Chapter 54

Coming West in the Nature of the Law, They Meet the Women's Kingdom; the Mind-Ape Lays a Plan to Slip the Net of Pleasure

Let it be told: the master and his disciples took leave of the farmhouse and went west by the road; in less than thirty or forty li they reached the borders of the Kingdom of Western Liang. The Tang monk pointed from the saddle: "Wukong, the city is near ahead — there is a great noise of voices in the streets; this must be the Women's Kingdom of Western Liang. You must all be careful, discreet, and proper; by no means let your feelings run loose and disorder the teaching of our gate." The three heard him and strictly obeyed the stern command.

The words were not yet done when they came to the street corner at the East Gate suburb. The people there all wore long skirts and short jackets, powdered faces, oiled hair; old and young alike, they were all women, busy buying and selling in the two streets. Suddenly they saw the four travelers come, and clapping their hands and laughing they called out with smiling faces: "Seed of men! Seed of men are come!" Tripitaka, in dismay, could hardly rein on. In a moment the streets were packed, and nothing was heard but laughter and talk. Bajie bawled aloud: "I am a gelded boar! I am a gelded boar!" Pilgrim said: "Idiot, no idle talk — bring out the old face." And Bajie truly shook his head twice, pricked up his two fanleaf ears, twisted his lotus-pod underhung lips, and gave a shout that sent the women tumbling and sprawling. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

The holy monk, bound for the Buddha, reached Western Liang, a country all yin, the world so short of yang.Farmer, scholar, craftsman, merchant — all of the women's line;fisher, woodcutter, plowman, herdsman — every one in rouge.Fair creatures fill the road, crying after the seed of men; young wives throng the streets to greet the powdered lord.If Wuneng had not put on his ugliness, the snare of pleasure would have closed too hard to bear!

Thereupon they all took fright and dared not come near. One and all they clasped their hands and bent their waists, shook their heads, bit their fingers, and stood trembling, packed along the sides of the street and the edge of the road, all gazing at the Tang monk. The Great Sage Sun too put on an ugly face to clear the way; Sha Monk also played the tiger to keep order; Bajie led the horse, pouting his lips and wagging his ears.

As they went on they saw the houses of the town trim and tidy, the shopfronts imposing: salt sellers and rice sellers, taverns and teahouses; drum towers and terraces where goods changed hands; banner pavilions and hostels hung with curtains. The master and his disciples turned corners and wound about, when suddenly they saw a woman official standing in waiting at the side of the street, who called out loudly: "Traveling envoys from afar, you may not push in through the city gate. Please go to the post station and register your names on the roll; this humble officer will present your names to the throne, verify your permit, and let you pass." Tripitaka dismounted and looked: above the office door hung a tablet with three characters — the Welcoming-the-Sun Station. The elder said: "Wukong, the farmhouse talk was true — there really is a Welcoming-the-Sun station." Sha Monk laughed: "Second brother, go and look at yourself in the Womb-Mirroring Spring — see if you have a double shadow." Bajie said: "Do not mock me. I drank that cupful of Womb-Dissolving water and the child is already down and gone — what would I look for now?" Tripitaka turned his head and ordered: "Wuneng — watch your words, watch your words." Then he stepped up and saluted the woman official.

The official led the way, asked them all into the station, seated them in the main hall, and at once called for tea. The servants under her were all of the three-tufted hair and two-piece dress kind. And see: even the one who brought the tea was laughing. Soon the tea was done. The official leaned forward and asked: "Where do the envoys come from?" Pilgrim said: "We are duly commissioned by the sovereign of the Great Tang of the Land of the East, bound for the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek scriptures. My master is the sworn brother of the Tang emperor, called Tripitaka Tang. I am his eldest disciple, Sun Wukong. These two are my brothers-in-the-law, Zhu Wuneng and Sha Wujing. The party, with the horse, is five souls. We carry a rescript of passage; we beg you to inspect it and let us pass." The official took up the brush, wrote it out, came down, and kowtowed: "My lords, forgive the offense. This humble officer is the keeper of the Welcoming-the-Sun Station, and truly did not know the lords of the superior kingdom; I should have met you far out on the road." Having bowed she rose and at once ordered the steward to prepare food and drink: "My lords, sit at ease a while. This humble officer will go into the city and report to my queen, see your rescript countersigned, and see you furnished and sent on your way west." Tripitaka sat well content — but of that no more.

Now the station keeper adjusted her robes and cap and went straight into the city to before the Tower of Five Phoenixes, and said to the palace gate officer: "I am the keeper of the Welcoming-the-Sun Station; I have a matter for the throne." The gate officer reported at once. An edict summoned her to the hall, and the queen asked: "Station keeper, what matter do you bring?" The keeper said: "Your humble servant, at the station, has received the sworn brother of the sovereign of the Great Tang of the Land of the East, Tripitaka Tang, with three disciples named Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing — five souls with the horse — who wish to go to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and fetch scriptures. I have come expressly to report to my sovereign: may they have their rescript countersigned and be let pass?" The queen heard the report and was delighted to her heart's core, and said to all her civil and military officers: "Last night I dreamed that the golden screen put forth brilliant colors and the jade mirror spread its light — a happy omen for this very day." The women officials crowded to bow at the vermilion steps: "Sovereign, how does this show a happy omen for today?" The queen said: "A man of the Land of the East — the sworn brother of the Tang emperor. Since the hour when chaos first opened, through all the emperors of our line, no man was ever seen to come here. Now happily the Tang emperor's brother has descended among us — a gift of heaven, I think. With the wealth of a whole realm I would take the imperial brother for my king, and be his queen myself: yin and yang joined in match, sons and grandsons born, the imperial line handed down forever — is that not the happy omen of this day?" The women officials bowed and danced and praised, and none but rejoiced.

The station keeper reported further: "My sovereign's plan is a blessing to hand down through ten thousand generations. Only — the imperial brother's three disciples are fierce and monstrous of visage." The queen said: "You have seen the imperial brother — what manner of man is he? And how fierce and ugly are his disciples?" The keeper said: "The imperial brother is stately of bearing, handsome and heroic — truly a son of heaven's own superior kingdom, a man of the Middle Land of the southern continent. But the three disciples are savage of feature, more like fiends than men." The queen said: "If so, let his disciples have their supplies and their rescript countersigned, and send them on to the Western Heaven — and keep only the imperial brother. What could be simpler?" The officers bowed and said: "The sovereign's words are most right; we shall reverently obey. Only, in matters of marriage, without a matchmaker nothing can be done. The old saying has it: marriage is matched by the red leaf; the Old Man of the Moon ties husband and wife with the crimson cord." The queen said: "As you advise: let the Grand Preceptor of the Household be the matchmaker, and the keeper of the Welcoming-the-Sun Station preside at the wedding. Let them go first to the station and ask the imperial brother for his hand. When he consents, I will bring out my carriage and go to meet him in person." The preceptor and the keeper took the edict and left the court.

Now the Tang monk and his disciples were at their vegetarian meal in the station hall when someone reported from outside: "The Grand Preceptor of the Household and our own mistress the station keeper have come." The Tang monk said: "What can the preceptor's coming mean?" Bajie said: "No doubt the queen has invited us." Pilgrim said: "She is not inviting — she is proposing a marriage." The Tang monk said: "Wukong — suppose they will not let us go, but force the marriage? What then?" Pilgrim said: "Master, let them have their way, and old Monkey has his own handling of it."

