-(Annotated Edition)

Author: Wu Cheng'en
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: In ancient Chinese fiction, Journey to the West is a great work that reaches the pinnacle of both ideological and artistic excellence. It is also a representative of the important genre of fantasy and mythological novels during the Ming Dynasty, standing as the pinnacle of ancient Chinese fantasy and mythological novels and a symbol of romantic literature. The author, with his rich artistic imagination, constructs a fantastical mythological world and creates a group of vivid and deeply influential literary characters, such as Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, which have been beloved by people for centuries. Journey to the West primarily depicts the story of Sun Wukong protecting Tang Sanzang on his journey westward to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures, enduring ninety-nine and nine difficulties. The entire book consists of one hundred chapters, which can be broadly divided into three parts. The first part, from the beginning to the eighth chapter, mainly tells the story of Sun Wukong's birth, his apprenticeship, and his rebellion in Heaven. This is the most exciting part of the book, filled with lively and tumultuous scenes as Sun Wukong travels, fully showcasing his rebellious nature. The second part, from the eighth to the twelfth chapter, mainly describes Tang Sanzang's origins and the reasons for his pilgrimage. The third part, from the thirteenth chapter to the end, primarily tells the story of Tang Sanzang's journey westward, where he later recruits Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing as his disciples, and overcomes ninety-nine and nine difficulties to finally retrieve the true scriptures and achieve enlightenment. It presents a splendid and colorful mythological world, leaving everyone in awe of the author's rich and bold artistic imagination. Journey to the West not only contains profound ideological content but also achieves great artistic success. With its rich and unique artistic imagination, vivid and storylines, lifelike characters, and humorous and witty language, it constructs a distinctive artistic palace of Journey to the West. This book is based on the Shide Tang edition, with reference to other printed editions such as those from the People's Literature Publishing House and Yue Lu Book Company. Except for the conversion of traditional characters and variant characters to simplified characters, homophones, archaic characters, etc. remain as they were in the original text.