Journey to the West: The Monkey King · chapter 15 of 25
The Book of Life and Death
生死簿
Every name in the Book of Life and Death has its years beside it. Wukong finds his own, and he asks for a brush.
Read what you hear
- King Yama 上仙请看，生死簿都在这儿了：人的，动物的，鸟的，鱼的……
Shàngxiān qǐng kàn, shēngsǐbù dōu zài zhèr le: rén de, dòngwù de, niǎo de, yú de…
Immortal, look. Here are all the Books of Life and Death. For people, for animals, for birds, for fish…
- Sun Wukong 人的……没有老孙。动物的……也没有。猴子的呢？
Rén de… méiyǒu Lǎo Sūn. Dòngwù de… yě méiyǒu. Hóuzi de ne?
People… no Old Sun. Animals… not there either. What about monkeys?
- King Yama 猴子像人，又不是人。像动物，也不是动物。猴子有自己的生死簿。
Hóuzi xiàng rén, yòu bú shì rén. Xiàng dòngwù, yě bú shì dòngwù. Hóuzi yǒu zìjǐ de shēngsǐbù.
Monkeys look like people, but they aren't people. They look like animals, but they aren't animals. Monkeys have their own Book of Life and Death.
Chapter 15 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of Journey to the West: The Monkey King (chapters 1–5) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and The Hound of the Baskervilles are free from start to finish.
- Sun Wukong 拿来！……孙悟空！老孙在这儿！
Ná lái! … Sūn Wùkōng! Lǎo Sūn zài zhèr!
Give it here! …Sun Wukong! Here I am!
- Sun Wukong 孙悟空，天地生的石猴，三百四十二岁，老死。
Sūn Wùkōng, tiāndì shēng de Shí Hóu, sānbǎi sìshí'èr suì, lǎosǐ.
Sun Wukong. A stone monkey, born of heaven and earth. Three hundred and forty-two years. Dies of old age.
- Sun Wukong 老死？老孙不想老，也不想死！
Lǎosǐ? Lǎo Sūn bù xiǎng lǎo, yě bù xiǎng sǐ!
Dies of old age? Old Sun doesn't want to grow old, and he doesn't want to die!
- King Yama 您的时间……已经到了，上仙……
Nín de shíjiān… yǐjīng dào le, shàngxiān…
Immortal… your time has already come…
- Sun Wukong 胡说！什么三百四十二岁！拿笔来！
Húshuō! Shénme sānbǎi sìshí'èr suì! Ná bǐ lái!
Nonsense! Three hundred and forty-two years, my foot! Bring me a brush!
- Sun Wukong 孙悟空，划掉！
Sūn Wùkōng, huàdiào!
Sun Wukong: crossed out!
- Sun Wukong 老猴，划掉！小猴，划掉！猴子们，都划掉！
Lǎo Hóu, huàdiào! Xiǎo Hóu, huàdiào! Hóuzimen, dōu huàdiào!
Old Monkey: crossed out! Little Monkey: crossed out! Every monkey: crossed out!
- Sun Wukong 好了！以后，你们管不了我们了！
Hǎo le! Yǐhòu, nǐmen guǎn bu liǎo wǒmen le!
Done! From now on, you have no power over us!
- King Yama 这……这不行啊，上仙！
Zhè… zhè bùxíng a, shàngxiān!
Immortal! This… this is not allowed!
- Sun Wukong 不行？你问问老孙的金箍棒！
Bùxíng? Nǐ wènwen Lǎo Sūn de jīn gū bàng!
Not allowed? Take it up with Old Sun's staff!
- Narrator 悟空打出了城。忽然，地上的草拉住了他的脚……
Wùkōng dǎ chū le chéng. Hūrán, dìshang de cǎo lā zhù le tā de jiǎo…
Wukong fought his way out of the city. Suddenly, a tangle of grass caught his foot…
- Sun Wukong 啊！……这是哪儿？铁桥边的松树下边？老孙在家？
À! … Zhè shì nǎr? Tiěqiáo biān de sōngshù xiàbian? Lǎo Sūn zài jiā?
Ah! …Where am I? Under the pine by the iron bridge? Old Sun is home?
- Little Monkey 大王，你起来了！你在这儿睡了一个晚上！
Dàwáng, nǐ qǐlai le! Nǐ zài zhèr shuì le yí gè wǎnshang!
Your Majesty, you're up! You slept here all night!
- Old Monkey 大王喝了多少酒？怎么叫都叫不起来！
Dàwáng hē le duōshao jiǔ? Zěnme jiào dōu jiào bu qǐlai!
