What a delight this translation is! After a thorough, well researched, and very readable sixty-two page introduction of the text, its origins and probable author, Yu delivers a lively translation of this classic in English prose and poetry. Filled with folklore and legends, with numerous (footnoted) references to Chinese and Western sources, it retells the story of the sixteen year journey the monk Xuanzang took from China through central Asia and into India in search of authentic Buddhist texts.

But it recasts it as a broadly comic fantasy with huge amounts of Taoism, alchemy, and Buddhist popular lore. The revered pilgrim, scholar, and translator Xuanzang (previously transliterated as Hsuan-tsang) is transformed into the somewhat befuddled, timorous, and whining character, Tripitka, the T’ang monk from the Land of the East. But then, he has a good bit to whine about. He’s accompanied by four supernatural disciples who steal the show, by rescuing him from a plethora of monsters, demons, and angry gods, that one or several of the disciples have enraged by their thefts, pranks, or bellicose behavior. It’s awfully hard to keep them in line.

First and foremost is the Monkey King, or as he introduces himself to the Ten Kings of the Underworld, when he barges into their realm to blot out his name from the book of the dead, and thus making himself immortal, “I am the Heaven-born sage Sun Wu-k’ung from the Water-Curtain Cave in the Flower-Fruit Mountain.” Having achieved great magical power through his study of Taoism he has bullied his way into heaven and demanded a position there. Put in charge of the heavenly stables, he enjoys himself until he discovers that the position has no status. He rebels and gives himself a new title: Great Sage Equal to Heaven. He goes on to wreak havoc in the heavenly realm, stealing peaches of immortality, upsetting a heavenly feast, and insulting the gods and dignitaries residing there. Nothing can stop him, until the gods plead with the Buddha to intervene and put this monkey in his place. When the Buddha does humble monkey, the self-titled Great Sage Equal to Heaven is sentenced to five centuries of penance trapped under a mountain with only iron pellets to eat for five centuries until he is freed and repentant enough to serve as the disciple of Tripitka.

Half a millennium later, on order from the great Buddha, the Bodhisattva Kuan-yin, arrives to announce Wu-k’ung’s reprieve, if he is ready to repent and reform. Monkey agrees and becomes known as Pilgrim, protector of Tripitka during his perilous journey west. And the perils appear right away. A dragon to be battled, a tiger to the defeated, and when Monkey is unable to prevail, the Bodhisattva intervenes. She turns the dragon into a horse to carry the monk. As they travel on seeking shelter and sustenance from those they meet on the way, they encounter Pa-chieh, the ungrateful and gluttonous son-in-law of one of their hosts. To repay their host’s hospitality, Monkey offers to straighten out this unwelcome relative. Alas, Pa-chieh, who looks like a huge fat boar complete with pig’s snout and huge ears is another supernatural being with superpowers and weapons equal to Monkey’s own. When battle fails to win him over, Monkey tries evangelism and converts Pa-chieh to Buddhism, becoming another disciple of Tripitka. As monkey, monk, dragon disguised as a horse, and now Brother Hog, their adventures lead them to an unpassable obstacle the huge and impassable Flowing Sand River, itself personified as a monster which the two supernatural disciples are unable to defeat. Again Kuan-yin intervenes. The monster is in fact another supernatural being, doing penance as a monster, and waiting for Tripitka to appear so he could be freed to become the next disciple, Wu-ching the monster gladly changes his identity to become Sha Monk, the disciple.

And so, the journey continues with the disciples alternating between their roles as enthusiastic apprentices, superheroes battling to defend their master, or immature ruffians increasing his trials and tribulations. In their battles with foes, which are given in soaring poetry, they come across resembling either anime heroes or the three stooges engaging in Pokémon duels. All in all, it’s over five hundred pages of fun. ( )

A monk and his 3 supernatural disciples set out on a journey westward to obtain buddhist scriptures. Actually that description is the story eventually... there's quite a bit of build up and background to get through first.
So there were a few surprises in this for me. Firstly while it might well be based on ancient legend this isn't some oral tale which has simply been written down but rather a proper literary piece from the 16th century.
Which is quite recent from china's point of view. I find it quite difficult to read fairytales so was quite glad this wasn't one.

Secondly i'm a big fan of the tv adaptation of this 'Monkey'. It was a 70's show made by japan rather than china* and then dubbed into english by people who often didn't even have a script, they would just make up the story based on what seemed to be happening on screen.
For all of these reasons i assumed that the book would bare little resemblance to the show, but i was wrong. All the crazy, funny ridiculousness of the show is totally in here :D .
The comedy and satire is Rabelais-esque at times.

About a 5th of the story is done in poetry. I don't know whether this rhymed in its original language but it doesn't now. It still has a certain rhythm about it though. I might have disliked the poetry except that it only occurs on specific occasions.
Its basically a descriptor. Whenever someone or something new turns up or when there's a fight sequence it switches to poetry and the poetry is usually more over the top than the prose.
Its like in certain movies or shows where they might switch to animation for fight sequences, or in certain kinds of musical where the songs are only used to replace fight or love scenes.

