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{{Short description|16th-century novel by Wu Cheng'en}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox book
|name = Journey to the West
|title_orig = 西遊記
|orig_lang_code=zh 
| oclc =
| native_wikisource = 西遊記
|dewey=895.1346
|translator =
|image = Evl53201b pic.jpg
|caption = Earliest known edition of the book, published by the Shidetang Hall of Jinling<!-- =Nanjing -->, from the 16th century
|author = [[Wu Cheng'en]] 
|country = [[Ming China]]
|language = [[Written vernacular Chinese|Chinese]]
|genre = [[Gods and demons fiction]], [[Chinese mythology]], fantasy, adventure
|release_date = {{c.|1592}} (print){{Sfnb|Yu|2012|p=18}}
|english_release_date =1942 (abridged)<br>1977–1983 (complete)
|set_in=[[Tang dynasty]], 7th century AD
| module            = 
{{Infobox Chinese
 | child    = yes
 | title    = ''Journey to the West''
 | pic      = Xi you ji (Chinese characters).svg
 | piccap   = ''Journey to the West'' in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
 | picupright = 0.5
 | t        = 西遊記
 | s        = 西游记
 | l        = "Record of the Western Journey"
 | mi       = {{IPAc-cmn|x|i|1|.|you|2|-|j|i|4}}
 | p        = Xīyóu Jì
 | lmz      = Siyeu ji 	
 | w        = Hsi<sup>1</sup>-yu<sup>2</sup> Chi<sup>4</sup>
 | j        = Sai1jau4 gei3
 | y        = Sāiyàuh gei
 | ci       = {{IPAc-yue|s|ai|1|-|j|au|4|-|g|ei|3}}
 | tl       = {{Zhwb|Se iû kì|Sai iû kì}}
 | vie      = Tây du kí
 | hangul   = 서유기
 | hanja    = 西遊記
 | rr       = Seoyugi
 | kanji    = 西遊記
 | hiragana = さいゆうき
 | romaji   = Saiyūki
 }}
}}
'''''Journey to the West''''' ({{zh|t=西遊記|p=Xīyóu Jì}}) is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the [[Ming dynasty]] and attributed to [[Wu Cheng'en]]. It is regarded as one of the [[Classic Chinese Novels|great Chinese novels]], and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Kherdian, David|author-link=David Kherdian|title=Monkey: A Journey to the West|year=2005|pages=7|quote="is probably the most popular book in all of East Asia."}}</ref> It was widely known in English-speaking countries through the British scholar [[Arthur Waley]]'s 1942 abridged translation ''[[Monkey (novel)|Monkey]]''.

The novel is a fictionalized and [[fantasy|fantastic]] account of the pilgrimage of the [[Chinese nationality law|Chinese]] [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[Monk #Buddhism|monk]] [[Xuanzang]], who went on a 19 year journey to [[India]] in the 7th century AD to seek out and collect Buddhist scriptures ([[sūtra]]s).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-21 |title=Journey to the West {{!}} Author, Summary, Characters, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Journey-to-the-West |access-date=2024-08-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The novel retains the broad outline of [[Xuanzang]]'s own account, ''[[Records of the Western Regions]]'', but embellishes it with fantasy elements from folk tales and the author's invention. In the story, it{{clarify|date=November 2025}} deals entirely with the earlier exploits of [[Sun Wukong]], a [[monkey]] born on [[Mount Huaguo|Flower Fruit Mountain]] from a stone egg that forms from an ancient rock created by the coupling of Heaven and Earth, and learns the art of the [[Tao]], 72 polymorphic transformations,<ref>{{Cite web |last=网易 |date=2023-03-24 |title=zh:西游记中孙悟空的72种变身是哪几种？ |trans-title=en:What are the 72 transformations of Sun Wukong in Journey to the West? |url=https://www.163.com/dy/article/I09RUATQ0552H59B.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.163.com}}</ref> combat, and secrets of immortality, and whose guile and force earns him the name ''Qitian Dasheng'' ({{zh|s=齐天大圣|t=齊天大聖}}), or "Great Sage Equal to Heaven." Wukong was tasked by [[Bodhisattva]] [[Guanyin]] and [[the Buddha]] to become [[Tang Sanzang]]'s first [[Śrāvaka|disciple]], journeying with him to India and provides him with three other [[Śrāvaka|disciples]] who agree to help him in order to atone for their sins: [[Zhu Bajie]], [[Sha Wujing]] and [[White Dragon Horse]]. Riding the [[White Dragon Horse|latter]], Sanzang and his three disciples journey to a mythical version of India and find enlightenment through the power and virtue of cooperation.

''Journey to the West'' has strong roots in [[Chinese folk religion]], [[Chinese mythology]], [[Chinese Buddhism]], [[Confucianism]], [[Taoism|Taoist]] and Buddhist folklore, and the pantheon of [[Taoist immortals]] and Buddhist [[bodhisattva]]s are still reflective of certain Chinese religious attitudes today, while being the inspiration of many modern [[manhwa]], [[manhua]], [[manga]] and [[anime]] series. Enduringly popular,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/monkeying-around-with-the-nobel-prize|first= Julia|last=Lovell|title=Monkeying Around with the Nobel Prize: Wu Chen'en's "Journey to the West"|work=[[Los Angeles Review of Books]]|date=13 October 2013|quote=It is a cornerstone text of Eastern fiction: its stature in Asian literary culture may be compared with that of ''The Canterbury Tales'' or ''Don Quixote'' in European letters.}}</ref> the novel is simultaneously a comic adventure, a [[satire]] of Chinese bureaucracy, a source of spiritual reflection, and a rich [[allegory]].

