The Star-Lord of Venus and the Handsome Monkey King came forth together from the depths of the grotto-heaven and rose as one upon the clouds. But Wukong's somersault cloud was unlike the others' — so swift that it flung the Star-Lord far behind, and he reached the gate of the Southern Heaven first.
Just as he meant to rein in his cloud and press ahead, Heavenly King Virūḍhaka blocked the gate and would not let him pass, leading the mighty heavenly troops — Páng, Liú, Gǒu, Bì, Dèng, Xīn, Zhāng and Táo — with spears, sabers, swords and halberds.
“This Star-Lord is a crafty old schemer!” said the Monkey King. “He himself summoned me — so why has he set men here to brandish blade and spear and bar my way?”
In the midst of his shouting the Star-Lord arrived in a flash, and Wukong rounded on him face to face. “You old codger — how dare you trick me?” he said hotly. “You said you came bearing the Jade Emperor's edict of amnesty to summon me, so why have you set these men to bar the gate of Heaven and keep me out?”
“Calm your anger, Great King,” said the Star-Lord with a smile. “You have never come to this heavenly hall before; you have no name upon its rolls, and the heavenly troops have never met you — how could they let you barge in? Once you have seen the Most Honored One, received your immortal's register and had your office entered, you may come and go as you please thereafter, and who would bar you then?”
“Put that way — fine,” said Wukong. “I won't go in.”
The Star-Lord caught hold of his hand again. “Come in along with me, won't you.”
Nearing the gate, he called out loudly, “You gate-wardens, generals and officers great and small — clear the way! This is an immortal of the lower world; I come by the Jade Emperor's holy command to usher him in.”
Only then did Heavenly King Virūḍhaka and the host of troops draw back their weapons and stand aside. The Monkey King, now trusting his words, stepped slowly inside alongside the Star-Lord to take it all in. And truly it was a sight to behold —
First setting foot in the upper world,
all at once he entered the halls of Heaven.
Ten thousand shafts of golden light came tumbling through rose-red rainbows,
a thousand strands of auspicious vapor breathed out into purple mist.
He looked upon the Southern Gate of Heaven:
deep blue-green, all wrought of glazed lapis;
bright and dazzling, fashioned of precious jade.
On either hand stood ranks of dozens of Heaven-quelling marshals — each propping the ridge-beams and leaning on the pillars, gripping bright blades and holding plumed standards;
below were arrayed a dozen or more warriors in golden mail — each bearing pike and hanging whip, gripping saber and brandishing sword.
The outer courts were striking enough;
but within, the sight astonished:
along the inner walls rose great pillars, coiled about with sun-bright, scarlet-bearded dragons of golden scale;
and there were long bridges, on which wheeled and circled rainbow-plumed, crimson-crested phoenixes soaring into the void.
Bright wisps of cloud-glow lit the heavenly light,
blue-green mists hung dense and veiled the Dipper's mouth.
In this Heaven there are thirty-three celestial palaces — the Cloud-Dispatch Palace, the Vaiśravaṇa Palace, the Five-Brightness Palace, the Sun Palace, the Flower-Joy Palace, and the rest — each palace-ridge crowned with a beast of molten gold;
and there are seventy-two tiers of treasure-halls — the Court-Assembly Hall, the Void-Transcending Hall, the Jeweled-Radiance Hall, the Heavenly Kings' Hall, the Numinous Officers' Hall, and the rest — each colonnade ranged with jade qilin.
On the Terrace of the Star of Longevity bloom famed flowers that for a thousand thousand years never fade;
by the elixir-refining furnace grow embroidered grasses that through ten thousand ages stay ever green.
Coming again before the Tower of Sacred Audience:
crimson gauze robes, their constellations ablaze;
lotus-blossom caps, their gold and jade resplendent.
Jade hairpins and pearl-sewn slippers,
purple seal-cords and golden insignia.
When the golden bell is struck, the spirits' memorials of the Three Bureaus ascend the vermilion steps;
when the heavenly drum sounds, the myriad sages pay court and attend upon the Jade Emperor.
Coming again to the Hall of Numinous Mists:
golden studs cluster the jade door,
painted phoenixes dance at the cinnabar gate.
