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Monkey: Folk Novel of China
Journey to the West is one of the Greatest Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Originally published in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty, by Wu Cheng'en.
The novel is a mythical story of the legends around a Chinese Buddhist monk's quest to India to obtain Buddhist religious text. The monk and has four animal protectors- disciples — namely the Monkey King, Pigsy the Pig, a River Demon and a Dragon prince who acts as the monk's horse. These four characters have agreed to help the monk as an atonement for past sins.
Part of the novel's enduring popularity comes from the fact that it works on multiple levels: it is an adventure story, a dispenser of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeying toward India stands for the individual journeying toward enlightenment.
The novel is a mythical story of the legends around a Chinese Buddhist monk's quest to India to obtain Buddhist religious text. The monk and has four animal protectors- disciples — namely the Monkey King, Pigsy the Pig, a River Demon and a Dragon prince who acts as the monk's horse. These four characters have agreed to help the monk as an atonement for past sins.
Part of the novel's enduring popularity comes from the fact that it works on multiple levels: it is an adventure story, a dispenser of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeying toward India stands for the individual journeying toward enlightenment.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1592
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21312 people want to read
About the author
Wu Cheng'en
704 books196 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 805 reviews
February 4, 2018
Μια μυθική διαχρονική και μαγική ιστορία που
σου δίνει εισιτήριο για ένα ταξίδι σε άλλα μέρη και άλλους τόπους.
Εκεί όπου όλα διαρκούν θεϊκά αιώνια.
Πρόκειται για την ιστορία του σκανδαλιάρη και αξιαγάπητου βασιλιά πίθηκου.
Κάποτε, πριν εκατομύρια χρόνια στο νησί των λουλουδιών, των φρούτων και του ήλιου γεννήθηκε απο απο μια ευλογημένη πέτρα ένας πίθηκος.
Μητέρα του η γη και πατέρας του ο ουρανός.
Η πέτρα που τον γέννησε λούστηκε πολλά χρόνια απο τις γήινες και ουράνιες υπέρτατες ενέργειες που επιταχύνθηκαν απο τη λάμψη του ήλιου και το φως της σελήνης.
Όταν πέτυχε την αποστολή του ως βασιλιάς όλων των πιθήκων στο νησί που γεννήθηκε, άρχισε να αναρωτιέται σχετικά με τις ανώτερες μορφές σωματικής,ψυχικής και πνευματικής κατάστασης.
Ήθελε να αποκτήσει τα ύψιστα εφόδια που προσδίδουν το μεγαλείο της φύσης.
Μόλις πληροφορείται για τους θεούς που κατοικούν στον ουρανό και τη γη, για τους αθάνατους με μεταφυσικές δυνάμεις και αιώνια ύπαρξη και για τους Βούδες και Μποτισάτβα που έχουν κατακτήσει την αυταπάτη ξεφεύγοντας απο την αναγέννηση, ξεκινά η δράση του.
Ήθελε να τα κατακτήσει όλα.
Έτσι αποκτά υπερφυσικές και θεϊκές δυνάμεις μέσω ταοϊστικών εκπαιδευτικών πρακτικών.
Ο ματαιόδοξος και αχόρταγος,πονηρός πίθηκος που κατακτάει με ευκολία την καρδιά του αναγνώστη,
φθάνει σε σημείο να επαναστατήσει ακόμη κι εναντίον του Ουρανού.
Αναζητά διαρκώς ανώτερα τιμητικά και πνευματικά αξιώματα και διακρίσεις.
Έτσι, ο Βούδας τον τιμωρεί να μείνει 500 χρόνια κάτω απο ένα βουνό.
Το μεγαλείο της Ασιατικής μυθολογίας αρχίζει όταν ο βασιλιάς πίθηκος ελευθερώνεται απο τα αιώνια δεσμά με τον όρο να συνοδεύσει ως μαθητής έναν σεβάσμιο μοναχό στη Δύση.
Σκοπός του ταξιδιού είναι η ανάκτηση των βουδιστικών γραφών και η επιστροφή τους στην Ανατολή.
Είναι ένα ταξίδι που διαρκεί 14 χρόνια.
Ο δρόμος που ακολουθούν συντροφιά και με άλλους συμβολικούς μαθητές είναι γεμάτος ανυπέρβλητα εμπόδια.
Μπερδεμένες καταστάσεις ανάμεσα σε δυνάμεις κακού και καλού οδηγούν σε επικές μάχες και θριαμβευτικές μα εξοντωτικές νίκες.
Χιλιάδες μαγεμένα ποτάμια, καταραμένα βουνά, σατανικές μορφές που ξεγελούν, δράκοι, ξωτικά, τέρατα, δαίμονες, θεοί, πνεύματα, μαγεία, μεταμορφώσεις, ουράνιες τελετές, γήινες υπερφυσικές παγίδες, απόκρημνα και έρημα μέρη που είναι βασίλεια μοχθηρών πλασμάτων και μαγεμένων ψυχών, θα εμποδίσουν το ταξίδι προς την υπέρτατο πνευματικό προορισμό.
Ένα παιδικό ανάγνωσμα για ενήλικες. Συγκλονιστικό. Γεμάτο μυθολογικές φιγούρες και θρύλους. Ένα ονειρικό κινεζικό ταξίδι στην μυθοπλασία του 16ου αιώνα.
Συστήνεται για αναγνώστες όλων των ηλικιών, ανεπιφύλακτα, σε γονείς και εκπαιδευτικούς και σε όσους αγαπούν τα φανταστικά ταξίδια στα αιώνια θρυλικά μέρη.
🌈🧚🏻♀️⚡️🌊👑🐵🙈🙉🙊🐒🌞🌝💥🌪⭐️🌟😈🌈
Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς!
σου δίνει εισιτήριο για ένα ταξίδι σε άλλα μέρη και άλλους τόπους.
Εκεί όπου όλα διαρκούν θεϊκά αιώνια.
Πρόκειται για την ιστορία του σκανδαλιάρη και αξιαγάπητου βασιλιά πίθηκου.
Κάποτε, πριν εκατομύρια χρόνια στο νησί των λουλουδιών, των φρούτων και του ήλιου γεννήθηκε απο απο μια ευλογημένη πέτρα ένας πίθηκος.
Μητέρα του η γη και πατέρας του ο ουρανός.
Η πέτρα που τον γέννησε λούστηκε πολλά χρόνια απο τις γήινες και ουράνιες υπέρτατες ενέργειες που επιταχύνθηκαν απο τη λάμψη του ήλιου και το φως της σελήνης.
Όταν πέτυχε την αποστολή του ως βασιλιάς όλων των πιθήκων στο νησί που γεννήθηκε, άρχισε να αναρωτιέται σχετικά με τις ανώτερες μορφές σωματικής,ψυχικής και πνευματικής κατάστασης.
Ήθελε να αποκτήσει τα ύψιστα εφόδια που προσδίδουν το μεγαλείο της φύσης.
Μόλις πληροφορείται για τους θεούς που κατοικούν στον ουρανό και τη γη, για τους αθάνατους με μεταφυσικές δυνάμεις και αιώνια ύπαρξη και για τους Βούδες και Μποτισάτβα που έχουν κατακτήσει την αυταπάτη ξεφεύγοντας απο την αναγέννηση, ξεκινά η δράση του.
Ήθελε να τα κατακτήσει όλα.
Έτσι αποκτά υπερφυσικές και θεϊκές δυνάμεις μέσω ταοϊστικών εκπαιδευτικών πρακτικών.
Ο ματαιόδοξος και αχόρταγος,πονηρός πίθηκος που κατακτάει με ευκολία την καρδιά του αναγνώστη,
φθάνει σε σημείο να επαναστατήσει ακόμη κι εναντίον του Ουρανού.
Αναζητά διαρκώς ανώτερα τιμητικά και πνευματικά αξιώματα και διακρίσεις.
Έτσι, ο Βούδας τον τιμωρεί να μείνει 500 χρόνια κάτω απο ένα βουνό.
Το μεγαλείο της Ασιατικής μυθολογίας αρχίζει όταν ο βασιλιάς πίθηκος ελευθερώνεται απο τα αιώνια δεσμά με τον όρο να συνοδεύσει ως μαθητής έναν σεβάσμιο μοναχό στη Δύση.
Σκοπός του ταξιδιού είναι η ανάκτηση των βουδιστικών γραφών και η επιστροφή τους στην Ανατολή.
Είναι ένα ταξίδι που διαρκεί 14 χρόνια.
Ο δρόμος που ακολουθούν συντροφιά και με άλλους συμβολικούς μαθητές είναι γεμάτος ανυπέρβλητα εμπόδια.
