I am kinda curious and not sure if people have asked you this before, of all the media you have found for jttw so far.. What is your favorite one? If you don't have a favorite one.. Name your top 5 favorite medias.
Thanks in advance for answering.
Thank you!
And AH! MY FAVORITE JTTW MEDIA that is SO HARD since there is just so much and a lot that I really really love. I think I'll say my top 5 even if I know what is my fav!
I could be called basic for this but I can't deny that I am being biased with my first JTTW media which is Journey to the West 1999
I haven't seen a Retelling that has as much love and care in full 24-minute episodes that captures what there is to love about each character and each arc. There have been some great animated content with jttw but it's either modern takes or CGI or just something original, and that is fine, I love that! But I can't deny that I wish we could get another 2D retelling of the original story, no need for twists or turns, but something beautiful and heart-warming to show another new young audience.
And then my second favorite is another obvious one, but what can I say, if it ain't broke then don't fix it! Monkey King: Hero is Back!!
This one really kicked off the new wave of jttw media, I can tell you that and with good reason. A reluctant hero Sun Wukong, who has been humanized and weakened, but still sees those who need protection and rises to the challenge. He wasn't just some happy-go-lucky protagonist that was willing to help anyone, but someone who was beaten and bruised and only because he opened his heart reluctantly to new friends (and an adopted son) was he able to become the hero that he was seen as.
Needless to say any time Sun Wukong is a small child or a potogege that he needs to protect, I'm already on board.
And funny enough I think that my third favorite is actually Immortal Demon Slayer.
This one was GREATLY inspired by also favs Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013) and Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017), but while I do love those movies, I can't help but always come back to this movie's Wukong in particular. This one was highly inspired by the Novel by the same name (Bio of Wukong), and while I am not a huge fan of the novel, the movie really makes me fall in love with Wukong, seeing him as someone trying to forge his own spot in the world despite everything and everyone telling him he doesn't belong. Maybe it's the actor, or maybe it's the setting, but this movie's Wukong is one of my favorites.
And then there is a surprise, but personally, I really love this CGI movie called Monkey Magic made in 2018
This one is kinda crazy in that it's about a toy Wukong that is called Wuyuan (his name is literally 5 yuan = 5 dollars) and he wants to be a real Wukong, so he goes into a storybook to find Sun Wukong and be taught by him.
Now I will say I am not a fan of fat jokes but honestly, there was only like 2 fat jokes in the whole movie and they never make Wukong incompetent or like he doesn't know what he is doing. He does agree to teach Wuyuan and slowly starts to care for his pupil in that kind of "Wukong becomes a Dad" storyline that I eat up every single time. The plot isn't strong but OOOOMG I love this Wukong and even in his design, he looks so soft and he is such a funny, clever, and cheeky character I wish that more people could give this a watch just for the Wukong alone.
Luckily, there might be a new movie in the works for this Wukong~
But what can I say, I really love any piece of media where they give Wukong a child/protege, and I'm like butter on bread I melt for that.
Which is why close fifth places are Monkey King Reborn, Nezha: New Gods, and Lego Monkie Kid. Each one has beautiful animation and great Wukongs that I really LOVE. The stories are interesting and strong, and I hope that these companies continue to pump out great media like this.
But I have to say that my fifth favorite spot would be.... Mei hou wang 2009
Like this one had to be obvious, I HAVE to love it that much to add subtitles! I don't think that story/plot-wise is as clever and tight as like some of the other movies/shows I have mentioned, sadly, but there is just something about the concept of a whole show focused on wukong on his island and making friends that just a huge comfort to me. I LOVE any and all media that goes into Wukong's previous sworn brothers, something that is VERY lacking in jttw media. And we only get like two of those brothers in this version.
But we get to see how Wukong goes from being rejected from his monkey troop to being accepted, to going to Putis and even meeting Xiao Bailong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and GOLDEN CICADA all before they start their journey, something that I think was SO COOL concept-wise. I think that this kinda more highlight what jttw could do MORE, showing off minor characters when they were before the story and have more prequel movies that show characters off more that aren't just Wukong. While I do think that this version is more aimed towards kids, I can only hope we get more movies that are willing to explore other minor characters in JTTW like this one!
Hello Silver, thank you for answering my previous questions. Is it just me, or does recent animated JTTW media have at least 1 OC for the usual JTTW cast to interact with? Would you say a particular animated adaptation of Lotus Lantern or MK:HiB kicked off the (small?) trend of giving SWK a child figure or protégé to interact with?
I mean that isn't anything really new that there is a new character added to the mix. I think that if a media isn't like a one-to-one retelling then there is high chances there is going to be a new character. Best and one of the earliest examples I can think of is Rinrin from all the way back from the 1960s.
