INTRODUCTION

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, someone called Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West and Jin Ping Mei China’s four outstanding novels. The term “the four outstanding novels” became current in the early years of the following Qing Dynasty. One of these classics, Journey to the West, appeared in the Jiajing reign period of the Ming Dynasty, during the 16^th century. It is based on the story of a historical journey, which had long been handed down, made by a Buddhist monk of the Tang Dynasty to the lands to the west of China. In the course of transmission, and retold from the perspective of mid-Ming society, the story became suffused with mystical elements, and the purpose of the monk’s journey became a search for the Buddhist Western Paradise. Journey to the West has been immensely popular in China for over 400 years, on account of its fresh and convoluted plots, distinctive and life-like characters, profound and incisive ideological content, and light-hearted style.

The historical background to the novel is as follows: In the Zhenguan reign period of the Tang Dynasty, a Buddhist monk named Xuanzang (602-664) traveled alone through Central Asia to the land of Tianzhu (present-day India) to seek the original Buddhist scriptures. Journey there and back—covering thousands of miles—took 17 years, and Xuanzang traversed 138 states, writing a brilliant page not only in the history of Buddhist culture but also in the history of Sino-Indian cultural exchanges. All kinds of stories about Xuanzang’s quest for the scriptures soon circulated among the people, and with the passage of time and the gradual geographical spread of these stories, they acquired a more and more mystical coloring.

As early as during the Tang Dynasty, Li Rong’s Fantastic Tales contained an account of “Xuanzang and the Recondite Scriptures.” In it, the hazards of the journey are described; wild beasts appear and disappear; a mysterious old monk comes to Xuan Zhuang’s assistance in the nick of time, etc. In this story already we can see the beginning of a gradual evolution from a historical account to the form of a fantasy novel.

The character of Sun Wukong first appears in the stories as one of Xuanzang’s escorts on his mission in the Song Dynasty, becoming an almost universal participant in the expedition during the following Southern Song Dynasty. In an extant printed storyteller’s prompt book of the Southern Song, titled The Tale of How Sanzang of the Great Tang Dynasty Fetched the Scriptures, Wukong appears among Xuanzang’s companions in episodes such as The Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, Slaying the White Tiger Spirit, Expelling the Dragon Kui, Overcoming the Deep Sand God and Stealing and Eating the Peach of Immortality. Although the characterization is somewhat coarse and unimaginative, Wukong is from then on a permanent fixture in the framework of the stories.

By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, the story had been refined by countless unknown artists of the common folk, and its content had been greatly enriched and its dramatic character enhanced. The Story of Journey to the West, which appeared at this time, seems to have been much different from the Tale, judging by the only fragment to have survived, known as Beheading the Dragon of the Jing River and contained in the Yongle Canon (see the character Meng under the Song divine in Volume 13,139). The fragment consists of about 1,200 characters, and corresponds to the first part of Chapter 9 of the Shidetang version of the Journey to the West.

Moreover, a Korean textbook of the Chinese language, Paktongsa Onhae, which dates from the latter part of the Yuan period, contains a section of the Story of Journey to the West—the episode when the travelers reach the Kingdom of Tarrycart—which is an abbreviated version of Chapter 46 in the Shidetang version. This book also has eight notes to the text, and describes the plot of the Story of Journey to the West. From this we can see that key episodes in the novel Journey to the West, such as Havoc in Heaven, and those involving the Bear Spirit, the Lion Spirit, the Spider Spirit, the Yellow Wind Spirit, the Red Boy Spirit, the Fiery Mountains, Womanland, etc., were already incorporated in the Story of Journey to the West.

The story of Xuanzang’s quest was early adapted for the stage. The Jin Dynasty’s yuanben drama had a version called Sanzang of Tang, and the Yuan Dynasty’s zaju drama included Sanzang of Tang Seeks the Scriptures from the Western Paradise, by Wu Changling. Both of these have been lost. Journey to the West Zaju, compiled by Yang Ne, who lived at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, consists of six separate plays of a total of 24 acts. Starting with Xuanzang’s birth, other episodes are Havoc in Heaven, Wukong Joins the Companions, Friar Sand Joins the Companions, Bajie Joins the Companions, Womanland and Borrowing the Fan for the Fiery Mountains. The story of Xuanzang’s quest for the scriptures thus shows an expanded scale and structure by the time of the Ming Dynasty.

