Journey to the West
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| Translator | W.J.F. Jenner | |
| Period | Ming Dynasty | |
| Pages | 2366p | |
| Dimensions | 4.5 x 3.75 x 7.5 inches | |
| Weight | 2.35lb | |
| ISBN-10 | 7119016636 | |
| ISBN-13 | 978-7119016634 | |
- Journey to the West 西游记
- What is it?
Journey to the West was published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty, and attributed to writer Wu Cheng’en. It’s based around the true story of monk Xuanzang, who in 629AD left his temple in Chang’an and made a perilous pilgrimage across Gansu and Qinghai, through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan, reaching India in 630. The stories in Journey to the West loosely follow his travels – together with the infamous monkey Sun Wukong (also known as the Monkey King), and a series of demons, nymphs, monsters, and gods.
- Why is it important?
One of the most famous Chinese stories, the novel is a colorful array of adventure and strategy, with the pilgrims overcoming an impressive total of 81 trials and dangers, successively tempting the motley crew with trickery, wealth, or beauty. The 1986 TV adaptation, starring Liu Xiao Liu Tong, remains the best-known adaptation and a staple on Chinese TV, faithfully re-screened repeatedly every Chinese New Year.
- What else?
Along with Sun Wukong, Xuanzang travels with a half-man, half-pig called Zhu Bajie. Once an immortal, Zhu Bajie fell out of favor with the gods by flirting with the moon goddess, being banished to the mortal world and birthed by a pig. His interest in women remained, however, and before joining the pilgrimage, he married a girl who only discovered afterward that her groom was, in fact, a pig.
- Amazon review
Journey to the West is a classic Chinese mythological novel. It was written during the Ming Dynasty based on traditional folktales. Consisting of 100 chapters, this fantasy relates the adventures of a Tang Dynasty (618-907) priest Sanzang and his three disciples, Monkey, Pig, and Friar Sand, as they travel west in search of Buddhist Sutra. The first seven chapters recount the birth of the Monkey King and his rebellion against Heaven. Then in chapters eight to twelve, we learn how Sanzang was born and why he is searching for the scriptures, as well as his preparations for the journey. The rest of the story describes how they vanquish demons and monsters, tramp over the Fiery Mountain, cross the Milky Way, and after overcoming many dangers, finally arrive at their destination - the Thunder Monastery in the Western Heaven - and find the Sutra.
Attached are a number of illustrations drawn during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
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