I would actaully say the MOST popular additional character actually was long before Lotus Lantern or Hero is back, which is Zixia from A Chinese Odyssey by Jeff Lau
Out of all the characters that were made for a 2 part movie, i think she has been the most reused character ,considering her page on the movie filmography. She even got her OWN MOVIE in Taste of Love.
⓿⓿ Zixia Fairy (Character) Movies - Chinese Movies
I have spoken about how the Chinese Odyssey started the wave of JTTW romance movies, and with that a wave of many, many, many Significant Others and thus a lot of one-shot characters for these movies/shows.
I will say that while some romance movies can be done well I think the audiences have moved on from having the 'new character' made for the movies, started to pivot from romantic interest to child sidekick because of Hero is Back (2015).
Lotus Lantern 1999 set the idea, but we don't really get Sun Wukong and Liu Chenxiang interacting a lot, as that is more of a Liu Chenxiang veruse Erlang Shen story. Rather, I think that Hero is Back being such a huge financial success led to other movies giving Wukong more of that "tired dad/brother trying his best" energy. Which honestly, I think is the best thing that could have happened to him!
GIVE HIM MORE SIDEKICKS! A MILLION MORE! A MILLION GRANDKIDS! I WANT THIS MAN TO BE THE MOST GRANDPA/DAD/BIG BRO HE COULD POSSIBLY BE!
Which translation/adaptation of JTTW is best for beginners? Besides maybe Dragon Ball (doubt it counts)
Heh yeah I mean it’s a great anime but I don’t think you would have a good Xiyouji experience per se. Usually, I see Dragon Ball used as a gateway for people to THEN read/watch Xiyouji content but like it doesn’t really have much Xiyouji plot wise even if the characters are homages.
I would say that if you want an ACCURATE Xiyouji experience then you can choose between three shows. That being the classic 1986 which is many people's first Xiyouji experience as the cast is so iconic you see these designs in dozens of movies and their influence in future performances. The second is more family-friendly but still one of the most charming and fairly accurate portrayals is the 1999 Xiyouji animation, I would say far more younger people's first piece of media and without a doubt the best Xiyouji animation series thus far personally. That last I would suggest is 2011 Xiyouji series which is one of the more newer shows and I would say I would that if you want more modern effects and humor than this might be a preferance to the 1986 version. They both have their own charm but just depends on what you are looking for!
Now while these are the most accurate there are some Xiyouji media I would still recommend even if they take far more liberties.
This without a doubt being the 1996 tv series. This is portrayed as more of a drama but between the characters and the pure HEART AND LOVE that is in this show that you will be falling in love with the characters. It vaguely follows the Xiyouji monster of the weak formula but taking far more time to humanize each enemy and having our main cast overcome not only physical obstacles but also their own emotional obstacles as well. Fantastic show. Another is Chinese Odessey (please note this is a two part movie)! This does NOT follow the journey at all instead more of an introspective of the character Wukong. This is more of comedy but this is a cult classic as one of the first romance films with Wukong to show him as more of a complex hero which was a deviation from how he was portrayed in media for years as this point. This movie is silly but it is actually very heartfelt and makes you feel for these characters's plights. If you don't know Xiyouji I would say you will be confused, but you can fall in love with these characters anyway! Whil I can't suggest Dragon Ball I can suggest another Son Goku from My Son Goku! This is a Japanese production but the animation is so fluid and the characters are not only charming but there are some heart reaching scenes in this very cute art style! I would say give this a watch if you enjoy anime but also can appreciate angst even in a cute style.
If you are looking for more just great Xiyouji movies that you can pop in and a fantastic one is the 2015 Hero is Back! This was the Wukong come back animation-wise since 1999 and a lot of people first Wukong in the big screens! Does take liberties story wise as we don't see Sha Wujing or any of the journey really, but the HEART and soul of Sun Wukong is there. Another great one is just watching the first and classic 1961 Havoc in Heaven! This was the staple of Wukong iconics for decades and even now you see this Wukong in commercials! This is just a beautiful art style and without a doubt charming and feel good vibes. This one is surprising but actually Nezha Reborn where Sun Wukong actually makes a cameo appearance, but I hear so many people got into Xiyouji just cause how much they love him. So while it's not Xiyouji I would say give it a watch if you are a die hard Sun Wukong fan.
There is also Monkey King Reborn which while less known I still think is wonderfully popular and shows both great animation and also how all three characters of Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing interact in a movie. There is also Monkey King 2 which I know that usually I would say which the first movie but honestly the second movie is my personal fav. You don't miss much without watching the first as the second starts right at the begging of the journey and we are introduced to some of the best designs for these characters in my opinion. This last one is kinda of a hit-or-miss but Conquering the Demon! This one follows Sanzang as a demon hunter in a loosely based story of him finding his disciples, each more monstrous than the last in a dark-comedy! If you enjoy Stephen Chow films then you know what kind of humor you are going to get but it is new take on Xiyouji films in a unique but still entertaining manner! They really make you feel for Sanzang as a character and one of the best humanizations of him really as a man still learning about the world himself.
