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199th out of 565 books
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1,963 voters
Journey to the West (4-Volume Boxed Set)
First published in 1952, The Journey to the West, volume I, comprises the first twenty-five chapters of Anthony C. Yu's four-volume translation of Hsi-yu Chi, one of the most beloved classics of Chinese literature. The fantastic tale recounts the sixteen-year pilgrimage of the monk Hsüan-tsang (596-664), one of China's most illustrious religious heroes, who journeyed to In...more
Paperback, 2346 pages
Published
January 1st 2003
by Foreign Languages Press
(first published 1582)
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"Monkey" is Arthur Waley's delightful rendition of Wu Cheng-en's "Journey to the West", one of China's four great classical novels. This abridged version provides English readers with an experience that would otherwise have been inaccessible to those of us unable to read the original Chinese. The novel offers a pleasant mixture of action, adventure and comedy. It examines a number of meaningful themes, including three great Eastern philosophies (Buddhism, Tao and Confucianism) and satirical comm...more
On hold since Summer 2006, I'm done with 3 1/2 volumes of this.
I hope to finish before I die.
9/14/07:
Seriously, I should finish this.
10/4/07:
No kidding.
10/29/07:
Give it some time.
12/9/07:
Wait for it...
2/6/08:
Uh...
4/6/08:
I've read another chapter!
5/22/08:
Guys, really.
6/17/08:
I've read another bit.
7/10/08:
This is getting ridiculous
9/30/08:
What the hell.
4/25/09:
I don't think this is ever going to be finished.
7/26/09:
Except, by some miracle, I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED.
7/27/09:
I've downgraded it from a...more
I hope to finish before I die.
9/14/07:
Seriously, I should finish this.
10/4/07:
No kidding.
10/29/07:
Give it some time.
12/9/07:
Wait for it...
2/6/08:
Uh...
4/6/08:
I've read another chapter!
5/22/08:
Guys, really.
6/17/08:
I've read another bit.
7/10/08:
This is getting ridiculous
9/30/08:
What the hell.
4/25/09:
I don't think this is ever going to be finished.
7/26/09:
Except, by some miracle, I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED.
7/27/09:
I've downgraded it from a...more
4 likes
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like
· see review
Sep 03, 2008
Ademption
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who let their id run wild, superhero fetishists
Shelves:
classics,
chinese-literature
This is an abbreviated version of the Chinese classic "Journey to the West." Imagine Neal Cassidy roaming around ancient China with actual powers. A dubious superhero who does whatever the fuck he wants. Monkey, the Trickster God, is assigned to guard a monk traveling to the west in search of fabled sutras. All of the action seems to follow this pattern:
1) The monk warns Monkey against something
2) Greedy Monkey does whatever is prohibited
3) the Monkey suffers and everyone must have an unexpec...more
1) The monk warns Monkey against something
2) Greedy Monkey does whatever is prohibited
3) the Monkey suffers and everyone must have an unexpec...more
(Note: I read the three volume translation [pictured] by W. J. F. Jenner and published by Beijing Foreign Languages Press).
Firstly, this series IS a journey. Consisting of three volumes, 100 chapters, and some 1800 pages (Don Quixote, War & Peace, Lord Of The Rings, to name a few epics, all roughly 1200 pages). To top it off is the archaic style in which it is written, the translation sticking closely to the original 16th century Chinese text. This is where getting the right translation is c...more
Firstly, this series IS a journey. Consisting of three volumes, 100 chapters, and some 1800 pages (Don Quixote, War & Peace, Lord Of The Rings, to name a few epics, all roughly 1200 pages). To top it off is the archaic style in which it is written, the translation sticking closely to the original 16th century Chinese text. This is where getting the right translation is c...more
Fantastically entertaining
I am always astonished how readable and accessible are those old Chinese classical books. I've stated that for The Marshes of Mount Liang, and it's even more true for the 西遊記 Xiyouji, or "Journey to the West". Dating back to the 16th century, it's as readable as if it was only written a few decades ago. Of course, there are some stylistic quirks you have to get accustomed to - retelling of a just happened event by another person, formulaic plot elements, and the wordine...more
I am always astonished how readable and accessible are those old Chinese classical books. I've stated that for The Marshes of Mount Liang, and it's even more true for the 西遊記 Xiyouji, or "Journey to the West". Dating back to the 16th century, it's as readable as if it was only written a few decades ago. Of course, there are some stylistic quirks you have to get accustomed to - retelling of a just happened event by another person, formulaic plot elements, and the wordine...more
Sprühender Charme und philosophische Tiefe
Der König der Affen, geboren aus einem Stein, lässt sich von niemand etwas sagen. Er ist ein frecher, unverschämter Prolet, extrem ehrgeizig und dabei aber auch ehrlich und charmant. Das starre, ehrwürdige chinesische Himmelreich ist außer sich über soviel Respektlosigkeit. Um sein gutes Karma wiederzugewinnen, muss der Affenkönig einen Priester auf einer langen Reise nach Westen beschützen vor menschenfressenden Dämonen und anderem Getier. Das "Xiyouji"...more
Der König der Affen, geboren aus einem Stein, lässt sich von niemand etwas sagen. Er ist ein frecher, unverschämter Prolet, extrem ehrgeizig und dabei aber auch ehrlich und charmant. Das starre, ehrwürdige chinesische Himmelreich ist außer sich über soviel Respektlosigkeit. Um sein gutes Karma wiederzugewinnen, muss der Affenkönig einen Priester auf einer langen Reise nach Westen beschützen vor menschenfressenden Dämonen und anderem Getier. Das "Xiyouji"...more
This is a great rendition of journey to the west. It helps English readers understand the book better with how ti tells the story. It may cut out a lot of material (30 out of 100 chapters). But what it does keep is very well done and seems to be the most interesting and important parts of the story. Let's look at the plot.
