Chapter 3: The Havoc in Heaven

Illustration for the Chinese story “Chapter 3: The Havoc in Heaven”

Tap any word for its meaning

孙悟空sūn wù kōng嫌xián龙宫lóng gōng借jiè的de兵器bīng qì太tài轻qīng,抢走qiǎng zǒu定海神针dìng hǎi shén zhēn金箍棒jīn gū bàng。Sun Wukong found the weapon borrowed from the Dragon Palace too light, so he snatched the Ruyi Jingu Bang.龙王lóng wáng告gào到dào天庭tiān tíng,玉帝yù dì只好zhǐ hǎo封fēng他tā当dāng“弼马温bì mǎ wēn”。The Dragon King complained to Heaven, and the Jade Emperor had no choice but to make him “Stable Horse Protector.”

后来hòu lái孙悟空sūn wù kōng发现fā xiàn这是zhè shì个gè管马guǎn mǎ的de小官xiǎo guān。Later, Sun Wukong discovered it was just a lowly post overseeing horses.他tā气得qì de打翻dǎ fān蟠桃会pán táo huì,偷吃tōu chī仙丹xiān dān,一路yī lù打出dǎ chū南天门nán tiān mén!He was so furious that he overturned the Peach Banquet, stole the elixir, and stormed out through the Southern Heavenly Gate!

玉帝yù dì派pài十万shí wàn天兵tiān bīng抓zhuā他tā。The Jade Emperor dispatched a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers to capture him.哪吒né zhā变出biàn chū三头六臂sān tóu liù bì,雷公léi gōng电母diàn mǔ轰隆隆hōng lóng lóng劈雷pī léi。Nezha sprouted three heads and six arms, and Thunder and Lightning struck the heavens with booming thunder.可是kě shì孙悟空sūn wù kōng拔下bá xià一根yī gēn毫毛háo máo,变出biàn chū千百个qiān bǎi gè小猴xiǎo hóu,打得dǎ de天兵tiān bīng哇哇wā wā逃跑táo pǎo!But Sun Wukong plucked a hair, transformed it into a thousand little monkeys, and drove the heavenly soldiers away screaming!

最后zuì hòu,如来佛祖rú lái fó zǔ伸出shēn chū手掌shǒu zhǎng,说shuō:“你若能翻出我的手掌nǐ ruò néng fān chū wǒ de shǒu zhǎng,天宫tiān gōng让给ràng gěi你nǐ。”Finally, the Buddha stretched out his palm and said, 'If you can leap out of my hand, I will grant you the Heavenly Palace.'孙悟空sūn wù kōng一个yī ge筋斗云jīn dǒu yún……却què看见kàn jiàn五根wǔ gēn肉柱子ròu zhù zi,原来yuán lái是shì如来rú lái手指shǒu zhǐ!Sun Wukong somersaulted... only to see five flesh pillars, which turned out to be the Buddha’s fingers!

“轰隆hōng lōng”一声yī shēng,五指山wǔ zhǐ shān压住yā zhù孙悟空sūn wù kōng,只剩zhǐ shèng脑袋nǎo dai露在lù zài外面wài miàn。With a loud rumble, the Five Finger Mountain pressed down on Sun Wukong, leaving only his head exposed.

佛祖fó zǔ说shuō:“等děng你nǐ懂得dǒng de谦卑qiān bēi,自会zì huì自由zì yóu。”The Buddha said, 'When you learn humility, you will be free.'

寓意yù yì:再厉害zài lì hai的de人rén也yě不能bù néng无法无天wú fǎ wú tiān。Moral: No matter how mighty one is, one must not act lawlessly.

Want to read along with audio? Every story in the Literate Chinese app is narrated by a native speaker — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin — so you can listen while you read, and tap any word to save it as a flashcard. See what's in the app.

More free stories: more HSK 5–6 stories · all Journey to the West stories · traditional characters · test your reading level

Try reading your first story

The fastest way to make characters stick is to meet them in a story you can actually finish. Literate Chinese has 1,000+ graded stories matched to the words you know — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin, Simplified or Traditional. Free on iOS and Android.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Prefer the browser? Read a free story on the web →