The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West

University of Chicago Press, Sep 15, 2008 - Literary Criticism - 528 pages

Anthony C. Yu’s celebrated translation of The Journey to the West reinvigorated one of Chinese literature’s most beloved classics for English-speaking audiences when it first appeared thirty years ago. Yu’s abridgment of his four-volume translation, The Monkey and the Monk, finally distills the epic novel’s most exciting and meaningful episodes without taking anything away from their true spirit.

These fantastic episodes recount the adventures of Xuanzang, a seventh-century monk who became one of China’s most illustrious religious heroes after traveling for sixteen years in search of Buddhist scriptures. Powerfully combining religious allegory with humor, fantasy, and satire, accounts of Xuanzang’s journey were passed down for a millennium before culminating in the sixteenth century with The Journey to the West. Now, readers of The Monkey and the Monk can experience the full force of his lengthy quest as he travels to India with four animal disciples, most significant among them a guardian-monkey known as “the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.” Moreover, in its newly streamlined form, this acclaimed translation of a seminal work of world literature is sure to attract an entirely new following of students and fans.

“A new translation of a major literary text which totally supersedes the best existing version. . . . It establishes beyond contention the position of The Journey to the West in world literature, while at the same time throwing open wide the doors to interpretive study on the part of the English audience.”—Modern Language Notes, on the unabridged translation

