Debra Jiang

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Concluding post: Journey to the West

I really enjoyed blogging about my favorite novel Journey to the West and have gained a lot of insights from this project. My enduring fascination on this story world really comes from the different adaptions I read during different stages of my life - I started out knowing this story world through the 1982 TV shows when I was in kindergarten; then I read the comic books and the children version of the book in elementary school. It was only until grade 11 that I finished reading the original novel. 

I was surprised that I had a completely different feeling reading/watching various adaptions vs the original book – partly because the TV shows and other adaptions selected the most exciting and intense parts of the novel, and partly because when I watched Journey to the West as a child, I firmly believe in the story world the author constructed, and had a lot more my own imagination on the story. But now, when I go back and revisit the original novel for the blog post, I see it more as a great classical novel in Chinese literature that requires me to analyze and have some deep thinking on the plot design, opening poems, how are certain elements related to buddhism, whether the author is satirizing the political system and society back then. The satisfaction I get from reading it just for fun versus gaining insights and enlightenment after serious interpretation and analyzation, are different but equally fulfilling.

I didn’t pay too much attention to the gender when I first read this story world. But I do remember some of the demons I really don’t like, lady white bone (白骨精) and spider spirits (蜘蛛精) are female, while two of my favorite characters, Guanying Pusa (观音菩萨) and the King of Nverguo(女儿国国王) are also female. As a child, I think I focused more on whether the character is good or bad, rather than the gender. The fox spirit and demons in the Journey to the West reminds me of Pu Songlin’s Liaozhai (聊斋志异), where in his work, there are also many female fox spirits and demons; in his story, the identity does not matter, whether it is a human, a ghost or a fox spirit, their virtues will be rewarded, and vice will be punished.

Journey to the West is probably the most popular one out of the “Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature”, and has the most adaptions. I believe it is mostly because of the character of the Monkey King, who is a symbol of rebellious spirit. He is a hero fighting for freedom, but eventually he has to compromise and becomes one in the system; many great movies and songs focus on this controversy.

My favorite movie adaption is A Chinese Odyssey (大话西游) that came out in 1995, which focuses on the character of the Monkey King, with the hallucinatory time-traveling narrative including a most unlikely rendition of The Platters’ Only You; near the end of Part Two, the fairy Zixia sacrifices her life to save her great love, the Monkey King, who in turn regrets discovering too late his own feelings for her. The theme song “Yishen Suoai” (一生所爱 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h46F_sQVLjI) is a classic. Another song focusing the complexity of the character of the Monkey King is called “Wu Kong”（悟空); the song is unique in arguing that the Monkey should follow his heart, and going through the eighty-one calamities and being the buddha wouldn’t be satisfying or enlightening for the Monkey if he loses the freedom.

Two more thongs on Wukong that I really enjoyed: 

Qi Tian Da Shen （齐天大圣） – Hua Chenyu

Qi Tian （齐天） – Hua Chenyu 

One thing I really want to explore more is how the language affects the story world, especially when it is translated from Chinese to English.  For example, in western philosophy, people see things through dualism, which is a vertical disjunction between evil and good, damnation and salvation while in Chinese philosophy, the dualistic structure, such as yin and yang is characterized by their interdependency. I will continue exploring the connotations in the novel as I plan to take the Buddhism class next semester.

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Journey to the West - 1982 TV Series

Journey to the West has been adapted many times in modern film, television, stage and other media. My favorite one, the version that I have been watching since kindergarten, is the two-season television series produced by CCTV, a 25-episode tv drama produced from 1982-1988 in China, directed by Yang Jie and starring Liu Xiao Ling Tong as the Monkey King Sun Wukong.

