Story: The Mountain of Flowers and Fruits

The only species of talking monkeys have lived on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits for thousands of years. Scientists label them as more advanced than normal apes, but not as advanced as human beings. Everyone who has tried to kick this species off the mountain has failed miserably, with help from the Monkey King himself. His powers made him unstoppable and he could create a tremendous army of monkeys from nothing quicker than he could snap his fingers. The newly implemented government that had political supervision over the region, which included the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, had discovered the inhabitants of the mountain and decided they were a threat to society. They planned to wipe out the entire species, but this would be impossible with Sun Wu Kung's presence. However, something stood in the way of the monkeys' plans to save their village. Their beloved Mountain of Flowers and Fruits that the monkey species had been living on was in fact an active volcano that would erupt in a week's time.

Ape village on the side of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits; anonymous.

Long before, the saint called "The Discerner" bestowed magic powers on the Monkey King, Sun Wu Kung, unlike any other king in the history of their existence. He had the power to transform into any creature and he could make the impossible possible by merely reciting an incantation. One thing he was specifically proud of was if he chewed on a piece of his own hair, spat it into the air and yelled "Transform yourself," a plethora of little monkeys would appear. He also used a floating cloud to get from one destination to another, "somersaulting" across the Earth in a second. "The Discerner" granted these powers to the Monkey King because he was worthy of the saint's time, unlike past kings who have begged for that gift for over thousands of years. But now, the government supervised everything that happened on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits.
After days of fighting the humans, Sun Wu Kung fell into a trap and woke up in a government facility. He tried to make a cloud appear to get him out of the tiny cell, but nothing happened when he recited the incantation. Then, a man with a tiny American flag pinned to his suit opened the door to his cell.
"I heard you reciting an incantation. However, this vault has been designed to restrict your magic."
"What is going on? What am I doing here? I am Sun Wu Kung, the king of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits and I demand you let me go immediately."
The man stepped closer to the Monkey King and told him about the underlying geology of the king's precious Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. He told Sun Wu Kung how the mountain was in fact a volcano that would erupt sometime in the upcoming week.
"We cannot let you and the rest of your kind live on this planet anymore. You have had your chance, but you are a danger to society. This volcano will result in something the government has been trying to accomplish for years." With that, the man in the suit left Sun Wu Kung and didn't return for what seemed like months.
Sun Wu Kung could not let the other apes die and he had to escape the facility, no matter what the cost might be. The king's favorite power that he possessed was being able to make an army of apes appear by pulling out a single hair from his head. He was unsure how this would happen since his powers were useless, but he would find a way. All he needed was to step outside of the facility even for a second to recite the incantation and swarm the building with his army of apes.
Little did the guards protecting his cell know that the king had been practicing martial arts for as long as he had been alive. He stuck his hand through the three bars in the cell door and pulled the guard up against the bars. He grabbed the keys from his belt loop and slipped out the cell before anyone else could spot him. Once Sun Wu Kung was outside of the cell, he somersaulted to the summit of the volcano.
The Monkey King once told someone, "'All the elements are subject to me, and there is no place where I cannot go.'" This was absolutely true. He pulled out a hair on his head and yelled "Transform yourself!" Seconds later, an army of apes stormed the prison where the king was kept and left no survivors. By merely reciting the specific incantation, he sealed the volcano and trapped the lava underneath.
Sun Wu Kung had saved his people once again and appreciated his powers now more than ever. The US Government made a deal to leave the sacred species alone as long as they stayed on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, and so they did.