Μπερδεμένες καταστάσεις ανάμεσα σε δυνάμεις κακού και καλού οδηγούν σε επικές μάχες και θριαμβευτικές μα εξοντωτικές νίκες.
Χιλιάδες μαγεμένα ποτάμια, καταραμένα βουνά, σατανικές μορφές που ξεγελούν, δράκοι, ξωτικά, τέρατα, δαίμονες, θεοί, πνεύματα, μαγεία, μεταμορφώσεις, ουράνιες τελετές, γήινες υπερφυσικές παγίδες, απόκρημνα και έρημα μέρη που είναι βασίλεια μοχθηρών πλασμάτων και μαγεμένων ψυχών, θα εμποδίσουν το ταξίδι προς την υπέρτατο πνευματικό προορισμό.
Ένα παιδικό ανάγνωσμα για ενήλικες. Συγκλονιστικό. Γεμάτο μυθολογικές φιγούρες και θρύλους. Ένα ονειρικό κινεζικό ταξίδι στην μυθοπλασία του 16ου αιώνα.
Συστήνεται για αναγνώστες όλων των ηλικιών, ανεπιφύλακτα, σε γονείς και εκπαιδευτικούς και σε όσους αγαπούν τα φανταστικά ταξίδια στα αιώνια θρυλικά μέρη.
🌈🧚🏻♀️⚡️🌊👑🐵🙈🙉🙊🐒🌞🌝💥🌪⭐️🌟😈🌈
Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς!
November 28, 2016
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 read an abridged version of the last one, when I would have much preferred to read the full unabridged text. I'll still have to do that at some point.
Still, I can recommend this book pretty enthusiastically to some people at there. Reading the other three books mentioned above, I undoubtedly tried to sell you on them (directly or indirectly). Perhaps you were even a bit interested.
However, I recognize that the other three, thousand+ page monsters can be pretty intimidating, particularly since they feature so many characters with names that are difficult to pronounce and keep straight if you are not particularly familiar with Chinese names. Monkey is only about three hundred pages, and style wise is a much easier read as well. There are fewer important characters, and they have more easily pronounced/remembered names (Monkey and Pigsy being two of the main four characters). This story is also quite a bit more of a folk tale than the others, so it remains noticeably simpler. That said, it retains the very classic style that I haven't seen anywhere besides these Chinese novels. The charmingly formal well that people address one another (even the taunts before battles are formalized in a very unique way). This would be a great book to use as your trial run into classic Chinese literature, and if you enjoy the general style of it, you will enjoy the style of the longer and more difficult books as well.
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 read an abridged version of the last one, when I would have much preferred to read the full unabridged text. I'll still have to do that at some point.
Still, I can recommend this book pretty enthusiastically to some people at there. Reading the other three books mentioned above, I undoubtedly tried to sell you on them (directly or indirectly). Perhaps you were even a bit interested.
However, I recognize that the other three, thousand+ page monsters can be pretty intimidating, particularly since they feature so many characters with names that are difficult to pronounce and keep straight if you are not particularly familiar with Chinese names. Monkey is only about three hundred pages, and style wise is a much easier read as well. There are fewer important characters, and they have more easily pronounced/remembered names (Monkey and Pigsy being two of the main four characters). This story is also quite a bit more of a folk tale than the others, so it remains noticeably simpler. That said, it retains the very classic style that I haven't seen anywhere besides these Chinese novels. The charmingly formal well that people address one another (even the taunts before battles are formalized in a very unique way). This would be a great book to use as your trial run into classic Chinese literature, and if you enjoy the general style of it, you will enjoy the style of the longer and more difficult books as well.
April 1, 2021
Perhaps because I have been reading too many political books—inevitably dreary—I found Monkey to be almost electrifyingly delightful, from the beginning to the very end. When I bought the book used, on a whim, I knew virtually nothing about it other than it was a famous Chinese classic. Thus, I vaguely expected something rather dry and edifying; so I was delighted, instead, to find the inspiration for one of my great childhood loves, Dragon Ball. Indeed, while admittedly lacking in animation, Monkey is just as silly and wonderful as Goku’s exploits—with the added benefit of giving you bragging rights for reading it.
Well, perhaps I should not feel too proud, as Monkey is an abridgement of a much larger work, Journey to the West, which is more than six times longer. But as the original book is episodic—consisting of misadventure after misadventure on the way to India—the reading experience of this shorter version is seamless, as it merely consists of fewer episodes.
Authorship of this book is normally attributed Wu Cheng’en, who seems a rather tepid character in comparison to his book. But Wu—or whoever the author was—had ample material to work with. By the time that Journey to the West was written, there was already a very old oral tradition concerning the 7th century Buddhist pilgrim, Xuanzang (called Tripitaka in this version), and his many trials on the way to India. The author’s accomplishment consists in arranging these many stories into a coherent whole, and telling them in lively, colloquial prose.
The closest European counterpart I can think of is Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Rabelais, which was written at very close to the same time. Both books are absurd and strikingly irreverent, and filled with gusto and a zest for life. But of course, the parallel is not exact. While both works parody conventional politics and religion, Rabelais’s work is more thoroughly earthy, while Wu’s has higher, spiritual resonances, especially as the book progresses. Indeed, I admit I felt slightly holy myself by the time I put it down, as I read it during my own little pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. The book was a perfect companion
Well, perhaps I should not feel too proud, as Monkey is an abridgement of a much larger work, Journey to the West, which is more than six times longer. But as the original book is episodic—consisting of misadventure after misadventure on the way to India—the reading experience of this shorter version is seamless, as it merely consists of fewer episodes.
Authorship of this book is normally attributed Wu Cheng’en, who seems a rather tepid character in comparison to his book. But Wu—or whoever the author was—had ample material to work with. By the time that Journey to the West was written, there was already a very old oral tradition concerning the 7th century Buddhist pilgrim, Xuanzang (called Tripitaka in this version), and his many trials on the way to India. The author’s accomplishment consists in arranging these many stories into a coherent whole, and telling them in lively, colloquial prose.
The closest European counterpart I can think of is Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Rabelais, which was written at very close to the same time. Both books are absurd and strikingly irreverent, and filled with gusto and a zest for life. But of course, the parallel is not exact. While both works parody conventional politics and religion, Rabelais’s work is more thoroughly earthy, while Wu’s has higher, spiritual resonances, especially as the book progresses. Indeed, I admit I felt slightly holy myself by the time I put it down, as I read it during my own little pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. The book was a perfect companion
September 1, 2017
Its funny, I read about 50 pages of this then lost the thread and started struggling with who was who, to such an extent that I put it down for a few months.
After this break I then went back about 20 pages and started again. This time it stuck, I sailed through the rest of the book, and really enjoyed it. I think if I hadn't of struggled it might have been 5 stars, but all in all I think 4 is a fair mark.
After this break I then went back about 20 pages and started again. This time it stuck, I sailed through the rest of the book, and really enjoyed it. I think if I hadn't of struggled it might have been 5 stars, but all in all I think 4 is a fair mark.
August 23, 2020
An interesting, if strange read, like nothing I've read before. It's funny, historically interesting and at times very engaging, if somewhat hard to get into.
October 26, 2014
The last thing I'd expect a hundreds-of-years-old slice of classic Chinese literature to be is fun, but that's exactly what MONKEY is. It's great fun! It's a delight to read, a thoroughly modern action-adventure storyline that embodies the classic 'journey' narrative and packs it to the brim with all manner of outlandish incident and constant humour.
The only difficulty with MONKEY comes from trying to remember all of the various deities and sub-sections that Heaven is made up of. Almost every character in the story is divine in some way, and that's overwhelming at first, but the more you read, the more it all makes sense. Monkey himself is a great protagonist; he starts off as completely annoying, but the reader gradually warms to him as the narrative progresses. Monkey never changes, but the reader gets to know and like him instead. The rest of the characters, Tripitaka, Pigsy, and Sandy, are built to entertain.
Arthur Waley's translation is a joy to read, and probably the most readable version of a 16th century story that you'll ever find. It's also surprisingly modern in places, complete with back-stabbing, betrayal and low brow humour. The story is tumultuous and fantastic and yes, epic in the true sense of the word; the only problem is that this is an abridged version of a much, much longer original, and thus it makes you long to read the full-length version.
The only difficulty with MONKEY comes from trying to remember all of the various deities and sub-sections that Heaven is made up of. Almost every character in the story is divine in some way, and that's overwhelming at first, but the more you read, the more it all makes sense. Monkey himself is a great protagonist; he starts off as completely annoying, but the reader gradually warms to him as the narrative progresses. Monkey never changes, but the reader gets to know and like him instead. The rest of the characters, Tripitaka, Pigsy, and Sandy, are built to entertain.
