Classics

Monkey King: Journey to the West

Monkey King: Journey to the West

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-15 13:52:25
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Wu Cheng'en
  • ISBN：0141393440
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

One of China's Four Great Classical Novels， Monkey King was written anonymously during the Ming dynasty and is most commonly attributed to Wu Cheng'en， the son of a silk-shop clerk from east China。 It recounts a Tang-dynasty monk's quest for Buddhist scriptures， accompanied by an omni-talented kung-fu Monkey King called Sun Wukong; a rice-loving divine pig; and a depressive man-eating river-sand monster。

Comparable to The Canterbury Tales or Don Quixote， the tale is at once a comic adventure story， a humorous satire of Chinese bureaucracy， a spring of spiritual insight and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeys towards enlightenment。

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Reviews

Michael Mettier ，

Hmmm MonkeyWas very interesting to read the Story that inspired so many shows I grew up with ， maybe some day I will read the unabridged version。

Cherry ，

rating is for the translation！ （otherwise Chinese classics are always 5-star for me hehe）

Murphy Daley ，

excellent translation and a book that will stay with me forever

Vlod ，

Genuinely one of the best things I've ever read。 Genuinely one of the best things I've ever read。 。。。more

Yumeng Wang ，

I enjoyed this！ Funny， and ridiculous。 But also definitely felt abridged， and I definitely feel like I'm missing some context （a couple thousand years of it， maybe？）。 I'm glad it was short enough to get through， and now I want to watch the cartoon series。 I enjoyed this！ Funny， and ridiculous。 But also definitely felt abridged， and I definitely feel like I'm missing some context （a couple thousand years of it， maybe？）。 I'm glad it was short enough to get through， and now I want to watch the cartoon series。 。。。more

Declan ，

Monkey is misrule and infinite ingenuity。

Paul ，

I picked this up several years ago and， after recently re-watching the TV series， finally got around 6to reading it。It's a lot of fun。This is the abridged version of the story and it zips along very entertainingly indeed。 This novel captures the beginning and end of the tale and， I strongly suspect， that much of the abridgement has happened with regards the journey itself。 That said， we do see several highlights -- some of which were quite familiar -- and the characters of Monkey， Tripitaka， San I picked this up several years ago and， after recently re-watching the TV series， finally got around 6to reading it。It's a lot of fun。This is the abridged version of the story and it zips along very entertainingly indeed。 This novel captures the beginning and end of the tale and， I strongly suspect， that much of the abridgement has happened with regards the journey itself。 That said， we do see several highlights -- some of which were quite familiar -- and the characters of Monkey， Tripitaka， Sandy， Pigsy and the Horse come across very effectively。 This version of the story is fun， funny and well worth a read。 。。。more

Cleo ，

Abridged， but amusing。 Brought many memories of watching the 1980s TV series on hot summer mornings in Beijing， peach in hand。 Tackling the original in Chinese would be its own fourteen year quest。。。

moonfruitloops ，

The Penguin edition translated by Julia Lovell is immensely readable！ I find translations from Chinese into English tend to take on a stilted tone， but this translation is excellent。 The stories whizz past with slapstick humour and good cheer。 Really enjoyed it。 The only thing is that "Monkey King" is sort of an abridged/incomplete version of "Journey to the West"。 It includes some stories and leaves out others。 So I would recommend it to people who want a fun way to dip their toes （so to speak） The Penguin edition translated by Julia Lovell is immensely readable！ I find translations from Chinese into English tend to take on a stilted tone， but this translation is excellent。 The stories whizz past with slapstick humour and good cheer。 Really enjoyed it。 The only thing is that "Monkey King" is sort of an abridged/incomplete version of "Journey to the West"。 It includes some stories and leaves out others。 So I would recommend it to people who want a fun way to dip their toes （so to speak） in "Journey to the West"。 。。。more

