太阴星君廣寒清虛府 · 22
Leaf 22 of the pilgrimage · 月府 Mistress of the Moon Palace
Lady of the Moon 太阴星君
In Journey to the West 西遊記 (c. 1592) · a heaven-sent power who ends the fight · nicknamed 月府 “Mistress of the Moon Palace”
The keeper of the moon, whose rabbit came down to settle a grudge over a servant's blow and very nearly married the monk.
The great deeds 大事記
- ch. 95
Lifting the Veil in the Grove
現公主She lifts the veil off the princess and the palace girls in the courtyard, and lets the real daughter be recognised in the grove outside the city.
- ch. 95
The Pestle Falls from a Sleeve
杵落The pestle falls out of the false princess's sleeve; it is the only weapon in the book that was used to pound medicine and never to strike a man.
- ch. 95
The Staff Held Over the Hare
護兔She stops the staff above the rabbit's head: it is her apothecary, and this is a servant leaving her service, not an enemy beaten.
結局 The ending
She takes the rabbit back, the true princess goes to her father, and the moon's housekeeping is closed out in a single page. She is heaven's last fetch, and the shortest apology in the book.
The book itself: why the monkey was pinned, which translation — The 500 years · The translations · The 81 trials