There was once a general named Wang Shih-ch’ung who wanted to rule China. When the Sui dynasty collapsed, he saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When the first T’ang emperor struggled to exert his power to control the empire, General Wang captured Luoyang, in the Henan Province. He built up a conscripted army, and used forced labor to construct a walled outpost in Luoyang. Luoyang was already surrounded by a massive wall, so this compound was a fort within a fort. General Wang’s influence grew when his troops were able to capture a T’ang prince called Li Shih-Min.

The monks were able to make their way through the city to the General’s compound in the darkness. The monks removed their heavy equipment (which were weights all around their body). They removed these weights from their wrists, chests, and ankles and scaled the wall easily. They jumped from the top of the wall into the compound quietly.

The monks snuck into the heavily guarded prison gates. They couldn’t move past them stealthily, so they attacked the guards. They used different techniques like Wild Tiger Leaps the Ravine and Golden Hook Hangs on the Wall to beat them. A monk named Shan Hu then went to steal horses, while the others went to release the T’ang prince. 

Li Shih-Min was found imprisoned with a heavy cangue. The monks opened his cell and released him from the cangue. They then met up with Shan Hu.

While he was stealing horses, Shan Hu learned that the general was out on a raid, leaving his nephew and heir Wang Ren-Tse in charge of the city. The five monks Shan Hu, T’an Tsung, Shan Hui, Tao Kwang, and Ming Yueh all decided to give General Wang Shih-Ch’ung a taste of his own medicine and decided to kidnap the young heir who was celebrating Li Shih-Min’s capture. Chi Ts’ao and the rest of the monks along with the prince went out to Luoyang Bridge.

The five monks began to search the city, looking for the heir’s banquet. They found a private home suspiciously surrounded by soldiers, so the monks decided to eavesdrop on them. By fate, they turned out to be Wang Ren-Tse’s personal guard. Wang Ren-Tse was inside rapping a woman he fancied on the way to the banquet hall. The monks attacked the soldiers and easily beat them with techniques like Sparrow Hawk Spins in the Air, and Thunder Good Flies Across the Heavens.

The woman’s scream filled the house, so the monks rushed in. They started searching the house room by room.

By the time T’an Tsung found him, Wang Ren-Tse was already finished with his victim and waiting for them. Wang Ren-Tse blew out the lamp and drew his sword. The two men fought in the darkness. T’an Tsung tried to fend him off with his Shaolin techniques, but Wang was also a very skilled swordsman. T’an Tsung would not be able to fight him off without a weapon. The monk bumped into a jar of pickled vegetables from a shelf during the fight, and hurled the jar at Wang with the White Snake Flicks Its Tongue. The enemy dropped his sword and slumped on the floor.

Dragging the unconscious Wang Ren-Tse, the five monks met up with their companions at Luoyang Bridge. The thirteen monks and Prince Li-Shih-Min rode the stolen horses out of the city.

In the Northern Sung’s reign, there was a man from Hai Ch’ung by the name of Lu Ta. He was big, with large hands, broad hips, and strong legs. He had a face you wouldn’t normally think of for a Chinese man, with a round face, big nose, and full beard. He had his head shaved and a body covered with tattoos. When he took up a fighting stance, he looks like a giant boulder.

The bandits were led by the Old Rat Chang San, and the Green Grass Snake Li Ssu. They spied on Lu Ta while he was practicing with his monk spade, and they decided not to fight him fairly. Instead, they pretended to be injured in front of him as he stood at the edge of the temple outhouse. When he came closer, Chang San grabbed one of Lu Ta’s legs, and Li Ssu grabbed the other. But, it was ineffective. Lu Ta laughed as they struggled to throw him down the toilet. He lifted his right leg, and shook the Old Rat down the latrine. He lifted his right leg, and did the same to the Green Grass Snake.

The next day, the bandits wanted to apologize. They brought several jars of wine and a roasted pig. During the feast, a murder of crows landed in the willow tree that looked over the table where Lu Ta and the bandits were eating. The birds were so noisy that Lu Ta got up and pulled up the tree. To him, it was just like another wooden stake.

The tale of the Monkey King, Sun Hou Tzu, is noted in Wu Cheng An’s Journey To The West (Hsi Yu Chi). This epic narrative notes the roots and adventures of the Monkey King as he protects a monk named Hsuan Tsang on a pilgrimage to India in the 7th century. Here are some stories of the birth of the Monkey king adapted from Arthur Waley’s translation of Journey To The West titled Monkey.

The Stone Monkey quickly became the leader of the wild monkeys in the area. He found shelter, food, and water for them and soon became their king. The monkeys had everything and were content, but the Monkey King became troubled by the thought of death. He wanted to discover the secrets of immortality. In his journey for eternal life, he went to Holy Terrace Mountain, where the Immortal P’u Ti Tsu Shih taught him the formula of the 72 Transformations and the art of Cloud Soaring, enabling the Monkey King to travel 216,000 meters in a single jump. 