Joseph Fountain ，

My review of Journey to the West My review of Journey to the West 。。。more

Ian ，

Good， light-weight reading though it does provide some interesting insights into 16th century Chinese beliefs and culture。 It made me realise how well the 1970s Japanese version captured the original characters。My big gripe is that， although I have the paperback too， I bought the Kindle version and it is full of typos。Given that the Kindle version was twice the price of the paperback bought years ago， there is no excuse for typos that a competent editor would have picked up easily。 They are so b Good， light-weight reading though it does provide some interesting insights into 16th century Chinese beliefs and culture。 It made me realise how well the 1970s Japanese version captured the original characters。My big gripe is that， although I have the paperback too， I bought the Kindle version and it is full of typos。Given that the Kindle version was twice the price of the paperback bought years ago， there is no excuse for typos that a competent editor would have picked up easily。 They are so bad that some are spelling errors that an electronic spell check of the OCR version would have found。 Maybe if it was a free， scanned version of a classic I could accept this， but it is inexcusable in a full priced electronic version from a 'reputable' publisher （Penguin）。 Buy a second hand paper copy。 。。。more

Mark Beckford ，

A beautifully written book and very engaging。 One of those books that you miss when you have finished it！

Alexander Boyd ，

After watching Aquaman with my nine-year-old Chinese host brother in a 4th-tier Guizhou city， I asked him who his favorite superhero was。 I'll never forget his look of disdain。 "Monkey King， duh。 America might have Superman， Spiderman， Batman， and Aquaman， but all China needs is a single Monkey King，" he said。 After reading Julia Lovell's rollicking translation， I now fully understand my little brother's point。 Lovell's writing is love at first sight。 I learned about Lovell's talent at the same After watching Aquaman with my nine-year-old Chinese host brother in a 4th-tier Guizhou city， I asked him who his favorite superhero was。 I'll never forget his look of disdain。 "Monkey King， duh。 America might have Superman， Spiderman， Batman， and Aquaman， but all China needs is a single Monkey King，" he said。 After reading Julia Lovell's rollicking translation， I now fully understand my little brother's point。 Lovell's writing is love at first sight。 I learned about Lovell's talent at the same time that I picked up drinking coffee （and having the occasional accompanying cigarette）; mornings of the fall of my junior year in college were spent with her translations of Lu Xun's fiction and cheap dark roast coffee from the college canteen。 Those are some of the happiest moment's of my life。 This book likewise made my mind buzz while setting my heart at ease， an exceedingly rare combination。 Lovell is a （braver， presumably） Tripitaka for our times。 I'll be plumbing it for choice quotes for my own writing from now until kingdom come。 Here are a two of my favorites， and how I plan to use them。 Mild （微辣 even） spoilers: - After Monkey learns to "cloud-gallop，" his famous 108，00 mile leap， Subodhi's other disciples say， "'Lucky Monkey！' The crowd of discipline giggled。 'If you master this， you can get a job as an express courier。 You'll always be able to make a living。'" Talk about a pull-quote for an article on the plight of China's express delivery workers。 Most recently， a man from the same Guizhou city where I watched Aquaman （and was introduced to Monkey's greatness） was arrested for organizing food delivery workers to speak out！ What an injustice！ The monkey， the king of couriers， would brook no such thing。 -Near the end of the Journey to the West， the following scene occurs。 "As soon as the boatman began gently punting across the river， a corpse floated past。 Monkey smiled at the terror-stricken Tripitaka。 'Don't be afraid。 It's you。'" Perfect！ The exact scene of the exact book of which it reminds me eludes me while I'm writing the review， but I feel it might be out of Beckett if he had been Buddhist。 If I'm to get serious about this whole writing thing， I should just repeat this line over and over， my own sutra， until I achieve enlightenment。 This book couldn't be better。 Had so much fun reading it。 If I'm able to get to Beijing this fall， I've decided to focus my first semester on reading the original Chinese。 It might take me 5，048 days， but at the end I just might have a shot at enlightenment。 。。。more

Darren Hardesty ，

I did not realise this was abridged until half way through and to be honest much as i love the story of Monkey this was about the right amount for me。 I do not think i could have made it through the 4 volumes of the unabridged book。

