“Journey to the West” Wu Cheng-yen in brief summary
Xuanzang from childhood was ordained a monk, and possessed only one desire: to comprehend the great teaching of the Buddha. The most gracious goddess Guanyin long ago, at the behest of the Buddha, sought a man who could go for sacred books and bring them to China. Such a man turned out to be a virtuous Tang monk Xuanzang, who went at the will of the goddess and with the permission of the emperor to the West, to distant India.
On the way, the monk met the monkey Sun Wukong. Five hundred years ago, he caused a rowdy in the Heavenly Palace, and the only way to get rid of punishment was for him to go on a pilgrimage for holy books and help Xuanzang on his difficult path.
Many obstacles were encountered by travelers. Once they collided with a terrible werewolf, entirely covered with black stubble, with a pork snout and huge ears. A fight arose between Sun Wukong and the werewolf, but after learning about the purpose of the pilgrimage, he reconciled and volunteered to accompany
The Tang monk and his disciples, overcoming the machinations of evil forces, moved to the West, until the river flowing sands blocked the way. As soon as the pilgrims approached, the river became swollen and a monster emerged from the water, ugly and ferocious in appearance. Monkey and boar entered into battle with him, but could not overcome. I had to ask for help from the goddess Guanyin. When the travelers, at the suggestion of the goddess, called the werewolf his monastic name, he at once subsumed and volunteered to accompany them to India. They called him Shasen.
Days and nights the pilgrims walked almost without a break. Many terrible demons had to be avoided. Once they were blocked by a high mountain, the abode of fierce monsters who devoured the travelers. Sun Wukong went to the reconnaissance and found out: in the Lotus Cave live two demon lords, trapping secret signs of wandering monks.
Meanwhile, demons and werewolves did not doze. They found out about our travelers and even stocked up their images, so as not to eat anyone else. They
But the demons were more interested in the Tansk monk. They went on a quest and collided with Sun Wukong. He looked so menacing that the demons were frightened and decided to act cunning. One of them turned into a traveling Taoist monk and began to call for help. Xuanzang caught the bait. Learning that the Tao had injured his leg, he ordered Sun Wukong to put him on zakorki and take him to a monastery.
The monkey solved the demon trick, but the werewolf instantly uttered a spell, and three heavy mountains pressed Sun to the ground, while the Demon grabbed the monk. Shasen rushed to the rescue. The battle began to boil. Then Shasen fell into the hands of a werewolf, who drew his prey into the cave. It remained to catch the monkey.
But Sun Wukong managed to free himself from the mountains that had crushed him and took the form of an immortal Taoist. Wanted him demons, he said that he was looking for a malignant monkey. He so confused their heads with their tricks that they voluntarily gave him a magic pumpkin, with whose help they were going to catch him. Afraid of punishment, the demons returned to the cave, and Sun, turning into a fly, followed them and discovered all their secrets.
It turned out that the main talisman – the golden cord – is kept by an old sorceress, the mother of one of the demons. The messengers were immediately equipped for him. Only Sun Wukong outwitted everyone: he killed the messengers, dealt with the witch, and then, having taken on her appearance, entered the cave to the demons.
While the imaginary witch was talking to the owners of the cave, the werewolves sniffed about deception. A demon named Silver-horn put on armor and entered into battle with Sun Wukong. The monkey had a golden cord stolen from the sorceress, but she did not know the secret spell, led by the demon. Here is the one who managed to twist the Monkey King and tie it to the ceiling beam. Only Sun, pulling out his wool, blew on it, it turned into a file with which he cut his fetters. And then the Tang monk and his companions freed.
But this did not end the trials that fell to the lot of the pilgrims. Evil forces took up arms against the supporters of true doctrine, in order to prevent them from getting holy books.
Once the travelers saw a huge mountain. It seemed that she eclipsed the sun and rested against the firmament. Suddenly a red cloud burst out of the gorge, rose to the sky, and fire flared up in the sky. The monkey king realized that the evil spirit was watching them. And in fact, the local werewolf waited a long time for the Tang monk, intending to devour him and become immortal. But he realized that teachers guard brave students and without cunning it can not do. He pretended to be an abandoned child and began to cry for help. However, Sun Wukong was able to recognize the evil spirit and warned Xuanzang. Then the werewolf raised a rabid hurricane. The Tansk monk did not sit on horseback, fell off his horse and immediately fell into the hands of the villain, who instantly rushed off with precious prey. Sun Wukong, although he recognized the machinations of evil forces, did not have time to do anything.