Galleried walks and winding corridors, everywhere intricate and translucent;
triple eaves and fourfold brackets, tier upon tier where dragons and phoenixes wheel in flight.
Above hangs a purple-towering, bright-flashing, perfectly round and gleaming great golden gourd-finial.
Below stand sky-consorts holding aloft the fans, jade maidens bearing the immortal kerchiefs, fierce-glaring generals who marshal the court, high-spirited ministers who guard the throne.
At the very center:
within a lapis dish are heaped, layer upon layer, the Pills of the Great One;
in an agate vase are set sprays of winding, twisting coral.
Truly, every rare thing of the heavenly palace it holds,
while in the world below not one of them is found.
Gold towers and silver bell-carriages stand amid the purple courts,
jasper flowers and jade grasses join the kingfisher blooms.
Past the altar's edge the Jade Hare goes paying court,
skimming the depths below, the Golden Crow flies to attend the sage.
The Monkey King has the lot to come into this heavenly realm,
and falls not back into the human world's speck of filthy mud.
The Star-Lord of Venus led the Handsome Monkey King to the front of the Hall of Numinous Mists and, without waiting for the summons to be announced, brought him straight before the throne to make obeisance. Wukong drew himself up at his side and, instead of performing the court bow, merely cocked an ear to listen as the Star-Lord made his report.
“In obedience to the holy command,” the Star-Lord reported, “I have summoned the demon-immortal, and here he is.”
From behind his beaded screen the Jade Emperor asked, “Which one is the demon-immortal?”
Only then did Wukong bend at the waist. “This here is Old Sun,” he answered.
The immortal ministers all went pale with shock. “This wild monkey — how is it he neither prostrates himself in homage nor even kneels, yet dares answer like this, 'This here is Old Sun'? He deserves to die! He deserves to die!”
The Jade Emperor handed down his decree: “This Sun Wukong is a demon-immortal of the lower world, newly come into human form and ignorant of court ritual. We shall pardon his offense for now.”
“Our thanks for your grace,” cried the immortal ministers; and only then did the Monkey King raise his voice in a great salute toward the throne.
The Jade Emperor called on the ministers of the civil and military boards to find which post anywhere was short-handed, and to appoint Sun Wukong to it. From the side stepped the Star-Lord Wǔqū. “In the palaces and halls of Heaven,” he reported, “in every quarter and every office, there is no shortage of officials — only the Imperial Stable wants a supervisor for its main hall.”
“Then appoint him Bìmǎwēn,” the Jade Emperor decreed, “and have done.”
The assembled ministers cried their thanks for the grace, and he too merely raised his voice in a great salute toward the throne. The Jade Emperor further dispatched the Star-Official of Wood-Virtue to escort him to take up his post at the Imperial Stable; and the Monkey King, all delight, went off with him straight to his post. The business done, the Star-Official of Wood-Virtue returned to his palace.
There in the Stable Wukong gathered the assistant and vice directors, the registrar, the grooms and the staff great and small, looked into the affairs of the office, and found there were just one thousand heavenly horses. They were these:
Flame-Bay and Thoroughbred,
Green-Ears and Xiānlí;
Dragon-Sire and Purple Swallow,
Wing-Tucker and Sùshuāng;
Juétí and Silver-Gé,
Yǎoniǎo and Flying Yellow;
Táotú and Wing-Overturner,
Red Hare and Light-Outrunner;
Radiance-Surpasser and Shadow-Spanner,
Mist-Mounter and Surpassing-Yellow;
Wind-Chaser and Earth-Spurner,
Flying Pinion and Empyrean-Dasher;
Drifting-Free and Red Lightning,
Bronze Sparrow and Floating Cloud;
Dapple-Roan and Tiger-Lā,
Dust-Outstripper and Purple-Scale; …
the steeds of the Four Poles and of Ferghana, the Eight Coursers and the Nine Racers, peerless among the thousand-lǐ horses.
Steeds such as these —
every one of them, snorting at the wind and chasing the lightning, robust in spirit,
treading the mist and mounting the cloud, long in strength.
