The Guardian of the Gate of Heaven
Li, the Pagoda-bearer
In Buddhist temples there is to be seen a richly attired figure of
a man holding in his hand a model of a pagoda. He is Li, the Prime
Minister of Heaven and father of No-cha.
He was a general under the tyrant Chou and commander of Ch'ên-t'ang
Kuan at the time when the bloody war was being waged which resulted
in the extinction of the Yin dynasty.
No-cha is one of the most frequently mentioned heroes in Chinese
romance; he is represented in one account as being Yü Huang's
shield-bearer, sixty feet in height, his three heads with nine
eyes crowned by a golden wheel, his eight hands each holding a
magic weapon, and his mouth vomiting blue clouds. At the sound of
his Voice, we are told, the heavens shook and the foundations of the
earth trembled. His duty was to bring into submission all the demons
which desolated the world.
His birth was in this wise. Li Ching's wife, Yin Shih, bore him three
sons, the eldest Chin-cha, the second Mu-cha, and the third No-cha,
generally known as 'the Third Prince.'
Yin Shih dreamed one night that a Taoist priest entered her room. She
indignantly exclaimed: "How dare you come into my room in this
indiscreet manner?" The priest replied: "Woman, receive the child of
the unicorn!" Before she could reply the Taoist pushed an object to
her bosom.
Yin Shih awoke in a fright, a cold sweat all over her body. Having
awakened her husband, she told him what she had dreamed. At that moment
she was seized with the pains of childbirth. Li Ching withdrew to an
adjoining room, uneasy at what seemed to be inauspicious omens. A
little later two servants ran to him, crying out: "Your wife has
given birth to a monstrous freak!"
An Avatar of the Intelligent Pearl
Li Ching seized his sword and went into his wife's room, which he found
filled with a red light exhaling a most extraordinary odour. A ball
of flesh was rolling on the floor like a wheel; with a blow of his
sword he cut it open, and a babe emerged, surrounded by a halo of red
light. Its face was very white, a gold bracelet was on its right wrist,
and it wore a pair of red silk trousers, from which proceeded rays
of dazzling golden light. The bracelet was 'the horizon of Heaven and
earth,' and the two precious objects belonged to the cave Chin-kuang
Tung of T'ai-i Chên-jên, the priest who had bestowed them upon him
when he appeared to his mother during her sleep. The child itself
was an avatar of Ling Chu-tzu, 'the Intelligent Pearl.'
On the morrow T'ai-i Chên-jên returned and asked Li Ching's permission
to see the new-born babe. "He shall be called No-cha," he said,
"and will become my disciple."
A Precocious Youth
At seven years of age No-cha was already six feet in height. One day
he asked his mother if he might go for a walk outside the town. His
mother granted him permission on condition that he was accompanied
by a servant. She also counselled him not to remain too long outside
the wall, lest his father should become anxious.
It was in the fifth moon: the heat was excessive. No-cha had not gone
a _li_ before he was in a profuse perspiration. Some way ahead he saw
a clump of trees, to which he hastened, and, settling himself in the
shade, opened his coat, and breathed with relief the fresher air. In
front of him he saw a stream of limpid green water running between
two rows of willows, gently agitated by the movement of the wind, and
flowing round a rock. The child ran to the banks of the stream, and
said to his guardian: "I am covered with perspiration, and will bathe
from the rock." "Be quick," said the servant; "if your father returns
home before you he will be anxious." No-cha stripped himself, took his
red silk trousers, several feet long, and dipped them in the water,
intending to use them as a towel. No sooner were the magic trousers
immersed in the stream than the water began to boil, and Heaven and
earth trembled. The water of this river, the Chiu-wan Ho, 'Nine-bends
River,' which communicated with the Eastern Sea, turned completely
red, and Lung Wang's palace shook to its foundations. The Dragon-king,
surprised at seeing the walls of his crystal palace shaking, called
his officers and inquired: "How is it that the palace threatens to
collapse? There should not be an earthquake at this time." He ordered
one of his attendants to go at once and find out what evil was giving
rise to the commotion. When the officer reached the river he saw that
the water was red, but noticed nothing else except a boy dipping a
band of silk in the stream. He cleft the water and called out angrily:
"That child should be thrown into the water for making the river red
and causing Lung Wang's palace to shake."