When the Monkey King returned to his kingdom, a demon named Hun Shih Mo Wang was terrorizing the other monkeys. Monkey confronted the demon. 

The two exchanged punches and kicks, and were evenly matched with one another. The Monkey King punched the demon from in the lower ribs, and sent a flurry of punches on his chest. The demon was staggered. He picked up a sword, and slashed at the Monkey King’s head. Monkey swiftly stepped aside. The demon was becoming more savage, and the Monkey King knew it. Monkey used the method called Body Outside the Body. He pulled out some of his hair, and then threw them in the air. 

“Change!” Monkey yelled.

The hair changed into a crowd of small monkeys. When anyone becomes immortal, they can make any kind of miracle. Monkey King could transform his hair into whatever he wanted them to be.

The little monkeys were so quick that they could not be touched. They surrounded the demon. They kicked him, punched him, pinched his nose, and poked his eyes. While the demon was distracted, the Monkey King snatched the demon’s sword. He ran through the group of monkeys, and slashed down at the demon’s skull and broke it.

The Monkey King realized he needed weapons for his subjects, but he could not find any to his liking. Seeing that he couldn’t find any weapons on land, he  wanted to get a weapon made in the sea. 

The Monkey visited Ao-Kuang, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and asked him for weapons. The Dragon King was not one to turn a request down. The Dragon King brought out a huge sword, but Monkey did not want it. The Dragon King brought out a nine pronged fork weighing 3,600 pounds, but Monkey thought it was too light. 

The Dragon mother and her daughter saw this exchange. They saw that the Monkey King is no ordinary warrior.  “Great King,” the Dragon mother said, “We can see that this Monkey Sage is no ordinary warrior. In the treasury, we have magic iron that shaped the bed of the galaxy. It has already been glowing for several days. Is this not a sign to give it to him?”

The Dragon King refused. “This,” he said, “was used by the Great Yu, when he fixed the rivers and seas. When he subdued the great flood. It’s just a piece of iron. What use is this to him?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just give it to him and see if he wants it.”

The Dragon King brought the Monkey King to the Treasury. The Monkey saw the glowing iron, which turned out to be a thick iron pillar. He took one end and then raised it. 

“It’s too long and too thick,” the Monkey complained. The pillar quickly became shorter and thinner. 

“Smaller.” The Monkey King said. The pillar shrunk again. The Monkey was delighted.

Bringing it out from the treasury, he saw the iron pillar in its glory. There were golden clasps at each end of the black iron. On the near end, there was an inscription saying “Golden Clasped Wishing Staff- 13,500 pounds”. 

This was only the beginning of the many adventures of the Monkey King. If you want to learn more about his stories, read Monkey by Arthur Waley.

A long time ago, a young dragon lived in the river near Hangzhou. He had a good heart, but he was impulsive and naive. He spent his days playing with the fish and the turtles, flying in the clouds or relaxing in the water. He lived a simple and happy life.

Then one day, three boats came down the river. The leading boat had a high imperial official and his soldiers. The other two boats had farmers being tied up like livestock. 

Everyone ran for their lives, all except for one. This man fired his crossbow at the dragon. The arrow struck the dragon’s right eye.

The dragon roared in pain and flew away. He returned to the river, where he sank to the bottom. None of his friends knew what to do, but a wise turtle told him to go to Hangzhou and see a certain monk to help him. 

The dragon then transformed himself into a stonecutter. He went to the monk’s temple and found who he was looking for. He pretended that he was injured while cutting stone, and showed the monk his injured eye. 

The monk pulled out what had been in his eye, and saw that it was a crossbow arrow. He became angry and asked for the truth. 

The dragon confessed and told him his story. He said he was going to destroy the capital.

The monk became very conflicted. The troubled monk asked the dragon to do some work and earn the medicine. The dragon agreed, and the monk led him to the courtyard.

“Powerful dragon,” said the monk “Make me a well!”

The dragon went to work. He dug deep down the earth, and the water started gushing out to the temple courtyard. The dragon tried to come back up to the surface, but little did he know that the monk placed a talisman that trapped the dragon under the water.

To this day, the dragon is said to be still under the water. The well is now divided into three pools: the Jade Spring, the Pearl Spring, and the Spring of Rain from a Clear Sky. 

The water from the Jade Spring is the clear water released from underground that the water released.

The Pearl Spring has bubbles that come from the surface because of the dragon breathing.

The Spring of Rain From A Clear Sky has mist that comes from when the dragon moves its tail.

The three springs are still in Hangzhou.