The Monkey King looked over the records and tallied the number of horses. In the directorate, the registrar saw to requisitioning fodder; the grooms saw to currying the horses, binding straw, watering and boiling feed; the assistant and deputy directors oversaw and pressed the work along.
Bìmǎwēn slept neither day nor night, nourishing the horses. By day his frolicking was tolerable enough, but by night he tended them with care: those that lay down he drove up to graze, and those that strayed he caught and brought back to the trough. The heavenly horses, seeing him, flattened their ears and drew in their hooves, and so he kept them fat and sleek of flank. Before he knew it, a fortnight and more had passed.
One day at leisure the directorate's officers laid out a banquet, both to welcome him and to offer congratulations. In the midst of the merry drinking the Monkey King suddenly set down his cup. “This Bìmǎwēn of mine — what rank of office is it?” he asked.
“The office is just what its name says,” they said.
“And what grade is this office?” he asked again.
“It has no grade at all.”
“No grade,” said the Monkey King. “Then I suppose it must be great beyond measure?”
“Not great, not great,” they said. “It's merely called 'below the ranks.'”
“What do you mean, 'below the ranks'?” said the Monkey King.
“The lowest grade,” they said. “This is the meanest, smallest of posts — fit only for keeping horses. Even when one such as Your Honor, having taken office, tends them this diligently and feeds them fat, the most you earn is someone saying 'good'; and if they grow at all thin and weak, you are called to account; and if they are badly hurt, you are fined, made to make it good, and charged with the crime.”
Hearing this, the Monkey King felt fire leap up in his heart, and gnashing his teeth he raged, “So this is the contempt they hold old Wukong in! On Flower-Fruit Mountain I am called king and patriarch — how dare they trick me into coming to tend their horses? Horse-tending is the base drudgery of juniors and menials — is that how I am to be treated? I'll not do it, I'll not do it — I am leaving!”
With a sudden whoosh he overturned the official table, drew the treasure from his ear, gave it a shake until it was as thick as a bowl, and with a flourish of his routines fought his way straight out of the Imperial Stable and on to the Southern Gate of Heaven. The heavenly troops, knowing he had received the immortal's register and was a Bìmǎwēn, did not dare bar him, and let him fight his way out through the gate and away.
In a moment he brought his cloud down and returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain, where he saw the Four Mighty Generals and the demon-kings of the various caves drilling their troops on the field.
“Little ones,” the Monkey King called out in a ringing voice, “old Wukong is back!”
The whole troop of monkeys came to kowtow, ushered him into the depths of the grotto-heaven, begged him to take his high seat, and on one side laid out wine to welcome him.
“Congratulations, Great King!” they all said. “You went up to the heavenly realm for a dozen years and more — you must have come home in triumph?”
“It's been but a fortnight and a little more,” said the Monkey King. “Where do you get a dozen years?”
“Great King, up in Heaven you don't feel the passing hours,” said the monkeys. “One day in Heaven is a whole year in the world below. May we ask, Great King — what office did you hold?”
The Monkey King waved his hand. “Don't ask, don't ask — it shames a man to death. That Jade Emperor doesn't know how to use people. Seeing old Wukong's look, he made me some kind of 'Bìmǎwēn' — which turned out to be tending his horses, a thing below the very ranks. At first I didn't know, and just larked about in the Imperial Stable; only when I asked my colleagues today did I learn how base it was. In a fury I overturned the table, refused the office, and so came back down.”
“Well come home, well come home!” said the monkeys. “Here in this blessed grotto-heaven the Great King reigns — what honor and ease! Why would you go and be a groom for him?”
He bade the little ones quickly fetch wine to dispel the Great King's gloom.
As they were merrily drinking, someone came to report, “Great King, outside the gate are two single-horned demon-kings asking to see you.”
“Show them in,” said the Monkey King. The demon-kings straightened their robes, hurried into the cave and threw themselves down to bow.
“What do you come to see me about?” the Handsome Monkey King asked them.
“Long have we heard that the Great King seeks out the worthy,” they said, “but we had no way to gain an audience. Now, seeing that the Great King has received a heavenly register and come home in triumph, we present an ochre-yellow robe to offer our congratulations. If you will not scorn our lowliness and will take us in, we too may render the service of dog and horse.”
