Saturday, September 20, 2008

Nine-toothed Rake

The nine-toothed rake is a major weapon featured within the famed ancient Chinese novel Journey to the West. The Nine-toothed rake is the primary weapon of Zhu Bajie - one of three disciples under Sanzang. This phrase depicts the first point in which Bajie's legendary nine-toothed rake had been used:

The fierce and murderous ogre;

Huian, imposing and able.

The iron staff could pulverize the heart;

The rake struck at the face.

The dust thrown up darkened Heaven and Earth;

The flying sand and stones startled gods and ghouls.

The nine?toothed rake

Gleamed and flashed

As its pair of rings resounded;

The lone staff

Was ominously black

As it whirled in its owner's hands.

One was the heir of a Heavenly King,

One defended the Law on Potaraka Island.

The other was an evil fiend in a mountain cave.

In their battle for mastery,

None knew who the winner would be.

Here is another phrase in which Pig tells of his legendary rake while battling it out against Sun Wukong:

This was refined from divine ice?iron,

Polished till it gleamed dazzling white,

Hammered by Lord Lao Zi himself,

While Ying Huo fed the fire with coal?dust.

The Five Emperors of the Five Regions applied their minds to it,

The Six Dings and Six jias went to great efforts.

They made nine teeth of jade,

Cast a pair of golden rings to hang beneath them,

Decorated the body with the Six Bright Shiners and the Five planets,

Designed it in accordance with the Four Seasons and the Eight Divisions.

The length of top and bottom match Heaven and Earth.

Positive and Negative were to left and right, dividing the sun and moon.

The Six Divine Generals of the Oracular Lines are there, following the Heavenly Code;

The constellations of the Eight Trigrams are set out in order.

It was named the Supremely Precious Gold?imbued Rake,

And served to guard the gates of the Jade Emperor's palace.

As I had become a great Immortal,

I now enjoyed eternal life,

And was commissioned as Marshal Tian Peng,

With this rake to mark my imperial office.

When I raise it, fire and light stream forth;

When I lower it, a snowy blizzard blows.

It terrifies the Heavenly Generals,

And makes the King of Hell too quake with fear.

There is no other weapon matching it on Earth,

Nor iron to rival it throughout the world.

It changes into anything I like,

And leaps about whenever I say the spell.

For many a year I've carried it around,

Keeping it with me every single day.

I will not put it down even to eat,

Nor do I when I sleep at night.

I took it with me to the Peach Banquet,

And carried it into the celestial court.

When I sinned my sin in drunken pride,

I used it to force compliance with my evil will.

When Heaven sent me down to the mortal dust,

I committed all kinds of wickedness down here.

I used to devour people in this cave,

Until I fell in love and married in Gao Village.

This rake has plunged beneath the sea to stir up dragons,

And climbed high mountains to smash up tigers' dens.

No other blade is worth a mention

Besides my rake, the sharpest weapon ever.

To win a fight with it requires no effort;

Of course it always brings me glory.

Even if you have an iron brain in a brazen head and a body of steel,

This rake will scatter your souls and send your spirit flying.

Thus, even until the end of his journey together with Sanzang, Pig would continue to wield this legendary rake with true pride.

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