As the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, the very first episode of the TV series “Removing demons from Wuji Country” was designed to test the audience’s reactions in 1982. The feedback was mixed; therefore it was re-shot in 1986 and included as episode 13. The process of producing the episodes was not smooth. After the first nine episodes, the team ran out of money and CCTV refused to fund the rest of the episodes. The filming team eventually managed to secure a loan with the China Railway 11th Bureau Group for 3 millions yuan, which enabled them to complete five more episodes. Director was forced to scrap 5 episodes from the original 30-episode script, to the current 25 episodes. The scrapped stories were later featured in the sequel released in 2000.

Personally, I particularly enjoyed the witty and concise dialogues of this version. The soundtrack, 女儿情, has been very popular recently. The lyrics, as well as the traditional Chinese musical instruments, including pipa, zithers, chimes made the music particularly suitable for the scenes.

Another highlight is the actor Liu Xiao Ling Tong, who is the monkey in the TV series. His “fiery golden eyes” (火眼金睛) is so lively, and totally deserved the title of “Beautiful Monkey King” (美猴王). The flight scenes of the monkey was also impressive — the jumping skills, precision and monkey flexibility.

The filming team traveled 19 provinces all over China and then Thailand to film the perfect scenery. Throughout the series, they only used one camera. Although some endings of the episodes can be abrupt due to a lack of time, and the graphics are not as advanced, the 1982 version is still my all time favorite adaption. The director, Yang Jie, is someone I really admire, who insisted in her way of filming, and was involved all aspects of the filming including budgeting, finances, scouting, scripts, editing, casting, etc.

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Journey to the west - Authorship

Journey to the West (西游记) is a novel of one hundred chapters, first published in 1592. The controversy surrounding the identity of the author of this novel is as old as the book itself, since the book has countless editions, and some people believe Wu Chengen, whom the work that is attributed to, only edited the story rather than created himself as an original work. In fact, the author is only officially set to be Wu Chengen in 1920 when the book was first printed in mass.

The translated versions are also worth discussing. When Arthur Waley translated Journey to the West in 1943, he gave the book the title Monkey. At the same time, he also reduced the original work of one hundred chapters to thirty chapters and to 294 pages. Arthur chose to preserve the chapters relating to the birth and growth into adolescence of Monkey, the story of origin and mission of SanZang, while omitting some of the poems, and a number of calamities. The overall structure of the book is persevered well even although rather than 81 calamities (九九八十一难), the translated version only has 18, since many calamities fall into similar patterns and can sometimes be repetitions. There is also a complete unabridged translation of the 100 chapter version by Anthony Yu published during 1977 to 1983 in four volumes. Personally, I really like Arthur Waley's version, as it captures the essence and atmosphere of the story.

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Journey to the west - SanZang

A superficial reading of SanZang is that he is a holy monk, the leader of his group, and a role model to his three disciples in learning of Buddhism. But with a further analysis, we will see that he is merely a nominal leader of the group. It is through the process of 81 calamities (”九九八十一难”) in seeking the scriptures, that he gradually gains perspective and insights.

Through the events, readers can tell that SanZang does not possess the qualities that would make him a true leader; he is just like an ordinary person, but very pious and devoted to his calling. Monsters who want to eat him but dare not directly fight with Monkey, would appeal to SanZang's compassion to gain their purpose. There are also several occasions where Pigsy wants to get even with Monkey also uses SanZang's compassion for himself to hurt Monkey. 

In one of the episodes, the monster changes herself into a beautiful young woman with a basket of food. Monkey is away looking for alms while Pigsy, Sandy and SanZang could not recognize monsters in disguise. When Monkey returns and sees the monster, he strikes her down. Monkey tries to convince SanZang that the woman is indeed a monster with her basket of food left behind is actually maggots and toads. With Pigsy saying the Monkey kills the woman and turns the food into maggots and toads to avoid punishment, SanZang decides to punish the Monkey with the scripture of Tight Fillet. The same monster comes back twice more, and SanZang writes a formal letter of banishment after the Monkey strikes her.

