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The Journey to the West, Volume 1

(The Journey to the West #1)

Wu Cheng'en,

Anthony C. Yu (Translator)

4.25 · Rating details · 1,245 ratings · 94 reviews

First published in 1592, 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

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Paperback, 544 pages

Published February 15th 1980 by University Of Chicago Press (first published January 1st 1592)

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Nov 11, 2018 Lois Bujold rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: persons interested in classics of world literature, or ur-fantasy

Recommended to Lois by: tracked back from derivative works

The star rating system is really not appropriate for classic books of this sort, read for curiosity and education as much as pleasure, but have a somewhat random 4.

I was led back to this by revisiting, this month, an anime/manga version from the early 00s of the adventure, Saiyuki by Kazyua Minekura, which may not even be the most gonzo version ever, though I suspect it's up there. But that should get a review of its own. I also see by my Netflix that there is a new Chinese movie of The Journey ...more

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Jul 26, 2013 Laszlo Hopp rated it really liked it

I read the four-volume revised Kindle edition of this book, translated by Anthony C. Yu. The story is the fictive rendition of a journey made by a 7th century Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, during the Tang Dynasty. He undertook his famous, nearly two decade-long pilgrimage in order to study Buddhism and acquire original Sanskrit texts of the religion from India. When he returned to China, he translated many of the original texts to Chinese, thus leaving a decisive legacy on Chinese Buddhism. Some of t I read the four-volume revised Kindle edition of this book, translated by Anthony C. Yu. The story is the fictive rendition of a journey made by a 7th century Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, during the Tang Dynasty. He undertook his famous, nearly two decade-long pilgrimage in order to study Buddhism and acquire original Sanskrit texts of the religion from India. When he returned to China, he translated many of the original texts to Chinese, thus leaving a decisive legacy on Chinese Buddhism. Some of the pilgrim's original scrolls are saved in a pagoda inside Xingijao Temple near today's Xian.

The story starts with the mystical events of a creature becoming the (Handsome) Monkey King. Through various twists and turns, he acquires great skills and a variety of supernatural power which he will continue to use throughout the book. Some mischievous acts in Heaven land him in trouble but upon the departure of Xuanzang - in the book also called the Tang Monk or Tripitaka after the Three Baskets of Buddhism that held the 3 original Buddhist scrolls - from the Emperor's palace, the Monkey King is given the opportunity to become the disciple and protector of the Monk. In the first phase of the long journey Tripitaka is granted two additional converted vicious monsters as his disciples: Eight Rules who has the appearance of a pig and Sha Monk who has the look of a water buffalo. To complete the mystical traveling company, a water monster is enforced to serve as the replacement of Tripitaka's deceased horse.

The bulk of the story is the description of the group's arduous traveling through impenetrable forests, burning mountains, and dangerous rushing rivers. They encounter countless demons, spirits, monsters, dragons, and fiends who invariably want to devour the guiltless Tripitaka. This enhanced interest in the Tang Monk as a culinary delight roots from his purity that is thought to guarantee extremely long life to the cannibalistic food connoisseurs. With his boundless ingenuity and smarts the Monkey King leads the three disciples to defend the Monk.

For the contemporary reader, the story has a few stumbling blocks, not the least of which is the length of almost 2400 pages. In the book one will find numerous repetitions where the four main heroes tend to recite some of their earlier adventures in various situations when they meet new characters. The reader is already fully aware of these events and they tend to slow down the flow of the story. One can skip these paragraphs however, without losing much from the narration.

For some readers another obstacle could be the numerous poems and songs throughout the book. In my rough estimation 15-20% of the text may well be poetry. The poems are enjoyable and usually provide finer details of, or clarifications to, the main story. As such, they are more functionally part of the book then in another classic pillar of ancient Chinese literature, the poetry in the Dreams of the Red Mansion. In that book the poems and songs are highly transcendent with the purpose of providing insight into the characters' inner selves. I skimmed through many, but not all poems. Others may decide to skip the poems altogether but those who decide to read them in even greater details, will experience an enhanced overall literary beauty of the book.