Greatly pleased, the Monkey King put on the ochre robe, and the assembled host joyfully drew up in ranks to pay homage. He at once appointed the Demon-Kings Vanguard Commanders of the front division.
Their thanks done, the Demon-Kings spoke again: “The Great King was so long in Heaven — what office were you granted?”
“The Jade Emperor slights the worthy,” said the Monkey King. “He made me some kind of 'Bìmǎwēn.'”
Hearing this, the Demon-Kings reported further, “With such powers as the Great King's, why tend his horses? Why not style yourself Great Sage Equal to Heaven — what could be wrong with that?”
Hearing it, the Monkey King was overjoyed beyond bearing, and said again and again, “Good! Good! Good!”
Then he bade the Four Mighty Generals, “Quickly set up a banner for me, and on it write the four great characters 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven'; raise the pole and hang it out. From now on call me only Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and no longer Great King. Let this be passed to the demon-kings of all the caves, that every one may know it.” Of this no more need be said.
Now the Jade Emperor held court the next day, when he saw the Celestial Master Zhang lead the assistant and deputy directors of the Imperial Stable to bow at the foot of the vermilion steps and report, “Your Majesty, the newly appointed Bìmǎwēn, Sun Wukong, disliking the smallness of his office, rebelled and went down from the Heavenly Palace yesterday.”
Even as he spoke, Heavenly King Virūḍhaka appeared outside the Southern Gate, leading the host of heavenly troops, and reported likewise: “For reasons unknown, Bìmǎwēn has fled out through the gate of Heaven.”
Hearing this, the Jade Emperor at once decreed, “Let the two parties of divine officers return each to his post. I shall send heavenly soldiers to seize this fiend.”
From the ranks stepped Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Lǐ and the Third Prince Nezha, who, breaking from their place, reported up, “Your Majesty, unworthy as we are, we beg the command to subdue this monster.”
Greatly pleased, the Jade Emperor at once made Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Lǐ Jìng Grand Marshal Demon-Queller, and the Third Prince Nezha Great Spirit of the Three Altars and the Sea Assembly, and bade them raise an army and descend to the lower world at once. Heavenly King Lǐ and Nezha kowtowed their thanks and took their leave, went straight to their own palace, mustered the three armies, marshaled their captains, and set the Mighty-Spirit God as vanguard, the Fish-Belly General to bring up the rear and the Yakṣa General to urge the troops on. In an instant they passed out beyond the Southern Gate and came straight to Flower-Fruit Mountain, where they chose a level, sunlit spot, pitched camp, and gave the order for the Mighty-Spirit God to give challenge.
Receiving the order, the Mighty-Spirit God geared himself up, gripped his blossom-bossed axe and reached the outside of the Water-Curtain Cave. There he saw many demons before the little cave mouth — all manner of wolves, serpents, tigers and leopards — jagged and bristling, swinging spears and waving swords, leaping and brawling and roaring.
The Mighty-Spirit God bellowed, “You cursed beasts! Be quick and report to Bìmǎwēn: I am a great general of upper Heaven, come by the Jade Emperor's command to subdue him; let him come out at once and submit, and spare you all from ruin.”
The demons rushed about in a panic and carried the report into the cave: “Disaster! Disaster!”
“What disaster?” the Monkey King asked.
“Outside the gate is a heavenly general who calls out the Great Sage's title,” said the demons, “and says that, by the Jade Emperor's holy command, he has come to subdue you. He bids you come out at once and submit, to spare our lives.”
Hearing this, the Monkey King ordered, “Fetch me my armor.” He put on the purple-gold crown, donned the golden mail, stepped into the cloud-treading shoes, took the As-You-Will gold-banded cudgel in hand, led out his host and drew up his battle array.
The Mighty-Spirit God opened his eyes wide and looked — truly a fine Monkey King:
His body sheathed in golden mail, all agleam,
his head crowned with a golden cap, bright and flashing.
In his hand he hefts the gold-banded cudgel,
his feet tread cloud-shoes, all of a matching set.