I had to start looking. The monkey king learned that the werewolf was called the Red Baby and he lives in the cave of the Fiery Clouds. They went there together with Shasen and summoned the kidnapper to battle. Twenty times rivals converged, fought on the ground, soared into the skies. Finally the werewolf started to run, but, having appeared in his cave, uttered a spell, and immediately all around was covered with a terrible flame.
Sun Sunrise had to ride the cloud, rush to the eastern sea for help. There, the brothers-dragons caused a downpour, but the fire was not simple, but sacred, and the water flared up more and more. The werewolf breathed smoke on Sun Wukong, and he had to flee from the battlefield, and to escape from the ring of fire, the King of Monkeys rushed into the mountain stream. Hardly caught by his faithful associates – Shasen and Zhu Bazze. To defeat the terrible werewolf was possible only with the help of the goddess Guanyin. Since Sun Wukong felt sick, Zhu Batsze went to the goddess, but the werewolf cunningly enticed him into his cave, pushed it into a bag and hung it to the beam, intending to feed his children.
When Sun Wukong guessed what had happened, he rushed to the rescue. In the cave he got deceived and, turning into a fly, sat down on a beam near the bag with Zhu Batsze. The werewolf meanwhile was about to arrange a feast. He decided to devour the Tang monk. It was necessary to hurry to the goddess Guanyin for help.
Together with the goddess, the Monkey King returned to the Fire Cave and summoned the werewolf to the battle. As he boasted, this time he had to tight. The goddess pierced his body with a thousand swords, and then turned them into hooks so that the villain did not pull them out of themselves. Then the Red Baby asked for mercy. Sun Wukong and Shasen rushed into the cave, killed all the werewolves and freed the teacher and Zhu Batsze.
After a little rest, the travelers went on. Spring and summer passed, autumn came. Pilgrims spent the night under the open sky, suffered thirst and hunger. Once the path was blocked by a river, very deep and so wide that there was no visible opposite shore. I had to ask the local people for help. They said that they live in contentment, they have plenty of them, but the werewolf who tortures them with celestial moisture torments their terrible villain. In exchange for fertile rains he demands that the peasants sacrifice to him the children – each time one boy and one girl. Our fears for and just appeared in the village on the eve of another victim, and the family that sheltered them for the night was supposed to bring it.
To help trouble woke Sun Wukong and Zhu Batsze, who took the form of a boy and a girl and in this form appeared before the cannibal. But as soon as he approached, they attacked him and began courting with a pitchfork and a staff. The werewolf barely managed to hide in the waters of the river.
In the underwater palace, he called a council, having conceived the idea of catching the Tang monk – this was the only way to get rid of his mighty companions. They decided to cover the river with ice, and when the pilgrims begin the crossing, the ice will crack and Xuanzang will be at the bottom. And they did. Learning that the river was, the travelers rejoiced – this in fact greatly facilitated the crossing. But everything happened as the werewolf and his henchmen conceived. The Tansk monk collapsed under the ice, he was seized and pushed into a box to eat later.
However, Xuanzang’s assistants were not slumbering. Sun Wukong rushed to the goddess Guanyin, and she again came to the pilgrims to help. She threw a basket into the river on her golden belt and caught a goldfish. It turned out that the fish – this is the werewolf. Meanwhile, Zhu Batsze and Shasen, paving their way in the water, were looking for a teacher. All werewolves-fish were lying dead. Finally they opened the box and rescued Xuanzang. And across the river they were transported by a huge turtle.
