monkey king journey to the west

In  Chinese mythology , Sun Wukong (孫悟空), also known as the Monkey King, is a trickster god who plays a central role in  Wu Cheng’en’s  adventure novel  Journey to the West .

Wukong is blessed with unmatched superhuman strength and the ability to transform into 72 different animals and objects. Each of his hairs have transformative powers, and he can magically manipulate wind, water and fire as well. Characterized by his short temper, impatience and proclivity towards anger, Sun Wukong is one of the most important and beloved literary figures in Chinese culture.

Sūn Wùkōng’s name is comprised of the characters for “grandson” (孫), “awakened” (悟) and “space”(空). Though the character sūn (孫) usually refers to grandsons, in this context it refers to monkeys. His name literally translates as the “monkey awakened by the emptiness.” Wukong’s name is meant to represent his spiritual journey from an ignorant, short-tempered monkey to a benevolent, enlightened being. In Japan, he is known as Son Goku.

Being a monkey, Sun Wukong has a very distinct appearance that sets him apart from the other gods. Prior to his enlightenment, Wukong is usually depicted as a naked  macaque . After devoting himself to the Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang, Wukong is generally shown in full warrior gear with special items such as a golden chainmail shirt, a phoenix feathered cap, cloud-walking boots, and an eight ton staff that can shrink to the size of a needle.

Sun Wukong does not have any blood relatives, as he was born from a magical rock. Prior to joining the Jade Emperor’s court, he lorded over a group of wandering monkeys who took care of him and regarded him as their leader.

The legend of Sun Wukong first appeared in the Song Dynasty-era adventure novel  Journey to the West . The book follows the story of a humble Buddhist monk named Tang Sanzang who travels from his home in Southern China to India in order to bring back holy texts and enlighten his countrymen. After being released from the mountain he was trapped under for 500 years, Wukong serves as the monk's bodyguard throughout his journey.

In ancient times, a magical rock rested on top of  Mount Huagou . One day, a stiff breeze blew upon the rock and caused a fully formed monkey to burst forth from its stone face. Despite having just been born, the young monkey was already able to walk and speak.

When Wukong opened his eyes, golden beams of light shot forth from his pupils, piercing the clouds and startling the  Jade Emperor  (玉皇). When the Jade Emperor looked for the source of the strange light, all he could see was a baby monkey. Thinking that the light could not possibly emanate from such a source, the Jade Emperor dismissed the incident from his mind.

As he began exploring the forest, Sun Wukong discovered other monkeys and decided to live with them. One day the group was relaxing near a waterfall when they decided to play a game: whoever was brave enough to jump through the falls and find the stream’s source would be named the King of Monkeys.

Sun Wukong immediately leapt through the waterfall and traveled up the stream to find its source. His mission was successful, and he quickly returned and declared himself king. With the support of the forest monkeys, Sun Wukong quickly established himself as a powerful forest demon that would go on to battle the  Dragon King  and other sea demons. His exploits earned him a number of powerful weapons, including his signature gold chainmail shirt, phoenix cap, cloud-walking boots, and magical eight ton staff.

When the time came for  Yan Wang  (閻王) and the Kings of Hell to collect Wukong’s soul, Wukong was ready. He tricked Yan Wang into allowing him to return to earth without undergoing reincarnation. Before leaving Hell, Wukong managed to erase his and every other forest monkey’s name from the Book of Life and Death. Troubled that the balance of life was being upset by a mere monkey, Yan Wang appealed to the Jade Emperor for assistance.

Sun Wukong and the Jade Emperor

Upon hearing about the irascible demon of Mount Huaguo, the Jade Emperor felt the best way to subdue Wukong was to let him live in Heaven with the other gods so that he would feel a sense of importance. He issued an invitation to Wukong, who eagerly accepted. After saying goodbye to his friends, the Monkey King set off for the Jade Palace.

Once he got there, however, Sun Wukong discovered he was assigned to the lowest task in all of Heaven: guarding the Jade Emperor’s horses. He quickly realized that because he was a monkey, the other gods would never see him as a peer. In hopes of finding a way to prove himself an equal, the Monkey King became obsessed with the idea of immortality and devoted himself to the pursuit of everlasting life. When the Jade Emperor encouraged him to take up other, more fruitful pursuits, Wukong scorned him:

‘Can this sort of practice lead to immortality?’ asked Wukong. ‘Impossible! Impossible!’ said the Patriarch. ‘I won't learn it then,’ Wukong said.