Raj ，

Unlike others around my age， I never encountered the Monkey TV show， when it was shown on British TV。 My only knowledge of Journey to the West before reading this was the Netflix TV show The New Legends of Monkey， but it intrigued me enough to look for some of the source material。 Serendipitously， at around this same time， something about this new translation scrolled past my Twitter feed， so I grabbed it。It's obvious that it's something that was part of the oral tradition， with the over-arching Unlike others around my age， I never encountered the Monkey TV show， when it was shown on British TV。 My only knowledge of Journey to the West before reading this was the Netflix TV show The New Legends of Monkey， but it intrigued me enough to look for some of the source material。 Serendipitously， at around this same time， something about this new translation scrolled past my Twitter feed， so I grabbed it。It's obvious that it's something that was part of the oral tradition， with the over-arching quest narrative， and lots of individual adventures in between， so that the storyteller/bard could pick and choose what to tell on any given evening， depending on their audience's taste or mood。 I think it was probably wise of the translator to cut some of those out - she says in the introduction that she tried to ensure that the stories that she kept retained the essence of the characters and how they develop throughout。The style is interesting， as it's pretty irreverent， with religion（s）， rulers and bureaucracy all being lampooned at different times。 Given that， it surprised me that the book has made it through the various purges and political changes that have taken place in China over the centuries since its publication。The translation is very clear and easy to read。 I've not read any other versions， but this has a very modern feel to it。 Maybe too modern for my tastes。 While I don't want language to be difficult for the sake of it， this is an epic quest， and I would have liked to see that reflected a little in the language。 Mostly it's fine， but there was one joke riffing on "Human Resources" that made me raise an eyebrow。 But then I love the language in Lord of the Rings and its ilk， so that sort of slightly old-fashioned "epic" language just fits this sort of story for me。It's an interesting and fun book though， and one that made me laugh out loud several times。 I'm glad that I've read it， since I know so little of Chinese literature， especially classic Chinese literature。 。。。more

Andrew ，

A classic Chinese story that I've known since my childhood and something I'm very happy to see in a fresh， contemporary， modern version that is easy to read for the modern English-speaking reader。 （Don't get me wrong -- it's still true to the fundamental story， with no anachronisms or inappropriately modern plot introduced。）Worth noting it's abridged and about a quarter of the original length -- the opening and closing scenes are preserved largely intact; the cuts have come to the intermediate s A classic Chinese story that I've known since my childhood and something I'm very happy to see in a fresh， contemporary， modern version that is easy to read for the modern English-speaking reader。 （Don't get me wrong -- it's still true to the fundamental story， with no anachronisms or inappropriately modern plot introduced。）Worth noting it's abridged and about a quarter of the original length -- the opening and closing scenes are preserved largely intact; the cuts have come to the intermediate scenes "on the road" during the journey。 。。。more

Mikyla （mikylas。booksnpics） ，

I had to read this for my world cultures class and I enjoyed it so much！ It was unlike any mythology or folk lore book I have read before。 It was filled with jokes， battles， and wit。 I would reread this anytime。

Nathan Ball ，

I ended up reading this book after seeing the blurb of a new edition of it online， and being immediately intrigued。 It sounded like a wild， colourful ride， especially for a book from the 1500s。 Having now finished it， I can confirm that my initial impressions were well-founded。There's an almost cartoon-like energy to Monkey。 There are fight scenes in nearly every chapter， on a ludicrous cosmic scale in some cases， characters frequently transform into other forms， and there's a through-line of hu I ended up reading this book after seeing the blurb of a new edition of it online， and being immediately intrigued。 It sounded like a wild， colourful ride， especially for a book from the 1500s。 Having now finished it， I can confirm that my initial impressions were well-founded。There's an almost cartoon-like energy to Monkey。 There are fight scenes in nearly every chapter， on a ludicrous cosmic scale in some cases， characters frequently transform into other forms， and there's a through-line of humour that reaches every scene in the book。 Each chapter also ends with what is effectively "To find out what happens next， you'll need to read the next chapter"， almost like a 'Next Time' clip at the end of a cartoon episode。 It all combines with a constant parade of imaginative characters and locations to create a novel with an excellent pace， particularly compared to some other classics I've read。The structure of Monkey was also something I really enjoyed。 Reading a plot summary， I expected Monkey to be a side character in Tripitaka's story， but actually the first third of the book is dedicated to Monkey's early life and rise to spiritual power， then his downfall and imprisonment due to his mischievous nature。 When he returns later as one of Tripitaka's disciples， his story becomes one of redemption， as he uses his great powers to help others rather than for himself。 It's a satisfying arc， though the other disciples， Pigsy and Sandy， don't get the same amount of development。As one of the four 'Great Classical Chinese Novels'， Monkey definitely surprised me。 It was a lot funnier and more accessible than I thought it would be， and makes me want to try out more Chinese literature in the future， which is the sign of a great classic in my book。 。。。more

