Journey to the West Timeline!
I mostly assembled this monster for my own reference when writing fics (so fun to find out you got the dates wrong throughout your entire series), but I thought you guys might find it helpful! This works as both a timeline and summary of the Journey, and as a useful reference for anyone who, like me, regularly goes: wait, what chapter did That Thing happen in, again?
The author is very loose with the timeline for the first couple years, but is VERY specific toward the end, and also likes to tell us what season it is when an adventure goes down, so I was able to work backwards for a lot of it.
Year One:
Ch 13 - Tripitaka sets out from the Great Tang in late autumn. Within the first few weeks, his attendants are killed. He meets Boqin and takes Monkey on as a disciple. A few weeks later, in early winter, Monkey kills the six bandits and is given the fillet.
Ch 15 - in midwinter, they meet the dragon-horse
Ch 16 - in early spring they come to Guanyin Chan Hall and the cassock is stolen by the Black Wind Monster
Ch 18 - when “spring’s half gone” they reach Gao Village and meet Zhu Wuneng
Ch 19 - They travel for a month before meeting the Crow’s Nest Chan Master and receiving the Heart Sutra
Ch 20 - It is summer when they encounter the Yellow Wind Demon
Ch 22 - Summer yielded to the arrival of autumn when they reach the Flowing-Sand River and meet Sha Wujing!
Year Three-ish
Ch 23 - It’s autumn again! (The “again” muddles things; this might be immediately after acquiring Wujing, or a full year later.) The four Bodhisattvas test the pilgrims, and Bajie fails spectacularly.
Ch 24 - After journeying for a long time (possibly putting them in Year Four?) Monkey informs the others that it is one hundred and eight thousand miles to the Thunderclap Monastery, “and we have not even covered one-tenth of the distance.” He says Bajie & Wujing could fly there in ten days, while he himself could make fifty round trips in a day with time to spare. “But if we are talking about Master, then don’t even think about it!” Thank you, Monkey.
They arrive at Five Villages Daoist Abbey, and Wukong steals Master Zhenyuan’s ginseng fruits. Herbs, fruit, & flowers from all four seasons are present at once in his garden. Presumably the pilgrims would comment if they’d gone from winter to a lush garden, so it must be at least spring by now?
Ch 27 - Lady Bone Demon appears! Nothing is stated about what time of year it is, but there are ripe peaches available, so I’m assuming late summer.
Ch 28 - the Yellow Robe Demon captures Tripitaka
Ch 31 - Monkey rejoins the Pilgrimage
Year Four or Five
Ch 32 - it’s triple spring now! (I have no idea what that means; if anyone does know please comment.) Gold & Silver Horn Brothers arc!
Year Six
Ch 36 - “Since leaving the city Chang’an, spring has come and gone on this road several times, autumn has arrived to be followed by winter—at least four or five years must have gone by.”
They reach Precious Grove Monastery, and Tripitaka is visited by the ghost of the king of Black Rooster Kingdom. The pilgrims defeat Manjusri’s Green-Haired Lion, who had taken the king’s place.
Year Seven
Ch 40 - Red Boy arc! It was the season of late autumn and early winter, and they traveled two weeks out from Black Rooster Kingdom before reaching Red Boy’s mountain.
Ch 43 - one month later, they reach Black Water River and encounter the Alligator Dragon.
Ch 44 - in early spring, they arrive at Cart-Slow Kingdom and defeat the Three Daoist Immortals in a series of contests
Year Eight
Ch 47 - that autumn, Bajie & Monkey defeat the Great King of Numinous Power (Guanyin’s pet goldfish) by pretending to be child sacrifices. They cross the Heaven Reaching River on the back of a turtle.
Ch 50 - it’s now midwinter. Monkey must rescue his companions from the Single-Horn Bovine Monster, who possesses Laozi’s magical diamond snare.
Ch 53 - they come to Women Kingdom in early spring.
Ch 56 - in the fifth lunar month (between late May & late June) we get the second banishment and the appearance of the Six-Eared Macaque
Year Nine
Ch 59 - late autumn but it’s super hot because they’re at the Huoyan Shan!
Ch 62 - late autumn & early winter: Solving the mystery of the treasure stolen from the Kingdom of Sacrifice’s royal pagoda. The culprit? The Nine-Headed Beast!
Ch 64 - end of winter & beginning of spring: Bramble Ridge. Hey-ho, Trip gets kidnapped & seduced again. His most pleasant kidnapping yet: they just wanna talk poetry!
Year Ten
Ch 65 - once again the end of winter & beginning of spring: At the Small Thunderclap Monastery, Yellow Brow imprisons Monkey in a pair of golden cymbals!
Ch 67 - one month later, in late spring: Persimmon Alley
Ch 68 - torrid summer: Scarlet-Purple Kingdom and the Incipient Medical Malpractice Suit. Also the whole thing with Jupiter’s Rival and his performance anxiety.
Year 11
Ch 72 - Soon, autumn departed and even winter faded, and it was once again the bright, attractive season of spring: The Spider Sisters and the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord!
Ch 74 - the end of summer and the beginning of autumn: Lion Camel Ridge! Yellow-Tusk, Azure Lion, and the Great Peng massacre tens of thousands and seriously inconvenience the pilgrims.
Year 12
Ch 78 - after several months, it was again the time of winter: Kingdom of Bhiksu, where the king somehow thinks it’s okay to eat the hearts of 1,111 boys. OR just Tripitaka’s heart, that’ll work.
Ch 80 - The four pilgrims traveled for some time until both winter and spring faded: spooky pine forest, ruined monastery, and Lady Earth Flow. The law suit against Li Jing, in all its goofy glory.
Ch 84 - summer! Dharma-Destroying Kingdom and the haircuts from hell.
Ch 85 - right after: The Great King of South Mountain fools the pilgrims into thinking their Master is dead.
Ch 87 - After traveling for several days: the drought in Phoenix-Immortal Prefecture.
Year 13
Ch 88 - late autumn: teaching the three princes of Jade-Flower Province (they’re finally in India!)
Ch 91 - after five or six days: Gold Level Prefecture. Three fake Buddhas (rhino demons) kidnap Tripitaka. The pilgrims are fêted for over a month before sneaking out.
Ch 93 - they journeyed peacefully for half a month: the Princess of India has been replaced! The false princess (the Jade Rabbit) attempts to marry Tripitaka.
Ch 96 - late spring and early summer: Squire Kou’s home in the Bronze Estrade Prefecture. The pilgrims are framed for his murder, and spend some long-overdue time in jail.
Ch 98 - six or seven days later: Spirit Mountain and Thunderclap Monastery!! The Journey has taken fourteen years, or five thousand and forty days. (13 years + 9.5 months)
Ch 99 - the Final Tribulation—dunking in a river thanks to an angry turtle. Wow.
They are returned to Thunderclap within eight days so as to fulfill the perfect canonical number of 5,048 days.
Ch 100 - epilogue
According to @britt-kageryuu's calculations, this means the pilgrims traveled an average of 21.4 miles per day, although this does not factor in all their multi-day stops!
