Journey to the West
Journey to the West (Chinese西游记/西游记, Pinyin Xī You Ji, W.-G. Hsi Yu Chi ), written by Wu Cheng'en (Chinese吴承恩/吴承恩, Pinyin Wú Cheng'en ) during the Ming Dynasty, is one of the four classical novels of China. He treats the principle of travel, coupled with Chinese folk tales, legends and themes of Buddhism and Daoism and told specifically about the journey of a monk to the western sky, in present-day India, whence he shall bring Buddha's scriptures to China.
Content
The first part tells of the BORN of heaven and earth stone monkey Sun Wukong (Chinese孙悟空), the supernatural abilities and later even the immortality wins, makes itself the king of the monkeys and donates riot in heaven. The sky emperor sends all his troops against Sun Wukong, but this always succeeds - less by his own power, but mostly by stealth - to overwhelm the hosts of heaven or to escape them. Finally, the sky Kaiser Buddha calls for help, who manages to outwit the Monkey King: He creates a mountain range of the five elements water, fire, wood, earth and metal and covered Sun Wukong with it and an additional spell on a rock holding the Monkey King is fixed. Centuries later, he is freed from the Buddhist priest Xuanzang, who accepts him as a student, which he accompanied on his journey until the face of the Buddha these ten years.
This trip is described in detail Journey to the West in the second part of the book. The first part is based on the incurred during the period of Warring legend of the Monkey King, who embodies the rebel who rises up against authority. Therefore, the Monkey King is one of the most popular folk figures for more than 1500 years and is one of Journey to the West to China's folk epics ( like the rebels of Liang Shan Po - erroneously often Outlaws of the Liang Chan Moor called ).
The monk Xuanzang (玄奘), nicknamed Sanzang (三藏, Tripitaka ), is accompanied on his journey by three other people. Of these, Sun Wukong (孙悟空), the king of the monkeys, with its blend of impetuous behavior, great courage, strange humor and sometimes surprising wisdom represents the actual main character of the story Sun Wukong is one of the most famous mythical creatures in China and could at the origin be related to the Indian monkey god Hanuman.
Other companions of Xuanzang are Sha Wujing (沙 悟净), a water - or half- demon called ( depending on the source ) with terrifying countenance, and Zhu Bajie (猪 八戒) of Xuanzang Zhu Wuneng (猪 悟 能), a mixture of pork and person. Both are punished for their transgressions former heavenly dignitaries - Sha Wujing was the Vorhanglüftende general who has destroyed a valuable vase, Zhu Bajie the Marshal of the heavenly sailing fleet, which was entered for his flirtation with the moon goddess Chang'e through the wheel of reincarnation, while a pig got a mother. The horse Xuanzang was originally the third prince of the Dragon King, who had set the pearl of his father on fire and had been sentenced to death. Xuanzang himself is the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, a disciple of Buddha, who had been asleep in a lecture and therefore violated. The 81 martyrdoms that Xuanzang travels mainly in the course of the trip, are an integral part of his repentance; so the last examination is arranged at the end of the Buddha himself.
Journey to the West is based on the true story of the Chinese monk Xuanzang, who traveled during the Tang Dynasty of China to India to explore the teachings of Buddhism and to propagate in his homeland. Fantastic content of the story but has virtually nothing to do with the historical events.
Adaptations
The story is one of the most important stories of China and known far beyond the borders of the country. It is the basis of countless movies, books, comics and computer games. The well-known manga series Dragon Ball about is loosely based on the adventures of the Monkey King Son Goku (Sun Wukong ). Even the classic Chinese animated film The King of the Apes tells the story after. The manga Saiyuki, and its anime television series in 2000 with the title Gensoumaden Saiyuki, which includes 50 episodes, take over almost all the elements of the story. Another Anime called Alakazam - King of the Beasts ( Saiyuki ) is also based on Chinese history.
In the 80 years CCTV has produced a fairly faithful to the original TV series, well cover the 25 episodes the more important half of the 100 chapters of the book, and which was fully aired in 1988. The missing episodes were filmed between 1998 and 1999 in a further 16 episodes, and aired in 2000.
On 28 June 2007, the opera was Monkey: Journey to the West premiered, a coproduction of the Manchester festivals, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The three most important creative people behind this project are the Chinese actor and director Chen Shi- zheng, the British musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. Monkey: Journey to the West is a mix of Chinese opera and contemporary circus artistry with Western influences.
On October 5, was released in 2010 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 developed by Ninja Theory game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. This game transferred the story in a post-apocalyptic version of the real world in which the character Monkey must accompany his girlfriend involuntary trip to her family. Monkey itself is a human, but has a distinctive, ape -like character design. The game itself was well received by the press.
In the movie The Forbidden Kingdom the figure of the Monkey King is also available. The principles of the film character are consistent with those of the Monkey King from the historical narratives, the actual movie plot sets the figure but detached from the historical context.
In March 2011, the Chinese producer Zhang Jizhong success announced that he wants to make a film of the work with James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro. He announced that they will be filming the movie as a trilogy, and in 3D. To date, the cost is estimated $ 300 million.