Before the words were done the two officials arrived, and bowed down before the elder. The elder returned each courtesy: "This poor monk is a man of religion — what merit or skill have I, that great ladies should bow to me?" The preceptor, seeing the elder's stately bearing, thought secretly with delight: "Our country has luck indeed — this man would do very well for my queen's husband." The two officials, their bows done, rose and stood in attendance, saying: "Imperial brother, grandfather — ten thousand congratulations." The Tang monk said: "I am a man of religion — where should congratulations come from?" The preceptor bowed and said: "This is the Women's Kingdom of Western Liang; our country has never had a man. Now happily the imperial brother has descended among us. I bear my queen's edict, and have come expressly to ask your hand." The Tang monk said: "Good indeed, good indeed! I, a poor monk, have come alone into your land, with no sons or daughters to follow me, only three unruly disciples — which of us, my lady, is it you would wed?" The keeper said: "Your humble servant just now went to court and reported, and my queen was overjoyed. She said that last night she had an auspicious dream: the golden screen put forth brilliant colors and the jade mirror spread its light. The imperial brother is a son of the superior kingdom of the Middle Land; my queen is willing, with the wealth of a whole realm, to take the imperial brother for her husband, to sit facing south and call himself sovereign, while my queen will be his empress. The edict names the preceptor matchmaker and your humble servant mistress of the wedding — and so we have come expressly to ask for this marriage." Tripitaka heard and lowered his head without a word. The preceptor said: "A true man meeting his hour must not let it slip. Matches where a man is taken in marriage exist here and there in the world — but to be heir to a nation's wealth is truly rare. Grant your consent quickly, imperial brother, that we may return and report." The elder only grew more dumbstruck.

Bajie at the side, pouting his pestle lips, called out: "Preceptor, go and tell your queen: my master is an arhat of long cultivation who has won the Way; he will never care for the wealth of a realm, nor for a beauty to lay waste a kingdom. Quick — countersign the rescript and send him on west, and leave me here to be married into the family. How would that be?" The preceptor heard this and trembled to her heart's core, not daring to answer. The keeper said: "Though you have a man's body, your face is hideous — you would not suit my queen." Bajie laughed: "How set you are! The saying goes: a coarse willow makes the winnowing sieve, a fine willow the grain measure — and who on earth has ever seen an ugly man?" Pilgrim said: "Idiot, no idle talk. Let the master's own will stand: go on if going is possible, stop if stopping is proper. Do not delay the matchmaker's work."

The Tang monk said: "Wukong — whatever you say, then. What is best?" Pilgrim said: "The way old Monkey sees it, you might as well stay here. The old saying has it that a marriage a thousand li apart is drawn together by a thread — where would you find a fitter match?" The Tang monk said: "Disciples, if we linger here for riches and honor, who goes to the Western Heaven for the scriptures? Would that not bring ruin on the emperor of our Great Tang?" The preceptor said: "Imperial brother, your humble servants dare not conceal it. My queen's edict is only to ask you in marriage; your three disciples are to attend the wedding feast, then be furnished and sent on their way, their rescript countersigned, to the Western Heaven for scriptures." Pilgrim said: "The preceptor talks sense. We need make no difficulties: we are willing to leave our master here to be your sovereign's husband. Have the rescript countersigned quickly and send us west. When we have the scriptures and come back, we will call here to pay our respects to father and mother, and beg travel money, and return to the Great Tang." The preceptor and the keeper bowed to Pilgrim: "A thousand thanks, reverend master, for bringing this about." Bajie said: "Preceptor, none of your pretty dinner-plate talk! Since we have promised, make your sovereign set out a table first, and give us a cup or two of the consent wine — how about it?" The preceptor said: "Yes, yes, yes — let the feast be set at once." And the keeper and the preceptor, overjoyed, went back to report to their queen — but of that no more.

Now the Tang elder seized Pilgrim and cursed: "You monkey-head, you will be the death of me! How could you say such a thing — have me married here while you go worship the Buddha in the Western Heaven? I would die before I did it." Pilgrim said: "Master, set your heart at rest. Does old Monkey not know your temper? But being in this place, meeting these people, one must turn their own stratagem against them." The Tang monk said: "What do you mean, turn their stratagem against them?" Pilgrim said: "If you stand stiff-necked and refuse, they will not countersign the rescript or let us go on. And if their intent is wicked and their hearts venomous, they may call out a crowd and carve the flesh from your body for some scent bag or other — what good end could we look for then? We should have to bring out the powers that quell demons and sweep monsters. You know how heavy our hands are and how deadly our weapons: one flourish, and this whole kingdom would be beaten to death. Though they block us, they are no monster or fiend — they are the human bodies of a whole nation. And you are by nature kind and merciful; on all the road you have never let one spirit come to harm. If you slew countless common people, how could your heart bear it? It would be a true failing of goodness." The Tang monk heard him and said: "Wukong, that is the best of arguments. Only I fear that when the queen has me in, she will want the rites of husband and wife. How could I lose my primal yang and disgrace the virtue of the Buddha's house — spill the true essence and fall from this human body of our faith?" Pilgrim said: "Today, when the marriage is granted, she will surely come out of the city with imperial honors to meet you. Do not refuse: ride her phoenix chariot and dragon carriage, mount the precious hall, and take your seat facing south. Ask the queen to bring out the imperial seal; have us brothers called into court; stamp the rescript of passage with the seal, and ask the queen to write her own hand and sign it, and give it into our keeping. On one side, have a banquet laid — treat it as our wedding feast with the queen, and our farewell. When the feast is over, have the carriages made ready, and say only that they are to see the three of us out of the city, and that you will come back to be joined to the queen. Beguile them till sovereign and ministers are pleased, with no thought of barring us and no venom in their hearts. Then, once we are outside the walls, you step down from the dragon carriage and phoenix chariot, have Sha Monk attend you and help you onto the white horse; old Monkey will cast the spell of Fixing Bodies, so that queen and ministers cannot stir, and we will go straight on west by the high road. After a day and a night I will murmur the charm, undo the spell, and let them wake and go home. That way no life is harmed, and your primal spirit loses nothing. This is the stratagem of the False Marriage that Slips the Net — two birds with one stone, is it not?" The Tang monk heard it as a man wakes from drunkenness, wakes from a dream; his joy made him forget his cares, and he thanked him without end: "Deeply I thank my worthy disciple's lofty wisdom." The four, one in heart and mind, fell to their planning — but of that no more.

Now the preceptor and the keeper, without waiting for a summons, went straight through the palace gate to the white jade steps and reported: "Sovereign, your happy dream is proven true — the joy of fish and water is at hand." The queen heard the report, rolled up the pearl curtain, came down from the dragon bed, parted her cherry lips, showed her silver teeth, and asked in a sweet and smiling voice: "Worthy counselor, how did the imperial brother answer you?" The preceptor said: "When we reached the station and had paid our respects to the imperial brother, we laid out the whole matter of the marriage. The imperial brother still had his scruples — happily his eldest disciple consented freely and gladly, willing to leave his master here as husband to our queen, to sit facing south as sovereign. He asks only that the rescript be countersigned first, and his three disciples sent on west; and when the scriptures are fetched and they return, they will call here to pay their respects to father and mother, and beg their travel money back to the Great Tang." The queen laughed: "And what else did the imperial brother say?" The preceptor reported: "The imperial brother said nothing against it — he is willing to be matched with our sovereign. Only, his second disciple asked first to drink the wedding wine."

