Essay for Week 6: Magic and the Supernatural in the Monkey King

The tale of the monkey king is a tale of magic and the supernatural. From the birth of Sun Wu Kung, to his ascension to a Budda, magic fills the tales of his life.

In the beginning of the story of the Monkey King, in the passage Handsome King of the Apes, Sun Wu Kung is born. This birth is far from natural, however! The future king of the monkeys is born out a stone egg, and is even made of stone himself!

The Monkey King's supernatural abilities do not end there. In the passage Learning the Art, Sun Wu Kung learns to practice magic from his priestly master. Sun Wu Kung is able to leap into the air and walk amongst clouds that form beneath his feet.

 (Sun Wu Kung: Wikimedia Commons)

Sun Wu Kung further demonstrates his magic capabilities in the story of The Devil-King.. When Sun Wu Kung returns to his home, he finds that his cave has been taken over by a devil. This devil is no match for the Monkey King's new magic powers, however. Sun Wu Kung uses magic to turn his own hairs into tiny little monkeys to attack the demon, and ends the devil once and for all with a blow from his own knife.

In Notscha, Son of Li Dsing, Sun Wu Kung once again finds himself in a battle. This time, he faces the son of a god! During this fight, both Notscha and Sun Wu Kung use magic to transform themselves into a three headed being with six arms. The fight continues for a time, until Sun Wu Kung utilizes his hair once more to make a phantom of himself, and strikes Notscha from behind.

In the final story of Sun Wu Kung, The Travellers Honoured, Sun Wu Kung and other supernatural immortal beings meet with the Buddha. Sun Wu Kung is appointed God of Victorious Strife, and ascends to his celestial abode.

Storytelling for Week 6: The Stone Monkey

Once upon a time, on top of mountainous island in the sea, lived a village of monkeys. This island was amongst a treacherous and wild sea, and its constant winds and storms made all of the islands surrounding that of the monkeys uninhabitable.

For all intents and purposes, the island of the monkeys should have been ravaged by these storms as well. However, the monkeys on this island had the blessing of the god Faarus. For each day, when the sun rose in the sky, every monkey in the village would pray upon the stone tablet of Faarus, and every night, when the sun vanished from the sky, each monkey would return to pray with the tablet once more. While many storms would form in the sea, as they approached the island they would veer off course or disappear altogether.

(Stone Tablet: Wikimedia Commons)

One day, an evil spirit came to the island of monkeys and snatched away the tablet, hiding it in a cave behind a raging waterfall. Each of the monkeys tried to pass through the waterfall, but the stream was too strong, and one by one they were washed away.

Without the tablet, the monkeys were no longer able to pray to the god Faarus. The protection from their god was lost, and soon storms ravaged the island as it those around it. Rain poured on the island all day and night, and the homes of the villagers were blown away in the strong winds. As the weeks passed, the monkeys suffered without shelter and had begun to run out of food.

All seemed hopeless, until the fateful day that a stone egg fell from the heavens onto the island. The stone egg hatched as quick as it fell, and out climbed a tiny stone monkey. The stone monkey did not stay tiny for long, for by nightfall he had grown to the size of a full grown ape.

The stone monkey spoke with the village monkeys and learned of the evil spirit who had hidden their tablet. The stone monkey quickly went to the waterfall and, due to his heavy stone exterior, was able to pass through unharmed. The stone monkey retrieved the tablet from the cave and returned to the village monkeys.

The monkeys prayed upon the tablet, and the storm dissipated from the island. Thankful for the stone monkeys help, they made him king of all the monkeys.



Author's Note: This story is based on Handsome King of the Apes in the section The Monkey King from The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm. This story tells of a  stone monkey who is born from a stone egg. He slowly grows up, learning to walk and climb trees, until one day he becomes king of the apes by walking though a waterfall unharmed and finding a stone tablet. I added the storms and prayers to this tale to make it a little more dramatic.

Week 6 Reading Diary: The Monkey King, Sun Wu Kung

Here are a few of my favorite stories from The Monkey King

Handsome King of the Apes. In the beginning of this tale, the future Monkey king is born. This isn't a normal birth, however; the Monkey King was born out of a stone egg! The stone monkey slowly grows up, learning to walk and climb trees, until one day he becomes king of the apes by walking though a waterfall unharmed and finding a stone tablet.

Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name As the title suggests, in this section the Monkey King receives his name. One day the monkey king hears a wood chopper singing a "divine" song and believes him to be a master of the divine. The wood chopper responds that he simply learned the song from a saint, and sends the Monkey King to where the saint resides. Once he arrives, the saint gives the Monkey King the name Sun Wu Kung and teaches him many other skills.

Learning the Art After years of practice, Sun Wu Kung learns the art of magic from the saint. The Monkey Kings leaps into the air and walks several hundred feet on clouds that form below him!

The Devil-King  Sun Wu Kung leaves his master and returns to his home only to find that his cave has been taken over by a devil. The Monkey King engages the devil in combat, utilizing his new magic to turn each of his hairs into tiny monkeys to attack the devil. Sun Wu Kung takes the devils knife from him and ends him once and for all.

The  Lord of the Heavens Hearing the complaints of the Dragon-King and the princes of the dead, the Lord of the Heavens sets out to punish Sun Wu Kung. The Evening Star speaks on Sun Wu Kung's behalf and changes the lord's mind. The Lord of the Heavens instead makes Sun Wu Kung the stablemaster of the heavenly steeds.

Notscha, Son of Li Dsing Sun Wu Kung finds his new position demeaning, as he was a king on his own mountain, and leaves. The Lord of the Heavens is angered by this and sends Li Dsing, a god, and his son, Notscha to take Sun Wu Kung prisoner. Sun Wu Kung easily beats Notscha in combat, and he is given the title Great Saint Who Is Heaven’s Equal.