Monkey King's Amazing Adventures. Wu Cheng'en

      3

      Monkey Visits the Dragon King

      THE MONKEY KING RETURNED HOME with honors. Having killed the Disturber of the World’s Peace, he took away his great sword and daily practiced with it. He taught the monkeys how to use it, how to make wooden swords to cut bananas and thistles, and how to build a camp. They played at this for a long time. One day when sitting quietly he suddenly thought, “Perhaps this sham fight may become a real one. We may excite the fear of a human king, or of a king of the birds, or of the king of beasts, and they may say that we are practicing military affairs in order to rebel and lead forth an army to kill. How can we get something better than these wooden weapons?” On hearing this, all the monkeys were filled with fear. Then four great monkeys, two red tailed and two long armed, went up and said, “Great King, if you wish sharp instruments, that is easy. Two hundred li to the south of us, across the water, on the borders of Aolai, there is a city full of soldiers. They have workers in copper and iron. If you go there you can buy or have made weapons with which we can practice for the defense of our mountain, and then we shall have nothing to fear.”

      On hearing this, the Seeker of Secrets was full of joy. He leaped to the clouds and was there in a minute. The city had streets and markets and business, both small and great, a very busy place. The Seeker of Secrets thought, “Here there must be plenty of ready made weapons. I will go down and buy them. But perhaps I had better use my magic power.” He pronounced an incantation and drew in his breath, and then blew it out. Then there arose a tremendous cyclone blowing sand and stones, and the people of Aolai were so terrified that they shut their doors, as none dare stay outside. The Seeker of Secrets then descended from the clouds, went to the armory and burst open the doors. Inside were eighteen kinds of weapons, all complete. He rejoiced greatly at the sight. “But I cannot take many alone. I had better call my monkeys by magic.” Then he plucked a hair, chewed it into bits, and blew them out with an incantation, and many thousands of monkeys appeared. They cleared the armory of all the weapons, took them through the air, and returned home with them.

      Then the Monkey King shook his body, put back the hair and set up the weapons in a heap and called the monkeys together to choose their arms. They came and struggled to get knives and swords, hatchets and spears, bows and arrows, and with these they played all day. Next day they were called to drill as usual, and their king numbered them and found them to be over 47,000. This frightened all the beasts of the mountain. The elf chiefs of the 72 caves on the mountain came to do homage to the Monkey King, and brought their yearly tribute. They were drilled every season, and all paid their taxes regularly, till the Mountain Garden became an iron city, where they drilled daily for military purposes.

      In the midst of this splendid success, however, the Monkey King said, “I am not satisfied. My sword is very blunt, what shall we do?” The four elder monkeys came forward and said, “Oh Great King, you are an Immortal Sage, and all human weapons are of no use to you. But we do not know if you can live under water.” The Seeker of Secrets said, “Since I discovered the secret of life I know seventy-two magic transformations. I can ride through the air like lightning; I can make myself invisible; I can ascend to high Heaven or descend into the depths of the earth; I can walk in sunlight or moonlight without throwing a shadow; I can go through metals or stones; water cannot drown me, fire cannot burn me. I am in possession of all these powers.” The four elder monkeys said, “Since the Great King has all these magic powers, and the water under our iron bridge flows to the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea, if you are willing to go down that water in search of the Venerable Dragon King, and ask him for a weapon, you may get what you want.” The Seeker of Secrets rejoiced on hearing this and said, “I will go.”

      He jumped on the bridge, recited an incantation, dived and traveled to the Eastern Ocean under the water. As he went he met some water elves, who wished to stop him and asked him, “Tell us what Holy Sage you are, so that we may announce your arrival.” The Monkey King said, “I am Sun, the Seeker of Secrets, a natural Sage from the Mountain Garden, a neighbor of your Venerable Dragon King. How is it that you do not know me?” The water elves, on hearing this, quickly turned and announced him at the Crystal Palace saying, “Outside there is a natural Sage from the Mountain Garden, named Sun the Seeker of Secrets. He says he is your Majesty’s neighbor and comes to see you.” The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea hurried out to meet him and said, “Honored Sage, please enter.” They entered in and saluted each other. After being seated and served with tea, the Dragon King said, “Honored Sage, when did you find the Secret of Life? And what Magic Arts do you possess?” The Seeker of Secrets replied, “After I was born I left home to study religion and discovered secrets without beginning or end, and now I have returned to train my children to defend the Mountain Cave. But alas, I have no weapons. I have long heard that in your jeweled palace there must be abundance of splendid weapons; I have come to beg one of you.”

      On hearing this, the Dragon King, unwilling to refuse, ordered one of his officers to bring one of the biggest swords and present it to him. The Seeker of Secrets said, “I am not used to swords, please let me have something else.” The Dragon King ordered another officer to carry out the nine-pronged fork for him. The Monkey King received it and tried its weight. He then put it down and said, “Too light, too light, I beg of you again to get me another.” The Dragon King laughed and said, “Do you not know that this is 3,600 catties in weight?” The Seeker of Secrets said, “It is no use for my arm, no use at all.” The Dragon King began to fear and ordered his general to carry out the spear that was 7,200 catties in weight. The Seeker of Secrets took it into his hand and made a few thrusts with it and said, “This is far too light.” The Dragon King now feared greatly and said, “This is the heaviest spear I have. I have no other weapons.” The Seeker of Secrets laughed and said, “The ancients had a saying that no one need trouble the Dragon Kings unless they bring precious things. Please search once more, and see if there be a suitable weapon, and I will buy it.” The Dragon King said, “Really there are no more.”

      Just as he was speaking, two beautiful women came in at the back door saying, “Great King, this is a great Sage and not an ordinary being. In the sea storehouse there is that miraculous iron from the River of Heaven. Today it sparkles with light as if it desired to come forth to meet this Sage. It is the rod of the great Yu, who regulated the waters of the deluge and judged of the depth of the water.” “It is just a divining rod, of what use is that?” The women replied, “No matter whether it be of use or not, let him have it and do what he likes with it.” The Dragon King told the Seeker of Secrets, who said, “Let me see it.” The Dragon King shook his head and said, “It cannot be carried, it cannot even be moved, it is so heavy. Honored Sage, you must go and see it yourself.” The Seeker of Secrets said, “Lead me to it.”

      The Dragon King took him to the ocean storehouse, and there were innumerable rays of light radiating from it in all directions. The Dragon King said, “That is it, lying there!’” The Seeker of Secrets went up close and touched it. It was an iron pillar as stout as a bushel measure and over 20 feet long. He stretched both his arms around it, then said, “It is a little too stout and too long. If shorter, it would do.” At the sound of these words the precious pillar became a few feet shorter and thinner. The Monkey King tried its weight again and said, “Still a little smaller, it would be better.” Then it became a fraction smaller. The Seeker of Secrets was greatly delighted at this. Then he took it out of the storehouse to look at it, and behold at each end were golden prongs, but in the middle between the prongs it was black iron, on which was engraved its name “As You Like It.” It weighed 13,500 catties. He rejoiced greatly in his heart and thought, “This is a precious thing, such as I wish!” As he walked away, he wished the pillar shorter and thinner, so as to be more convenient. He carried it away. When he arrived outside, it was only 12 feet long and about the diameter of a rice bowl. At the sight of him walking about the Crystal Palace with this magic