Arthur Waley's translation is a joy to read, and probably the most readable version of a 16th century story that you'll ever find. It's also surprisingly modern in places, complete with back-stabbing, betrayal and low brow humour. The story is tumultuous and fantastic and yes, epic in the true sense of the word; the only problem is that this is an abridged version of a much, much longer original, and thus it makes you long to read the full-length version.
December 17, 2019
Kudos to Arthur Waley for somehow reducing this 100-chapter classic of ancient Chinese literature into a 30-chapter abridgment that makes sense. Certainly many hard choices were made along the way. There is almost none of the florid court poetry that the original has in abundance, and many fun adventures wound up on the cutting room floor, but what remains captures the spirit, humor, suspense, and moral lessons of Wu Cheng'en's "Xi You Ji" (Journey to the West).
Because this was published in 1943, all spellings follow the Wade-Giles guidelines instead of the cleaner, truer Hanyu Pinyin. This will hardly matter to readers with little knowledge of Chinese pronunciation, but I'm not a big fan of the earlier British Imperial language system for Mandarin and it slowed me down.
Waley also chooses quaint names for his quartet of seekers and loses any subtlety or richness in the process. Zhu Bajie (Eight Precepts Swine) becomes "Pigsy", for example. The priest Tang Sanzang becomes "Tripitaka" rather than "Hsuan Tsang". Tripitaka is "Three Baskets" (the very Buddhist Scripture this priest and his disciples are traveling to India to receive) and, as applied to this questing monk, is dry and reductive. It's rather like translating "Moses" as "The Tablets". I wasn't a big fan of this choice, either.
All in all, a 3.5-star treatment of a 5-star story.
Because this was published in 1943, all spellings follow the Wade-Giles guidelines instead of the cleaner, truer Hanyu Pinyin. This will hardly matter to readers with little knowledge of Chinese pronunciation, but I'm not a big fan of the earlier British Imperial language system for Mandarin and it slowed me down.
Waley also chooses quaint names for his quartet of seekers and loses any subtlety or richness in the process. Zhu Bajie (Eight Precepts Swine) becomes "Pigsy", for example. The priest Tang Sanzang becomes "Tripitaka" rather than "Hsuan Tsang". Tripitaka is "Three Baskets" (the very Buddhist Scripture this priest and his disciples are traveling to India to receive) and, as applied to this questing monk, is dry and reductive. It's rather like translating "Moses" as "The Tablets". I wasn't a big fan of this choice, either.
All in all, a 3.5-star treatment of a 5-star story.
May 28, 2023
"Lo scimmiotto" è un'opera dello scrittore, della dinastia Ming, Wú Chéng'ēn, scritto nel '500, ci narra delle gesta di Scimmiotto, nato da una pietra e che nel corso di svariate avventure/disavventure, in modo molto grottesco e surreale, ci presenta il panorama della mitologia cinese e della religione buddista.
Lo stile è molto colloquiale e all'inizio mi è sembrato troppo monocorde, le storie si susseguivano in modo poco dinamico, quasi statico. Però, penso, sia stato un mio personale problema, perchè verso la metà il tutto mi è risultato più coinvolgente e affascinante e i vari personaggi hanno preso, pian piano, una loro dimensione personale ben definita.
Divertente, satirico e a dir poco folklorico, questo libro mi ha fatto conoscere diverse realtà mitologiche della Cina, che poco o per nulla conoscevo. La Bodhisattva, su tutti, è quella che mi ha colpito nel profondo e cioè quell'essere umano che decide di continuare a reincarnarsi per dedicarsi totalmente ad aiutare gli altri esseri umani per compassione, fino a riuscire a raggiungere la Via, cioè l'illuminazione.
Lo stile è molto colloquiale e all'inizio mi è sembrato troppo monocorde, le storie si susseguivano in modo poco dinamico, quasi statico. Però, penso, sia stato un mio personale problema, perchè verso la metà il tutto mi è risultato più coinvolgente e affascinante e i vari personaggi hanno preso, pian piano, una loro dimensione personale ben definita.
Divertente, satirico e a dir poco folklorico, questo libro mi ha fatto conoscere diverse realtà mitologiche della Cina, che poco o per nulla conoscevo. La Bodhisattva, su tutti, è quella che mi ha colpito nel profondo e cioè quell'essere umano che decide di continuare a reincarnarsi per dedicarsi totalmente ad aiutare gli altri esseri umani per compassione, fino a riuscire a raggiungere la Via, cioè l'illuminazione.
May 20, 2023
Me siento muy inculto porque no sabía de dónde salió Goku. Ahora sé de dónde salió Goku.
February 4, 2009
"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 commentary on their failed practice by people in an overly bureaucratic society who miss the forest for the trees. A must read.
December 8, 2009
i'm very sorry that i didn't like this more. many people seem to think this is a good translation, which disappoints me because i was quite willing to lay the blame at my inability to get into this book on arthur waley though it may be that they are lauding the book for its accuracy in translation rather than in its artistry. i'm not sure why i didn't enjoy it as much as i didn't: i love folklore, and monsters and fighting and adventures but despite all that, this book's take on those things kept making me want to pass out every time i read it. it's abridged but it still felt really long, and inconsistent, and repetitive. the only thing that really interested me was when the priest tripitaka lied to monkey with ease even though he was very pious about not eating meat, or doing other things that were contrary to what he had learned in buddhist monastery.
it may be that i just don't get it, i don't know. maybe i am just too ensconced in the traditions of western literature to really appreciate it. but it just fell flat.
it may be that i just don't get it, i don't know. maybe i am just too ensconced in the traditions of western literature to really appreciate it. but it just fell flat.
November 26, 2020
Es una edición abreviada . La única completa es la de editorial Siruela
February 7, 2021
Considerato che si tratta di in romanzo cinese del XVI secolo, Lo scimmiotto è una vera e propria sorpresa.
Purtroppo ho scoperto solo a fine lettura che questa è una riduzione che riporta solo alcuni capitoli considerati particolarmente riusciti dal curatore inglese dell'edizione; tuttavia mi riservo di leggere anche l'opera completa (più di 1000 pagine di mattone😱)
La storia inizia raccontando la nascita e "l'infanzia" dello Scimmiotto, un personaggio bizzarro, divertente, iperattivo, attabrighe a volte francamente prepotente, al punto da meritare una punizione dall'Imperatore di Giada, signore del Paradiso. Per intercessione di un'altra divinità, la bodhisattva Kuan-yin,
potrà fare ammenda se diventerà discepolo di un monaco buddista, Hsuan Tsang (personaggio realmente esistito)
e lo proteggerà nel suo cammino verso l'India per recuperare le sacre scritture buddiste.
I due incontreranno altri tre discepoli: Porcellino, Sabbioso e un drago con cui condivideranno avventure fantastiche (un re da resuscitare, una città contesa tra buddisti e taoisti, un malvagio immortale che richiede il sacrificio annuale di due bambini), raggiungeranno il loro obiettivo e torneranno indietro cambiati e avendo ricevuto l'illuminazione.
Un romanzo adorabile, pieni di spunti, riferimenti mitologici che ricordano quanto alcuni temi siano ricorrenti e trasversali a culture lontanissime, ma anche un un universo di personaggi affascinante e nuovo rispetto al pantheon greco-romano. L'unica pecca di questa edizione è che è completamente priva di note, quindi ho dovuto (ma forse sarebbe meglio dire voluto) approfondire alcune cose usando internet. Di per sé, la storia fila liscia anche senza andare a cercare divinità, creature fantastiche e personaggi vari.
Purtroppo ho scoperto solo a fine lettura che questa è una riduzione che riporta solo alcuni capitoli considerati particolarmente riusciti dal curatore inglese dell'edizione; tuttavia mi riservo di leggere anche l'opera completa (più di 1000 pagine di mattone😱)
La storia inizia raccontando la nascita e "l'infanzia" dello Scimmiotto, un personaggio bizzarro, divertente, iperattivo, attabrighe a volte francamente prepotente, al punto da meritare una punizione dall'Imperatore di Giada, signore del Paradiso. Per intercessione di un'altra divinità, la bodhisattva Kuan-yin,
potrà fare ammenda se diventerà discepolo di un monaco buddista, Hsuan Tsang (personaggio realmente esistito)
e lo proteggerà nel suo cammino verso l'India per recuperare le sacre scritture buddiste.
I due incontreranno altri tre discepoli: Porcellino, Sabbioso e un drago con cui condivideranno avventure fantastiche (un re da resuscitare, una città contesa tra buddisti e taoisti, un malvagio immortale che richiede il sacrificio annuale di due bambini), raggiungeranno il loro obiettivo e torneranno indietro cambiati e avendo ricevuto l'illuminazione.