A pair of fierce eyes like gleaming stars,
two ears past his shoulders, jutting and hard.
A wiry frame, rich in transformations;
a voice ringing clear as bell and chime.
Pointed snout and bared fangs — the stable-keeper Bìmǎwēn,
his heart set high on being the Sage Equal to Heaven.
“You reckless ape!” the Mighty-Spirit God shouted in a ringing voice. “Do you know me?”
The Great Sage, hearing this, asked at once, “What sort of nobody-spirit are you? Old Wukong has never met you — be quick and tell me your name.”
“I'll get you, you deceitful baboon! So you don't know me,” said the Mighty-Spirit God. “I am the vanguard general Mighty-Spirit, under Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Lǐ of the High Empyrean, come this day by the Jade Emperor's holy command to subdue you. Strip off your trappings at once and submit to Heaven's grace, and spare the beasts of this whole mountain from slaughter; but say half a 'no,' and in an instant I'll grind you to powder.”
Hearing this, the Monkey King was enraged. “You reckless nobody-spirit! Don't brag with that big mouth, don't wag that long tongue. I'd have killed you with one blow of my cudgel, but then there'd be no one to carry word back. So I'll spare your life: hurry back to Heaven and tell the Jade Emperor that he badly fails to use the worthy. Old Wukong has boundless powers — why have me tend his horses? Look at the title on this banner of mine: if he promotes me by it, I'll set down my weapons and Heaven and earth will be at peace of themselves; but if he won't, then in no time I'll fight my way up to the Hall of Miraculous Mist and leave him unable to keep his dragon-throne.”
Hearing these words, the Mighty-Spirit God hurriedly opened his eyes and looked into the wind, and indeed saw outside the gate a tall pole raised, and on the pole a banner, on which was written “Great Sage Equal to Heaven,” four great characters.
The Mighty-Spirit God gave three cold laughs. “This reckless ape! So ignorant of his place, so brazen and unruly — you would be a Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Be so good as to take my axe!” And he hacked straight at his head.
But the Monkey King, an old hand and unhurried, met it square with his gold-banded cudgel. What a fight this was:
The cudgel named As-You-Will,
the axe styled Blossom-Boss.
The two of them, meeting for the first time, knew nothing of each other's depth; axe and cudgel crossed and clashed, left and right.
The one hid marvels of divine craft,
the other boasted with a great loud mouth.
When the magic was loosed — clouds spat, mist dimmed;
when the hands were opened — earth flung, sand scattered.
The heavenly general's powers had their method indeed,
but the Monkey King's transformations were truly without bound.
The cudgel raised was like a dragon at play in water,
the axe coming on like a phoenix threading flowers.
Mighty-Spirit's fame was renowned across the world,
but his skill, it turned out, was no match for the other's:
the Great Sage lightly swung his iron cudgel,
and one touch to the head left him numb from head to foot.
The Mighty-Spirit God could not withstand him. Struck by the Monkey King's cudgel full at the head, he hurriedly raised his axe to parry — and with a crack the axe-handle was broken clean in two; he wheeled in haste and fled the field for his life.
The Monkey King laughed. “Milksop! Milksop! I've spared you already — be quick and carry the word, be quick and carry the word.”
The Mighty-Spirit God returned to the camp gate, went straight to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, and hastily knelt with a nervous laugh: “Bìmǎwēn's powers are indeed vast and far-reaching; this lowly general could not best him, and has come back beaten to beg for punishment.”
Heavenly King Lǐ flew into a rage: “This wretch has blunted my army's spirit — drag him out and behead him!”
From the side stepped Prince Nezha, who bowed and pleaded, “Father, calm your anger and pardon Mighty-Spirit's fault for now. Wait till your child goes out to battle once, and we'll know the measure of him.”
The Heavenly King heeded the remonstrance and ordered Mighty-Spirit back to camp, on probation, to make himself useful. Prince Nezha, his armor and helm trim and complete, leapt out of the camp and charged up to the Water-Curtain Cave. Wukong, just then coming to call in his troops, saw him approaching, bold and fierce — a fine prince:
His child's tufts barely cover his crown,
his draping hair not yet reaching his shoulders.
