a white horse—a transformed dragon—for Hsüan-tsang to ride, and the disciples Pigsy and Sandy, both originally monsters who submit at Kuan-yin's urging after a fight with Monkey. Master and disciples proceed along the road to the West, encountering monster after monster. All are dispatched by the entourage's fighting skills or are converted to Buddhism through the intervention of Kuan-yin and other divinities. Eventually, after passing through the appointed eighty-one trials, they obtain the scriptures, then are whisked to China and back to the Buddha's Vulture Peak retreat. Monkey and Hsüan-tsang are made buddhas and the others, saints of lesser orders.
After its publication in 1596, Journey to the West was admired for both its story and its allegories of Buddhist and Taoist teachings. Tung Yüeh found in chapters fifty-nine through sixty-one an incident that inspired him to expand the original's scope in both aspects. In that episode, the pilgrims come to a very hot land where everything is scorched red. They are told that a flaming mountain, from which the area derives its name, changed the climate to eternal broiling summer. Monkey learns that Lady Rakshas possesses a Banana-leaf Fan capable of blowing out the flames and goes to her cave to ask for it. But because Monkey and Kuan-yin had earlier defeated her son, the Red Boy, Monkey instead must face the fan in battle. He loses the first round and is blown thousands of miles away—right to the abode of a bodhisattva from whom he receives a wind-resistant staff and heaviness pills. Now able to withstand Lady Rakshas' assaults, he forces her into her cave, then changes into an insect and enters her belly. There he rampages until she is tortured into surrendering the fan. When he attempts to put out the flaming mountain, however, the flames only leap higher, and the local tutelary deity informs him he has been deceived by a fake fan. What's more, he learns that it was he himself who started the fire when he tipped over the Eight Trigram Cauldron some five hundred years earlier.
Monkey decides to use his sworn brotherhood with the Demon Bull King, Lady Rakshas' estranged husband, to capture the real fan. As before, though, he confronts an adversary incensed over the Red Boy matter. They fight until the Bull King retires from the field. Monkey assumes the Bull King's form, steals his chariot, and calls on Lady Rakshas. Hoping to lure her “husband” away from his mistress and back home for good, she brings out wine and attempts to seduce him. Monkey plays along to the extent of drinking with her, then turns the conversation to the fan and suggests she give it to him for safekeeping. Once he has it, he returns to his own form and leaves. The Demon Bull King, realizing what has happened, changes into Pigsy and tricks Monkey into giving back the fan. But he cannot fan Monkey away, due to the heaviness pills, and the fight is on again. It rages until Monkey and the real Pigsy smash into Lady Rakshas' cave.
The Bull King tries to flee but finds himself cut off in all directions by Buddhist and Taoist deities; he is finally led away with a rope through his nose. The story ends well: The fire is put out and the proper orderingof the seasons returns to the land; the Bull King is led back to the Buddha land, and a reformed Lady Rakshas asks that the fan be returned to her. This Monkey does reluctantly, and the pilgrimage continues westward.
Interpretations of THE TOWER OF MYRIAD MIRRORS
The flaming mountain story typifies Wu Ch'eng-en's method of handling obstacles encountered on the pilgrimage. A crisis occurs, Hsüan-tsang is helpless, and so Monkey takes over and battles whatever monster is responsible, until, often with divine aid, the fight is won. Thus, as Tung Yüeh's “Answers to Questions” preface (see Appendix ) states, Monkey's first recourse is always his superior power. He deals only with the external surface of each situation, and in an
After its publication in 1596, Journey to the West was admired for both its story and its allegories of Buddhist and Taoist teachings. Tung Yüeh found in chapters fifty-nine through sixty-one an incident that inspired him to expand the original's scope in both aspects. In that episode, the pilgrims come to a very hot land where everything is scorched red. They are told that a flaming mountain, from which the area derives its name, changed the climate to eternal broiling summer. Monkey learns that Lady Rakshas possesses a Banana-leaf Fan capable of blowing out the flames and goes to her cave to ask for it. But because Monkey and Kuan-yin had earlier defeated her son, the Red Boy, Monkey instead must face the fan in battle. He loses the first round and is blown thousands of miles away—right to the abode of a bodhisattva from whom he receives a wind-resistant staff and heaviness pills. Now able to withstand Lady Rakshas' assaults, he forces her into her cave, then changes into an insect and enters her belly. There he rampages until she is tortured into surrendering the fan. When he attempts to put out the flaming mountain, however, the flames only leap higher, and the local tutelary deity informs him he has been deceived by a fake fan. What's more, he learns that it was he himself who started the fire when he tipped over the Eight Trigram Cauldron some five hundred years earlier.
Monkey decides to use his sworn brotherhood with the Demon Bull King, Lady Rakshas' estranged husband, to capture the real fan. As before, though, he confronts an adversary incensed over the Red Boy matter. They fight until the Bull King retires from the field. Monkey assumes the Bull King's form, steals his chariot, and calls on Lady Rakshas. Hoping to lure her “husband” away from his mistress and back home for good, she brings out wine and attempts to seduce him. Monkey plays along to the extent of drinking with her, then turns the conversation to the fan and suggests she give it to him for safekeeping. Once he has it, he returns to his own form and leaves. The Demon Bull King, realizing what has happened, changes into Pigsy and tricks Monkey into giving back the fan. But he cannot fan Monkey away, due to the heaviness pills, and the fight is on again. It rages until Monkey and the real Pigsy smash into Lady Rakshas' cave.
The Bull King tries to flee but finds himself cut off in all directions by Buddhist and Taoist deities; he is finally led away with a rope through his nose. The story ends well: The fire is put out and the proper orderingof the seasons returns to the land; the Bull King is led back to the Buddha land, and a reformed Lady Rakshas asks that the fan be returned to her. This Monkey does reluctantly, and the pilgrimage continues westward.
Interpretations of THE TOWER OF MYRIAD MIRRORS
The flaming mountain story typifies Wu Ch'eng-en's method of handling obstacles encountered on the pilgrimage. A crisis occurs, Hsüan-tsang is helpless, and so Monkey takes over and battles whatever monster is responsible, until, often with divine aid, the fight is won. Thus, as Tung Yüeh's “Answers to Questions” preface (see Appendix ) states, Monkey's first recourse is always his superior power. He deals only with the external surface of each situation, and in an
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