Un romanzo adorabile, pieni di spunti, riferimenti mitologici che ricordano quanto alcuni temi siano ricorrenti e trasversali a culture lontanissime, ma anche un un universo di personaggi affascinante e nuovo rispetto al pantheon greco-romano. L'unica pecca di questa edizione è che è completamente priva di note, quindi ho dovuto (ma forse sarebbe meglio dire voluto) approfondire alcune cose usando internet. Di per sé, la storia fila liscia anche senza andare a cercare divinità, creature fantastiche e personaggi vari.
December 25, 2022
In attempting to review and even editorialize on translator and scholar Arthur Waley’s edited version of Wu Cheng'en’s (1505-1508) Monkey: Folk Novel of China, the most larger fact is that this book is beloved in China and I lack any of the proper background to speak on it in any other than how it struck me. Normally I would have avoided an edited version in favor of the full text, but I barely made it through this one.
Monkey reads like a cycle of stories intended for children. Bed time stories many be fables or even a collection of fairy tales representing variations in the local stories about the central figure . What slowly emerges is that this is clearly intended to be something of a comedy, or satire on all such kinds of story telling and almost an in your face take down of more formal and didactic children’s or even camp fire adult stories. I just kept getting bogged down in it repetitions and near total lack of dramatic tension. Nothing is ever going to best Monkey even if it takes 500 years for him to get back on top.
The character of Monkey is a , well impossible to classify. He was born of a stone, making him a rock head. His primary form and allegiance is to his fellow monkeys and apes. In his early adventures he becomes a student to a very powerful monk and from him learns some magic that will make him impervious to almost any other being, monster, demon, demi god and almost all of the gods. For much of the first part of the book nothing will defeat him, his hard head or his magic weapons. One being a toothpick that he can magic into any size needed. Tooth pick to battle staff, gotta love the whimsey.
Note to anyone designing a super hero, at some point being undefeatable gets dull.
Somewhere around the middle Monkey gets religion, albeit one with a lot of latitude for, excuse me, Monkey-shines. With his friends , including a converted demon, Pigsy ( yup a magic pig) they go on a classic, or not quite so classic pilgrimage, from the emperor of China into very far away India to collect Buddhist holy books.
All of this is in the courtly style of Chinese literature, with courtly style trash talking between enemies and phenomenally precise counts of how many sub demons an adversary can muster, how man bouts it take to subdue an enemy and how many layers of the heavens have been penetrated. Throughout Monkey is a trickster as well as a warrior and a medicant. Somehow it is hard to ever take him too seriously.
Mostly likely Monkey was written to be read as a series of bed time stories or as occasional topper in high society drinking cum story telling events. Clearly it fits more into an oral tradition of story telling more than as a sit down read. As a sit down read, I found it too long, too repetitive and however clever our anti hero Monkey tricks his way to victory, it became a slog.
Likely real scholars of early Chinese literature will find my comments more frustrating than the book deserves. I accept that this one may have required a finer sense of cultural respect than was in me. It will not keep me from attempting other and longer of the Chinese classics.
Monkey reads like a cycle of stories intended for children. Bed time stories many be fables or even a collection of fairy tales representing variations in the local stories about the central figure . What slowly emerges is that this is clearly intended to be something of a comedy, or satire on all such kinds of story telling and almost an in your face take down of more formal and didactic children’s or even camp fire adult stories. I just kept getting bogged down in it repetitions and near total lack of dramatic tension. Nothing is ever going to best Monkey even if it takes 500 years for him to get back on top.
The character of Monkey is a , well impossible to classify. He was born of a stone, making him a rock head. His primary form and allegiance is to his fellow monkeys and apes. In his early adventures he becomes a student to a very powerful monk and from him learns some magic that will make him impervious to almost any other being, monster, demon, demi god and almost all of the gods. For much of the first part of the book nothing will defeat him, his hard head or his magic weapons. One being a toothpick that he can magic into any size needed. Tooth pick to battle staff, gotta love the whimsey.
Note to anyone designing a super hero, at some point being undefeatable gets dull.
Somewhere around the middle Monkey gets religion, albeit one with a lot of latitude for, excuse me, Monkey-shines. With his friends , including a converted demon, Pigsy ( yup a magic pig) they go on a classic, or not quite so classic pilgrimage, from the emperor of China into very far away India to collect Buddhist holy books.
All of this is in the courtly style of Chinese literature, with courtly style trash talking between enemies and phenomenally precise counts of how many sub demons an adversary can muster, how man bouts it take to subdue an enemy and how many layers of the heavens have been penetrated. Throughout Monkey is a trickster as well as a warrior and a medicant. Somehow it is hard to ever take him too seriously.
Mostly likely Monkey was written to be read as a series of bed time stories or as occasional topper in high society drinking cum story telling events. Clearly it fits more into an oral tradition of story telling more than as a sit down read. As a sit down read, I found it too long, too repetitive and however clever our anti hero Monkey tricks his way to victory, it became a slog.
Likely real scholars of early Chinese literature will find my comments more frustrating than the book deserves. I accept that this one may have required a finer sense of cultural respect than was in me. It will not keep me from attempting other and longer of the Chinese classics.
April 15, 2020
According to Wikipedia:
Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the "Western Regions", that is, Central Asia and India, to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering.
In the book, the monk is named Tripitaka. His three disciples, Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy accompany him on his journey.
I am glad that I read this book because it is a Chinese classic. However, I thought the story hard to follow. Therefore I can give it only
3 stars
The copy I read is the abridged version. I think the original is 4 volumes and entitled Journey to the West.
Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the "Western Regions", that is, Central Asia and India, to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering.
In the book, the monk is named Tripitaka. His three disciples, Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy accompany him on his journey.
I am glad that I read this book because it is a Chinese classic. However, I thought the story hard to follow. Therefore I can give it only
3 stars
The copy I read is the abridged version. I think the original is 4 volumes and entitled Journey to the West.
March 22, 2026
Monkey: A Journey to the West is a considerably abridged translated version of Wu Cheng'en's epic Journey to the West that was first published in 1942. The epic sixteenth century novel is among the six classics of Chinese literature. After a friend sent me that webpage it occurred to me to look them all up in the library catalogue, having only read The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days and sequels (which are wonderful) and The Water Outlaws (a modern reinterpretation of The Water Margin). Monkey: A Journey to the West was the only unread novel on the list to be readily available. It follows the chaotic adventures of a magical monkey born from a stone egg.
This might sound like a stretch, but reading Monkey: A Journey to the West on the same day I was watching the live action version of One Piece made me realise that the character of Monkey D. Luffy must be influenced by this classic of Chinese literature. Apart from the name, both main characters are highly superpowered agents of chaos, who show no respect for the powerful but never hesitate to defend the helpless. They love to eat food they haven't paid for and are the life and soul of the party, while also possessing a gaggle of weird friends and immense ambition to be recognised as the best. Also they both change shape all the time.
The most important thing about reading Monkey: A Journey to the West is that it's absolutely hilarious. Monkey encounters, fights, insults, steals from, and reconciles with a plethora of monsters, monks, creatures, gods, and even the Jade Emperor himself. The quest that propels much of the plot is led by a Buddhist priest, to retrieve sacred scriptures from India. Despite this, the characters level of respect accorded to Buddhist teachings is best described as variable:
Notwithstanding this exchange, several monsters repent and assist with the quest, while remaining quarrelsome. Monkey himself is always ready to punch first then ask questions afterwards, or rather drag his sort-of boss out of her office to ask them:
I imagine that last bit of dialogue spoken in a very long-suffering tone. Monkey: A Journey to the West is a genuinely laugh-out-loud funny book, full of mayhem, irony, slapstick, and political satire. The 1942 translation whetted my appetite for a longer version. Both Anthony C. Yu and Julia Lovell's more recent translations look very intriguing.
This might sound like a stretch, but reading Monkey: A Journey to the West on the same day I was watching the live action version of One Piece made me realise that the character of Monkey D. Luffy must be influenced by this classic of Chinese literature. Apart from the name, both main characters are highly superpowered agents of chaos, who show no respect for the powerful but never hesitate to defend the helpless. They love to eat food they haven't paid for and are the life and soul of the party, while also possessing a gaggle of weird friends and immense ambition to be recognised as the best. Also they both change shape all the time.
The most important thing about reading Monkey: A Journey to the West is that it's absolutely hilarious. Monkey encounters, fights, insults, steals from, and reconciles with a plethora of monsters, monks, creatures, gods, and even the Jade Emperor himself. The quest that propels much of the plot is led by a Buddhist priest, to retrieve sacred scriptures from India. Despite this, the characters level of respect accorded to Buddhist teachings is best described as variable:
"There is a proverb," said the Bodhisattva, "which runs: 'Works of damnation cannot lead to salvation.' Having been banished from Heaven because you broke its laws, you have not repented, but live on human flesh. Are you not inviting a double punishment for both your crimes?"
