#Zhang Shao the Fisherman

[nikofortuna]

JTTW Chapter 10 Thoughts

Chapter Ten for the @journeythroughjourneytothewest Reading Group! A slightly shorter commentary on my part this time, but with a queer little headcanon of mine right at the start.

This one is very poetry heavy at the start with the fisherman and woodcutter. It’s very interesting to see how this kind of poetry works through the examples they are showing off.

Also… they’re cottage-core husbands your honour, there is simply no other way I can see them. Hear me out, during their back and forth each one of them is trying to convince the other of moving in with them.

The woodcutter in particular started the debate and continues it every time, he certainly pines after his friend, pun intended.

Meanwhile the fisherman is the first one to mention the more traditional family unit once in a while but it doesn’t feel very serious, he’s just going with the flow of the poetry, pun once more intended.

Then they compose poems together, which are literally called linking-verse! In the J.F. Jenner translation it’s said that they match couplets, which is an equally cute term as linking-verse in my opinion.

And after that they banter as they are worried for each other! Husbands!

“Good friends would even die for each other!” or in the J.F. Jenner translation “I'm your friend; I'd die for you.” Either phrasing is a totally normal thing to say as friends, sure. One might call them “close friends”.

The German translation unfortunately doesn’t contain any of those poems. They cut out a lot of poetry in general, which is the only somewhat unfortunate thing I have noticed about it so far.

Moving on to what might be considered the main plot with the dragon. The whole fishing issue could have been resolved much more easily by just telling the fisherman outright that he is fishing too much for it to be sustainable and that he’ll suffer too once all the fish are gone. The fisherman is a scholar too after all, so surely he’d have understood and both parties could have come to some sort of conclusion together.

Or the Dragon King could have played matchmaker so the fisherman goes to live with the woodcutter instead, I’m just saying. Anyways.

Again with the overblown punishment! And once again it is a dragon that is immediately sentenced to death, how curious. He didn’t even not follow the given orders, he merely shifted the times a little and the amount of rain was a bit less, which is easily fixable. I wonder did he even get to plead his case? Atone for his wrongs perhaps? Highly doubt it. Is simple demotion even a thing when they jump straight to execution or banishment if you aren’t a dragon seemingly all the time?

Though to end on a happier note, I found that there are quite a few art pieces of the fisherman and woodcutter! So I picked out one I liked in particular. Look at them just hanging out and probably talking about poetry.

[pompomqt]

Journey to the West Chapter 10

Oh man, if you like poetry then this chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest is the chapter to you.

We begin this chapter with a fisherman named Zhang Shao and a woodman named Li Ding having a slam poetry competition with the subject of whether the mountains or the river are better. After they have their little poetry slam and are saying their fairwells Zhang Shao basically tells Li Ding the theater kid equivalent of 'good luck' by saying 'Take care, and be wary of tigers'. Li Ding is offended by Zhang Shao saying something so unlucky to him, and says that if he is harmed by a tiger then surely his boat will capsize in the river. Zhang Shao however is confident that that will never happen to him- because he has a secret weapon! A fortune teller.

So Zhang Shao tells Li Ding about this amazing fortune teller that for the price of a golden carp every day will tell him where to lower his nets, and so far has been 100% accurate. However as the saying goes- loose lips sink ships, and they are overheard by a yaksa who immediately goes to report to the Dragon King. The Yaksa explains about what they heard about the fortune teller, and the Dragon King worried about over fishing wants to go up there and slay the fortune teller immediately. His council however suggests that he shouldn't believe everything he hears and should at least investigate by disguising himself as a scholar first before terrifying the locals with murder.

So the Dragon King finds the Fortune teller while disguised as a Scholar and asks them to forecast the weather. The fortune teller tells him there will be rain tomorrow, and upon the Dragon King prompting him to give him additional details such as what time and how much, the fortune teller does so. Then the Dragon King says that if the prophecy is exact he will give him fifty taels of gold as thanks, but if he's wrong he will break down his door and shop sign and have him driven out of time. But in reality didn't the Dragon King come up here to see if his fortunes were accurate and if they were he was going to kill him? If that were the case the fortune teller would probably be better off being inaccurate this time, however they have things well in hand as we will soon see.

So the Dragon King is feeling pretty confident he can win this bet, after all he is the one in charge of the rain. However soon they receive a royal decree from the Jade Emperor, saying to make a rainstorm under the exact conditions that the fortune teller had said. The Dragon King is upset that he will now lose, but one of his counselors suggests that he makes the timing and amount off by a little bit so he will win- which the Dragon King then does.

Upon the rainstorm ending the Dragon King immediately goes down and starts tearing up the Fortune Tellers shop. The Fortune Teller however isn't intimidated in the slightest. He tells the Dragon King that he recognizes him, and while he isn't afraid, the Dragon King should be. Since he disobeyed the orders of the Jade Emperor he will be executed. Upon hearing this the Dragon King drops the attitude and begs the fortune teller to save him. The fortune teller says he can't save him but maybe the Emperor Tang Taizong can since his minister Wei Zheng is the one who is going to be his executioner.

So the Dragon King visits Tang Taizong in his dreams and begs him to save him. Upon hearing that Wei Zheng is to be the executioner Tang Taizong agree's to help. So the next day Tang Taizong summons all of his ministers and finds that the only one missing is Wei Zheng. Tang Taizong tells them all about the dream he had and one of the officials suggests that he summon Wei Zheng here and keep him there for the whole day so that the dragon can't be executed. So Tang Taizong sends out a summons for Wei Zheng, who had just received a message from the Jade Emperor with orders to execute the Dragon of the Jing River at 12:45 pm.

Anyways so Wei Zheng answers the Emperor's summons, and in order to keep Wei Zheng occupied, Tang Taizong plays chess with him. However at exactly 12:45 pm Wei Zheng falls fast asleep. After Wei Zheng wakes up Tang Taizong just laughs it off and suggests they start a new game when suddenly two ministers barge in with a decapitated dragons head which they said fell from the sky.

Wei Zheng explains to the empeor that he had executed the dragon in his dreams. Tang Taizong has mixed feelings about this, on one hand he's happy to have such a talented minister but on the other hand he feels bad because he had promised he would save the dragon.

That night Taizong is haunted by nightmares about the Dragon. The Dragon tries to seize Tang Taizong to drag him to the underworld to take him to court, but the emperor is rescued by Guanyin who is in the area looking for a scripture pilgrim. So the Dragon King has no choice but to leave the emperor alone for now and goes to the underworld to file a lawsuit. Despite Guanyin's intervention however the Tang Emperor's health starts to sharply decline, and a physician says that he may pass away within seven days.

Eventually Wei Zheng gives Tang Taizong a letter to take with him when he goes to the underworld and to give it to the under world Cui Jue. Cue Jue was apparently a good friend of Wei Zheng and still meets him in his dreams sometimes, and that he should allow the Emperor to return to life. And with that- Tang Taizong dies. For now.

Other thoughts:

Between the White Dragon Horse and this Dragon King- it feels like the Jade Emperor is out there executing Dragons left and right for every little thing. The remaining dragons might want to invest in the more hard core type of immortality that Sun Wukong has.

Sadly I don't have any stat updates today- I miss the five main characters already lol. But at least we got a small Guanyin cameo this week.

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[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Chapter 10 Recap: The Old Dragon King's foolish schemes transgress Heaven's decrees; Prime Minister Wei's letter seeks help from an official of the dead