How much wine did Your Majesty drink? We called and called, and you just wouldn't wake up!
- Sun Wukong 孩儿们，老孙去了地府，看了生死簿！
Hái'érmen, Lǎo Sūn qù le dìfǔ, kàn le shēngsǐbù!
Children, Old Sun went to the Underworld and saw the Book of Life and Death!
- Sun Wukong 我们的名字，老孙都划掉了！以后，我们不会老，也不会死了！
Wǒmen de míngzi, Lǎo Sūn dōu huàdiào le! Yǐhòu, wǒmen bú huì lǎo, yě bú huì sǐ le!
Old Sun crossed out all our names! From now on, we won't grow old, and we won't die!
- Little Monkey 真的？那我永远是小猴了！
Zhēn de? Nà wǒ yǒngyuǎn shì Xiǎo Hóu le!
Really? Then I'll be Little Monkey forever!
- Old Monkey 那我……就永远这么老了？哈哈！大家，快拜大王！
Nà wǒ… jiù yǒngyuǎn zhème lǎo le? Hāhā! Dàjiā, kuài bài dàwáng!
And me… I'll stay this old forever? Ha ha! Everyone, bow to our king!
- Narrator 从那天起，花果山的很多猴子，都没有再老。
Cóng nà tiān qǐ, Huāguǒ Shān de hěn duō hóuzi, dōu méiyǒu zài lǎo.
From that day on, many of the monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain never grew any older.
- Narrator 天上，灵霄宝殿里，东海龙王和阎王，都来见玉帝。
Tiānshàng, Língxiāo Bǎodiàn li, Dōng Hǎi Lóngwáng hé Yánwáng, dōu lái jiàn Yùdì.
Up in heaven, in the Hall of Divine Mists, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and King Yama had both come to see the Jade Emperor.
- Dragon King of the Eastern Sea 陛下！花果山有一只猴子，说是我的邻居……
Bìxià! Huāguǒ Shān yǒu yì zhī hóuzi, shuō shì wǒ de línjū…
Your Majesty! There's a monkey on Flower Fruit Mountain who calls himself my neighbor…
- Dragon King of the Eastern Sea 陛下，他拿了我的宝贝，还拿了金衣服、金帽子！
Bìxià, tā ná le wǒ de bǎobèi, hái ná le jīn yīfu, jīn màozi!
Your Majesty, he took my treasure, and a suit of gold and a golden cap as well!
- King Yama 陛下！也是那只猴子！他打了我的鬼，还把生死簿上猴子的名字，都划掉了！
Bìxià! Yě shì nà zhī hóuzi! Tā dǎ le wǒ de guǐ, hái bǎ shēngsǐbù shang hóuzi de míngzi, dōu huàdiào le!
Your Majesty! It's the very same monkey! He beat up my ghosts, and he crossed the monkeys' names out of the Book of Life and Death!
- the Jade Emperor 又是那只猴子？这只猴子，是从哪儿来的？
Yòu shì nà zhī hóuzi? Zhè zhī hóuzi, shì cóng nǎr lái de?
That monkey again? Where does this monkey come from?
- Narrator 千里眼和顺风耳，告诉了玉帝一件以前的事。
Qiānlǐyǎn hé Shùnfēng'ěr, gàosu le Yùdì yí jiàn yǐqián de shì.
Thousand-Li Eye and Wind-Following Ear reminded the Jade Emperor of something from long ago.
- the Jade Emperor 三百多年前……眼睛里有金光的猴子……我还说，没什么奇怪的……
Sānbǎi duō nián qián… yǎnjing li yǒu jīnguāng de hóuzi… wǒ hái shuō, méi shénme qíguài de…
More than three hundred years ago… a monkey with golden light in his eyes… and I said it was nothing strange…
- the Jade Emperor 原来是那只石猴！派天兵去，把他抓来！
Yuánlái shì nà zhī Shí Hóu! Pài tiānbīng qù, bǎ tā zhuā lái!
So it's that stone monkey! Send soldiers and bring him to me!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why do monkeys have a book of their own?
“猴子像人，又不是人。像动物，也不是动物”
- What does the book say about Wukong?
“三百四十二岁，老死”
- Whose names does Wukong cross out?
“孙悟空，划掉”……“猴子们，都划掉”
- Where does Wukong wake up?
“铁桥边的松树下边？老孙在家？”
- What does the Jade Emperor order at the end?
“派天兵去，把他抓来”