==History==
===Creation and authorship===
[[File:JourneytotheWest.jpg|thumb|right|The four protagonists, from left to right: [[Sun Wukong]], [[Tang Sanzang]] (on the [[White Dragon Horse]]), [[Zhu Bajie]], and [[Sha Wujing]], as depicted on the [[Long Corridor]] in the Summer Palace, Beijing]]
[[File:The Journey to the West, Shidetang Hall of Jinling in 1592.jpg|thumb|right|The 1592 edition of ''Journey to the West'', published by Jinling's Shidetang Hall, is considered the earliest version of the book.<ref name=aasns/> It features captioned cross-page illustrations depicting various scenes.<ref name=aasns>{{cite web |title=ANiMAL-Art Science Nature Society |url=https://theme.npm.edu.tw/exh108/Animal/en/page-4.html#main |website=National Palace Museum |date=26 January 2019}}</ref>]]

The modern 100-chapter form of ''Journey to the West'' dates from the 16th century.{{sfnp|Chang|2010|p=55}} Embellished stories based on Xuanzang's journey to India had circulated through oral storytelling for centuries. They appeared in book form as early as the [[Song dynasty#Southern Song, 1127–1279|Southern Song dynasty]] (1127–1279).{{sfnp|Chang|2010|p=55}} The ''[[Yongle Encyclopedia]]'', completed in 1408, contains excerpts of a version of the story written in colloquial Chinese.{{sfnp|Chang|2010|p=55}} The earliest surviving edition of ''Journey to the West'' was published in [[Nanjing]] in 1592. Two earlier editions were published between 1522 and 1566, but no copies of them survived.{{sfnp|Chang|2010|p=55}}{{Sfnb|Yu|2012|pp=17-18}}

The authorship of ''Journey to the West'' is traditionally ascribed to Wu Cheng'en, but the question is complicated by the fact that much of the novel's material originated from folk tales.<ref name="jenner"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-05-10 |title=Journey to the West |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Journey-to-the-West |access-date=2023-05-22 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Anthony C. Yu]], writing in 2012, warned that "this vexing dispute over the novel's authorship, similar to that on the priority of its textual versions, see-sawed back and forth for nearly a century without resolution."{{Sfnb|Yu|2012|p=10}}

[[Hu Shih]], literary scholar, former Chancellor of [[Peking University]], and then Ambassador to the United States, wrote in 1942 that the novel was thought to have been written and published anonymously by Wu Cheng'en. He reasoned that the people of Wu's hometown attributed it to him early on, and kept records to that effect as early as 1625; thus, claimed Hu, ''Journey to the West'' was one of the earliest Chinese novels for which the authorship is officially documented.<ref name="intro">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Introduction  | author=Hu Shih |encyclopedia=[[Monkey (novel)|Monkey]] |editor=Arthur Waley |translator1=Arthur Waley | year=1942 | pages=1–5 | location=New York | publisher=Grove Press}}</ref>

More recent scholarship casts doubts on this attribution. [[Brown University]] Chinese literature scholar David Lattimore stated in 1983: "The Ambassador's confidence was quite unjustified. What the gazetteer says is that Wu wrote something called ''The Journey to the West.'' It mentions nothing about a novel. The work in question could have been any version of our story, or something else entirely."<ref name="Lattimore">{{Cite news|first=David|last=Lattimore|date=6 March 1983|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/06/books/the-complete-monkey.html?pagewanted=all|title=The Complete 'Monkey'|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Translator [[William John Francis Jenner|W. J. F. Jenner]] pointed out that although Wu had knowledge of Chinese bureaucracy and politics, the novel itself does not include any political details that "a fairly well-read commoner could not have known."<ref name="jenner">{{harvnb|Jenner|1984}}</ref>

One interpretive tradition views ''Journey to the West'' as the outcome of a writing game which was popular among Chinese literati.<ref name="Sun">{{Cite book |last=Sun |first=Hongmei |title=Games & Play in Chinese & Sinophone Cultures |date=2024 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=9780295752402 |editor-last=Guo |editor-first=Li |location=Seattle, WA |pages= |chapter=Playing Journey to the West |editor-last2=Eyman |editor-first2=Douglas |editor-last3=Sun |editor-first3=Hongmei}}</ref>{{Rp|page=157}}

The overall plot of ''Journey to the West'' was "already a part of Chinese folk and literary tradition in the form of "folk stories with informal language", a poetic [[Novelette (literature)|novelette]], and a six-part [[drama]] [[Play (theatre)|play]] series, which was transcribed and written down, before the current version was written.<ref name=":0" /> Fragments of an earlier text, ''Journey to the West as Storytelling'', are recorded in other texts.<ref name="Sun" />{{Rp|page=159}} The narrative threads from this earlier text which survive are the wager between the Dragon King of the Jing River and fortune teller Yuan Shoucheng and the contest between the pilgrims and the three Taoist demons in Cart Slow Kingdom.<ref name="Sun" />{{Rp|page=159}}

Regardless of the origins and authorship, ''Journey to the West'' has become the authoritative version of these folk stories,<ref name="jenner"/> and while the cumulative authorship of the text is acknowledged, Wu is generally accepted as the author of the 1592 printed version widely considered canonical.<ref name="Sun" />{{Rp|page=158}}

===Historical basis===
{{Main|Xuanzang}}
[[File:Porcelain pillow from the Guangdong museum in Guangzhou, China.jpeg|thumb|right|Porcelain pillow showing characters]]
[[File:ChinaTrip2005-110.jpg|thumb|[[Big Wild Goose Pagoda]] in [[Xi'an]]]]

Although ''Journey to the West'' is a work of fantasy, it is based on the actual journey of the Chinese monk Xuanzang (602–664), who traveled to India in the 7th century in order to seek out Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to China. Xuanzang was a monk at Jingtu Temple in the imperial capital [[Chang'an]] (present-day [[Xi'an]]) during the late [[Sui dynasty]] and early [[Tang dynasty]]. He left Chang'an in 629, in defiance of [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]]'s ban on travel. Helped by sympathetic Buddhists, Xuanzang traveled via [[Gansu]] and [[Qinghai]] to [[Kumul (city)|Kumul]] (Hami), thence following the [[Tian Shan]] mountains to [[Turpan]]. He then crossed regions that are today [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Afghanistan]], into [[Gandhara]], in what is today northern [[Pakistan]], in 630. Xuanzang traveled throughout India for the next thirteen years, visiting important Buddhist pilgrimage sites, studying at the ancient university at [[Nalanda]], and debating the rivals of Buddhism.

Xuanzang left India in 643 and arrived back in Chang'an in 646. Although he had defied the imperial travel ban when he left, Xuanzang received a warm welcome from Emperor Taizong upon his return. The emperor provided money and support for Xuanzang's projects. He joined Da Ci'en Monastery (Monastery of Great Maternal Grace), where he led the building of the [[Big Wild Goose Pagoda]] to store the scriptures and icons he had brought back from India. He recorded his journey in the book ''[[Great Tang Records on the Western Regions]]''. With the support of the emperor, he established an institute at Yuhua Gong (Palace of the Luster of Jade) monastery dedicated to translating the scriptures he had brought back. His translation and commentary work established him as the founder of the [[East Asian Yogācāra|Faxiang tradition]] of Buddhism. Xuanzang died on 7 March 664. The Xingjiao Monastery was established in 669 to house his ashes.

