next »

[Derek]

Journey to the West (Wikipedia entry) is an epic Chinese tale about a monk who goes on a quest to retrieve holy Buddhist scriptures (sutras) from India.  But probably the most well-known character is Sun Wukong, the Stone Monkey, aka the monkey that rides a cloud and carries a stick.  He accompanies the monk on his journey, along with a drunken, lecherous pig who carries pitchfork, and a river monster.

Anyway, it's a fascinating story.  Just, lots of clever bits and great, fantastical stuff that takes place in heaven and on earth.  Sun Wukong is a great character.  Kind of typical in that he's a brash, selfish, antihero.  Very mischievous, as monkeys tend to be.  He also has a lot of special powers, like being able to split himself into many Sun Wukongs.  He challenges Buddha and gets thrown under a mountain to rot for 500 years.  He also pees on Buddha's fingers (I love that part of the story).

His magic staff he obtains (quite forcefully) from a dragon king.  It's actually a pillar that holds up part of the dragon king's underwater palace!  Sun Wukong is able to shrink it and expand it at will, and this trick is used many times in the stories in really neat ways.  It's truly the most badass weapon of all time.

Anyway, I'm kind of saddened by how little recognition the story gets outside of Asia.  It's got it all, and I really enjoy how humorous and irreverent the story is, despite having very serious, spiritual subtexts.  This is some ancient, classic fantasy shit that at least deserves a series of movies directed by Peter Jackson!  Get on it!

But in the meantime, I'd like to collect some stuff that's based on Journey to the West, for posterity.  Hopefully, it will interest some of you, too.  And those of you who are already fans (lookin' at you, papamook!), contribute!

Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn's Monkey Opera

This is damn exciting, since I'm a big fan of Jamie Hewlett and I like the Gorillaz, too.  It's playing in Europe - wish I could see it.



SonSon

SonSon is a classic arcade game by Capcom, where you star as Sun Wukong.  Cute!



SonSon is an "extra" character in Marvel vs. Capcom 2.  And she's a girl.  And she's pretty cute!



Oriental Legend

A beat-em-up arcade game inspired by JttW.  Now with a pretty sweet-looking sequel in the works?



Comparison from the original to the sequel:





Katsuya Terada's The Monkey King

Katsuya Terada... another one of my favoritest artists.  I could go on and on about him.  They call him the "Rakugaking" which is short for "Rakugaki King" which basically means "Doodle King."  He, in his usual style, turns JttW into a really dark, hardboiled tale with lots of evil monsters and, er, big-breasted women.

Available from Darkhorse Comics.



American Born Chinese

I know Gene Yang, the creator of American Born Chinese, indirectly, and he's a really nice, genuine guy.  The book's central theme is his experience growing up Chinese in the U.S., but he tells part of the Journey to the West story to relate to that.

I'm ambivalent about his use of the story, because it's really a metaphor for Buddhism, and Gene puts a Christian message behind it... it's well-done and not too preachy, however.

Available from First Second Books.



And that's it!  For now.

[BMcC]

This is really cool. 

[Golds]

Looks cool!  I don't think I've ever heard of Journey into the West.

I am really into of the epic of Gilgamesh, especially the Herbert Mason translation in verse (link to amazon excerpt -- hit the right button to switch pages).  I think its the oldest written narrative that we know of, and it hasn't really lost any power over the millenia.  It's about friendship, loss, and death..

Also, The Flood story from Genesis is lifted right out of it, and the river styx, and a host of other conventions incorporated into western myths and epics, such as Homer's Odyssey. 

[Al King]

[BMcC]

I thought Dragonball was inspired by this story, and Wikipedia confirms my suspicions.  Pretty cool. 

I'm curious to see what else is inspired by it, however loosely...  Probably a lot!

[Derek]

Good eye, Brandon! He's called "Son Goku," too, which sounds a lot like Sun Wukong...



I also forgot, there's a new JttW game coming out for the DS called "Monkey Magic Saiyuki"... looks quite fun.  Not sure who all those other characters are, though.  Zhu Bajie on the left?  And the monk?



Found out about it on Insert Credit.

Also, this:

[Headmade]

I remeber Saiyuki: Journey West. It's a tactical RPG for the PSX with pigs & Monkeys and all sorts of bestial stuff; don't remeber the details exactly.

There are several reviews, see:
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/480705.asp

[Boukx]

Hi. I've been a reader of these forums for quite some time now. And this subject is the perfect one for me to discretly slip myself into the herd.

