Dragon Cave was especially desirous of testing Aduan. So Aduan danced
alone, and he danced with joy or defiance according to the music. When
he looked up and when he looked down his glances held the beat of the
measure. The Dragon Prince, enchanted with his skill, presented him
with a garment of five colors, and gave him a carbuncle set in golden
threads of fish-beard for a hair-jewel. Aduan bowed his thanks for the
gift, and then also hastened to the western courtyard. There all the
dancers stood in rank and file. Aduan could only look at Rose of
Evening from a distance, but still Rose of Evening returned his
glances.
After a time Aduan gradually slipped to the end of his file and Rose
of Evening also drew near to him, so that they stood only a few feet
away from each other. But the strict rules allowed no confusion in the
ranks, so they could only gaze and let their souls go out to each
other.
Now the butterfly dance followed the others. This was danced by the
boys and girls together, and the pairs were equal in size, age and the
color of their garments. When all the dances had ended, the dancers
marched out with the goose-step. The willow-spray dancers followed the
swallow dancers, and Aduan hastened in advance of his company, while
Rose of Evening lingered along after hers. She turned her head, and
when she spied Aduan she purposely let a coral pin fall from her hair.
Aduan hastily hid it in his sleeve.
When he had returned, he was sick with longing, and could neither eat
nor sleep. Mother Hia brought him all sorts of dainties, looked after
him three or four times a day, and stroked his forehead with loving
care. But his illness did not yield in the least. Mother Hia was
unhappy, and yet helpless.
"The birthday of the King of the Wu River is at hand," said she. "What
is to be done?"
In the twilight there came a boy, who sat down on the edge of Aduan's
bed and chatted with him. He belonged to the butterfly dancers, said
he, and asked casually: "Are you sick because of Rose of Evening?"
Aduan, frightened, asked him how he came to guess it. The other boy
said, with a smile: "Well, because Rose of Evening is in the same case
as yourself."
Disconcerted, Aduan sat up and begged the boy to advise him. "Are you
able to walk?" asked the latter. "If I exert myself," said Aduan, "I
think I could manage it."
So the boy led him to the South. There he opened a gate and they
turned the corner, to the West. Once more the doors of the gate flew
open, and now Aduan saw a lotus field about twenty acres in size. The
lotus flowers were all growing on level earth, and their leaves were
as large as mats and their flowers like umbrellas. The fallen blossoms
covered the ground beneath the stalks to the depth of a foot or more.
The boy led Aduan in and said, "Now first of all sit down for a little
while!" Then he went away.
After a time a beautiful girl thrust aside the lotus flowers and came
into the open. It was Rose of Evening. They looked at each other with
happy timidity, and each told how each had longed for the other. And
they also told each other of their former life. Then they weighted the
lotus-leaves with stones so that they made a cozy retreat, in which
they could be together, and promised to meet each other there every
evening. And then they parted.
Aduan came back and his illness left him. From that time on he met
Rose of Evening every day in the lotus field.
After a few days had passed they had to accompany the Prince of the
Dragon Cave to the birthday festival of the King of the Wu River. The
festival came to an end, and all the dancers returned home. Only, the
King had kept back Rose of Evening and one of the nightingale dancers
to teach the girls in his castle.
Months passed and no news came from Rose of Evening, so that Aduan
went about full of longing and despair. Now Mother Hia went every day
to the castle of the god of the Wu River. So Aduan told her that Rose
of Evening was his cousin, and entreated her to take him along with
her so that he could at least see her a single time. So she took him
along, and let him stay at the lodge-house of the river-god for a few
days. But the indwellers of the castle were so strictly watched that
he could not see Rose of Evening even a single time. Sadly Aduan went
back again.
Another month passed and Aduan, filled with gloomy thoughts, wished
that death might be his portion.
One day Mother Hia came to him full of pity, and began to sympathize
with him. "What a shame," said she, "that Rose of Evening has cast
herself into the river!"
Aduan was extremely frightened, and his tears flowed resistlessly. He
tore his beautiful garments, took his gold and his pearls, and went
out with the sole idea of following his beloved in death. Yet the
waters of the river stood up before him like walls, and no matter how
often he ran against them, head down, they always flung him back.