One day, the Jade Emperor held a party to celebrate his wife,  Xiwangmu  (西王母). Having been unknowingly excluded from the party, Wukong decided to drop by and was laughed out of the hall by the other gods. Hurt by the actions of his peers, Wukong declared himself to be Qítiān Dàshèng (齊天大聖), or the “Great Sage Equal to Heaven". He also made an enormous banner to taunt the Emperor.

The Jade Emperor sent a battalion of soldiers to arrest Wukong for his insolence, but they proved to be no match for him. After defeating the last solder, the Monkey King shouted victoriously, “Remember my name, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!”

The Monkey King's victory forced the Jade Emperor to acknowledge his power. In recognition of his talent, the Jade Emperor promoted him to guard Xiwangmu’s Peaches of Immortality. This was not enough for the Monkey King, however, who truly believed that he was the Jade Emperor’s equal. Viewing this promotion as yet another insult, Wukong decided that enough was enough. In a final act of defiance, Wukong ate all of the peaches in the garden. The Jade Emperor was furious, and sent two battalions after the Monkey King. Once again, however, Wukong defeated them all.

Out of options, the Jade Emperor told Buddha what had happened and begged him to intervene. Buddha immediately banished Wukong from Heaven and pinned him underneath a mountain so that he could reflect on his actions.

Journey to the West

For 500 years, Wukong lay immobilized beneath the weight of Buddha’s mountain. Eventually, a traveling monk named Tang Sanzang found the Monkey King and offered to release him on the condition that he would repent and become the monk’s disciple.

At first the Monkey King rejected the monk's offer. Sun Wukong would play servant to no one—least of all a human. After Tang started to walk away, however, Wukong quickly changed his mind. He would gladly serve the monk in exchange for his release.

Before Tang freed Wukong, the goddess of mercy  Guanyin  (觀音) gave the monk a magical band that granted him control over the Monkey King. After being freed from the weight of the mountain, Sun Wukong joined Tang’s other demonic traveling companions: Zhū Bājiè (猪八戒) or “Piggy”, and Shā Wùjìng (沙悟浄) or “Sandy.”

Grateful to be released from his imprisonment, Sun Wukong served Tang faithfully during their journey to India and cheerfully battled demons whenever the need arose. Through his noble deeds and dedication to Tang’s teachings, Sun Wukong eventually achieved enlightenment and put an end to his angry, greedy and envious tendencies.

Pop Culture

Though he’s not commonly worshiped by Buddhist and Taoist practitioners, Sun Wukong is an important Chinese cultural figure and has been featured in a number of TV series, movies and plays.

Journey to the West  has been adapted into film a number of times, and was most recently remade  in 2013  by Chinese film director and actor  Stephen Chow . In the anime  Dragon Ball , the character of Son Goku is largely based off the myth of Sun Wukong, hence his superhuman strength and tail. Sun Wukong also serves as the inspiration for the character of the same name in  RWBY .

Sun Wukong is featured as a character in the video games  Sonson ,  Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, League of Legends,  and  Warriors Orochi .

A Chinese Classic Journeys to the West: Julia Lovell’s Translation of “Monkey King”

By minjie chen october 5, 2021.

Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en

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‘Journey to the West’: Why the classic Chinese novel’s mischievous monkey – and his very human quest – has inspired centuries of adaptations

Associate Professor of Chinese Studies , College of the Holy Cross

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One summer afternoon in the late 1980s, my mother and I passed by a tea house on our trip out of town. The crowded building was usually a boisterous place filled with chatter, laughter, and the happy, clacking shuffle of mahjong tiles. At the moment we were passing, however, a great hush came over the teahouse: People were held spellbound by the black-and-white glow of a small TV in a corner, playing an episode of the series “Journey to the West.”