There some other that are great but I would suggest more on a second watch or if you know the story more! Saiyuki / The Great Alakazam was the first eng dub saiyuki piece of media that came to the USA and still had a lasting influence with the beloved character Rinrin! There is also Monkey King 2009 that only looks at the story BEFORE the journey, adding so many elements to Wukong's childhood and his relationship with the Six Eared Macaque. I would also suggest the Monkey King Netflix Movie as while it is fast-paced it really makes you understand how dangerous but also how complex Sun Wukong is. I think it was a charming movie so give it a watch!. Last is Immortal Demon Slayer! This movie was based on a web novel that was extremely popular in the early 2000s which was based off Chinese Odessey funny enough! This is a movie I would suggest if you know Xiyouji already but it such a tragedy I have to share if you love angst.
If anyone wants to share their what was their first Xiyouji or their favorite Xioyuji please let me know!
Could we have an analysis of A Chinese Odyssey part one and two? Although I feel that the third part breaks the message of the first two a little? but I don't know, I'm very ignorant about the matter, so I'll apologize if it's more complicated.
Lucky for us there is someone who has done an Analysis of a Chinese Odyssey from the perspective of its cultural impact on other media in Transforming Monkey Adaptation and Representation of a Chinese Epic By Hongmei Sun. If anyone has the time I would highly recommend reading her book or just skipping to the chapters she talked about it in Chapter 4 From Fighter to Lover The Postsocialist Hero in the PRC and Hong Kong.
I shall try to SUMMERIZE a whole chapter below that I think really helps frame how the Chinese Odessery was interpreted though so open at your own cost. Please note this is me just REPEATING what the article says if you really don't want to read the book (BUT YOU SHOULD).
And yes you are right Anon MANY people did not enjoy the third movie as it went against everything the first two movies were about with lost love, rather feeling more like a cash grab made to milk people's nostalgia and adoration of the films. Some people might like it but PLEASE know that it was never intended for the first two films and often feels way too disconnected.
The Postsocialist Hero in the PRC and Hong Kong
Sun Wukong up to this point (the 1990s) has been framed in media as a revolutionary hero (best-known example in the Havoc of Heaven 19060s movie). Chinese Odyssey 1995 coproduced by Hong Kong and mainland China, starring Stephen Chow as the Sun Wukong was one of the first movies that challenged this image of him and redefined the character at the turn of the century. The film subverted the heroic image of Sun Wukong and replaced it with a comedic character who is also a romantic interest. This was his transformation from a "fighter" to a "lover" and while it didn't do well in Hong Kong, it was horribly popular in Mainland China due to the messaging of the movie changing dramatically. The creative "misreading" of the original film has led to its success due to the audience connection during a time of social transformation and widespread anxiety about changing sexual mores. This led to a postsocialist hero for the large population of young people who became its fans.
THE DAHUA PHENOMENON
When first released in Hong Kong and mainland China in 1995, A Chinese Odyssey was a box-office failure. The film’s slapstick humor was initially unappreciated and it was highly criticized for straying too far from the original source material. But two years later, when the film was shown on TV film channels, it caught the attention of college students and grew a large fan base on college campuses in the mainland. For a while, A Chinese Odyssey was vigorously traded in the bootleg disc market. Fans of A Chinese Odyssey, known as Dahua fans, instead of criticizing the movie for deviating from the original, or changing and subverting the images of the characters, Dahua fans found a new aspect of Sun Wukong's story that spoke to them. Audiences saw themselves represented in this Sun Wukong themselves and the story as reflecting the problems they faced in their lives. Even Academics paid attention to the popularity of the film itself but also to the special phenomenon created by its influence over popular culture, which is called “Dahua Culture.” These articles focus on a wide range of aspects, including postmodern culture, adaptation, intertextuality, cultural studies, Internet culture, performance, language, time and space, and also include creative writing, leading to A Chinese Odyssey’s appeal to both fans and academics is steady.
Many fans of the movie express the “postmodern” factors in Stephen Chow’s “nonsensical” style, and the subversive pleasure that audiences derive from the film’s excessive play with the grotesque and the violation of social norms. Stephen Chow transformed the story of pilgrimage into a slapstick comedy where gods, pilgrims, and demons were usually treated with awe and were now a humorous outlet in a political environment where authorities are supposed to always be respected.
The following example demonstrates the kind of analysis that circulates among fans:
If you double over with laughter when watching this movie, it means you have a sense of humor. But if you’re still laughing when the movie is over, you actually understand nothing of the film. When the film is over, if you find your face is covered with tears, you have come to understand the first layer of its meaning. If after all your laughter and tears you are stunned, not knowing whether to cry or to laugh, you understand the second layer of its meaning. If you sit there speechless, dejected and despondent, not knowing where you should go, you understand the third layer of its meaning. A Chinese Odyssey is an allegory. Hidden within the shell of an ancient myth, it appears to be a very funny and sad, bawdy but pure love story, but actually it is about the problems caused by the uncertainty of time and the hesitation of the individual.
