Billions upon billions of years ago, the world was divided into four continents, namely East Continent of Shengshen, West Continent of Niuhe, South Continent of Shanbu and North Continent of Julu. Now, we only say something about East Continent of Shengshen. Off this continent in the vast ocean, there was an isolated island named Aolai Country. Off this country in the vast sea, there was a mountain named Mt. Flower-fruit. Flush and green, with singing birds and fragrant flowers, there existed a rock at the top of the mountain. One day, the rock suddenly burst apart and a stone egg came into being and then turned into a stone monkey. Well-featured with a full set of the five sense organs: ears, eyes, a mouth, a nose and a tongue, and the four limbs as well, the monkey had two mystical eyes with golden light shooting directly into the heavenly palace and therefore disturbed Heaven Emperor.
There were numerous monkeys in the mountain. As a good mixer by nature, joining them and winning their respect, the stone monkey became their leader before long with a brilliant name Monkey King.
山上小猴无数。石猴人缘极佳,迅速赢得尊敬,随即成为群猴之首,且被冠以美猴王之美称。
One day, Monkey King suddenly felt anxious about the problem of birth, age, illness and death. A monkey told him that Buddha, spirits and gods would never die and suggested that he ask them for the secret of immortality. Monkey King therefore set out overseas immediately to look for the secret of an eternal life.
In Shanbu Continent, Monkey King met with the Buddha founder who gave him not only a Buddhist name Sun Wukong but also the secret of living for ever and many unique skills for self-defense such as somersaulting which can let him go 108,000 miles away, changing himself into seventy-two different things and turning hair into monkeys. And the last one is especially amazing. He has 84,000 pieces of hair each of which can be turned into a single little monkey.
Monkey King returned to Mt. Flower-fruit with satisfactory results. Just then, a demon came and challenged to battle. With the unique skills he’d just learned, he defeated the enemy hands down. Although winning a sweeping victory, he felt his weapons far from ideal and then hit upon an idea to look for satisfactory weapons.
One day, Monkey King unexpectedly went into a watercourse and finally entered the dragon palace at the bottom of the sea. Talking with Dragon King for some time, he made clear what he’d come for. Learning his idea of borrowing treasured weapons, Dragon King generously let him to make a free choice. As a result, Monkey King got the sea calming needle, namely the wishful golden cudgel, with the weight of 13,500 pounds. Although so large a cudgel, it can be reduced wishfully to the size of an embroidery needle and therefore can be put into his ears.
With the treasured weapon in his ear, Monkey King went back to Mt. Flower-fruit. But Dragon King’s brothers were rather dissatisfied with this matter and urged Dragon King to lodge a complaint against Monkey King with Heaven Emperor. Afraid that Monkey King would make troubles everywhere on the earth, the Heaven Emperor called the monkey up to the heaven and promised to offer him with high posts and many other favors. The real purpose of Heaven Emperor was to fool the monkey into staying in the heaven. But the monkey was just given a post named Bimawen. Realizing to be actually a negligible officer to look after horses, Monkey King was quite dissatisfied and became so angry that he went back to Mt. Flower-fruit again.
Learning the monkey had left again, The Heaven Emperor sent the Heaven God Li and his third son Nezha to go down to the earth to catch the monkey. Seeing a large vertical banner standing atop Mt. Flower-fruit with the words Qitiandasheng, namely, Saint with equal power with the Heaven Emperor, they were very angry with the monkey because they considered that Monkey King tried to match himself against Heaven Emperor. Always holding a pagoda on his palm, Heaven God Li was regarded as invincible. With six arms and a pair of wind-fire wheels under his feet, Nezha was considered as enormously capable. But neither of them could defeat Monkey King.
Badly defeated and losing the field, the father and the son went back to the heaven. Learning what had happened, Heaven Emperorthe burst into anger. Acting as a peace-maker, Taibai golden star god stepped up and suggested that Heaven Emperor offer Monkey King with a hollow name of Qitiandasheng which didn’t give him any real power. The purpose was only to keep the monkey within Heaven Emperor’s close observation lest he make troubles. Heaven Emperor agreed and sent Taibai golden star god to go down on the earth asking the monkey to come back to the heaven.
Back to the heaven, Monkey King was allowed by Heaven Emperor to call himself Qitiandasheng. But the condition was that he didn’t act wantonly. But loose in conduct by nature, Monkey made mistakes time and again. The most serious one was that one day, as drunk as a lord, he should dare to take food and drink on the sly such as the heavenly wine, peaches and even elixirs which were prepared only for gods. Waking up and realizing he’d started troubles, Monkey King turned a somersault and went back to Mt. Flower-fruit again.