The TV series was adapted from a 16th century Chinese novel with the same title that has undergone numerous adaptations and has captured the imagination of Chinese people to this day. Like many kids in China, I was fascinated by the magic Monkey King, the beloved superhero in the novel, who went through amazing adventures with other pilgrims in their quest for Buddhist scriptures. While I had to quickly walk by the teahouse in order to catch our bus that day, this moment flashed back to me from time to time, making me wonder what made “Journey to the West” so fascinating for people of all ages and backgrounds.

After graduating from college, I embarked on the next chapter of my academic journey in the United States and reconnected with “Journey to the West” from a different perspective. Now, as a scholar with expertise in traditional Chinese literature , I am interested in the development of literary and cultural traditions around the story, including how it has been translated and reimagined by many artists .

While deeply enmeshed in Chinese traditions, the story also resonates with readers from diverse cultures. “Journey to the West” creates shared ground by highlighting the quest for a common humanity, epitomized by its best-loved character, the Monkey King – a symbol of the human mind.

One journey, many stories

Scholars usually trace the beginning of this literary tradition to a Buddhist monk, Xuanzang , who set out on an epic pilgrimage to India in 627 C.E. He was determined to consult and bring back Sanskrit copies of Buddhist scriptures, rather than rely on previous Chinese translations. He did so after nearly 17 years and devoted the rest of his life to translating the scriptures.

The journey has inspired a wide variety of representations in literature, art and religion, making a lasting impact on Chinese culture and society. Legends began to emerge during Xuanzang’s lifetime. Over centuries, they gradually evolved into a distinct tradition of storytelling, often focused on how Xuanzang overcame obstacles with the help of supernatural companions.

This culminated in a 16th century Chinese novel, “Journey to the West.” By this point, the hero of the story had already shifted from Xuanzang to one of his disciples: the Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, who serves as Xuanzang’s protector. The Monkey King possesses strong magical powers – transforming himself, cloning himself and even performing somersaults that fly him more than 30,000 miles at once.

Despite this novel’s dominance, the broader tradition around “Journey to the West” encompasses a wide variety of stories in diverse forms. The canonic novel itself grew out of this collective effort, and its authorship is still debated – even as it continues to inspire new adaptations.

The deeper journey

Central to all Journey to the West stories is a theme of pilgrimage, which immediately raises a question regarding the nature of the novel: What is the journey really about?

Centuries-long debates about the journey’s deeper message center on the 16th century novel. Traditional commentators in late imperial China adopted a variety of approaches to the novel and underscored its connections with different religious and philosophical doctrines: Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and syntheses of those teachings.

For example, all these teachings highlight the role of the “xin” – a Chinese word for mind and heart – in self-cultivation. While Confucian readers might see the plot of “Journey to the West” as the quest for a more moral life, Buddhists might decipher it as an inward journey toward enlightenment.

In the early 20th century, Chinese scholar and diplomat Hu Shi criticized traditional allegorical interpretations, which he feared would make the novel seem less approachable for the general public.

His opinion influenced Arthur Waley’s “Monkey ,” an abridged English translation of “Journey to the West” published in 1942, which has contributed to the canonization of the novel abroad . To a considerable extent, “Monkey” turns the pilgrims’ journey into Monkey’s own journey of self-improvement and personal growth.

Recent scholarship has further underlined religious and ritual connotations of the novel from different perspectives, and debates over the issue continue. But few people would deny that one idea plays a crucial role: the Monkey King as a symbol of the mind.

Mind monkey

There has been a long tradition in Chinese culture that associates the image of a simian creature with the human mind. On the one hand, a monkey often symbolizes a restless mind, calling for discipline and cultivation. On the other hand, an active mind also opens up the opportunity to challenge the status quo and even transcend it, progressing to a higher state.

The Monkey King in the novel demonstrates this dual dimension of the mind . He vividly displays adaptability in exploring uncharted territories and adjusting to changing circumstances – and learning to rely on teamwork and self-discipline, not merely his magic powers.

Before being sent on the pilgrimage, the Monkey King’s quest for self-gratification wreaked havoc in heaven and led to his imprisonment by the Buddha. The goddess Guanyin agreed to give him a second chance on the condition that he join the other pilgrims and assist them. His journey is fraught with the tensions between self-discipline and self-reliance, as he learns how to channel his physical and mental powers for good.