Joker’s transformation into Sun Wukong represents the spiritual journey that a man experiences growing up, and Tripitaka and the Bull Demon King each represent different social powers around him. Many fans speak about their experience watching the film repeatedly, and how their understanding deepens after each viewing. Another fan writes about her understanding of love, which changes through the years in which she watched the film repeatedly:
From the 1990s, when she was in elementary school, until when she graduated from college, the film in her eyes has evolved from a horror film to a love story, from an avant-garde film to a love story that is all based on a lie.
A review about the author’s deepened understanding of the film after college:
I suddenly understood the beginning of the movie: A young guy who is talented but does not respect rules (Sun Wukong) loathes the big and important cause that he is assigned (the pilgrimage to India). He especially cannot bear the nagging preaching of his teacher (Tripitaka), but the rules and regulations in the world (Guanyin) won’t let him go. In order to transform him into a devoted pilgrim, Tripitaka - and Guanyin have reached an agreement: let him get reborn and start anew five hundred years later. Such a foreordained beginning.
The review goes on to state that Sun Wukong’s “Havoc in Heaven” takes place during the golden era of four years in college. After he leaves the campus and finds a job he realizes that all his talents and personality do not matter underneath the mountain of Buddha’s palm. In short, while A Chinese Odyssey subverted Journey to the West’s status as a revered classic, it managed to establish itself as a classic. The parody did not just ridicule the gods and teachers in the original story, but it also drew new images for the main characters, establishing new meanings related to the audience. It influenced later adaptations of Journey to the West and deeply changed the normal depiction of characters such as Sun Wukong and Tripitaka.
ABSTINENCE FROM SEXUALITY IN JOURNEY TO THE WEST
In the novel Journey to the West, themes of the body and sexuality are sublimated due to the nature of the story as a religious allegory. Sex is a formidable sin from which all of the pilgrims must abstain and Bajie is the only one who shows weakness toward the temptation of sex. For that, he is repeatedly tested, warned, and punished. In contrast, Tripitaka has sustained his virgin body for ten reincarnations, and it is believed that eating one piece of it is sufficient to grant the consumer longevity. Many demons want to eat him, and sometimes female demons want to have sex with him. If Tripitaka has to constantly work against the idea of sexuality and make an effort to abstain from it, for Wukong sex has never been an issue.
In his own words, he was born without xing. When Patriarch Puti asked him about his xing (surname), he took it as a question about his xing (temperament/nature) and responded that he did not have any temper (xing), and had never lost his temper (yisheng wu xing). This statement also holds true if we take the liberty of relating the pun of xing to sexuality. When it was clarified that the question was about the surname that he would have received from his parents, Wukong responded that he did not have any parents, since he was born from a piece of stone. Puti was delighted upon hearing this, saying that the monkey was born of heaven and earth. Although the narrative of Journey to the West never explains the ways in which Wukong’s birth from stone functions as an asset, it is clear that his parentless birth (a birth that is not as a result of sexual activity) distinguishes him as a model for religious practice. Quite relatively, throughout the journey, sex simply never constitutes a temptation for him, as if his mind cannot fathom the idea of sexuality.
The correspondence of the five members of the pilgrimage group with the Five Phases of Chinese philosophy with Wukong related to Metal (Jin) and Heart/Mind (Xin). Metaphorically Wukong functions as the mind/heart of the group, which is focused on defeating demons and directing the group toward the religious holy land. This is perhaps why the narrative of Journey to the West consistently refers to Sun Wukong as the “heart/mind monkey” (xinyuan). If the heart/mind of the pilgrims should be directed toward attaining Buddhist sutras for the world or attaining Buddhahood for themselves, the body that is attached to worldly pleasures constitutes obstacles for the heart. For Zhu Bajie, the obstacle of the body is significantly greater than it is for Tripitaka. But for Sun Wukong, his body does not stand in the way— born from stone and smelt in Laozi’s elixir furnace, his body is built for battles and transformational magic, not for the sin of desire.
Sun Wukong’s body actually contains many details —from his birth from the stone to his transformation training, to the numerous bodily tricks he plays when encountering demons during the journey— but the writing about the body is paradoxically for the purpose of eventually transcending it, and his physical capacity greatly facilitates that process. The 1960s adaptation emphasized the heroic aspects of Sun Wukong and reconstructed him as a brave warrior who fights against the oppression of the feudalist heaven controlled by the Jade Emperor, and a true pilgrim who can see through the disguises of forms and catch the White Bone Demon despite her transformations. What is unchanged from the religious “heart monkey” to the communist revolutionary monkey is the agreement in his “heart” and his body, originating from his miraculous birth and well suited to the purposes of pilgrimage and revolutionary cause alike.