He did not dare return, since he feared he might be questioned about
his festival garments, and severely punished because he had ruined
them. So he stood there and knew not what to do, while the
perspiration ran down to his ankles. Suddenly, at the foot of the
water-wall he saw a tall tree. Like a monkey he climbed up to its very
top, and then, with all his might, he shot into the waves.
And then, without being wet, he found himself suddenly swimming on
the surface of the river. Unexpectedly the world of men rose up once
more before his dazzled eyes. He swam to the shore, and as he walked
along the river-bank, his thoughts went back to his old mother. He
took a ship and traveled home.
When he reached the village, it seemed to him as though all the houses
in it belonged to another world. The following morning he entered his
mother's house, and as he did so, heard a girl's voice beneath the
window saying: "Your son has come back again!" The voice sounded like
the voice of Rose of Evening, and when she came to greet him at his
mother's side, sure enough, it was Rose of Evening herself.
And in that hour the joy of these two who were so fond of each other
overcame all their sorrow. But in the mother's mind sorrow and doubt,
terror and joy mingled in constant succession in a thousand different
ways.
When Rose of Evening had been in the palace of the river-king, and had
come to realize that she would never see Aduan again, she determined
to die, and flung herself into the waters of the stream. But she was
carried to the surface, and the waves carried and cradled her till a
ship came by and took her aboard. They asked whence she came. Now Rose
of Evening had originally been a celebrated singing girl of Wu, who
had fallen into the river and whose body had never been found. So she
thought to herself that, after all, she could not return to her old
life again. So she answered: "Madame Dsiang, in Dschen-Giang is my
mother-in-law." Then the travelers took passage for her in a ship
which brought her to the place she had mentioned. The widow Dsiang
first said she must be mistaken, but the girl insisted that there was
no mistake, and told Aduan's mother her whole story. Yet, though the
latter was charmed by her surpassing loveliness, she feared that Rose
of Evening was too young to live a widow's life. But the girl was
respectful and industrious, and when she saw that poverty ruled in her
new home, she took her pearls and sold them for a high price. Aduan's
old mother was greatly pleased to see how seriously the girl took her
duties.
Now that Aduan had returned again Rose of Evening could not control
her joy. And even Aduan's old mother cherished the hope that, after
all, perhaps her son had not died. She secretly dug up her son's
grave, yet all his bones were still lying in it. So she questioned
Aduan. And then, for the first time, the latter realized that he was a
departed spirit. Then he feared that Rose of Evening might regard him
with disgust because he was no longer a human being. So he ordered his
mother on no account to speak of it, and this his mother promised.
Then she spread the report in the village that the body which had been
found in the river had not been that of her son at all. Yet she could
not rid herself of the fear that, since Aduan was a departed spirit,
heaven might refuse to send him a child.
In spite of her fear, however, she was able to hold a grandson in her
arms in course of time. When she looked at him, he was no different
from other children, and then her cup of joy was filled to
overflowing.
Rose of Evening gradually became aware of the fact that Aduan was not
really a human being. "Why did you not tell me at once?" said she.
"Departed spirits who wear the garments of the dragon castle, surround
themselves with a soul-casing so heavy in texture that they can no
longer be distinguished from the living. And if one can obtain the
lime made of dragon-horn which is in the castle, then the bones may be
glued together in such wise that flesh and blood will grow over them
again. What a pity that we could not obtain the lime while we were
there!"
Aduan sold his pearl, for which a merchant from foreign parts gave him
an enormous sum. Thus his family grew very wealthy. Once, on his
mother's birthday, he danced with his wife and sang, in order to
please her. The news reached the castle of the Dragon Prince and he
thought to carry off Rose of Evening by force. But Aduan, alarmed,
went to the Prince, and declared that both he and his wife were
departed spirits. They examined him and since he cast no shadow, his
word was taken, and he was not robbed of Rose of Evening.
Note: "Rose of Evening" is one of the most idyllic of
Chinese art fairy-tales. The idea that the departed
spirit throws no shadow has analogies in Norse and other
European fairy-tales.