There is still controversy over who the author of the Ming Dynasty novel Journey to the West was, and it has been erroneously attributed in the past. The earliest versions carry no author’s name; the Shidetang version, the Yangmingzhai version and others simply carrying the attribution “Collated by the master of Huayang Dongtian,” and the version with Li Zhuowu’s Critique by bearing the inscription “Commentary by Li Zhuowu.” Neither do the prefaces to these woodblock editions indicate who the author was. The author, in fact, is a mystery in all the early printed and published versions. In the Original Preface by Yu Ji of the Yuan Dynasty included in A Taoist Interpretation of Journey to the West, which appeared in the early Qing Dynasty with a commentary by Wang Xiangxu, the author is named as a Taoist priest of the early Yuan Dynasty, by the name of Qiu Changchun. During the Qianlong and Jiaqing reign periods of the Qing Dynasty, the famous scholar Ji Yun argued that the author of the novel was a person of the Ming Dynasty, not the Yuan Dynasty, because the official titles used in the novel were of the Ming Dynasty. Textual research done by Ruan Kuisheng in his Leisurely Chats and Ding Yan in his More Notes from the Stone Pavilion identify the author as Wu Cheng’en of Huai’an, who lived in the Jiajing reign period of the Ming Dynasty. However, none of these various theories is universally accepted. As late as the 1920s, Lu Xun, in his Short History of Chinese Fiction, confirmed that Wu Cheng’en was the author, based on his appraisal of the opinions of Qing Dynasty scholars. Although informed opinion is still divided, nobody has been able to dislodge Wu Cheng’en from his position as the generally accepted author of Journey to the West.

Wu Cheng’en (c.1500–c.1582) bore the style Ruzhong and the pen name Sheyang Hermit. His ancestral home was Lianshui in Jiangsu Province, and the family later moved to Shanyang in Huai’an (present-day Huai’an, Jiangsu Province). His great-grandfather, Wu Ming, had served as education commissioner for Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province, and his grandfather, Wu Zhen, had served as an education official in Renhe County, also in Zhejiang. His father, Wu Rui, had in his childhood shown an aptitude for study, and had received a good primary education, but due to the family’s straitened circumstances he had had to abandon his studies and go into trade to earn a living, taking over a silk shop from his wife’s side of the family. Despite being a tradesman, Wu Rui kept aloof from the company of his fellow merchants, instead devoting himself to literary pursuits and discussions of current affairs. On account of this, he was dubbed the “silly old fellow” by the townspeople. Influenced by this family background, his son Wu Cheng’en also showed an enthusiasm for books at a very early age, and had ambitions to pass the imperial civil service examination. While he was still young, he became very widely read, was praised by the local inspector of education and earned a reputation for learning. However, he failed to pass the examination even after several attempts, and it was only in middle age that he entered the Imperial College with recommendations. He failed the imperial examinations for another several years, and finally in the 43^rd year of the Jiaqing reign period (1564) he was invited to the capital to be selected for official positions by a senior official named Li Chunfang, who was from the same hometown. One or two years later, he managed to obtain an official post in Changxing County, Zhejiang, as assistant to the county magistrate. It turned out to be a menial position. Wu Cheng’en did not get along well with his superior, and before long resigned the post and returned home. Later, he was named to a post as a secretary at Prince Jing’s Mansion, but it is uncertain whether he actually took up the post or not. He spent his remaining years in his hometown, passing his time in literary composition.

