Tower of Myriad Mirrors: A Supplement to Journey to the West (Michigan Classics in Chinese Studies) (16 page)

Monkey lowered his head and chuckled. He said, “Be quick, old man, and tell my fortune.”

In fact, since Monkey was born from a stone egg he had never found out his own eight characters. His birth date was kept in a jade box in the Upper Palace, and was passed on only in the deep mountains and secret valleys. Now he was using this trick to bring it out. The old man wasn't wise to Monkey's scheme and began to relate his fortune.

“Little Priest,” he said, “don't blame me if I don't flatter you to your face.”

Monkey laughed and said, “It's better not to flatter me.”

The old man said, “Your life was established in the key of D, enmity for you lies in G. Favor is found in the key of C, you dwell in the key of E, and difficulty comes in the key of A.
⁵
This month is
re
, and it clashes with the Star of Difficulty. Therefore, certain things will go wrong to make you angry. The Star of Augmented
Fa
also enters into your fate. Augmented
Fa
is the Goddess of the Moon. A scripture says, ‘When one comes upon Augmented
Fa
, there will be a bizarre encounter. A beautiful girl will meet a handsome young man.’

“As for you, Little Priest, since you're a monk we shouldn't talk about matters of husband and wife—but in terms of your fate, you ought to get married.”

Monkey responded, “How about that dry marriage I was involved in?”
⁶

The old man said, “Marriage is marriage, dry or wet. It's all in your horoscope. Now, you will encounter the Star of
La
in the key of E. This is a beneficial star. Suddenly the Water Star of the Southern Palace becomes involved. This is another star of difficulty. A scripture says, ‘When one meets both favor and difficulty at once, it's called “The Sea of Evil.” A stone man or iron horse will find it difficult to bear.’ Judging from this, you should have both the blessing of acquiring new family members and the sorrow of a relative's departure.”

Monkey asked, “I added one master and left one master. Does that count?”

The old man said, “For a monk that will do. However, when this day is past, there will be more strange occurrences. Tomorrow you enter the Stars of
Sol
and
La
. You must kill people.”

Monkey thought, “Killing people is a small matter…nothing to worry about.”

The old man again said, “Three days from now you'll come into the Star of Augmented
Do
. A scripture says, ‘Augmented
Do
is otherwise called the Star of Brightness. It will make even a weary, muddled old man clear and intelligent.’ This is a case of benevolence in hardship and hardship in benevolence. The four great stars of change—Sun, Moon, Water, and Earth—will also enter your fate. I'm afraid, Little Priest, you must die once in order to live again.”

Monkey laughed and said, “Life and death are nothing serious. If I must die, I'll be dead for a few years. If I must live, then I'll live for a year or two.”

The two of them were thus entranced in conversation when the acolyte rushed in and shouted, “Little Priest! The play is almost finished. The Kao-t'ang dream is already over. Hurry! Hurry!”

Monkey quickly took leave of the old man, thanked the acolyte, and returned the same way he had come. When he got to the fold in the hill, he peered into the tower and heard, “There's still one part of
Dream on Kao-t'ang Terrace
to go.” He strained his eyes to watch the play.

On the stage he saw a Taoist and five immortals. The Taoist said, “A Taoist who wished to save the ignorant fully explained men's desires and the ways of the world. Keep this in your hearts when you wake from your dreams, you people of the world.”

Then Monkey heard the people on stage rumble, “
The Dream of South Branch
⁷
is tedious. Only
Prime Minister Sun
is ever played well. Prime Minister Sun is no other than Sun Wu-k'ung. Look! His wife is so beautiful, his five sons so dashing. He started out as a monk, but came to such a good end! Such a very good end!”

1
When fighting the hosts of Heaven, Monkey transformed himself into a three-headed, six-armed apparition brandishing three cudgels.

2
This refers to the erotic dream of King Hsiang of Ch'u. See note 7 in
chapter 2
.

3
I.e., Liu Pang, founder of the Han dynasty.

4
A person's “eight characters” are the four pairs of characters denoting the year, month, day, and hour of his or her birth. The interrelationships between the characters are interpreted in the manner of a horoscope.

5
Tung Yüeh is very original in using the names of traditional Chinese musical modes and pitches in this episode about fortune-telling. We are not aware that he made worked from any particular texts on fortune-telling or horoscopes.

6
Since Monkey, as Beautiful Lady Yü, successfully resisted Hsiang Yü's amorous advances, their marriage was a “dry” one.

7
This refers to the story of a man who in the space of a few seconds dreams that he passes an entire lifetime.

Young Lord T'ang Accepts an Order to Lead the Troops; Lady Green-twine Becomes a Broken Jade by the Pool
.

Monkey heard all this clearly from the fold of the hill. He said, “I've been single and chaste since I was born from the stone egg. When was I married to any woman? When did I ever have five children? It must be that Little Moon King really likes my Master and can't get him to stay here. Since he was afraid the Master was thinking about me, what he did was to slander me and write this play saying I'd become a high official, husband, and father. He's trying to get the Master to change his mind and forget about the West. But I mustn't be too hasty—I'll watch and see what happens.”

At that moment he heard the T'ang Priest say, “I don't want to see any more plays. Ask Lady Green-twine to come here.”

A maid immediately brought in a jade flying-cloud teapot and a teacup painted with scenes from the Hsiao and Hsiang Rivers. Shortly, Lady Green-twine entered. She was indeed an exotic beauty who could not be matched in a thousand years, whose fragrance wafted for ten miles.

In his fold of the hill Monkey thought, “When people on earth speak of beauty, they speak in comparison to Bodhisattva Kuan-yin. Now, I haven't seen the Bodhisattva often—maybe ten or twenty times—but seeing this lady, it almost seems the Bodhisattva could be her disciple. I wonder what the Master will do when he sees her.”