The queen heard and at once gave her edict: the Court of the Imperial Granary was to lay the banquet; on one side the great equipage was to be made ready to go out of the city and meet her husband. The women officials carried out the royal command: they swept the palaces and decked the terraces; one company made haste with the banquet; another, swift as shooting stars, made ready the equipage. And see: though the Kingdom of Western Liang is a country of women, her equipage yields nothing to the splendor of the Middle Land. Behold:

Six dragons breathe rich color; a pair of phoenixes breed good omens.The six dragons breathe color as the carriage comes forth; the paired phoenixes breed omens as the chariot rolls out.Strange perfumes breathe in waves; auspicious vapors unroll.Gold fish and jade pendants — a crowd of officers attending; precious chignons and cloud-coiled hair — the women ranked in files.Mandarin-duck fans of state shade the royal equipage; kingfisher curtains and pearls cast their sheen on phoenix hairpins.The music of flutes is sweet; strings and pipes sound in accord.One sheet of joy goes up against the blue vault; boundless gladness pours from the spirit tower.The triple-eaved gauze canopy sways against the sky; five-colored banners flash upon the imperial steps.This land has never known the wedding cup —today the queen is matched with a man of talent.

Before long the equipage left the city and reached the Welcoming-the-Sun station. Someone announced to the Tang monk and his disciples: "The equipage has come." The Tang monk heard, and with his three disciples dressed himself and came out to the hall to meet the royal carriage. The queen rolled up the curtain and stepped down from the chariot: "Which is the sworn brother of the Tang?" The preceptor pointed: "The one in the full robes before the incense table outside the station gate." The queen flashed her phoenix eyes, knit her moth brows, and looked carefully — truly a man of no common stamp. Look at him:

Bearing heroic and stately; visage lofty and grand.Teeth white as ranged silver; lips red, the mouth four-square.Crown flat, brow broad, the temple of fortune full; eyes fine, brows clear, the jaw long and noble.Two ears with rims — a true hero; a body without vulgarity — a man of parts.A gallant of charming years and graceful wit, fit mated with a slender maid of Western Liang.

The queen looked until her heart was glad and her fancy taken; unconsciously her tender longing flowed and her love ran free; she opened her small cherry mouth and called: "Sworn brother of the Tang — why do you not come and mount the phoenix, ride the luan bird?" The Tang monk heard, his ears went red, his face crimson; bashful, he dared not lift his head.

Zhu Bajie at the side, lips pursed, eyes bleared with longing, looked upon the queen — and she was graceful indeed. Truly:

Brows like kingfisher feathers; skin like mutton fat.Her face is set off with petals of peach blossom; her chignon piled with threads of golden phoenix.Autumn waves, deep and clear, in a bewitching air; spring shoots, fine and slender, in a charming pose.Red silk gauze aslant, floating brightness; tall hairpins of pearl and kingfisher flashing splendor.Speak of Zhaojun's beauty — and yet she passes Xishi.Her willow waist sways a little, her gold pendants ring; her lotus steps move lightly, her jade limbs sway.The moon-palace Chang'e could not come here; how should the immortals of the nine heavens match this?Her palace dress, cunningly wrought, is of no common kind — truly the Queen Mother descending from the Jasper Pool.

The Idiot gazed at the good of it and could not help himself: his mouth watered, his heart knocked like a deer; in a moment his bones went soft and his sinews slack — just like a snow lion facing a fire, melting away before he knows it.

The queen came near, took the Tang monk by the arm, and with pretty words and tender voice called: "Brother, my sworn brother — come up into the dragon carriage, and come with me to the golden throne hall to be made husband and wife." The elder stood trembling, hardly able to stand, drunk and dumb as it were. Pilgrim at the side prompted: "Master, no false modesty — go up into the chariot with your lady. Quick — countersign the rescript, and let us be off for the scriptures." The elder dared not answer; he pressed Pilgrim twice with his hand, and could not keep the tears from falling. Pilgrim said: "Master, no sorrow now! Such riches and honor — what more would you wait for?" Tripitaka, past all choice, could only comply: he wiped his eyes, forced a glad face, moved near to the queen, and with her —

Hand in white hand together; side by side they sit in the dragon carriage.The queen, brimming with joy, would make them man and wife; the elder, sick with dread, thinks only of bowing to the Buddha.She would light the wedding candles in the bridal chamber and pair the mandarin ducks; he would see the World-Honored One at Vulture Peak in the western sky.The queen's feeling is true; the holy monk's is feigned.The queen's feeling is true — she looks to harmony, hand in hand to old age;the holy monk's is feigned — he locks his heart away and nurses his primal spirit.One rejoices to see a man's body, and cannot wait to be man and wife in broad daylight;one dreads the snare of a woman's beauty, and thinks only of slipping the net at once for Thunderclap.The two ascend the chariot together, in seeming accord —who knew the Tang monk and the queen were each of another mind.

The civil and military officers, seeing their sovereign mount the phoenix chariot with the elder and sit beside him, beamed from eye to brow, wheeled the train of state about, and returned into the city. The Great Sage Sun had Sha Monk shoulder the luggage and lead the white horse to follow behind the equipage. Zhu Bajie ran racing on ahead and was first at the Tower of Five Phoenixes, bawling: "How easy, how ready-made! If this is not done — if this is not done — the wedding wine comes before the match!" The women officers holding the instruments of state and leading the way were startled, and one after another came back to the carriage: "Sovereign, that long-mouthed, big-eared one is bawling at the Tower of Five Phoenixes that he wants the wedding wine." The queen heard the report and, leaning her fragrant shoulder against the elder, her peach cheeks pressed to his, opened her sandalwood mouth and asked softly: "Brother, my sworn brother — the long-mouthed, big-eared one, is he that lofty disciple of yours?" The Tang monk said: "He is my second disciple. He was made with a belly of the widest capacity and a lifelong hunger for the fat of the mouth; something to eat and drink must be set before him first, or nothing can be done." The queen asked quickly: "Has the Court of the Imperial Granary finished the banquet?" The officers reported: "It is done — two tables are set, one of meat, one of vegetables, in the east pavilion." The queen asked again: "Why two?" The officers said: "We feared the imperial brother of the Tang and his lofty disciples keep a vegetarian fast as a rule, so there are two, meat and vegetables." The queen, smiling, pressed the elder's fragrant cheek: "Brother, my sworn brother — do you eat meat or vegetables?" The Tang monk said: "This poor monk eats vegetables — but I have never forsworn wine. A few cups of vegetarian wine are needed, for my second disciple to drink."

Before the words were done the preceptor reported: "Let us go to the east pavilion for the wedding feast. Tonight is a lucky day, a blessed hour — you may be wed to the imperial brother. Tomorrow, when heaven opens the yellow road, let the imperial brother mount the precious hall, face south, change the era name, and take the throne." The queen was overjoyed, and taking the elder by the hand to help him, came down from the dragon carriage, and together they entered the Gate of Due Accord. And see:

The wind wafts immortal music down from tower and terrace; between the gates of heaven the kingfisher chariot comes in.The phoenix towers stand wide open, glowing bright; the palace gates are not shut — brocade ranks on ranks.In the Hall of the Kirin the censer smoke curls; by the peacock screen the lamplit shadows wheel.Pavilions tower lofty as in the superior kingdom; jade halls and golden horses — how rare and fine!

