathing. Suddenly, the ape woke in fear for he wanted to protected from all dangers, but the master murmured another secret incantation for him to be able to transform himself seventy-two times. He had learned the art for the ape had learned to fly.
Sun Wu Kung Departs
The master was not impressed with the ape's ability to fly and insisted he would teach him through magic incantation. He was filled with joy from his new power and begged to transform into something. The master told him to become a pine tree and he did just that. The master didn't know what tricks the ape was up to and scolded him for his heart not being under control. The ape begged for forgiveness, but he was sent away to where he came from. The master said the ape's savage nature brought evil and so the ape somersaulted into the clouds and left.
The Devil-King
Within an hour he had made it back to his original mountain and he was very happy. He told his children he had found the way to eternal life and he no longer feared death. Then his children told him how a devil had come to their cave and dragged many of the children away. The devil was from the north so the king went to find him in the clouds. He arrived at the Cave of the Kidneys and the devils were dancing. The king demanded for his children back, which made the devil-king come out. He was larger than life in a black armor suit. The devil-king taunted the ape king for being so small so the ape king transformed himself to avoid losing the fight. He used his hair to turn into a million little devils that attacked the devil-king. Then the ape king ended the devil-king's life and gathered his children up and returned home joyfully.
The Dragon-King
The ape king began exercising his apes everyday to prepare for future battles and they built a camp. They decided they should incite their own battle and they decided on the city of Aulai where the empire was full of warriors, coppersmiths, and steel smiths. The ape king used magic to take weapons for battle and he transformed his hair into a million little apes and they cleared the whole supply of weapons. Once he had all the weapons he still wasn't satisfied so a counsel ape asked if he could walk through water. They challenged the ape king to do so and claim a weapon from the Dragon-King. When he got to the palace, he was greeted by Triton and he escorted the king to have tea with the dragon. He told the dragon of his powers and his army he had built and the dragon provided him a seven thousand two hounded pound fork but it was too light for Sun Wu Kung.
The Dragon-Queen
He insisted the dragon look for something heavier and the queen offered the great iron bar lying at the bottom of the sea. This bar was enormous with golden clamps and when the ape king went to lift it, it was too heavy. He realized the bar could grow smaller or larger at his command so he did just that and thanked the dragon for his present. Then the ape king asked for armor but the dragon said they had none to give. The dragon king went to ask his brother and they agreed they shouldn't anger the ape king, so they brought the ape a magic suit of golden mail. He thanked them for the gift and when asked how he was able to carry such a heavy object he shared his secret with them.
The Nether World
One day he took a nap after dinner and he had shrunk the bar and stuck it in his ear. In his dream, two men who told him a message about The Nether World. The ape king realized it was the dwelling place of death and he at once went to the city. When he arrived, the princes were frightened of him and the ape king demanded they give him their names or he would strike them. They humbly gave their names and the ape king bragged he had gained eternal life. The princes had the scrub bring in the Book of Life and in it the book said the ape shall die without illness. Then the ape king struck out the whole ape family from the book, threw it down, and claimed they were even. Then he left the city and fell to the ground from slipping. He had been dreaming and he went at once to tell the apes he had struck out the mortal hour of all apes. From then on, apes on the mountain no longer died.
Bibliography:
Title: The Monkey King
Author: R. Wilhelm
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