LXXIV
THE APE SUN WU KUNG
Far, far away to the East, in the midst of the Great Sea there is an
island called the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. And on this mountain
there is a high rock. Now this rock, from the very beginning of the
world, had absorbed all the hidden seed power of heaven and earth and
sun and moon, which endowed it with supernatural creative gifts. One
day the rock burst, and out came an egg of stone. And out of this
stone egg a stone ape was hatched by magic power. When he broke the
shell he bowed to all sides. Then he gradually learned to walk and to
leap, and two streams of golden radiance broke from his eyes which
shot up to the highest of the castles of heaven, so that the Lord of
the Heavens was frightened. So he sent out the two gods,
Thousandmile-Eye and Fine-Ear, to find out what had happened. The two
gods came back and reported: "The rays shine from the eyes of the
stone ape who was hatched out of the egg which came from the magic
rock. There is no reason for uneasiness."
Little by little the ape grew up, ran and leaped about, drank from the
springs in the valleys, ate the flowers and fruits, and time went by
in unconstrained play.
One day, during the summer, when he was seeking coolness, together
with the other apes on the island, they went to the valley to bathe.
There they saw a waterfall which plunged down a high cliff. Said the
apes to each other: "Whoever can force his way through the waterfall,
without suffering injury, shall be our king." The stone ape at once
leaped into the air with joy and cried: "I will pass through!" Then he
closed his eyes, bent down low and leaped through the roar and foam of
the waters. When he opened his eyes once more he saw an iron bridge,
which was shut off from the outer world by the waterfall as though by
a curtain.
At its entrance stood a tablet of stone on which were graven the
words: "This is the heavenly cave behind the water-curtain on the
Blessed Island of Flowers and Fruits." Filled with joy, the stone ape
leaped out again through the waterfall and told the other apes what he
had found. They received the news with great content, and begged the
stone ape to take them there. So the tribe of apes leaped through the
water on the iron bridge, and then crowded into the cave castle where
they found a hearth with a profusion of pots, cups and platters. But
all were made of stone. Then the apes paid homage to the stone ape as
their king, and he was given the name of Handsome King of the Apes. He
appointed long-tailed, ring-tailed and other monkeys to be his
officials and counselors, servants and retainers, and they led a
blissful life on the Mountain, sleeping by night in their cave castle,
keeping away from birds and beasts, and their king enjoyed untroubled
happiness. In this way some three hundred years went by.
One day, when the King of the Apes sat with his subjects at a merry
meal, he suddenly began to weep. Frightened, the apes asked him why he
so suddenly grew sad amid all his bliss. Said the King: "It is true
that we are not subject to the law and rule of man, that birds and
beasts do not dare attack us, yet little by little we grow old and
weak, and some day the hour will strike when Death, the Ancient, will
drag us off! Then we are gone in a moment, and can no longer dwell
upon earth!" When the apes heard these words, they hid their faces and
sobbed. But an old ape, whose arms were connected in such a way that
he could add the length of one to that of the other, stepped forth
from the ranks. In a loud tone of voice he said: "That you have hit
upon this thought, O King, shows the desire to search for truth has
awakened you! Among all living creatures, there are but three kinds
who are exempt from Death's power: the Buddhas, the blessed spirits
and the gods. Whoever attains one of these three grades escapes the
rod of re-birth, and lives as long as the Heavens themselves."
The King of the Apes said: "Where do these three kinds of beings
live?" And the old ape replied: "They live in caves and on holy
mountains in the great world of mortals." The King was pleased when he
heard this, and told his apes that he was going to seek out gods and
sainted spirits in order to learn the road to immortality from them.
The apes dragged up peaches and other fruits and sweet wine to
celebrate the parting banquet, and all made merry together.
On the following morning the Handsome King of the Apes rose very
early, built him a raft of old pine trees and took a bamboo staff for
a pole. Then he climbed on the raft, quite alone, and poled his way
through the Great Sea. Wind and waves were favorable and he reached
Asia. There he went ashore. On the strand he met a fisherman. He at
once stepped up to him, knocked him down, tore off his clothes and put
them on himself. Then he wandered around and visited all famous spots,
went into the market-places, the densely populated cities, learned how
to conduct himself properly, and how to speak and act like a well-bred
human being. Yet his heart was set on learning the teaching of the
Buddhas, the blessed spirits and the holy gods. But the people of the
country in which he was were only concerned with honors and wealth.
Not one of them seemed to care for life. Thus he went about until nine
years had passed by unnoticed. Then he came to the strand of the
Western Sea and it occurred to him: "No doubt there are gods and
saints on the other side of the sea!" So he built another raft,
floated it over the Western Sea and reached the land of the West.
