The real tale of the Monkey King in Heaven - Ji Hao

303,519 views ・ 2024-10-15

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:09
After snatching the sea dragon’s mystical weapon,
0
9422
3128
00:12
outsmarting the lords of death and securing immortality for his followers,
1
12550
5047
00:17
Sun Wukong had truly earned his title as the Monkey King.
2
17680
4588
00:22
But while his disciples loved their roguish leader,
3
22602
3295
00:25
his misadventures had spread chaos throughout the land.
4
25897
3587
00:29
The Jade Emperor, watching from his throne in Heaven,
5
29692
3462
00:33
decided he would no longer stand by
6
33154
2461
00:35
as this monkey wreaked havoc across his domain.
7
35740
3628
00:39
After consulting with his aide,
8
39744
2002
00:41
the Emperor decided the best way to maintain order
9
41788
3295
00:45
was to keep a close eye on Sun Wukong.
10
45083
3128
00:48
So, he invited the Monkey King to serve as supervisor of the imperial stables.
11
48586
5714
00:54
Sun Wukong jumped at what he thought was a prestigious job in Heaven.
12
54759
4629
00:59
He began working diligently to care for Heaven’s horses,
13
59680
3462
01:03
and for a time, the Emperor’s plan appeared to be working.
14
63142
4296
01:07
But eventually, Sun Wukong realized his job was the lowest rank imaginable.
15
67772
6131
01:14
Deeply offended, he whipped out his shapeshifting staff
16
74237
3587
01:17
and transformed it into an iron cudgel.
17
77824
2752
01:20
Blasting his way back to Earth,
18
80743
2169
01:22
he erected a great banner proclaiming the job title he felt entitled to.
19
82912
5172
01:28
Furious, the Emperor dispatched his heavenly troops
20
88501
3337
01:31
to bring the Monkey King back under control.
21
91838
2711
01:34
But even his army’s shapeshifting general was no match for Sun Wukong.
22
94715
5214
01:40
Using his guile, the Monkey King bested his opponents,
23
100346
3837
01:44
and the Jade Emperor was forced to offer him the post he desired.
24
104183
3879
01:48
He reinstated Sun Wukong in Heaven, this time in an opulent mansion.
25
108688
5589
01:54
From his new home, the Monkey King threw himself into a life of leisure—
26
114777
4838
01:59
exploring the realms and socializing with various deities.
27
119740
4130
02:04
But the Jade Emperor was still concerned about his guest’s chaotic nature.
28
124036
4713
02:09
To keep him busy, he asked Sun Wukong to protect
29
129041
3379
02:12
the sacred Garden of Immortal Peaches.
30
132420
3086
02:15
At this task, the Monkey King failed spectacularly.
31
135798
4463
02:20
But gorging on fruit did keep him occupied...
32
140803
3295
02:24
until he spotted fairies collecting the peaches for a Grand Festival.
33
144348
4463
02:29
Despite his official role, Sun Wukong hadn’t been invited to the celebration,
34
149020
4838
02:33
and he quickly hatched a plan to get his revenge.
35
153983
3295
02:37
Transforming a few of his hairs into sleep-inducing insects,
36
157570
4671
02:42
the Monkey King incapacitated the Emperor’s servants
37
162241
3295
02:45
and consumed the entire feast himself.
38
165536
3045
02:48
Bloated with food and wine, Sun Wukong stumbled towards his mansion.
39
168998
4963
02:54
But in his drunken stupor, he ended up at the palace of the Daoist leader Laozi.
40
174378
6048
03:01
Sun Wukong giddily explored Laozi’s deserted home,
41
181302
4004
03:05
and in the alchemical room, he found a particularly tempting treasure:
42
185348
4713
03:10
five gourds filled with golden elixir.
43
190519
3838
03:14
Sensing the medicine was sacred, he vowed only to sneak a taste—
44
194941
4379
03:19
but soon he was surrounded by empty vessels.
45
199528
3504
03:23
The elixir instantly sobered him up,
46
203491
2502
03:25
and suddenly Sun Wukong knew he’d gone too far.
47
205993
3671
03:29
To avoid Laozi’s legendary wrath, he caught the nearest cloud back to Earth.
48
209747
5756
03:35
But it didn’t take long for the Emperor to uncover his trail of chaos.
49
215544
4547
03:40
Vowing to subdue Sun Wukong once and for all,
50
220216
3170
03:43
he called on his nephew Erlang Shen.
51
223386
3545
03:47
Erlang Shen was known throughout the realms for his heroic feats
52
227306
4213
03:51
and ability to see through any illusion.
53
231519
2753
03:54
He and Sun Wukong began a great battle,
54
234730
3254
03:57
transforming into all manner of beasts in their attempts to best one another.
55
237984
4587
04:02
The fight was fearsome, but Sun Wukong’s quick wits kept him one step ahead—
56
242989
5255
04:08
until Laozi’s bracelet struck him from the heavens.
57
248411
3837
04:12
This stumble was all Erlang Shen needed to capture the Monkey King
58
252873
4296
04:17
and deliver him to Laozi.
59
257169
1877
04:19
The religious leader imprisoned Sun Wukong in a white-hot brazier,
60
259964
5255
04:25
cooking him for 49 days.
61
265428
2878
04:28
But when Laozi opened the lid, a pair of burning eyes stared back at him.
62
268681
5839
04:35
The golden elixir had made Sun Wukong’s body indestructible,
63
275021
4963
04:40
and he rose from the pot stronger than ever.
64
280234
3170
04:43
At this terrifying triumph, the Jade Emperor despaired.
65
283946
4421
04:48
He’d tried tricking, appeasing, and battling Sun Wukong—
66
288534
4588
04:53
but it had only led to more chaos.
67
293289
2586
04:56
It seemed that only the greatest power in the world could defeat the Monkey King—
68
296876
5380
05:02
it was time for Buddha himself to intervene.
69
302798
3921
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7