The Monkey King’s human qualities, from arrogance to fear, endow him with universal appeal. Readers gradually witness his self-improvement, revealing a common human quest. They may frown upon how the Monkey King is entrapped within his own ego, yet respect his courage in challenging authority and battling adversity. While his mischievous tricks give a good laugh, his loyalty to the monk Xuanzang and his sense of righteousness make a lasting impression.

Reviewing Waley’s “Monkey” in 1943 , Chinese-American writer Helena Kuo commented of the pilgrims: “Humanity would have missed a great deal if they have been exemplary characters.” Indeed, each one depicts humanity’s quest for a better self, particularly the main character. Monkeying around on the path of life, this simian companion captivates readers – and makes them consider their own journey.

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Monkey King : Journey to the West - Wu Cheng'en, Julia Lovell - translator - editor - introduction

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A Chinese  Lord of the Rings  and one of the all-time great fantasy novels - which Neil Gaiman has said "is in the DNA of 1.5 billion people" - now in a thrilling new translation

A shape-shifting trickster on a kung-fu quest for eternal life, Monkey King is one of the most memorable superheroes in world literature. High-spirited and omni-talented, he amasses dazzling weapons and skills on his journey to immortality: a gold-hooped staff that can grow as tall as the sky and shrink to the size of a needle; the ability to travel 108,000 miles in a single somersault. A master of subterfuge, he can transform himself into whomever or whatever he chooses and turn each of his body's 84,000 hairs into an army of clones. But his penchant for mischief repeatedly gets him into trouble, and when he raids Heaven's Orchard of Immortal Peaches and gorges himself on the elixirs of the gods, the Buddha pins him beneath a mountain, freeing him only 500 years later for a chance to redeem himself: He is to protect the pious monk Tripitaka on his 14-year journey to India in search of precious Buddhist sutras that will bring enlightenment to the Chinese empire.

Joined by two other fallen immortals - Pigsy, a rice-loving pig able to fly with its ears, and Sandy, a depressive man-eating river-sand monster - Monkey King undergoes 81 trials, doing battle with Red Boy, Princess Jade-Face, the Monstress Dowager, and all manner of dragons, ogres, wizards, and  femmes fatales,  navigating the perils of Fire-Cloud Cave, the River of Flowing Sand, the Water-Crystal Palace, and Casserole Mountain, and being serially captured, lacquered, sautéed, steamed, and liquefied, but always hatching an ingenious plan to get himself and his fellow pilgrims out of their latest jam.

Monkey King: Journey to the West  is at once a rollicking adventure, a comic satire of Chinese bureaucracy, and a spring of spiritual insight. With this new translation, the irrepressible rogue hero of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature has the potential to vault, with his signature cloud-somersault and unerring sense for fun, into the hearts of millions of Americans.

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The Monkey King 2 Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video

By Apoorv Rastogi

The Monkey King 2 is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese action fantasy film that draws inspiration from a 16th-century Wu Cheng’en novel called Journey to the West. The film is a sequel to the 2014 hit The Monkey King . It puts Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King as he is more popularly known, at the forefront. Sun travels with a monk to retrieve a set of sacred scriptures from the West. On their journey, the duo squares off against a ton of enemies while simultaneously waging a war against their inner demons.

Here’s how you can watch and stream The Monkey King 2 via streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video.

Is The Monkey King 2 available to watch via streaming?

Yes, The Monkey King 2 is available to watch via streaming on Amazon Prime Video .

The movie revolves around the escapades of the Monkey King as he accompanies a monk called Tang Sanzang on his journey to safely extract certain scriptures. On their path, the duo faces several challenging enemies, including a dragon in horse’s form, as well as a conniving spirit. Tang and Sun Wukong overcome all of their hurdles with the power of faith and determination until they come across the deadly threat of the seemingly invincible Bull Demon King.

Aaron Kwok occupies the leading role in this fantastical flick, portraying the titular Monkey King. Additionally, the cast also features Gong Li, William Feng, Xiao Shenyang, Him Law, Kelly Chen, and Kris Phillips, among others.

Watch The Monkey King 2 streaming via Amazon Prime Video

The Monkey King 2 i s available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

The renowned streaming platform houses a wide variety of content and also enables its users to opt for a 30-day trial period, providing them with the best of both worlds. Some of the popular Amazon Prime Video titles to watch are The Boys, Gen V and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.