"Who is that who speaks so brutally?" said No-cha. Then, seeing that
the man intended to seize him, he jumped aside, took his gold bracelet,
and hurled it in the air. It fell on the head of the officer, and
No-cha left him dead on the rock. Then he picked up his bracelet and
said smiling: "His blood has stained my precious horizon of Heaven
and earth." He then washed it in the water.
The Slaying of the Dragon-king's Son
"How is it that the officer does not return?" inquired Lung Wang. At
that moment attendants came to inform him that his retainer had been
murdered by a boy.
Thereupon Ao Ping, the third son of Lung Wang, placing himself at the
head of a troop of marines, his trident in his hand, left the palace
precincts. The warriors dashed into the river, raising on every side
waves mountains high. Seeing the water rising, No-cha stood up on
the rock and was confronted by Ao Ping mounted on a sea-monster.
"Who slew my messenger?" cried the warrior.
"I did," answered No-cha.
"Who are you?" demanded Ao Ping.
"I am No-cha, the third son of Li Ching of Ch'ên-t'ang Kuan. I came
here to bathe and refresh myself; your messenger cursed me, and I
killed him. Then--"
"Rascal! do you not know that your victim was a deputy of the King
of Heaven? How dare you kill him, and then boast of your crime?"
So saying, Ao Ping thrust at the boy with his trident. No-cha, by a
brisk move, evaded the thrust.
"Who are you?" he asked in turn.
"I am Ao Ping, the third son of Lung Wang."
"Ah, you are a blusterer," jeered the boy; "if you dare to touch me
I will skin you alive, you and your mud-eels!"
"You make me choke with rage," rejoined Ao Ping, at the same time
thrusting again with his trident.
Furious at this renewed attack, No-cha spread his silk trousers in
the air, and thousands of balls of fire flew out of them, felling Lung
Wang's son. No-cha put his foot on Ao Ping's head and struck it with
his magic bracelet, whereupon he appeared in his true form of a dragon.
"I am now going to pull out your sinews," he said, "in order to make
a belt for my father to use to bind on his cuirass."
No-cha was as good as his word, and Ao Ping's escort ran and informed
Lung Wang of the fate of his son. The Dragon-king went to Li Ching
and demanded an explanation.
Being entirely ignorant of what had taken place, Li Ching sought
No-cha to question him.
An Unruly Son
No-cha was in the garden, occupied in weaving the belt of
dragon-sinew. The stupefaction of Li Ching may be imagined. "You
have brought most awful misfortunes upon us," he exclaimed. "Come
and give an account of your conduct." "Have no fear," replied No-cha
superciliously; "his son's sinews are still intact; I will give them
back to him if he wishes."
When they entered the house he saluted the Dragon-king, made a curt
apology, and offered to return his son's sinews. The father, moved
with grief at the sight of the proofs of the tragedy, said bitterly
to Li Ching: "You have such a son and yet dare to deny his guilt,
though you heard him haughtily admitting it! To-morrow I shall report
the matter to Yü Huang." Having spoken thus, he departed.
Li Ching was overwhelmed at the enormity of his son's crime. His
wife, in an adjoining room, hearing his lamentations, went to her
husband. "What obnoxious creature is this that you have brought into
the world?" he said to her angrily. "He has slain two spirits, the
son of Lung Wang and a steward sent by the King of Heaven. To-morrow
the Dragon-king is to lodge a complaint with Yü Huang, and two or
three days hence will see the end of our existence."
The poor mother began to weep copiously. "What!" she sobbed, "you whom
I suffered so much for, you are to be the cause of our ruin and death!"
No-cha, seeing his parents so distracted, fell on his knees. "Let me
tell you once for all," he said, "that I am no ordinary mortal. I am
the disciple of T'ai-i Chên-jên; my magic weapons I received from him;
it is they which brought upon me the undying hatred of Lung Wang. But
he cannot prevail. To-day I will go and ask my master's advice. The
guilty alone should suffer the penalty; it is unjust that his parents
should suffer in his stead."