According to Records of Huai’an compiled during the Tianqi reign period of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Cheng’en was lively and clever, erudite and an accomplished writer. He was on intimate terms with contemporary leading scholars, such as Li Chunfang, Wen Zhengming, Xu Zhongxing, Gui Youguang and Chen Wenyu. During his lifetime, his output of poetry and prose was considerable, but because he was too poor to get them printed, and he left no descendents, they have mostly been lost. A younger family member, however, named Sun Qiudu, collected as many manuscripts as he could from relatives and friends, and compiled them into the Remaining Manuscripts of Mr Sheyang, in four volumes. Wu Cheng’en lived in the middle part of the Ming Dynasty, at a time when the prose of the Qin and Han dynasties and the poetry of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty were the fashionable models for literary men. But Wu’s literary works were not modeled on any of the ancient styles, but came straight from the heart and bore the unmistakable stamp of his own individuality. Famous collections of Ming poetry published in the Qing Dynasty, such as Zhu Yizun’s A Digest of Ming Poetry and Chen Tian’s A Record of Ming Poetry, all include some of his poetic works. But Wu Cheng’en’s main literary achievements were in the field of the novel. In his childhood, he had a fondness for anecdotes and stories. In the preface to his Yuding Annals, he writes, “When I was at school, I would secretly buy storybooks and so-called unofficial histories, and read them in secret, for fear my father might scold me and confiscate them. In this way, I became ever more curious about such lore.” He was especially intrigued by the fantastic tales in such works as Accounts of Mysteries and Monsters by Niu Sengru of the Tang Dynasty and the Youyang Miscellany by Duan Chengshi. His Yuding Annals is a collection of a dozen or so fantastic stories. He wrote about: “My book does not just deal with the supernatural; it deals with the foibles of men too. And so it can be regarded as a collection of cautionary fables.” Wu Cheng’en suffered personally from the political corruption and ever-increasing social despair of the Jiajing reign period. He was well acquainted with the ways of the world and human nature. And he had a stubborn streak to his character. In his poem dedicated to Shaxing, he writes, “In my whole life, I never wanted any man’s pity. Come laughter or dirges, I faced all with a defiant spirit.” Although he did not have any influence in the sphere of politics, Wu Cheng’en wielded his pen in a progressive critique of society. In another of his poems he writes of a recluse who is sharpening an executioner’s scimitar in his heart, grieved that he is unable to wield it to do away with injustice. It can be said that Wu Cheng’en treats his fantasy novel Journey to the West as a vehicle for the expression of his experience of life and his attitude to society.

From the point of view of the plot, the 100-chapter Shidetang version of Journey to the West can be divided into two parts. The first part—from Chapter 1 to Chapter 12—includes the episodes in which Wukong, Bajie, Friar Sand and the White Dragon Horse are converted to Buddhism, the beheading of the Dragon King of the Jing River and Tang Emperor Taizong’s descent into the underworld. The first seven chapters describe the birth of Sun Wukong, how he seeks a master, and how he causes uproar in the Dragon Palace, the underworld and Heaven, The second part—from Chapter 13 to Chapter 100—relates how the monk Xuanzang travels to the west to fetch the Buddhist scriptures and attains his goal after many trials and tribulations.