You can watch via Amazon Prime Video by following these steps:

• Go to Amazon Prime Video
• Select ‘Sign in’ and ‘Create your Amazon account’
• $8.99 per month for a standalone Prime Video membership

The Monkey King 2’s official synopsis is as follows:

“Taking place 500 years after the Havoc in Heaven, the Tang Priest is appointed by Buddha to go to the West to fetch the sacred scriptures, only to accidentally free the Monkey King. With Lady White aiming to break up the team assembled to defeat her, the Monkey King must fight in order to save his world!”

NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing.

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DOWNLOADS Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, Julia Lovell, Gene Luen Yang

Monkey king: journey to the west by wu cheng'en, julia lovell, gene luen yang.

Monkey King: Journey to the West

• Wu Cheng'en, Julia Lovell, Gene Luen Yang
• Format: pdf, ePub, mobi, fb2
• ISBN: 9780143107187
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

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A Chinese Lord of the Rings and one of the all-time great fantasy novels—which Neil Gaiman has said "is in the DNA of 1.5 billion people"—now in a thrilling new one-volume translation A Penguin Classics Hardcover A shape-shifting trickster on a kung-fu quest for eternal life, Monkey King is one of the most memorable superheroes in world literature. High-spirited and omni-talented, he amasses dazzling weapons and skills on his journey to immortality: a gold-hooped staff that can grow as tall as the sky and shrink to the size of a needle; the ability to travel 108,000 miles in a single somersault. A master of subterfuge, he can transform himself into whomever or whatever he chooses and turn each of his body's 84,000 hairs into an army of clones. But his penchant for mischief repeatedly gets him into trouble, and when he raids Heaven's Orchard of Immortal Peaches and gorges himself on the elixirs of the gods, the Buddha pins him beneath a mountain, freeing him only five hundred years later for a chance to redeem himself: He is to protect the pious monk Tripitaka on his fourteen-year journey to India in search of precious Buddhist sutras that will bring enlightenment to the Chinese empire. Joined by two other fallen immortals—Pigsy, a rice-loving pig able to fly with its ears, and Sandy, a depressive man-eating river-sand monster—Monkey King undergoes eighty-one trials, doing battle with Red Boy, Princess Jade-Face, the Monstress Dowager, and all manner of dragons, ogres, wizards, and femmes fatales, navigating the perils of Fire-Cloud Cave, the River of Flowing Sand, the Water-Crystal Palace, and Casserole Mountain, and being serially captured, lacquered, sautéed, steamed, and liquefied, but always hatching an ingenious plan to get himself and his fellow pilgrims out of their latest jam. Monkey King: Journey to the West is at once a rollicking adventure, a comic satire of Chinese bureaucracy, and a spring of spiritual insight. With this new translation, the irrepressible rogue hero of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature has the potential to vault, with his signature cloud-somersault and unerring sense for fun, into the hearts of millions of Americans.

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Monkey King: Journey to the West (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Paperback – Deckle Edge, May 10, 2022

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• Print length 384 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Penguin Classics
• Publication date May 10, 2022
• Dimensions 5.74 x 0.97 x 8.33 inches
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Chapter One

After Pan Gu created the universe, by separating earth and sky with his mighty ax, the world was divided into four continents, in the north, south, east, and west. Our story takes place in the east.

By a great ocean lay a land called Aolai, within which was a mountain called Flower-Fruit, home to sundry immortals. What a mountain it was: of crimson ridges and strange boulders, phoenixes and unicorns, evergreen grasses and immortal peaches. And on its peak sat a divine stone, thirty-six and a half feet high, twenty-four in circumference.