Drastic Measures
He then left for Ch'ien-yüan Shan, and entered the cave of his master
T'ai-i Chên-jên, to whom he related his adventures. The master dwelt
upon the grave consequences of the murders, and then ordered No-cha to
bare his breast. With his finger he drew on the skin a magic formula,
after which he gave him some secret instructions. "Now," he said, "go
to the gate of Heaven and await the arrival of Lung Wang, who purposes
to accuse you before Yü Huang. Then you must come again to consult me,
that your parents may not be molested because of your misdeeds."
When No-cha reached the gate of Heaven it was closed. In vain he sought
for Lung Wang, but after a while he saw him approaching. Lung Wang did
not see No-cha, for the formula written by T'ai-i Chên-jên rendered
him invisible. As Lung Wang approached the gate No-cha ran up to him
and struck him so hard a blow with his golden bracelet that he fell
to the ground. Then No-cha stamped on him, cursing him vehemently.
The Dragon-king now recognized his assailant and sharply reproached him
with his crimes, but the only reparation he got was a renewal of kicks
and blows. Then, partially lifting Lung Wang's cloak and raising his
shield, No-cha tore off from his body about forty scales. Blood flowed
copiously, and the Dragon-king, under stress of the pain, begged his
foe to spare his life. To this No-cha consented on condition that he
relinquished his purpose of accusing him before Yü Huang.
"Now," went on No-cha, "change yourself into a small serpent that I
may take you back without fear of your escaping."
Lung Wang took the form of a small blue dragon, and followed No-cha
to his father's house, upon entering which Lung Wang resumed his
normal form, and accused No-cha of having belaboured him. "I will go
with all the Dragon-kings and lay an accusation before Yü Huang,"
he said. Thereupon he transformed himself into a gust of wind,
and disappeared.
No-cha draws a Bow at a Venture
"Things are going from bad to worse," sighed Li Ching, His son,
however, consoled him: "I beg you, my father, not to let the future
trouble you. I am the chosen one of the gods. My master is T'ai-i
Chên-jên, and he has assured me that he can easily protect us."
No-cha now went out and ascended a tower which commanded a view of
the entrance of the fort. There he found a wonderful bow and three
magic arrows. No-cha did not know that this was the spiritual weapon
belonging to the fort. "My master informed me that I am destined
to fight to establish the coming Chou dynasty; I ought therefore to
perfect myself in the use of weapons. This is a good opportunity." He
accordingly seized the bow and shot an arrow toward the south-west. A
red trail indicated the path of the arrow, which hissed as it flew. At
that moment Pi Yün, a servant of Shih-chi Niang-niang, happened to be
at the foot of K'u-lou Shan (Skeleton Hill), in front of the cave of
his mistress. The arrow pierced his throat, and he fell dead, bathed
in his blood. Shih-chi Niang-niang came out of her cave, and examining
the arrow found that it bore the inscription: "Arrow which shakes the
heavens." She thus knew that it must have come from Ch'ên-t'ang Kuan,
where the magic bow was kept.
Another Encounter
The goddess mounted her blue phoenix, flew over the fort, seized Li
Ching, and carried him to her cave. There she made him kneel before
her, and reminded him how she had protected him that he might gain
honour and glory on earth before he attained to immortality. "It is
thus that you show your gratitude--by killing my servant!"
Li Ching swore that he was innocent; but the tell-tale arrow was
there, and it could not but have come from the fortress. Li Ching
begged the goddess to set him at liberty, in order that he might find
the culprit and bring him to her. "If I cannot find him," he added,
"you may take my life."
Once again No-cha frankly admitted his deed to his father, and followed
him to the cave of Shih-chi Niang-niang. When he reached the entrance
the second servant reproached him with the crime, whereupon No-cha
struck him a heavy blow. Shih-chi Niang-niang, infuriated, threw
herself at No-cha, sword in hand; one after the other she wrenched
from him his bracelet and magic trousers.
