a in person handed him the sacred books of Buddhism.

Pai Ma, the White Horse

When he left the capital, Hsuean Chuang had been presented by the
Emperor with a white horse to carry him on his long pilgrimage. One
day, when he reached She-p'an Shan, near a torrent, a dragon emerged
from the deep river-bed and devoured both the horse and its saddle. Sun
tried in vain to find the dragon, and at last had to seek the aid of
Kuan Yin.

Now Yue Lung San T'ai-tzu, son of Ao Jun, Dragonking of the Western
Sea, having burnt a precious pearl on the roof of his father's palace,
was denounced to Yue Huang, who had him beaten with three hundred blows
and suspended in the air. He was awaiting death when Kuan Yin passed
on her way to China. The unfortunate dragon requested the goddess
to have pity on him, whereupon she prevailed upon Yue Huang to spare
his life on condition that he served as steed for her pilgrim on the
expedition to the Western Paradise. The dragon was handed over to
Kuan Yin, who showed him the deep pool in which he was to dwell while
awaiting the arrival of the priest. It was this dragon who had devoured
Hsuean Chuang's horse, and Kuan Yin now bade him change himself into a
horse of the same colour to carry the priest to his destination. He
had the honour of bearing on his back the sacred books that Buddha
gave to T'ai Tsung's deputy, and the first Buddhist temple built at
the capital bore the name of Pai-ma Miao, 'Temple of the White Horse.'

Perils by the Way

It is natural to expect that numberless exciting adventures should
befall such an interesting quartette, and indeed the _Hsi yu chi_,
which contains a hundred chapters, is full of them. The pilgrims
encountered eighty difficulties on the journey out and one on the
journey home. The following examples are characteristic of the rest.

The Grove of Cypress-trees

The travellers were making their way westward through shining
waters and over green hills, where they found endless luxuriance
of vegetation and flowers of all colours in profusion. But the way
was long and lonely, and as darkness came on without any sign of
habitation the Priest said: "Where shall we find a resting-place for
the night?" The Monkey replied: "My Master, he who has left home
and become a priest must dine on the wind and lodge on the water,
lie down under the moon and sleep in the forest; everywhere is his
home; why then ask where shall we rest?" But Pa-chieh, who was the
b