Xīyóu Jì 西遊記
Journey to the West by 呉承恩 (attributed)
About the work
Xīyóu Jì 西遊記 (Journey to the West, also known in the West as Monkey) is one of the four canonical novels (sìdà qíshū 四大奇書) of Chinese literature, a work in 100 huí 回 narrating the pilgrim-monk Xuánzàng’s 玄奘 journey from China to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures, accompanied by the Monkey King Sūn Wùkōng 孫悟空, the pig-demon Zhū Bājiè 豬八戒, and the water-monster Shā Wùjìng 沙悟淨. The novel interweaves cosmological mythology, Buddhist doctrine, Daoist alchemy, and ironic comedy in a sustained allegory of spiritual cultivation. It is conventionally attributed to 呉承恩 吳承恩 (ca. 1500–1582), though the attribution is a matter of scholarly discussion. The first dated edition appeared in 1592.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The Xīyóu Jì is conventionally attributed to Wú Chéng’ēn 吳承恩 (catalog romanization: 呉承恩, following the Japanese convention used in KRP; CBDB records show no entry under this name, consistent with the difficulty of confirming the attribution). Wilkinson (Chinese History: A New Manual, §31.2.1) states: “Conventionally attributed to Wu Cheng-en 吴承恩 (ca. 1500–1582), first dated edition, 1592.” The attribution to Wú rests chiefly on a passage in the Huáiān 淮安 prefectural gazetteer that mentions him writing a “xīyóu jì” — but scholars including Glen Dudbridge have questioned whether this refers to the novel as we have it.
The novel draws on a long pre-history: the historical Xuánzàng (596–664) actually traveled to India (627–645) and returned with Sanskrit texts. Legends about his journey accumulated in the Tang and Song. The immediate textual antecedents identified by Wilkinson include the Song chantefable Dàtáng Sānzàng qǔjīng shīhuà 大唐三藏取經詩話 and the Yuán drama Xīyóu Jì by Wú Chānglíng 吴昌龄 (14th century); see Dudbridge (1970) for full analysis.
The first dated printed edition is the Shìdé Táng 世德堂 edition of 1592 (Wànlì 20). The Kanripo text (KR4k0074) begins directly with chapter 1, without a separate title-page frontmatter volume; the text is complete and readable. The cross-reference in the catalog meta to KR4k0014 may indicate a related or alternative edition of the same novel in the Kanripo corpus.
The Xīyóu Jì is not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書. It was, however, among the most widely read and reprinted novels of the Míng and Qīng, and along with Fēngshén Yǎnyì 封神演義, it was among the two most influential accounts of gods and popular cult figures in the later empire (Wilkinson, §44.8).
Translations and research
- Jenner, William J. F., tr. Journey to the West. 2 vols. Foreign Languages Press, 1982–84. Full translation, lively style.
- Yu, Anthony C., tr. The Journey to the West. 4 vols. University of Chicago Press, rev. edn. 2012 (orig. 1977–83). Scholarly full translation with annotations.
- Waley, Arthur, tr. Monkey. Allen and Unwin, 1941. Abridged but highly readable.
- Dudbridge, Glen. The Hsi-yu chi: A Study of Antecedents to the Sixteenth-Century Chinese Novel. Cambridge University Press, 1970. Standard source-critical study.
- Zeng Shangyan 曾上炎. Xīyóu jì cídiǎn 西游记辞典 (Dictionary of Xīyóu jì). Hénan rénmín, 1994.
- Liu, I-ing. “On how to read the Hsi-yu chi.” In Rolston, ed., How to Read the Chinese Novel. Princeton University Press, 1990, 295–315.
- Sachdev, Rachana, and Qinjun Li, eds. Encountering China: Early Modern European Responses. Bucknell UP, 2012. Contains comparative essay on Journey to the West and Don Quixote.
Other points of interest
The Xīyóu Jì contains a remarkably large named cast: Wilkinson (§1.2.4) counts 1,101 named characters — more than Shuǐhǔ Zhuàn 水滸傳 or Hónglóu Mèng 紅樓夢, but fewer than the Sānguó Yǎnyì 三國演義 (1,200). The opening chapters (here fully preserved in the Kanripo text) present an elaborate cosmology derived from Shào Yōng’s 邵雍 huìyuán 會元 system, embedding the monkey’s origin story within a framework of cosmic time.
The Qīng-dynasty sequel by Tiānhuā Cáizǐ 天花才子 is KR4k0075 Hòu Xīyóu Jì 後西游記.
Links
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190931