"Salvation indeed!" cried the monster. "If I followed your advice, what would I live on? On the wind, I suppose. There's another proverb which says, 'If the Government gets hold of you they'll flog you to death; if the Buddhists get hold of you they'll starve you to death.' Go away! I see I shall get on much better by catching a family of travellers now and then, and eating their daughter if she's buxom and tasty, no matter whether that's two crimes, three crimes, or a thousand crimes."
Notwithstanding this exchange, several monsters repent and assist with the quest, while remaining quarrelsome. Monkey himself is always ready to punch first then ask questions afterwards, or rather drag his sort-of boss out of her office to ask them:
"Don't you know that this is the Scripture-seeker's disciple?" Kuan-yin said, pointing at Monkey.
"Bodhisattva," said the young dragon, "I've been having a fight with him. I was hungry yesterday and ate his horse. He never once mentioned anything about 'Scripture-seeking'."
"You never asked my name," said Monkey, "so why should I tell you?"
"Didn't I ask you what monster you were and where you came from?" asked the dragon. "And didn't you shout at me 'Never mind where I came from or didn't come from, but just give me back my horse'? You never so much as mentioned the word T'ang."
"Monkey is fonder of showing off his own powers than mentioning his connection with other people," said Kuan-yin. "But in future if anyone questions him, he must be sure to say that he is seeking scriptures. Then there will no more trouble."
The Bodhisattva then went to the dragon and removed the jewel of wisdom from under his chin. Then she took her willow-spray and sprinkled him all over with sweet dew, and blowing upon him with magic breath cried "Change!" Whereupon the dragon immediately changed into the exact image of the lost horse.
I imagine that last bit of dialogue spoken in a very long-suffering tone. Monkey: A Journey to the West is a genuinely laugh-out-loud funny book, full of mayhem, irony, slapstick, and political satire. The 1942 translation whetted my appetite for a longer version. Both Anthony C. Yu and Julia Lovell's more recent translations look very intriguing.
September 21, 2020
La maravillosa historia de Rey Mono en una extraordinaria y cuidada edición.
June 11, 2014
Monkey is a magical tale of fantasy and adventure in the Tang Dynasty (618–907) of imperial China. At around 350 pages, this translation is actually a short version of the 2,000-some-page Journey to the West, which was written in the 16th century. It is a very important book throughout Asia, and considered one of the four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. A Japanese friend of mine assures me that 98% of Asians know the story of Journey to the West whether through the book directly or its numerous spin-offs.
Although Monkey is an abridgement, it doesn’t read like one. It really feels like a full story. Most of what was omitted consists of individual adventures along the pilgrims’ journey to India to fetch Buddhist scriptures. Since these mini adventures are largely self-contained, you don’t notice their absence when reading, although the ending does come off as somewhat abrupt.
I’ve been wanting to read some Wuxia for a long time due to my personal interest in martial arts. Wuxia is basically Chinese martial fiction, and it is hard to find anything in this genre with less than 2,000 pages. I specifically chose this abridged version because I wanted to get a soft start rather than dive right into a 2,000-page brick only to give up.
Though the translation is not perfect, the style is sometimes archaic and the ebook version contains some digital transfer errors, Monkey still fulfilled my expectations. And I expect this won’t be my last wuxia novel. Despite the drawbacks, I'm giving this five starts because I know I'm going to be thinking about this story for a long time.
Note:
While it definitely helps to first have some basic knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and terms (i.e., the difference between Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Arhats) and the major figures (Guatama/Sakyamuni, Kwan Yin, Amitabha and the Taoist Lao Tzu), you could easily get by without any such prior knowledge and probably learn a good deal about Chinese beliefs simply by reading this book.
Interesting trivia: Dragon Ball is based on Journey to the West. The Monkey King is called Sun Wukong in Chinese and Son Goku in Japanese. Hence the name of Goku in Dragon Ball, who is based on the Monkey King.
Although Monkey is an abridgement, it doesn’t read like one. It really feels like a full story. Most of what was omitted consists of individual adventures along the pilgrims’ journey to India to fetch Buddhist scriptures. Since these mini adventures are largely self-contained, you don’t notice their absence when reading, although the ending does come off as somewhat abrupt.
I’ve been wanting to read some Wuxia for a long time due to my personal interest in martial arts. Wuxia is basically Chinese martial fiction, and it is hard to find anything in this genre with less than 2,000 pages. I specifically chose this abridged version because I wanted to get a soft start rather than dive right into a 2,000-page brick only to give up.
Though the translation is not perfect, the style is sometimes archaic and the ebook version contains some digital transfer errors, Monkey still fulfilled my expectations. And I expect this won’t be my last wuxia novel. Despite the drawbacks, I'm giving this five starts because I know I'm going to be thinking about this story for a long time.
Note:
While it definitely helps to first have some basic knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and terms (i.e., the difference between Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Arhats) and the major figures (Guatama/Sakyamuni, Kwan Yin, Amitabha and the Taoist Lao Tzu), you could easily get by without any such prior knowledge and probably learn a good deal about Chinese beliefs simply by reading this book.
Interesting trivia: Dragon Ball is based on Journey to the West. The Monkey King is called Sun Wukong in Chinese and Son Goku in Japanese. Hence the name of Goku in Dragon Ball, who is based on the Monkey King.
February 19, 2026
I read this in Japanese, so I cannot comment about the quality of the English translation. Part adventure journey, part human comedy disguised as fantasy. (Very cynical to government bureaucracy)
January 13, 2022
Un călugăr este trimis în India pentru a aduce în China scrierile sacre de la însuși Buddha. În marea sa călătorie, călugărului îi trimit zeii patru ucenici care să-l apere și să se căiască pentru fărădelegerile din viața lor. Regele maimuțelor, un porc mistreț, un tigru și un dragon formează suita călugărului, învățând pe parcursul călătoriei ce este smerenia, bunătatea, camaraderia.
Foarte frumoasă cartea, chiar dacă o parte din acțiune pare repetitivă. Dacă vă place Dragon Ball Z și tot ce înseamnă media unde accentul se pune pe călătorie - bătălie cu inamici puternici - găsirea unor prieteni de nădejde pe parcurs - povețe și îndemnuri să fii mai bun, cartea aceasta, un adevărat clasic, este pentru voi.
Foarte frumoasă cartea, chiar dacă o parte din acțiune pare repetitivă. Dacă vă place Dragon Ball Z și tot ce înseamnă media unde accentul se pune pe călătorie - bătălie cu inamici puternici - găsirea unor prieteni de nădejde pe parcurs - povețe și îndemnuri să fii mai bun, cartea aceasta, un adevărat clasic, este pentru voi.
January 5, 2020
The way this tale plays out reminds me of legends surrounding holy relics, or supposed events that confer significance upon hallowed grounds. So possibly this is an origin story for some sacred scriptures somewhere. Mostly, though, the book is a balls-out supernatural adventure. At times it reminded me of all the superhero movies we’re being fed right now by mainstream media; and this parallel led me to realize that in today’s movies we are being shown convincing representations of supernatural feats that have fascinated the human imagination for millenia. Now wonder they so intoxicate us!
Part of what holds the chaos of this story together, though, and keeps it pleasurable, is the sense that there is a kind of architecture beneath it, some guiding principle. Without this feeling I think it would lose its cohesion and momentum. For Monkey is a so-called ‘folk novel’ (something I’ve never heard of), which includes battling gods and monsters and kings and savage animals and even fighting planets. Probably it is meant to be instructive, to intentionally teach precepts of Buddhism. I’m thinking that’s where the feeling of structure comes from. The Monkey goes through a definite transformation as he starts as a wild creature running amok, undergoes a period of restraint and penance, and then becomes a champion of wisdom. Perhaps his journey is the journey we all go through as we tame our instincts toward maturity, or holiness, or even a comfortable pension.
My favorite scenes are the ‘contests of transformation,’ which happen twice, where competing adversaries shapeshift into different forms as they fight, constantly escalating their powers through the creatures they assume. I’d love to see that stuff on film.
A quote: “Lift Mount T’ai, it’s as light as a mustard seed, but don’t try to raise a mortal above the Earthly dust.”
I read this for free on the Internet Archive.
Part of what holds the chaos of this story together, though, and keeps it pleasurable, is the sense that there is a kind of architecture beneath it, some guiding principle. Without this feeling I think it would lose its cohesion and momentum. For Monkey is a so-called ‘folk novel’ (something I’ve never heard of), which includes battling gods and monsters and kings and savage animals and even fighting planets. Probably it is meant to be instructive, to intentionally teach precepts of Buddhism. I’m thinking that’s where the feeling of structure comes from. The Monkey goes through a definite transformation as he starts as a wild creature running amok, undergoes a period of restraint and penance, and then becomes a champion of wisdom. Perhaps his journey is the journey we all go through as we tame our instincts toward maturity, or holiness, or even a comfortable pension.