The story can get a bit repetitive both figuratively and literally. Literally in that every so often you get a little recap of events. One character will go off and do something, then comeback and tell people what they've just done.
I didn't mind this so much as it was never very long and did make me remember things a bit better.
The other repetitiveness is a little more annoying as several of the fight sequences follow a very similar pattern which can start to get old.
Oh, one other thing that some might find annoying is the buddhism. There are various pieces of buddhist philosophy in this which will make no sense to most people.
I don't even know if their real. Its like quantum theory, someone could be telling you a real but confusing piece of quantum theory or a fake bit, i simply don't have the necessary experience to tell the difference.

Anyway, i was constantly hearing the people from the tv show in my head (aswell as picturing the very pretty monk ;) ) so i feel like i may be more naturally inclined to like this over people who didn't see the show.
I look forward to reading the rest of the volumes but not right away, i think a break between each one is a good strategy.

*the male monk is played by a female actress on the show which caused me considerable confusion as a child :) . ( )

Great fun, and what a treat to finally read the whole thing (well, volume one of the whole thing, so far) rather than a condensed "best of."

Book begins a bit slowly, but soon hits its stride as Monkey wages war on the Gods themselves ... there's a slight dip in momentum once he's out of commission, but soon he's back and it's a series of mostly comedic action sequences, one after the other--a rollicking good time, and a good bedtime book as each sequence can be absorbed in small doses. ( )

This has to be one of the most boring books I have ever read. I mean, the beginning of the book, back when Sun Wukong was free to do whatever he pleased was pretty acceptable. But in the moment he is given the task of babysitting Sanzang is where the book starts to get irritating. I understand that the book is supposed to be epic and full of metaphors, but imagine the case when someone asks Wukong something and instead of reading the sentence "and Wukong explained everything that happened to him", he actually tells everything he had been through. I feel awfully frustrated with the speed of the story. I feel as if I'm stuck in a boring journey.

I am going to read the rest of the books, though. It's a matter of honor. ( )

The Journey to the West is a highly influential work written anonymously in China during the Ming Dynasty in the 1590s. Believed to be written by Cheng'en Wu, it is considered to be one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China. The Journey to the West is a fictionalization of the historical journey from China to India undertaken by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang and incorporates numerous folk tales, myths, and legends. The Journey to the West has been and continues to be the inspiration for seemingly countless works and adaptations not only in China, but in Japan (where it is known as Saiyuki) and all over the rest of the world as well. The first complete and unabridged English edition of the the original The Journey to the West, including the integral poetry, was translated by Anthony C. Yu. The Chicago University Press published Yu's translation in four volumes between 1977 and 1983. An abridged version of Yu's translation is also available under the title The Monkey and the Monk.

In its entirety, The Journey to the West is one hundred chapters. The first volume of Yu's translations consists of the first twenty-five chapters, a very useful and informative preface and introduction, and plenty of helpful end notes. The first seven chapters tell the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, following his birth, education, disruption of Heaven, and his eventual imprisonment under a mountain. Monkey's tale is the part of The Journey to the West with which I was already most familiar. The Journey to the West continues with the circumstances surrounding the journey as well as the backgrounds of our intrepid monk Tripitaka and the other companions that will end up joining him in addition to Monkey. The actual journey--Tripitaka's travels to retrieve sacred scriptures from the West--doesn't begin until chapter thirteen.

I didn't know it before I read the first volume of Yu's translations of The Journey to the West, but the Bodhisattva Kuan-yin plays a significant role in the story. For various reasons, Kuan-yin happens to be my favorite member in all of the Buddhist pantheons, so it made me happy to find her in The Journey to the West. Tripitaka, on the other hand, I found somewhat frustrating as a character. Once his journey begins it seems as if the only thing he can do is faint in fear and fall off his horse when confronted with monsters and demons. Granted, this is a fairly reasonable reaction give the circumstances. But what Tripitaka lacks in stamina and valor, he more than makes up for in stupendous moral and spiritual integrity. He's not afraid to give Monkey and the rest of his companions brilliant tongue-lashings when the situation calls for it.

With a marvelous mix of magic, martial arts, mischief, and mayhem, The Journey to the West is a tremendous amount of fun. It is easy to see why the story is so loved and has inspired so many adaptations. And while The Journey to the West has some tragic elements to it, it is also a very funny story with plenty of humor to enjoy. Although I have not read any other translations of The Journey to the West to compare it to, I am so far happy with Yu's translation. Some of the terms and phrases may be unfamiliar due to cultural differences, but like the original, Yu uses approachable, commonplace language. The text itself is somewhat repetitive, frequently reusing descriptions and constantly reiterating plot developments. But even considering this, The Journey to the West is immensely entertaining and I look forward to reading the rest of Yu's translation.

Experiments in Manga ( )