Of the four characters, the Monkey King is by far the best portrayed one and the main reason I gave not 3 but 4 stars to this book. He is an absolute riot; a perfect timeless embodiment of a bad guy turned good who has a curiously complex psyche with a mixture of self-adoration, self-assuredness, mischief, steadfast loyalty, courage, wisdom, practicality, and, on the top of everything, a great sense of humor. Typical of him is the name he has chosen to himself early in the story: The Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Among all the fictive characters I have encountered in my readings, the Monkey King has become one of my all time favorites for his colorful and likeable temperament and for the exquisite perfection with which he has been portrayed.

Although the Tang Monk is formally the lead-hero of the story, he really pales in comparision to the Monkey King. He is the most benevolent, spiritually pure individual imaginable who is singularly driven by his unshakable convictions and principled Buddhist mind. Unfortunately, he is also gullible to the point of annoyance and this brings a copious amount of trouble to the poor Monkey King.

Eight Rules is a secondary character whose personality is also drawn with an expert pen. He is stupid, yet quite capable in many ways. His loyalty to the Monk never feels solidified, however he seems to function perfectly well under the critical tutelage of the Monkey King and the exculpation of the high-minded Tripitaka.

The character of the third disciple, Sha Monk, is far less complete than the previous three and doesn't deserve particular attention in this review.

Overall, the book in its full length is not an easy read. I recommend it mostly to those tickled by a potential glimpse into the spirituality of an ancient world, namely the Tang Dynasty, from the perspective of a much later, but still very old, time, namely the late Ming Dynasty. What a rare privilege to enjoy such a treasure!
An abridged English translation is also available for those curious readers with a more tepid interest.

Additional information: The book has served as inspiration for multiple movies, TV shows, stage plays, and comics. I saw one of these adaptations, Alakazam the Great. This Japanese cartoon film, although adorable in its own right, in no way should be considered a faithful presentation of the original story. I've also read the Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment, by Richard Bernstein. The book adds a unique, modern-time perspective to this ancient story. ...more

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Dec 24, 2016 Wreade1872 rated it liked it

Shelves: 16th-century, supernatural, league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen, poetry, fantasy, humour

A monk and his 3 supernatural disciples set out on a journey westward to obtain buddhist scriptures. Actually that description is the story eventually... there's quite a bit of build up and background to get through first.
So there were a few surprises in this for me. Firstly while it might well be based on ancient legend this isn't some oral tale which has simply been written down but rather a proper literary piece from the 16th century.
Which is quite recent from china's point of view. I find i A monk and his 3 supernatural disciples set out on a journey westward to obtain buddhist scriptures. Actually that description is the story eventually... there's quite a bit of build up and background to get through first.
So there were a few surprises in this for me. Firstly while it might well be based on ancient legend this isn't some oral tale which has simply been written down but rather a proper literary piece from the 16th century.
Which is quite recent from china's point of view. I find it quite difficult to read fairytales so was quite glad this wasn't one.

Secondly i'm a big fan of the tv adaptation of this 'Monkey'. It was a 70's show made by japan rather than china* and then dubbed into english by people who often didn't even have a script, they would just make up the story based on what seemed to be happening on screen.
For all of these reasons i assumed that the book would bare little resemblance to the show, but i was wrong. All the crazy, funny ridiculousness of the show is totally in here :D .
The comedy and satire is Rabelais-esque at times.

About a 5th of the story is done in poetry. I don't know whether this rhymed in its original language but it doesn't now. It still has a certain rhythm about it though. I might have disliked the poetry except that it only occurs on specific occasions.
Its basically a descriptor. Whenever someone or something new turns up or when there's a fight sequence it switches to poetry and the poetry is usually more over the top than the prose.
Its like in certain movies or shows where they might switch to animation for fight sequences, or in certain kinds of musical where the songs are only used to replace fight or love scenes.

The story can get a bit repetitive both figuratively and literally. Literally in that every so often you get a little recap of events. One character will go off and do something, then comeback and tell people what they've just done.
I didn't mind this so much as it was never very long and did make me remember things a bit better.
The other repetitiveness is a little more annoying as several of the fight sequences follow a very similar pattern which can start to get old.
Oh, one other thing that some might find annoying is the buddhism. There are various pieces of buddhist philosophy in this which will make no sense to most people.
I don't even know if their real. Its like quantum theory, someone could be telling you a real but confusing piece of quantum theory or a fake bit, i simply don't have the necessary experience to tell the difference.

