Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s3.t4: Journey to the West
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s3.t4
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Journey to the West
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*The Journey to the West* is a long novel of gods and demons written on the basis of Xuanzang’s journey to India and is one of the four ancient great novels of China. It consists of 100 chapters, and is believed to be written by Wu Cheng’en (1506-1580 or 1582 CE), though this authorship is disputed. Xuanzang’s legendary pilgrimage has a significant impact on later generations and from the 9^th or 10^th century CE, relevant tales began to appear in folk tales and literary writings and these have been continuously deified. *Datang Sanzang Qujing Shihua* (The Poetic *Tale of the Procurement of Scriptures by Tripitaka of the Great Tang*), written in about the 10ᵗʰ (or 12ᵗʰ) century CE, already turned Xuanzang’s deeds into a fairy tale. In late 10ᵗʰ century CE or later, the play of Tang Sanzang was already performed in public. In the 14ᵗʰ century CE, *Xiyouji*, a drama composed by Yang Jingxian (14ᵗʰ century CE), was available for public performance, and meanwhile, a novel of the same name was also in circulation. All these indicate that Wu Cheng’en composed *The Journey to the West* on the basis of various folk tales.
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'Journey to the West' (Xiyouji)
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A Ming Dynasty picture volume of Xiyouji
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Basic Plot
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A monkey is born from an ancient rock on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits in the country of Aolai in Purvavideha. He becomes the king for a group of monkeys there. He crosses the sea via Jambudvipa to come to Aparagodaniya, and there he learns 72 polymorphic transformations from his teacher, Subhuti, who gives him the name “Sun Wukong”. Subsequently, he wreaks havoc at the Dragon Palace, the Underworld, the heavenly peach banquet, Laozi’s Tuùita and the celestial palace of the Jade Emperor, and fights with the Pagoda-wielding Heavenly King, Nezha (Nalakavara) and Erlang Shen. At last, he is kept under the Five Elements Mountain by the Buddha (Tathàgata). An elder monk of the Jinshan Temple in Zhenjaing finds a baby drifting along the Yangtze river, and saves and brings him up until he is 18, and gives him the name Xuanzang. Xuanzang becomes a sworn brother of the Emperor Taizong of Tang, and sets out to the Western Heaven for sacred scriptures as requested by Avalokitesvara. Along the way, he successively takes Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing as his disciples, and escorted by three disciples, he continues to march westward, passing through 81 hardships and overcoming various demons, and at last, arrives in the Western Heaven, sees Sakyamuni at the Vulture Peak (Gridhrakuta), and returns to Tang with authentic scriptures. With their mission accomplished, these four ascend to the Western Heaven, and Sun Wukong and Xuanzang become Buddhas, Zhu Bajie an altar cleanser and Sha Wujing an arhat.
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Comment
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By language, structure, characters and plot, *The Journey to the West* is indeed a product under the influence of Buddhism, especially tantric Buddhism, as well as that of India-China cultural exchange. By language, it contains many Buddhist terms. By structure, the impact of Indian Buddhism can be seen in two aspects. Firstly, it has a combination of verse and prose, and secondly, it connects several small stories with a main story, and each of these small stories is complete on its own.
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By way of characters, it has four protagonists, all Buddhists. Xuanzang is an authentic historic figure. The origin of the image of Sun Wukong has been disputed. Someone tends to attribute it to Hanuman in the Indian epic *Ramayana*, while others think him as nothing but a China-specific product. His image might not have come out of Hanuman directly, but must have been influenced by monkey tales in Buddhist texts. Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, as scholars have demonstrated, also evolve from Buddhist stories. There are figures borrowed from Buddhist scriptures, for example, Buddha and Bodhisattva, Subhuti who is a disciple of the Buddha but in the book becomes an immortal Daoist, and the Pagoda-wielding Heavenly King and Nezha, who should have been Vaisramana and his son etc.
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As for the plot, it also has many instances of Buddhist influence. For example, the fight between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen is similar to that between Sariputra - a disciple of the Buddha, and non-Buddhist masters. *Foshuo Pusa Benxing Jing* narrates the fight between Buddha and Naga. Buddha goes to the Dragon Spring to destroy the evil dragon for the people. The dragon turns into Raksasa, and Buddha into Vaisramana. Then the dragon turns into an elephant, and Buddha into a lion, and the dragon shows its true appearance. Buddha turns into Garuda and subdues the dragon.
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Mural painting of Xuanzang’s return from his journey to the west after procuring the Buddhist scriptures, Great Buddha Hall, Zhangye Giant Buddha temple, Gansu Province
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'Paschim ki Tirth Yatra (Xiyouji)', front cover of the Hindi edition
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Many other tales also have a Buddhist origin, such as Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie turning into a boy and a girl near the Tongtian River, Sun Wukong wreaking chaos at the Dragon Palace, Buddha turning his hand into the Five Elements Mountain, and the huge turtle carrying scriptures.
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Influence
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After Wu Cheng'en, The Journey to the West had a number of abridged editions and sequels, for example, *Xu Xiyouji*, *Xiyou Bu* and *Hou Xiyouji*. Its stories had, have and will continue to have a strong impact on Chinese drama, painting, sculpture, film, TV and other fields. This indicates that the story of Xuanzang is well-known in China, and Buddhism and India are topics of popular interest.
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As one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, *The Journey to the West* was translated into English long ago. The earliest English text, titled *A Mission to Heaven*, was translated by Timothy Richard in 1913. Helen M. Hayes published an abridged translation in 1930. In 1942, Arthur David Waley (1889-1966), an Englishman, published an abridged translation in London as *Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China*, which, later on, was translated into many other languages and published in many countries. In 1944, *The Adventures of Monkey*, a version for children, was published in the United States. Anthony C. Yu, a sinologist and a professor at University of Chicago, translated the entire book (four volumes), which was successively published by University of Chicago Press from 1977-1983. An unabridged translation by W. J. F. Jenner was published by Foreign Language Press in 1980, and many copies are kept at the Cultural Office of Chinese Embassy in New Delhi and received by Indians with an interest. A number of English translations (all abridged) are available in English-speaking countries.
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A Hindi version of *The Journey to the West*, translated by two Indian scholars, Manmohan Thakur and Janaki, was published by Foreign Languages Press in 2009. This colossal work took 30 years to plan, translate, proofread and publish and involves sincere collaboration of Chinese and Indian scholars on Hindi language.
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(*Xue Keqiao*)
Linked texts (1)
- Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa — Vālmīki, Sanskrit