Legend of the Monkey King and the Journey to the West | Tea with Erping

One of my favorite things about the New Year is that I get to catch up with friends, especially those I haven't seen for a while due to the pandemic. Interestingly enough, quite a few American friends mentioned that they want to watch Shen Yun performing arts. Chances are, some of you might have watched or heard about this show. This year, one of its programs is the story of the Monkey King, and these friends of mine have not stopped asking So, who is this Monkey King? Let's find out. Welcome to Tea with Erping. Today, I would like to take you on a journey to discover a superhero whose story goes back to ancient times, perhaps long before Hercules, Thor, and Superman, known and loved by millions around the world. His stories have inspired many writers, TV series, cartoons, and movies about it have been remade over and over again throughout the years. Now, the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is presenting the Monkey King story again on stage around the world. With dazzling visual artistry, Shen Yun Performing Arts aims to revive 5,000-year Chinese culture and traditions through classical Chinese dance and music. It's definitely a mesmerizing experience to watch this fabulous show in person. Now, let me return to this enchanting legend of the Monkey King. Once upon a time, at the very tip of the mountain of flowers and fruit on the eastern continent, there rested a magic stone. One day, the stone burst into an egg the size of a ball, and a monkey crawled out of it. As the monkey looked around, his eyes showed two beams of golden light towards the Jade Palace, high above in the heavens. The monkey first paid his respects before befriending other animals, jumping and playing around, happily eating plum peaches and drinking spring water. One day, the monkey and his peers come across a waterfall, and being the curious monkey that they are, they declare that whoever among them can jump through the waterfall and find out what's behind it will be proclaimed as the king. The magical monkey jumps in without even thinking twice, and to his delight, it leads into a cave, perfect for a home. So, all of his peers agree to address him as the handsome Monkey King. One day, it dawns upon the Monkey King that death awaits for mortals like himself. After seeking advice from the elderly monkey, he is told that the truth of immortality belongs only to heavenly beings. Hearing this, the Monkey King embarks on his journey in search of a way to become an immortal. After years of searching, the monkey finally arrives at the mountain home of a powerful Taoist master named Patriarch Bodhi. Knowing that a heavenly being is right before his eyes, the monkey bows and begs to be accepted as his disciple. At first, the Taoist master refuses to accept him. Undeterred, the monkey waits around the entrance for months, and seeing his dedication, the master finally lets him in and names him meaning The Taoist master teaches the monkey many supernatural skills with one very important piece of advice, which is to never show off and brag. One day, unable to resist his desire to show off his skills to his fellow monkey disciples, the Monkey King turns himself into a pine tree. The Taoist master becomes furious and expels the monkey. At this point, the monkey has acquired incredible strength. Being able to travel at high speed and can cover distances of over 30,000 miles in just one leap, he can also perform 72 transformations, which allows him to transform into different animals and objects. Given the superpowers he now possesses, the monkey flies back to his home, the mountain of flowers and fruits, in the blink of an eye. Back with skills and knowledge, the Monkey King begins training his peers with mighty martial arts. As great as his skills are, he realizes that he lacks an equally powerful weapon. Upon hearing that the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea possesses many treasures, the Monkey King dives into the bottom of the sea and swims straight to the Dragon Palace. The Dragon King, noticing how formidable the monkey is now, caves in and sends his subordinates, mostly shrimps and crabs, to fight weapon after weapon, only to a dissatisfied monkey. Every one of them feels too light, and nothing seems to be robust enough for this mighty monkey. With nothing left to try, the Dragon King leads the monkey to a giant pillar resting at the bottom of the sea. This is a magical sea-guarding pillar. It should not be lifted or moved, for otherwise, it will lead to great disturbance in the sea. This pillar is carved with this writing, the auspicious gold rod. Turns out, it changes size at the will of its owner. The Monkey King is the only creature by far who can lift this pillar, which can weigh up to over 17,000 pounds, and the magical pillar connects with him instantly. When not in use, the monkey shrinks it down to the size of a needle and keeps it tucked behind his ear. This finally makes the Monkey King happy. In addition to that, the Monkey King asks for an attire, fit for a warrior like himself. Guess what he managed to get? A golden chain mail armor, a phoenix feather hat, and a pair of cloud-walking boots. After that, the Monkey King thanks the Dragon King and leaves. Being the rebellious monkey that he is, he traveled to the underworld when his time's due and managed to write off his name and his peers from the Book of Death. The soldiers from the underworld came to take the monkey away and the king of the underworld reported the monkey's misdemeanors to the Jade Emperor, also known