Anyway, i was constantly hearing the people from the tv show in my head (aswell as picturing the very pretty monk ;) ) so i feel like i may be more naturally inclined to like this over people who didn't see the show.
I look forward to reading the rest of the volumes but not right away, i think a break between each one is a good strategy.

*the male monk is played by a female actress on the show which caused me considerable confusion as a child :) . ...more

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Sep 15, 2017 Letitia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, translated, action-adventure, chinese, library-available, historical, needs-better-english-translation, spirituality-religion, classics, fantasy

This first volume is pretty interesting and less formulaic than the subsequent volumes, which are the pilgrims' episodic adventures, rinsed and repeated. Here we start with Monkey's enlightenment, how he causes chaos in Heaven and is punished; the Tang Emperor makes a really trivial mistake that almost costs him his life and necessitates the commission of a pilgrimage to India to show his piety; Guanyin doing the legwork of gathering all the involved parties for Tripitaka's pilgrimage.

Tripitaka, ...more

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Nov 19, 2010 Melanie rated it it was ok

This has to be one of the most boring books I have ever read. I mean, the beginning of the book, back when Sun Wukong was free to do whatever he pleased was pretty acceptable. But in the moment he is given the task of babysitting Sanzang is where the book starts to get irritating. I understand that the book is supposed to be epic and full of metaphors, but imagine the case when someone asks Wukong something and instead of reading the sentence "and Wukong explained everything that happened to him ...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Peter rated it really liked it

I really enjoy, as most do, Part One, the origin of Sun Wukong and his hell-raising days before he is finally subdued by Buddha. After that, I am often annoyed, as some are, by how weepy yet obstinate Xuanzang is (especially because he is supposed to be a highly cultivated monk), how underdeveloped the characters Sha Wujing and Yulong Santaiz are, how repetitive the 81 ordeals can be, and the author's repeated use of deus ex machina. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating and often hilarious adventur ...more

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Oct 07, 2018 Aurora rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, favorites

Sorry in advance for a terrible review, I suck at writing them.

So The Journey to the West starts out with this stone monkey and his adventures on Flower-Fruit Mountain. After the first 7 or so chapters we move to a Buddhist monk and his 3 disciples (one of those being that monkey) going on (surprise!) a journey to the west. I found this book really fascinating and surprisingly easy to read. So far in this story they haven’t accomplished much and have mostly just been gathering disciples, fighti ...more

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Sep 19, 2015 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: chinese-lit, the-four-great-classical-novels

Well, this is just one of four parts to this rather enormous Chinese work that I've been meaning to read for a long time now. The Journey to the West, at least this portion, is most notably about the origins of Sun Wukong, the mischievous monkey king of folklore. For the most part, even just this installation of the epic feels like it is split into two distinct subcategories, one being far supreme to the other.

The first thing I noticed was a return to that beautiful, distinct style of prose tha Well, this is just one of four parts to this rather enormous Chinese work that I've been meaning to read for a long time now. The Journey to the West, at least this portion, is most notably about the origins of Sun Wukong, the mischievous monkey king of folklore. For the most part, even just this installation of the epic feels like it is split into two distinct subcategories, one being far supreme to the other.

The first thing I noticed was a return to that beautiful, distinct style of prose that marks most East Asian literature. However, as this is the first Chinese novel I've read, I notice subtle differences from Japanese counterparts. Scattered selections of descriptive verse embellish the entire work and make it that much more of a joy to read, even when there is not much happening. These passages usually pick out a small piece of action or focus closer on a description of color, texture, or general appearance. As a result, it seems as if Cheng'en is really trying to paint a clear visual picture in the reader's mind- he succeeds on all levels.

However, I must digress and go back to a point I briefly brought up- the first half of Journey is vastly superior to the second half. For the most part, this is because Sun Wukong is such a badass character with seemingly unlimited power and an insatiable taste for fisticuffs. He is portrayed as a reckless yet nearly unbeatable being, and he definitely goes to great lengths to prove this to anyone and everyone. So it's really all a good romp with Wukong for a while, until he actually gets himself into trouble and has to be assigned someone to babysit him, which is where things really slow down. Enter Xuanxang, the monk appointed to do the job and to spread a Buddhist message back East. Things definitely remain well-written, but I think that for the most part Wukong does it for me, and his diminished role actually sort of diminishes my enjoyment, but only marginally.