As regards the main ideological content of Journey to the West, many theories emerged during the Ming and Qing dynasties. According to Xie Zhaozhi’s Reading Journey to the West, there is a deep meaning in the novel which can be summed up in a few words, viz., “Seek your abandoned heart.” This is in accord with the basic theory of Wang Yangming about the nature of the heart; roughly, the abandoned heart is one which has been lost to the delusions of outside things, and what one must do is try to return it to the realm of self-consciousness and knowledge of what is good. Wukong is the spirit of the heart. When he creates havoc in Heaven, that is the heart running rampant and the loss of knowledge of what is good. Wukong’s becoming a Buddhist and the Incantation of the Golden Hoop, which is used to control him, signify the taming of the wayward heart. In their A Taoist Interpretation of Journey to the West, the early Qing Dynasty critics Wang Xiangxu and Huang Zhouxing see the main theme of the novel as an elucidation of the Taoist theories of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. Wukong’s causing havoc in Heaven, according to this point of view, is explained by saying that the Mountain of Fruit and Flowers is the source of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements: “Fruit and flowers refer to wood; the Water Curtain refers to water; the Iron-Plated Bridge refers to metal; the rocky hill refers to earth; and Sun Wukong, representing the heart, resides in fire. So all the Five Elements are represented in what could be called ‘an ideal cosmic setup.’ That is to say that it is the true meaning of Taoism.” And so, it follows that Wukong’s playing havoc in Heaven was brought about by the withering of the Five Elements, and there were no societal factors involved. Sun Wukong as the Mind-Ape belongs to the element fire. The Jade Emperor makes him Protector of the Horses is to use fire to aid fire. In the Garden of the Peaches of Immortality, because wood produces fire, the fire is enhanced. The Eight Trigrams Furnace cannot melt Wukong, because it uses fire to attack him, and “two fire elements make each other stronger.” It is only after the Mountain of the Five Elements remedies deficiencies in the Five Elements that the Mind-Ape is reined in. Wang and Huang ignore the structure of the novel, and concentrate upon the images as generalized symbols, the messages of which constitute the novel’s true meaning. For instance, they argue that Xuanzang and his three disciples plus the White Dragon Horse make the number of the companions five, corresponding to the Five Elements: Wukong belongs to fire; Bajie to wood; Friar Sand to metal; Xuanzang to earth; and the Dragon Horse to water. These manifestations of the Five Elements mutually promote and restrain each other. It must be remembered that in the period in which Wu Cheng’en lived Taoist concepts were very much in fashion, and so many of the descriptions and concepts in Journey to the West could not help but be influenced by the theories of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. Nonetheless, Journey to the West is a novel, and a novel endeavors to express thoughts and emotions through the medium of the characters and the plot. If we ignore the linkages of the imagery of the characters and the plot, and regard them simply as a series of symbols or riddles, then we depart from the special methods by which literature interprets the world. The influence of A Taoist Interpretation of Journey to the West was immense. Following in its footsteps came A True Interpretation of Journey to the West, New Explanation of Journey to the West and Straightforward Guide to Journey to the West. But the fact is that there was only a small number of scholars who had the special insight to treat the obscure elements in it from the angle of the construction of the novel, grasping the fact that most readers read it as a novel.

The Havoc in Heaven episode is the most popular in the whole novel. Beating within Sun Wukong is a heart of childlike innocence, unsullied by contact with the vulgar world. He is born from a stone, signifying that he springs from nature, and has no connection with society, and thus has no attachments or fears. When the Jade Emperor confers on him the title of Protector of Horses, he is delighted. He has no concept of titles or ranks, or of emoluments, and when he realizes what the Jade Emperor wishes him to do, he firmly rejects the post, and flees. Setting a monkey to guard the Peach Orchard is like setting a cat to guard a fish, and Wukong performs this hilarious duty with a charming naivety. In the episode Stealing the Wine of the Immortals, not having been invited to the peach banquet, Wukong disguises himself as the Barefoot Immortal, sneaks in and gets to the wine first; it is a child’s way of getting his own back. Drunk, he stumbles into Lord Lao Zi’s elixir refinery, where he gobbles up all the pills meant for the Jade Emperor as if he were eating fried beans. Disaster mounts upon disaster, until the damage is irreparable, and a resort to anus results between Wukong and the denizens of Heaven. The author’s inspiration for the siege of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit by thousands of Heavenly soldiers must have come from the numerous peasant wars which have occurred in Chinese history, as well as contemporary conditions. What Wu Cheng’en is trying to express through Sun Wukong’s childlike “havoc” is the nature and form of resistance, ridicule the traditional reverence for sacred and exalted authority, and scoff at the traditional order sanctioned by feudal ethics and the commonly held attitudes spawned by this order. In Wukong’s eyes, the Jade Emperor is a coward who cannot be roused to anger, Lord Lao Zi is a miserly sycophant, and the strutting officials in Heaven, both civil and military, who cringe before their superiors and bully their inferiors, are useless blockheads. The strict hierarchy of ranks and the stifling protocol in the Heavenly Palace Wukong treats as ludicrous. The humorous and knowing twinkle in Wukong’s eyes is able to penetrate to the core of a tradition which has congealed over thousands of years. His power of insight comes from his straightforward and natural boyish heart, and his grasp of the reasons for things. There may be a number of political and religious aspects to the Havoc in Heaven episode, but its main theme is mockery and scorn directed at the authorities and order of the society of Wu Cheng’en’s time, and to reveal man’s naturally pure and childlike heart. And because this story conveys boyish delight, and transcends political, religious, national and territorial boundaries, it brings joy to the whole world.