BODY VERSUS HEART: HUMANIZATION OF THE MONKEY KING
In contrast, in A Chinese Odyssey, the Sun Wukong’s story becomes one of the body working against the heart. With the entire story focusing on Joker’s romantic adventures, love and sexuality become central themes of the film, and the meaning of “heart” in “ heart monkey” changes to refer to love. A Chinese Odyssey gives Wukong (reborn as Joker) a mortal human body, and Joker’s adventure involves various sorts of mistreatment of this body and a focal point of the camera. Joker appears near the beginning suffering from a severe injury where even his his legs soon give out, and he can only walk upside down with his arms. His body continues to be treated cruelly as he is seen falling into a pit of feces; trapped by a spider net; breaking his own teeth; being beaten, burnt, and repeatedly trampled on by his gang members. His private parts particularly become the target of trampling quite a few times.
When Joker and Jingjing fall in love, in the short moment when they were together, sex was never consummated. Paradoxically, the narrative of this film about love seems to focus unmistakably on castration. Whereas part 1, Pandora’s Box, tells the adventures of Joker’s body, part 2, Cinderella, becomes the story of his heart. But just like the mistreatment of the body in the earlier part, something always goes wrong with his heart in part 2. Joker spends this part of the journey in denial: of both his love for Zixia and his identity as the Monkey King. It is only by means of the literal separation of his heart from his body that he is eventually able to find and recognize his heart—he is killed by Ma’am Thirty, who cuts open his chest and takes his heart out, so he sees it with his “eyes of the heart/soul” (xinyan). At this moment, after his heart leaves his body, he becomes the Monkey King, who has to put the golden ring on his head to control his worldly desire.
Later, when the new Sun Wukong is faced with a hard choice between saving his true love Zixia and saving his master Tripitaka, the golden fillet tightens to make sure he makes the right choice. With its depictions of the body and the search for love, A Chinese Odyssey seemingly delivers a message that is diametrically opposed to that of Journey to the West until the ending, when it hits on a conclusion that is much in agreement with Journey to the West: abstaining from worldly pleasure. The last scene of the movie sees the group of pilgrims set off once again on their journey to the West, when they come across a couple, the exact replica of Joker and Zixia, repeating the scene that Joker once experienced when he refused to kiss “Zixia” and profess his love for her. Possessing the body of the replica Joker, Sun Wukong embraces “Zixia,” gives her the requested kiss, and tells her that he will never leave her. Having done this, Sun Wukong leaves the body of “Joker” and sets off on his journey, leaving the embracing couple behind. Although this ending provides Sun Wukong the chance to make up for his regret by means of the body of the substitute, it also concludes the separation of the body and the heart, permanently.
By the same token, although the film is replete with sexually charged language and images, sex is never directly represented. Sexual expectations are subverted and rebuffed. The story of the conflicting body and heart of Joker ends with a symbolical self-castrating action, when we see Sun Wukong eating a banana, on two occasions near the end of the movie, with peels dangling at his mouth and the banana bitten off. These scenes, echoing the trampling scene described earlier, epitomize the conflicting relationship between body and heart. Although they no doubt create a humorous effect, part of the “nonsensical” style for which Stephen Chow is known, the Monkey King image created by such effect forms a stark contrast to that of the successful and capable fighter in earlier adaptations.
Now that he knows love, his body is working against his heart. Thus, the new Sun Wukong must bear the vexing challenges of life, just like a normal human being. It is this contradiction between body and heart that has become the source of inspiration for many Dabua fans who see the story as reflecting their own: the dreams of the young heart and its obstructions in reality.
BETWEEN DEMON AND DEITY
Sun Wukong has lost the godly control and coordination of body and heart that he enjoyed in Journey to the West. But the film still resists a simple dichotomy between deity and demon as blurring the line between the demon and the god is a major endeavor of the narrative. Not only does the film question the categorical nature of the Monkey King, but it also ridicules the differentiation between deity and demon. Wukong is reincarnated as Joker as a punishment for his demonic behavior, but he repeatedly refuses opportunities to be transformed back into the deity Monkey King. When he realizes that he has finally become the Monkey King reincarnate, seeing the image of a monkey in the “Mirror of Demon Revelation,” he immediately throws the mirror to the ground, tramples on the mirror (and his predestined identity), and runs away. Thus the final transformation into Sun Wukong at the end concludes the human Joker’s resistance with his eventual submission to his predestination (or the pressure of the social environment, in one Dahua fan’s interpretation).
The question of “deity or demon?” as a major theme is represented by what Zixia asks Joker when she first meets him:
“Deity? Demon? Thanks.”