==Synopsis==
[[File:Journey.jpg|thumb|18th-century Chinese illustration of a scene from ''Journey to the West'']]
[[File:Xyj-sunwukong.jpg|thumb|An illustrated edition of the story]]

The novel has 100 chapters that can be divided into four unequal parts.

===First Part===
The first part, which includes chapters 1–7, is a self-contained introduction to the main story. It deals entirely with the earlier exploits of [[Sun Wukong]], a [[monkey]] born from a stone nourished by the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|Five Elements]], who learns the art of the [[Tao]], 72 polymorphic transformations,<ref>{{Cite web |last=网易 |date=2023-03-24 |title=zh:西游记中孙悟空的72种变身是哪几种？ |trans-title=en:What are the 72 transformations of Sun Wukong in Journey to the West? |url=https://www.163.com/dy/article/I09RUATQ0552H59B.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.163.com}}</ref> combat, and secrets of immortality, and whose guile and force earns him the name ''Qitian Dasheng'' ({{zh|s=齐天大圣|t=齊天大聖}}), or "Great Sage Equal to Heaven." His powers grow to match the forces of all of the Eastern (Taoist) deities, and the prologue culminates in Sun's rebellion against Heaven, during a time when he garnered a post in the [[celestial bureaucracy]]. [[Hubris]] proves his downfall when the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] manages to trap him under a mountain, sealing it with a talisman for 500 years. His given name loosely means "Monkey Awakened to [[Emptiness]] ([[Śūnyatā]])", and appears right away in chapter 13 and becomes [[Tang Sanzang]]'s first [[Śrāvaka|disciple]] in the journey. The most intelligent, the most powerful, and the most violent of the [[Śrāvaka|disciples]], he is constantly reproved for his violence by [[Tang Sanzang]]. Ultimately, he can only be controlled by a magic gold ring that Guanyin has placed around his head, which causes him unbearable headaches when Sanzang chants the Ring Tightening Mantra.  In the story, Wukong is an allegorical representation of the human mind and thought and [[impulse (psychology)|impulse]], and is often nicknamed the "[[Monkey mind]]".

===Second Part===
The second part (chapters 8–12) introduces [[Tang Sanzang]] through his early biography and the background to his great journey. Dismayed that "[[Jambudvīpa#In Buddhism|the land of the South]] (i.e. [[Tang dynasty|Tang China]]) knows only greed, hedonism, promiscuity, and sins," the Buddha instructs the [[bodhisattva]] [[Avalokiteśvara]] ([[Guanyin]]) to search China for someone to take the Buddhist sutras of "transcendence and persuasion for good will" back. Part of this section also relates to how Tang Sanzang becomes a monk (as well as revealing his past life as a disciple of the Buddha named "Golden Cicada" ({{zh|labels=no|t=金蟬子}} ''Jīn Chánzi'') and comes about being sent on this pilgrimage by [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Emperor Taizong]], who previously escaped death with the help of an official in the [[Diyu|Underworld]].  In the story, Tang Sanzang is considered an allegorical representation of the human heart.

===Third Part===
The third and longest section of the work is chapters 13–99, an episodic adventure story in which Tang Sanzang sets out to bring back Buddhist scriptures from Leiyin Temple on [[Vulture Peak]] in India, but encounters various evils along the way. The section is set in the sparsely populated lands along the [[Silk Road]] between China and India. The geography described in the book is, however, almost entirely fantasy; once Tang Sanzang departs [[Chang'an]], the Tang capital, and crosses the frontier (somewhere in [[Gansu]] province), he finds himself in a wilderness of deep gorges and tall mountains, inhabited by demons and animal spirits who regard him as a potential meal (since his flesh was believed to give immortality to whoever ate it), with the occasional hidden monastery or royal city-state amidst the harsh setting.

Episodes consist of 1–4 chapters and usually involve Tang Sanzang being captured and having his life threatened while his disciples try to find an ingenious (and often violent) way of liberating him. Although some of Tang Sanzang's predicaments are political and involve ordinary human beings, they more frequently consist of run-ins with various demons, many of whom turn out to be earthly manifestations of heavenly beings (whose sins will be negated by eating the flesh of Tang Sanzang) or animal-spirits with enough Taoist spiritual merit to assume semi-human forms.

Chapters 13–22 do not follow this structure precisely, as they introduce [[Tang Sanzang]]'s 3 other [[Śrāvaka|disciples]], besides [[Sun Wukong]], who inspired or goaded by [[Guanyin]], meet and agree to serve him along the way in order to atone for their sins in their past lives.
 
* The second, appearing in chapter 19, is [[Zhu Bajie]], literally "Pig Awakened to Ability" and "Eight Precepts Pig," sometimes translated as Pigsy or just Pig. He was previously the [[Marshal Tianpeng|Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy]], a commander of Heaven's naval forces, and was banished to the mortal realm for harassing the moon goddess [[Chang'e]]. A reliable fighter, he is characterized by his insatiable appetites for food and women, and is constantly looking for a way out of his duties, which causes significant conflict with Sun Wukong. In the story, Zhu Bajie is an allegorical representation of base human nature (or the [[Id, ego and super-ego#Id|Id]]).  
* The third, appearing in chapter 22, is the river ogre [[Sha Wujing]] (literally "Sand Awakened to Purity"), also known as Friar Sand or Sandy. He was previously the celestial Curtain Lifting General, and was banished to the mortal realm for dropping (and shattering) a crystal goblet of the [[Xi Wangmu|Queen Mother of the West]]. He is a quiet but generally dependable and hard-working character, who serves as the straight foil to the comic relief of Sun and Zhu. In the story, Sha Wujing is an allegorical representation of human obedience and [[conformity]] without thought.
* The fourth is [[White Dragon Horse]], the third son of the [[Dragon King of the West Sea]], who was sentenced to death for setting fire to his father's great pearl. He was saved by Guanyin from execution to stay and wait for his call of duty. He has almost no speaking role, as throughout the story he mainly appears as a horse that Tang Sanzang rides on.  In the story, the White Dragon Horse is an allegorical representation of the human will.

Chapter 22, where Sha Wujing is introduced, also provides a geographical boundary, as the river that the travelers cross brings them into a new "[[Dvipa|continent]]." Chapters 23–86 take place in the wilderness, and consist of 24 episodes of varying length, each characterized by a different magical monster or evil magician. There are impassibly wide rivers, [[Flaming Mountains|flaming mountains]], a kingdom with an all-female population, a lair of seductive spider spirits, and many other scenarios. Throughout the journey, the four disciples have to fend off attacks on their master and teacher Tang Sanzang from various monsters and calamities.

It is strongly suggested that most of these calamities are engineered by fate and/or the Buddha, as, while the monsters who attack are vast in power and many in number, no real harm ever comes to the four travelers. Some of the monsters turn out to be escaped celestial beasts belonging to bodhisattvas or Taoist sages and deities. Towards the end of the book, there is a scene where the Buddha commands the fulfillment of the last disaster, because Tang Sanzang is one short of the 81 tribulations required before attaining [[Buddhahood]].

In chapter 87, Tang Sanzang finally reaches the borderlands of India, and chapters 87–99 present magical adventures in a somewhat more mundane setting. At length, after a pilgrimage said to have taken fourteen years (the text actually only provides evidence for nine of those years, but presumably there was room to add additional episodes) they arrive at the half-real, half-legendary destination of [[Vulture Peak]], where, in a scene simultaneously mystical and comic, Tang Sanzang receives the scriptures from the living Buddha.

===Fourth part===
Chapter 100, the final chapter, quickly describes the return journey to the Tang Empire, and the aftermath in which each traveller receives a reward in the form of posts in the bureaucracy of the heavens. Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang both achieve [[Buddhahood]], Sha Wujing becomes an [[arhat]], Bai Long Ma is made a [[nāga]] and Zhu Bajie, whose good deeds have always been tempered by his greed, is promoted to an altar cleanser (i.e. eater of excess offerings at altars).

==Characters==
{{Further|List of Journey to the West characters}}

===Sun Wukong===
{{Main|Sun Wukong}}
[[File:Xyj-sun wukong.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of Sun Wukong]]

'''Sun Wukong''' ({{zh|labels=no|t=孫悟空}}) (pinyin: sūnwùkōng) is the name given to this character by his teacher, [[Subhuti]], the latter part of which means "[[satori|Awakened]] to [[Shunyata|Emptiness]]" (in the Waley translation, ''Aware-of-Vacuity''); he is often called the "'''Monkey King'''". He is born on [[Mount Huaguo|Flower Fruit Mountain]] from a stone egg that forms from an ancient rock created by the coupling of Heaven and Earth. He first distinguishes himself by bravely entering the [[Mount Huaguo #Description|Water Curtain Cave]] on the mountain; for this feat, his monkey tribe gives him the title of "Handsome Monkey King (美猴王, měi hóuwáng)." After seeing a fellow monkey die because of old age, he decides to travel around the world to seek the [[Tao]], and find a way to be able to live forever. He eventually found the "Grand Master of Bodhi (菩提祖師, pútí zǔshī)," who taught him the 72 heavenly methods of transformation and a "somersault cloud" which allows him to travel 108,000 [[Li (unit)|li]] almost instantaneously. After angering several gods and coming to the attention of the [[Jade Emperor]], he is given a minor position in heaven as the Keeper of Horses (弼馬溫, bìmǎwēn) so they can keep an eye on him. When Sun realizes that he was given the lowest position in heaven and is not considered a full-fledged god, he becomes very angry. Upon returning to his mountain, he puts up a flag and declares himself the "Great Sage Equal to Heaven (齊天大聖, qí tiān dàshèng)." The Jade Emperor dispatches celestial soldiers to arrest Sun Wukong, but none succeed. The Jade Emperor has no choice but to appoint him to be the guardian of the heavenly peach garden. The different varieties of peach trees in the garden bear fruit every 3,000, 6,000, and 9,000 years, and eating their flesh will bestow immortality and other gifts, so Sun Wukong eats nearly all of the ripe peaches. Later, after fairies who come to collect peaches for [[Xi Wangmu]]'s heavenly peach banquet inform Sun Wukong he is not invited and make fun of him, he once again begins to cause trouble in Heaven, stealing heavenly wine from the peach banquet and eating [[Laozi]]'s pills of immortality. He defeats an army of 100,000 celestial troops, led by the [[Four Heavenly Kings]], [[Erlang Shen]], and [[Nezha]]. Eventually, the Jade Emperor appeals to the [[Amitabha Buddha|Buddha]], who seals Wukong under a mountain called Five Elements Mountain after the latter loses a bet regarding whether he can leap out of the Buddha's hand in a single somersault. Sun Wukong is kept under the mountain for 500 years and cannot escape because of a seal that was placed on the mountain. He is later set free when Tang Sanzang comes upon him during his pilgrimage and accepts him as a disciple.

His [[signature weapon|primary weapon]] is his staff, the "[[Ruyi Jingu Bang]]," which he can shrink down to the size of a needle and keep in his ear, as well as expand it to gigantic proportions. The rod, which weighs {{convert|17550|lbs|kg}}, was originally a pillar supporting the undersea palace of the [[Dragon King of the East Sea]], but he was able to pull it out of its support and can swing it with ease. The Dragon King had told Sun Wukong he could have the staff if he could lift it, but was angry when the monkey was actually able to pull it out and accused him of being a thief. Sun Wukong was insulted, so he demanded a suit of armor and refused to leave until he received one. The Dragon King of the East and the other dragon kings, fearful of Sun wreaking havoc in their domain, gave him a suit of golden armor. These gifts, combined with his devouring of the peaches of immortality, erasing his name from the Book of the Dead, drinking heavenly wine from the Peach Festival, eating [[Laozi]]'s pills of immortality, and being tempered in [[Laozi]]'s [[Bagua (concept)|Eight-Trigram]] Furnace (after which he gained a steel-hard body and fiery golden eyes that could see far into the distance and through any disguise), makes Sun Wukong by far the strongest member of the pilgrimage. Besides these abilities, he can also pluck hairs from his body and blow on them to convert them into whatever he wishes (usually clones of himself to gain a numerical advantage in battle). Furthermore, he is a master of the 72 methods of transformation ({{zh|labels=no|t=七十二变}}),{{efn|Here, these numbers are not assigned limits to Sun Wukong's power, but numbers often used to denote infinity.|name=inf}} and can transform into anything that exists (animate and inanimate).{{efn|name=inf}} Notably, however, Sun cannot fight as well underwater, and often the pilgrimage must rely on Pigsy and Sandy for marine combat. The monkey, nimble and quick-witted, uses these skills to defeat all but the most powerful of demons on the journey.

