Summary Of Wu Cheng's Journey To The West

A Monkey, Pig, and a Sand demon has caused sins and the Heaven’s punished them for it. Later, Bodhisattva Guanyin asked Heaven to give them a chance of redemption by asking them to escort a Monk to the west to fetch scriptures. On their journey they will need to overcome 81 tribulations some of which are, fighting demons, disasters, theft, and even more demons that are trying to eat the Monk. Wu Cheng’en, the author of The Journey to the West went against the traditional literature from Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties and developed this book in his own style. He published this book in the 16th Century anonymously because he feared that many people at the time wouldn’t accept such literature as it was not following the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasty ways. For over three centuries no one knew who the author was. Many people claimed that the book was published by Wu Cheng’en after studying the works.Wu Cheng’en took inspiration from the Monk, Xuanzang who traveled west to retrieve translation to the Buddhist scriptures that they couldn’t understand. Monk Xuanzang can be seen in the book as one of the most important characters. This literature made by Wu Cheng’en became one of the …show more content…
The author puts the story in one paragraph and the details in another. For example, ““This monk” said the monster, “doesn’t know any better! Look out for my rake!” The two of them clashed together at the foot of the mountain to discover who was to be the victor. It was a magnificent battle! The monster is fierce. Hui’an is powerful. The iron rod jabs at the heart; The muckrake swipes at the face. Spraying mud and splattering dust darken Heaven and Earth;” The non italicized words are the story while the italicized words are the description. I also noticed that the author’s choice of language to certain types of people are different. The author would describe the Buddhas and heavenly people as merciful while demons as ugly as