Chapter 78: At Bhiksu he pities the infants and summons the night gods; In the golden hall he knows the demon speaking on the way and virtue.
In which a bunch of small boys are the lunch of the king.
Bhikṣu: A ordained male in Buddhist monasticism.
“Rely on washing to remove the dust”: Again, cleaning as a way of meditation in Zen Buddhism, but as a metaphor.
“In recent times he would not even look at any of the royal consorts dwelling in the six chambers and three palaces”: By the way, did you know there is a ranking of Royal consorts? They change each dynasty, but since this story happens during the Tang Dynasty, I’m coping part of the ranking on here (it’s very long). You can read about all of the rankings on Wikipedia.
1 Empress (皇后; huánghòu)
4 Consorts (妃; fēi)
Noble Consort (貴妃; guìfēi)
Pure Consort (淑妃; shūfēi)
Virtuous Consort (德妃; défēi)
Worthy Consort (賢妃; xiánfēi)
9 Concubines (嬪; pín)
Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāoyí)
Lady of Bright Countenance (昭容; zhāoróng)
Lady of Bright Beauty (昭媛; zhāoyuàn)
Lady of Cultivated Deportment (修儀; xiūyí)
Lady of Cultivated Countenance (修容; xiūróng)
Lady of Cultivated Beauty (修媛; xiūyuàn)
Lady of Complete Deportment (充儀; chōngyí)
Lady of Complete Countenance (充容; chōngróng)
Lady of Complete Beauty (充媛; chōngyuàn)
Then…
9 Ladies of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jiéyú)
9 Ladies of Beauty (美人; měirén)
9 Ladies of Talent (才人; cáirén)
27 Ladies of Treasure (寶林; bǎolín)
27 Ladies of His Majesty (禦女; yùnǚ)
27 Selected Ladies (採女; cǎinǚ)
“You're always picking up someone's coffin and crying over it in your own house!”: Drama queen.
“The father wants the son to perish,
And the son who does not is unfilial”: Confuncius.
“First, ask for his heart politely. If he agrees, cut him up and take it out at
once”: Can I please eat your heart?
“These sudden words so terrified him that the spirits of Three Cadavers left him and smoke poured out of his seven apertures”: Fainting for the…30th time ?
Transforming Tripitaka into Monkey is a trick that they should have thought about ages ago, when they started the trip, but I am none to judge our heroes.
See you in chapter 79!