Overall this is a formidable work and I'm not sure if I'm going to dive straight into the next volume, but it looks like my university's library has got them all and they aren't exactly in high demand. So, sometime I'll come back to Journey but for now I am left with a good impression and a pleasurable read. ...more

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Apr 25, 2015 Aubrey rated it really liked it

Shelves: person-of-everything, antidote-think-twice-all, 1-read-on-hand, 3-star, r-goodreads, r-2018, reviewed, antidote-think-twice-read, mandarin-chinese, person-of-translated

3.5/5

It's been a while since I last made my way through an extended volume set. In terms of familiarity, this doesn't have the recognizable if conscious obfuscation of 'In Search of Lost Time', nor is it as esoteric despite its relative straightforwardness as The Arabian Nights. Indeed, I compared the experience in a previous group read message to my reading of "The Canterbury Tales", which is both more contemporaneous with JttW than the previous two, and also has a more similar structure of a s 3.5/5

It's been a while since I last made my way through an extended volume set. In terms of familiarity, this doesn't have the recognizable if conscious obfuscation of 'In Search of Lost Time', nor is it as esoteric despite its relative straightforwardness as The Arabian Nights. Indeed, I compared the experience in a previous group read message to my reading of "The Canterbury Tales", which is both more contemporaneous with JttW than the previous two, and also has a more similar structure of a sequence of interlinked short stories/adventures conveyed through a set case of minimally fluctuating characters. There are vast differences, of course, what with JttW being far meatier in terms of theological expansion and intricate renderings of feasts and prayers and myriad poetic interjections, but while my edition doesn't have the plethora of footnotes I imagine others have, I was still able to follow the story well enough, aided by the focus that a great character as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, provides. The first volume ends with a literal cliffhanger, and peeking ahead shows a continuum of page numbers, so it will be easier to bear in mind how far I've come when I'm tiredly pondering how far I have to go.

The first volume eases one into the journey, as there are a bevy of pictures introducing the main characters, some of who don't even appear in the first volume and will thus draw one back to the beginning during the successive physical stages of each volume. One thing that many popular conceptions of JttW, including the much watered down version I first encountered in the form of Dragon Ball Z, is how long the story takes to carefully set up the origins and motivations of each of the characters making this journey, a litany of rises and falls and conversions and perversions until each, for better or worse, is committed to the path described in around 1800 pages of text and images. What engaged me the most so far is the substructure one could glimpse every so often of the cultural conversations people of the work's time were having about religion, evil doing, afterlife retribution, values, scriptures, Confucianism vs Buddhism, Buddhism vs Taoism, all encompassed by a litany of folk tales with especial emphasis on the glories of material aesthetics, as well as explanations for certain weather phenomena, I won't say it was a breeze to get through, but it is certainly fascinating parts, and in other parts even entertaining enough to veritably make the pages fly by. Considering these stories are read to children and transformed into cartoon shows, I was surprised how brutal the tales got with regards to sexual matters, but I suppose, like any surviving story, it is complete enough to both enculturate the young and maintain value for the old, and the certain flashes of insight that were blunt enough for even me, lacking all that I do of an inherent Chinese upbringing, to pick up justified that further. Not what I expected, in a good way.

I have three volumes, or roughly 1300 pages, left to go of this. I'm trying to pace myself, but I'm also wary of neglecting it in the manner that stretches 400 pages to a month or more. It's not the most entertaining thing in the world, but it's engaging in different ways than I had expected it to be, and plus, there's always the reading cred to consider. Reading it has also made me pay more attention to the other sets I have on hand, namely The Story of the Stone, Pilgrimage, the more flexible The Diaries of Anaïs Nin, and a handful of duologies, imagining how much commitment I'd have to spend to seriously engage with each of them in a reasonable time frame. I'm not going to hurry, as JttW and the remaining thirty books in my combined 2018 reading challenges is enough to see me through the next few months, especially with my return to school on the horizon. Burnout is not in my plans for the future.

"My child," said the minister, "this was not a case of abandoning morality for the sake of material gain. You acted under duress, and did nothing to be ashamed of."

...more

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Jul 04, 2008 Junius Fulcher rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: anyone

By far, the most exciting translation of the classic tale, Journey to the West that I have read. The story unfolds in a beautiful, fluid manner through Mr. Yu's high linguistic skills. I've re-read this four volume set several times over as it speaks to me (and is crafted) on many levels.