If you wish to collect all things releted to "Journey to the west", there's also a comic drawned by Manara that appeared in Métal Hurlant back in the 70's/80's. It's full of allegories and metaphors on politics and communism, but it's quite enjoyable and the art is very good (and it's not as sex-focused as later stories by manara).

Linky :

http://www.amazon.com/Ape-Milo-Manara/dp/0874160197

[Melly]

There's also a trailer in GameTrailers posted recently of a shmup coming out with the main character being that monkey dude on a cloud and with the staff. I forgot the name of it, though. I think it was coming for a portable, or maybe PC. And the enemies seem heavily based on folklore.

[Average Higgins]

Oh man, much love for Journey to the West!
A few year's ago I read Arthur Waley's abridged translation and fell in love with it. So I immediately went out and bought this:



which is the complete, unabridged translation. I'm a little embarassed now that I never finished it.   
(But to be fair, it's like a million pages long.)

Also of interest is the

to the show KingAl mentioned. It's ridiculously awesome. There's also a much longer version of the theme song readily available on the internet which I suggest you all go listen to.



There was also this animated series which is more or less a direct adaptation of the novel. I know it showed on TV in America but I don't think it was ever very popular.

Also, I shat myself from excitement when I found out about the Monkey opera. At very least I hope they release a DVD!

[can-o-spam]

Hey, great thread. Last year I took a film course on Chinese cinema as an elective in my graduate program. As independent research I investigated The Monkey King (Havoc in Heaven). It was a Chinese animation produced just before the cultural revolution, and it totally rocks. (It is based on the monkey character from Journey to the West).

Here are some links.



The 1st 5 minutes. At the very end of it the Monkey King breaks his sword, and thus starts his quest to get a new weapon (the staff). You can also find the rest of the movie on youTube in sections. Worth watching some of the later sections for very clever fight sequences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havoc_in_Heaven An entry on the movie itself. It is a wonderful film that really shows how different things would have been in China minus the CR. It totally destroyed an animation industry that could easily produce Disney 'quality' animations. Of course, the CR also destroyed uncounted lives and many other things.

Anyway, thought I'd share!

[Nikica]

I wish too I could see it, I am a big fan of Jamie and Damon and Gorillaz is my favourite band !!!

[Derek]

Hi. I've been a reader of these forums for quite some time now. And this subject is the perfect one for me to discretly slip myself into the herd.

If you wish to collect all things releted to "Journey to the west", there's also a comic drawned by Manara that appeared in Métal Hurlant back in the 70's/80's. It's full of allegories and metaphors on politics and communism, but it's quite enjoyable and the art is very good (and it's not as sex-focused as later stories by manara).

Linky :

http://www.amazon.com/Ape-Milo-Manara/dp/0874160197

Holy shit, Milo Manara does JttW?!

Gotta check that out, thanks!  And welcome!

[Stij]

I read a modernized version of this story awhile ago. I should probably read the full thing one o' these days.

Havoc in Heaven looks great too.

[GP Lackey]

There was also the made-for-TV Lost Empire with that guy from Dharma and Greg.

I'm sorry I brought that up.

[Boukx]

@ Derek :

Well, I could try to scan a few pages, just to give you a taste of what it's like . It'll be in french, though.

[Calanctus]

Wow, was not expecting a topic on this here, of all places. Guess I shouldn't be surprised though.

This was always one of my favorite stories growing up, so it's good to see it get some love.

Not sure who all those other characters are, though.  Zhu Bajie on the left?  And the monk?

Yeah, the one in white is the monk. He's usually depicted wearing white, with a crown-like hat, and a priest's staff. Also, and I think this is something unique to Japanese depictions, he's often portrayed as feminine or sometimes outright female.

[Pigbuster]

I've seen that extending staff show up a couple of times. In Soul Calibur, for instance.

Other culture's myths and legends are so awesome. I know way too little about them, unfortunately.
There has to be a massive collection of this stuff somewhere, right?

[Average Higgins]

I've seen that extending staff show up a couple of times. In Soul Calibur, for instance.

Other culture's myths and legends are so awesome. I know way too little about them, unfortunately.
There has to be a massive collection of this stuff somewhere, right?

Yeah, right here.
(That is, if you're referring exclusively to Journey to the West and this becomes a well-updated thread. Which it should be!)

[Derek]

Just watched Paprika (great movie) and caught another JttW sighting!

Well, I could try to scan a few pages, just to give you a taste of what it's like . It'll be in french, though.

Boukx, if you're still around, I'd love to see those scans!  Sorry not to get back to you promptly.