Week 9 Story: The Monkey King Reigns

A depiction of the Monkey King from Chinese legend, Sun Wu Kung

The Handsome Monkey King, known simply as Sun Wu Kung to many, had been a huge disruption to the status quo of Heaven. Since his birth from a stone from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, to his coronation for leading a group of monkeys upstream to the source of their river, which was near a great waterfall and cave they now reside, to his very reluctant appointment to a job in Heaven after gaining several magical and powerful artifacts that have established him as one of the greatest and most feared beings in existence. After being "promoted" to keeper of the Garden of Peaches, Sun Wu Kung, in a fiery rage, decided to plot and destroy those in Heaven who belittled and opposed him. After wreaking havoc in Heaven and defeating many celestial generals, deities, and dragon kings, it became time for someone to step in. The Buddha himself appeared before Sun Wu Kung and made a wager; if Sun Wu Kung could escape from his palm, he would not imprison him and, in fact, make him a Buddha himself and have him ascend. Sun Wu Kung vehemently agreed, and the wager was on. After many weeks of wandering and running, he had approached five large white pillars unlike anything he had ever seen in his life. Believing he had escaped Buddha and found the end of Heaven itself, he began to carve his name into a pillar. Upon further reflection and inspection, Sun Wu Kung, by sheer luck, began inspecting his own hand before finishing engraving his own name. He realized that these pillar must the edge of the Buddha's finger and quickly jumped between the pillars, falling into a void of pure darkness... 

And like that, he had caught and held open once again in the familiar air of Heaven. The Buddha had caught Sun Wu Kung after he had escaped his hand. Always a being of his word, Buddha opened the mind of Sun Wu Kung and gave him the ability to ascend into a powerful Buddha in his own right, co-ruling Heaven as Heaven's Equal, finally. 

Author's Note: In this version of this portion of the story of Sun Wu Kung, our protagonist is faced with his greatest challenge: trying to escape Buddha himself. In the original version of the myth, Sun Wu Kung cannot escape the palm of Buddha and is then enclosed and imprisoned in his fist for 500 years as punishment for wreaking havoc in heaven after being disrespected. In this version, Sun Wu Kung is successful and contributes to a sense of an unstoppable force in media, like Michael Myers from the Halloween horror franchise, which I think is an interesting idea to ponder in life. 

Bibliography: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-monkey-king-sun-wu.html

Reading Notes: Asia, The Monkey King, Part B

A depiction of Sun Wu Kung, The Monkey King, from Chinese Legend

In this portion of the story, the Havoc in Heaven, Sun Wu Kung is given a job in Heaven by the Jade Emperor as a means to appease the disruptive Monkey King and make him more manageable. The job, however, is the Protector of the Horses, the lowest job in Heaven. To spite the Emperor, he sets the horses free and declares himself The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. The Gods are forced to recognize his status, however the Emperor "allows" him to guard the Heavenly Peach Garden. Sun Wu Kung is left out of an important feast with every other major god and goddess, and after finding out about it, eats the Peaches of Immortality, Laozi's pills of longevity, and drinks the Jade Emperor's royal wine before he heads back to his kingdom to plot his revenge. Later, The Monkey King defeats the Heavenly Army of 100,000, the 28 constellation, 4 heavenly kings, and Nezha, as well as proving the equal of the Heavenly Generals. After a group effort of the greatest and most powerful deities in existence, Sun Wu Kung is captured. He escapes and resists all attempts to be murdered and executed by these Heavenly beings. After all of this, Sun Wu Kung smugly challenges Buddha himself and tries to escape his palm, and leaves a marking on one of five pillars after thinking he has escaped. It is shown only to be the edge of Buddha's hand, and he encloses Sun Wu Kung in his palm for losing the wager, and leaves him trapped for 500 years. 

Bibliography: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-monkey-king-sun-wu.html

Reading Notes: Asia, The Monkey King, Part A

A depiction of Sun Wu Kung, the monkey king of Chinese legend.

At the top of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, there rested a magic rock. It eventually forms a magic womb, and a stone egg is formed from it. Wind blowing on the egg causes it to take shape into a monkey after tumbling around, and has the ability to crawl and walk. The monkey has beams of light shooting out of his eyes, and it startles the Jade Emperor in his palace. He sends agents to check on the disturbance, but after feeding the monkey, his eyes stop glowing. The monkey then befriends various animals and other monkeys and becomes beloved. After bathing in a stream, the monkey and his friends head up to find the source of the water and find a waterfall. They declare that whoever can do that will be king, and the stone monkey does this and wins, becoming their king. He begins going by the name Sun Wu Kung, or the Handsome Monkey King, and has the monkeys relocate to the cave near the waterfall to live together. Sun Wu Kung establishes himself as a demon king and searches for various weapons, like the Ruyi Jingu Bang, which is a large staff that weighs many tons, but he wields and conceals as the size of a needle behind his ear. After conquering other dragon kings and lords,  he obtains a golden chainmail shirt and a phoenix feather cap. After gaining this immense power, he befriends the Bull, Roc, Lion, and many other Demon Kings to add to his influence and power. He even overpowers death and erases his name from the Book of Life and Death. 

Bibliography: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-monkey-king-sun-wu.html