Lady Green-twine had just been seated when Pigsy and Sandy appeared behind her. The T'ang Priest said angrily, “Chu Wu-neng! Last night you peeped from the Little Animal Palace and startled my beloved lady. I've dismissed you. What are you doing here?”

Pigsy said, “The ancients said, ‘Great anger doesn't last the night.’ Young Lord Ch'en, please forgive me this time.”

The T'ang Priest said, “Well, if you don't go, I'll write a bill of separation to send you away.”

Sandy said, “Young Lord Ch'en, if you want to drive us off, we'll leave. When a husband wants to get rid of his wife, he has to write a bill of divorce. But when a master wants to dismiss disciples there's no need for that.”

Pigsy said, “There's no harm in it—these days there are many masters and disciples who are husband and wife. But where does Young Lord Ch'en expect us two to go?”

The T'ang Priest said, “You return to your wife. Sandy can go back to the River of Flowing Sand.”

Sandy said, “I'm not going to the River of Flowing Sand. I'll go to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to be a Counterfeit Monkey.”

The T'ang Priest said, “Wu-k'ung has been made a prime minister. Where is he now?”

Sandy said, “He's not a prime minister any more. He's following another master and continuing toward the West.”

The T'ang Priest said, “If that's so, you two will surely run into him on the road. By all means stop him from coming to bother me here.” He asked for a brush and ink-stone and began to write the bill of separation:

Wu-neng is my thief; were I to keep a thief, I'd be sheltering a thief. If I don't shelter the thief, he won't have a home. If the thief doesn't cling to me, I'll be clean. If the thief and I remain together, we'll both become thieves. If the thief and I separate, we'd both benefit. I don't love you, Wu-neng—leave quickly.

Pigsy took the bill of separation mournfully. The T'ang Priest again wrote:

The writer of this bill of separation is Ch'en Hsüan-tsang, beloved brother of Little Moon King. The appearance of the Monster-monk Sandy is very grim. He has not cast off his mixed consciousness so he is not my disciple. Today I dismiss him. I won't see him again till we go to the Yellow Spring. Witnessed by Little Moon King and Lady Green-twine.

Sandy, too, was very sad as be accepted his bill of separation. The two of them went out of the tower together and left. The T'ang Priest was unconcerned. He laughed and said to Little Moon King, “I'm rather a nuisance, am I not?” Then he asked, “Lady Green-twine, what has happened since this morning?”

Lady Green-twine replied, “I was feeling depressed so I wrote a song to the tune of ‘Crow's Nest.’ I'd like to sing it for you.” She gathered up her sleeves and knitted her eyebrows. In a lilting voice she sang:

Three, five stars in the bright moon of the sixteenth;

“Ding, ding,” chimes the water clock, “thrum, thrum,” sounds the drum.

No bridge o'er the Milky Way
¹
for our mutual love;

This pitiful girl passes a pitiful night.

Her song ended, she was overcome by sorrow. “My Young Lord,” she cried, “our relationship is finished.” She embraced the T'ang Priest miserably. The T'ang Priest was alarmed and tried to comfort her with pleasant words.

Lady Green-twine sobbed and said, “How can you be like this when separation is at hand?” She pointed with one finger and said, “Look to the south, Young Lord, and you'll know what I mean.”

The T'ang Priest turned his head to see a band of mounted soldiers galloping toward them carrying a yellow banner. He began to feel uneasy. Before long the tower was filled with soldiers on horseback. One officer in a purple robe carried an imperial decree. He saluted the T'ang Priest and said, “I am a messenger from New T'ang.” He ordered, “Soldiers, help the Supreme Commander into uniform.”
²

They quickly set up an incense table. The T'ang Priest knelt facing northward, and the purple-robed officer, facing south, read the decree. After he finished reading, the officer took out a five-colored tally and gave it to the T'ang Priest, saying, “There can be no delay, General. The enemy from the West is at hand. Bring out your troops immediately.”

The T'ang Priest said, “You have no tact, officer. You may wait until I've taken leave of my family.” He turned and went to the back of the hall to look for Lady Green-twine. She had watched him being made a general, and now, prepared to depart on his journey, he seemed pressed for time. Embracing him with both arms she wept and collapsed to the floor. She said, “How can I let you go, Young Lord? Your body is sick and feeble. A general spends his days on windy mountains and sleeps in damp valleys. There will be no relative to look after you and tell you when to put on an extra unlined robe or take off one of your white sashes. You'll have to take care of yourself and adjust for the cold. Young
Lord, always remember what I say at our parting: don't use harsh punishment on your soldiers and officers for fear they might do you evil; be careful in accepting surrendered soldiers for fear they might rob your camp; don't rush heedlessly into dark forests. If the horses whinny at sunset, don't keep going. If in spring there are flowers on the riverbank, don't step on them. If there are cool nights in summer, don't stay out in the breeze. When you're depressed, don't think about today; but when you're happy, don't forget me.

“Alas, my Lord, how can I let you go? Were I to go with you, I fear it would violate your orders. But if I let you go alone, my Lord, don't you know how long the sad windy nights will be? It's better my fragile soul should join you in your jade general's tent.”

The T'ang Priest and Lady Green-twine joined in a tight embrace and wailed. They swayed in each other's arms till they fell beside the Pool of Broken Jade.

Lady Green-twine threw herself into the water. The T'ang Priest wept bitterly and called, “Lady! Lady! Come back to me!”

The purple-robed officer galloped in and whisked the T'ang Priest away, and the whole army hurried toward the west.

1
The “bridge o'er the Milky Way” again alludes to the story of the Spinning Lady and the Cowherd. See note 9 in
chapter 2
.

2
A general would normally be in formal uniform to receive an imperial order.