Marvelously quick and keen of mind,
his bones fine, his features clear and fair.
Truly a qilin-child of Heaven above,
indeed a rosy-mist phoenix immortal.
Of dragon stock, his nature no common cast,
in tender years plainly unlike the dust-bound world.
On his body he bears six kinds of divine arms,
his soaring and shape-shifting boundlessly wide.
Now he has received the Jade Emperor's golden-mouthed decree,
commissioned of the Sea Assembly, titled of the Three Altars.
Wukong came up close. “Whose lad are you?” he asked. “You barge up to my gate — what's your business?”
“Reckless demon-ape!” Nezha bellowed. “Don't you know me? I am the Third Prince Nezha, son of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, come by the Jade Emperor's commission to take you.”
Wukong laughed. “Little prince, your milk-teeth aren't out yet and your baby-down isn't dry — how dare you talk so big? I'll spare your life for now and not strike you. Just look at the title on my banner, and report it up to the Jade Emperor: grant me that rank, and there'll be no need to trouble the host again — I'll submit of myself; but if my wish isn't met, I'll surely fight my way up to the Hall of Miraculous Mist.”
Nezha raised his head and looked: it was “Great Sage Equal to Heaven,” four characters.
“What great powers does this demon-ape have,” said Nezha, “that he dares style himself with such a title? Don't be afraid — take my sword!”
“I'll just stand here and not move,” said Wukong. “Hack away with a few strokes if you like.”
Nezha, roused to fury, gave a great shout and cried, “Change!” He changed at once into three heads and six arms, fierce and savage, his hands gripping six weapons — the demon-beheading sword, the demon-hacking saber, the demon-binding rope, the demon-quelling pestle, the embroidered ball and the fire-wheel — jagged and bristling, and rushed straight at his face to strike.
Seeing this, Wukong was startled. “This little fellow does have some tricks after all,” he said. “No insolence, now — watch my powers.”
The fine Great Sage cried out, “Change!” He too changed into three heads and six arms; he gave the gold-banded cudgel a shake, and it too became three, and with six hands gripping three cudgels he held the prince off. This bout — truly the earth shook and the mountains swayed; what a fight it was:
Six-armed Prince Nezha,
the heaven-born Handsome-Stone Monkey King —
meeting, a true match for each other,
they had found their very source and stream.
That one, sent down by command to the lower world;
this one, with overweening heart, troubling the very stars.
The demon-beheading sword, its edge keen,
the demon-hacking saber so fierce that gods and ghosts grieved;
the demon-binding rope like a flying python,
the demon-quelling pestle like a wolf's head;
the fire-wheel flashing lightning, blazing bright,
and to and fro the embroidered ball came rolling.
The Great Sage's three As-You-Will cudgels,
warding front and blocking back, plied with stratagem.
They fought hard, bout after bout, with neither above the other,
and the prince in his heart would not give up.
He took his six weapons and made them all transform —
by the hundreds, thousands, millions, hurled at the head.
The Monkey King, unafraid, laughed aloud,
his iron cudgel tumbling and turning at his own command.
From one he made a thousand, from a thousand ten thousand,
filling the sky with their wild dance, rivaling soaring dragons.
So frightened that the demon-kings of every cave shut their doors,
and across the mountain the goblins all hid their heads.
The divine soldiers' fury, clouds grim and dark;
the gold-banded iron cudgel whistling and whirring.
On that side, the heavenly troops shouted, and every man afraid;
on this side, the monkey-fiends waved flags, and every one anxious.
Roused to fury, the two sides vied in valor alike,
and none could tell which was the stronger, which the softer.
The Third Prince and Wukong each gave free rein to their divine might, fighting some thirty rounds. The prince's six weapons multiplied into thousands upon thousands; Sun Wukong's gold-banded cudgel multiplied into tens of thousands upon thousands. In mid-air they were like raindrops and shooting stars, neither winning nor losing.
Now Wukong, quick of hand and sharp of eye, in the very thick of the melee plucked out a single hair and cried, “Change!” — and it changed into his own true likeness, holding a cudgel and sparring with Nezha, while his real body gave a leap, slipped behind Nezha's head and brought a cudgel down on his left arm.
