Journey to the west stories from classic chinese literature. A comparative study of two major english translations of. Yus 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. Chapter 1 the divine root conceives and the spring breaks forth, as the hearts nature is cultivated, the great way arises chapter 2 he becomes aware of the. The journey to the west translated and edited by anthony c. Freed from a mountain prison in order to guard a chinese monk on his journey to retrieve the buddhist scriptures from india, monkey seeks his own spiritual transformation. The series became an instant classic in china and is still praised as the best and most authentic interpretation of the novel. The novel reworks and expands on folk tales and dramatic and operatic episodes that. It is one of the four great classical novels of chinese literature. It is considered to be one of the four great classical novels of china, a group of books which form the foundation of. It mainly describes a long journey to the western heaven to fetch the buddhist sutras. Mar 19, 2018 journey to the west is a chinese classic fantastic novel.
Journey to the west chinese classics, classic novel in 4. Contains a summary,detailed character profiles, author information, history and origins, information on english translations, books, related films, shows, animemanga,and also fanfiction. Fr centuries the stories of journey to the west were current as a cycle of dramas, which were ultimately rewritten into the present form of a novel by wu chengen wu chengen in the sixteenth century. Journey to the west chinese classics, classic novel. The four classic novels include romance of the three kingdoms, journey to the west, water margin and dream of the red chamber, and the six classic novels add rulin waishi and jin ping mei to this list. Monkey is still a minor landmark of 20thcentury english translation. Journey to the west shen yun english shen yun performing arts. Pages can include considerable notesin pen or highlighterbut the notes cannot. The first edition of the novel was published in 1592, and was written by wu chengen. For the purposes of this blog, several characters from journey to the west appear in the novel, including laozi, the buddha, nezha fig.
In the words of the book of the calendar, the essence of the sky came down and the essence of. The novel is a fictionalized account of the legendary pilgrimage to india of the buddhist monk xuanzang, and loosely based its source from the historic text great tang. Xi you ji is a chinese novel published in the 16th century during the ming dynasty and attributed to wu chengen. F bill jenner, born in 1940, is an english student of chinese history and culture. Journey to the west project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The novel was popularized in english through the abridged translation of arthur waley published as monkey in 1943. In sinology, the classic chinese novels are two sets of the four or six bestknown traditional chinese novels. Whereas waleys translation omits many episodes and significantly changes. Journey to the west whisky visual design on behance.
A story of a man in search of truth told with the simple clarity and beauty of bunyans prose make this the ultimate english classic. Contains a summary,detailed character profiles, author information, history and origins, information on english translations, books, related films, shows. Originally published in the late 16th century during the late ming dynasty, this epic is loosely based on the famous. It includes the monkey wreaks havoc in heaven chapters, meetings of all the main characters, a selection of the 80 journey chapters, and the final chapters in india and coming back. It deals entirely with the earlier exploits of sun wukong, a monkey born from a stone nourished by the five elements, who learns the art of the tao, 72 polymorphic transformations, combat, and secrets of immortality, and through guile and force makes a name for himself, qitian dasheng simplified chinese.
The chisholms a novel of the journey west 1979 by hunter. Xuanzang 602664 was a monk at jingtu temple in late sui dynasty and early tang dynasty changan. Journey to the west is one of the four great classical novels of chinese literature. This is the version that made me fall in love with journey to the west and consequently. Journey to the west, foremost chinese comic novel, written by wu chengen, a novelist and poet of the ming dynasty 681644. Journey to the west is a chinese novel published in the 16th century during the ming dynasty and attributed to wu chengen. The first, which includes chapters 17, is really a selfcontained. Through his early biography and the background to his great journey. Journey to the west has already proven its global appeal and its right to a place in the world literary canon through the number and variety of dramatic adaptations that have been made of.
Buddhism in the classic chinese novel journey to the west. Written by the ming dynasty novelist wu chengen during the 16 th century, this beloved adventure tale combines action, humor, and spiritual lessons. This book is the english translation of journey to the west. This new version draws on thirty years of the authors further studies in literature and religion. Apr 28, 2017 while there are other great chinese novels, journey to the west offers strong dramatic and comic content, he says, along with elements like fairy immortals, demons and ghosts.
The novel is based on the actual 7thcentury pilgrimage of the buddhist monk xuanzang 602664 to india in search of sacred texts. A comparative study of two major english translations of the. Written in the sixteenth century, the journey to the west tells the story of the fourteenyear pilgrimage of the monk xuanzang, one of chinas most famous religious heroes, and his three supernatural. In english speaking countries, the work is widely known as monkey, the title of. It was written in the 16th century during the ming dynasty and attributed to wu chengen. This volume contains the first twentyfive chapters of the hundredchapter narrative, plus extensive notes and a ninetysixpage introduction by the. The journey to the west is a lengthy 16th century novel, regarded as one of the four great classics of chinese literature. Journey to the west, one of the four journeys, a separate telling of the events of tripitakas journey to india. Yu, contains the first 25 chapters of a 100chapter heros epic, an allegory designed to impart knowledge on how to behave and what values to extol. Motivated by the poor quality of chinese translations of buddhist scripture at the time, xuanzang left changan in 629, in defiance of emperor taizong of tang s ban on travel.
But years later i read the version of anthony yu from the university of chicago, who translated the unabridged version, and that really blew my mind. Journey to the west has been adapted to television many times especially in japan, where the story is called saiyuki and the characters are genjo sanzo, cho hakkai, sha gojo, and son goku all just the onyomi japanese reading of the chinese character names. The original 1986 tv series titled journey to the west is unanimously considered to be the novel s best adaptation. Journey to the west is an epic chinese novel published in the 16th century. The first is the story of sun wukong, or monkey king.