Indicating her immediate need to categorize Joker as a deity or a demon, the question reflects her interest in detecting disguises. In her short earlier encounter with Erlang Shen and the Four Heavenly Kings, the gods transformed into humans to deceive her. Gods such as Erlang Shen and his team are represented as quite ungodly, their conversations indicating that they all have ordinary humanlike faults and concerns. Demons identified by the mirror turn out to be as lovable as their human disguises: Jingjing is devoted to love, and Ma’am Thirty sacrifices herself to save her partner and baby. The triangle formed between Joker, Jingjing, and Zixia involves a human, a deity, and a demon, and the fact that they fall into different categories never constitutes a problem for them as the narrative presents the human side of all beings, including their frustrations, their desires, their dreams, and their fears.
The line between deity and demon is also blurred in Journey to the West itself. In the sixteenth-century text, Sun Wukong himself goes through the identity transformation from a demon (a king of monkeys who occupy a mountain and claim it as their territory without recognition from authorities), to a deity recognized by the Taoist authority (first as the imperial horse keeper, then as the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven), and finally a Buddhist pilgrim who eventually attains Buddhahood. This upward transformation from an outlaw to a recognized deity was deliberately overlooked by the socialist adaptations, which downplayed the importance of social recognition either from the Taoist or the Buddhist order but only emphasized the idea of rebel and the metaphor of the journey. Hence the Monkey King was simply represented as a heroic rebel of oppression or a devoted follower of the path for socialist construction. In contrast, Joker’s transformation in A Chinese Odyssey moves in the opposite direction from Sun Wukong in Journey to the West. Refusing to return to the monkey-deity identity, Joker prefers to remain as an outlaw.
In this film, for the first time, he is given the right to ask questions about who he is and what he is doing. His heroic halo taken away, the Monkey King once again becomes the down-to-earth nobody, a humanized antihero who speaks to the sympathetic audience.
REINCARNATION, REWRITING, AND THE STORY OF HONG KONG
The story of the Monkey King’s reincarnation can be read as one of rewriting. Guanyin and Jade Emperor were official rewriters of Sun Wukong’s story: they dislike the version in which Sun Wukong rebels against Guanyin, and give him another chance by reincarnating him as Joker. Joker, however, after being reminded of his identity in his previous life, which he has completely forgotten, chooses to run away: he does not want to become Sun Wukong, the protagonist of the “Journey to the West” story already written. Instead, he makes as many revisions as he can and tries to lead the story in a direction of his own choosing. From this point of view, the entire movie is about the tension and conflicts of the two rewriting plans operating in opposite directions. Although Joker battles to be the writer of his own life, in the end he has to give in to the dominance of Guanyin’s rewrite. Despite his resistance, in the end his memory and identity as the Monkey King is regained, or, more accurately, reconstructed. Joker’s own effort to rewrite his story can be seen from his repeated time travels.
When he finds out that the Moonlight Box can take people to other times, he tries to go back in time to change what happens to Jingjing and hence change his own love story. But his timetravel plan never works out and he travels back five hundred years by mistake and thus begins the unintended love story with Zixia. Joker’s plan eventually has to yield to divine intervention. Before his story reaches a happy ending, his life is taken by the spider demon, and his spirit faces Guanyin’s master plan: the Monkey King’s golden headband and golden rod are waiting for him. Although taking on the mantle of the Monkey King is presented as a matter of choice, there really is no alternative, and the film portrays this transformation as the saddest moment. Solemnly and ceremonially, Joker raises up and puts on the fillet, repeating the lines he once insincerely spoke to Zixia:
“Once there was a genuine love devoted to me, but I took it lightly. When I have lost it, I know it is too late to regret.”
It is as if he uses the last moment as Joker to redeem the lines that he performed badly before, but this time with complete sincerity. This sincerity in his last words about love proves the tragic nature of the unwilling transformation into Sun Wukong. Among all the Journey to the West adaptations, A Chinese Odyssey is probably the one that most emphasizes the tragedy of being the Monkey King.
The film’s demonstrated anxiety over transformation in general, and Joker’s frustrated effort to work against the divine plan in particular, builds a significant link to the story of Hong Kong. The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China in 1997 had been a great concern in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s. Whereas in mainland China the transfer was expected eagerly as Hong Kong’s “return,” in other parts of the world it is referred to as the “Handover.” Anxiety and doubt about the Handover are expressed directly or indirectly in popular culture. The reference to Hong Kong in the film A Chinese Odyssey is unnoticed when it travels north, despite its popularity and the abundance of discussion about the meaning of the story. The transformation of the “Journey to the West” narrative into a love story took Dabua fans by surprise and has been a major focus of their discussions.
Fans rather relate to the story to their own social reality and seem to have neglected the abundant references to the social transformations in Hong Kong either in the major theme or through specific scenes. For instance, the film has a scene of the entire group of pilgrims stranded in a town on an isolated piece of land that has been blown up by the Bull Demon King with his magic fan and is floating slowly toward the sun. Wukong tries to push the island back with his golden rod but his individual effort cannot overpower the gusts created by the magic fan. For a few seconds the film freeze-frames on a distant shot of the bloodred sun (communist China), occupying almost the entire screen, with the small island (Hong Kong) floating irreversibly toward it, and the single Monkey King trying desperately to stop its motion. The scene poses an urgent question to the audience: Will the pilgrims be able to escape?
The answer is yes, when the magic works: all pilgrims narrowly escape using the Moonlight Box, which transports them to a different time-space right before the island explodes. As comparatist Ackbar Abbas has noted about films from Hong Kong, “almost every film made since the mid-eighties, regardless of quality or seriousness of intention, seems constrained to make some mandatory reference to 1997.” Even though A Chinese Odyssey is a spoof of a mythical story, the reference is quite clear. Joker’s situation corresponds quite closely to the “floating” identity and the problematics of the “deja disparu,” as Abbas discusses; with the slipperiness and ambivalence of his true identity and the rapid changes of status, he is unable to see what is right in front of him, and when he does see it, it is “always already gone.” The desperate scene of the floating island moving toward the sun creates a pressing sense of crisis. Despite all of Sun Wukong’s effort, the city disappears after all, indicating a quite pessimistic view of the future of the “floating city.” The image of the “floating city” (fucheng) is used frequently in popular culture as a reference to Hong Kong.
CREATIVE MISREADING, POSTSOCIALIST HERO
Many Dahua fans are college students, the film resonates with those who struggle to find their own identities in an authoritative regime. Frequently discussed themes include impossible love, the struggle of the individual against society, and eventual submission to social pressure. The Joker with whom Dahua fans identify is the rebel who is doomed to fail but who nonetheless remains the rebel— that is, until he eventually has to give in to an indomitable external force. A common analogy discussed by fans is the comparison of Joker’s resubmission to authority once he dons the golden crown of the Monkey King to the increased censorship of the Internet after 1997.
The creative misreading of A Chinese Odyssey has created a new image of the Monkey King for the mainland with Joker establishing himself as a “postsocialist” hero. This new hero replaces the images of Sun Wukong as a “revolutionary” hero that were created and popularized in the 1960s in works such as Havoc in Heaven. The term “postsocialism” develops the idea of postsocialism in response to Deng Xiaoping’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” indicating that the Chinese socialism in practice is not exactly socialism (nor is it capitalism), scholars in Chinese studies adopt and adapt the concept for different purposes. The postsocialist nature of the image of Sun Wukong is evident from the relationship between the people and the system. If a socialist system means people have faith in the socialist discourse, it becomes postsocialist when this faith is lost, even though ideological control from the leadership is still strong and is currently getting stronger. There exists a discord and discrepancy between the expectations from above and grassroots-level practice.
Instead of the kind of collective identification with common ideals established in the socialist period, the postsocialist hero is interested in his individual agenda, which often includes focusing on his personal struggle to challenge the authorities that want to control him. A Chinese Odyssey indicates the postsocialist turn of Journey to the West: from here on, major adaptations of Journey to the West almost always present the Monkey King as a postsocialist hero (with one exception that will be discussed below).
A Chinese Odyssey makes Sun Wukong a rebel again: he had already experienced the five hundred years of imprisonment and become a pilgrim following Tripitaka, but now he no longer wants to follow the prescribed narrative. And not only is he no longer willing to obey the command from above, but he also loudly lets the world know of his intention. This Wukong expresses a challenge to the ideological authority of the contemporary regime. Even though in the end his resubmission is unavoidable, his ridicule and rejection of authority is already enough for the audience to consider him a hero. Soon after, the rise in A Chinese Odyssey’s popularity presents an opportunity to rewrite the story of Wukong as well as other main characters in Journey to the West.
The “post” of postsocialism is reflected in the spirit of rebellion, the lack of belief in authoritarian control, and the challenge to authority; on the other hand, the “socialist” ideology and the government that represents it still maintain a strong presence. In contrast to the socialist revolutionary Monkey King produced during the 1950s and 1960s, who celebrate his victory in the end, both of the postsocialist Monkeys are doomed to lose. Joker has to fight hard for his right to disagree, and eventually, he gives in. The audeince can relate the story of Wukong to the forms of compliance they have to endure in real life. The popularity of A Chinese Odyssey lies in the sympathy that the readers share with Wukong. They grieve over these sad stories just as they grieve over their own problems.