In Journey to the West a total of 87 chapters are dedicated to the story of the Tang priest Xuanzang’s quest for the Buddhist scriptures. In the course of their journey, they brave a series of dangers and vanquish devils and monsters. The road to the Western Paradise is fraught with danger, whether in mountains and forests or in villages and towns. Demons of all descriptions try to bar their way, even to the extent of endeavoring to kill and eat Xuanzang. Some of these ghostly opponents appear openly hostile, while others are cunningly disguised; some wield power over kingdoms or feign to be officials carrying out their lawful duties. Sun Wukong plays a central role in every battle with the monsters, not only contending with them face to face, but also helping his companions overcome the obstacles and restraints that originate within themselves. After overcoming all kinds of evil and devious enemies, with Wukong as the backbone of the company, the travelers finally reach the Western Paradise and accomplish their sacred mission of taking back the scriptures. In this so-called “story of 81 difficulties,” although it is filled with myth and fantasy, the staunch spirit and character of the four companions to battle all enemies and overcome all hurdles in order to attain their goal is manifested very clearly, and as such it is a vivid portrayal of the spirit and character of the Chinese nation.

Of the demons which bar the companions’ way, some are embodiments of natural forces—the Fiery Mountains are a classic example—but most are representations of social evils. This is exactly like what the Rook’s Nest Hermit warns Xuanzang: “The capital cities will be full of spirits, / And demon kings will live in the mountains. / Tigers will sit in the music rooms; / Wolves will be in charge of documents. / Lions and elephants will all be kings, / With tigers and leopards for ministers.” These are all images of contemporary dark and corrupt social forces. For instance, the King of Tarryeart has three favorites whom he calls his “elders.” These three enter and leave the court without acknowledging the king. Their depredations and affliction of the people bring a pestilential atmosphere to the kingdom. This situation is very close to that prevailing in the Jiajing reign period of the Ming Dynasty, when the emperor was held in thrall by the Taoist priests Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen. In addition, the episodes in which the King of Bhiksuland puts his faith in a secret recipe for longevity brought from overseas and given him by a Taoist and requiring as ingredients the hearts and livers of 1,111 infants, and in which the King of Miefa wishes to slay 1,000 monks are reflections of the deluded and barbarous political reality of the Jiajing reign period, when the emperor lent his ear to Taoist sycophants and persecuted the Buddhists. Many of the monsters in the novel are connected with high officials in Heaven, for instance, the Yellow-Robed Monster who abducts the princess of Elephantia is the Strider, the Wooden Wolf from Heaven. Also, the two demons, King Gold Horn and King Silver Horn of Lotus Flower Cave on Flat-Top Mountain, who wish to eat Xuanzang, are the boys who watch Lord Lao Zi’s furnace. The monster which seizes control of the kingdom of Wuji is the Blue-haired Lion, upon which Bodhisattva Manjusri rides. As the ghost of the King of Wuji laments to Xuanzang: “His magic powers are so extensive and he is so well in with all the relevant officials. He’s always drinking with the city god, and he’s connected with all the dragon kings. The Heaven-equaling God of Mount Tai is a friend of his, and all the Ten Kings of the Underworld are his sworn brothers. We have nowhere to turn if we want to bring a case against him.” All these demons have their behind-the-scenes supporters, so when they are brought to book for their misdeeds they escape the punishment they deserve. Their high-placed patrons, such as the Supreme Lord Lao Zi, Guanyin, Dragon King of the Western Sea, the Rulai, Bodhisattva Manjusri and other Heavenly kings, connive at their enormities and cover up for them when they are found out, letting them escape scot-free. Wukong is incensed, and rails against these scoff-laws. But it is a futile grumble; he knows that there is nothing he can do about the situation. This is an allegorical picture of the social and political scene in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