Since creation, this rock had been nourished by Heaven and Earth, the sun and the moon, until it was divinely inspired with an immortal embryo, and one day gave birth to a stone egg, about as large as a ball. After exposure to the air, it turned into a stone monkey, with perfectly sculpted features and limbs. This monkey learned to climb and run, then bowed in all four directions of the compass. Two golden rays shone from his eyes all the way to the Palace of the Polestar, startling the benevolent sage of Heaven, the Jade Emperor, while he sat on his throne in the Hall of Divine Mists surrounded by his immortal ministers. The emperor ordered two of his generals, Thousand-Mile Eye and Follow-the-Wind Ear, to look out of the South Gate of Heaven and locate the source of this light. "Your humble servants," they soon reported back, "have traced it back to Flower-Fruit Mountain, in the small country of Aolai on the eastern continent, where a rock has given birth to an egg, which has turned into a stone monkey, whose golden eyes have dazzled even Your Majesty. But now the monkey has paused for some refreshment, and the blaze has dimmed."

"The creatures of the mortal world are all born from heaven and earth," the Jade Emperor remarked tolerantly. "Nothing they do can surprise us."

The monkey gamboled over the mountains, eating grass, drinking from streams, picking mountain flowers, hunting for fruit; he kept company with wolves and snakes, tigers and panthers, befriended deer and antelope, and swore brotherhood with macaques and apes. At night, he slept below cliffs; at sunrise, he wandered through mountains and caves, with no sense of the passing of time.

One sweltering morning, he sheltered from the heat with a crowd of monkeys in the shade of some pines; they swung from branch to branch, built sand pagodas, and chased dragonflies and lizards. Afterward, bathing in a mountain stream, they noticed how its current seemed to tumble like rolling melons and wondered where it was coming from. "As we don't have anything particular to do today," one of them suggested, "let's follow the stream to its origin." With shrieks of happy agreement, they all scrambled up the mountain to a great curtain of a waterfall.

The monkeys clapped their hands in delight. "Whoever dares pass through the waterfall to discover the source of the water, and returns alive, can be our king."

After three calls for a volunteer, the stone monkey suddenly jumped out of the crowd. "I'll go!" This excellent monkey closed his eyes, crouched, then sprang with one bound through the sheet of water. Once on the other side, he opened his eyes. Before him was a gleaming iron bridge, under which flowed the source of the stream. From the bridge, he could see into a beautiful cave residence: cushioned with moss, hung with stalactites, furnished with carved benches and beds, and equipped with pans and stoves. In the middle of the bridge hung a stone tablet on which was written, in large, regular calligraphy, the following address:

Heavenly Water-Curtain Cave

The Blessed Land of Flower-Fruit Mountain

The stone monkey leaped back out through the waterfall. "Fantastic luck!" he whooped.

"What's it like inside?" the other monkeys crowded around to ask. "How deep is the water?"

"It's the perfect place for us to make our home, an ideal refuge from heaven's fits of temper," explained the stone monkey, and described the wonders of Water-Curtain Cave. "It could easily hold thousands of us. Let's move in straightaway."

"You go first and we'll follow behind!" yelped the others.

Once more, the stone monkey crouched, shut his eyes, and sprang through the water. "Come on!" he called. The braver of the monkeys immediately followed; the more nervous ones tweaked their ears, scratched their cheeks, stretched, and chattered a good deal before eventually leaping onto the bridge and into the cave. Once there, they were soon snatching at bowls, fighting over stoves and beds, and dragging things back and forth-for such is the mischief of monkeys. There was not a moment's peace until they'd fretted themselves into exhaustion.

The stone monkey spoke again: "A monkey stands and falls by his word. You promised that whoever dared pass through the waterfall and returned safely would be king. So what are you waiting for?"

Without a murmur of dissent, the monkeys immediately bowed and wished their new king a long, long life. Their new ruler quickly dropped his old name-Stone Monkey-in favor of Beautiful Monkey King and appointed a few of the monkeys to ministerial and civil service positions. The monkeys then devoted themselves to exploring the delights of Flower-Fruit Mountain by day and returning to Water-Curtain Cave at night.

The Beautiful Monkey King lived this happy, innocent life for somewhere between three and five hundred years. Then one day, while banqueting with the other monkeys, he suddenly became melancholy and began to weep. "What has upset our great king?" clamored the others.

"I fear for the future," the monkey king explained with a sigh.

"But we live in bliss," said his subjects, laughing, "slaves of neither the unicorn, phoenix, nor man. Why are you worrying about the future?"

The monkey king said: "Life is good now, but eventually we will grow old and fall into the clutches of Yama, King of the Underworld."

