The Romance of the Monkey King
The Romance of the Monkey King by Wang Zengqi While touring Suoxiyu, Old Wan, who was accompanying me, said that in a mountain hollow a group of monkeys was being kept, and that the monkey keeper could sing monkey songs and understand monkey language. He asked whether I was interested in going to see them. I said: Yes! The monkey keeper was over 50, one-armed, and he said his family had been catching monkeys in the mountains for five generations. He said monkeys have troops, with varying numbers of "members," from twenty or thirty to nearly a hundred, and each troop has a king. The king is fought into power. Every year they fight...
The Romance of the Monkey King
Wang Zengqi
While touring Suoxiyu, my companion Lao Wan told me that in a mountain hollow there lived a troop of monkeys, and that the man who looked after them could sing monkey songs and speak monkey language. He asked if I was interested in going to see them. I said: Yes!
The monkey keeper was over fifty, with only one arm. He said his family had been catching monkeys in the mountains for five generations.
He said monkeys live in troops, with numbers varying from twenty or thirty to nearly a hundred, and each troop has a king. The king is fought for. Every year there is a fight. Whichever male monkey defeats all the other males (females don't take part) becomes the Monkey King. When the Monkey King arrives, all the monkeys stand to either side. Besides the Great King, there are also a Second King and a Third King.
This troop of monkeys was originally wild in the mountains. One year there was a heavy snowfall, and with nothing to eat in the mountains, the troop came here. He scattered some corn to feed them, and the troop settled here.
In name, all the females in the troop are the Monkey King's concubines, but the Monkey King has one fixed principal wife, the Monkey Queen. When other females "mate" with other males, the Monkey King turns a blind eye, but the principal wife is absolutely not allowed to fool around. This troop's Monkey Queen fooled around with another male, was discovered by the former Monkey King, who beat her severely and drove her into the mountains. The Monkey Queen went into the mountains and married the Second King of another troop, and even bore a monkey prince. Later, when this troop's Monkey King died, the Monkey Queen came back to take a look, then brought her second husband over, took him in as a live-in son-in-law, and he became the king of this troop.
Who is the Monkey King? You can tell at a glance. He is much bigger and stronger than the other monkeys, with golden, glossy fur. His face is somewhat unusual too, with a square rather than pointed jaw. His eyes are bright and piercing, and his appearance is very dignified—he really has a bit of an imperial air. Sitting close beside him was presumably the Monkey Queen, who also looked very much like a lady of rank.
The Monkey King has authority. When two monkeys quarrel, or even come to blows, he will step in to arbitrate, shouting loudly or severely reprimanding them. Beyond that, he has no particular privileges. He will snatch food right out of a little monkey's hands and eat it himself.
We asked the one-armed old man: "Do you speak monkey language?" He said monkeys have a language, with over fifty "words," that is, they can make over fifty kinds of sounds, each sound expressing a definite meaning. Several young workers from out of town played with the monkeys for quite a while. They fed them and even took lots of photos with them. When they stood up to leave, the Monkey King and Monkey Queen sat side by side in the iron cage and made a few keng-keng calls, looking rather solemn. I asked the monkey keeper: "What are they saying?" He said: "You're leaving—goodbye!" The young men walked up the slope and were about to turn the corner when the Monkey King and Monkey Queen called keng-keng a few more times. I asked the old monkey keeper: "What does that mean?" He said: "They're saying 'Take care.'"
I didn't quite believe it. But when Lao Wan and I took our leave of the old monkey keeper, the Monkey King and Monkey Queen again sat side by side and called keng-keng a few times; and when we walked up the slope, they again called keng-keng in the same way. I had to believe everything this plain, honest, one-armed old monkey keeper said.
I suggested to the old man: the fifty-odd monosyllabic words of monkey language ought to be recorded, with him explaining them, and kept as reference material. He said Xiao Zhang from the management office had already recorded them.
Lao Wan told me: this old man can sing monkey songs. As soon as he sings a monkey song, the monkeys in the mountains come running. I asked him: "Can you sing monkey songs?" He said: "Monkey songs? ..." and smiled without answering, neither confirming nor denying.