The author of Journey to the West also has a cynical attitude toward religion. Examples of this are the Taoist priests who carry off women and gouge out children’s hearts and livers to make medicine. Rulai Buddha too is derided as a “nephew of evil spirits,” as even in his Pure Land extortion and bribery are rife. The author’s caustic wit is especially directed at Xuanzang, who is depicted as being obstinate and pompous when faced with difficulties, thus revealing some of the ways in which Buddhist teachings are divorced from reality. To express his attitude toward religion, the author uses humor—in the same way as he does in Havoc in Heaven to express his attitude toward feudalism—to strip off the holy trappings and pretensions, and bring religion back to earth. Of course, the author does not reject religion altogether; he merely pokes fun at Xuanzang’s dogmatic defense of the sacred tenets and the malpractices prevalent in contemporary Buddhist circles.

With supernatural beings as its protagonists, Journey to the West creates a world full of fantasy and illusion. But this fantasy world reflects various kinds of contradictions in the society of Wu Cheng’en’s time. The characters of the demons are generalizations and sublimations of the characters of ordinary mortals. Fantasy and reality reach a high level of synthesis in Journey to the West. It is remarkable that most of the supernatural characters are portrayed as animals. The author is good at combining the natures of humans, gods and animals: Sun Wukong is given the nimble, quick-witted and lively character of a monkey, and Zhu Bajie (although he claims to be an incarnation of Marshal Tian Peng) is given the bumbling, greedy, selfish and simple-minded character of a pig. Their supernatural natures have their distinctions too: Wukong undergoes 72 transformations, but no matter what he changes himself into, he can’t get rid of his tail. Likewise, Bajie can also change his shape, but he can never get rid of his gross, porcine nature. For instance, when he changes himself into a woman, he becomes a fat, repulsive one. Readers find Wukong and Bajie endearing because they have essentially human natures, yet they have broken through the barrier which separates the human from the supernatural world. In fact, they are the most popular magical characters in Chinese literature.

Humor is a major characteristic of the style of Journey to the West. Sun Wukong is the supreme comic figure in all the classical Chinese novels. His humor springs from his optimistic self-confidence and his sharp ability to perceive people’s true natures, as well as his tolerance of others’ weaknesses and his hatred of evil. The humor in the novel is also manifested in certain plots and subplots of the nature of comedies. Bajie’s clumsy actions and speech are invariably hilarious, but the laughter he elicits is tolerant but sad at the same time. This is because the weaknesses in Bajie’s character are not unique or accidental; they are common traits of the Chinese character. The author’s humor is built up on a base of a profound knowledge of human society and a high degree of psychological penetration.

The earliest extant copy of Journey to the West is a woodblock version published by the Shidetang in the 20^th year of the Wanli reign period (1592) of the Ming Dynasty. Its full title is The Newly Printed Big Character Official Journey to the West. It is in 20 volumes and 100 chapters. The 20 volumes carry the 20 characters of Shao Yong’s Ode to a Clear Night, which translate as follows: The moon reaches the heart of Heaven/ The wind ruffles the surface of the water/ All around is limpid fragrance/ I ascertain what few men know. These characters identify the different volumes. There is also the inscription “Proofread by the Master of Huayang Dongtian. Printed in woodblock form by the Shidetang of Jinling.” The book is introduced by a preface by Chen Yuanzhi.

