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The Journey to the West, Books 1, 2 and 3: Three Classic Stories in Simplified Chinese and Pinyin, 600 Word Vocabulary Level
This book is a compilation of books 4, 5 and 6 in our Journey to the West series of story books for people learning to read Chinese.The three stories told here - Rise of the Monkey King, Trouble in Heaven, and The Immortal Peaches - are unchanged from our original versions except for minor editing and reformatting.
These three stories all focus on the adventures of Sun Wukong, the Handsome Monkey King, is one of the most famous characters in Chinese literature and culture. His legendary bravery, his foolish mistakes, his sharp-tongued commentary and his yearning for immortality and spiritual knowledge have inspired hundreds of books, television shows, graphic novels, video games and films.
Our first story, The Rise of the Monkey King, covers the events in the first two chapters of this epic story. We learn how the little stone monkey is born, becomes king of his troop of monkeys, leaves his home to pursue enlightenment, receives the name Sun Wukong (literally, "ape seeking the void") from his teacher, and returns home to defend his subjects from a ravenous monster.
The second story, Trouble in Heaven, covers the events of chapters 3 and 4 in the original epic. Things begin to unravel for Sun Wukong, as he starts to see the consequences of his outrageous actions. While trying to defend his monkey troop, he manages to offend the underwater Dragon King, the Dragon King's mother, all ten Kings of the Underworld, and the great Jade Emperor himself. Finally, goaded by a couple of troublemaking demons, he goes too far, calling himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and setting events in motion that cause him some serious trouble.
In the third story, The Immortal Peaches, we wrap up the story of Sun Wukong's early years, before he joins the monk Xuanzang's little band of travelers and journeys to the West. Once again, the Monkey King's unlimited ambitions and uncontrolled appetites land him in deep trouble. He is given a job in heaven taking care of the Emperor's Garden of Immortal Peaches, but he can't stop himself from eating all the peaches. He impersonates a great Immortal and crashes a party in Heaven, stealing the guests' food and drink and barely escaping to his loyal troop of monkeys back on Earth. And in the end, he battles an entire army of Immortals and men, and discovers that even calling himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven does not make him equal to everyone in Heaven.
These three stories all focus on the adventures of Sun Wukong, the Handsome Monkey King, is one of the most famous characters in Chinese literature and culture. His legendary bravery, his foolish mistakes, his sharp-tongued commentary and his yearning for immortality and spiritual knowledge have inspired hundreds of books, television shows, graphic novels, video games and films.
Our first story, The Rise of the Monkey King, covers the events in the first two chapters of this epic story. We learn how the little stone monkey is born, becomes king of his troop of monkeys, leaves his home to pursue enlightenment, receives the name Sun Wukong (literally, "ape seeking the void") from his teacher, and returns home to defend his subjects from a ravenous monster.
The second story, Trouble in Heaven, covers the events of chapters 3 and 4 in the original epic. Things begin to unravel for Sun Wukong, as he starts to see the consequences of his outrageous actions. While trying to defend his monkey troop, he manages to offend the underwater Dragon King, the Dragon King's mother, all ten Kings of the Underworld, and the great Jade Emperor himself. Finally, goaded by a couple of troublemaking demons, he goes too far, calling himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and setting events in motion that cause him some serious trouble.
In the third story, The Immortal Peaches, we wrap up the story of Sun Wukong's early years, before he joins the monk Xuanzang's little band of travelers and journeys to the West. Once again, the Monkey King's unlimited ambitions and uncontrolled appetites land him in deep trouble. He is given a job in heaven taking care of the Emperor's Garden of Immortal Peaches, but he can't stop himself from eating all the peaches. He impersonates a great Immortal and crashes a party in Heaven, stealing the guests' food and drink and barely escaping to his loyal troop of monkeys back on Earth. And in the end, he battles an entire army of Immortals and men, and discovers that even calling himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven does not make him equal to everyone in Heaven.
288 pages, Paperback
Published December 21, 2019
15 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Pepper
40 books11 followersI'm a writer and publisher living in Verona Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. My company, Imagin8 Press, has published over 100 fiction and nonfiction books for people learning to read Chinese. Our best sellers are an innovative English translation of the Dao De Jing and a 31-volume retelling, in easy Chinese, of the classic novel Journey to the West.
I’m also a lifelong science fiction fan, and started writing sci-fi seriously in 2024. I am delighted that my short story, “Spaceship of Fools,” was accepted by Bewildering Stories. My first full-length sci-fi novel, “Ascent to the Sun,” was published in April 2025.
Before embarking on my current career, I was in the software business. I founded and led three successful companies: ServiceWare, which began in my basement and went public on the NASDAQ; Touchtown, which was acquire by Uniguest; and Tunescribers. I have a degree in computer science from Carnegie-Mellon University, where I taught an undergraduate course in computer programming.
When not sitting in front of a glowing screen, you can probably find me playing competitive pickleball.
I’m also a lifelong science fiction fan, and started writing sci-fi seriously in 2024. I am delighted that my short story, “Spaceship of Fools,” was accepted by Bewildering Stories. My first full-length sci-fi novel, “Ascent to the Sun,” was published in April 2025.
Before embarking on my current career, I was in the software business. I founded and led three successful companies: ServiceWare, which began in my basement and went public on the NASDAQ; Touchtown, which was acquire by Uniguest; and Tunescribers. I have a degree in computer science from Carnegie-Mellon University, where I taught an undergraduate course in computer programming.
When not sitting in front of a glowing screen, you can probably find me playing competitive pickleball.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 26, 2023
Really happy I found this book. I love the layout, left pages are pinyin and right pages are hanzi. Of course the original story is modified for learning but it's still interesting and fun to read.
February 22, 2023
Such a fun read and a very useful tool for learning Chinese. Anyone looking graded readers should give this a chance!
December 8, 2023
i love this series (already up to book 5) such a fun and interesting story written so long ago. It is perfect for slowly building up confidence in a new language's word order and acquiring new vocabulary. This epic story is a classic in chinese culture so its a great choice, the pinyin on the opposite page really helps for keeping your tones in check and reminding u of words you might have forgotten. Thanks so much Jeff pepper!
June 5, 2024
Para los estudiantes de chino mandarín es un texto ideal para comenzar a practicar lo aprendido. Vocabulario y estilo de narración muy adaptado para los principiantes en el idioma. Además, integra conceptos culturales de la historia china. Muy interesante y recomendable.
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July 6, 2025为普通话学习者很棒的书
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews