Jouney to the West is a historic Chinese novel that is considered one of the 4 classics from the Ming Dynasty .These novels along with Outlaws of the Marsh, A Dream in Red Mansion as well as Three Kindoms have won popular acclaim from generation to generation . Jouney to the West is actually a combination of myth , parable and comedy .It is filled with imagination and have enjoyed a great and immense popularity among the people 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 life-hearted style .
It is based on a story about a Buddhist monk and a bunch of animals with human characteristic（which are his 3 disciples ,the irrevent and capable Monkey, greedy Pig, and Friar Sand） .The animals in the story are actually of a very fairy tale type of mood and they traveled west to India to find Buddhist scriptures. The animals themselves are celestial being in mortal forms and they have magical powers that protect them from the goblins and the evil spirits.
Monkey was created out of a rock. He not only has the sharp wit and an unruly nature of a monkey but also extra ordinary powers that he uses to overcome demons and monsters. Monkey is also gifted with intelligence and agility both mentally and physically. So he puts his talents to use by mastering his skills of wizardry to the point of where he can transform himself 72 times in a blink of an eye. He has a magic wand that can shrink smaller than a pen or expand till it is like a club of bronze and a magic cloud that can take him up to the heavens or down to the bales of the earth. Full of life and filled with spirit as well as being sincere and optimistic in nature, he is not bothered by suffering and is always ready to face up to new challenges.
Pig sets off his pig like clumsiness with the disposition that is the epitome of honesty and directness. He is always making a mess out of things and generating a lot of humor in the process. Pig fills a role that symbolizes the desire to comfort and pleasure. He too has magical powers but it is just not the same as monkey , who makes him seem naive and clumsy by comparison .Monkey just love to tease him , so pig does all his best to be a thorn in monkey’s side by telling lies about him to Tang Priest.
Another character that appears quite less frequently is Friar Sand . He is quite resolute and his down-to-earth nature is readily apparent.
In Jouney to the West, a total of 87 chapters are dedicated to the story of the Tang Priest ,Xuang Zang’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 .Before the monk can find the scriptures he must surmount 81 obstacles . Demons of all descriptions like the ferocious Red Boy, the scorpion sipirt of Pipa Cave and spiderwomen ,etc. try to bar their way ,even to the extent of killing and eating XuangZang .Some of these ghostly opponents appear openly hostile ,while others are cunningly disguised . Some wield power over kingdoms or feign to officials carrying out their lawful duties .Monkey 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 Monkey 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 “ stories of the 81 obstacles” which symbolize the difficulties and challenges that people meet in the course of pursuing their ideals , the staunch spirit and character of the 4 companions to battle all enemies and overcome all hurdles in order to attain their goal is manifested very clearly and as much it is a vivid portrayal of the spirit and character of the Chinese nation.
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 Chen’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 Jouney to the West.
Humor is a major characteristic of the style of Jouney to the West. Money is the supreme comic figure in this classical Chinese novel. 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 this novel is also manisfested in certain plots & subplots of the nature of comedies. Pig’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 Pig’s character are not unique or accidental ,they ’re common traits of the Chinese character. The author’s humor is built up on a base of profound knowledge of human society and a high degree of psychological penetration.
Actually Journey to the west is purification of the mind in that the entire expedition to find Buddhist scriptures is actually a way of achieving spiritual goodness. So in this play three weaknesses arrogance, laziness, even ignorance, they are all weakness of human nature that requires spiritual correction. However honesty ,goodness ,and courage are all our friends in the depths of our soul. And this way the Journey to the west teach us that in human life it is possible to temper ourselves to achieve ideals and goodness.
"Journey to the west" is the story of tangs monk teacher and pupil four people to go to India to obtain buddhist scriptures. The four of them each have each have advantages, also have various shortcomings.
Tangs monk is the advantage of scriptures is determined, no matter how many difficulties on the road, he will go forward, never retreat. He by the spiritual influence of his disciples, help him to achieve true through together. However, disadvantages as well as tangs monk, he not bian true and false, trusting other people, the result is always cheated, if there is no sun wukong, he may be eaten by bones jing early.
On the characteristics of the Monkey King is, decline demon all by him all the way, he is very loyal, and detest evil. But his temper, out-of-control, often trouble, such as down ginseng fruit trees, so the teacher give the wearing a straitjacket.
Pig eight quit a slacker and greedy and corrupt sleep, just want to melt in trouble, a high lao-zhuang marry daughter-in-law back. Pig eight quit to little in the way of buddhist scriptures is not, however, tangs monk and sun wukong make antinomy, he put the monkey elder brother always come back, please.
The sand monk not ability, we see him pick a burden, also can make some small demon in war. But if the sand monk work is the most serious, is not he, who can safely put burden pick to buddhist paradise?
Is because of the determination of tangs monk, sun wukong proficiency, pig eight quit to landscape, the sand monk is responsible earnestly, the teacher and pupil joint efforts, finally achieve the perfect.
Reading this book, I also understand a truth. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, we all together to do a thing, as long as it can bring advantages into play, the faults control, can set everyones strength, get things done.
Impression on Journey to The West.
During the summer holiday, I spent much time in reading. I finished one of the four masterpieces ofChina, Journey to the West. It’s really an interesting book, telling many adventurous stories. I had watched the TV series before, but I found that the book is much interesting. Except for the adventurous experiences, we still can learn something from this book. We should be brave and confident to ourselves, no matter how many difficulties we meet. Our fellows and teamwork is important to us. When we are in trouble, they are the person we can rely on. And the trust between people is of great importance. It can combine people to a group and work together.