Another edition of the novel with a commentary, Mr Li Zhuowu’s Evaluated Journey to the West, is in one volume of 100 chapters. The title page bears the signature Transient Guest of the Curtained Pavilion and the printer’s inscriptions “White Visitor” and “Lingzhao.” Next there is a table of contents and 200 illustrations, which cover 100 pages. In the main body of the text, there are notes and commentary at the tops of pages and in the body of the text, but most of them come at the end. The “Transient Guest of the Curtained Pavilion” was a noted scholar of the late Ming and early Qing periods, by the name of Yuan Yuling, whose style was Lingzhao. Besides “Transient Guest of the Curtained Pavilion,” Yuan’s other literary names were “White Visitor” and “Divine Annalist of the Curtained Pavilion.” He was born in the 20^th year of the Wanli reign period of the Ming Dynasty (1592) and died in the 13^th year of the Kangxi reign period of the Qing Dynasty (1674). From this evidence, we can deduce that the book was probably printed at the end of the Wanli reign period or in the Tianqi or Chongzhen reign periods. However, Li Zhuowu seems to have been an assumed name, and so we do not know who the author really was. The arrangement and typesetting of this version of the novel differ little from those of the Shidetang version, and the changes are understandable. The discrepancies come in Chapter 99, which sums up Xuanzang’s 81 hurdles, and in the continuity between chapters 17 and 18.

As soon as the Shidetang version appeared in print, other publishing houses rushed to follow suit. Besides complete printings, there were many abbreviated versions of the novel based on the Shidetang text. Following are details of four such versions printed in the Ming Dynasty:

First, The Journey to the West of Sanzang of Tang, in 20 volumes and 100 chapters. “Proofread by the Master of Dongtian of Huayang” and frontispieced “Record of the Tang Monk’s Journey to the West.” Few notes in the body of the text. Discrepancy in continuity between chapters 17 and 18. Preserves the format of the Shidetang version, but is less than one third the latter’s length.

Second, The Complete Illustrated Record of the Tang Monk’s Journey to the West to Fetch the Scriptures, in 20 volumes and 100 chapters. Inscribed “Proofread by the Master of Dongtian of Huayang. Blocks cut by Yang Minzhai of Baitang.” Chapters 17 and 18 follow the Shidetang version. This version omits much of the verse in the original, as well as explanatory material concerning some of the plots and sub-plots, but it is still more comprehensive than The Journey to the West of Sanzang of Tang.

Third, Newly Printed Complete Account of the Birth of Sanzang, in four volumes. It is inscribed “Compiled by Yang Zhihe of Qiyun, proofread by Zhao Yuzhen of Tian-shui, and printed by Zhu Cangling of Zhitan.” The text is placed underneath the illustrations. This version was adapted to one printed in the tenth year of the Daoguang reign period (1830) of the Qing Dynasty. The title was changed to Illustrated Complete Record of the Journey to the West, popularly known as the “Yang version” after its compiler. Having only 70,000 characters, it is the most abbreviated version of the novel.

Fourth, The Story of Sanzang of Tang’s Overcoming Dangers on His Journey to the West, in ten volumes and 67 episodes. Inside the front cover is the inscriptions “The Story of the Birth of the Tang Monk and His Journey to the West, and Printed by Liu Liantai.” This edition has three outstanding features: The first is that it includes the episode of the birth of Xuanzang, which the Shidetang edition does not, and which accounts for one tenth of the book’s total 130,000 characters. The second is that the plot starts out vigorously, but then weakens. The first six volumes correspond to the Shidetang edition’s first 13 chapters, while the last four volumes telescopes the section covered by the last 87 chapters of the Shidetang edition, putting the two versions completely out of proportion. The third is that, apart from the episode of the birth of Xuanzang, the first six volumes are a condensation of the first 13 chapters of the Shidetang version, while the last four volumes follow the Yang version of Journey to the West.