The story is loosely based on the fourteen year pilgrimage of Ven. Hsaun T'sang, a Buddhist monastic/scripture pilgrim who traversed the Silk road from the Tang court in Chang-an, through the Kyber Pass into In ...more

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Jul 26, 2017 Greg Kerestan added it

I first started reading this book many years ago but didn't pick it up seriously until last week. I'm surprised at how many of the incidents I recognize in translated form from various comic books, movies and video games imported originally from Japan. For being a mostly unknown story in America, this novel (half folklore and half fiction) casts a wide shadow across Asia with its mix of Chinese, Japanese and Indian folk elements. ...more

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Jul 29, 2018 Yigal Zur rated it it was amazing

one of the greatest stories which came from china

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Aug 28, 2019 Duncan Wilson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My goodness this certainly expands the story. For comparison, Arthur Waley's "Monkey" is "The Hobbit" and Anthony C. Wu's "Journey to the West" is "The Lord of the Rings". Although it starts strongly with the birth and (mis) adventures of Sun Wukong (Monkey 🙊) it does dip in the middle of this first volume as Tripitaka doesn't even really appear or start his journey until Chapter 12/13. Once the journey starts and monkey joins the quest then it picks up again. There are nice cliffhanger endings ...more

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Sep 09, 2017 Mary Soon Lee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: chinese-classics, fantasy

"The Journey to the West" is a lengthy 16th century novel, regarded as one of the four great classics of Chinese literature. The author of the book is uncertain, but is thought to be Wu Cheng'en. This volume contains the first twenty-five chapters of the hundred-chapter narrative, plus extensive notes and a ninety-six-page introduction by the translator, Anthony C. Yu. I found the introduction a difficult read, no doubt due to my prior ignorance about almost everything it covered. But the introd ...more

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Aug 20, 2019 Michael rated it it was amazing

Once the pilgrims are on their way to India, the story is a great QUEST plot. I started on Andrew Yu's translation in paperback years ago, but it was the Kindle edition of the revised edition that enabled me to finish the first volume (25 chapters out of 100). A few extended adventures make for a splendid end to this volume. Now I have finally made headway, I look forward to the next three volumes.

Many readers will want to skip the scholarly introduction and detailed annotation. For me they were ...more

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Aug 08, 2020 Joris rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 中文, pre-1900

This is my first of the classic novels in the Chinese canon. I was afraid at the beginning that I wouldn't understand the Buddhist and Taoist references, especially with that opening chapter! And even though most of the time I didn't, the novel was really fun to read. The internal conflicts in the pantheon of gods and halfgods reminded me a lot of ancient Greek fiction, but even by that comparison the Chinese transcendental creatures really made a hotchpotch out of it, with a mixture of Buddhist This is my first of the classic novels in the Chinese canon. I was afraid at the beginning that I wouldn't understand the Buddhist and Taoist references, especially with that opening chapter! And even though most of the time I didn't, the novel was really fun to read. The internal conflicts in the pantheon of gods and halfgods reminded me a lot of ancient Greek fiction, but even by that comparison the Chinese transcendental creatures really made a hotchpotch out of it, with a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist gods living and partying together in heaven, water and earth spirits messing things up on earth, and misbehaved gods muddling through life on earth punished with reincarnation as supernatural dragons, pigs, tigers and other monsters. But don't worry: if things get really tough, there is always Guanyin or Buddha himself to sort things out.

On a side note, the text also made me understand better all the supernatural flying and magic in wuxia dramas. If you think, like I did, that those movies are way over the top, you should read this novel to numbify those feelings. It seems like the whole pilgimage is only a pious facade to justify the endless steam of epic fights and powerful mind skills.

I must say that by the end of the first volume the journey became a bit repetitive, with the pilgrims proceeding on their journey fighting one demon living in a mountain cave/hut after the other. I am not a great fan of adventure novels, so that may play a role. Luckily there was enough to enjoy with the varying perspectives at the start of the novel, from the unruly monkey to the buddhisatva to the lifestory of Xuanzhang and finally the start of his journey to the west. I really hope volume 2 and 3 will offer some variety too and won't be just a continuous stream of demons to fight and mountains to climb.

