Journey to the West

WU CHENG’ EN
 Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the
Ming Dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en (AUTHOR) It is one of the Four
Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature.

 It has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia.

It start with a monkey that was born from a magic stone sitting high at the top of the
Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. After proving himself in a test of bravery, he was made
the ruler of all monkeys, thus becoming the “Monkey King”. However, the Monkey
King grew older and started looking for a way to stave off death. He searched the world
over and eventually found a Daoist sage who taught him not only the secrets of
immortality, but vast magic powers. He could transform into anything, call on gods and
spirits to do his bidding, and even fly on clouds. The sage also gave him the religious
name Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong returned home to teach his children the skills he had learned, but soon
discovered he was far too strong to wield mere earthly weapons. And so one of his
advisors told him to seek out a suitable one in the undersea palace of the Eastern
Dragon King. There, the Eastern Dragon King ordered his aquatic generals to bring the
Monkey King a spear, a reclining-moon knife, and a halberd weighing thousands of
pounds each. But no matter what weapon he tried, it was too light or broke in his hands.

The only weapon the Eastern Dragon King had left was a huge iron pillar once used
by Yu the Great, a mythical king, to measure the depths of the water during the world
flood. It was now being used to fix the ocean in place. It was known as the "As-you-
wish gold-banded cudgel" and weighed 18,000 pounds. There was no other weapon
like it in the entire universe. It could perform all manner of transformations too.

Sun Wukong could make it as big, or as tiny he wanted. It could even multiply itself
or transform into any object, such as a razor-sharp knife. Sometime after returning from
the Eastern Sea, Monkey's soul was dragged to the underworld by King Yama, the god
of death. This greatly angered Sun Wukong because he was immortal and no longer
subject to the cycle of life and death.

He immediately beat up the denizens of hell and, using a brush, crossed out his name
and the names of all monkeys from the ledgers, thus making them immortal too. The
Eastern Dragon King and King Yama later went to heaven and reported Monkey's
acquisition of the ocean-fixing pillar and his defacement of the ledgers of life and death
to the August Jade Emperor, ruler of the Cosmos. The embodiment of the planet Venus
suggested that they should invite him to be the "Protector of the Heavenly Horses" in
order to keep an eye on him.
 Sun Wukong later learned the position was a joke and that he was not considered a
full-fledged god. This greatly angered him, and so he returned to earth and proclaimed
himself the "Great Sage Equaling Heaven" (Qítiän Dàshèng) in rebellion.

The August Jade Emperor of Heaven sent the 100,00 soldiers of the celestial army to
capture Sun Wukong, but they were not his match. Not even the demon-killer, third
Prince Nezha could defeat him.

In the end, the Monkey King's power was too great, so heaven had to
grant him godhood, as well as a new position as the "Guardian of the Immortal Peach
Grove."

Sun Wukong, once again, became angry when he learned that he had not been
invited to the heavenly Queen Mother's immortal peach banquet. He put everyone to
sleep with magic sleeping bugs and drank all of the Emperor's royal wine. He then stole
all of the immortal peaches and longevity elixir and returned home to the Mountain of
Flowers and Fruits to share them with his children.

Learning from the last engagement, the August Jade Emperor sent the entire
heavenly army along with some of the most powerful Daoist and Buddhist gods to
capture the Monkey King. He even sent his nephew, Erlang Shen, who was a master of
magic transformations just
like Sun Wukong.

The two battled with their weapons and their transformations. If Sun Wukong
transformed into a water snake, Erlang became a crane. This continued with Erlang
countering all of the Monkey King's various transformations.

With the aid of a magic weapon, the Monkey King was eventually captured and
returned to heaven for execution. However, thee could not kill him. Heavy blades, fire,
and lightning all had no effect. The supreme
Daoist god Laozi then suggested that they place Sun Wukong into his Eight Trigram
furnace to melt him down.

Forty-nine days later, Laozi opened the furnace expecting to see ashes, but Sun
Wukong emerged now even stronger with golden eyes capable of seeing through magic
disguises. When heavenly forces failed in stopping the rampaging monkey, the August
Jade Emperor called upon the Buddha to intervene.