Leaving Xuanzang for a time, the narrative now turns to “two worthies who lived on the banks of the river Jing outside the city of Chang’an: a fisherman by the name of Zhang Shao and a woodman by the name of Li Ding.” Though not official scholars, they are both learned men. One day, after selling their wood and fish and getting drunk, they walk back home along the Jing River, extoling the virtues of poverty and humble living while arguing primarily through poetry over whether Zhang Shao’s “fair waters” or Li Ding’s “blue mountains” are better. They enjoy themselves in this manner until their paths diverge. Yet in saying farewell, Zhang Shao angers Li Ding with the “unlucky” suggestion that his friend might encounter a tiger while climbing back up the mountain. Li Ding rejoins him by stating that if he’s to be harmed by a tiger, then Zhang Shao’s boat “will surely capsize.” Yet Zhang Shao states he’s confident that he’ll never have such an accident. He then reveals that thanks to an extremely accurate fortune teller whose predictions he buys daily with a golden carp, he has no worry of danger and works with the knowledge that his nets will always be full of fish and shrimp. Zhang Shao promises Li Ding that tomorrow he’ll sell his catch for some more wine that they can share, and the two men part.

The story really begins when a yaksa patrolling the Jing River hears about this fortune teller whose predictions are never wrong. Rushing back to the Water Crystal Palace, the yaksa gives the Dragon King a report of this newly discovered disaster; for if the fortune teller is that accurate, and if Zhang Shao consults with him daily to know where he should cast his net, “will not all our water kin be exterminated?” Enraged at this news about the possible brewing extinction, the Dragon King wants to kill the fortune teller immediately. Yet what seems to be his entire court persuades him to first guise himself as a scholar and see for himself if this news about the fortune teller is true. If the Dragon King went out in his true form, after all, he would bring the clouds and the rain with him, which would likely both terrify the people of Chang’an and offend Heaven.

Taking this advice to heart, the Dragon King duly changes his shape into that of a white-robed scholar and sets off to confront the fortune teller. When he arrives at the fortune teller’s shop he’s treated to tea, and asks the fortune teller about the weather tomorrow, including how much it will rain. The fortune teller gives him a very precise answer, even down to how many extra drops will fall. Laughing, the Dragon King tells the fortune teller that his prediction best be correct, for “If it rains tomorrow and if it is in accordance with the time and the amount you prophesied, I shall present you with fifty taels of gold as my thanks. But if it does not rain, or if the amount and the hours are incorrect, I tell you truly that I shall come and break your front door to pieces and tear down your shop sign” before driving him out of Chang’an. The fortune teller amiably agrees.

Returning to his watery palace, the Dragon King tells the various aquatic deities about these adventures, and they all have a good laugh at the fortune teller for making such a weather-based prediction with the deity in charge of the local weather. At that moment, however, the Dragon King of the Jing River is given a decree from the Jade Emperor commanding him to make it rain the exact amount and at the exact time that the fortune teller predicted. Greatly upset by this, the Dragon King is lamenting his coming loss before one of his counselors advises him to have the rain miss the timing and the amount specified in the decree by “a mere fraction.” This would result in the fortune teller losing the wager, and he could then be driven out of Chang’an. The Dragon King takes this counsel and stops worrying.

The next day the Dragon King gathers the weather deities and makes it so that the time and amount of rain specified in the decree was altered by an hour and by three inches and eight drops respectively. Afterwards he dons his scholar disguise once again and barges into the fortune teller Yuan Shoucheng’s shop and, “without a word of explanation,” begins to smash it up. Yuan Shoucheng remains unmoved through this destruction until the Dragon King threatens to hit him with one of the shops doors and accuses him of being a charlatan, only then revealing that not only did he know this seeming scholar is actually the Dragon King of the Jing River, but as he had “disobeyed the decree of the Jade Emperor and transgressed the law of Heaven,” he’ll surely be executed.

Hearing this, the Dragon King is struck with fear. He kneels before Yuan Shoucheng, begging the fortune teller for some way to save his life. Yuan Shoucheng tells the dragon that while he personally can’t do anything, it’s possible that Emperor Tang Taizong could. The Dragon King, after all, is scheduled to be executed by the human judge Wei Zheng, and Wei Zhen is Emperor Taizong’s prime minister. If the dragon gains Emperor Taizong’s favor, then his life will therefore be spared. The Dragon King takes this to heart and goes to do so, leaving the fortune teller with tears in his eyes.

Waiting until night, the Dragon King visits Emperor Taizong in a dream and, explaining the situation, begs him to spare the dragon’s life. Emperor Taizong tells the Dragon King that he can certainly save him, and the dragon, expressing his gratitude, leaves delighted.