Contents

• The moral nature cultivated the Great Dao is born: 1
• 2 Having fully awakened to Bodhis wondrous truths Cut Mara return to the root and fuse the primal spirit: 19
• 3 The Four Seas and the Thousand Mountains all bow to submit From Ninefold Darkness ten species names are removed: 35
• 4 Appointed as a Bima how could he be content? Named Equal to Heaven hes still unpacified: 51
• 5 Disrupting the Peach Festival the Great Sage steals elixir With revolt in Heaven many gods try to seize the fiend: 67
• 6 Guanyin attending the banquet inquires into the affair The Little Sage exerting his power subdues the Great Sage: 82
• 7 From the Eight Trigrams Brazier the Great Sage escapes Beneath the Five Phases Mountain Mind Monkey is stilled: 97
• 8 Our Sovereign Buddha makes scriptures to impart ultimate bliss Guanyin receives the decree to go up to Changan: 111
• 9 Chen Guangrui going to his post meets disaster Monk River Float avenging his parents repays their kindness: 128
• 10 The Old Dragon King in foolish schemes transgresses Heavens decrees Prime Minister Wei sends a letter to an official of the dead: 143
• 11 Having toured the Underworld Taizong returns to life Having presented melons and fruits Liu Quan marries again: 160
• 12 The Tang emperor firm in sincerity convenes the Grand Mass Guanyin revealing herself converts Gold Cicada: 178
• 13 In the Den of Tigers the Gold Star brings deliverance At DoubleFork Ridge Boqin detains the monk: 203
• 14 Mind Monkey returns to the Right The Six Robbers vanish from sight: 217
• 15 At Serpent Coil Mountain the gods give secret protection At Eagle Grief Stream the Horse of the Will is reined: 234
• 16 At the Guanyin Hall the Tang monk escapes his ordeal At the Gao Village the Great Sage disposes of the monster: 248
• 17 At Cloudy Paths Cave Wukong takes in Bajie At Pagoda Mountain Tripitaka receives the Heart Sutra: 259
• 18 Bajie fights fiercely at the FlowingSand River Moksa by order receives Wujings submission: 275
• 19 Tripitaka does not forget his origin The Four Sages test the priestly mind: 289
• 20 The dharmabody in primary cycle meets the force of the cart The mind righting monstrous deviates crosses the spineridge pass: 305
• 21 At the Three Pure Ones Temple the Great Sage leaves his name At the Car Slow Kingdom the Monkey King reveals his power: 321
• 22 Heresy flaunts its strength to mock orthodoxy Mind Monkey shows his saintliness to slay the deviates: 338
• 23 The Chan Master taking food is demonically conceived Yellow Hag brings water to dissolve the perverse pregnancy: 355
• 24 Dharmanature going west reaches the Women Nation Mind Monkey devises a plan to flee the fair sex: 370
• 25 Deviant form makes lustful play for Tripitaka Tang Upright nature safeguards the uncorrupted self: 386
• 26 The true Pilgrim lays bare his woes at Mount Potalaka The false Monkey King transcribes documents at WaterCurtain Cave: 401
• 27 Two Minds cause disturbance in the great cosmos Its hard for one substance to reach Perfect Rest: 416
• 28 Priests are hard to destroythats great awakening The Dharmaking perfects the right his bodys naturalized: 431
• 29 Only when ape and horse are tamed will shells be cast With merit and work perfected they see the Real: 449
• 30 Nine times nine ends the count and Maras all destroyed The work of three times three done the Dao reverts to its root: 466
• 31 They return to the Land of the East The Five Sages attain immortality: 480
• Contents: vii
• Preface: ix
• The moral nature cultivated the Great Dao is born: 1
• 2 Having fully awakened to Bodhis wondrous truths Cut Mara return to the root and fuse the primal spirit: 19
• 3 The Four Seas and the Thousand Mountains all bow to submit From Ninefold Darkness ten species names are removed: 35
• 4 Appointed as a Bima how could he be content? Named Equal to Heaven hes still unpacified: 51
• 5 Disrupting the Peach Festival the Great Sage steals elixir With revolt in Heaven many gods try to seize the fiend: 67
• 6 Guanyin attending the banquet inquires into the affair The Little Sage exerting his power subdues the Great Sage: 82
• 7 From the Eight Trigrams Brazier the Great Sage escapes Beneath the Five Phases Mountain Mind Monkey is stilled: 97
• 8 Our Sovereign Buddha makes scriptures to impart ultimate bliss Guanyin receives the decree to go up to Changan: 111
• 9 Chen Guangrui going to his post meets disaster Monk River Float avenging his parents repays their kindness: 128
• 10 The Old Dragon King in foolish schemes transgresses Heavens decrees Prime Minister Wei sends a letter to an official of the dead: 143
• 11 Having toured the Underworld Taizong returns to life Having presented melons and fruits Liu Quan marries again: 160
• 12 The Tang emperor firm in sincerity convenes the Grand Mass Guanyin revealing herself converts Gold Cicada: 178
• 13 In the Den of Tigers the Gold Star brings deliverance At DoubleFork Ridge Boqin detains the monk: 203
• 14 Mind Monkey returns to the Right The Six Robbers vanish from sight: 217
• 15 At Serpent Coil Mountain the gods give secret protection At Eagle Grief Stream the Horse of the Will is reined: 234
• 16 At the Guanyin Hall the Tang monk escapes his ordeal At the Gao Village the Great Sage disposes of the monster: 248
• 17 At Cloudy Paths Cave Wukong takes in Bajie At Pagoda Mountain Tripitaka receives the Heart Sutra: 259
• 18 Bajie fights fiercely at the FlowingSand River Moksa by order receives Wujings submission: 275
• 19 Tripitaka does not forget his origin The Four Sages test the priestly mind: 289
• 20 The dharmabody in primary cycle meets the force of the cart The mind righting monstrous deviates crosses the spineridge pass: 305
• 21 At the Three Pure Ones Temple the Great Sage leaves his name At the Car Slow Kingdom the Monkey King reveals his power: 321
• 22 Heresy flaunts its strength to mock orthodoxy Mind Monkey shows his saintliness to slay the deviates: 338
• 23 The Chan Master taking food is demonically conceived Yellow Hag brings water to dissolve the perverse pregnancy: 355
• 24 Dharmanature going west reaches the Women Nation Mind Monkey devises a plan to flee the fair sex: 370
• 25 Deviant form makes lustful play for Tripitaka Tang Upright nature safeguards the uncorrupted self: 386
• 26 The true Pilgrim lays bare his woes at Mount Potalaka The false Monkey King transcribes documents at WaterCurtain Cave: 401
• 27 Two Minds cause disturbance in the great cosmos Its hard for one substance to reach Perfect Rest: 416
• 28 Priests are hard to destroythats great awakening The Dharmaking perfects the right his bodys naturalized: 431
• 29 Only when ape and horse are tamed will shells be cast With merit and work perfected they see the Real: 449
• 30 Nine times nine ends the count and Maras all destroyed The work of three times three done the Dao reverts to its root: 466
• 31 They return to the Land of the East The Five Sages attain immortality: 480

About the author

Anthony C. Yu is the Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Humanities at the University of Chicago, where he has held appointments in the Divinity School, in the departments of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, English, and Comparative Literature, and served on the Committee on Social Thought.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West; Women in Culture and Society Series
• Translated by: Anthony C. Yu
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2008
• ISBN: 0226971570, 9780226971575
• Length: 528 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Literary Criticism / Asian / Chinese; Literary Criticism / General