The Heaven Emperor sent the heavenly generals and troops onto the earth to catch the monkey. And this time, with the support of the father of Buddha, Rulai Buddha, Monkey King submitted with a bent head and was taken to the heaven. Being seriously punished, he was put into the elixir-tempering furnace of Taishanglaojun god. Yet, odd enough, tempered forty-nine days, Monkey King wasn’t reduced to ashes but gained a pair of magical eyes instead, which could distinguish truth from falsehood. Monkey King therefore enjoyed another unique skill. Willy-nilly, Heaven Emperor could do nothing but ask the resourceful Rulai Buddha for help.
Rulai Buddha asked Monkey King why he dared to violate the heavenly laws repeatedly. Monkey King said that whoever possessed enormous ability should be Heaven Emperor. He boasted himself that he should replace Heaven Emperor because he was extremely resourceful. Rulai Buddha told Monkey King that Heaven Emperor had been cultivating his moral qualities ever since his childhood and had undergone 1,750 disasters each of which lasted 129,600 years. Only after all these, did he become The Heaven Emperor.
To be asked what sort of abilities he possessed, Monkey King enumerated his unique skills. Hearing this, Rulai Buddha made a bet with Monkey King on their respective abilities. Rulai Buddha said that if Monkey King could escaped his palm, he would certainly let him replace the present the Heaven Emperor, or he should go back onto the earth to temper himself.
Monkey King stealthily laughed: Rulai Buddha’s palm was no larger than a square foot. How he could be unable to escape such a small palm now that he could go 108,000 miles away just by turning a somersault? Isn’t that simply a joke with him? “Are you in a position to decide?” Monkey King asked. “Of course!” said Rulai Buddha. Rulai stretched out his right hand with his palm large as a lotus leaf. Putting his golden cudgel into his ear and bracing up his spirit, Monkey King swiftly jumped into the center of Rulai’s palm. Standing there, he said, “I’m going out!”
Monkey King turned a somersault and vanished immediately. With his penetrating insight, the father of Buddha watched the monkey advancing without stopping like wind. While moving forward, Monkey King found five cloud-capped pillars with the color of flesh. “It’s certainly the end of the earth.” Monkey King said to himself. “ When I go back, Rulai can testify on my behalf. And if so, the post of the Heaven Emperor must belong to me.” But he thought, “Just wait a while. I’ d better make a mark on the pillars so as to show Rulai evidence.”
Taking off a piece of hair from his body and blowing it, Monkey King said, “Change!” The hair turned into a writing brush instantly. He wrote on the middle pillar, “Qitiandasheng visits here.” After writing, he pissed the bottom of the first pillar and then turned a somersault and went back to the original place.
Standing in the center of Rulai’s palm, Monkey King said, “I’ve come back! Ask Heaven Emperor to give me the heaven palace.” “You pissing monkey!” cursed Rulai. “You’ve never been away from my palm!” “You just don’t know,” said the monkey. “I went to the end of the earth and found five cloud-capped and flesh-colored pillars. I made a mark there. Dare to come with me to have a look?” “No need to go,” said the father of Buddha. “Just bend your head and have a look.” Scrutinizing with his magical eyes, Monkey King found the middle finger of Rulai’s right hand bearing the words: Qitiandasheng visits here. And moreover, there is still an awful smell of monkey piss at the crotch of his thumb.
Greatly surprised, Monkey King said to himself, “There should have this sort of things! Evidently I wrote the words onto the cloud-capped pillar. But why were these words written onto his finger? Could it be that he is playing tricks with me with a witch-craft? Absolutely I don’t believe it! I ’m willing to go there again.”
Leaping upward, Monkey King was going to turn a somersault. But just at the moment, Rulai Buddha turned over his palm and gave a swat to Monkey King who was forcibly pushed out of the south heavenly gate. The father of Buddha turned his five fingers into five mountains respectively named Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, all of which were combined into a big mountain named Mt. Wuxing with the meanings of “five elements”. And then, Monkey King was weighed down by Mt. Wuxing.
Learning the good news, Heaven Emperor gave a banquet in honor of all the gods to celebrate the tremendous victory. After the banquet, all gods left the heavenly palace. On his way back, Rulai Buddh met with a patrol goblin. “Monkey King stretched out his head!” reported the patrol goblin. “Never mind,” said the father of Buddha. Taking out a note bearing some mystery codes, he asked the goblin to paste it on the mountain. Showing his kindness, Rulai Buddha invited the earth god to take care of Monkey King. “When the monkey became hungry, you can give him some iron balls to eat. When he became thirsty, you can give him some molten copper to drink.” The father of Buddha said to the earth god. “Whenever his disaster ends up, there will surely be someone to rescue him.”