Arrived at the east pavilion, they heard a strain of flutes and song, sweet in harmony, and saw two rows of rouged beauties, fair and charming. In the center of the hall two feasts were spread: at the upper place on the left, the vegetarian board; at the upper place on the right, the board of meat; below, on both sides, single places. The queen, gathering her sleeves, her ten fingertips fine and slender, carried the jade cup and came to set the places. Pilgrim came near: "My master and disciples are all vegetarians. Let my master be seated first at the vegetarian board on the left, then the three places below, divided left and right, so that we brothers may sit." The preceptor said with delight: "Just so, just so. Master and disciples are as father and sons — they may not sit side by side." The women officials quickly arranged the places. The queen handed the cup to each in turn and seated the three brothers. Pilgrim gave the Tang monk a glance, to have the master return the courtesy. The Tang monk came down, and he too raised the jade cup and set the queen's place. The civil and military officers bowed upward and thanked the imperial grace, and took their seats on either side by rank, and the music stopped while the wine went round.

Bajie, caring nothing for what was what, let out his belly and ate on without check. Heedless of whether it was jade-dust rice or steamed cakes, sugar pastries, mushrooms, fragrant fungi, bamboo shoots, wood ears, yellow-flower greens, stone-ear weed, laver, turnips, taro, radishes, mountain yam, or solomon's-seal — he gobbled the lot clean. He drank five or seven cups, and bawled: "More to eat here! Bring the great goblets — a few more goblets, and then let every man to his business!" Sha Monk asked: "A fine feast uneaten — and what business would we be about?" The Idiot laughed: "The ancients say: let the bow-maker make bows, the arrow-maker arrows. Now one of us is being wed, one is being married off, the scripture-seeker goes on seeking scriptures, and the road-walkers go on walking the road — do not let cups and cups lose us the business. Get the rescript seen to quickly. Truly, the general does not dismount: each man spurs for his own road." The queen heard and at once ordered great cups brought. The attendant officers hurriedly fetched parrot cups and cormorant ladles, gold sparrow-bowls and silver carved cups, glass goblets and crystal basins, Penglai bowls and amber wine bells; they brimmed them with jade liquor and poured on nectar without pause — and truly each drank a round.

The Tang monk rose, joined his palms to the queen, and said: "Your Majesty, we are much beholden for this rich entertainment — the wine is enough. Pray mount the precious hall, countersign the rescript, and send the three of them out of the city while the day is early." The queen did as he said; taking the elder by the hand she broke up the feast and they went up to the golden throne hall, where she pressed the elder to take the throne. The Tang monk said: "No, no. As the preceptor said, tomorrow, when heaven opens the yellow road, this poor monk will dare to take the throne and call himself sovereign. Today we stamp the rescript and send them on their way." The queen did as he said, sat again upon the dragon bed, had a golden folding chair brought and set at the left hand of the dragon bed, and asked the Tang monk to sit. She called the disciples to bring up the rescript of passage. The Great Sage had Sha Monk open the bundle and take out the rescript; the Great Sage offered it up with both hands. The queen looked it over carefully: above were nine precious seals of the emperor of the Great Tang; below, the seal of the Kingdom of Baoxiang, the seal of the Kingdom of Wuji, and the seal of the Kingdom of Chechi. Having looked, the queen said with a delicate smile: "So the imperial brother's family name is Chen?" The Tang monk said: "My lay name is Chen; my Dharma name is Xuanzang. Because my sovereign of Tang, in his holy grace, acknowledged me his sworn brother, he bestowed on me the surname Tang." The queen said: "How is it your lofty disciples' names are not on the rescript?" The Tang monk said: "My three unruly disciples are not people of my Tang." The queen said: "If they are not people of your Tang, why do they follow you?" The Tang monk said: "My eldest disciple is a native of the Aolai country in the eastern continent of Divine Land; the second is a native of Wusi village in the western continent of Cattle-Gift; the third is of the Flowing Sand River. All three broke the laws of Heaven, and the Bodhisattva Guanyin of the South Sea freed them from their misery; they turned to the good and took refuge, willing to redeem crime with service and guard me to the Western Heaven for scriptures. I took them all up on the road, and so their names were never entered on the rescript." The queen said: "Shall I enter their names for you?" The Tang monk said: "As Your Majesty pleases." The queen ordered ink and brush, ground the scented ink thick, dipped the scented brush full, and after the text of the rescript wrote the three names — Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, Sha Wujing. Then she brought out the imperial seal, stamped it fair and square, wrote her own hand beside it, and passed the rescript down. The Great Sage Sun took it and had Sha Monk pack it away snugly.

The queen moreover bestowed a plate of broken gold and silver, came down from the dragon bed, and handed it to Pilgrim: "Take this, you three, for travel money, and be early on the road to the Western Heaven; when you return with the scriptures, I will repay you richly." Pilgrim said: "We are men of religion; we take no gold or silver. On the road we have our begging." Seeing he would not take it, the queen brought out ten bolts of silk and satin and said to Pilgrim: "You are traveling in haste and have no time for tailoring; take this and make clothes on the road against the cold." Pilgrim said: "Men of religion cannot wear silk and satin; we have our cloth robes to guard the body." Seeing he would not take them, she ordered: "Bring three sheng of imperial rice, for a meal on the road." At the word "meal" Bajie took it at once and stowed it among the baggage. Pilgrim said: "Brother, the luggage is heavy enough already — and where would you find strength to carry rice?" Bajie laughed: "How would you know? Rice is a thing that spends itself day by day — one meal and the account is closed." And with that he joined his palms and thanked her for the grace.

The Tang monk said: "May I trouble Your Majesty to go with this poor monk and see the three of them out of the city? Let me give them a word or two of charge, that they may go west well; then I will come back, and with Your Majesty enjoy wealth and honor forever, without tie or care — and then we may be luan and phoenix to each other." The queen, not knowing it was a trick, gave her edict to bring out the equipage, and leaning her fragrant body against the Tang monk's she mounted the phoenix chariot with him and went out the west of the city. Through the whole town every vessel was filled with clear water and every censer dropped true incense — one, to see the queen's royal equipage pass; two, to see the imperial brother, a man's body. Old and young together, all were rouged faces and charming looks, green temples and cloud-coiled hair. Before long the equipage left the city and came beyond the West Gate.

Pilgrim, Bajie, and Sha Monk, one in heart and mind, dressed themselves trim and came straight to meet the royal carriage, calling loudly: "Queen, you need not see us farther — here we take our leave." The elder slowly stepped down from the dragon carriage, and bowing with joined hands to the queen, said: "Your Majesty, please go back, and let this poor monk go for the scriptures." The queen heard, and went white with astonishment; she clutched at the Tang monk: "Brother, my sworn brother — I offered you the wealth of a whole realm and asked you for my husband; tomorrow you would mount high the precious seat and take the throne as sovereign, and I would be your queen. We have drunk the wedding wine through — how can you change your mind now?" Bajie heard this and worked himself into a tantrum: he twisted his mouth about, flapped his ears, and burst up to the carriage, bawling: "We are monks — what business have we making husband and wife with a rouged skeleton? Let my master go on his way!" The queen, seeing him rage about in such ugliness, was frightened out of her wits and fell back into her chariot. Sha Monk snatched the Tang monk out of the crowd and helped him onto his horse.