In the early Qing Dynasty there appeared a new woodblock printed version, titled A Newly Engraved Illustrated Taoist Interpretation of the Journey to the West, in 100 chapters. It is inscribed “Commentary by the Taoist of Broken Dreams Wang Zhanyi of Xiling and Proofread by Huang Xiaocang of Zhongshan.” This Wang Zhanyi was Wang Xiangxu, and Huang Xiaocang was Huang Zhouxing, both famous scholars of the end of the Ming Dynasty and beginning of the Qing Dynasty. This version of the novel bears a preface by Yu Ji of the Yuan Dynasty, in which it is claimed that Journey to the West was written by a Taoist named Qiu Changchun. This edition also has three major points of interest: First, it has the story of Xuanzang’s birth sandwiched between what correspond to chapters 8 and 9 in the Shidetang edition. Chapters 9 to 12 in the Shidetang edition are condensed into three chapters in the new version, thus keeping the total number of chapters at 100. Second, apart from Chapter 9, some adjustments and polishing have been done, and the language made more refined, compared to the Shidetang version. The plot, too, has been tightened up. The result is that the novel loses some of its earthy flavor. Third, the notes and commentary stress that the ideological core of the work is to illustrate Taoist concepts. The new version had an enormous impact: All the popular editions of the novel which appeared thereafter during the Qing Dynasty, such as those edited by Chen Shibin, Liu Yiming, Zhang Hanzhang and Han Jingzi followed the text of this edition, and the Shidetang version became relatively obscure.

The story of Xuanzang’s search for the scripture spread outside China long before it appeared in book form. The novel Journey to the West signified the final form of the story, and was welcomed by readers abroad. The first translation of the novel was into Japanese, and was done by the famous novelist Kunimoto Kawahito. He started the work in 1758 and completed it in 1831. Its title was The Popular Journey to the West, and it was in 31 volumes in a five-part set. The same man participated in the translation of the four volumes of the Illustrated Journey to the West, published in 1837. These two translations went through many reprintings, and had a widespread impact in Japan. In the 20^th century, a dozen full-length translations of the novel appeared in Japan, some of the most famous being the versions translated by Uno Koji, published in 1936, by Yudate Yoshio published in 1939, by Iwamura Shinobu published in 1948, by Ito Takamaro published in 1955, and by Onu Shinobu published in 1977. The first translation into English appeared as A Mission to Heaven. The translator was Timothy Richard, and it was published in 1913 by the Shanghai Christian Literature Society. Following this, a number of abridged versions were published in various English-speaking countries, the one having the biggest impact being Monkey by Arthur Waley, which was published in New York by Allen and Unwin in 1942. The first full-length translation into English was The Journey to the West, in four volumes (1977). The translator was Anthony C. Yu, and the publisher was the University of Chicago Press. The latest full-length translation in English was done by W. J. F. Jenner and published by Foreign Languages Press in 1982-1986.

There are two abridged editions in French, both published in Paris in 1924 and 1957, respectively.

An abridged version in German was published in 1946. It was translated from the English of Arthur Waley. Another was published in 1962 by Rudolstadt Graphen Publishing Company.

A complete translation by A. Povatsev into Russian in four volumes was published by the Moscow National Literature Publishing House in 1959.

There had a been a translation into archaic Vietnamese in existence many years ago, but the first full-length translation into modern Vietnamese was published in eight volumes in Hanoi in 1961.

It is uncertain when the first translation into Korean was done, but there is no doubt that translations into archaic Korean of selected parts circulated at a comparatively early date. Two of which we have knowledge are Journey to the West and The Story of Emperor Taizong of Tang, which consist of extracts from the original Journey to the West. The first complete translation into modern Korean, by Li Zhou Hong, appeared in three volumes in 1966.

Apart from these, there was a Czech-language version with the title Monkey King, a Romanian version, a Polish version, and others.

Previously, the Foreign Languages Press has published Journey to the West in different formats and languages, the English edition first, the Korean edition in 1984 and the Spanish edition in 2000.

This present translation is based on the text of A Taoist Interpretation of Journey to the West, with reference to the Shidetang edition. This is not just because the former has been the most popular edition for 200 or 300 years, but chiefly because it is considered to be a more mature literary work than any of the Ming Dynasty editions.

—Shi Changyu
Professor, Institute of Literature
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
August 1999, Beijing