This week sees the real start of the Monkey King’s rise to power. Coming home to a giant scimitar-wielding monster, Wukong realizes that his fellow monkeys must learn to defend themselves against future foreign invaders. And so begins the upward trajectory of Wukong’s monkey empire and the career of the mighty Monkey King. We see in this simple chapter a warning that many empires failed to heed, almost always to their later dismay. Because once you learn how to fight, it becomes hard to avoid getting into fights. Soon you find yourself fighting all the time, but by then you’re too used to the precious things having an empire gets you to just give up and walk away.
In any case, every empire needs stuff, and all have their myths for how–by hook or by crook–they got it. Rome needed women, and the monkey army needs weapons. Both use deception to get what they want.
And then we move onto Wukong acquiring his most famous weapon, the Golden-Hooped Rod or staff. Here the Patriarch’s prophesy comes true and Wukong uses what he learned for evil, extorting weapons and armor from the Eastern Dragon and coming to heaven’s attention. You can learn more about this magical weapon here.
A mythical creature that gets casually mentioned in this chapter is the Garuda. A relative of the Phoenix, this bird is the national emblem of Thailand and Indonesia (the one that serves as this week’s image is Thai). You can learn more about them here.
Do you see one getting ready to battle the Monkey King on the left?