Deprived of his magic weapons, No-cha fled to his master, T'ai-i
Chên-jên. The goddess followed and demanded that he be put to
death. A terrible conflict ensued between the two champions, until
T'ai-i Chên-jên hurled into the air his globe of nine fire-dragons,
which, falling on Shih-chi Niang-niang, enveloped her in a whirlwind
of flame. When this had passed it was seen that she was changed
into stone.
"Now you are safe," said T'ai-i Chên-jên to No-cha, "but return
quickly, for the Four Dragon-kings have laid their accusation before
Yü Huang, and they are going to carry off your parents. Follow my
advice, and you will rescue your parents from their misfortune."
No-cha commits Hara-Kiri
On his return No-cha found the Four Dragon-kings on the point of
carrying off his parents. "It is I," he said, "who killed Ao Ping, and
I who should pay the penalty. Why are you molesting my parents? I am
about to return to them what I received from them. Will it satisfy
you?"
Lung Wang agreed, whereupon No-cha took a sword, and before their eyes
cut off an arm, sliced open his stomach, and fell unconscious. His
soul, borne on the wind, went straight to the cave of T'ai-i Chên-jên,
while his mother busied herself with burying his body.
"Your home is not here," said his master to him; "return to Ch'ên-t'ang
Kuan, and beg your mother to build a temple on Ts'ui-p'ing Shan,
forty _li_ farther on. Incense will be burned to you for three years,
at the end of which time you will be reincarnated."
A Habitation for the Soul
During the night, toward the third watch, while his mother was in a
deep sleep, No-cha appeared to her in a dream and said: "My mother,
pity me; since my death, my soul, separated from my body, wanders about
without a home. Build me, I pray you, a temple on Ts'ui-p'ing Shan,
that I may be reincarnated." His mother awoke in tears, and related
her vision to Li Ching, who reproached her for her blind attachment
to her unnatural son, the cause of so much disaster.
For five or six nights the son appeared to his mother, each time
repeating his request. The last time he added: "Do not forget that by
nature I am ferocious; if you refuse my request evil will befall you."
His mother then sent builders to the mountain to construct a temple
to No-cha, and his image was set up in it. Miracles were not wanting,
and the number of pilgrims who visited the shrine increased daily.
Li Ching destroys his Son's Statue
One day Li Ching, with a troop of his soldiers, was passing this
mountain, and saw the roads crowded with pilgrims of both sexes. "Where
are these people going?" he asked. "For six months past," he was told,
"the spirit of the temple on this mountain has continued to perform
miracles. People come from far and near to worship and supplicate him."
"What is the name of this spirit?" inquired Li Ching.
"No-cha," they replied.
"No-cha!" exclaimed the father. "I will go and see him myself."
In a rage Li Ching entered the temple and examined the statue, which
was a speaking image of his son. By its side were images of two of
his servants. He took his whip and began to beat the statue, cursing
it all the while. "It is not enough, apparently, for you to have been
a source of disaster to us," he said; "but even after your death you
must deceive the multitude." He whipped the statue until it fell to
pieces; he then kicked over the images of the servants, and went back,
admonishing the people not to worship so wicked a man, the shame and
ruin of his family. By his orders the temple was burnt to the ground.
When he reached Ch'ên-t'ang Kuan his wife came to him, but he received
her coldly. "You gave birth to that cursed son," he said, "who has been
the plague of our lives, and after his death you build him a temple in
which he deceives the people. Do you wish to have me disgraced? If I
were to be accused at Court of having instituted the worship of false
gods, would not my destruction be certain? I have burned the temple,
and intend that that shall settle the matter once for all; if ever
you think of rebuilding it I will break off all relations with you."
No-cha consults his Master
At the time of his father's visit No-cha was absent from the temple. On
his return he found only its smoking remnants. The spirits of his
two servants ran up lamenting. "Who has demolished my temple?" he
asked. "Li Ching," they replied. "In doing this he has exceeded his
powers," said No-cha. "I gave him back the substance I received from
him; why did he come with violence to break up my image? I will have
nothing more to do with him."
No-cha's soul had already begun to be spiritualised. So he determined
to go to T'ai-i Chên-jên and beg for his help. "The worship rendered
to you there," replied the Taoist, "had nothing in it which should
have offended your father; it did not concern him. He was in the
wrong. Before long Chiang Tzu-ya will descend to inaugurate the new
dynasty, and since you must throw in your lot with him I will find
a way to aid you."