David ，

Read this several times， but not recently。 I used to re-read it with some frequency， but it's been decades now， might be fun to revisit after such a long time。 I notice there's a new translation out。 Wonder if I should try that？ Pretty my copy is falling apart from long use。 Read this several times， but not recently。 I used to re-read it with some frequency， but it's been decades now， might be fun to revisit after such a long time。 I notice there's a new translation out。 Wonder if I should try that？ Pretty my copy is falling apart from long use。 。。。more

Sapna ，

I got this book around noon and finished it within a few hours。 Why did I mention that？ Because lately books have not been able to keep my attention。 Whether it was the nostalgia of reading mythology that reminded me of what I read growing up or perhaps just the pure escape of reading about the nutty interactions between gods， humans and animals， I liked it！ The into that Julia Lovell wrote in the beginning did a great job contextualizing the religious， cultural， political and historical relevan I got this book around noon and finished it within a few hours。 Why did I mention that？ Because lately books have not been able to keep my attention。 Whether it was the nostalgia of reading mythology that reminded me of what I read growing up or perhaps just the pure escape of reading about the nutty interactions between gods， humans and animals， I liked it！ The into that Julia Lovell wrote in the beginning did a great job contextualizing the religious， cultural， political and historical relevance of this story。 However， as I was reading， it was just a highly engaging， fun story about imperfect characters and their interactions with each other and the world。 。。。more

Rebecca ，

There's clearly a certain logic and rhythm to fairy tales， as the trappings and topics of this 16th century series of interconnected stories of the mischievous Monkey King and his gradual enlightenment （with lots of shenanigans and battles on the way） has a feeling not dissimilar from many European classics or 1001 Arabian Nights。 At the same time， I thoroughly enjoyed the wildly different assumptions behind them。 There's clearly a certain logic and rhythm to fairy tales， as the trappings and topics of this 16th century series of interconnected stories of the mischievous Monkey King and his gradual enlightenment （with lots of shenanigans and battles on the way） has a feeling not dissimilar from many European classics or 1001 Arabian Nights。 At the same time， I thoroughly enjoyed the wildly different assumptions behind them。 。。。more

Hollie ，

The word ‘fresh’ is thrown around a lot when we talk about new translations but Julia Lovell’s translation of Monkey King: Journey to the West truly deserves the honourific。This new version of the 16th century Chinese classic is bang up-to-date in tone and wit。 It truly feels like it was written now。 However， it still feels like a classic: just one that’s had a fresh lick of paint。I appreciate how Lovell has kept everything clear and concise and cut the unnecessary parts of the book， it now feel The word ‘fresh’ is thrown around a lot when we talk about new translations but Julia Lovell’s translation of Monkey King: Journey to the West truly deserves the honourific。This new version of the 16th century Chinese classic is bang up-to-date in tone and wit。 It truly feels like it was written now。 However， it still feels like a classic: just one that’s had a fresh lick of paint。I appreciate how Lovell has kept everything clear and concise and cut the unnecessary parts of the book， it now feels less daunting to traverse than previous versions。 ‘The Translator’s Notes’ at the beginning of the tale is a must-read itself， the translation process depicted is enthralling and brings a new understanding to the version we are about to read。Monkey is cheeky and wild and a fantastically unusual protagonist; a shape-shifting immortal humanoid monkey on a spiritual journey across mythological China is indeed unique。 This was inherently a fun read and I do recommend it。 。。。more