I haven't seen the original Mandarin text, but the English translation reads really well and feels fresh and lively. Despite or because of the translation, my favourite parts of the novel are the short and beautiful poems, especially the ones regarding nature and animals. In one of the more cunning moves of the monkey Pilgrim he changes into a mosquito, after which the author treats us to this beautiful testimonial poem:

A pesky small shape with sharp sting
His tiny voice can hum like thunder!
Adept at piercing gauze nets and orchid rooms,
He likes the warm, sultry climate.

He fears incense and swatting fans,
But dearly loves bright lights and lamps.
Airy, agile, all too clever and fast,
He flies into the fiend's cave.

The academic introduction was also really good in explaining the context and content of the work. The internal alchemy part, however, still makes my stomach turn (pun but true). I'm glad I had decided to leave the introduction for the end! ...more

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Nov 06, 2016 BurgendyA rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: to everyone. Its a must read classic

Recommended to BurgendyA by: Prof Huo, my former professor of Asian Society & culture.

This book is the English translation of "Journey to the West". If you are interested in Asian studies, you must read this novel. This book has been in my reading list for two years. I added when I took a course in the university, the class was Asian Society & Culture. It was a very interesting class and the professor mentioned this book as one of Asia Classic. Now I totally see why after reading Journey to the West.

Many modern Asian anime, comics, and stories are adaptations of this one or are ...more

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Mar 20, 2018 D rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: to-read-in-2018, format-books, fairy-tail, translated-to-english, xianxia

4 🌟 for the story
Another 🌟 for being a Classical Chinese text, written in an age with less exigent public.
If you can go around some certain degree of naiveté, then this is a really good story. Keep in mind that it was written in the 16th Century, so one shall not ask things like "Why does'nt then just break down that d@rn door?" Just bear with it, there will be some sort of lesson for not breaking the d@rn door. Simple accept the ilogical logic of the writer for he does not propose to follow any ...more

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Sep 24, 2010 Tom rated it really liked it

An eye-opening, fascinating and often funny story that displays the culture of the time and teaches a little about Buddhism along the way. However, towards the end of the first volume the travels begin to become quite episodic.

The episodic nature of the chapters is not a great problem, but the fact that more often than not the author resorts to the same deus ex machina way of sorting out the pilgrims' problems could quickly become tiresome in volume 2.

Despite that, this gets 4 stars because I'm ...more

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Jun 13, 2013 Robert Sheppard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: robert-sheppard, world-literature-classics, spiritus-mundi-novel-by-robert-shep, pilgrim-s-progress, wizard-of-oz, spiritus-mundi, journey-to-the-west, archetypes-in-world-literature, world-literature-forum, genres-in-world-literature

THE JOURNEY TO THE WEST, THE CHINESE WIZARD OF OZ, THREE MUSKETEERS, DON QUIXOTE AND PILGRIM'S PROGRESS----FROM THE WORLD LITERATURE FORUM RECOMMENDED CLASSICS AND MASTERPIECES SERIES VIA GOODREADS—-ROBERT SHEPPARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

"The Journey to the West" (西遊記, Xi You Ji) is perhaps the most beloved book in China. It is once a great action, travel and adventure story, a mythic and phantasmagorical Odyssey and Quest, an epic of Buddhist pilgrimage and devotion, a comic classic, a tale of brother ...more

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Jan 25, 2020 Ele rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: People who love ancient myth

Recommended to Ele by: Micheal Wood's The Story of China

Shelves: single-parents, classics, fantasy, historical-fiction, 500-1500, fiction, features-vegans-vegetarians, stress-personified, china, mythology-and-fairy-tales

Wu Chen'en's The Journey to the West feels almost more like a book of myths than a novel. It features Lao Tsu, the founder of Taoism, and Kuan Yin, a bodhisattva as well as the Buddhist goddess of mercy. The mythological and the historical are mixed together, though this book does not even attempt at any sort of historical accuracy. If you love reading ancient myths, you will love this book. Like most myths, the events are based on a real occurrence, but magic and the fantastic come in and make ...more

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Jan 02, 2018 Sherrill Watson rated it liked it

Check out Wreade's review. I did not see the TV series, and so can not comment.