My favorite scenes are the ‘contests of transformation,’ which happen twice, where competing adversaries shapeshift into different forms as they fight, constantly escalating their powers through the creatures they assume. I’d love to see that stuff on film.
A quote: “Lift Mount T’ai, it’s as light as a mustard seed, but don’t try to raise a mortal above the Earthly dust.”
I read this for free on the Internet Archive.
June 26, 2015
I'm embarrassed to admit that I learned only recently about Sun Wukong, a very famous monkey character all over Asia. That is to say, billions of people on earth are quite familiar with Sun Wukong, and I didn't know he existed until about a year ago! The planet is becoming smaller and smaller, but there are still some East/West divides...
In any case, the "monkey" of the title is Sun Wukong. This story, which is so well known is Asia, is usually known as "The Journey to the West" (without "monkey" in the title). The story, credited to Wu Cheng'en, dates to the 16th century. This version was translated by Arthur Waley, a British scholar, in the mid 20th century.
I'm so glad to have read this tale. It's hard to describe; my one sentence summary would be "The Ramayana meets Don Quixote". What does that mean? It reminds me of Don Quixote in that it was written hundreds of years ago in a land far away, yet parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny to this 21st century American. It reminds me of the Ramayana in that it has an epic scope (characters include the Buddha, Kwon Yin, Lao Tzu, etc.), and a powerful monkey is in the mix trying to do the right thing to serve his master. (In the Ramayana, it is "monkey"/vanara Hanuman who serves Ram; here, Sun Wukong is primarily serving the Buddha. Unlike Hanuman, who is quite earnest, Sun Wukong is a scamp/trickster and much more morally ambiguous than dear Hanuman.) The "journey to the west" in question is a trip from China to India to fetch some scriptures.
Why four stars instead of five? There are times when the writing feels stilted to me. I'm guessing that Waley was trying to translate literally (as literally as one can translate from Chinese to English, that is), and so the prose at times feels dense.
I'm very glad to have read this; I'm very glad that I have now joined the billions of people who know this whimsical tale.
In any case, the "monkey" of the title is Sun Wukong. This story, which is so well known is Asia, is usually known as "The Journey to the West" (without "monkey" in the title). The story, credited to Wu Cheng'en, dates to the 16th century. This version was translated by Arthur Waley, a British scholar, in the mid 20th century.
I'm so glad to have read this tale. It's hard to describe; my one sentence summary would be "The Ramayana meets Don Quixote". What does that mean? It reminds me of Don Quixote in that it was written hundreds of years ago in a land far away, yet parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny to this 21st century American. It reminds me of the Ramayana in that it has an epic scope (characters include the Buddha, Kwon Yin, Lao Tzu, etc.), and a powerful monkey is in the mix trying to do the right thing to serve his master. (In the Ramayana, it is "monkey"/vanara Hanuman who serves Ram; here, Sun Wukong is primarily serving the Buddha. Unlike Hanuman, who is quite earnest, Sun Wukong is a scamp/trickster and much more morally ambiguous than dear Hanuman.) The "journey to the west" in question is a trip from China to India to fetch some scriptures.
Why four stars instead of five? There are times when the writing feels stilted to me. I'm guessing that Waley was trying to translate literally (as literally as one can translate from Chinese to English, that is), and so the prose at times feels dense.
I'm very glad to have read this; I'm very glad that I have now joined the billions of people who know this whimsical tale.
March 5, 2022
4 stars. What a classic! I’m on a mission to read the four great classics of China and this is the first one I’ve attempted, for good reason.
Monkey, or rather Journey to the West, is a story that I’ve grown up with with children’s stories and TV adaptations. It’s a huge part of Chinese culture and there are even numerous temples dedicated to the Monkey God around the region. Reading this book made me do a bit more research on this - apparently worship to a Monkey God has been happening way, way before Wu Cheng’en wrote Journey to the West in the 14th century, so this might be his way of collating folktales around an existing mythology instead of inventing one of his own.
Monkey, or Sun Wukong as he’s more commonly known, is a headstrong, arrogant, prideful entity supposed to be a representation of the hubris of humankind. He sure shows it! He wreaks havoc in the Heavenly Realm, he can never back down from a challenge or any perceived insult to himself, even jeopardizing his own goals sometimes when he’s trying to be covert or trying to disguise himself but can’t resist yelling out when he hears someone making fun of him behind his back. But because of that, Monkey achieves great heights and very early on titles himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven (Qi Tian Da Sheng), a title that is still conferred to him in his actual temples around the world. He becomes so powerful that most heavenly officials are unable to defeat him and it takes the actual Buddha to make an appearance in order to subdue him.
While a lot of us know this already from the adaptations, I think a small but important detail this book taught me about Monkey’s origin story is that his quest for power and recognition initially stemmed from a very primal fear of aging and dying. He pushes himself to learn immortality just to circumvent that eventuality, and the whole series of events ending in him creating chaos in Heaven started off when Yama, the King of Death, calls him to Hell because it was supposed to be the end of his lifespan. Ultimately, throughout it all, Monkey does achieve enlightenment and immortality but only because he embraced the Faith of Buddhism, which I guess is the whole treatise of this book. The whole story of Monkey is a very neat analogy for human nature, and the moral of this book is to show how mankind can achieve immortality (through Buddhism).
What was also a little surprising to me was just how much violence there was in this book! I guess the adaptations probably sanitized a bit (or a lot), but there was so much kidnapping, sexual assault, brutal deaths, and eating of humans. It was also all so casually referred to, like everything was no big deal. It reminded me of Grimm’s fairy tales, where such violent deaths were also very casually and lightly depicted and in a very “bedtime story” sort of writing. The only thing I remember from the adaptations is how the demons and spirits they encountered wanted to eat Tripitaka’s flesh because his sanctity would be like an elixir to them and boost their years of cultivation in order to achieve deity-hood at a much faster pace, but it was always only referred to. In the book, the sanctity of Tripitaka’s flesh is only briefly mentioned once (at least in this abridged version), but everyone else is free game (and free meals).
As an aside, I listened to Kenneth Williams’s performance of the audiobook which is probably extremely old (Williams passed away in 1988 so I’m assuming it had to be recorded in the early 80s or earlier). He gave the characters so much life, but the wild mispronunciations of Chinese names and terms in the book was also really grating. For example, he pronounces Taoist as “Tee-ao-ist” instead of just “Tow-ist”, and T’ang as “Tee-ang” (as in ‘anger’) instead of “Tung” (like ‘tongue’).
Overall, enjoyed this thoroughly. It was easy to read and entertaining. It also provides some insights into philosophy and life in the 14th century when it was written.
Monkey, or rather Journey to the West, is a story that I’ve grown up with with children’s stories and TV adaptations. It’s a huge part of Chinese culture and there are even numerous temples dedicated to the Monkey God around the region. Reading this book made me do a bit more research on this - apparently worship to a Monkey God has been happening way, way before Wu Cheng’en wrote Journey to the West in the 14th century, so this might be his way of collating folktales around an existing mythology instead of inventing one of his own.
Monkey, or Sun Wukong as he’s more commonly known, is a headstrong, arrogant, prideful entity supposed to be a representation of the hubris of humankind. He sure shows it! He wreaks havoc in the Heavenly Realm, he can never back down from a challenge or any perceived insult to himself, even jeopardizing his own goals sometimes when he’s trying to be covert or trying to disguise himself but can’t resist yelling out when he hears someone making fun of him behind his back. But because of that, Monkey achieves great heights and very early on titles himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven (Qi Tian Da Sheng), a title that is still conferred to him in his actual temples around the world. He becomes so powerful that most heavenly officials are unable to defeat him and it takes the actual Buddha to make an appearance in order to subdue him.
While a lot of us know this already from the adaptations, I think a small but important detail this book taught me about Monkey’s origin story is that his quest for power and recognition initially stemmed from a very primal fear of aging and dying. He pushes himself to learn immortality just to circumvent that eventuality, and the whole series of events ending in him creating chaos in Heaven started off when Yama, the King of Death, calls him to Hell because it was supposed to be the end of his lifespan. Ultimately, throughout it all, Monkey does achieve enlightenment and immortality but only because he embraced the Faith of Buddhism, which I guess is the whole treatise of this book. The whole story of Monkey is a very neat analogy for human nature, and the moral of this book is to show how mankind can achieve immortality (through Buddhism).