The Buddha bet Sun Wukong that if he could jump out of his hand he would make
the Monkey King the emperor of heaven. The Monkey King then used his great power to
fly as far as he could until he reached five pillars at the end of the cosmos. He wrote his
name on them to prove he had been there. Sun Wukong returned and demanded to be
made emperor, but the Buddha told him the five pillars had been his fingers and that he
had never left his hand. But before the Monkey King could do anything, the Buddha
pushed him out of heaven and crushed him under his hand, turning it into the Five
Elements Mountain. Sun Wukong remained trapped under the mountain for a very long
time. Five-hundred years later, the Buddha sent the Bodhisattva Guanyin to find a
suitable person to travel from China to India to receive Buddhist scriptures needed to
release countless souls from the torments of hell. Guanyin chose the young monk
Xuanzang to retrieve the scriptures. In a previous life, he had been the Golden Cicada
Bodhisattva who was exiled from heaven because he dozed off during one of the
Buddha's sermons.

After centuries of imprisonment, Sun Wukong agreed to protect the monk in

exchange for his freedom. Guanyin gave him three magic hairs that he could transform
into anything such as an army of monkeys to do his bidding. Guanyin gave Xuanzang a
golden headband that would keep the Monkey King under control. If Sun Wukong
became unmanageable, all the monk had to do was say the magic words and the band
would tighten around the monkey's head, causing him severe pain.

Along their journey to India, the two met other disciples recruited by Guanyin:

 The first was a lecherous pig demon with the religious name,Zhü Bajiè. He was
formerly the admiral of the celestial navy who sailed the Millky Way, but he was
later banished from heaven for flirting with a heavenly fairy. His weapon is the War
Rake.

 The second was a dragon prince that Guanyin had saved from execution. He ate
Xuanzang's mount, so he was forced to transform into a horse. He is known as,
Bái Lóng Ma (White Dragon Horse).

 The third and final disciple was a water demon with the religious name, Sha
Wujing. He was formerly a general in heaven, but was exiled to earth for
accidentally breaking a vase. He became the monster of the Flowing Sands River.
His weapon is a monk's spade.

Because Xuanzang had cultivated himself for ten lifetimes, any person who ate his
flesh would become immortal. Therefore, demons constantly sought out the "Longevity
Monk."

Some of the monsters that Sun Wukong faced were:

King of Black Wind

A black bear who turned into a demon. He later became Guanyin's gate guard. His
weapon is a spear.
Bull Demon King
A bull who turned into a demon. He was the Monkey King's friend in the past.
His weapon is a trident.

Lady Iron Fan

Wife of the Bull Demon King; Named for her magic fan which produces hurricane like
winds.

Red Boy
Son of Lady Iron Fan and the Bull Demon King; His weapons are a spear and magic
fire which can destroy anything.

White Bone Demon

An evil spirit who can take on the appearance of any person and discard the disguise at
will, leaving behind a corpse. Her weapons are double swords.

Great King Rhinoceros

The celestial pet ox of the Daoist god Laozi who be came a demon on earth. His weapon
is a magic bracelet that can capture anything. It was originally used by Laozi to capture
Monkey during his rebellion against heaven.

Scorpion Spirit of Pipa Cave

A celestial scorpion that used to listen to the Buddha's sermons in the Western Paradise.
She was exiled to earth for stinging the Buddha. Her weapons are the trident and the
"horse-killing poison" of her stinger.

King Gold Horn and King Silver Horn

The immortal apprentices of Laozi. Their weapon is a magic gourd that sucks up anyone
who speaks before it. It can hold 1,000 souls.

The Azure Lion

The celestial mount of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra who became a demon king on
earth. He has the power to grow to any size. At one point in the story, he captures the
entire celestial army in his mouth.

After 14 years of traveling and fighting malcontents, the group finally made it to
India, where Xuanzang received the scriptures from the Buddha. Upon their return to
China, Xuanzang performed a Buddhist ceremony that released untold numbers of souls
from the torments of hell.

For their efforts, Xuanzang and Sun Wukong are rewarded with Buddhahood, while
Sha Wujing is made an Arhat. Because he remained glutinous and lecherous throughout
the journey, Zhu Bajie is only given the menial title of alter cleaner.