Then throwing down the ledger, ‘There’s an end of the matter,’ he exclaimed. ‘Now at any rate you’ve got no hold over us!’
So saying he picked up his staff and forced his way out of the Palace of Darkness. The Ten Judges dared not protest; but all went off at once to the Kshitigarbha, Guide of the Dead, and discussed with him the advisability of laying a complaint about the matter before the Jade Emperor in Heaven. AsMonkey rushed naked out of the city, his foot caught in a coil of creeper and he stumbled. He woke with a start, and found that it had all been a dream. Sitting up, he heard the four old monkeys and the others who were mounting guard over him saying, ‘Great King, isn’t it time you woke up? You drank so heavily that you’ve been sleeping here all night.’ ‘I must have dozed off for a time,’ said Monkey, ‘for I dreamt that two men came to arrest me.’ And he told them his dream. ‘I crossed off all our names,’ he said, ‘so the fellows won’t be able to interfere with us any more.’ The monkeys kow-towed and thanked him. From that time onward it has been noticed that many mountain monkeys never grow old. It is because their names were crossed out from the registers of the King of Death.
One morning when the Jade Emperor was sitting in his Golden-doored Cloud Palace, with all his ministers civil and military, an officer announced, ‘Your majesty, the Dragon of the Eastern Sea is outside, with a plea to lay before you.’ The dragon was shown in and when he had paid his respects, a fairy boy presented a document, which the Jade Emperor began to read. ‘This small dragon of the Eastern Sea informs your Majesty that a certain counterfeit Immortal from the Water Curtain Cave has maltreated your servant, forcing a way into his watery home. He demanded a weapon, using gross intimidation, and forced us to give him garments, by violence and outrage. My watery kinsmen were dismayed, tortoises and turtles fled in panic. The Dragon of the South trembled, the Dragon of the West was appalled, the Dragon of the North collapsed. Your servant was obliged to part with a holy iron staff, a phoenix-plume hat, a coat of mail and a pair of cloud-stepping shoes, before we could get rid of him. But even then he threatened us with arms and magic, and called us dirty old sneaks. We are ourselves quite unable to deal with him, and must leave the matter in your hands. We earnestly beg that you will send soldiers to control this pest and restore peace to the World Below the Waves.’
Having read the document, the Jade Emperor gave judgement. ‘The dragon,’ he said, ‘is to return to his sea, andI will send officers to arrest the criminal.’ The Dragon King bowed and retired. Whereupon another officer immediately appeared, announcing that the First Judge of the Dead, supported by Kshitigarbha, the Advocate of the Dead, had arrived with a petition. With them was a fairy girl, who presented a document which read as follows: ‘We respectfully submit that Heaven Above is for spirits, and the Underworld is for ghosts. Darkness and Light must have their succession. Such is the way of Nature, and cannot be changed. But a counterfeit Sage from the Water Curtain Cave has violently resisted our summons, beating to death our emissaries and menacing the Ten Judges. He made an uproar in the Palace of Death, and erased names from our books, so that in future monkeys and apes will enjoy improper longevity. We therefore appeal to your Majesty to show your authority by sending spirit soldiers to deal with this monster, restore the balance of Dark and Light and bring back peace to the Underworld.’
The Jade Emperor gave judgement: ‘The Lords of Darkness are to return to the Underworld, and officers shall be sent to arrest this pest.’ The First Judge of the Dead bowed and retired.
‘How long has this pernicious monkey been in existence ?’ the Jade Emperor asked of his ministers, ‘and how comes it that he
So saying he picked up his staff and forced his way out of the Palace of Darkness. The Ten Judges dared not protest; but all went off at once to the Kshitigarbha, Guide of the Dead, and discussed with him the advisability of laying a complaint about the matter before the Jade Emperor in Heaven. AsMonkey rushed naked out of the city, his foot caught in a coil of creeper and he stumbled. He woke with a start, and found that it had all been a dream. Sitting up, he heard the four old monkeys and the others who were mounting guard over him saying, ‘Great King, isn’t it time you woke up? You drank so heavily that you’ve been sleeping here all night.’ ‘I must have dozed off for a time,’ said Monkey, ‘for I dreamt that two men came to arrest me.’ And he told them his dream. ‘I crossed off all our names,’ he said, ‘so the fellows won’t be able to interfere with us any more.’ The monkeys kow-towed and thanked him. From that time onward it has been noticed that many mountain monkeys never grow old. It is because their names were crossed out from the registers of the King of Death.
One morning when the Jade Emperor was sitting in his Golden-doored Cloud Palace, with all his ministers civil and military, an officer announced, ‘Your majesty, the Dragon of the Eastern Sea is outside, with a plea to lay before you.’ The dragon was shown in and when he had paid his respects, a fairy boy presented a document, which the Jade Emperor began to read. ‘This small dragon of the Eastern Sea informs your Majesty that a certain counterfeit Immortal from the Water Curtain Cave has maltreated your servant, forcing a way into his watery home. He demanded a weapon, using gross intimidation, and forced us to give him garments, by violence and outrage. My watery kinsmen were dismayed, tortoises and turtles fled in panic. The Dragon of the South trembled, the Dragon of the West was appalled, the Dragon of the North collapsed. Your servant was obliged to part with a holy iron staff, a phoenix-plume hat, a coat of mail and a pair of cloud-stepping shoes, before we could get rid of him. But even then he threatened us with arms and magic, and called us dirty old sneaks. We are ourselves quite unable to deal with him, and must leave the matter in your hands. We earnestly beg that you will send soldiers to control this pest and restore peace to the World Below the Waves.’
Having read the document, the Jade Emperor gave judgement. ‘The dragon,’ he said, ‘is to return to his sea, andI will send officers to arrest the criminal.’ The Dragon King bowed and retired. Whereupon another officer immediately appeared, announcing that the First Judge of the Dead, supported by Kshitigarbha, the Advocate of the Dead, had arrived with a petition. With them was a fairy girl, who presented a document which read as follows: ‘We respectfully submit that Heaven Above is for spirits, and the Underworld is for ghosts. Darkness and Light must have their succession. Such is the way of Nature, and cannot be changed. But a counterfeit Sage from the Water Curtain Cave has violently resisted our summons, beating to death our emissaries and menacing the Ten Judges. He made an uproar in the Palace of Death, and erased names from our books, so that in future monkeys and apes will enjoy improper longevity. We therefore appeal to your Majesty to show your authority by sending spirit soldiers to deal with this monster, restore the balance of Dark and Light and bring back peace to the Underworld.’
The Jade Emperor gave judgement: ‘The Lords of Darkness are to return to the Underworld, and officers shall be sent to arrest this pest.’ The First Judge of the Dead bowed and retired.
‘How long has this pernicious monkey been in existence ?’ the Jade Emperor asked of his ministers, ‘and how comes it that he
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