James Baquet

BACK in the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese monk Xuanzang (玄奘) made a solitary journey through the harsh western deserts all the way to India. In over 17 years through more than 70 countries, he gathered sacred texts and artifacts to bring back to China. He thus became one of the most important figures in Chinese Buddhism.

Nearly a millennium later, in the 1590s, Wu Cheng’en published “Journey to the West,” a highly fictionalized fantasy novel based on Xuanzang’s journey and counted as one of the “Four Great Classical Novels” of China.

In Wu’s book, Xuanzang is accompanied on his adventure by three friends (or four, counting his horse, formerly a dragon). Sun Wukong, or “Monkey King,” is often just called “Monkey” in English translations. Zhu Bajie, a pig, is sometimes styled “Pigsy;” and Sha Wujing, a sort of supernatural river monk, is sometimes called “Sandy” or “Friar Sand.”

Together they face 81 adventures, involving magicians and monsters, rushing rivers and burning mountains, and all kinds of temptations. In the end, they succeed in their task, and are rewarded by being taken to Heaven.

Scholars still debate whether there is much significance in the often humorous story. But there is no doubt that it is still popular today. Figures of the friends, especially the Monkey King, can be found in temples and parks all over China. For a good example in Shenzhen, visit the Mazu Temple in Nanshan, south of the terminus of bus No. 42 from Window of the World Metro Station.