Sun's behavior is checked by a band placed around his head by [[Guanyin]], which cannot be removed by Sun Wukong himself until the journey's end. Tang Sanzang can tighten this band by chanting the "Ring Tightening Mantra" (taught to him by Guanyin) whenever he needs to chastise him. The spell is referred to by Tang Sanzang's disciples as the "Headache Sutra". Tang Sanzang speaks this mantra quickly in repetition when Sun disobeys him.

Sun Wukong's childlike playfulness and often goofy impulsiveness is in contrast to his cunning mind. This, coupled with his great power, makes him a [[trickster hero]]. His antics present a lighter side in the long and dangerous trip into the unknown.

After completion of the journey, Sun is granted the title of Victorious Fighting Buddha ({{zh|labels=no|s=斗战胜佛|p=dòu zhànshèng fó|c=|t=鬥戰勝佛}}) and ascends to [[Buddhahood]].

===Tang Sanzang===
{{Main|Tang Sanzang}}
[[File:Xyj-tang seng.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of Tang Sanzang]]

The monk '''Tang Sanzang''' ({{zh|labels=no|t=唐三藏}}, meaning "Tripitaka Master of Tang," with ''Tang'' referring to the [[Tang dynasty]] and ''Sanzang'' referring to the [[Tripiṭaka]], the main categories of texts in the Buddhist canon which is also used as an honorific for some Buddhist monks) is a Buddhist monk who had renounced his family to become a monk from childhood. He is just called "'''Tripitaka'''" in many English versions of the story. He set off for [[Tianzhu (India)|Tianzhu]] Kingdom ({{zh|labels=no|t=天竺国}}, an appellation for India in ancient China) to retrieve original [[Buddhist scriptures]] for China. Although he is helpless in defending himself, the [[bodhisattva]] [[Guanyin]] helps by finding him powerful disciples who aid and protect him on his journey. In return, the disciples will receive enlightenment and forgiveness for their sins once the journey is done. Along the way, they help the local inhabitants by defeating various monsters and demons who try to obtain immortality by consuming Tang Sanzang's flesh.

===Zhu Bajie===
{{Main|Zhu Bajie}}
[[File:Xyj-zhu.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of Zhu Bajie]]

'''Zhu Bajie''' ({{zh|labels=no|t=豬八戒}}, literally "Pig of the Eight Prohibitions") is also known as '''Zhu Wuneng''' ("Pig Awakened to Power"), and given the name "'''Monk Pig'''", "'''Piggy'''", "'''Pigsy'''", or just simply "'''Pig'''" in English.

Once an immortal who was the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy commanding 100,000 naval soldiers of the [[Milky Way]], he drank too much during a celebration of the gods and attempted to harass the moon goddess [[Chang'e]], resulting in his banishment to the mortal world. He was supposed to be reborn as a human but ended up in the womb of a sow due to an error on the Reincarnation Wheel, which turned him into a half-man, half-pig [[humanoid]]-pig monster. Zhu Bajie was very greedy, and could not survive without eating ravenously. Staying within the ''Yunzhan Dong'' ("cloud-pathway cave"), he was commissioned by Guanyin to accompany Tang Sanzang to India and given the new name Zhu Wuneng.

However, Zhu Bajie's lust for women led him to the Gao Family Village, where he posed as a handsome young man and helped defeat a group of robbers who tried to abduct a maiden. Eventually, the family agreed to let Zhu Bajie marry the maiden. But during the day of the wedding, he drank too much alcohol and accidentally returned to his original form. Being extremely shocked, the villagers ran away, but Zhu Bajie wanted to keep his bride, so he told the bride's father that if after one month the family still did not agree to let him keep the bride, he would take her by force. He also locked the bride up in a separate building. At this point, Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong arrived at the Gao Family Village and helped defeat him. Renamed Zhu Bajie by Tang Sanzang, he consequently joined the pilgrimage to the West.

His weapon of choice is the ''jiuchidingpa'' ("[[Rake (tool)|nine-tooth iron rake]]"). He is also capable of 36 transformations and can travel on clouds, but not as fast as Sun Wukong. However, Zhu is noted for his fighting skills in the water, which he used to combat Sha Wujing, who later joined them on the journey. He is the second strongest member of the team.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Pigsy's lust for women, extreme laziness, and greediness, made his spirituality the lowest in the group, with even the White Dragon Horse achieving more than him, and he remained on Earth and was granted the title "Cleaner of the Altars," with the duty of cleaning every altar at every Buddhist temple for eternity by eating excess offerings.

===Sha Wujing===
{{Main|Sha Wujing}}
[[File:Xyj-sha seng.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of Shā Wùjìng]]

'''Sha Wujing''' ({{zh|labels=no|t=沙悟淨}}, "Sand Awakened to Purity"), given the name "'''[[Friar]] Sand'''", "'''Sand [[Monk]]'''", "'''[[Sandman]]'''", "'''Sand [[Fairy]]'''", "'''Sand [[Orc]]'''", "'''Sand [[Ogre]]'''", "'''Sand [[Troll]]'''", "'''Sand [[Oni]]'''", "'''Sand [[Demon]]'''", "'''Sand [[Monster]]'''", "'''Sand [[Hulk]]'''", "'''Sand'''", or "'''Sandy'''" in English, was once a celestial Curtain Lifting General, who stood in attendance by the imperial chariot in the Hall of Miraculous Mist. He was exiled to the mortal world and made to look like a sandman, orc, ogre, troll, oni, demon, monster, or hulk because he accidentally smashed a crystal goblet belonging to the [[Xi Wangmu|Queen Mother of the West]] during a Peach Banquet. The now-hideous immortal took up residence in the Flowing Sands River, terrorizing surrounding villages and travelers trying to cross the river. However, he was subdued by Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie when Tang Sanzang's party came across him. They consequently took him in, as part of the pilgrimage to the West.

Sha Wujing's weapon is a magic wooden staff wrapped in pearly threads, although artwork and adaptations depict him with a [[Monk's spade]] staff. He also knows 18 transformation methods and is highly effective in water combat. He is the most obedient, logical, and polite of the three disciples, and always takes care of his master, seldom engaging in the bickering of his fellow disciples. Because he has no major faults or extraordinary characteristics, he is sometimes seen as a minor character, but he is the peacekeeper of the group, mediating between Wukong, Bajie, and even Tang Sanzang and others. He is also the person whom Tang Sanzang consults when faced with difficult decisions.

