Monkey: A Folk Novel of China

The prince visits his mother in the castle. Upon asking her about her relationship with his father, his mother admits that relations between her and the king have ceased because, according to the king, “things did not work” (182). The prince tells his mother the story he heard from Monkey, showing her the jade tablet, and she admits to having seen the king in a dream. Heading back to the temple, the prince tells Monkey of his conversation with his mother. He adds that he cannot go back to the city, as he has caught nothing in his hunt, so Monkey calls on the local spirits to assist him by providing game for the prince and his men to take home.

Tripitaka and Monkey discuss their next steps, with Monkey manipulating Tripitaka into agreeing with his plan, which involves taking Pigsy along and leaving Tripitaka with only Sandy for protection. Monkey convinces Pigsy to accompany him by mentioning they are after a treasure and that Pigsy “may have it all to [him]self” (187). Monkey and Pigsy sneak into the castle and find the Imperial Garden, where Pigsy removes a banana plant, uncovers the well, and goes down into the water. Once in the water, he finds a Crystal Palace with a dragon king expecting him. Pigsy and the dragon king argue over the “treasure” being a dead king’s body. As Monkey threatens to leave him in the well if he doesn’t carry the body, Pigsy brings it up and carries it to the temple.  

Monkey and Pigsy argue extensively about their mission, ending only when Monkey threatens to beat Pigsy. Pigsy plots revenge on Monkey, convincing Tripitaka to punish Monkey until he agrees to bring the dead man back to life. 

Monkey and Pigsy continue bickering until Monkey leaves for Heaven to find Lao Tzu and ask for elixir, and Pigsy agrees to mourn over the king’s dead body. Lao Tzu is not happy to see Monkey, as he still remembers Monkey’s troublemaking from hundreds of years ago. Lao Tzu decides that if he doesn’t give Monkey what he wants, Monkey will simply come back and take it. Monkey, now with a single grain of Lao Tzu’s life-restoring elixir, returns to the Treasure Wood Temple, where he pours the elixir into the dead king’s throat. Tripitaka notices that the king “needs a supply of breath” and knows that Monkey can provide it (199), so Monkey breathes into the king to revive him. The king thanks Tripitaka, who insists Monkey should be thanked instead, but Monkey laughs off the idea.

The pilgrims disguise the king as one of their own and go to the city, where they appear before the impostor king, who is furious that the priests will not bow to him. Monkey uses magic to freeze the palace guards and tells the true story of Crow-cock, concluding: “The false king who sits on the throne is that foul magician; he that now carries our load is Crow-cock’s rightful king!” (205). Having been exposed, the magician escapes, with Monkey following, then returns and changes himself into a duplicate of Tripitaka. Unable to tell the copies apart, Pigsy suggests Tripitaka should recite the spell that hurts Monkey in order to distinguish them, and he does.

Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy pursue the magician once again, and as they are about to kill him, the Bodhisattva Manjusri appears to reclaim the “magician,” who is actually his own lion. Manjusri explains that the entire episode in Crow-cock is the result of the king having been rude to Manjusri when he was in disguise, and that being thrown in the well was his punishment.