Then from beside the road a woman flashed out, crying: "Sworn brother of the Tang, where are you going? Come away with me and sport in wind and moonlight!" Sha Monk cursed: "Ignorant thieving creature!" and drew the precious staff and struck at her head. The woman raised a whirlwind, and with a whoosh she carried off the Tang monk, gone without trace or shadow, to no one knew where. Ah! Truly:

Slipped from the net of pleasure — and met the demon of wind and moon.

But whether that woman was human or demon, and whether the old master would live or die? Listen to the next chapter to find out.

Coming west in the nature of the Law, they meet the Women's Kingdom; The Mind-Monkey lays a plan to escape the world of love

The story goes that Tripitaka and his disciples left the farmhouse and went west along the road. In less than thirty or forty li they reached the border of the Kingdom of West Liang. The Tang monk, from the saddle, pointed ahead: "Wukong, the city is close now. I hear the noise of a market. This must be the Women's Kingdom of West Liang. You must all be careful and proper and mind the rules. Do not let your feelings run loose and bring disorder on the teaching of the Law." The three, hearing this, followed the strict order.

The words were not yet done when they came to the street by the east gate. The people there all wore long skirts and short jackets, with powdered faces and oiled hair; young and old alike, they were all women. They were buying and selling along the two main streets, and when they suddenly saw the four travelers, they clapped their hands and laughed together, straightened themselves up, and cried merrily: "The seed of men has come! The seed of men has come!" Tripitaka, alarmed, reined in his horse and could not move on. In a moment the street was jammed, and nothing could be heard but laughter and chatter. Bajie kept yelling: "I am a gelded pig! I am a gelded pig!" Pilgrim said: "Idiot, no silly talk. Just bring out the old face of yours." Bajie really did shake his head a couple of shakes, pricked up his pair of cattail-fan ears, twisted his lotus-seedpod lips, and gave a shout that sent the women stumbling and scrambling. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

The holy monk, worshiping the Buddha, came to West Liang, a land all yin, where the world has little yang.Farmers, scholars, craftsmen, and traders are all women; fishermen, woodcutters, plowmen, and herders all wear a woman's rouge.Pretty girls fill the roads, calling for the seed of men; young wives pack the streets, welcoming the fair young lord.If Wuneng had not made his ugly face, this siege of love would have been too hard to bear!

Then all of them were frightened and dared not come forward. One by one they clasped their hands, bent their waists, shook their heads, bit their fingers, and, trembling, crowded to the sides of the street, all watching the Tang monk. The Great Sage Sun also played the ugly to clear the way; Sha Monk too played the tiger to keep order; Bajie led the horse, pouting his lips and flapping his ears.

As they went forward they saw that the houses in the market town were neat and the shop fronts stately—selling salt, selling rice, wine shops and tea houses; drum towers and terraces full of trade, taverns and guest lodges with hung curtains. The master and disciples turned corners and wound about, and suddenly a woman official standing at the side of the street called in a loud voice: "Traveling envoys from afar, you may not enter the city gate without leave. Please go to the relay station, register your names in the book, and wait while I, your humble official, take your names and report to the throne, verify your pass, and let you through." Tripitaka heard her, dismounted, and saw a plaque on the office gate reading "Facing-the-Sun Station." The elder said: "Wukong, what the farmhouse people said was true. There really is a Facing-the-Sun Station." Sha Monk laughed: "Second brother, go look at yourself in the Womb-Reflecting Spring and see whether you have two images." Bajie said: "Do not make fun of me. I drank that cup of Fetus-Dropping Spring water, the child is already brought down—what would I look for?" The Tang monk turned and warned him: "Wuneng, watch your words, watch your words." Then he went up and saluted the woman official.

The woman official led the way and invited them all into the station, where they sat down in the main hall, and she called for tea. Her staff were all of the type with hair in three tufts and clothes in two pieces. See—even the one bringing the tea was smiling. Soon the tea was done, and the woman official bowed slightly and asked: "Where do the envoys come from?" Pilgrim said: "We are sent under imperial commission by the king of the Great Tang in the Land of the East to go to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek the scriptures. My master is the sworn brother of the Tang emperor, called Tripitaka Tang. I am his eldest disciple, Sun Wukong. These two are my fellow disciples Zhu Wuneng and Sha Wujing. Our party, counting the horse, is five. We carry a traveling rescript with seals; please check it and let us pass." The woman official wrote it all down, came down and kowtowed: "My lords, forgive me. I am the keeper of the Facing-the-Sun Station, and I truly did not know the lords of a superior kingdom had come; I should have met you far out on the road." Her bow done, she rose and ordered the stewards to lay out food and drink: "My lords, please sit a while. I will go into the city and report to my queen, have your pass exchanged, issue your supplies, and send you on your way west." Tripitaka sat down contentedly—and no more of that.

The station keeper straightened her cap and gown, went straight into the city to the front of the Five Phoenix Tower, and said to the palace gate official: "I am the keeper of the Facing-the-Sun Station, with business before the throne." The gate officer reported at once, and an edict summoned her to the hall. The queen asked: "Station keeper, what business do you bring?" The keeper said: "Your humble servant, at the station, has received Tripitaka Tang, the sworn brother of the king of Great Tang in the Land of the East, with three disciples named Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing—five in all with the horse—on their way to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and fetch the scriptures. I have come specially to report: may we exchange their pass and let them go?" The queen, hearing the report, was overjoyed, and said to her civil and military officials: "Last night I dreamed the golden screen glowed with color and the jade mirror flashed with light. Those are the lucky omens of this day." The women officials crowded to the steps and bowed: "Your Majesty, how do these foretell today's joy?" The queen said: "This man of the East is the sworn brother of the Tang emperor. Since the world was first divided, through all the reigns of our rulers, no man has ever been seen to come here. Now, happily, the brother of the Tang king has come down among us—a gift from Heaven, I should think. I am willing, with all the wealth of a kingdom, to take the royal brother for my husband and be his queen. We will join as yin and yang, bear sons and grandsons, and pass the empire on forever. Is this not today's happy omen?" The women officials bowed and danced and sang her praise, all delighted.

The station keeper reported further: "Your Majesty's plan is a treasure to hand down for ten thousand generations. But the royal brother's three disciples are fierce and ugly to look upon." The queen said: "What does the royal brother look like, in your eyes? And how fierce and ugly are his disciples?" The keeper said: "The royal brother is imposing and handsome—a true son of the great kingdom of heaven, a man of China in the southern continent. But those three disciples are savage in form, with faces like spirits." The queen said: "If that is so, give the disciples their supplies, exchange their pass, and send them on to the Western Heaven, and keep only the royal brother. Why not?" The officials bowed and said: "Your Majesty's word is perfectly right, and we shall obey it with reverence. But a match cannot be made without a matchmaker. From of old the saying goes: 'Marriage is matched by the red leaf; the Old Man of the Moon ties couples with the red thread.'" The queen said: "As you advise: let the Grand Preceptor of the household be the matchmaker, and the keeper of the Facing-the-Sun Station preside at the wedding. Let them first go to the station to press the suit with the royal brother. When he consents, I will set out my carriage and go outside the city to meet him." The preceptor and the keeper took the edict and left the court.

Meanwhile Tripitaka and his disciples were enjoying their vegetarian meal in the station hall, when someone outside reported: "The Grand Preceptor and our own lady keeper have come." Tripitaka said: "What does the preceptor's visit mean?" Bajie said: "Perhaps the queen has invited us." Pilgrim said: "It is not an invitation—it is a marriage proposal." Tripitaka said: "Wukong, and if they refuse to let us go and force the marriage—what then?" Pilgrim said: "Master, just agree to it. Old Sun has his own way of handling it."