Waking up and holding court, Emperor Taizong soon realizes that Wei Zhen is not present among the other civil officers. He tells the court of his dream and his promise, and the civil official Xu Shizhi recommends that the emperor summon Wei Zheng to court immediately and be kept there for a whole day, after which the dragon will be safe. The Tang emperor is delighted at this advice, and gives the order for it to be carried out.

Meanwhile, prime minister Wei Zheng is given the decree from the Jade Emperor to execute the dragon, which he prepares for by bathing, fasting, exercising his spirit, and sharpening his magic sword. He’s left flustered at Emperor Taizong’s command to attend court, but he obeys. He and the emperor spend a good portion of the day discussing state matters as the hour grows later and later until, the rest of the ministers having left, the Tang Emperor proposes a chess game. The two play for quite some time until Wei Zheng abruptly falls asleep. While Wei Zheng is mortified at having done so when he next awakens, Emperor Taizong merely laughs it off and suggests they start a new game. Yet right afterwards the ministers Qin Shubao and Xu Mougong rush into the chamber bearing “a dragon head dripping with blood.” Almost all assembled are shocked until Wei Zheng explains that he had just executed the dragon in his dream. Learning of his prime minister’s abilities, Emperor Taizong is left both delighted that he had “a minister as good as Wei Zheng,” and sad that he wasn’t able to uphold his promise. Nevertheless, he orders Suhbao to hang the head up in the market “so that the populace of Chang’an might be informed,” and rewards Wei Zheng. Afterwards, all the various ministers disperse.

Though he had rewarded Wei Zheng for carrying out his heaven-mandated duty, Emperor Taizong nevertheless returns to his palace “in deep depression, for he kept remembering the dragon in the dream crying and begging for his life.” And his situation but worsens when the dragon starts haunting him, first making his presence known when “the sound of weeping was heard outside the door of the palace,” and then the Dragon King himself appears before the Tang Emperor in his dreams, “holding his head dripping with blood in his hand, and crying in a loud voice: ‘Tang Taizong! Give me back my life…I am going to argue this case with you before the King of the Underworld.” The dragon then seizes Taizong and may have dragged him off to diyu if not for the intervention of Guanyin, who had come “specifically to drive the accursed dragon away and to rescue the emperor.” The Dragon King then goes to file suit in the Underworld.

The Tang Emperor, for his own part, wakes up yelling “Ghost! Ghost!” and so frightens his inner chamber that no one could get any more sleep for the rest of that night. He furthermore does not appear at court the day afterwards, but sending a message that he isn’t feeling well. This situation continues for a few days before both the court and the queen mother insist that a physician be brought in. This doctor has nothing but bad news, and announces that the emperor’s illness is at such a stage where he’ll die within seven days.

In a state of alarm, the various ministers visit the emperor, who tells them that he’s being haunted. It’s a statement that drives the minister Yuchi Gong to ask why Emperor Taizong should fear ghosts, as “When you established your empire…you had to kill countless people.” Yet hearing further on how ghosts are attacking the emperor, two of the ministers suggest they stand guard at the palace gate. Taizong agrees to this scheme.

That evening, the two ministers, “in full battle dress and holding golden bludgeon and battle-ax, stood guard outside the palace gate.” And thanks to them, Emperor Taizong was able to rest peacefully. Yet they aren’t able to guard against the emperor’s diminishing appetite or against his illness becoming more severe. No matter what is done the Tang Emperor’s condition continues to worsen until Wei Zheng informs him that there is a way “that will guarantee long life for Your Majesty.” And that way is to go to Hell and deliver a letter from Wei Zhen to Cui Jue, who was “the subject of the deceased emperor” who later became a judge in the Underworld. Wei Zheng and Emperor Taizong plan to visit the underworld to do so, and do indeed leave as spirits, even though this makes the emperor appear to be dead to everyone else. And this is where this chapter ends. If you want the ending this this arc, you’ll have to wait for the next chapter.