Free Tower of Myriad Mirrors: A Supplement to Journey to the West (Michigan Classics in Chinese Studies) by Yueh Tung Page A
Authors: Yueh Tung
advance.”
Monkey read this and turned to go. He heard the cock crow three times. It was nearly dawn. He had traveled several million miles and still hadn't seen the First Emperor of Ch'in.
----
1 Green Pearl was the beautiful concubine of the rich and extravagant Shih Ch'ung of the Chin dynasty (264-419) who purchased her for fifteen pecks of pearls.
2 Hsi-shih was a famous beauty who lived in the state of Yüeh during the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 B.C.). She was sent by King Kou-chien of Yüeh to King Fu-ch'ai of Wu and later caused the collapse of the state of Wu. According to one legend, on the way from Yüeh to Wu, Hsi-shih became romantically involved with the diplomat Fan Li who presented her to the King of Wu.
3 We are not able to identify Miss Silk.
4 The daughter of the ancient mythical emperor Fu-hsi drowned herself in the River Lo and became its goddess.
5 King Ling of Ch'u loved girls with slim waists.
6 I.e., the shoes worn on a lady's delicate bound feet.
7 Beautiful Lady Yü was the favorite concubine of Hsiang Yü, Hegemon of Ch'u, a leader of the rebellion that ended the Ch'in dynasty in 207 B.C. After wiping out the last Ch'in emperor's family and setting fire to the capital of Hsien-yang, he parceled the empire into separate states over which he exercised hegemony from the state of Ch'u. Shortly thereafter, he was destroyed by his vassal, King of Han (Liu Pang), who went on to found the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220).
8 Nü-kua was a younger sister of the sage-emperor Fu-hsi, mythical author of the I Ching (Book of Changes) . She was supposed to have had the head of a woman and a serpent's body and to have repaired heaven after it was knocked from its supporting pillars during a war.
CHAPTER SIX
For a Face Half Covered with Tears, the True Beauty Dies; At the Mention of P'ing-hsiang, the General of Ch'u Is Grieved.
All of a sudden Monkey noticed a dark man sitting in a high pavilion. Monkey laughed and said, “So there are rebels in the World of the Ancients, too! His whole face has been blackened with coal and he's on public exhibit here.”
He advanced a few steps, then said, “No, he's no rebel; it's a temple for Chang Fei.” 1 But after thinking it over he said, “If it were Chang Fei's temple, he'd wear a turban. Even if there's a new style, at most he'd be wearing a general's helmet—an emperor's crown can't be worn by just anyone. Since he's wearing a crown and his face is dark, this must be Great Yü, 2 the Dark Emperor. I'll go see him and ask his secret method for controlling monsters and killing demons. Then I won't have to bother looking for the First Emperor of Ch'in.”
As he neared the front of the pavilion, he saw that below the platform stood a stone column, from the top of which flew a white banner. The banner had seven words written in purple saying, “The Famous Pre-Han Knight, Hsiang Yü.”
When Monkey read this he laughed aloud and said, “That just goes to show you shouldn't think about things that haven't happened—when you think about them, they won't turn out the way you expect. Here I speculated this way and that, saying he was Great Yü, the Dark Emperor, or Chang Fei, or a rebel—who'd have thought he'd be none other than my ‘husband’ from Green Pearl's tower.”
He thought a bit more and said, “Wait a minute—I drilled into this World of the Ancients to find the First Emperor of Ch'in and borrow hisMountain-removing Bell. The Hegemon of Ch'u, whom I just saw, lived after him. Why haven't I seen the First Emperor? I've got an idea—I'll climb the pavilion to see Hsiang Yü and ask him for information about the First Emperor. Then I can figure out where he is.”
Monkey jumped up for a closer look. He saw that below the pavilion there was an area with green grass, red railings, flowers here and there, and bird song everywhere. There sat a beautiful lady. Monkey
Monkey read this and turned to go. He heard the cock crow three times. It was nearly dawn. He had traveled several million miles and still hadn't seen the First Emperor of Ch'in.
----
1 Green Pearl was the beautiful concubine of the rich and extravagant Shih Ch'ung of the Chin dynasty (264-419) who purchased her for fifteen pecks of pearls.
2 Hsi-shih was a famous beauty who lived in the state of Yüeh during the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 B.C.). She was sent by King Kou-chien of Yüeh to King Fu-ch'ai of Wu and later caused the collapse of the state of Wu. According to one legend, on the way from Yüeh to Wu, Hsi-shih became romantically involved with the diplomat Fan Li who presented her to the King of Wu.
3 We are not able to identify Miss Silk.
4 The daughter of the ancient mythical emperor Fu-hsi drowned herself in the River Lo and became its goddess.
5 King Ling of Ch'u loved girls with slim waists.
6 I.e., the shoes worn on a lady's delicate bound feet.
7 Beautiful Lady Yü was the favorite concubine of Hsiang Yü, Hegemon of Ch'u, a leader of the rebellion that ended the Ch'in dynasty in 207 B.C. After wiping out the last Ch'in emperor's family and setting fire to the capital of Hsien-yang, he parceled the empire into separate states over which he exercised hegemony from the state of Ch'u. Shortly thereafter, he was destroyed by his vassal, King of Han (Liu Pang), who went on to found the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220).
8 Nü-kua was a younger sister of the sage-emperor Fu-hsi, mythical author of the I Ching (Book of Changes) . She was supposed to have had the head of a woman and a serpent's body and to have repaired heaven after it was knocked from its supporting pillars during a war.
CHAPTER SIX
For a Face Half Covered with Tears, the True Beauty Dies; At the Mention of P'ing-hsiang, the General of Ch'u Is Grieved.
All of a sudden Monkey noticed a dark man sitting in a high pavilion. Monkey laughed and said, “So there are rebels in the World of the Ancients, too! His whole face has been blackened with coal and he's on public exhibit here.”
He advanced a few steps, then said, “No, he's no rebel; it's a temple for Chang Fei.” 1 But after thinking it over he said, “If it were Chang Fei's temple, he'd wear a turban. Even if there's a new style, at most he'd be wearing a general's helmet—an emperor's crown can't be worn by just anyone. Since he's wearing a crown and his face is dark, this must be Great Yü, 2 the Dark Emperor. I'll go see him and ask his secret method for controlling monsters and killing demons. Then I won't have to bother looking for the First Emperor of Ch'in.”
As he neared the front of the pavilion, he saw that below the platform stood a stone column, from the top of which flew a white banner. The banner had seven words written in purple saying, “The Famous Pre-Han Knight, Hsiang Yü.”
When Monkey read this he laughed aloud and said, “That just goes to show you shouldn't think about things that haven't happened—when you think about them, they won't turn out the way you expect. Here I speculated this way and that, saying he was Great Yü, the Dark Emperor, or Chang Fei, or a rebel—who'd have thought he'd be none other than my ‘husband’ from Green Pearl's tower.”
He thought a bit more and said, “Wait a minute—I drilled into this World of the Ancients to find the First Emperor of Ch'in and borrow hisMountain-removing Bell. The Hegemon of Ch'u, whom I just saw, lived after him. Why haven't I seen the First Emperor? I've got an idea—I'll climb the pavilion to see Hsiang Yü and ask him for information about the First Emperor. Then I can figure out where he is.”
Monkey jumped up for a closer look. He saw that below the pavilion there was an area with green grass, red railings, flowers here and there, and bird song everywhere. There sat a beautiful lady. Monkey
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