Before he finished, the two women officials arrived and bowed down before the elder. He returned each bow: "I am a poor monk, one who has left the world. What merit or power have I, that I should trouble such great ladies to bow?" The preceptor, seeing the elder's stately bearing, was secretly delighted: "Our kingdom is truly blessed. This man would do well as my queen's husband." When the two had finished bowing and risen, they stood in attendance and said: "Royal brother, ten thousand joys to you." Tripitaka said: "I am a man of religion. What joy can come to me?" The preceptor bowed: "This is the Women's Kingdom of West Liang; our land has never had a man. Today, happily, the royal brother has come down among us. By my queen's edict I am sent specially to press the suit." Tripitaka said: "Blessings, blessings! I, a poor monk, have come alone into your land, with no sons or daughters about me, only three unruly disciples. Which of us, madam, is it you seek in marriage?" The keeper said: "I just went to court and reported. My queen was overjoyed and said that last night she had a lucky dream: the golden screen glowed with color, and the jade mirror flashed with light. The royal brother is a son of the great land of China, and my queen is willing, with the wealth of a whole kingdom, to take you, royal brother, as her husband, to sit facing south and be called sovereign, while she becomes your empress. Her edict named the preceptor as matchmaker and me to preside at the wedding; that is why we have come specially for this match." Tripitaka heard and hung his head without a word. The preceptor said: "A great man meeting his hour must not let it pass. Matches where a man is taken into the wife's family exist everywhere, but to be given a whole kingdom's riches—there are truly few such things in this world. Please consent quickly, royal brother, so that we may report back." The elder grew only the more dumb and dazed.

Bajie, standing by, pouted his pestle lips and called: "Preceptor, go back and tell the queen: my master is an arhat who has cultivated the Way for ages. He will never want your kingdom's wealth, nor your beauty that could topple a state. Hurry and exchange the pass and send him west, and take me in marriage instead. How about it?" The preceptor, hearing this, trembled and dared not answer. The keeper said: "You may be a man, but you are too ugly for my queen's taste." Bajie laughed: "How little you can bend! As the saying goes, 'A coarse willow makes the winnowing basket, a fine willow the grain measure—who in this world has ever seen an ugly man?'" Pilgrim said: "Idiot, no silly talk. Let the master decide as he pleases: if it can go forward, let it; if it must stop, let it stop. Do not hold up the matchmaker's work."

Tripitaka said: "Wukong, whatever you say." Pilgrim said: "The way Old Sun sees it, you could stay here well enough. From of old it is said: 'A match a thousand li apart is drawn together by a thread.' Where would you find a better fit than this?" Tripitaka said: "Disciple, if we linger here for wealth and rank, who will go to the Western Heaven for the scriptures? Would that not ruin the emperor of our Great Tang?" The preceptor said: "Royal brother, I dare not hide anything from you. My queen's edict is only to press you for marriage. You three disciples are to attend the wedding banquet, receive your supplies, have your pass exchanged, and go on to the Western Heaven for the scriptures." Pilgrim said: "The preceptor is right. We need not make difficulties. We are willing to leave our master here to be your queen's husband. Quickly exchange the pass and send us three west. When we have the scriptures and come back, we can call on our parents here and beg traveling money for the road back to the Great Tang." The preceptor and the keeper bowed to Pilgrim: "Many thanks for your grace in making this match." Bajie said: "Preceptor, do not just set out the dishes with your mouth. Since we have agreed, have your queen first lay out a feast and pour us the consent wine. How about it?" The preceptor said: "Yes, yes, yes—the banquet will be set at once." The keeper and the preceptor, wild with joy, went back to report to the queen—and no more of that.

The Tang elder grabbed Pilgrim and cursed: "You monkey-head, you have killed me! How could you say such a thing—leave me here to marry while you go worship the Buddha in the Western Heaven? I would die first." Pilgrim said: "Master, set your mind at rest. Does Old Sun not know your nature? But having come to this place and met these people, I had no choice but to turn their own plan against them." Tripitaka said: "What do you mean, turn their own plan against them?" Pilgrim said: "If you stand on your dignity and refuse, she will not exchange our pass or let us go on. And if her heart is wicked and she calls her people to cut your flesh for those sachets, what good end could we expect? Then we would have to use our demon-taming, monster-sweeping powers. And you know how heavy our hands are and how fierce our weapons. At one round of blows we would beat this whole kingdom's people to death. They block us, but they are no monsters or demons; they are the people of a whole country. And you have always been a kind and merciful man; on the road you have not harmed a single living soul. If we beat to death any number of innocent people, how could you bear it? That would truly be a wickedness." Tripitaka said: "Wukong, your reasoning is the best yet. But I fear that if the queen takes me in, she will want the rites of husband and wife. How could I waste my vital essence and ruin the virtue of the Buddha's path, spill my true seed, and fall from the human frame of my own faith?" Pilgrim said: "Today, once the match is agreed, she will certainly come out of the city with imperial ceremony to meet you. Do not refuse. Ride in her phoenix carriage and dragon car up to the throne hall and sit facing south. Ask the queen to bring out the royal seal, then summon us brothers into the palace, stamp the traveling rescript with the seal, and ask the queen to write her name and add her mark beside it. Have it signed, sealed, and handed over to us. At the same time have a banquet set, as if for the wedding joy and to see us off. When the feast is done, call for the carriages again and say only that she is seeing us three out of the city and will come back to complete the marriage. Fool her court into good humor, with no thought of blocking us and no thought of any wicked trick. Then, outside the city walls, you step down from the dragon car and phoenix carriage, and have Sha Monk stand by to help you onto the white horse; Old Sun will fix them with the body-fixing spell so that queen and courtiers cannot move, and we will go straight west along the high road. After a day and a night, I will say the spell that ends the magic and let the queen and her courtiers wake and go home to the city. First, no lives are lost; second, your spirit is not harmed. This is the trick of 'a false match to slip the net'—two good ends with one stroke. Is that not fine?" Tripitaka heard it as if waking from drunkenness or rising from a dream; his joy made him forget his troubles, and his thanks were endless: "How deep your wisdom, good disciple." The four of one mind were still laying their plans—and no more of that.

The preceptor and the keeper, without waiting for a summons, went straight through the palace gate to the white jade steps and reported: "Your Majesty, your lucky dream was true to the letter. The joy of fish and water is at hand." The queen, hearing it, rolled up the pearl curtain, stepped down from the dragon bed, parted her cherry lips, showed her silver teeth, and asked in a soft, sweet voice: "Worthy counselor, what did the royal brother say when you saw him?" The preceptor said: "When we reached the station we bowed to the royal brother and laid out the proposal. He still had his excuses ready, but luckily his eldest disciple agreed at once and freely, willing to leave his master here as your husband, to sit facing south as sovereign. He asks only that the pass be exchanged first and the three of us sent west; when the scriptures are fetched and he returns, he will come here to acknowledge his parents and beg traveling money back to the Great Tang." The queen laughed: "And what else did the royal brother say?" The preceptor reported: "The royal brother said nothing against it; he is willing to match with Your Majesty. Only his second disciple asked first to have the wedding feast and the consent wine."