He eventually becomes an [[arhat]] at the end of the journey, giving him a higher level of exaltation than Zhu Bajie, who is relegated to cleaning altars, but lower spiritually than Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang, who are granted [[Buddhahood]].

==Sequels==
{{multiple image
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| image1 = CADAL07018085 後西遊記.djvu
| image2 = NLC511-027032013020125-14768 繡像西遊記 第2卷.pdf
| footer = Two covers of an early Qing period novel ''Hou Xiyou Ji'' (後西遊記) by Mei Zihe (梅子和)
}}
There are many published sequels to Wu's ''Journey to the West'' since the late Ming, and they persisted into the Qing dynasty and the modern period.

The satirical novel ''[[A Supplement to the Journey to the West|Xiyoubu]]'' ({{zh|labels=no|t=西遊補}}, "A Supplement to the Journey to the West," {{circa|1640}}) written by Dong Yue is one of the best regarded sequels.  It follows [[Monkey King|Sun Wukong]] as he is trapped in a magical dream world created by the Qing Fish Demon, the embodiment of desire ({{zh|labels=no|t=情}}, qing). Sun travels back and forth through time, during which he serves as the adjunct [[Yama (Buddhism and Chinese mythology)|King of Hell]] and judges the soul of the recently dead traitor [[Qin Hui]] during the [[Song dynasty]], takes on the appearance of a beautiful concubine and causes the downfall of the [[Qin dynasty]], and even faces [[Pāramitā]], one of his five sons born to the [[rakshasa]] [[Princess Iron Fan]],{{efn|Pāramitā is the only son to make an appearance and to be called by name in the novel. These sons did not originally appear in ''Journey to the West''.}} on the battlefield during the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dong |first1=Yue |translator-first1=Shuen-fu  |translator-last1=Lin |translator-first2=Larry James  |translator-last2=Schulz |first2=Chengẻn |last2=Wu| title=The Tower of Myriad Mirrors: A Supplement to Journey to the West |series=Michigan classics in Chinese studies |location=Ann Arbor |publisher=Center for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan |isbn=9780892641420 |year=2000 }}</ref> The events of ''Xiyoubu'' take place between the end of chapter 61 and the beginning of chapter 62 of ''Journey to the West''.{{sfnb|Dong|Wu|2000|p=5}} The author, Dong Yue ({{zh|labels=no|t=董說}}), wrote the book because he wanted to create an opponent—in this case desire—that Sun could not defeat with his great strength and martial skill.{{sfnb|Dong|Wu|2000|p=133}}

==Notable English-language translations==
===Abridged===
* ''[[Monkey (novel)|Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China]]'' (1942), an abridged translation by [[Arthur Waley]]. For many years, this was the most well-known translation available in English. The Waley translation has also been published as ''Adventures of the Monkey God'', ''Monkey to the West'', ''Monkey: Folk Novel of China'', and ''The Adventures of Monkey'', and in a further abridged version for children, ''Dear Monkey'' ({{ISBN|978-0006709978}}). Waley noted in his preface that the method adopted in earlier abridgements was "to leave the original number of separate episodes, but drastically reduce them in length, particularly by cutting out dialogue. I have for the most part adopted the opposite principle, omitting many episodes, but translating those that are retained almost in full, leaving out, however, most of the incidental passages in verse, which go very badly into English."<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Wu Ch'eng-en |title=Monkey |url=https://archive.org/details/monkey00wuch |url-access=registration |translator1=Arthur Waley |orig-year=1942 |location=New York |publisher=Grove Press |year=1984 |page=[https://archive.org/details/monkey00wuch/page/7 7]|isbn=9780802130860 }}</ref>  The degree of abridgement, 30 out of the 100 chapters (which corresponds to roughly 1/6 of the whole text), and excising most of the verse, has led to a recent critic awarding it the lesser place, as a good ''retelling'' of the story.<ref name=PlaksA>{{Cite journal |author-link=Andrew H. Plaks |last=Plaks |first=Andrew |year=1977 |title=Review: "The Journey to the West" by Anthony C. Yu |journal=MLN |volume=92 |number=5 |pages=1116–1118 |jstor=2906900 |doi=10.2307/2906900}}</ref> On the other hand, it has been praised as "remarkably faithful to the original spirit of the work."<ref>{{Cite book |first=Paul S. |last=Ropp |chapter=The Distinctive Art of Chinese Fiction |title=Heritage of China: Contemporary Perspectives on Chinese Civilisation |url=https://archive.org/details/heritageofchina00atio |url-access=registration |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |date=1990 |page=321 note 12|isbn=9780520064409 }}</ref>
: The literary scholar [[Andrew H. Plaks]] points out that Waley's abridgement reflected his interpretation of the novel as a "folktale"; this "brilliant translation... through its selection of episodes gave rise to the misleading impression that this is essentially a compendium of popular materials marked by folk wit and humour." Waley followed [[Hu Shih|Hu Shi]]'s lead, as shown in Hu's introduction to the 1943 edition. Hu scorned the allegorical interpretations of the novel as a spiritual as well as physical quest, declaring that they were old-fashioned. He instead insisted that the stories were simply comic. Hu Shi reacted against elaborately allegorical readings of the novel made popular in the Qing dynasty, but does not account for the levels of meaning and the looser allegorical framework which recent scholars in China and the West have shown.{{sfnb|Plaks|1994|pp=274–275}}
*In 2006, an abridged version of the [[Anthony C. Yu]] translation was published by [[University of Chicago Press]] under the title ''The Monkey and the Monk''.
* {{Cite book |last= |first= |translator=Julia Lovell |year=2021 |title=Monkey King: Journey to the West |publisher=Penguin| location=New York |isbn=9780143107187}} [[Julia Lovell]]'s translation of selected chapters into lively contemporary English, with an extensive Introduction by Lovell and a Preface by [[Gene Luen Yang]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Van Fleet |first1=John Darwin |title=Monkey King (Review) |url=https://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/monkey-king-journey-to-the-west-by-wu-chengen-translated-by-julia-lovell/ |website=Asian Review of Books |date=31 January 2021 |access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref>