There he let his raft drift, and went ashore. After he had searched
for many days, he suddenly saw a high mountain with deep, quiet
valleys. As the Ape King went toward it, he heard a man singing in the
woods, and the song sounded like one the blessed spirits might sing.
So he hastily entered the wood to see who might be singing. There he
met a wood-chopper at work. The Ape King bowed to him and said:
"Venerable, divine master, I fall down and worship at your feet!" Said
the wood-chopper: "I am only a workman; why do you call me divine
master?" "Then, if you are no blessed god, how comes it you sing that
divine song?" The wood-chopper laughed and said: "You are at home in
music. The song I was singing was really taught me by a saint." "If
you are acquainted with a saint," said the Ape King, "he surely cannot
live far from here. I beg of you to show me the way to his dwelling."
The wood-chopper replied: "It is not far from here. This mountain is
known as the Mountain of the Heart. In it is a cave where dwells a
saint who is called 'The Discerner.' The number of his disciples who
have attained blessedness is countless. He still has some thirty to
forty disciples gathered about him. You need only follow this path
which leads to the South, and you cannot miss his dwelling." The Ape
King thanked the wood-chopper and, sure enough, he came to the cave
which the latter had described to him. The gate was locked and he did
not venture to knock. So he leaped up into a pine tree, picked
pine-cones and devoured the seed. Before long one of the saint's
disciples came and opened the door and said: "What sort of a beast is
it that is making such a noise?" The Ape King leaped down from his
tree, bowed, and said: "I have come in search of truth. I did not
venture to knock." Then the disciple had to laugh and said: "Our
master was seated lost in meditation, when he told me to lead in the
seeker after truth who stood without the gate, and here you really
are. Well, you may come along with me!" The Ape King smoothed his
clothes, put his hat on straight, and stepped in. A long passage led
past magnificent buildings and quiet hidden huts to the place where
the master was sitting upright on a seat of white marble. At his right
and left stood his disciples, ready to serve him. The Ape King flung
himself down on the ground and greeted the master humbly. In answer to
his questions he told him how he had found his way to him. And when he
was asked his name, he said: "I have no name. I am the ape who came
out of the stone." So the master said: "Then I will give you a name. I
name you Sun Wu Kung." The Ape King thanked him, full of joy, and
thereafter he was called Sun Wu Kung. The master ordered his oldest
disciple to instruct Sun Wu Kung in sweeping and cleaning, in going in
and out, in good manners, how to labor in the field and how to water
the gardens. In the course of time he learned to write, to burn
incense and read the sutras. And in this way some six or seven years
went by.
One day the master ascended the seat from which he taught, and began
to speak regarding the great truth. Sun Wu Kung understood the hidden
meaning of his words, and commenced to jerk about and dance in his
joy. The master reproved him: "Sun Wu Kung, you have still not laid
aside your wild nature! What do you mean by carrying on in such an
unfitting manner?" Sun Wu Kung bowed and answered: "I was listening
attentively to you when the meaning of your words was disclosed to my
heart, and without thinking I began to dance for joy. I was not giving
way to my wild nature." Said the master: "If your spirit has really
awakened, then I will announce the great truth to you. But there are
three hundred and sixty ways by means of which one may reach this
truth. Which way shall I teach you?" Said Sun Wu Kung: "Whichever you
will, O Master!" Then the Master asked: "Shall I teach you the way of
magic?" Said Sun Wu Kung: "What does magic teach one?" The Master
replied: "It teaches one to raise up spirits, to question oracles, and
to foretell fortune and misfortune." "Can one secure eternal life by
means of it?" inquired Sun Wu Kung. "No," was the answer. "Then I will
not learn it." "Shall I teach you the sciences?" "What are the
sciences?" "They are the nine schools of the three faiths. You learn
how to read the holy books, pronounce incantations, commune with the
gods, and call the saints to you." "Can one gain eternal life by means
of them?" "No." "Then I will not learn them." "The way of repose is a
very good way." "What is the way of repose?" "It teaches how to live
without nourishment, how to remain quiescent in silent purity, and sit
lost in meditation." "Can one gain eternal life in this way?" "No."
"Then I will not learn it." "The way of deeds is also a good way."