as the Lord of Heaven. Upon hearing about the ill-tempered monkey, the Jade Emperor feels the best way to subdue this earthly creature is to let him live in heaven without the gods so that he would feel a sense of importance. He issued an invitation to the monkey, who eagerly accepts. The monkey soon discovers that he is assigned to the lowest-level task in all of heaven, guarding the Jade Emperor's horses with a fancy job title. In reality, just a stable boy, he quickly realizes that being a monkey, the other gods would never see him disappear. In hopes of finding a way to prove himself not equal like other gods, the Monkey King becomes obsessed with the idea of immortality and devotes himself to the pursuit of everlasting life. Given another official promotion to be responsible for the heavenly peach garden, the monkey is now kept happy. The mischievous monkey finds out that there are three different kinds of peaches being planted in this heavenly peach garden. The local god tells the monkey, There are 3,600 peach trees all together. The ones growing at the front ripen every 3,000 years. Anyone who eats them becomes immortal and understands the Tao all the way, and his body becomes both light and strong. The 1,200 peach trees in the middle have multiple blossoms and sweet fruits and ripen every 6,000 years. Whoever eats them can fly and enjoy eternal youth. The remaining 1,200 peach trees in the back ripen once every 9,000 years, and anyone who eats them becomes as eternal as heaven and earth, as long-lived as the sun and the moon. Temptation of the plum-juicy peaches and the promise of immortality has gotten the better of the monkey. Day by day, he would jump from one tree to another, devouring his favorite fruit. One day, the Jade Emperor sent seven fairies to pick up some peaches for the imperial banquet, but they found out that there are no peaches left. During the preparation for the imperial banquet, the monkey sneaks in to taste the fine foods and drink the royal wine. Tipsily, the monkey king roams about heaven upon realizing that he is at the top of the 33 layers of the heavenly palace. The monkey steals and consumes the Taoist deity's peels for immortality. The Jade Emperor becomes furious and sends two battalions after the monkey. Gods and deities have their forces together in order to bring this earthly monkey down. After losing to the mighty monkey, the Jade Emperor tells Buddha what has happened and begs him to intervene. At this point, Buddha steps in and banishes the troublemaking monkey from heaven, imprisoning him under the Five Elephant Mountain for 500 years. Where the monkey couldn't move at all, now he must reflect on his actions, learn patience and humility. The lesson for the monkey is perhaps stay away from those heavenly peaches or things you shouldn't do and be happy with just bananas. 500 years pass by, we have now come to the year of the Tang dynasty, the most glorious dynasty of ancient China. Bodhisattva of Mercy, also known as Guan Yin, is in search of disciples to protect a pilgrim on the journey to the West to bring back to China the Buddhist sutras. Upon hearing of this, the monkey offers to help in exchange for his freedom after the pilgrimage is complete. The monkey, along with Pixing and Sandy, accompany Xuanzang, a monk of the Tang dynasty, on this pilgrimage. The monk's safety is constantly under threat as well as bandits, as they believe eating the monk's flesh would give them great power and immortality. The monkey acts as monk Xuanzang's bodyguard to combat and dismiss these threats. This group encounters altogether 81 tribulations and hardships on this journey before accomplishing their mission and returning to Chang'an, or today's Xi'an, capital of the Tang dynasty. In the end, the earthly monkey changes completely, becoming one of the most respected characters in Chinese mythology. During this journey, the Monkey King learns virtues and the teachings of Buddhism. He finally attained Buddhahood and became the victorious warrior Buddha. Monk Xuanzang's journey actually happened in history, though obviously without the Monkey King. It was the inspiration for the 16th-century Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. It is considered one of the four greatest classic novels of Chinese literature, depicting how one has the power within themselves to choose between good and evil. The story of the Monkey King tells us that it's never too late to start changing and refining one's conduct and character. With a strong will and courage to be good, the future ahead will be bright. One could argue that the peach of immortality symbolizes the sweet fulfillment of spiritual awakening. The Monkey King can't achieve that simply by cutting corners to steal and eat the heavenly peaches. He must learn to earn it the right way, letting go of his ego and helping others complete their pilgrimage. If a monkey can have the ability of knowing truth and be enlightened by choosing goodness, that leaves us a whole lot of room for improvements as humans. As Robert Louis Stevenson said, In each of us, two natures are at war, the good and the evil. All our lives, the fight goes on between them, and one of them must conquer. But in our own hands lies the power to choose. What we want most to be, we are. That concludes the legendary life story of our earthly creature-turned-superhero, the Monkey King. I often wonder, had Monkey King known the benefits of drinking tea, he might have created less trouble being self-disciplined, and perhaps achieved his immortality status sooner. Until our next adventure, peace and tea be with you.