PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a complete single-volume translation of the Chinese edition of Journey to the West in 100 chapters published in 1955 by the Beijing People’s Literature Publishing House.

Many different editions of the novel have appeared over the past 400 years. The Chinese edition of 1955 was based on the earliest known edition, the Shidetang woodblock edition printed in Nanjing in the 20^th year of Wanli reign (1592) in the Ming Dynasty, and was further checked against six different editions from the Qing Dynasty.

The illustrations were taken from Chen Huiguan’s Newly Illustrated and Complete “Journey to the West” (陈惠冠新绘全本西游记), published in 2001 by Shanghai Ancient Publishing House.