"What does that teach?" "It teaches one to equalize the vital powers,
to practise bodily exercise, to prepare the elixir of life and to hold
one's breath." "Will it give one eternal life?" "Not so." "Then I will
not learn it! I will not learn it!" Thereupon the Master pretended to
be angry, leaped down from his stand, took his cane and scolded: "What
an ape! This he will not learn, and that he will not learn! What are
you waiting to learn, then?" With that he gave him three blows across
the head, retired to his inner chamber, and closed the great door
after him.
The disciples were greatly excited, and overwhelmed Sun Wu Kung with
reproaches. Yet the latter paid no attention to them, but smiled
quietly to himself, for he had understood the riddle which the Master
had given him to solve. And in his heart he thought: "His striking me
over the head three times meant that I was to be ready at the third
watch of the night. His withdrawing to his inner chamber and closing
the great door after him, meant that I was to go in to him by the back
door, and that he would make clear the great truth to me in secret."
Accordingly he waited until evening, and made a pretense of lying down
to sleep with the other disciples. But when the third watch of the
night had come he rose softly and crept to the back door. Sure enough
it stood ajar. He slipped in and stepped before the Master's bed. The
Master was sleeping with his face turned toward the wall, and the ape
did not venture to wake him, but knelt down in front of the bed. After
a time the Master turned around and hummed a stanza to himself:
"A hard, hard grind,
Truth's lesson to expound.
One talks oneself deaf, dumb and blind,
Unless the right man's found."
Then Sun Wu Kung replied: "I am waiting here reverentially!"
The Master flung on his clothes, sat up in bed and said harshly:
"Accursed ape! Why are you not asleep? What are you doing here?"
Sun Wu Kung answered: "Yet you pointed out to me yesterday that I was
to come to you at the third watch of the night, by the back door, in
order to be instructed in the truth. Therefore I have ventured to
come. If you will teach me in the fulness of your grace, I will be
eternally grateful to you."
Thought the Master to himself: "There is real intelligence in this
ape's head, to have made him understand me so well." Then he replied:
"Sun Wu Kung, it shall be granted you! I will speak freely with you.
Come quite close to me, and then I will show you the way to eternal
life."
With that he murmured into his ear a divine, magical incantation to
further the concentration of his vital powers, and explained the
hidden knowledge word for word. Sun Wu Kung listened to him eagerly,
and in a short time had learned it by heart. Then he thanked his
teacher, went out again and lay down to sleep. From that time forward
he practised the right mode of breathing, kept guard over his soul and
spirit, and tamed the natural instincts of his heart. And while he did
so three more years passed by. Then the task was completed.
One day the Master said to him: "Three great dangers still threaten
you. Every one who wishes to accomplish something out of the ordinary
is exposed to them, for he is pursued by the envy of demons and
spirits. And only those who can overcome these three great dangers
live as long as the heavens."
Then Sun Wu Kung was frightened and asked: "Is there any means of
protection against these dangers?"
Then the Master again murmured a secret incantation into his ear, by
means of which he gained the power to transform himself seventy-two
times.
And when no more than a few days had passed Sun Wu Kung had learned
the art.
One day the Master was walking before the cave in the company of his
disciples. He called Sun Wu Kung up to him and asked: "What progress
have you made with your art? Can you fly already?"
"Yes, indeed," said the ape.
"Then let me see you do so."
The ape leaped into the air to a distance of five or six feet from the
ground. Clouds formed beneath his feet, and he was able to walk on
them for several hundred yards. Then he was forced to drop down to
earth again.
The Master said with a smile: "I call that crawling around on the
clouds, not floating on them, as do the gods and saints who fly over
the whole world in a single day. I will teach you the magic
incantation for turning somersaults on the clouds. If you turn one of
those somersaults you advance eighteen thousand miles at a clip."
Sun Wu Kung thanked him, full of joy, and from that time on he was
able to move without limitation of space in any direction.
One day Sun Wu Kung was sitting together with the other disciples
under the pine-tree by the gate, discussing the secrets of their
teachings. Finally they asked him to show them some of his
transforming arts. Sun Wu Kung could not keep his secret to himself,
and agreed to do so.
With a smile he said: "Just set me a task! What do you wish me to
change myself into?"
They said: "Turn yourself into a pine-tree."