Russell ，

beautiful book， wonderfully written， thoroughly enjoyed it

Luís Garcia ，

（read in Bang Nam Chuet， Thailand）

David ，

This new modern language translation of the classic Chinese novel is a wonderful， fun tale of the adventures of The Monkey King。 One can tell these stories were intended to be read， as they have that fairy tale glow about them。 My only gripe is how few of the trials from the original novel are translated here。 I would have loved to read more。

Horace Derwent ，

newly translated by china expert， julia lovell， coolactually it's just not about a monkey， it's about an eminent monk（a dignitary buddhist） and his three disciples， and the journey they went to ancient india for obtaining buddhist scriptures newly translated by china expert， julia lovell， coolactually it's just not about a monkey， it's about an eminent monk（a dignitary buddhist） and his three disciples， and the journey they went to ancient india for obtaining buddhist scriptures 。。。more

Birgit Eggink ，

The story is quite repetitive and I didn’t get the insights and wisdom I would’ve hoped。 It was a fun story though， easy to read :）

Megan ，

A magical monkey and a motley gang of Buddhist Pilgrims make an obstacle-filled journey to the West。

Megan ，

I’m glad I read it but I honestly had difficulty following it。 I can see why the stories have been turned into film and tv。 They’re great for that。 But to read them was a bit confusing。

LaCitty ，

Considerato che si tratta di in romanzo cinese del XVI secolo， Lo scimmiotto è una vera e propria sorpresa。 Purtroppo ho scoperto solo a fine lettura che questa è una riduzione che riporta solo alcuni capitoli considerati particolarmente riusciti dal curatore inglese dell'edizione; tuttavia mi riservo di leggere anche l'opera completa （più di 1000 pagine di mattone😱）La storia inizia raccontando la nascita e "l'infanzia" dello Scimmiotto， un personaggio bizzarro， divertente， iperattivo， attabrigh Considerato che si tratta di in romanzo cinese del XVI secolo， Lo scimmiotto è una vera e propria sorpresa。 Purtroppo ho scoperto solo a fine lettura che questa è una riduzione che riporta solo alcuni capitoli considerati particolarmente riusciti dal curatore inglese dell'edizione; tuttavia mi riservo di leggere anche l'opera completa （più di 1000 pagine di mattone😱）La storia inizia raccontando la nascita e "l'infanzia" dello Scimmiotto， un personaggio bizzarro， divertente， iperattivo， attabrighe a volte francamente prepotente， al punto da meritare una punizione dall'Imperatore di Giada， signore del Paradiso。 Per intercessione di un'altra divinità， la bodhisattva Kuan-yin， potrà fare ammenda se diventerà discepolo di un monaco buddista， Hsuan Tsang （personaggio realmente esistito） e lo proteggerà nel suo cammino verso l'India per recuperare le sacre scritture buddiste。 I due incontreranno altri tre discepoli: Porcellino， Sabbioso e un drago con cui condivideranno avventure fantastiche （un re da resuscitare， una città contesa tra buddisti e taoisti， un malvagio immortale che richiede il sacrificio annuale di due bambini）， raggiungeranno il loro obiettivo e torneranno indietro cambiati e avendo ricevuto l'illuminazione。 Un romanzo adorabile， pieni di spunti， riferimenti mitologici che ricordano quanto alcuni temi siano ricorrenti e trasversali a culture lontanissime， ma anche un un universo di personaggi affascinante e nuovo rispetto al pantheon greco-romano。 L'unica pecca di questa edizione è che è completamente priva di note， quindi ho dovuto （ma forse sarebbe meglio dire voluto） approfondire alcune cose usando internet。 Di per sé， la storia fila liscia anche senza andare a cercare divinità， creature fantastiche e personaggi vari。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Monkey King: Journey to the West

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Monkey King: Journey to the West&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Monkey King: Journey to the West&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0