Hearing this, the queen at once gave the order for the Court of Imperial Entertainment to lay the banquet. At the same time the great equipage was readied to go out of the city and meet the husband. The women officials carried out the royal command: they swept the palaces and dressed the courtyards and terraces. One crew set the banquet at top speed; another crew got the equipage ready like flying sparks. See: though the Kingdom of West Liang is a land of women, its royal carriage was no less splendid than China's. Look:

Six dragons breathe out color; a pair of phoenixes bring good omens.The six dragons breathe color as they help the carriage out; the paired phoenixes ride the carriage in upon their omen.A rare fragrance drifts in waves; a mist of lucky air opens wide.Gold fish and jade pendants—the officials crowd about; jeweled chignons and cloudlike hair—the women stand in rows.Mandarin-duck fans screen the royal carriage; kingfisher curtains shadow the phoenix hairpins.The pipes and songs are sweet; the strings and flutes in tune.One sheet of joy rises against the blue sky; boundless delight pours from the spirit terrace.The three-tiered silk canopy sways against the heavens; the five-colored banners gleam on the palace steps.This land has never known the wedding cup; today the queen is matched with a man of talent.

In no time the equipage left the city and came to the Facing-the-Sun Station. Someone reported to Tripitaka and his disciples: "The carriage has arrived." Tripitaka and his three disciples straightened their clothes and went out to the hall to meet the carriage. The queen rolled up the curtain, stepped down from the carriage, and asked: "Which one is the sworn brother of the Tang emperor?" The preceptor pointed: "The one in the robe standing before the incense table outside the station gate." The queen flashed her phoenix eyes, knitted her moth brows, and looked carefully: indeed, no ordinary presence. See him:

His bearing is heroic and grand; his looks are lofty and bright.Teeth white as piled silver; lips red, mouth square.Crown level, forehead broad, the temples of heaven full; eyes fine, brows clear, the jaw long.Ears with rims—a true hero; a bearing uncommon—a man of talent.A fine youth, clever and handsome, graceful in air—fit mate for the slender girl of West Liang.

The queen looked to where her heart delighted, and her passion rose, her love flowing free. She opened her small cherry mouth and called: "Sworn brother of the Tang, why do you not come and mount the phoenix and ride the luan bird?" Tripitaka heard, his ears went red and his face crimson, and he hung his head in shame, not daring to look up.

Zhu Bajie, standing by, pouted his lips and rolled his greedy eyes at the queen—and truly she was graceful. Truly:

Brows like kingfisher feathers; skin like mutton fat.Her face set off by peach petals; her chignons piled with gold phoenix thread.Her autumn eyes, deep and clear, have a bewitching air; her spring-bamboo fingers, slim and fine, a charming grace.Her red silk slants and drifts in flashing color; her high hairpins of pearl and jade flash light.Never mind Zhaojun's beauty: truly she outdoes Xishi.Her willow waist sways slightly and her gold pendants ring; her lotus steps move lightly and her jade limbs stir.The moon-palace Chang'e could hardly reach this; how could a fairy of the nine heavens match it?Her palace dress is a cunning pattern, no common thing: truly the Queen Mother come down to the Jade Pool.

The Idiot gazed at the fine sight until he could not help it: drool ran from his mouth, his heart knocked like a deer, and in a moment his bones softened and his sinews went slack—just like a snow lion warming itself at the fire, melting away before it knew it.

The queen came near, took Tripitaka by the hand, and called in a pretty, coaxing voice: "Brother of mine, please mount the dragon carriage and come with me up to the golden throne hall, and let us be matched as husband and wife." The elder trembled so that he could hardly stand, as if drunk or entranced. Pilgrim, at his side, urged: "Master, no false modesty. Please ride up with your lady. Have the pass exchanged quickly, and let us go fetch the scriptures." The elder dared not answer; he rubbed at Pilgrim twice and could not stop the tears from falling. Pilgrim said: "Master, no sulking. With riches like these, why would you not enjoy them?" Tripitaka, having no way out, had to comply: he wiped his eyes, forced a happy face, stepped forward, and with the queen:

Hand in white hand together, side by side in the dragon carriage.The queen, all joy, is minded to be joined as wife; the elder, all dread, thinks only of worshiping the Buddha.One longs for the bridal chamber, candles lit, to meet her mate; the other longs for Vulture Peak in the west, to see the World-Honored One.The queen's feeling is true; the holy monk's is feigned.The queen's feeling is true: she hopes for harmony, together to old age.The holy monk's is feigned: he locks his feelings away to guard his spirit.One is glad to see a man's body and would gladly lie beside him in broad daylight.The other fears meeting a woman's charms and thinks only of slipping the net at once and reaching Thunderclap.The two ride up to the carriage in seeming accord—who would guess that the Tang monk's heart is elsewhere?

The civil and military officials, seeing their sovereign and the elder mount the phoenix carriage together and sit side by side, beamed with delight, wheeled the procession around, and returned into the city. The Great Sage Sun then had Sha Monk take the luggage and lead the white horse to follow the royal train. Zhu Bajie ran on ahead, reached the Five Phoenix Tower first, and yelled: "How easy, how ready-made! If this does not come off, if this does not come off, we must have the wedding wine first." This frightened the women officials carrying the regalia and leading the procession, and one by one they hurried back to the carriage: "Your Majesty, that one with the long snout and big ears is up at the Five Phoenix Tower yelling that he wants the wedding wine." Hearing this report, the queen, leaning her fragrant shoulder against the elder, cheeks to his, parted her sandalwood mouth and asked softly: "Brother of mine, is the long-snouted, big-eared one that fine disciple of yours?" The Tang monk said: "He is my second disciple. He was born with a wide gullet and a lifetime craving to fill his belly. We must set out some food and wine for him first; only then can anything be done." The queen asked quickly: "Has the Court of Imperial Entertainment finished the banquet?" An official reported: "It is done. There are two kinds, meat and meatless, laid in the east pavilion." The queen asked again: "Why two kinds?" The official said: "I feared that the royal brother of Tang and his fine disciples might be used to vegetarian fare, so we set both kinds." The queen, smiling, leaned against the elder's cheek: "Brother of mine, do you eat meat or vegetables?" The Tang monk said: "This poor monk eats vegetables, but I have never given up wine. A few cups of vegetarian wine, and some for my second disciple too."

Before he finished, the preceptor reported: "Let us go to the east pavilion for the banquet. Tonight is a lucky day, a lucky hour: the wedding with the royal brother can be done. Tomorrow, when the sky opens the yellow path, the royal brother will mount the throne hall, sit facing south, take a new reign title, and be enthroned." The queen was overjoyed, and taking the elder's hand and helping him along, she stepped down from the dragon carriage and went with him in through the central gate. And there:

The wind bears immortal music down from the towers and terraces; through the great gates the kingfisher carriage comes.The phoenix towers stand open, glowing soft; the palace gates unbarred, with brocade in rows.In the Hall of the Qilin the censer smoke curls; by the peacock screen the lamplight circles the room.Pavilions and galleries tower like the celestial capital; the jade hall and the golden horses—how wonderful!

