Stephan David, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; A.C. Yu, "Journey to the West" (Hsi Yu Chi)
The story of Monkey was written hundreds of years ago, sometime in the middle of the sixteenth century, by a Chinese author and satirist, based on an ancient Chinese legend called "The Monkey King."
Its original name was Hsi Yu Chi ("Record of the Journey to the West," Saiyuki or Suy Yuw Gey in Japanese). The full story is enormous, comparable in size to the Bible. There are various English translations, both full-length and abridged. Full-length versions are usually translated as "Journey to the West," while abridged versions usually have "Monkey King" or at least "Monkey" in the title.
(Col. Angus) Episode 1: The Monkey King, Zhang Jizhong
Monkey King
The novel is
a fictionalized account of the legendary pilgrimage to the "holy land," India, by the
Buddhist monk Xuanzang. It is loosely based on source material from the historic
text Great Tang Records on the Western Regions and traditional folk
tales. The monk traveled to the "Western Regions" during the Tang
Dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras). Guanyin (Kwan Yin Bodhisattva), on instruction from
the Buddha Amitabha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the
form of disciples -- namely Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing --
together with a dragon (naga) prince who acts as Xuanzang's steed, a white
horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as atonement for past unskillful karma. More
What is the Monkey King literature?
Amazon.com
The Monkey (abridged version)
Anthony C. Yu’s translation of The Journey to the West, initially
published in 1983, introduced English-speaking audiences to the classic
Chinese novel in its entirety for the first time.
Written in the
sixteenth century, The Journey to the West tells the story of the14-year pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang, one of China’s most
famous spiritual heroes, and his three supernatural disciples, in search
of Buddhist scriptures.
Throughout his journey, Xuanzang fights "demons" (yakkhas, asuras)
who wish to eat him, communes with spirits (devas, pretas), and traverses a land riddled
with a multitude of obstacles, both real and fantastical. An adventure
rich with danger and excitement, this seminal work of the Chinese
literary canon is by turns allegory, satire, and fantasy.
With over a 100 chapters written in both prose and poetry, The Journey to the West has
always been a complicated and difficult text to render in English while
preserving the lyricism of its language and the content of its plot.
But Yu has successfully taken on the task, and in this new edition he
has made his translations even more accurate and accessible. The
explanatory notes are updated and augmented, and Yu has added new
material to his introduction, based on his original research as well as
on the newest literary criticism and scholarship on Chinese religious
traditions. He has also modernized the transliterations included in each
volume, using the now-standard Hanyu Pinyin romanization system.
Perhaps most important, Yu has made changes to the translation itself in
order to make it as precise as possible. One of the great works of Chinese literature, The Journey to the West is
not only invaluable to scholars of Eastern religion and literature,
but in Yu’s elegant rendering, it is also a delight for any reader.
"Journey To The West" (Univ. of Chicago Press), Anthony C. Yu [4 volumes].
[new] Revised Edition (2013) [new]
On 21 December 2012, a revised edition of the four volumes of "Journey To The West" was published by Univ. of Chicago Press.
On February 15, 2013 they were published in the UK, and on April 5, 2013, the Kindle editions were released.