===Unabridged===
* ''The Journey to the West'' (1977–83), a complete translation in four volumes by [[Anthony C. Yu]], the first to translate the poems and songs which Yu argues are essential in understanding the author's meanings.<ref>[[University of Chicago Press]]: HC {{ISBN|0-226-97145-7}}, {{ISBN|0-226-97146-5}}, {{ISBN|0-226-97147-3}}, {{ISBN|0-226-97148-1}}; PB {{ISBN|0-226-97150-3}}, {{ISBN|0-226-97151-1}}; {{ISBN|0-226-97153-8}}; {{ISBN|0-226-97154-6}}.</ref> Yu also supplied an extensive scholarly introduction and notes.<ref name=Lattimore/>{{sfnb|Plaks|1994|p=283}} In 2012, University of Chicago Press issued a revised edition of Yu's translation in four volumes. In addition to correcting or amending the translation and converting romanisation to pinyin, the new edition updates and augments the annotations, and revises and expands the introduction in respect to new scholarship and modes of interpretation.
* ''Journey to the West'' (1982–84), a complete translation in four volumes by [[William John Francis Jenner]].<ref>Foreign Languages Press Beijing. ({{ISBN|0-8351-1003-6}}, {{ISBN|0-8351-1193-8}}, {{ISBN|0-8351-1364-7}}); 1993 edition in four volumes: {{ISBN|978-7-119-01663-4}}; 2003 edition in six volumes with original Chinese on left page, English translation on right page: {{ISBN|7-119-03216-X}}</ref> Readable translation without scholarly apparatus.{{sfnb|Plaks|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cUcHvd-KYUUC&q=Jenner 283]}}

==Media adaptations==
{{Main|List of media adaptations of Journey to the West}}
[[File:Havoc in Heaven Peking Opera 12.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Monkey King]] and other [[Mount Huaguo]] monkeys as portrayed by [[Peking opera]] performers, from a performance in [[Tianchan Theatre]], Shanghai, China on 19 December 2014]]

''[[Monkey (TV series)|Saiyūki (西遊記)]]'', also known by its English title ''Monkey'' and commonly referred to by its title song, "Monkey Magic," is a Japanese television series starring [[Masaaki Sakai]], produced by [[Nippon TV]] and International Television Films in association with [[NHK| NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)]] and broadcast from 1978 to 1980 on Nippon TV. It was translated into English by the BBC.

In the 1980s, [[China Central Television|China Central Television (CCTV)]] produced and aired a [[Journey to the West (1986 TV series)|TV adaptation of ''Journey to the West'']] under the same name as the original work. A second season was produced in the late 1990s covering portions of the original work that the first season skipped over.

In 1988, the Japanese anime series ''[[Doraemon]]'' released a movie named ''[[Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West]]'' which is based on the same story.

In 1997, Brooklyn-based jazz composer [[Fred Ho]] premiered his jazz opera ''Journey to the East'', at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]], which he developed into what he described as a "serial fantasy action-adventure music/theater epic," ''Journey Beyond the West: The New Adventures of Monkey''. Ho's pop-culture infused take on the story of the Monkey King has been performed to great acclaim.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

In 1999, the Sony PlayStation game ''[[Saiyuki: Journey West]]'' was released, which follows the general plot of the story.

A video game adaptation titled ''[[Enslaved: Odyssey to the West]]'' was released in October 2010 for [[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]], and [[Microsoft Windows]]. It was developed by [[Ninja Theory]] and published by [[Bandai Namco Entertainment]]. The voice and motion capture for the main protagonist, 'Monkey', were provided by [[Andy Serkis]].

On 20 April 2017, Australia's [[ABC (Australian TV channel)|ABC]], [[Television New Zealand|TVNZ]], and [[Netflix]] announced production was underway in [[New Zealand]] on a new live-action television series, ''[[The New Legends of Monkey]]'', to premiere globally in 2018. The series, which is based on ''Journey to the West'', is made up of 10 half-hour episodes. While there has been enthusiasm for the new series, it has also attracted some criticism for "[[Whitewashing in film|whitewashing]],"<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/04/20/monkey-magic-returns-as-filming-begins-on-the-legend-of-monke_a_22047201/|title='Monkey Magic' Returns As Filming Begins On 'The Legend of Monkey' In New Zealand|last=Whitehead|first=Mat|date=20 April 2017|work=Huffington Post|access-date=2017-04-20|language=en-AU}}</ref> since none of the core cast are of Chinese descent, with two of the leads having [[Tonga]]n ancestry<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/tv-shows/the-new-legends-of-monkey-writer-responds-to-whitewashing-accusations/news-story/17574ca219894f4ed92d291c3f7364d9 |title=The New Legends of Monkey writer responds to 'whitewashing' accusations |first=Wenlei |last=Ma |date=26 January 2018 |website=news.com.au}}</ref> while only one, [[Chai Hansen]], is of half-Asian (his father is Thai) descent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5098626/|title=Chai Romruen|website=IMDb|access-date=2017-04-20}}</ref>

More recently in 2017, [[Viki (streaming service)|Viki]] and Netflix hosted a [[South Korea]]n show called ''[[A Korean Odyssey]]''; a modern comedy retelling that begins with the release of Sun Wukong/Son O-Gong and the reincarnation of Tang Sanzang/Samjang.

In August 2020, Game Science Studios announced a video game called ''[[Black Myth: Wukong]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/black-myth-wukong-announced-consoles-next-gen-pc-gameplay|title = Gorgeous Action-RPG Black Myth: Wukong Revealed with Extended Gameplay Trailer - IGN| date=20 August 2020 }}</ref> It was released on 20 August 2024 for PlayStation 5 and PC. It is also slated to release at a later date for the Xbox Series X/S. The plot of the game is set after the main events of the novel.

On May 16, 2020, [[The Lego Group]] released the theme, [[Lego Monkie Kid]], to which Journey of the West was credited as the main inspiration, featuring many characters from the original work. Four days later on May 20, an [[Lego Monkie Kid#Television series|animated television series]] pilot was released to coincide with the theme, and was later picked up for production and released serially starting in September 2020.