The plot of the book is very complicated but simple to. Monkey is the king of the monkeys and goes to human civilization to achieve illumination. After this he goes and gets hi...more
The plot of the book is very complicated but simple to. Monkey is the king of the monkeys and goes to human civilization to achieve illumination. After this he goes and gets hi...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book is about the quest of a monk to go to India to bring some buddhist scriptures to China. The book is a translation of some of the chapters of "Journey to the west" by Cheng-en Wu which is much longer. The translator opted not to shorten the chapters but to omit chapters. Since the book consists of many stories or separate adventures, I wouldn't have noticed is had the translator not mentioned this in the foreword.
The monkey king is to help monk on his quest and actually he is the main...more
The monkey king is to help monk on his quest and actually he is the main...more
The journey to the west is based on the true story of a Chinese monk who traveled from china to India in the time around 640 AD. The novel itself was written in the 1600s and is part adventure yarn, comedy, allegory and paen to monkeys. In terms of fictional merit it is hard to tell as reading an abridged translated version kind of grinds much of what must have appealed out of the book. The start is interesting but, it then descends into an endless repetition of Master gets captured by demons us...more
This was on my to-read list for about 20 years.
Here are a few things I was able to glean from this abridged translation:
1. Break a crystal dish in Heaven and you've had it, Laddie.
2. The Goddess of Mercy is fine with torture.
3. Lao Tzu has a short fuse, but he's a whiz with the party favours.
4. Monkeys might not be very refined, but they still throw less poo than self-righteous monks.
5. Even Buddhas still enjoy a good scam.
I quite enjoyed the first part of the story with untamed Monkey and his...more
Here are a few things I was able to glean from this abridged translation:
1. Break a crystal dish in Heaven and you've had it, Laddie.
2. The Goddess of Mercy is fine with torture.
3. Lao Tzu has a short fuse, but he's a whiz with the party favours.
4. Monkeys might not be very refined, but they still throw less poo than self-righteous monks.
5. Even Buddhas still enjoy a good scam.
I quite enjoyed the first part of the story with untamed Monkey and his...more
I kind of regret buying this book. I thought it looked like a fun little read when I saw it in the mythology section, so I picked it up (several years ago).
Why regret it when I enjoyed it? I could have enjoyed MORE of it. You see, I found out much later that Monkey is an abridged version of Journey to the West. This is one of the four classic Chinese novels. I've read (and generally loved) the other three: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Dream of Red Mansions. Now I've r...more
Why regret it when I enjoyed it? I could have enjoyed MORE of it. You see, I found out much later that Monkey is an abridged version of Journey to the West. This is one of the four classic Chinese novels. I've read (and generally loved) the other three: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Dream of Red Mansions. Now I've r...more
2 likes
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like
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A simple but probably one of the better translations of the old story of a Journey to the West, or Sun Wu'kong, as it may be called otherwheres. Stories like this are rare to find these days, and filled with a touch of history that makes a slow read if you want to understand it all, but immensely rich in depth if you do learn it all.
