Reading Notes Week 7: The Monkey King, Part A

Bibliography: Excerpt from The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921). Source.

The Monkey King by Yoshitoshi. Source.

A mountain on the island "Mountain of Flowers and Fruits" contains a high rock that absorbed power since the beginning of time. The rock opened to reveal a stone egg, the egg opened to reveal a stone ape who absorbed the power from the high rock. The Lord of the Heavens noticed this power and freaked out and from the two gods he sent, they told him about the stone ape.

The stone ape plays with other apes and found a waterfall. Stone ape made it through the waterfall so he was dubbed "Handsome King of the Apes." He lived happily with his subjects for 300 years.

The Handsome King of the Apes realized that mortality was a thing, so all they apes were sad about how one day they would die. An elder ape mentioned that the Buddhas, blessed spirits and gods don't die and aren't reborn. The Monkey King wants to know how to become one of the three.

The Monkey King travels and arrives in Asia, disguised as a human but for 9 years he did not see anyone who cared about life. The monkey king then decided to cross the western sea. He arrives in the land of the west and meets a woodchopper who knows a song from a spirit named 'The Discerner'  that lives in a mountain called the Mountain of the Heart. The Discerner gives Sun Wu Kung his name. Sun Wu Kung foes chores for multiple years and when the spirit starts a lesson, Sun Wu Kung was so happy that he understood that he danced. The Discerner offers multiple more lessons, but Sun Wu Kung rejects them since they will not lead to immortal life.

The Discerner whacks Sun Wu Kung on the head who interprets it as a message to learn how to obtain immortal life. Sun Wu Kung follows the message and the Discerner is impressed that Sun Wu Kung understood the message and decides to teach him the way to immortality. Sun Wu Kung must face more dangers.

Sun Wu Kung shows off to classmates and the Discerner sends him away for it. Back home at the island, Sun Wu Kung hears about a kidnapper: the Devil-King of Chaos. Sun Wu Kung defeats him and saves the children.

Sun Wu Kung trains apes to protect themselves and decides they may be seen as a threat. Sun Wu Kung is offered to buy metal for weapons but instead, Sun Wu Kung decides to steal from the armory. Sun Wu Kung can not find a weapon that suits him because they are all too light. He eventually gets a legendary weapon that can grow and shrink at his will and demands armor as well from the Dragon-King.

Sun Wu Kung starts an empire but wakes up in the Nether World. He erases his and his family's deaths from the Book of Life. Now the are all immortal.

Retelling Ideas;

The Discerner did not give a special signal to Sun Wu Kung but gives hum a mission anyways to get rid of him. Later the Dicerner hears about the exploits of someone calling himself the Great Saint, only to realize he is none other than Sun Wu Kung. The Discerner is happy he made Sun Wu Kung promise not to tell anyone that he is the Discerner's former pupil.