Chapter 6: Recruiting Sha Monk at the Flowing Sand River

Chapter 6: Recruiting Sha Monk at the Flowing Sand River Illustration

Tap any word for its meaning

一条yī tiáo大河dà hé拦住lán zhù去路qù lùA great river blocked their path.浪里làng lǐ钻出zuān chū红发hóng fà妖怪yāo guàiFrom the waves emerged a red-haired demon.脖挂bó guà骷髅链kū lóu liàn举着jǔ zhe月牙铲yuè yá chǎnhǒu留下liú xià唐僧Táng sēngHe wore a skull necklace, brandished his crescent spade, and yelled, 'Leave Tang Sanzang here!'

孙悟空Sūn Wùkōng猪八戒Zhū Bājiè联手lián shǒu打不过dǎ bu guòSun Wukong and Zhu Bajie could not defeat him together.悟空Wùkōng急得jí dezhǎo观音Guān YīnDesperate, Wukong went to seek Guanyin.菩萨Pú Sàdào本是běn shì卷帘大将juǎn lián dà jiàng打下dǎ xià凡间fán jiān受苦shòu kǔThe Bodhisattva said, 'He was once the Curtain-Lifting General, cast to the mortal realm to suffer.'hǎn‘悟净’‘Wùjìng’归顺guī shùn'Call him ‘Wujing,’ and he will submit on his own.'

悟空Wùkōnghuí河边hé biānhǎn“沙悟净!“Shā Wùjìng!菩萨Pú Sàjiào上路shàng lùWukong called out by the river, 'Sha Wujing! The Bodhisattva summons you to the journey!'妖怪yāo guài一愣yī lèngThe demon froze in surprise.跪下guì xià流泪liú lèi“弟子“dì zi愿跟yuàn gēn师父shī fu取经qǔ jīngHe knelt in tears, 'I pledge to follow Master on the pilgrimage!'

原来yuán lái吃掉chī diàode九个jiǔ gè取经人qǔ jīng rén骷髅kū lóu竟是jìng shì唐僧Táng sēng前世qián shìdeIt turned out the nine pilgrims he had eaten were from Tang Sanzang's past life!玄奘Xuánzàngjiāng骷髅kū lóu串成chuàn chéng项链xiàng liàn渡河时dù hé shí忽然hū rán变作biàn zuò法船fǎ chuán……Xuanzang strung the skulls into a necklace, which transformed into a magic boat when crossing the river...寓意yù yì曾经céng jīngde错误cuò wùnéng变成biàn chéng未来wèi láide助力zhù lìMoral: Past mistakes can become future strengths.

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: all journey to the west and other Chinese reading practice · traditional characters · how graded readers work

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 650+ 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 →