These adaptations are all engaged with the major contradiction of Journey to the West: why would Monkey, once a brilliant rebel, become a model Buddhist pilgrim? It is the ways in which the readers approach this contradiction that determines to a large extent their understanding of Journey to the West. One common theme shared by these three texts is the central issue of thus, looking for his identity is a major struggle for Wukong, and it is a lonely one. He is no longer presented as a member of the pilgrim team—only he himself can solve the problems he experiences, and only from within. Joker refuses to become the hero Sun Wukong, and in this action he remains the rebel. It is because of his own journey/pilgrimage that he is able to accomplish his recovery. Does the ending suggest that the time for Wukong to become a rebel and troublemaker has come again? New adaptations follow the same track in which variants of Wukong, though they may be presented with varying degrees of humor or seriousness, are always marked by a shared sense of loneliness. His struggle has turned inward: finding his identity and his inner strength.
Adaptation of Journey to the West continues, and those receiving public praise have a common theme: rethinking the transition of Sun Wukong from a rebel to a pilgrim, and depicting Sun Wukong rising up as a rebel again. Wukong’s failure and dejection at the beginning and his ultimate transformation into a rebellious hero earns the audience’s sympathy, and their identification with him ensures interest in the project of such revision.
Three other noteworthy examples of postsocialist-oriented adaptation are: The Monkey King (2014), Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015), and “ Wukong,” as sung by Dai Quan on Sing My Song (2.015).
The Monkey King (2014), was a box-office success but a critical failure. Expectations for the film were high, but the top reviews on this site point to a central issue: Monkey is not presented as a rebel but rather as a naive demon who is manipulated by Bull Demon King; he willingly admits his “mistake” and wants to help rebuild the palace for the Jade Emperor. One reviewer calls the writer of the story “a Wu Cheng’en who works for the Propaganda Department,” and The Monkey King is seen as an educational film promoting the mainstream theme of cooperating with deities.
Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015) was a success both at the box office and in critics’ reviews. The film focuses on the moment when Monkey has just been released from the mountain after five hundred years of imprisonment. A dejected Monkey who cannot find his power all through the film, he is irritated, instigated, and finally inspired by a little boy named Jiang Liu (Tripitaka’s boyhood name), who believes in the greatness of the Great Sage he knows from legend. At the very last moment, Monkey rediscovers his magic power and defeats the demon Hundun. The short moment of Monkey regaining his magic in the end, lasting for only two minutes, wins the audience’s heart. Many popular reviews note Wukong repeatedly yelling throughout the film, “ I can’t do it, I can’t do it,” a frustration that aligns his character with normal human beings, in contrast to the radiant hero he finally becomes. The most popular review on douban.com states: “Every Chinese will fall in love with Sun Wukong. Each generation has its own Sun Wukong. I think this film can serve as a good first Monkey King film for children of the new century.”
Why does the audience respond to the Wukong in this 2015 film so positively while regarding the 2014 film as a failure? The different attitudes toward these two films point at the significance of the rebellious quality of a postsocialist hero. 2014 accepts what is offered him from both deities and demons, including evil plans that masquerade as friendly help and that eventually result in the havoc in heaven. 2015, however, does not just accept. He searches, he questions, and he fights against his limits, echoing the examples of A Chinese Odyssey.
The third example is the song “Wukong,” written by Dai Quan. The lyrics describe Wukong’s internal journey and struggle from a firstperson point of view. Explaining the reasons he wrote this song, Dai ays his identification with Sun Wukong is due to what he believes is the “spirit of Wukong” (Wukong jingshen): rebelliousness, variability, optimism, and persistence, which has encouraged him in his life as an artist. The bitterness and loneliness that Dai Quan’s Wukong experiences in his individual struggle, and the freedom this Wukong seeks, are particular traits of the postsocialist Wukons. "Wukong” sings at the refrain,
“What is the use of my Iron Rod and my transformations? There is no cure to the anxiety and frustration. Golden band on my head, unspeakable pain.”
But when it repeats at the end, the message turns positive, a victorious Wukong singing the last line:
“Watch my rod—it reduces all problems into ashes.”
The conflict between the golden fillet and the rod is notable in this short song. Engaging with this major conflict, Sun Wukong tries to use his rod to break free from the limitations of the fillet. This is a clear contrast to the socialist Wukong: the revolutionary who is invincible, and the loyal party supporter who does not complain about the golden fillet. After all his failures and frustrations, the postsocialist Wukong in the end manages to find something to celebrate, a sense of accomplishment for himself, as Dai Quan indicated in his statement:
“In the end, every monkey can become Sun Wukong.”
The monkey becomes Sun Wukong when he finds his lost ability to use his rod again. New adaptations of Journey to the West in recent years thus share several common features. The first is a clear individualist bent, as Wukong invariably goes through a personal struggle, the solution for which lies in himself, not in any external agency. Second, Wukong is no longer the filial protector of Tripitaka or true follower of Guanyin’s teaching. The once-suppressed rebellious spirit is back. And third, although Wukong still has to submit to heavenly authority, he is allowed to think, to search, and even to challenge. His signature Fillet, which is transformed into a bracelet in both Hero Is Back and “Wukong,” reflects this change