What was also a little surprising to me was just how much violence there was in this book! I guess the adaptations probably sanitized a bit (or a lot), but there was so much kidnapping, sexual assault, brutal deaths, and eating of humans. It was also all so casually referred to, like everything was no big deal. It reminded me of Grimm’s fairy tales, where such violent deaths were also very casually and lightly depicted and in a very “bedtime story” sort of writing. The only thing I remember from the adaptations is how the demons and spirits they encountered wanted to eat Tripitaka’s flesh because his sanctity would be like an elixir to them and boost their years of cultivation in order to achieve deity-hood at a much faster pace, but it was always only referred to. In the book, the sanctity of Tripitaka’s flesh is only briefly mentioned once (at least in this abridged version), but everyone else is free game (and free meals).
As an aside, I listened to Kenneth Williams’s performance of the audiobook which is probably extremely old (Williams passed away in 1988 so I’m assuming it had to be recorded in the early 80s or earlier). He gave the characters so much life, but the wild mispronunciations of Chinese names and terms in the book was also really grating. For example, he pronounces Taoist as “Tee-ao-ist” instead of just “Tow-ist”, and T’ang as “Tee-ang” (as in ‘anger’) instead of “Tung” (like ‘tongue’).
Overall, enjoyed this thoroughly. It was easy to read and entertaining. It also provides some insights into philosophy and life in the 14th century when it was written.
April 18, 2025
මට මතක හැටියට 1983 -84 වගේ කාලයේ ජාතික රූපවාහිනියේ පෙන්නුවා Monkey කියලා කතා මාලාවක්. දැන් තියෙන දෙකයි පනහෙ මෙලෝ රහක් නැති ඉන්දියන් මෙගා ටෙලි වගේ නෙවෙයි බොහෝම රසවත්. අපි පස් දෙනා මොනවා වුනත් ඒක නම් නොබලා හිටියේ නැහැ. පස්සේ කාලෙක තමයි දැනගත්තේ ඒක පාදක කරගෙන තිබුනේ 16 වෙනි සියවසේදී චීන ජාතික වූ චෙන් එන් විසින් ලියන ලද Journey to the west යන පොත බව. 1942දී Arthur Waley මේ පොත Monkey ලෙසින් ඉංගිරිසියට පරිවර්තනය කලා.
1959දී ඒ පී ගුණරත්නයන් Monkey වානරයා බවට පරිවර්තනය කලා. අපේ අයියා මේ පොත අව්රුදු විස්සකට විතර කලින් ගෙදර ගෙනාවා. අනේ ඉතින් මුල්ලකට වෙලා, මේ පොතත් එක්ක ඉල ඇදෙනතුරු තනියම හිනා වෙන ඉරණමට අම්මාගේ පටන් අපි හැමෝම ගොදුරු වුනා. පරිවර්තනයේ රසවත් කම නිසාම තාමත් ඉංගිරිසි පොත හොයාගන්න ඕනේ කියන උවමනාව ඇති වුනේ නැහැ. (අනේ මේ වගේ පරිවර්තකයෝ අදත් හිටියානම්) අදටත් ගෙදර ගියාම අයියාගෙන් ණයට ගන්න එකම දේ තමා ඔය පොත. නිකන් ඉන්න ගමන් අයියයි මායි සූකරයාගේ ශුද්ධ ජල පාතනය ගැන කියලා හිනා වීමත් තාමත් නොකරනවා නෙවෙයි. 1996 මුල් කියවීමෙන් පසුව අද වෙනකොට පහලොස් වතාවක් මේ පොත කියවා ඇත.
දැන් බලමුකෝ මොකාද මේ වානරයා කියලා. ගල් බිජුවටකින් ඕපපාතිකව උපන්, කිසි කෙනෙකුට ගරු සරුවක්වත් ආණ්ඩු මට්ටුවක්වත් නැති, පොළොවේත් දෙව් ලොවේත් කරන්න පුලුවන් හැම වින්නැහියක්ම කරලා, අන්තිමට බුදුන්ට විතරක් මෙල්ල වුනු නාහෙට නාහන රිලා මොටෙක් ගැනයි වානරයා ලියැවිලා තියෙන්නේ. කරපු විනාස වලට චීනේ කොනක හිරේ ලැගලා ලත වෙවී හිටපු වානරයා බුදු දහම වැලද ගෙන භික්ෂුවකගේ ශිෂ්යයෙක් වෙලා මගදි එකතු වෙන වාලුක සහ සූකර එක්ක යනවා ඉන්දියාවට ත්රිපිටකය ඉල්ලාගෙන එන්න. හරි අපූරු ශිෂ්යයෝ තුන් දෙනා. ඈතින් දැක්කාම මොන මළ යකා උනත් වහං වෙනවා. ත්රිපිටක භික්ෂුව හාමුදුරු නමක් නොවී සාමාන්ය මිනිහෙක් වුනා නම් බෙල්ලේ වැල දාගන්නවා නියතයි. මේ ගමනෙදි මෙයාලා මූණ දෙන භයානක, හාස්යජනක සහ විකාර රෑපී නොයෙක් අත්දැකීම් තමා පොතේ තියෙන්නේ. ජීවිතයට ලබා ගත හැකි වටිනා පාඩම් බොහොමැයි.
2008 Fantasy movie Forbidden Kingdom, 2014 movie Monkey King and 2016 Monkey King part II are based on "Journey to the West". All of them are Brilliant movies featuring Jet Li, Jacky Chan, Chow Yun-Fat And Aaron Kwok.
කියවලා නැත්තම් හොයාගෙන කියවන්න. එක පාරකින් නවත්තන්න පුලුවන් පොතක් නම් නෙවෙයි ඕං. එක දෙයක් කියන්නම්, වානර මුණිවරයාගේ මායාවල් අතරේ හොට දිග උන්නාන්සෙට හරි යන්න හාල් සේරු හත අටක් විතර ඇරන් බතුයි එළවලුයි තම්බන එක ලේසි වැඩක් නම් නෙවෙයි.
A wee addition to the original Review after the 16th run...
I found a proper garbage series called "The New Legends of Monkey"on Netflix. Utter trash. On the other hand, A korean comedy called "A Korean Odyssey" also features our favorite monkey. I found that utterly entertaining.
Also, this version contains about 17% of the original version. Arthur Waley made an incredible shrinking of 100 chapters and 1,800 odd pages to 350 pages. Should I read the Journey to the west in all it's 100 chapters? Absolutely YES...
Book #26 of 2022.
17th Run - 18 April 2025
Book #21 of 2025.
1959දී ඒ පී ගුණරත්නයන් Monkey වානරයා බවට පරිවර්තනය කලා. අපේ අයියා මේ පොත අව්රුදු විස්සකට විතර කලින් ගෙදර ගෙනාවා. අනේ ඉතින් මුල්ලකට වෙලා, මේ පොතත් එක්ක ඉල ඇදෙනතුරු තනියම හිනා වෙන ඉරණමට අම්මාගේ පටන් අපි හැමෝම ගොදුරු වුනා. පරිවර්තනයේ රසවත් කම නිසාම තාමත් ඉංගිරිසි පොත හොයාගන්න ඕනේ කියන උවමනාව ඇති වුනේ නැහැ. (අනේ මේ වගේ පරිවර්තකයෝ අදත් හිටියානම්) අදටත් ගෙදර ගියාම අයියාගෙන් ණයට ගන්න එකම දේ තමා ඔය පොත. නිකන් ඉන්න ගමන් අයියයි මායි සූකරයාගේ ශුද්ධ ජල පාතනය ගැන කියලා හිනා වීමත් තාමත් නොකරනවා නෙවෙයි. 1996 මුල් කියවීමෙන් පසුව අද වෙනකොට පහලොස් වතාවක් මේ පොත කියවා ඇත.
දැන් බලමුකෝ මොකාද මේ වානරයා කියලා. ගල් බිජුවටකින් ඕපපාතිකව උපන්, කිසි කෙනෙකුට ගරු සරුවක්වත් ආණ්ඩු මට්ටුවක්වත් නැති, පොළොවේත් දෙව් ලොවේත් කරන්න පුලුවන් හැම වින්නැහියක්ම කරලා, අන්තිමට බුදුන්ට විතරක් මෙල්ල වුනු නාහෙට නාහන රිලා මොටෙක් ගැනයි වානරයා ලියැවිලා තියෙන්නේ. කරපු විනාස වලට චීනේ කොනක හිරේ ලැගලා ලත වෙවී හිටපු වානරයා බුදු දහම වැලද ගෙන භික්ෂුවකගේ ශිෂ්යයෙක් වෙලා මගදි එකතු වෙන වාලුක සහ සූකර එක්ක යනවා ඉන්දියාවට ත්රිපිටකය ඉල්ලාගෙන එන්න. හරි අපූරු ශිෂ්යයෝ තුන් දෙනා. ඈතින් දැක්කාම මොන මළ යකා උනත් වහං වෙනවා. ත්රිපිටක භික්ෂුව හාමුදුරු නමක් නොවී සාමාන්ය මිනිහෙක් වුනා නම් බෙල්ලේ වැල දාගන්නවා නියතයි. මේ ගමනෙදි මෙයාලා මූණ දෙන භයානක, හාස්යජනක සහ විකාර රෑපී නොයෙක් අත්දැකීම් තමා පොතේ තියෙන්නේ. ජීවිතයට ලබා ගත හැකි වටිනා පාඩම් බොහොමැයි.