While the monkey masses-instantly fearful-buried their faces in their hands and mewled piteously, a long-armed ape jumped out of the crowd: "Our great king's new sense of mortality suggests the beginnings of a religious calling. Only three types of creature can escape King Yama and his wheel of life and death: Buddhas, immortals, and holy sages."

"Where are they to be found?" asked the monkey king.

"In ancient caves on divine mountains."

"I leave immediately," declared the monkey king. "Even if my quest takes me to the very end of the world, I will return with the secret of eternal life."

All the monkeys applauded wildly. "Marvelous! First, though, we will gather fruits from far away for a huge send-off feast." The next day was taken up with preparing and consuming this banquet, an extraordinary spread of plums, cherries, lychees, pears, dates, peaches, strawberries, almonds, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, tangerines, sugarcane, persimmons and pomegranates, and coconut and grape wine. The monkey king sat at the head of the tables, with his subjects approaching in turn, in strict order of age and rank, to toast him with wine, flowers, and fruit.

The following day, the monkey king rose early. "Make me a dry pinewood raft, little monkeys, and fetch me a bamboo pole and some fruit for the journey." When all was ready, he hopped onto the raft and, pushing off with all his might, set off across the ocean. He was in luck, for a strong southeasterly wind blew him directly to the northwest coast of the southern continent. When his bamboo pole told him he was in shallow water, he abandoned the raft for the shoreline, where he encountered humans hunting for fish, wild geese, and clams and dredging salt.

He ran at them, making strange faces, and they dropped their baskets and nets and scattered in terror. The monkey king grabbed the slowest of them and stripped him of his clothes. After dressing in them, Monkey made a tour of the continent's towns and cities, studying human manners and speech. Eight or nine years passed. Monkey remained determined to seek the formula for eternal life, while the humans who surrounded him sought only money and fame, without a thought for their own mortality; no one cared what became of him.

Eventually, Monkey came to the Western Ocean. Still in search of immortals, he built himself another raft and floated across to the western continent. In time, he approached a beautiful, jagged mountain, thickly forested at its base and luxuriant with flowers, grasses, mosses, bamboo, and pines-an ideal hermit's refuge. Unconcerned about the danger of wolves, snakes, tigers, or leopards, Monkey climbed up to look around. When he reached the top, he suddenly heard a human voice singing deep within a copse of trees.

I sleep till dawn then wander the wood,

cutting creepers for my livelihood.

When I've gathered as much as I can hold,

I stroll singing through the market till it's sold.

I trade my load for wine and rice,

and never haggle over the price.

Living without ambition or conceit,

only immortals and Taoists will I meet.

"At last!" the monkey king rejoiced to himself. Skipping through the forest, he came face-to-face with a woodcutter busy at work, dressed in a large conical hat made of young bamboo, a cotton-gauze tunic with a silk sash, and straw sandals. "Salutations, immortal!" Monkey hailed him.

The flustered woodcutter dropped his ax. "Hush! I am a poor, ignorant man unable even to feed or clothe myself."

"Why, then, do you sing about immortals?" Monkey asked him.

The woodcutter laughed: "Oh, that. A neighbor of mine, an immortal as it happens, taught the song to me, to cheer me up when life was getting me down. A moment ago, I started worrying about something, so I sang it. I didn't know anyone was listening."

"Why don't you become his disciple? You could learn the secret of eternal life."

"I've not had an easy life," the woodcutter explained. "My father died when I was seven or eight. I'm an only child, and have been my mother's sole support ever since. And now that she's getting old, she needs me all the more. All we have is the rice and tea I get in exchange for my firewood. I can't abandon her for a religious life."

"Well, I'm sure you will be rewarded in later life for your filial devotion. In the meantime, though, could you point the way to the immortal's house, so that I can pay him a visit?"

"It's not far. This is Heart and Soul Mountain. About seven or eight miles to the south, you'll come to the Cave of the Tilted Moon and Three Stars, the home of an immortal called Subodhi, who has trained many disciples, and currently has thirty or forty studying under him."

Monkey tugged at the woodcutter. "Come with me! You won't regret it."

"Did you not listen to anything I said just now?" he answered, exasperated. "I've wood to chop. On your way now."