A New No-cha
T'ai-i Chên-jên had two water-lily stalks and three lotus-leaves
brought to him. He spread these on the ground in the form of a human
being and placed the soul of No-cha in this lotus skeleton, uttering
magic incantations the while. There emerged a new No-cha full of
life, with a fresh complexion, purple lips, keen glance, and sixteen
feet of height. "Follow me to my peach-garden," said T'ai-i Chên-jên,
"and I will give you your weapons." He handed him a fiery spear, very
sharp, and two wind-and-fire wheels which, placed under his feet,
served as a Vehicle. A brick of gold in a panther-skin bag completed
his magic armament. The new warrior, after thanking his master,
mounted his wind-and-fire wheels and returned to Ch'ên-t'ang Kuan.
A Battle between Father and Son
Li Ching was informed that his son No-cha had returned and was
threatening vengeance. So he took his weapons, mounted his horse,
and went forth to meet him. Having cursed each other profusely, they
joined battle, but Li Ching was worsted and compelled to flee. No-cha
pursued his father, but as he was on the point of overtaking him Li
Ching's second son, Mu-cha, came on the scene, and keenly reproached
his brother for his unfilial conduct.
"Li Ching is no longer my father," replied No-cha. "I gave him back
my substance; why did he burn my temple and smash up my image?"
Mu-cha thereupon prepared to defend his father, but received on his
back a blow from the golden brick, and fell unconscious. No-cha then
resumed his pursuit of Li Ching.
His strength exhausted, and in danger of falling into the hands
of his enemy, Li Ching drew his sword and was about to kill
himself. "Stop!" cried a Taoist priest. "Come into my cave, and I
will protect you."
When No-cha came up he could not see Li Ching, and demanded his
surrender from the Taoist. But he had to do with one stronger than
himself, no less a being than Wên-chu T'ien-tsun, whom T'ai-i Chên-jên
had sent in order that No-cha might receive a lesson. The Taoist,
with the aid of his magic weapon, seized No-cha, and in a moment he
found a gold ring fastened round his neck, two chains on his feet,
and he was bound to a pillar of gold.
Peace at the Last
At this moment, as if by accident, T'ai-i Chên-jên appeared upon the
scene. His master had No-cha brought before Wên-chu T'ien-tsun and
Li Ching, and advised him to live at peace with his father, but he
also rebuked the father for having burned the temple on Ts'ui-p'ing
Shan. This done, he ordered Li Ching to go home, and No-cha to return
to his cave. The latter, overflowing with anger, his heart full of
vengeance, started again in pursuit of Li Ching, swearing that he would
punish him. But the Taoist reappeared and prepared to protect Li Ching.
No-cha, bristling like a savage cat, threw himself at his enemy
and tried to pierce him with his spear, but a white lotus-flower
emerged from the Taoist's mouth and arrested the course of the
weapon. As No-cha continued to threaten him, the Taoist drew from
his sleeve a mysterious object which rose in the air, and, falling
at the feet of No-cha, enveloped him in flames. Then No-cha prayed
for mercy. The Taoist exacted from him three separate promises: to
live in harmony with his father, to recognize and address him as his
father, and to throw himself at his, the Taoist's, feet, to indicate
his reconciliation with himself.
After this act of reconciliation had been performed, Wên-chu T'ien-tsun
promised Li Ching that he should leave his official post to become an
Immortal able to place his services at the disposal of the new Chou
dynasty, shortly to come into power. In order to ensure that their
reconciliation should last for ever, and to place it beyond No-cha's
power to seek revenge, he gave Li Ching the wonderful object by whose
agency No-cha's feet had been burned, and which had been the means
of bringing him into subjection. It was a golden pagoda, which became
the characteristic weapon of Li Ching, and gave rise to his nickname,
Li the Pagoda-bearer. Finally, Yü Huang appointed him Generalissimo
of the Twenty-six Celestial Officers, Grand Marshal of the Skies,
and Guardian of the Gate of Heaven.