44 pages • 1 hour read
Wu Cheng'en, Transl. Arthur WaleyMonkey: A Folk Novel of China
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1592A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 22-24
Chapter 22 Summary
After briefly wrapping up the story of Crow-cock, this section describes the pilgrims’ interactions with the kingdom of Cart Slow. As they continue west from Crow-cock, Tripitaka and his disciples hear strange noises, prompting Monkey to investigate. Monkey learns that the sound is coming from Buddhists enslaved into doing manual labor by the false Taoists who have taken over the kingdom—though at the time Monkey does not know the Taoists leaders are impostors. Two Taoists tell Monkey, who is disguised as a Taoist, that 20 years prior, during a famine, “three Immortals suddenly came from the sky and saved us” (213). The Tiger Strength Immortal, Ram Strength Immortal, and Deer Strength Immortal ordered the Buddhists be enslaved for their inability to save the kingdom with their praying.
Monkey visits the Buddhists and learns more of their backstory, including that many of the original Buddhists died or killed themselves and that the “five hundred whom you see here are those who failed to die” (217). The Buddhist slaves add that spirits have appeared to them alerting them that the Great Sage would save them. Monkey kills the two Taoists he met and reveals his true form to the enslaved Buddhists. He destroys their carts and gives them each a hair from his body to protect them from harm.
Monkey returns to Tripitaka and the others, but he cannot sleep and instead goes to spy on the Taoists. Seeing that they are having a service, Monkey retrieves Pigsy and Sandy, scares away the Taoists with magic, knocks over the statues of the Taoist Trinity, and has Pigsy throw the statues into the toilet. Pigsy, Monkey, and Sandy begin eating the offerings the Taoists left behind, until one comes back looking for his handbell, hears Pigsy laughing, and alerts the other Taoists to a possible intrusion.
Chapter 23 Summary
The three Immortals arrive at hall where Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy have been eating the offerings. They suggest the offerings may have been taken by the deities and start praying, just in case, asking for elixir and holy water. Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy urinate into three large vessels provided for them, as a practical joke on the Taoists. When the Immortals drink the urine and realize they’ve been tricked, Monkey mocks them for believing the gods had come. When the Taoists try to attack, Monkey grabs Pigsy and Sandy and runs to where Tripitaka is sleeping.
The next day, the pilgrims try to get in to see the king and have their passports stamped. The Immortals arrive, telling the king of the events of the night before and blaming Monkey, who argues, “cases of mistaken identity occur everywhere and every day” (227). When elders arrive begging for rain, the king talks about past Buddhist failures and suggests he will give the Buddhists one more chance by having a rain-making competition with the Immortals. The Deer Strength Immortal performs his magic, which begins to work, until Monkey jumps into the clouds and commands all the spirits that control the wind and rain to stop doing their jobs. Monkey commands the spirits to follow his instructions instead, and they consent.
Tripitaka recites scriptures while Monkey issues his commands, bringing rain as promised. However, the Deer Strength Immortal claims, “it was I, not the Buddhists, who produced this rain” (232), saying that his magic just took longer to work. Monkey suggests the Immortal should call the dragon kings as proof of their powers. When they are unable to get the dragon kings to come, Monkey calls, and they answer, embarrassing the false Taoist Immortals.
Chapter 24 Summary
This chapter covers a number of contests between the false Taoist Immortals and Tripitaka’s group. The Immortals argue that they have been good for the realm and should be given another chance to prove themselves. Tiger Strength Immortal suggests a meditation competition, which concerns Monkey, as “[i]t’s quite against my nature to sit still” (235). Tripitaka volunteers his abilities in meditation if Monkey can help him get to the top of the large tower he must sit upon. During the competition, one of the other Immortals interferes by sending a louse to bother Tripitaka. Monkey, as a gnat, removes the louse, then changes into a centipede and crawls up the Tiger Strength Immortal’s nose, causing him to fall.
The next set of challenges posed by the Immortals involves guessing the treasure inside of a box. Each time, the king puts something into the box, and Monkey interferes, first by changing a royal robe into a cracked kitchen dish, then by eating a peach, and finally by convincing a young Taoist to pretend to be a Buddhist and outfitting him in Buddhist robes. With each victory that goes to Tripitaka’s group, the king thinks more and more that “these Buddhists are being helped by unseen influences” (239).
The Immortals insist on a final competition in “head-cutting, belly-ripping and bathing in boiling oil” (240). Monkey completes all three tasks—having his head cut off and growing a new one, having his belly cut open and putting his guts back in, and bathing in boiling oil, during which he pretends to die but then reveals his success. Monkey interferes with the Immortals’ attempts at the challenges, causing the Tiger Strength Immortal to die by beheading, the Deer Strength Immortal to die when a hawk eats his guts, and the Ram Strength Immortal to die when the Dragon King calls back the chilly dragon who has been helping him. As each “Immortal” dies, their corpses turn back into the regular animals they really are, exposing them as not being true Taoists.
Chapters 22-24 Analysis
This section addresses the pilgrims’ time in Cart Slow, during which they bring back Buddhism to a kingdom that has forsaken the Faith under the leadership of false Immortals. What at first seems like a criticism of Taoism ends up being a criticism of the perversion and misunderstanding of religion, and of the dangers of following those who are not true believers. A few wild animals manage to master enough magic to convince an entire kingdom that they are Immortals, and coupled with the poor leadership of a king who cannot think for himself, the animals solidify their power through tricks and fear, enslaving the Buddhists who might be able to expose their lies if given the chance. Between Tripitaka’s piety and Monkey’s magical abilities, the pilgrims free the kingdom from darkness and return it to religion.
One of the primary motifs of the text—transformation—plays a significant role in this section. During this adventure, Monkey is constantly changing form and using his magic to help his fellow Buddhists, disguising himself as a Taoist, changing into a variety of animals, and using his longevity to transform himself as he’s being ripped apart. In addition to changing his own form, Monkey changes objects into other objects, uses his hairs to change into protective charms, and further uses his magic to have conversations with various spirits and magical creatures that can assist him in his aims.
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