One of the "Four Great Classical Novels" of Chinese literature, "Journey to the West" is the 16th-century embellishment of a 7th-century pilgrimage from China to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures that will bring enlightenment to China. At the folklore level, this is a rollicking tale of misadventure and the clever solutions of the trickster Monkey that save the feckless priest Tripitaka and his frequently-unwilling cohorts, the foolish Pigsy and the obedient Sandy. As an allegory, Tripitaka...more
It's pretty cool, a classic I guess. I read it because I grew up on the Japanese TV series dubbed by the BBC in the late 70s. But naturally, being 500 years old, the story telling is pretty different from contemporary stories. No real surprises, monkey kicks demons asses, everyone's happy. More appealing as a light-hearted Buddhist lark, but perhaps disappointingly without many insights being taught by the tales.
Buddha is purveyed as some everlasting, all-seeing God, and monkey becomes enlighten...more
Buddha is purveyed as some everlasting, all-seeing God, and monkey becomes enlighten...more
I'm happy to see I've reached level 5, with no idea what that means! Heaven and hell ruled by the same laws as Chinese bureaucracy, a world of monsters with amazing powers, and a few of them being enlightened in spite of themselves, a teary monk who can't do anything for himself and is yet some kind of hero, a mixture of the tao, confucious, buddhism...this was an immense and immensely revealing surprise. Though of what, I am not sure. I always feel that in reading Chinese classics...
"Old Mr. Ka...more
"Old Mr. Ka...more
I finished it, Holly you can borrow it now if you want. It's not very long at all.
Sorry, I was looking for it the other day and I remembered I loaned it to Bob. You see him more than me, you should ask him about it.
Sorry, I was looking for it the other day and I remembered I loaned it to Bob. You see him more than me, you should ask him about it.
Who wouldn't love a 500 year old fantasy story about a monkey made of stone that beats people up on his way to India to retrieve the Buddhist scrolls?
When I first opened this book, I was reading it was a "Classic," and a part of the Chinese Cannon which, save Confucius Lao Tzu, I was ignorant of.
At first, I was not overly impressed. I read it in fits and starts. And would put it away for days on end, which is unusual for me. A monkey, born of stone, becomes a king. Learns wizardry. Because of his precocious trickery gets in trouble with the King of Heaven. And was imprisoned in a mountain.
I read it. Shrugged. It was okay... Sort of like Epi...more
At first, I was not overly impressed. I read it in fits and starts. And would put it away for days on end, which is unusual for me. A monkey, born of stone, becomes a king. Learns wizardry. Because of his precocious trickery gets in trouble with the King of Heaven. And was imprisoned in a mountain.
I read it. Shrugged. It was okay... Sort of like Epi...more
As a kid I was a fan of this series... Monkey, Pigsy, the sea monster thingy and Tripitaka (was she a she or just a good looking guy?)
Either I remembered the series wrong or something got lost on the translation...
It was hard going. Another reviewer sums it up better than I:
"The plot of the book is very complicated but simple too."
Spot on.
However, since China's about to take over the world, it's well worth reading this 500 year-old fairy tale cos it'll probably be taught (along with other clas...more
Either I remembered the series wrong or something got lost on the translation...
It was hard going. Another reviewer sums it up better than I:
"The plot of the book is very complicated but simple too."
Spot on.
However, since China's about to take over the world, it's well worth reading this 500 year-old fairy tale cos it'll probably be taught (along with other clas...more
Utterly readable and still very funny, the story of trickster turned priest who journeys to India to obtain enlightenment.
I would compare this book to The Canterbury tales or Arabian Nights Interestingly this is also a medieval book. Like these two works Monkey has lots of earthy and human humour, and gives a vivid picture of the society at the time, the bureaucracy, social hierarchy and strict value systems. It's full of magic and adventure, and what might seem curious religious illuminations....more
I would compare this book to The Canterbury tales or Arabian Nights Interestingly this is also a medieval book. Like these two works Monkey has lots of earthy and human humour, and gives a vivid picture of the society at the time, the bureaucracy, social hierarchy and strict value systems. It's full of magic and adventure, and what might seem curious religious illuminations....more
I first heard of Monkey when I was in China a few years ago, and although this book has sat on my shelf since, I only picked it up and read it today. This edition (Kherdian, D.) is an abridged version of the original English translation, and reads more like a simple children's book than I imagine the complete volume would. I've read reviews of this version that claim it does not do the full story any justice, but reading this as a work on its own I will say I enjoyed it thoroughly and the spirit...more
Wow...as good as I had hoped.
I realize that this is the super abreviated eddition, with only 30 of the original 100 chapters, but I think this was the perfect way to start reading this book. Like reading "The Once and Future King" before reading "Le Morte de'Arthur"...It doesn't give you the orignal story, but will help the reader understand the original sooooo much more.