Dismayed that the land of the south knows only greed, hedonism, promiscuity, and sins, the buddha instructs the bodhisattva. But years later i read the version of anthony yu from. The journey to the west, volume 1 by wu chengen goodreads. Journey to the west is a chinese television series adapted from the classic novel of the same title. The journey to the west, revised edition, volume 2, yu. Journey to the west, i originally read in the abridged version of arthur waley years and years ago as a college student, and i thought it was kind of fun. The journey to the west, revised edition, volume 3 on apple. Chapter 1 the divine root conceives and the spring breaks forth, as the hearts nature is cultivated, the great way arises chapter 2 he becomes aware of the wonderful truth of enlightenment, by killing the demon he realizes his spiritnature. Journey to the west is a classic chinese mythological novel.
Jan 28, 2016 as two major english translations of a famous sixteenthcentury chinese novel the journey to the west, monkey by arthur waley and the monkey and the monk by anthony yu differ in many respects due to the translators different concerns and translation strategies. First published in 1592, the journey to the west, volume i, comprises the first twentyfive chapters of anthony c. It is one of the four great classical novels of chinese. The fantastic tale recounts the sixteenyear pilgrimage of the monk hsuantsang 596664, one of chinas most illustrious religious heroes, who journeyed to. The journey to the west, revised edition, volume 3 on. In english speaking countries, the tale is also often known as monkey, adventures of the monkey god, monkey. The journey to the west, revised edition, volume 1 by. The journey to the west, revised edition, volume 4, yu. Yus translation of the journey to the west,initially published in 1983, introduced englishspeaking audiences to the classic chinese novel in its entirety for the first time. What is the best english translation of journey to the. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 306 pages and is available in paperback format. Gradually, as the plot develops, new details make it more and more. Monkey is arthur waleys delightful rendition of wu chengens journey to the west, one of chinas four great classical novels. Yus fourvolume translation of hsiyu chi, one of the most beloved classics of chinese literature.
Read difficulties resolved on the journey to the west. This website is about the inner meaning of the chinese novel journey to the west. It was written during the ming dynasty based on traditional folktales. Written in the sixteenth century, the journey to the west tells the story of the fourteenyear pilg. The journey to the west, revised edition, volume 1 by anthony. What is the best adaptation of journey to the west. The original 1986 tv series titled journey to the west is unanimously considered to be the novels best adaptation. Journey to the west by wu chengen the 365th greatest. A novel of the journey west by hunter, evan a readable copy.
I, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, ix, x, xi and xii. The novel journey to the west xiyouji, attributed to wu chengen c. The series was first broadcast on cctv in china on 1 october 1986. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the ming dynasty, its authorship has since been ascribed to the.
The main characters of this cultural, china story are monkey, xuanzang. Consisting of 100 chapters, this fantasy relates the adventures of a. The novel is based on the actual 7thcentury pilgrimage of the buddhist. The journey to the west meanders through chinese history and mythology, but is loosely composed of 4 sections. Written fifty years ago by a british translator, it is still very readable, and falls in between waley and yu in terms of faithfulness to the original story. Journey to the west read the text annenberg learner. This is the version that made me fall in love with journey to the west and consequently chinese culture and literature. It tells the story of a buddhist monk named xuanzang and his search for. The author of the book is uncertain, but is thought to be wu chengen. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the ming dynasty, it has been ascribed to the scholar wu chengen since the 20th century, even though no direct. It has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in east asia. Journey to the west research a repository for research. If you are interested in asian studies, you must read this novel. The novel journey to the west is based on the national legends about the journey of xuanzang, the monk, to india in the 7 th century.
Journey to the west project gutenberg selfpublishing. Monkey or journey to the west, a 70s japanese television drama based on the chinese novel journey to the west, by wu chengen. In the arithmetic of the universe, 129,600 years make one cycle. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the ming dynasty, its authorship has since been ascribed to the scholar wu chengen. Arthur waleys popular abridged translation, monkey, is well known in english. Unit 7 journey to the west the powerful and mischievous stone monkey king brings chaos to heaven and earth. Jul 27, 2011 journey to the west is one of the four classics of chinese literature. For 4 th february, we were keen to include an excerpt from journey to the west, the classic novel about literatures most famous ape, the monkey king a. This abridged version provides english readers with an experience that would otherwise have been inaccessible to those of us unable to read the original chinese. It tells the story of one of buddha sakyamunis disciples who was banished from the heavenly. It taught scholars that the novels many poems were as important as its prose.
The journey to the west, revised edition, volume 1, yu. Journey to the west is a classic in chinese literature, believed to be written by wu chengen, possibly as early as 1625. Yus the journey to the west conveyed intact to readers of english the classic that had enthralled chinese children for centuries. Some of these novels have undergone massive expansions and contractions. Consisting of 100 chapters, this fantasy relates the adventures of a tang dynasty 618907 priest sanzang and his three disciples, monkey, pig and friar sand, as they travel west in search of buddhist sutra. Journey to the west is a chinese novel published in the 16th. The novel journey to the west was based on historical events. An english translation by arthur waley entitled monkey was published in 1942. In english speaking countries, the work is widely known as monkey, the title of arthur waleys popular abridged translation. I, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, ix, x, xi and xii, the twelve branches. Journey to the west has been adapted to television many times especially in japan, where the story is called saiyuki and the characters are genjo sanzo, cho hakkai, sha gojo, and son goku all just the.
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