China Traditional Historical Allusions English

The Journey to the West is a novel by China, which was published in the Ming Dynasty in the 6th century A.D./KLOC-by Wu Cheng'en. It is one of the four classic novels of China literature.

This novel is an extension of the legendary pilgrimage of Xuanzang, a monk in the Tang Dynasty, who went to the "Western Regions", that is, India, to obtain the holy scriptures and returned after many trials and pains. It retains the general outline of Xuanzang's own narrative "The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang", but this novel of Ming Dynasty adds elements of folk stories and the author's invention, that is, the Buddha entrusted this task to the monk and provided him with three protectors, who agreed to help him atone. These disciples are the Monkey King, Pig Bajie and Sha Wujing, and there is a dragon prince who is Xuanzang's white horse.

This story is enduring. It is not only a funny adventure story, but also a source of spiritual insight, and it is also an extended fable. In this fable, a group of pilgrims move towards enlightenment, and each of them can only achieve it with the help of all others.