2008 Fantasy movie Forbidden Kingdom, 2014 movie Monkey King and 2016 Monkey King part II are based on "Journey to the West". All of them are Brilliant movies featuring Jet Li, Jacky Chan, Chow Yun-Fat And Aaron Kwok.
කියවලා නැත්තම් හොයාගෙන කියවන්න. එක පාරකින් නවත්තන්න පුලුවන් පොතක් නම් නෙවෙයි ඕං. එක දෙයක් කියන්නම්, වානර මුණිවරයාගේ මායාවල් අතරේ හොට දිග උන්නාන්සෙට හරි යන්න හාල් සේරු හත අටක් විතර ඇරන් බතුයි එළවලුයි තම්බන එක ලේසි වැඩක් නම් නෙවෙයි.
A wee addition to the original Review after the 16th run...
I found a proper garbage series called "The New Legends of Monkey"on Netflix. Utter trash. On the other hand, A korean comedy called "A Korean Odyssey" also features our favorite monkey. I found that utterly entertaining.
Also, this version contains about 17% of the original version. Arthur Waley made an incredible shrinking of 100 chapters and 1,800 odd pages to 350 pages. Should I read the Journey to the west in all it's 100 chapters? Absolutely YES...
Book #26 of 2022.
17th Run - 18 April 2025
Book #21 of 2025.
June 10, 2013
This is the retelling of famous for the time Buddhist pilgrimage of the real life Tripitaka (Hsuan Tsang) in 700AD by the Chinese author Wu Ch’eng-en in around 1550. He retells the now mythical, fantastical and legendary exploits as a profound allegory and irreverent religious tale. I have vague memories of a poorly dubbed tv series in the 1970s in the UK of the same name.
Monkey is first introduced as a playful, unruly handful via birth from a stone egg by the Jade Emperor. He becomes monkey king and seeks enlightenment becoming “Aware of Vacuity” via a Patriarch and gains increasing power and knowledge. He gets muscle and magical weapons and after a series of battles and fights with various levels of deity and mythical beings including ‘ The planet Venus’, the Dragon King, Death and his cohort end ups calling himself ‘The great Sage equal of Heaven’. Clearly Monkey has become too big for his boots and despite all his powers of transformation and teleportation is tricked by Buddha and entombed under a mountain for 500 years. Budda now wants Prince Hsuan to retrieve some sacred texts from India back to China; gaining Monkey initial freedom if he helps. We are then introduced to two new companions the erasable greedy Pigsy and the powerful river monster Sandy both fallen but redeemed to be beaten but saved by Monkey and the task. The four then travel for years defeating dragons, bandits and evil creatures in their extended quest. The penguin classic is an original 1942(?) much shortened version of a significantly extended original Chinese text. Prince Hsuan is slightly like ineffectual Quixote and his companions and foes a fanciful mix of humour, Buddhist/Confucian teaching, fable and intriguing story. There are many memorable Monty Python like scenes.
This is real quite a fun and funny story. Monkey has some really good one-liners. The twists and turns of the adventure being so unreal makes the reading very enjoyable indeed. This is one of those cultural yarns that places you in another era. I think I gathered quite a lot about reincarnation and its philosophy from the text. Highly recommended.
A couple of quotes: “But you that were dead at least knew that you were dead. Why did you not go to Yama, King of Death, and put in a complaint?”
“’What an idea!’ grumbled Pigsy to himself. ’A fellow was having a nice, sound sleep, and along comes this baboon with a wonderful yarn about a job that must be done, and in the end it turns out to be nothing but this silly game of carting about a corpse’”
Monkey is first introduced as a playful, unruly handful via birth from a stone egg by the Jade Emperor. He becomes monkey king and seeks enlightenment becoming “Aware of Vacuity” via a Patriarch and gains increasing power and knowledge. He gets muscle and magical weapons and after a series of battles and fights with various levels of deity and mythical beings including ‘ The planet Venus’, the Dragon King, Death and his cohort end ups calling himself ‘The great Sage equal of Heaven’. Clearly Monkey has become too big for his boots and despite all his powers of transformation and teleportation is tricked by Buddha and entombed under a mountain for 500 years. Budda now wants Prince Hsuan to retrieve some sacred texts from India back to China; gaining Monkey initial freedom if he helps. We are then introduced to two new companions the erasable greedy Pigsy and the powerful river monster Sandy both fallen but redeemed to be beaten but saved by Monkey and the task. The four then travel for years defeating dragons, bandits and evil creatures in their extended quest. The penguin classic is an original 1942(?) much shortened version of a significantly extended original Chinese text. Prince Hsuan is slightly like ineffectual Quixote and his companions and foes a fanciful mix of humour, Buddhist/Confucian teaching, fable and intriguing story. There are many memorable Monty Python like scenes.
This is real quite a fun and funny story. Monkey has some really good one-liners. The twists and turns of the adventure being so unreal makes the reading very enjoyable indeed. This is one of those cultural yarns that places you in another era. I think I gathered quite a lot about reincarnation and its philosophy from the text. Highly recommended.
A couple of quotes: “But you that were dead at least knew that you were dead. Why did you not go to Yama, King of Death, and put in a complaint?”
“’What an idea!’ grumbled Pigsy to himself. ’A fellow was having a nice, sound sleep, and along comes this baboon with a wonderful yarn about a job that must be done, and in the end it turns out to be nothing but this silly game of carting about a corpse’”
Want to read
January 10, 2016Waley's abridged version is widely...tolerated at least, liked by very many.
There is also this abridged version of the Yu translation: slightly longer at 528 pages.
Copying directly from Wendy - sorry, Wendy, it's just that it was really interesting:
There is also this abridged version of the Yu translation: slightly longer at 528 pages.
Copying directly from Wendy - sorry, Wendy, it's just that it was really interesting:
The most popular, though much-abridged version (in translation anyway?) is Monkey: The Journey to the West. I did some research and have decided on this non-abridged version instead: The Journey to the West, Volume 1 and just take it on one volume at a time.That's alllll from Wendy.
There's a great video with Anthony Yu, the translator of the above Journey to the West, Vol. 1, (http://asiasociety.org/video/educatio...) addressing the Asia Society. During the bombings his grandfather had distracted him with Journey to the West during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. He tells a great anecdote from JttW where Monkey pees on Buddah's hand--it was the translator's favorite part as a boy (of course!). Anyway, the video is 50 minutes long but interesting (esp the first 20 min) & definitely made me want to read it!
Also, NYT has an archived review of Yu's translation from 1983: http://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/06/boo... : "The standard modern version, translated by Mr. Yu, is substantially the same as what is thought to be the first edition, in 100 chapters, published (the author was anonymous) at Nanjing in 1592. (Mr. Yu's version differs from this mainly by the addition of a single episode, drawn from a short version of the novel dating to about the same era.)
December 4, 2018
great tale from china. the story of a Buddhist monk who left xian, crossed the mighty himalaya with funny followers and came back with loads of scriptures. amazing tale. love it
March 31, 2021
Un gran libro, no podía dejar de leer. Un viaje maravilloso hacia la cultura China, repleto de sabiduría. Recomendable.
May 7, 2023
wanted to beat monkey's annoying ass so badly
September 27, 2022
Journey to the west is a classic piece of Chinese literature, written over 400 years ago, and was published around 1910. It has many of the elements in a story that kids and teens look for in today's society. Action, adventure, drama, fantasy, suspense, it covers so many of the things that anybody would look for when reading a book.
One of the best things about the book is how it describes everything. The surroundings, what's happening in the character's mind, and the fights, are all so well described that you completely immerse yourself in the book, perfectly visualizing almost every event that's happening in the story.
The book's plot is also great. It's not an overwhelmingly plot-driven book, (as in the plot is the only thing followed/described) but it is a driving force in the story, and is perfectly written.
One of the best things about the book is how it describes everything. The surroundings, what's happening in the character's mind, and the fights, are all so well described that you completely immerse yourself in the book, perfectly visualizing almost every event that's happening in the story.
The book's plot is also great. It's not an overwhelmingly plot-driven book, (as in the plot is the only thing followed/described) but it is a driving force in the story, and is perfectly written.
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