So Monkey left the woodcutter and found the path to the south. After seven or eight miles, a heavenly cave dwelling came into sight, shrouded in mists and light, framed by an emerald-green forest of bamboo and cypress and by moss-covered hanging cliffs. Cranes, phoenixes, apes, deer, lions, and elephants roamed about. The entrance was tightly sealed and the place seemed uninhabited, but a huge stone slab-thirty feet long by eight feet wide-told Monkey that the woodcutter had spoken the truth: the cave of the tilted moon and three stars, heart and soul mountain. Not daring to knock, Monkey loitered on a nearby pine, nibbling some nuts.

After a very short while, the door creaked open and a young immortal of exceptionally refined looks emerged. He wore a robe with loose, billowing sleeves; his hair was bound with silk cords. "Who's making all that noise?"

Jumping down from the tree, Monkey bowed. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I'm here to learn the secret of eternal life."

"You seek the Way, you say?" The young man smiled. "Our master just told me to look outside the front door for a new student."

"That would be me!" exclaimed Monkey.

"Come on, then," the young man said, ushering him inside.

Monkey followed the youth deep into the cave, past story upon story and row upon row of jeweled pavilions, towers, and arches, until they reached the foot of a jade platform, on top of which sat Subodhi, the famous Patriarch of the West; thirty trainee immortals sat on the ground below. "Master!" Monkey gasped, launching into a frenzy of kowtows.

"Tell me your name and where you're from," Subodhi asked, "before you smash your head beyond repair."

"I come from Water-Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain in the land of Aolai on the eastern continent."

"Throw him out!" Subodhi roared. "Liars can't learn enlightenment! Two oceans and the southern continent lie between here and Aolai."

Monkey resumed his kowtowing, this time at double speed. "It's true!" he protested. "My journey here took more than ten years."

"Hmpf," conceded Subodhi. "That sounds about right. So what's your name? Who were your parents?"

"I have no parents," Monkey replied.

"Were you born from a tree, then?"

"All I can remember is an immortal rock on Flower-Fruit Mountain. One year, it split open, and there I was."

"I see," considered Subodhi, hiding his delight at this revelation. "So you were born of heaven and earth. Get up and walk about, so I can look at you." Monkey scampered this way and that. "You're not exactly classically handsome," Subodhi said, laughing, "but you look exactly as a monkey reared on fruit and nuts ought to. I'll give you a surname: Sun. Written one way, it means monkey. But I'll drop the animal radical, leaving us with the Sun that means child."

Monkey burbled with glee. "A surname! I've got a surname! But can I have a given name also, so that you can easily call me hither and thither?"

"The given names of my disciples rotate within a cycle of twelve characters."

"And those twelve characters are?"

"Broad, guang; great, da; wise, zhi; intelligent, hui; true, zhen; obedient, ru; of nature, xing; of the sea, hai; outstanding, ying; awoken, wu; rounded, yuan; enlightened, jue. As you fall into the tenth, 'awoken,' wu, I will call you Sun Wukong: Sun-who-has-awoken-to-emptiness. Happy with that?"

"Sun Wukong!" Monkey chortled. "I love it!"

The name spoke an important truth: for at the beginning of everything, there were no names-only emptiness. To advance from emptiness, living creatures must first become aware of it.

And if you wish to know what Monkey learned next, you must read on.

Chapter Two

While Monkey pranced delightedly about, Subodhi ordered the congregation to take him away and teach him some basic rules of hygiene and etiquette. The disciples found Monkey a place in the corridor where he could sleep, and the following morning he began to learn from his fellow students how to speak and behave. Day in, day out, they discussed scriptures and doctrines; he practiced calligraphy and burned incense. In his spare time, he swept the ground and weeded the gardens, tended to the trees and flowers, gathered wood and lit fires, and fetched water and carried drinks. Six or seven perfectly contented years slipped by. Eventually, Subodhi climbed back onto his rostrum and summoned his immortals for a lecture on doctrine: a synthesis of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Deluxe edition (May 10, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143136305
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143136309
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.74 x 0.97 x 8.33 inches
• #517 in Historical Fantasy (Books)
• #1,289 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
• #1,569 in Classic Literature & Fiction

About the author

Cheng'en wu.

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