There is a great introduction and Arthur Waley does an amazing job of translating; making it a story even children could enjoy...more
I realize that this is the super abreviated eddition, with only 30 of the original 100 chapters, but I think this was the perfect way to start reading this book. Like reading "The Once and Future King" before reading "Le Morte de'Arthur"...It doesn't give you the orignal story, but will help the reader understand the original sooooo much more.
There is a great introduction and Arthur Waley does an amazing job of translating; making it a story even children could enjoy...more
I've been meaning to read this for years - since I studied Chinese at university, in fact. It was an interesting read, but the fact that it's a translation by a scholar shows. The prose feels a little stilted at times, and it isn't always easy to focus on what's happening, although that's probably also a reflection of the original form and structure of Journey to the West. It was entertaining however, although I do wish there had been better footnotes to provide more context to the characters an...more
That Monkey really gets my goat!
Guess this isn't my cup of tea. I chose this book, because I'm right now going through a "read books set in Asia" phase. Among the many books set in China, this wasn't about the communists, Cultural Revolution, torture,... It's one of China' most popular folktale. So I thought, ok I'll give it a try.
The way the story was told was unusual, no suspense, filled with old words. It maybe the fault of the translation. Reading this reminds me of "The Fugitive", which was really not exciting as well.
But...more
The way the story was told was unusual, no suspense, filled with old words. It maybe the fault of the translation. Reading this reminds me of "The Fugitive", which was really not exciting as well.
But...more
This book a novel length account concerning the adventures of a mischievous trickster Monkey given godlike sorcerous powers. It's divided into two parts, one where he messed with heaven, the second half with him redeeming himself by trekking from China to India to retrieve ancient Buddhist Scriptures. He changes into an 100 mile tall three headed demon, repeatedly transforms his own hair into hundreds of fighting copies of himself, gets priests to drink his pee and tells them it's holy water, an...more
There is well over 400 years of commentary on this book, so I do not think I can add much. As is obvious, it is extremely long, which is appropriate as it is about an extremely long and arduous journey. There are five main characters: Sanzang the monk, Monkey, Pig, Friar Sand, and Sanzang's horse which once was a dragon.
All are on the Journey to the West to atone for previous shortcomings, whether seemingly minor or major. As it turns out, in a previous life Sanzang was the Second Disciple to th...more
All are on the Journey to the West to atone for previous shortcomings, whether seemingly minor or major. As it turns out, in a previous life Sanzang was the Second Disciple to th...more
I am tempted to select this novel as my all-time favorite book since I enjoyed every single chapter of it!
There is no surprise that Wu Cheng en's 16th century literary classic Journey to the west along with the romance of the three kingdoms, dream of the red chamber and water margin make up the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. This novel is actually the fictionalized tale of Xuanzang's journey to India (which took place from 629-645) in order to seek buddhist scriptures and bri...more
There is no surprise that Wu Cheng en's 16th century literary classic Journey to the west along with the romance of the three kingdoms, dream of the red chamber and water margin make up the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. This novel is actually the fictionalized tale of Xuanzang's journey to India (which took place from 629-645) in order to seek buddhist scriptures and bri...more
Finally, it came to an end. 3 months. Books like this should be the slow reads that are done along side with other shorter, faster-paced books.
To be honest, I hadn't expected much when I started: I watched every TV series version available maybe a zillion times before. I believed that I practically know everything about this Journey.
But perhaps my memories blurred, or that they were the little details that I never noticed when I was sitting in front of the b/w 14" television when I was 5; or per...more
To be honest, I hadn't expected much when I started: I watched every TV series version available maybe a zillion times before. I believed that I practically know everything about this Journey.
But perhaps my memories blurred, or that they were the little details that I never noticed when I was sitting in front of the b/w 14" television when I was 5; or per...more
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Wu Cheng'en (simplified Chinese: 吴承恩; traditional Chinese: 吳承恩; pinyin: Wú Chéng'ēn, ca. 1505–1580 or 1500–1582, courtesy name Ruzhong (汝忠), pen name "Sheyang Hermit," was a Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty, best known for being the probable author of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West, also called Monkey.
Monkey is the dubbed English lang...more
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Monkey is the dubbed English lang...more
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“Nothing in this world is difficult, but thinking makes it seem so. Where there is true will, there is always a way.”
—
11 people liked it
“After Supper the Master dismissed all except Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha the Monk. He took them out with him and said, "Look at that wonderful moolight. It makes me long for the time when I can return home.”
—
4 people liked it
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Oct 06, 2011 11:07am