Chapter 8: The Clever Battle with the Red Boy

Illustration for the Chinese story “Chapter 8: The Clever Battle with the Red Boy”

Tap any word for its meaning

火云洞前huǒ yún dòng qián,红孩儿hóng hái ér喷出pēn chū三昧神火sān mèi shén huǒ,烧得shāo de八戒bā jiè哇哇叫wā wā jiào。In front of the Fiery Cloud Cave, Red Boy spewed Samadhi divine fire, burning Bajie so that he wailed.八戒哇哇叫bā jiè wā wā jiào:“师父shī fu,烤猪蹄kǎo zhū tí真成啦zhēn chéng la!”Bajie wailed, 'Master, the roasted pig trotters are perfectly done!'悟空wù kōng找zhǎo龙王lóng wáng下雨xià yǔ,可kě神火shén huǒ遇yù水shuǐ更旺gèng wàng!Wukong sought rain from the Dragon King, but the divine fire only grew fiercer when it met water!

悟空wù kōng变biàn牛魔王niú mó wáng:“儿啊ér a,爹来啦diē lái la!”Wukong transformed into the Bull Demon King: 'Son, your father is here!'

红孩儿hóng hái ér疑心yí xīn:“爹怕不怕火diē pà bù pà huǒ?”Red Boy suspiciously asked, 'Father, aren’t you afraid of fire?'悟空wù kōng忙máng跳开tiào kāi,露了馅lòu le xiàn!Wukong hurriedly jumped aside, revealing his ruse!

最后zuì hòu,悟空wù kōng请qǐng观音菩萨guān yīn pú sà。Finally, Wukong invited Guanyin Bodhisattva.菩萨pú sà把bǎ莲台lián tái变biàn刀山dāo shān,红孩儿hóng hái ér一坐上去yī zuò shàng qù疼得téng de求饶qiú ráo。The Bodhisattva transformed her lotus seat into a mountain of knives; when Red Boy sat on it, he cried in pain and begged for mercy.菩萨pú sà给gěi他tā套上tào shàng金圈jīn quān:“做善财童子吧zuò shàn cái tóng zǐ ba!”The Bodhisattva placed a golden hoop on him and said, 'Become the Child of Good Wealth!'

唐僧táng sēng叹气tàn qì:“早知zǎo zhī让ràng菩萨pú sà帮忙bāng máng,何必hé bì让ràng悟空wù kōng受委屈shòu wěi qū……”Tang Sanzang sighed, 'Had I known to ask Guanyin for help earlier, there would have been no need to let Wukong suffer…'

寓意yù yì:遇到yù dào困难kùn nan,学会xué huì向xiàng他人tā rén求助qiú zhù。Moral: When faced with difficulty, learn to seek help from others.

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 →