"You manage to get away even after beating to death altogether three persons only because there 's no one here to oppose you, to take you to task in these desolate wilds.But suppose we get to a crowded city and you suddenly start hitting people regardless of good or ill with that mourning staff of yours, how would I be able to go free from that kind of great misfortune caused by you? You'd better go back ( to where you came from)"

At this point, we can seed that SanZang was not able to appreciate Monkey's ability in handling the adversities on the road initially, and he worries only about himself and his mission. As SanZang being captured by another monster after the Monkey left, he starts recognizing Monkey's devotion and begins to trust him.

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Journey to the West - 1982 TV Series

Journey to the West has been adapted many times in modern film, television, stage and other media. My favorite one, the version that I have been watching since kindergarten, is the two-season television series produced by CCTV, a 25-episode tv drama produced from 1982-1988 in China, directed by Yang Jie and starring Liu Xiao Ling Tong as the Monkey King Sun Wukong.

As the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, the very first episode of the TV series “Removing demons from Wuji Country” was designed to test the audience’s reactions in 1982. The feedback was mixed; therefore it was re-shot in 1986 and included as episode 13. The process of producing the episodes was not smooth. After the first nine episodes, the team ran out of money and CCTV refused to fund the rest of the episodes. The filming team eventually managed to secure a loan with the China Railway 11th Bureau Group for 3 millions yuan, which enabled them to complete five more episodes. Director was forced to scrap 5 episodes from the original 30-episode script, to the current 25 episodes. The scrapped stories were later featured in the sequel released in 2000.

Personally, I particularly enjoyed the witty and concise dialogues of this version. The soundtrack, 女儿情, has been very popular recently. The lyrics, as well as the traditional Chinese musical instruments, including pipa, zithers, chimes made the music particularly suitable for the scenes.

Another highlight is the actor Liu Xiao Ling Tong, who is the monkey in the TV series. His “fiery golden eyes” (火眼金睛) is so lively, and totally deserved the title of “Beautiful Monkey King” (美猴王). The flight scenes of the monkey was also impressive — the jumping skills, precision and monkey flexibility.

The filming team traveled 19 provinces all over China and then Thailand to film the perfect scenery. Throughout the series, they only used one camera. Although some endings of the episodes can be abrupt due to a lack of time, and the graphics are not as advanced, the 1982 version is still my all time favorite adaption. The director, Yang Jie, is someone I really admire, who insisted in her way of filming, and was involved all aspects of the filming including budgeting, finances, scouting, scripts, editing, casting, etc.

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Buddhism in the Journey to the west

Journey to the West is a novel that incorporates the three major philosophies in China, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.  One of the first chapters that illustrates Buddhism is The Six Bandits. After Xuanzang frees the Monkey under the five elements mountain, six bandits, Eye-seeing Happiness, Ear-hearing Anger, Nose-smelling Love, Tongue-tasting Thought, Mind-born Desire, and Body-based Sorrow (“眼看喜、耳听怒、鼻嗅爱、舌尝思、意见欲和身本忧”) attacked them. These six bandits represents the six senses of the body, which impede enlightenment in buddhism. Monkey kills them all, much to Xuanzang’s dismay; Monkey’s execution of them illustrates his detachment from the human senses while Xuanzang’s compassion gets in the way of his perceptions, although people who supports Xuanzang would argue that “a Buddhist should not kill”.  I believe this episode’s bandits, however, are more about symbolizing obstacles to reach the state of self-awareness, of not in a state of fascination and attention attached to what we see, hear, desire, think, and feel, rather than representing the human bandits, which is in an episode in Chapter 57.

As the team progress on the journey, they are often beset by demons that attack the senses, and Xuanzang’s compassion frequently prevents him from perceiving evil. But at the end of the journey, he would transform into the mindset of the opening poem of the Six Bandits describes:

“Buddha is the mind, the mind is Buddha,

Mind and Buddha have always needed things.

When you know that there are no things and no mind

Then you are a Buddha with a true mind and a Dharma body.”

