Journey to the West: Havoc in Heaven · chapter 3 of 8
Great Sage Equal to Heaven
齐天大圣
Back home, Wukong gives himself a title as big as the sky. Heaven's soldiers can't make him drop it, so Taibai Jinxing has another idea.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 悟空坐着筋斗云回到花果山，小猴子们都跑了过来。
Wùkōng zuòzhe jīndǒuyún huí dào Huāguǒ Shān, xiǎo hóuzi men dōu pǎo le guòlái.
Wukong rode his somersault cloud back to Flower Fruit Mountain, and the little monkeys came running.
- Little Monkey 大王回来了！大王走了十几年了！
Dàwáng huílái le! Dàwáng zǒu le shí jǐ nián le!
The Great King is back! You've been gone more than ten years!
- Sun Wukong 十几年？老孙在天上，才过了半个月啊！
Shí jǐ nián? Lǎo Sūn zài tiānshàng, cái guò le bàn gè yuè a!
More than ten years? Old Sun was only up in heaven for half a month!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Journey to the West: Havoc in Heaven is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Little Monkey 天上一天，地上一年啊！大王在天上做了什么官？
Tiānshàng yì tiān, dìshang yì nián a! Dàwáng zài tiānshàng zuò le shénme guān?
One day in heaven is a year down here! So what post did you get up there, Great King?
- Sun Wukong 别说了！玉帝让老孙去养马，那是天上最小的官！
Bié shuō le! Yùdì ràng Lǎo Sūn qù yǎng mǎ, nà shì tiānshàng zuì xiǎo de guān!
Don't ask! The Jade Emperor had Old Sun minding horses. It's the lowest post in heaven!
- Little Monkey 什么？我们大王本领这么大，怎么能去养马！
Shénme? Wǒmen dàwáng běnlǐng zhème dà, zěnme néng qù yǎng mǎ!
What? Our king is so mighty! How could they make him mind horses?
- Sun Wukong 对！从今天起，老孙就叫“齐天大圣”！
Duì! Cóng jīntiān qǐ, Lǎo Sūn jiù jiào “Qítiān Dàshèng”!
Exactly! From today on, Old Sun's name is “Great Sage Equal to Heaven”!
- Little Monkey 齐天大圣？大王，这是什么意思？
Qítiān Dàshèng? Dàwáng, zhè shì shénme yìsi?
Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Great King, what does that mean?
- Sun Wukong 意思就是：老孙跟天一样大！
Yìsi jiù shì: Lǎo Sūn gēn tiān yíyàng dà!
It means Old Sun is as great as heaven itself!
- Narrator 小猴子们做了一面大旗，写上了“齐天大圣”四个字。
Xiǎo hóuzi men zuò le yí miàn dà qí, xiě shàng le “Qítiān Dàshèng” sì gè zì.
The little monkeys made a great banner and wrote four characters on it: “Great Sage Equal to Heaven.”
- Narrator 玉帝派天兵来抓他，可是天兵都打不过他。
Yùdì pài tiānbīng lái zhuā tā, kěshì tiānbīng dōu dǎ bú guò tā.
The Jade Emperor sent heavenly soldiers to capture him, but not one of them could beat him.
- Sun Wukong 回去告诉玉帝：叫我齐天大圣，我就不打了！
Huíqù gàosu Yùdì: jiào wǒ Qítiān Dàshèng, wǒ jiù bù dǎ le!
Go back and tell the Jade Emperor: call me Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and I'll stop fighting!
- The Jade Emperor 什么？一只猴子，也想跟天一样大？
Shénme? Yì zhī hóuzi, yě xiǎng gēn tiān yíyàng dà?
What? A monkey wants to be as great as heaven?
- Taibai Jinxing 陛下，别生气。我看，就给他这个名字吧。
Bìxià, bié shēngqì. Wǒ kàn, jiù gěi tā zhège míngzi ba.
Don't be angry, Your Majesty. If you ask me, let him have the name.
- The Jade Emperor 给他？
Gěi tā?
Give it to him?
- Taibai Jinxing 只是一个名字，没有钱，也没有事做。他在天上，就不会再闹了。
Zhǐ shì yí gè míngzi, méiyǒu qián, yě méiyǒu shì zuò. Tā zài tiānshàng, jiù bú huì zài nào le.
It's only a name, with no pay and no duties. If he's up here with us, he won't make any more trouble.
- The Jade Emperor 好吧……太白，你再去请他一次。
Hǎo ba… Tàibái, nǐ zài qù qǐng tā yí cì.
Very well… Taibai, go and invite him once more.
- Narrator 没过多久，悟空又来到了天宫。
Méi guò duō jiǔ, Wùkōng yòu láidào le Tiāngōng.
Before long, Wukong came to the Heavenly Palace once again.
- Sun Wukong 玉帝，老孙来了！我的新名字呢？
Yùdì, Lǎo Sūn lái le! Wǒ de xīn míngzi ne?
Jade Emperor, Old Sun is here! Where's my new name?
- The Jade Emperor 孙悟空，从今天起，你就是齐天大圣。
Sūn Wùkōng, cóng jīntiān qǐ, nǐ jiù shì Qítiān Dàshèng.
Sun Wukong, from this day on, you are the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
- Sun Wukong 齐天大圣！老孙跟天一样大了！谢谢玉帝！
Qítiān Dàshèng! Lǎo Sūn gēn tiān yíyàng dà le! Xièxie Yùdì!
Great Sage Equal to Heaven! Old Sun is as great as heaven now! Thank you, Jade Emperor!
- Taibai Jinxing 大圣，以后就在天上好好住着，别再闹了。
Dàshèng, yǐhòu jiù zài tiānshàng hǎohǎo zhùzhe, bié zài nào le.
Great Sage, from now on, live quietly up here and make no more trouble.
- Sun Wukong 放心吧！老孙有了这么大的名字，还闹什么？
Fàngxīn ba! Lǎo Sūn yǒu le zhème dà de míngzi, hái nào shénme?
Don't worry! With a name this big, why would Old Sun ever make trouble?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why do the monkeys say Wukong was gone for more than ten years?
“天上一天，地上一年啊！”
- What does “Great Sage Equal to Heaven” mean, according to Wukong?
“意思就是：老孙跟天一样大！”
- What message does Wukong send back with the soldiers?
“叫我齐天大圣，我就不打了！”
- Why does Taibai think the title is safe to give?
“只是一个名字，没有钱，也没有事做。”
- What does Wukong promise at the end?
“放心吧！老孙有了这么大的名字，还闹什么？”