On September 19, 2020, Hong Kong composer Anna Vienna Ho premiered her English-language opera ''Buddha and the Monkey King'' at The Cockpit in London, as part of the [[Tête à Tête (opera company)|Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival]] 2020. This innovative opera seamlessly blends Chinese and Western musical traditions and inaugurated the festival's operatic series ''Journey to the West''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Buddha and the Monkey King |url=https://www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/event/the-buddha-the-monkey-king-and-the-monk-of-the-river/ |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=Tête à Tête |language=en-GB}}</ref> Ho returned to the festival to premiere two additional works: ''The Monk of the River'' in 2021<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Monk of the River |url=https://www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/event/the-monk-of-the-river-live/ |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=Tête à Tête |language=en-GB}}</ref> and ''The Monster of Gao Village'' in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Monster of Gao Village |url=https://www.tete-a-tete.org.uk/event/the-monster-of-gao-village/ |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=Tête à Tête |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Dragon Ball]]''
* ''[[Investiture of the Gods]]''
* ''[[Dream of the Red Chamber]]''
* ''[[Enslaved: Odyssey to the West]]''
* ''[[The God of High School]]''
* ''[[One Piece]]''
* ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]''
* ''[[Saiyuki (manga)|Saiyuki]]''
* ''[[Starzinger]]''
* ''[[Water Margin]]''

== Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin |30em}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Bhat |first1=R. B. |last2=Wu |first2=C. |year=2014 |title=Xuan Zhang's Mission to the West with Monkey King |location=New Delhi |publisher=Aditya Prakashan}}
* {{Cite book |last=Chang |first=Kang-i Sun |title=The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, Volume II: From 1375 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-85559-4 |editor-last=Chang |editor-first=Kang-i Sun |pages=1–62 |chapter=Literature of the Early Ming to Mid-Ming (1375–1572)}}
* Chen, Minjie, "[https://blogs.princeton.edu/cotsen/2016/02/monkey-craze/ Monkey Craze"], Cotsen Children's Library blog, Princeton, 12 Feb 2016. Accessed 22 Aug 2024.
* Chen, Minjie, "[https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-chinese-classic-journeys-to-the-west-julia-lovells-translation-of-monkey-king/ A Chinese Classic Journeys to the West: Julia Lovell’s Translation of 'Monkey King'"], ''Los Angeles Review of Books'', 5 Oct 2021. Accessed 22 Aug 2024.
* {{Cite book |last=Fu |first=James S. |title=Mythic and Comic Aspects of the Quest |location=Singapore |publisher=Singapore University Press |year=1977 }}
* {{cite journal |last1 =Gray |first1= Gordon |first2=Jianfen |last2=Wang |authorlink = |title =The Journey to the West: A Platform for Learning About China Past and Present |journal =Education About Asia |volume =24 |issue = 1 |pages= |date =2019 |language = |url =https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/journey-to-the-west/ |jstor = |issn = |doi = |accessdate = }}
* {{Cite book |last=Hsia |first=C.T. |chapter=The Journey to the West |title=The Classic Chinese Novel |url=https://archive.org/details/classicchineseno00hsia |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1968 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/classicchineseno00hsia/page/115 115–164] }}
* {{Cite book |last=Jenner |first=William John Francis |year=1984 |chapter=Translator's Afterword |title=Journey to the West |volume=4 |edition=Seventh |location=Beijing |publisher=Foreign Languages Press |pages=2341–2343}}
* {{Cite magazine |author-link=William John Francis Jenner |last=Jenner |first=William John Francis|author-mask=3 |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/journeys-to-the-east-journey-to-the-west|title=Journeys to the East, 'Journey to the West |magazine=Los Angeles Review of Books |date=3 February 2016 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kao |first=Karl S.Y. |title=An Archetypal Approach to ''Hsi-yu chi'' |journal= Tamkang Review |volume=5 |issue=2 |date=October 1974 |pages=63–98 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Plaks |first=Andrew|author-link= Andrew Plaks |title=The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel |location=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1987 |pages=183–276 }}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Plaks |first=Andrew |author-mask=3|title=The Journey to the West |editor-last=Miller |editor-first=Barbara S. |encyclopedia=Masterworks of Asian Literature in Comparative Perspective |location=New York |publisher=M. E. Sharpe |year=1994 |pages=272–284 }}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |author=Shi Changyu {{lang|zh|石昌渝}} |date=1999 |title=Introduction |translator-last=Jenner |translator-first=William John Francis |encyclopedia=Journey to the West |volume=1 |edition=Seventh |location=Beijing |publisher=Foreign Languages Press |pages=1–22 |ref={{harvid|Shi|1999}}}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Richard G. |first2=Dongfeng |last2=Xu |title=Three Decades' Reworking on the Monk, the Monkey, and the Fiction of Allegory |journal=The Journal of Religion |volume=96 |issue= 1 |pages=102–121 |date=2016 |doi=10.1086/683988 |s2cid=170097583}}
* {{Cite web |last1=Wasserstrom |first1=Jeffrey |title=Julia Lovell on the Monkey King's Travels Across Borders: A Conversation |url=https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/interviews/julia-lovell-monkey-kings-travels-across-borders-conversation/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210182901/https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/interviews/julia-lovell-monkey-kings-travels-across-borders-conversation/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 December 2020 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books |date=10 December 2020 |access-date=18 February 2021 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Yu |first=Anthony C. |title=Two Literary Examples of Religious Pilgrimage: The ''Commedia'' and the ''Journey to the West'' |journal=History of Religions  |volume=22 |issue=3 |date=February 1983 |pages=202–230 |doi=10.1086/462922 |s2cid=161410156 }}
* {{Cite book |author-last=Yu |author-first=Anthony C. |author-mask= 3|chapter=Introduction |title=Journey to the West |volume=1 |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year= 2012 |pages=1–96 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{subject bar|auto=y|d=y|China|Novel}}

* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23962 ''Journey to the West''] from the Gutenberg Project (Traditional Chinese)
* [http://xahlee.org/wordy/monkey_king/monkey_king.html ''Journey to the West''] from Xahlee (Simplified Chinese)
* [http://www.china-on-site.com/pages/comic/1.php Story of Sun Wukong and the beginning of ''Journey to the West''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110185658/http://www.china-on-site.com/pages/comic/1.php |date=10 January 2020 }} with [[manhua]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20221213135406/http://www.innerjourneytothewest.com/english/en-resource.html 200 images of ''Journey to the West'' by Chen Huiguan, with a summary of each chapter (Archived Link)]
* [https://chinesenotes.com/xiyouji.html ''Journey to the West'' 西遊記] Chinese text with embedded Chinese-English dictionary
* [https://thejourneytothewest.com ''Journey to the West''] Journey to the West(English)

{{Journey to the West}}
{{Four Great Classical Novels|100}}
{{Chinese mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

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