Journey to the West. Wu Cheng'en

day the students had a long talk together, and said, “Seeker of Secrets, you have studied the mysteries of Nature so deeply, that our Master has taught you how to perform many wonders; can we all do this?” The Seeker of Secrets laughed and said, “Truly if the Master teaches and you diligently learn, there is no reason why you should not learn all.” They replied, “Show us some of your wonderful arts.” The Seeker of Secrets said, “Tell me what you want and I will try.” They said, “Change yourself into a pine tree.” The Seeker of Secrets recited an incantation, shook his body and was transformed instantly into a pine tree.

      Clouds come kissing virgin pine,

       Wooded through the growth of years,

       Showing monkey traces none,

       Only hoarfrost on each branch.

      At the sight the students clapped their hands and cried in great admiration. The Master hearing the commotion, came out and asked what the matter was. When he heard he said, “You pledged yourself not to divulge the secret, and now you play with great things before the unworthy. If you do not divulge the secret to the others, they will kill you.” The Seeker of Secrets wept and begged his pardon. But the Master said, “I cannot keep you any longer, you must go, for your life is in danger.” The Seeker of Secrets said, “What shall I do?” “Go back whence you came,” was the stern reply, “and never tell anyone that you are my disciple, or I will flay you alive.” With this, the Seeker of Secrets took leave of the Master and fellow students, recited an incantation, jumped over the clouds and was back in an instant in the East Continent of the Mighty Gods, the Mountain Garden and the Water Screen Cave, and was glad, saying,

      Leaving home I lonely was,

       Mortal frame and mortal seed.

       When born again in spirit land,

       The body light became as air.

      In all the earth none have a mind

       To seek the truth and gather light.

      Finally the Seeker of Secrets descended safely from the clouds, arrived at the Mountain Garden and there heard the monkeys crying bitterly. He said, “My children, I have returned, what is the matter?” Ten thousand monkeys, great and small, ran towards him from all the rocks and trees about, knelt before him and cried, “Why did you leave us so long here without protection? We have been longing for your return like men who are hungry and thirsty. Of late we have been troubled by the Chief Disturber of the World’s Peace, who wanted to take possession of our cave by force. We fought him at the risk of our lives and many were killed. If you, Oh King, had not returned, there would soon have been no cave left us at all.” The Seeker of Secrets became very angry and asked what evil spirit it was that had dared do that. “We will soon have our revenge on him. Where does he live and how far away?” “We do not know. He came with the wind and went away in a fog.” At this the Seeker of Secrets said, “I will find him.” And with this the Monkey King made a spring and disappeared to the North. There he saw a high and steep mountain.

      Mountain peaks like pencils pierced the sky,

       Mountain streams like gouges carved the rocks.

       There the fount of three worlds bubbled forth

       Giving strength by watering the earth.

      The Monkey King hearing voices in this mountain, descended from the clouds and found a cave from which flowed a river. About the entrance some small demons were at play. At the sight of the Seeker of Secrets they ran away. He cried out, “Do not run away. I am the Master of the Mountain Garden and Cave with the Water Curtain in the South. Your chief, the Disturber of the World’s Peace, has been frequently assaulting my children, and I have come to get an apology.” The little demons ran in and said, “Trouble has come, oh King,” and repeated the message of the Monkey King. The Demon King laughed and said, “I have often heard the monkeys say that they had a great chief, and that he had gone away to lead a religious life. I suppose it is he who has come. How is he dressed and how is he armed?” They replied, “He is not armed, but is hatless and dressed in a red gown and yellow girdle and black boots. He is not like an ordinary man, nor like a Buddhist monk or a Taoist priest, and he is waiting outside with no weapons in his hands.” On hearing this the Demon King put on his armor, took a sword in his hand and went out, followed by a crowd of little demons, and cried out, “Where is the Master of the Water Screen Cave?” The Seeker of Secrets opened his eyes and saw the Demon King.

      Black helmet crowned his head,

       Red coated was his back.

      Black armor over all,

       Black leather boots he wore.

      His girdle ten times others round

       His height was thirty feet.

      His hand bore a huge sword,

       All polished for the fight.

      The Seeker of Secrets cried out, “You incorrigible demon! You have such big eyes but you cannot even see me.” The Demon King looked down and seeing him, said, “You are not five feet tall and not more than thirty years old, and have no weapons, how dare you be so mad as to talk to me about an apology?” The Seeker of Secrets cursed him and said, “You insolent demon, it is plain you cannot see. You think I am small, but if I wish to be big, I can easily become big. You think I have no weapons, but I can stretch my arms to reach the moon. Wait till you get a taste of my fists. Let us have a bout of boxing.” The Demon King took off his armor saying, “You are short and I am tall. If you use your fists and I use a sword and kill you, it will be ridiculous. Let me put down my sword and fight with my fists.” Having put down his armor, he then began fighting. The Seeker of Secrets got close to him and they fought each other hard, but the long fist beat the air while the short one hit the mark. After the Monkey King had given him several hard knocks, he began to swell. Suddenly the Demon King seized his great steel sword and made a rush to strike him down. The Monkey quickly evaded him, so that he struck the empty air. The Seeker of Secrets then used one of his wonderful arts. He pulled out one of his hairs, put it in his mouth and chewed it into minute bits, then blew them out of his mouth and said, “Transform!” and these bits were instantly changed into hundreds of small monkeys who gathered round him. The Monkey King, since he had discovered this supernatural gift, had 84,000 hairs on his body, and each of these could be transformed in like manner, as he pleased. The small monkeys were so lively that the demon could not hit them on the right or left. They went at him from behind and before, they seized him and pulled him and tripped him, played with his hair and eyes, as if he were a pincushion. The Seeker of Secrets then laid hold of his sword, went up amongst the monkeys, struck the top of the Demon King’s head till it split open, and went into the cave, killing as he went, leaving not one of the demons alive. Then he put back the hair in its place on his body again. Those who did not suffer in the cave were a few dozen monkeys, which the Demon King had carried captive before. He ordered them out to light a fire to burn all the demons. Then he told these monkeys to follow him home. “Shut your eyes tight.” He then uttered an incantation, and a strong wind carried them over the clouds. When he descended from the clouds he called on them to open their eyes. They then found they were at home again, and were very glad, and ran into the cave as of old. Then all the monkeys assembled in the cave to welcome the king and get ready a banquet. They asked him how he had vanquished the Demon King. The Seeker of Secrets told them the whole story. The monkeys’ praises were interminable, and they asked, “Where, Oh King, did you learn all these wonders?” He answered, “That year when I left you, I sailed across the China Sea till I reached the Southern Continent and there I learnt how to become human, and put on clothes and wear boots for some 8 or 9 years, but had not found the secret forces of nature. I then crossed over the great Western Ocean till I reached the Unicorn Continent in the West, and searched for this secret for a long time. Finally I met an old patriarch who taught me the true way of living eternal as the heavens, so as never to become old.” All the monkeys congratulated him on having discovered how to avoid all calamities. The Seeker of Secrets smiled on his followers and said, “You may congratulate me on one other thing. You all have a family name now.” They all cried, “Oh King, what is thy name?” The king said, “My surname is Sun, which means macaque,