Nezha, in the midst of working his magic, heard the wind of the cudgel-head; he tried to dodge in haste but could not get his guard up, and was struck a blow — and fled, nursing the pain. He undid his magic, drew his six weapons back into his body as before, and retreated beaten.
On the field Heavenly King Lǐ had already seen it and was anxious to bring up his troops to help, when, before he knew it, the prince was suddenly before him, reporting with a tremble, “Father, Bìmǎwēn truly has skill; with all my magic power I still could not beat him, and he has already wounded my arm.”
The Heavenly King turned pale with shock: “If this wretch has such powers, how are we to win?”
“Outside his cave he has raised a pole and a flag,” said the prince, “on which is written 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven,' four characters. He boasts with his own mouth that the Jade Emperor must appoint him Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and then all will be well; but if it is not that title, he will surely fight his way up to the Hall of Miraculous Mist.”
“If that is how it is,” said the Heavenly King, “let us not contend with him for now, but go up to the heavenly realm, report these words back, and send down more heavenly soldiers to surround and seize this wretch — it will not be too late.”
The prince, nursing his pain, could fight no more, and so returned to Heaven with the Heavenly King to make their report — of which no more for now.
See now the Monkey King, victorious, return to his mountain, where the demon-kings of the seventy-two caves and his six sworn brothers all came to offer congratulations, and in the grotto-heaven of blessings they drank and made merry beyond compare.
He then said to his six brothers, “Since your little brother styles himself Great Sage Equal to Heaven, you too may each take the title of Great Sage.”
“Worthy brother, what you say is right,” the Bull Demon King suddenly cried out among them. “I shall style myself Great Sage Pacifying Heaven.”
“I shall style myself Great Sage Overturning the Sea,” said the Flood-Dragon Demon King.
“I shall style myself Great Sage Confounding Heaven,” said the Roc Demon King.
“I shall style myself Great Sage Moving Mountains,” said the Lion-Lynx King.
“I shall style myself Great Sage Penetrating the Winds,” said the Macaque King.
“I shall style myself Great Sage Driving the Spirits,” said the Snub-Nosed-Monkey King.
At this the Seven Great Sages did just as they pleased, named and titled themselves at will, made merry for a day, and then each dispersed.
Now Heavenly King Lǐ and the Third Prince, leading their generals, came straight to the Hall of Miraculous Mist and reported, “We, your servants, took the field below by holy command to subdue the demon-immortal Sun Wukong; but unexpectedly his powers are vast and far-reaching, and we could not prevail. We still beg Your Majesty to add troops and root him out.”
“I should think one demon-ape — how much skill can he have,” said the Jade Emperor, “that you ask for more troops?”
The prince came forward again and reported, “We beg Your Majesty to pardon our mortal offense. That demon-ape wields a single iron cudgel: first he beat the Mighty-Spirit God, then he wounded our arm. Outside his cave he has set up a flag, on which is written 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven,' four characters. He says that if he is granted that office he will lay down arms and come over; but if it is not that post, he will fight his way up to the Hall of Miraculous Mist.”
The Jade Emperor, hearing this, said in astonishment, “How dare this demon-ape be so insolent? Let the generals put him to death at once.”
Even as he spoke, the Star-Lord Venus stepped from the ranks and reported, “That demon-ape knows only how to talk, with no sense of high or low. To send troops to fight him would, I think, not subdue him for the present, and would only weary the army again. Better that Your Majesty show great mercy and send down instead a decree of amnesty, appointing him a Great Sage Equal to Heaven — granting him only an empty title, an office with rank but no stipend, and let that be the end of it.”
“What do you mean by 'an office with rank but no stipend'?” said the Jade Emperor.
“The name would be Great Sage Equal to Heaven,” said the Star-Lord, “only with no affairs to manage and no salary given him; keep him idle in the space between Heaven and earth, gather in his unruly heart, and let no wild ambition breed — so that the cosmos may be at peace and the realm within the seas attain quiet.”