When they reached the east pavilion, they heard pipes and song, sweet in tune, and saw two rows of powdered beauties, lovely to see. In the middle of the hall two grand feasts were laid: on the left, at the head, the vegetarian feast; on the right, at the head, the meat feast. Below, along the two sides, all were single places. The queen, gathering her sleeves, her ten fingers slim and pointed, carried a jade cup and came to set the seats. Pilgrim came forward: "Master and disciples all eat vegetarian. Please seat my master first at the vegetarian feast on the left, then place three more seats, divided left and right, so that we brothers can sit." The preceptor said with pleasure: "Just so, just so. Master and disciples are as father and sons; they cannot sit shoulder to shoulder." The women officials hurried to rearrange the places. The queen passed the cup to each in turn and seated the three brothers. Pilgrim gave the Tang monk a wink, telling him to return the courtesy. Tripitaka came down, lifted a jade cup in his turn, and set the queen's seat. The civil and military officials bowed toward the throne, thanked the imperial grace, sat in order of rank on both sides, and then the music stopped and the wine went round.

Bajie, caring nothing for manners, let out his belly and simply ate. He did not care whether it was jade-dust rice, steamed cakes, sugar pastries, mushrooms, fragrant fungi, bamboo shoots, wood ear, day lily, stone flower weed, purple laver, turnips, taro, radishes, mountain yams, or solomon's seal—he gobbled the lot clean. He drank five or seven cups and yelled: "Bring on the next course! Bring the big cups! A few more cups each, and then let every man go about his business." Sha Monk asked: "A fine banquet like this, and still business to do?" The Idiot laughed: "The men of old said: 'Let the bow maker make bows, and the arrow maker make arrows.' Now the one who is taken in marriage is taken, the one who weds is wed, the one fetching the scriptures goes on fetching them, and the ones traveling go on traveling. Let us not sit here hugging our cups and spoiling the business. Get the pass stamped quickly. Truly: the general does not dismount—each man spurs for his own road ahead." The queen, hearing this, at once ordered big cups brought. The attendants hurried to fetch parrot cups, cormorant ladles, gold goblets, silver beakers, glass cups, crystal basins, Penglai bowls, and amber bells, brimming with jade liquor and pouring on the nectar; and truly each drank a round.

Tripitaka rose and pressed his palms to the queen: "Your Majesty, thank you for this grand setting; we have had wine enough. Please go up to the throne hall, exchange the pass, and, while it is still early, send the three of them out of the city." The queen did as he said, took the elder's hand, broke up the feast, and went up to the golden throne hall, at once offering the elder the throne. The Tang monk said: "No, no. As the preceptor said, only tomorrow, when the sky opens the yellow path, dare this poor monk take the throne and be called sovereign. Today, let the pass be sealed and these three sent on their way." The queen did as he said, sat again on the dragon bed, had a golden chair set at the left hand of the dragon bed, and asked the Tang monk to sit. She called the disciples to bring up the traveling rescript. The Great Sage had Sha Monk untie the bundle and take out the rescript, and the Great Sage presented it with both hands. The queen looked at it carefully: above were the nine seals of the Emperor of Great Tang, and below the seals of the Treasure-Elephant Kingdom, the Black-Rooster Kingdom, and the Cart-Slow Kingdom. When the queen had read it, she said with a sweet smile: "So the royal brother's family name is Chen?" The Tang monk said: "My lay name is Chen; my Dharma name is Xuanzang. Because the Tang emperor in his grace took me as his sworn brother, he bestowed on me the surname Tang." The queen said: "Why are your fine disciples' names not on the rescript?" The Tang monk said: "Those three unruly disciples are not people of my Tang." The queen said: "If they are not people of your Tang, why do they follow you?" The Tang monk said: "The eldest disciple is a native of Aolai Country in the East-Victory Continent; the second is a native of Wusi Village in the Western Cattle-Gift Continent; the third is a native of the Flowing Sand River. All three broke the laws of Heaven, and the Bodhisattva Guanyin of the Southern Sea freed them from their suffering; they took the good path, entered the faith, and, to work off their crimes with merit, willingly protect me on my way to the Western Heaven for the scriptures. I gathered them all on the road, so their names were not written on the rescript." The queen said: "Shall I add their Dharma names for you?" The Tang monk said: "As Your Majesty pleases." The queen ordered ink and brush brought, ground the scented ink thick, wet the scented brush well, and wrote on the back of the rescript the three names: Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, Sha Wujing. Then she took out the royal seal, stamped it squarely, and wrote her name and mark besides. She handed it down. The Great Sage Sun took it and had Sha Monk pack it safely away.

The queen then had a plate of gold and silver pieces brought out, stepped down from the dragon bed, and handed it to Pilgrim: "Take this, you three, for traveling money, and set out early for the Western Heaven. When you come back from fetching the scriptures, I will reward you richly." Pilgrim said: "We who have left the world take no gold or silver; on the road we can always beg our bread." Seeing he would not take it, the queen brought out ten bolts of silk and damask and said to Pilgrim: "You leave in such haste that no clothes could be cut in time. Take this and make yourselves a garment on the road against the cold." Pilgrim said: "Those who have left the world cannot wear silk and damask; we have cloth robes to shield our bodies." Seeing he would not take it, she said: "Bring three sheng of royal rice, for a meal on the road." At the word "rice," Bajie took it and stowed it in the bundle. Pilgrim said: "Brother, the luggage is heavy already. Where will you find the strength to carry rice?" Bajie laughed: "You do not understand. Rice is a thing that wastes away by itself: one meal and the account is closed." And they pressed their palms together and thanked her for her grace.

The Tang monk said: "May I trouble Your Majesty to come with me and see the three of them out of the city? Let me say a few words to them, telling them to go well on their way west, and then I will come back and enjoy your glory forever, free and unencumbered—and only then can we be luan bird and phoenix to each other." The queen, not knowing it was a trick, gave the order to ready the equipage. Leaning her fragrant body against Tripitaka, she mounted the phoenix carriage with him and went out the west gate. All through the city they filled their cups with clean water and let true incense fall on the burners: first to see the queen's royal train, second to see the royal brother, a man. Old and young alike, all were powdered and painted faces, green temples and cloudlike chignons. In no time the great equipage left the city, beyond the west gate.

Pilgrim, Bajie, and Sha Monk, of one heart and one mind and tidily dressed, walked straight up to the royal carriage and called out at the top of their voices: "Your Majesty need not come farther. We take our leave here." The elder stepped slowly down from the dragon carriage, folded his hands to the queen, and said: "Your Majesty, please go back. Let this poor monk go fetch the scriptures." The queen, hearing this, turned pale with shock, and grabbed the Tang monk: "Brother of mine, I was willing to give you all the wealth of a kingdom and take you for my husband; tomorrow you would mount high on the throne and reign as sovereign, and I would be your queen. We have drunk to the wedding joy all around—how can you go back on your word now?" Bajie, hearing this, threw one of his fits: he twisted his snout about, flapped his ears, pushed up in front of the carriage, and yelled: "We monks, taking you, a powdered skeleton, for a wife? Let my master pass." The queen, seeing such a shameful display, was scared out of her wits and tumbled back into her carriage. Sha Monk snatched the Tang monk out of the crowd and helped him onto his horse.

Just then a woman darted out from beside the road and shouted: "Royal brother of Tang, where are you running? Come and dally with me!" Sha Monk cursed: "Ignorant thief!" He drew his precious staff and struck straight at her head. The woman spun up a whirlwind and, with a whoosh, carried the Tang monk off, without shadow or trace—no one knew where he had gone. Ah! Truly:

Out of the net of love and flowers,and straight into the demon of wind and moon.

But whether the woman was human or monster, and whether the old master would live or die—listen to the next chapter to find out.