Author's Note: I based this week's story off of Richard Wilhelm's "The Monkey King" from The Chinese Fairy Book. There are many different chapters that involve various characters and plots, but my story line specifically focuses on Sun Wu Kung's magic powers. The original story ends with Sun Wu Kung having so much power that he decides that he is fit to be Lord of the Heavens. Buddha cast him back to his mountain and put a giant pile of scraps to keep him there. He was released after many years and then served for eternity under a Monk who kept him on a tight leash. I included some characters from the original story and kept most of the settings the same. Sun Wu Kung lived on the side of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits with all his children, family and friends. The name of this mountain sounds like a pleasant place to live, but I wanted to give a modern spin on the original story. The mountain wasn't a volcano in the original, but it added a sense of urgency to my story by including it. I decided to make the government the enemy and to incorporate evolution into it as well. I also made sure to incorporate a quote from the original story. "All the elements are subject to me, and there is no place where I cannot go," caught my eye immediately when I was first reading the story. It is such a powerful statement by the king and I thought it proved relevant in my rendition.

Roger Wilhelm's The Monkey King

Reading Notes: Wilhelm's The Monkey King, Part B

My favorite part about reading this story are the details that the author includes in every single chapter. Sun Wu Kung has gone on many different adventures and his bravery has only helped him with his success. One story that caught my eye was "The Lord of the Heavens" at the beginning of Part B of the reading. Unlike many fairytales. this book incorporates religion into the plot as well. When the Evening Star is trying to convince the Lord of the Heavens to let Sun Wu Kung into his realm, he talks to the Lord like he worships him. He sounds like someone praying to their god; and that was exactly what he was doing. The Evening Star begs the Lord to forgive the King for his sins and for him to be accepted into the Heavens. The Monkey King is then deemed knowledgeable and worthy of entering the Heavens.
When the author is describing floating on a cloud from the Heavens to the mountains, the story again has that familiar fairytale feel to it. I want to include the Monkey King floating on a colored cloud from the mountains to the entrance to the Heavens in my story. I like the idea of writing a story about someone going to heaven to "'look around there a little!'" Heaven is an ominous topic that not many people write about because there is no way to know what it is like in real life. There is also the controversy of if heaven even is real. Writing a story about a man going to visit heaven for a day could be very interesting and unique. It is important to write a story about something that not everyone else in the class is going to write about as well. The author of the original story introduces other characters in this story as well, such as the gate-keeper, stable-master and the Lord of the Heavens himself. I plan to make my own versions of these characters in my storytelling assignment for this week.


Painting on silk of the Jade Emperor, or the Lord of the Heavens; anonymous.

"The Monkey King" by Richard Wilhelm; link to reading online.

Reading Notes: Wilhelm's The Monkey King Part A

The title of the story, "The Monkey King," caught my eye immediately. I love animals and I enjoy reading stories about them, specifically when they take on human characteristics. The first sentence of the story begins with, "FAR, far away to the East..." This sentence in particular reminds me of the beginning of a fairytale. When I first started reading this, I was not sure if this was an actual fairytale or just a child's story. Then I realized that the title of the book was "The Chinese Fairy Book." I am excited to read the rest of this story and I am glad I chose this one because I do enjoy reading fairytales.
The main character, Sun Wu Kung, was named "Handsome King of the Apes" by the other apes; and I think I could do a spin on this in the story that I write this week. I have been incorporating modernization into most of the stories I have been writing and I could continue that trend in this week's storytelling assignment. The original story was written over a century ago, so the author's meaning of "handsome" might not be the same as the meaning that we would use today. "Handsome" used to resemble strong rather than good-looking, like how we use it today. I am thinking that I might write a story about a "handsome" leader who is attractive and is loved by all of his peers. He could be a football player or an important politician.
The character of the stone ape is the bravest of all the other apes so i want to incorporate that also into my version of the story. He is a tough guy who isn't afraid to step up and be a leader, but it might not work out as well as he thinks it will in the end. It depends on whether he uses his intelligence or his pride when trying to get through a situation.
It can be difficult to write a story about animals that have taken on human characteristics, but I think that I am going to give it a try this week. The monkeys in the original story are basically like humans, negotiating, wearing clothes and learning new things. I plan to keep the main characters as monkeys, but also possibly make them modern day high schoolers or young adult monkeys who have to overcome something that has happened.


The Monkey King or Sun Wu Kung; monkey picture.

"The Monkey King" by Richard Wilhelm; link to reading online.