The Jade Emperor, hearing this, said, “We shall do as you propose.” He at once ordered a decree drawn up, and again had the Star-Lord take it down.
The Star-Lord again went out by the Southern Gate and came straight to the Water-Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain to look. This time it was unlike before: the air bristled with martial might and killing menace, and demons of every kind, of no sort lacking. Each and every one gripped sword and leveled spear, held saber and brandished staff, roaring and leaping there; and the moment they saw the Star-Lord, they all rushed up to lay hands on him.
“You captains there, come,” said the Star-Lord. “I must trouble you to go and report to your Great Sage: I am a heavenly envoy sent by the High Emperor, with a holy decree here to summon him.”
The demons ran in at once to report, “Outside there is an old man who says he is an envoy from the heavenly realm, with a decree to summon you.”
“Well come, well come!” said Wukong. “It must be that Star-Lord Venus who came before. That time he invited me up to Heaven — though the post was beneath me, still I made the trip aloft and learned the roads within and without the heavenly gate. His coming again now must mean good news.”
He bade his captains throw wide the flags and drums and draw up ranks to welcome him. The Great Sage at once led his monkeys out, his crown on his head and his mail on, an ochre-yellow robe over the mail and cloud-shoes on his feet; he hurried out the cave mouth, bowed, and called aloud, “Venerable Star, please come in — forgive my failure to welcome you properly.”
The Star-Lord stepped briskly forward, went straight into the cave, and standing facing south said, “I now inform the Great Sage: before, because the Great Sage disliked the smallness of his office and slipped away from the Imperial Stable, the officers great and small of that bureau reported it to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor decreed, 'In all conferral of office one rises from low to high — why disdain a small one?' Then Heavenly King Lǐ led Nezha down to give battle. Not knowing the Great Sage's powers, they met defeat, and returning to Heaven reported, 'The Great Sage has raised a flag and means to be Great Sage Equal to Heaven.' The generals would still have temporized, but it was this old man who, at the risk of blame, strove on the Great Sage's behalf and memorialized that the army be spared and the Great King be invested. The Jade Emperor approved the memorial, and so I have come to invite you.”
Wukong laughed. “You were put to trouble last time, and now you favor me again — many thanks, many thanks! But I wonder, will Heaven grant me the office and title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven?”
“It was with that very title,” said the Star-Lord, “that this old man got the memorial approved before I dared accept the decree and come; if it is not granted, let the blame fall on this old man alone.”
Wukong, greatly pleased, would not be kept for the feast he was pressed to stay for, but rode the auspicious clouds with the Star-Lord out beyond the Southern Gate, where the heavenly troops and generals all raised clasped hands to welcome them. They went straight in below the Hall of Miraculous Mist, and the Star-Lord bowed and reported, “By command your servant has summoned the Bìmǎwēn, Sun Wukong, who has now arrived.”
“Come forward, Sun Wukong,” said the Jade Emperor. “Today We proclaim you a Great Sage Equal to Heaven — your rank is of the highest. But on no account misbehave.”
The monkey merely made a salute up toward the throne and uttered a “We thank you for your grace.”
The Jade Emperor then ordered the works-officers, the two guilds of Zhang and Lu, to raise — to the right of the Peach Garden — an Equal-to-Heaven Great Sage Mansion, and within the mansion to set up two offices: one called the Office of Tranquility, one the Office of Calmed Spirit, each with its immortal clerks attending left and right. He further sent the Five-Dipper Star-Lords to escort Wukong to his post, and bestowed besides two bottles of imperial wine and ten golden flowers, charging him to settle his heart and steady his will, and misbehave no more.
The Monkey King received and obeyed it all, and that very day went to his mansion with the Five-Dipper Star-Lords, opened the wine-bottles, and drank his fill with the company. He saw the Star-Lords back to their own palaces, and only then, his heart content and his wishes full, joyful as earth and glad as heaven, he took his ease in the Heavenly Palace, free of all cares and hindrances. Thus it is that:
His immortal name is forever entered in the Register of Long Life,
no more to fall in the wheel of rebirth, passed down through all the ages.
After all, there is no knowing what is to come hereafter; listen to the next chapter told.