"In the Zhenguan reign period of the Tang dynasty, a Buddhist monk, named Xuanzang (602-664) travels alone through Central Asia thru the land of Tianzhu (present-day India) to seek the original Buddhist scriptures. [the] Journey there and back -- covering thousands of miles -- took 17 years, and Xuanzang traversed 138 states . . . " Throughout the years, the cultures evolved, and the stories spread throughout the geo ...more

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Jan 26, 2021 Mary Wyman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I don’t care what you think, but I loved reading this book!!
I wish I had all four volumes with me right now, though alas that isn’t the case!
It’s hard to criticize a classic, but I will point out that this is not an easy book to read.
Sun Wukong was my favorite character. I have to say, when I first started reading this, I thought the journey would be a bit . . . boring. In terms of the story content. But I was wrong: the first 13 chapters deal with Sun Wukong and Xuanzang/Tripitaka’s origin sto ...more

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May 09, 2019 wendy wei rated it really liked it

Shelves: mr-baker

Journey to the West is a famous Chinese mythology novel, which has a profound influence on the culture of the whole Asian region. The whole book probably tells about a team composed of humans, monkey monsters, pig demon, and Kappa. After eighty-one hardships and distant journeys, they finally got the "truth". There are various kinds of hardships and dangers on their journey that prevent them from reaching the "truth", but the four of them work together to solve them. This book made me learn that ...more

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Oct 16, 2017 Ashley Lambert-Maberly rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1-own, genre-classic, genre-myth-fairy-tale, genre-fantasy, milieu-asian, plot-quest, genre-fantasy-classic, 2-own-on-kindle, features-gods, form-foreign-translated

Great fun, and what a treat to finally read the whole thing (well, volume one of the whole thing, so far) rather than a condensed "best of."

Book begins a bit slowly, but soon hits its stride as Monkey wages war on the Gods themselves ... there's a slight dip in momentum once he's out of commission, but soon he's back and it's a series of mostly comedic action sequences, one after the other--a rollicking good time, and a good bedtime book as each sequence can be absorbed in small doses. ...more

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Jan 28, 2018 Young At Heart Reader rated it really liked it

Shelves: classic

A great classic story for a reason. A grand epic that is truly entertaining and amusing. The story is kind of bogged down by characters constantly repeating information we already know, but I think that may have been leftovers from when this story may have been told orally.

I'm definitely going to check out the other three volumes, especially since this volume ends right in the middle of a story. ...more

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Oct 11, 2020 Kevin Wilson rated it it was amazing

This is the best English translation of The Journey to the West. Anthony Yu is an experienced translator and scholar, and this translation is lively and enjoyable. Not a children's book, although at times this work has comic elements. My favorite chapters are probably 57 and 58, where Monkey's doppelganger emerges! Highly remarkable work, and remarkable also that the Supplement to the Journey to the West 西遊補 also foregrounds these reduplicative elements. ...more

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Dec 20, 2020 Andy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Not too bad! As an old literary classic, I wasn't expecting it to be so silly and easy to read. While there was plenty of repetitive sections, poetry, footnotes, and a long, kind of boring introduction that often comes with old, translated stories, once the story gets going, it's actually quite fun! Sun Wukong is an absolutely hilarious character.

I hope to read the next volumes and find out what happens, but I need a break, haha. ...more

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Dec 23, 2020 James Spencer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Loved this, the first volume of four in this 16th century Chinese epic. In particular, this volume contains Anthony Yu's lengthy essay on The Journey to the West which I found to be the best intro to a classic work that I've ever read both in terms of its contenting Yu's writing style. The translation itself contains some strange anachronisms but I still very much look forward to the remainder of the novel. ...more

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Aug 26, 2017 Daniel rated it it was amazing

If Jackie Chan summoned the Three Stooges and they went on to write a 2,000 page adaptation of Pilgrim's Progress indebted to Tolkien and steeped in alchemy, Taoism and Buddhism, it might be roughly similar. Delightful, extravagant, bizarre, ornate and luxurious. ...more

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About Wu Cheng'en

Wu Cheng'en

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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. ...more

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The Journey to the West (4 books)

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“Treasure a handful of dirt from your home, But love not ten thousand taels of foreign gold.” — 4 likes

“in my opinion those who strive for fame will lose their lives on account of fame; those who live in quest of fortune will perish because of riches; those who have titles sleep embracing a tiger; and those who receive official favors walk with snakes in their sleeves.” — 1 likes

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