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Journey to the west - Sandy

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the characters in the Journey to the west carry deep philosophical thoughts on the life of human beings and their existence. I used to read the novel as pure entertainment, but as I grow up, I started to see the deeper meanings inside the stories. I would like to focus on the character of Sandy in this post, although many would think he is a colorless and pale character. 

Sandy represents the sober side of human nature; one of the most important roles Sandy plays in the novel is how he balances the negative emotion on the rest of the group -- when Sanzang is anxious, Pigsy is impatient, or Monkey is frustrated. The below post is a joke made on what Sandy says most during the journey. 

However, Sandy's character is, as Arthur Waley, who translated the book Journey to the west says, the embodiment of sincerity and discretion. Unlike Sanzang, Pigsy and Monkey who have some transitions in the course of the journey, Sandy is the same from start to finish. 

What made his character less entertaining is his qualities that keep extreme behaviors in check. This quality is so important to the group, as the group needs calm and balance. In an often exaggerated story world, good behaviors are sometimes mistaken for a sign of weakness of character. Sandy showed that he is an intelligent and heroic character in several episodes such as the Yellow Robe monster. Unfortunately, whether it is in the story world, solid but quiet individuals are often overlooked. 

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Character: The Monkey King

The first seven chapters of the Journey to the West tells the story of the Monkey King, which is my favorite character of the entire novel. The monkey is born on the Flower Fruit Mountain from a stone, and learns Taoist way from Patriarch Bodhi in the Three Stars and Slanting Moon Cave (“斜月三星” 洞). In Chinese, the character “heart” (“心”) could be seen as a combination of three stars and a slanting moon (斜月:一勾;三星:三点). The Surangama Sutra also believes that human’s heart has 72 phases while Sun Wukong knows 72 transformations; the character of Sun can therefore be viewed as a representation of the human heart, which can be unruly sometimes. At the beginning of the novel, Sun is a fighter who could be vicious and ill-tempered; he creates chaos with his restless irreverence and irrepressible curiosity. The first part of the novel ends with Buddha changed his five fingers into the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth), symbolizing the “greed, jealousy, ignorance, slowness, and doubt” in Buddhism, to trap the Monkey King.

Accompanying Xuanzang on a journey to the West truly redeems the Monkey King. Together with Pigsy and Sandy, the group encounter all manner of danger, including monsters, evil magicians, mountains of fire, and evil spirits. Sun’s wit helps Xuanzang escape many perilous situation. At the end of the journey, all of the travelers are spiritually rewarded; Sun achieves the status of “Buddha Victorious in Strife.”, the highest state of enlightenment in Buddhism. Even today, so many songs and movies come out every year with the Monkey King as a theme; I believe that’s because we can all find a version of ourselves in this character, as he is the representation of the human hearts --- brave but need the spiritual journey to be completed.

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An introduction: Journey to the West

Just like almost everyone with a Chinese background, I have grown up learning the folktale Journey to the West. The novel is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. I started watching its TV episodes when I was in kindergarten, which introduced me to a mysterious and foreign world; it has a blend of fantastic landscape and circumstances, but at the same time has the realistic elements that allowed me to imagine myself in the circumstances the characters face on their adventure.

The original novel is generally attributed to Wu Chengen and is derived from the adventures of Xuanzang, a monk who lived in the seventh century. The novel is an extended account of Xuanzang’s traveling to the "Western Regions", that is, Central Asia and India, to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering with Sun Wukong (Monkey), Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), and Sha Wujing (Sandy). Chosen for their excellent abilities, the four men begin their long journey during which they encounter a number of monsters – 81 unique obstacles and situations in all.

Like all of the classical Chinese novels, Journey to the West is long and complex. It comprised of 100 chapters and features a complicated web of stories. In my following posts, I would like to explore more about the characters, especially Sun Wukong and Tang Xuanzang, several plots that I found fascinating, the rich symbolism in the text (as the tribulations the four face are metaphors for the trials they must pass on a spiritual journey), the expansion of this storyworld, specifically some of the recent movies based on the Journey to the West.