Ahead of them were waiting for new tests. What did not the evil forces think up to bring down the Tang monk from the true path! Once they blocked impenetrable prickly thickets. Zhu Batsze spoke the spell, grew almost to the skies and began to clear the passage. The teacher followed, and the others helped Zhu. It seemed that there would be no end to edge. Suddenly an old temple appeared in front of them, the gate opened and a venerable abbot appeared on the threshold. No sooner had Xuanzang responded to the greeting, as a gust of wind came and swept him away. And the abbot caught a trace. The four elders, the werewolves, who lured the teachers to themselves, were seemingly godly. They even suggested that the Tansk monk read poems to each other. Soon appeared their friend – Apricot fairy and began to seduce Xuanzang. Here and werewolves all unanimously began to persuade the monk to abandon the trip and marry the fairy. Then they began to threaten him. The teacher had to call for the help of the students, who had long been trying to find him and arrived just in time. The elders and the fairy disappeared somewhere. Sun Wukong was the first to guess everything and showed the old trees growing nearby. Zhu Batsze, without hesitation, hit them with pitchforks, and then ditched their roots with his snout. Blood appeared on the roots. These werewolves had to be destroyed. Otherwise, taking a new look in the future, they could oh, how to annoy people. growing nearby. Zhu Batsze, without hesitation, hit them with pitchforks, and then ditched their roots with his snout. Blood appeared on the roots. These werewolves had to be destroyed. Otherwise, taking a new look in the future, they could oh, how to annoy people. growing nearby. Zhu Batsze, without hesitation, hit them with pitchforks, and then ditched their roots with his snout. Blood appeared on the roots. These werewolves had to be destroyed. Otherwise, taking a new look in the future, they could oh, how to annoy people.
So, Xuanzang escaped temptation and along with his companions continued the way to the West. It was summer again. One day, when, withering from the heat, the travelers moved along the willow-lined road, a woman appeared before them, saying that there was a state in front, whose ruler was destroying Buddhist monks. The king of monkeys immediately recognized in the woman the goddess Guanyin. Then, turning into a butterfly, he flew to a nearby town for reconnaissance. Soon, at the inn, he saw how the merchants, lying down to sleep, took off their clothes. Sun Wukong decided that the travelers would penetrate the city in the guise of merchants, and stealthily stole their clothes.
The dressed-up pilgrims, posing as horse-traders, settled in the hotel to stay. True, they feared other people’s views and demanded that the hostess have a separate room. Nothing better than a huge chest was not found. I had to settle in it for the night.
The hotel servants were conspiring with the bandits. At night they let the intruders into the hotel courtyard, and those who did not find the best food, decided that the chest was full of good, and set out to kidnap him. The city guard started off in pursuit. The robbers in fear abandoned the prey and fled. The cache was taken to the city government, sealed, going to do an inquiry in the morning.
Sun Wukong pulled out his wool, turned it into a drill, drilled a hole in the hole, turned into an ant and got out. He took his real face and set off for the palace. There, he tore all the wool from his left shoulder, and turned every wool into his exact likeness. He uttered a spell, and instead of a staff, there was a darkness-shining sharp razor. Sung Wukong’s countless twins, snatching razors, set off through the city and to the palace, where they shaved everyone, starting with the ruler.
In the morning, a stir in the palace began: its inhabitants suddenly turned out to be monks. The ruler immediately realized that this was his punishment for the ruined monks of life. It was necessary to give a solemn oath never to kill monks again. It was then that they reported about the lara found at night. But now the ruler met the pilgrims with great honor, and they unobstructed continued their journey.
And once there were pilgrims visiting the ruler of the Yashmov district in the land of Heavenly Bamboo. The sons of the ruler have dreamed of learning from the Tang monk satellites for martial arts, for which the armourer had ordered a magic weapon. The sample was served by: a staff with a gold hoop of Sun Wukong, a nine-tooth fork with Zhu Batsze and Shasen’s staff, smashing evil spirit. These are the magic items, and the werewolf from Barsova Mountain, from the cave of the Tiger, was stolen directly from the weapons workshop.
As always, Sun Wukong went to the reconnaissance. Two werewolves met him on the way to the Barsova Hill. From the overheard conversation, the Monkey King realized that the werewolves had been sent to buy provisions for a feast in honor of the weapons they had found. Sun breathed a magical breath on them, and they froze in place, unable to move. Sun Wu-kun and Zhu Bajie took the appearance of werewolves enchanted by Sun, and Shasen portrayed a trader with cattle, with whom they allegedly did not have enough money to pay for the purchase. So they appeared on the Barsov Hill, driving before them pigs and bulls for a feast.
The main werewolf believed in deception, and our cunning people managed to get hold of the stolen weapon. Already they did not spare anybody, but raskoloshmatali all the devil’s nest. It turned out that all these are werewolves of different animals – tigers, wolves, foxes, and the leader is a werewolf of a yellow lion. He managed to escape and rushed to help his grandfather, also a werewolf lion. He collected his army from werewolf lions and went to battle.
Under the walls of the city, Xuanzang’s companions and werewolves-lions of all stripes came face to face. The battle lasted all day. By the evening Zhu Batsze was weakened, and his werewolves were seized.
The next day, one of the werewolves abducted from the city of Tansk monk, the governor of the district and his sons. And when Sun and Shasen went to look for him, they were attacked by an old werewolf, with eight heads with huge toothy mouths at once. Each clung to our fighters, and they were captured.
At night, Sun Wukong, free of the bonds, rushed for help. He managed to find someone who once was the lord of the old lion, the lord of Tayy, who lived in the palace of the Mysterious rocks near the eastern edge of the sky. He, having learned that the Great Sage accompanies the Tang monk to the West, without hesitation agreed to go to earth to pacify the Nine-headed Lion.
When they arrived at the cave, Sun lured a werewolf out of there, and the servant of Lord Taya began to pound the fact that there was urine. Then the lord saddled the lion, jumped on the cloud and returned home. Sun Wukong rescued the captives, and they all returned to the city, where a magnificent feast was set in their honor.
Soon the travelers took to the road. They still had to go and go, although the end of their journey was already near.
And then came the day when the pilgrims finally reached their destination. Before them towered the monastery of Buddha – the Miraculous Mountain with the ancient monastery and the temple of Thunder Raskats. Four travelers came to the throne of the Buddha, fell prostrate, banged their foreheads several times on the ground and only after that they told that they arrived at the behest of the ruler of the great Tang state located in the eastern lands, behind the books of sacred teaching, in order to extend it to the benefit of all living beings.
The Buddha immediately commanded his attendants to accompany the travelers to the Pearl Tower and open to them a Precious Chamber with books. There, the pilgrims began to select the necessary – in all they received five thousand forty-eight notebooks – as many days spent on the road. It was a complete set of Buddhist teachings. They neatly folded them, put them on their horse, and there are still books left on one yoke. The Tang monk went to thank the Buddha for his generous gift, and the pilgrims set out on their return journey.
Ahead of them were waiting for new tests. No sooner had they approached the Heavenly River, a whirlwind struck, the sky darkened, lightning flashed, sand and stones began to spin, a terrible storm broke out, which only died down by morning. Sun Wukong was the first to guess that this Earth and Heaven can not be reconciled with the success of the pilgrimage, the deities and spirits envy, dreaming of stealing precious luggage. But nothing could stop our heroes.
It should be said that the Tang emperor, having sent Xuanzang to the West, ordered the construction of a “Tower for Waiting for the Holy Books” near the capital and every year it was raised. He ascended the tower and the day the pilgrims returned. First there was a radiance in the west, then a divine scent was built up, and travelers came down from heaven.
Xuanzang told the emperor that from the capital to the monastery of the Buddha so far that during this time fourteen times the winter cold was replaced by summer heat. The path was blocked by mountain slopes, rugged rivers, dense forests. Then the monk introduced his loyal companions to the sovereign, and a great feast began.
But that is not all. Pilgrims had to receive rewards from the Buddha himself. In an instant they were taken back to his palace. All of them were rewarded according to their merits. The Tang monk became the Buddha of the Virtuous Merit of the Sandalwood Tree, Sun Wukong received the title of the Victorious Buddha, Zhu Bajie – the Messenger, the purifier of the altars, and Shasen became the Golden Arhat.
This concludes the story of the pilgrimage of the Tang monk and his three disciples to the West. Many trials fell to their lot, but they defeated the evil, and good triumphed!
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