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Journey to the West, Volume I
Journey to the West is a mythological novel based on many centuries of popular tradition. It relates the adventures of a Tang Dynasty(618-907) priest, Sanzang, and his disciples, Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand, as they travel west in search of the Buddhist scriptures. They vanquish a fearsome array of demons and monsters on their way to the Western Heaven. The story is full of artistic appeal, and at the same time it reflects the progressive ideas of the society of that time. Journey to the West has a tight-knit plot and is written in humorous language.It was probably put into its present form in the 1570s by Wu Cheng'en. This English translation is by W.J.F. Jenner, a British sinologist.
- GenresChina
575 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1592
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About the author
Wu Cheng'en
472 books187 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 8, 2024
Splendid Wu Cheng'en! If there was one word to describe this book, it would be: entertaining. Wu Cheng'en is writing a story first and foremost for entertainment, and it is one of the greatest virtue a storyteller can possess. Secondly, he is writing a treatise on Confucisim, Taoism, and Buddhism. The characters and the journey can be taken as allegorical, and the author welcomes this interpretative perspective because he sometimes refers the Monkey King as "mind ape". But leaving the allegory in the subconscious plane is not wrong either.
He takes you through the birth, rise, and fall of thenotorious Handsome Monkey King, and how he came to become a disciple under the Buddhist monk Sanzang and his adventures to the West (India) to retrieve the scriptures back to China.
The story is filled with episodic adventures, each chapter is one really. Journey to the West was written as a serialised novel, and I believe it is best to read it like one--one or two chapters a day. One novel thing about this story is how poetry is integrated into the story. Whenever a new location, character, battle is described, it is always described in poetry. In a way, it gives a similar feeling to the songs from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, however, while the songs and poems in the Ring cycle are sung by the characters, in Journey to the West, the narrator interjects them into his narrative. For me, they were quite a wonderful experience. There are things only poetry can do, and I believe Wu Cheng'en smartly used poetry to do the heavy-lifting while describing these otherworldly landscape and beings. There is also a chapter where two minor characters have a poetry battle where they improvise verses to traditional Chinese tunes to praise their respective abodes, river and hill.
Journey to the West is great fun. But goodness, is it long. This is just volume 1. Two are left. Reading it is a journey itself. And I will continue on this journey after resting for some time.
He takes you through the birth, rise, and fall of the
The story is filled with episodic adventures, each chapter is one really. Journey to the West was written as a serialised novel, and I believe it is best to read it like one--one or two chapters a day. One novel thing about this story is how poetry is integrated into the story. Whenever a new location, character, battle is described, it is always described in poetry. In a way, it gives a similar feeling to the songs from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, however, while the songs and poems in the Ring cycle are sung by the characters, in Journey to the West, the narrator interjects them into his narrative. For me, they were quite a wonderful experience. There are things only poetry can do, and I believe Wu Cheng'en smartly used poetry to do the heavy-lifting while describing these otherworldly landscape and beings. There is also a chapter where two minor characters have a poetry battle where they improvise verses to traditional Chinese tunes to praise their respective abodes, river and hill.
Journey to the West is great fun. But goodness, is it long. This is just volume 1. Two are left. Reading it is a journey itself. And I will continue on this journey after resting for some time.
April 21, 2025
This mythological novel from the 1570s was easier going than I expected. Originally written in Chinese, the English translator W.J.F Jenner has used slang such as "blotto". There is also coarse language.
It helped that I used to watch the 1980s TV series "Monkey". I found it fascinating but repetitive, so it took some time to finish. The first volume is enough.
It helped that I used to watch the 1980s TV series "Monkey". I found it fascinating but repetitive, so it took some time to finish. The first volume is enough.
April 30, 2012
This book compiles in 575 pages the first 31 chapters of one of the four Chinese classics of literature, "Journey to the West". A suggestive fantasy ride to fetch Buddhist scriptures I will continue soon.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews