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98-747: In Journey to the West , the Bai Longma is a dragon prince who is the third son of the Dragon King of the West Sea . He once accidentally set a fire that destroyed a pearl that was a gift from the Jade Emperor . He was about to be executed for committing this offense when Guanyin appeared and pleaded for his life. The dragon prince was spared from death and banished to Yingchou Stream (鷹愁澗) in Shepan Mountain (蛇盤山), on

196-471: A South Korean show called A Korean Odyssey ; a modern comedy retelling that begins with the release of Sun Wukong/Son O-Gong and the reincarnation of Tang Sanzang/Samjang. In August 2020, Game Science Studios announced a video game called Black Myth: Wukong . It was released on 20 August 2024 for PlayStation 5 and PC. It is also slated to release at a later date for the Xbox Series X/S. The plot of

294-454: A shengren ( 聖 人 "sagely person"). The true sage is a quail at rest, a little fledgling at its meal, a bird in flight who leaves no trail behind. When the world has the Way, he joins in the chorus with all other things. When the world is without the Way, he nurses his Virtue and retires in leisure. And after a thousand years, should he weary of the world, he will leave it and [ 上 ] ascend to [ 僊 ]

392-710: A shān ( 山 "mountain") phonetic. For a character analysis, Schipper interprets "'the human being of the mountain,' or alternatively, 'human mountain'. The two explanations are appropriate to these beings: they haunt the holy mountains, while also embodying nature." The Classic of Poetry (220/3) contains the oldest occurrence of the character 僊 , reduplicated as xiānxiān ( 僊僊 "dance lightly; hop about; jump around"), and rhymed with qiān ( 遷 ). "But when they have drunk too much, Their deportment becomes light and frivolous—They leave their seats, and [ 遷 ] go elsewhere, They keep [ 僊僊 ] dancing and capering." (tr. James Legge ) Needham and Wang suggest xian

490-424: A Sino-Tibetan connection between xiān (Old Chinese * san or * sen ) "'An immortal' ... men and women who attain supernatural abilities; after death they become immortals and deities who can fly through the air" and Classical Tibetan gšen < g-syen "shaman, one who has supernatural abilities, incl[uding] travel through the air". The word xiān is written with three characters 僊 , 仙 , or 仚 , which combine

588-428: A geographical boundary, as the river that the travelers cross brings them into a new " continent ." Chapters 23–86 take place in the wilderness, and consist of 24 episodes of varying length, each characterized by a different magical monster or evil magician. There are impassibly wide rivers, flaming mountains , a kingdom with an all-female population, a lair of seductive spider spirits, and many other scenarios. Throughout

686-453: A good, principled person. Xian have been venerated from ancient times to the modern day in a variety of ways across different cultures and religious sects in China. Akira Akahori, the author of Drug Taking and Immortality, gives this description: Legends of so-called immortals were widely accepted by the ancient Chinese. Although the concept of immortals was not exactly the same through

784-537: A person on a mountaintop". How Chinese texts describe xian "immortals; transcendents" can vary following the historical changes in how Daoists viewed immortality. Early text such as Zhuangzi , Chuci , and Liezi texts allegorically used xian immortals and magic islands to describe spiritual immortality, sometimes using the word yuren 羽人 or "feathered person" (later another word for "Daoist" ), and were described with motifs of feathers and flying, such as yǔhuà (羽化, with "feather; wing"). Later texts like

882-565: A refined and perhaps immortal body, able to fly like a bird beyond the trammels of the base material world into the realms of aether, and nourish himself on air and dew.)" Schafer noted xian was cognate to xian 䙴 "soar up", qian 遷 "remove", and xianxian 僊僊 "a flapping dance movement"; and compared Chinese yuren 羽人 "feathered man; xian " with English peri "a fairy or supernatural being in Persian mythology " ( Persian pari from par "feather; wing"). Two linguistic hypotheses for

980-512: A shadow." Two circa 3rd century BCE "Outer Chapters" of the Zhuangzi ("[Book of] Master Zhuang") use the archaic character xian ( 僊 ). Chapter 11 has a parable about "Cloud Chief" ( Chinese : 雲將 ; pinyin : Yún jiāng ) and "Big Concealment" ( Chinese : 鴻濛 ; pinyin : Hóngméng ) that uses the Shijing compound xianxian ("dance; jump"): Big Concealment said, "If you confuse

1078-650: A stone nourished by the Five Elements , who learns the art of the Tao , 72 polymorphic transformations, combat, and secrets of immortality, and whose guile and force earns him the name Qitian Dasheng ( simplified Chinese : 齐天大圣 ; traditional Chinese : 齊天大聖 ), or "Great Sage Equal to Heaven." His powers grow to match the forces of all of the Eastern (Taoist) deities, and the prologue culminates in Sun's rebellion against Heaven, during

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1176-799: A thing among other things, and you may join in great unity with the deep and boundless. Undo the mind, slough off spirit, be blank and soulless, and the ten thousand things one by one will return to the root—return to the root and not know why. Dark and undifferentiated chaos—to the end of life none will depart from it. But if you try to know it, you have already departed from it. Do not ask what its name is, do not try to observe its form. Things will live naturally end of themselves." Cloud Chief said, "The Heavenly Master has favored me with this Virtue, instructed me in this Silence. All my life I have been looking for it, and now at last I have it!" He bowed his head twice, stood up, took his leave, and went away. (11) Chapter 12 uses xian when mythical Emperor Yao describes

1274-534: A time when he garnered a post in the celestial bureaucracy . Hubris proves his downfall when the Buddha manages to trap him under a mountain, sealing it with a talisman for five hundred years. The second part (chapters 8–12) introduces Tang Sanzang through his early biography and the background to his great journey. Dismayed that " the land of the South (i.e. Tang China ) knows only greed, hedonism, promiscuity, and sins,"

1372-457: A version of the story written in colloquial Chinese, and a Korean book from 1423 also includes a fragment of that story. The earliest surviving edition of Journey to the West was published in Nanjing in 1592. Two earlier editions were published between 1522 and 1566, but no copies of them survived. The authorship of Journey to the West is traditionally ascribed to Wu Cheng'en, but the question

1470-601: A young man and attempts to save Tang Sanzang, but fails. He escapes to inform Zhu Bajie , who in turn brings back Sun Wukong to save Tang Sanzang. At the end of the novel, the White Dragon Horse is ordained as the Great Strength Bodhisattva of the Eight Heavenly Sections (八部天龙广力菩萨) and Dragon Horse of the Eight Heavenly Sections (八部天龍馬). He turns into a white dragon and wraps his body around one of

1568-455: Is a Buddhist monk who had renounced his family to become a monk from childhood. He is just called " Tripitaka " in many English versions of the story. He set off for Tianzhu Kingdom ( 天竺国 , an appellation for India in ancient China) to retrieve original Buddhist scriptures for China. Although he is helpless in defending himself, the bodhisattva Guanyin , helps by finding him powerful disciples who aid and protect him on his journey. In return,

1666-446: Is a Japanese television series starring Masaaki Sakai , produced by Nippon TV and International Television Films in association with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and broadcast from 1978 to 1980 on Nippon TV. It was translated into English by the BBC. In the 1980s, China Central Television (CCTV) produced and aired a TV adaptation of Journey to the West under the same name as

1764-522: Is a fictionalized and fantastic account of the pilgrimage of the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang , who journeyed to India in the 7th century AD to seek out and collect Buddhist scriptures ( sūtras ). The novel retains the broad outline of Xuanzang's own account, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions , but embellishes it with fantasy elements from folk tales and the author's invention. In

1862-453: Is also the person whom Tang Sanzang consults when faced with difficult decisions. He eventually becomes an arhat at the end of the journey, giving him a higher level of exaltation than Zhu Bajie, who is relegated to cleaning altars, but lower spiritually than Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang, who are granted Buddhahood . The brief satirical novel Xiyoubu ( 西遊補 , "A Supplement to the Journey to

1960-502: Is any manner of immortal, mythical being within the Taoist pantheon or Chinese folklore. Xian has often been translated into English as "immortal". Traditionally, xian refers to entities who have attained immortality and supernatural or magical abilities later in life, with a connection to the heavenly realms inaccessible to mortals. This is often achieved through spiritual self-cultivation , alchemy , or worship by others. This

2058-579: Is apparent, [but] the sloughing off of the body's mortality remains to be done." There are three levels of Shījiě immortals: Dìxià zhǔ ( Chinese : 地下主 ; pinyin : Dìxià zhǔ ) - "Agents Beneath the Earth" – Are in charge of keeping the peace within the Chinese underworld . They are eligible for promotion to earthbound immortality after 280 years of faithful service. Dìshàng zhǔzhě ( Chinese : 地上主者 ; pinyin : Dìshàng zhǔ zhě ) - "Agents Above

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2156-541: Is at once a comic adventure story, a humorous satire of Chinese bureaucracy, a source of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory . The modern 100-chapter form of Journey to the West dates from the 16th century. Embellished stories based on Xuanzang's journey to India had circulated through oral storytelling for centuries. They appeared in book form as early as the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). The Yongle Encyclopedia , completed in 1408, contains excerpts of

2254-413: Is based on Journey to the West , is made up of 10 half-hour episodes. While there has been enthusiasm for the new series, it has also attracted some criticism for " whitewashing ," since none of the core cast are of Chinese descent, with two of the leads having Tongan ancestry while only one, Chai Hansen , is of half-Asian (his father is Thai) descent. More recently in 2017, Viki and Netflix hosted

2352-416: Is best described as spontaneous. They recall the ancient Indian ascetics and holy men known as Rishi who possessed similar traits. Xian were thought of as "personal gods" who were formerly humans, a human who ascended through ascetics, scholarly pursuits and the warrior art's". Taoists would venerate them, and emulate their example in everyday life. The Eight Immortals are an example of xian , and

2450-407: Is complicated by the fact that much of the novel's material originated from folk tales. Anthony C. Yu , writing in 2012, warned that "this vexing dispute over the novel's authorship, similar to that on the priority of its textual versions, see-sawed back and forth for nearly a century without resolution." Hu Shih , literary scholar, former Chancellor of Peking University , and then Ambassador to

2548-399: Is different from the gods in Chinese mythology and Taoism , who were inherently supernatural. Xian is also used as a descriptor to refer to often benevolent figures of great historical, spiritual and cultural significance. The Quanzhen School of Daoism had a variety of definitions about what xian means during its history, including a metaphorical meaning where the term simply means

2646-447: Is kept under the mountain for 500 years and cannot escape because of a seal that was placed on the mountain. He is later set free when Tang Sanzang comes upon him during his pilgrimage and accepts him as a disciple. His primary weapon is his staff, the " Ruyi Jingu Bang ," which he can shrink down to the size of a needle and keep in his ear, as well as expand it to gigantic proportions. The rod, which weighs 17,550 pounds (7,960 kg),

2744-415: Is known to be the most obedient, logical, and polite of the three disciples, and always takes care of his master, seldom engaging in the bickering of his fellow disciples. He has no major faults nor any extraordinary characteristics. Due to this, he is sometimes seen as a minor character. He does however serve as the peacekeeper of the group, mediating between Wukong, Bajie, and even Tang Sanzang and others. He

2842-502: Is not a true form of immortality. For each misdeed a person commits, the Director of allotted life spans subtracts days and sometimes years from their allotted life span. This method allows a person to live out the entirety of their allotted lifespan and avoid the agents of death. But the body still has to be transformed into an immortal one, hence the phrase Xiānsǐ hòutuō ( Chinese : 先死後脱 ; pinyin : Xiān sǐhòu tuō ) - "The 'death'

2940-463: Is noted for his fighting skills in the water, which he used to combat Sha Wujing, who later joined them on the journey. He is the second strongest member of the team. Pigsy's lust for women, extreme laziness, and greediness, made his spirituality the lowest in the group, with even the White Dragon Horse achieving more than him, and he remained on Earth and was granted the title "Cleaner of the Altars," with

3038-418: Is referred to by Tang Sanzang's disciples as the "Headache Sutra". Tang Sanzang speaks this mantra quickly in repetition when Sun disobeys him. Sun Wukong's childlike playfulness and often goofy impulsiveness is in contrast to his cunning mind. This, coupled with his great power, makes him a trickster hero . His antics present a lighter side in the long and dangerous trip into the unknown. After completion of

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3136-622: Is today northern Pakistan , in 630. Xuanzang traveled throughout India for the next thirteen years, visiting important Buddhist pilgrimage sites, studying at the ancient university at Nalanda , and debating the rivals of Buddhism. Xuanzang left India in 643 and arrived back in Chang'an in 646. Although he had defied the imperial travel ban when he left, Xuanzang received a warm welcome from Emperor Taizong upon his return. The emperor provided money and support for Xuanzang's projects. He joined Da Ci'en Monastery (Monastery of Great Maternal Grace), where he led

3234-676: The Brooklyn Academy of Music , which he developed into what he described as a "serial fantasy action-adventure music/theater epic," Journey Beyond the West: The New Adventures of Monkey . Ho's pop-culture infused take on the story of the Monkey King has been performed to great acclaim. A video game adaptation titled Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was released in October 2010 for PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 , and Microsoft Windows . It

3332-660: The Shenxian zhuan and Baopuzi took immortality literally and described esoteric Chinese alchemical techniques for physical longevity, with techniques such as neidan ("internal alchemy") and waidan ("external alchemy"). Neidan techniques included taixi ("embryonic respiration") breath control, meditation , visualization , sexual training, and daoyin exercises (which later evolved into qigong and tai chi ), while waidan techniques for immortality included alchemical recipes, magic plants, rare minerals, herbal medicines, drugs, and dietetic techniques like inedia . Besides

3430-464: The bodhisattva and learns of the dragon's origin. The dragon prince had been waiting there for Tang Sanzang but did not recognize the latter and ate his horse as a result. The dragon transforms into the White Dragon Horse and serves as Tang Sanzang's steed for the rest of the latter's journey. When Tang Sanzang was captured by the Yellow Robe Demon , the White Dragon Horse transforms himself into

3528-578: The fox gods or "huxian" common in the region. The Three Sovereigns had similarities to xian because of some of their supernatural abilities and could have been considered such. Upon his death, the Yellow Emperor was "said to have become" a xian . During the Six Dynasties , xian were a common subject of zhiguai stories. They often had "magical" Tao powers including the abilities to "walk...through walls or stand...in light without casting

3626-555: The Buddha instructs the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara ( Guanyin ) to search China for someone to take the Buddhist sutras of "transcendence and persuasion for good will" back. Part of this section also relates to how Tang Sanzang becomes a monk (as well as revealing his past life as a disciple of the Buddha named "Golden Cicada" ( 金蟬子 Jīn Chánzi ) and comes about being sent on this pilgrimage by Emperor Taizong , who previously escaped death with

3724-522: The Earth" - Are given magic talismans which prolong their lives (but not indefinitely) and allow them to heal the sick and exorcize demons and evil spirits from the earth. This level was not eligible for promotion to earthbound immortality. Zhìdì jūn ( Chinese : 制地君 ; pinyin : Zhì de jūn )- "Lords Who Control the Earth" - A heavenly decree ordered them to "disperse all subordinate junior demons, whether high or low [in rank], that have cause afflictions and injury owing to blows or offenses against

3822-707: The East and the other dragon kings, fearful of Sun wreaking havoc in their domain, gave him a suit of golden armor. These gifts, combined with his devouring of the peaches of immortality, erasing his name from the Book of the Dead, drinking heavenly wine from the Peach Festival, eating Laozi 's pills of immortality, and being tempered in Laozi 's Eight-Trigram Furnace (after which he gained a steel-hard body and fiery golden eyes that could see far into

3920-667: The Motion of the Year, the Original Destiny, Great Year, the Kings of the Soil or the establishing or breaking influences of the chronograms of the tome. Annihilate them all." This level was also not eligible for promotion to immortality. These titles were usually given to humans who had either not proven themselves worthy of or were not fated to become immortals. One such famous agent was Fei Changfang , who

4018-565: The Transmission of the Dao from Zhong[li Quan] to Lü [Dongbin]" ) is a Song dynasty Taoist compendium, following the "Zhong-Lü" ( Chinese : 鍾呂 ; pinyin : Zhōng lǚ ) textual tradition of internal alchemy ( neidan ), which lists five classes of immortals: The 4th century CE Baopuzi ( 抱朴子 "[Book of] Master Embracing Simplicity"), written by Ge Hong , gives some highly detailed descriptions of xian , listing three classes: However, this

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4116-602: The United States, wrote in 1942 that the novel was thought to have been written and published anonymously by Wu Cheng'en. He reasoned that the people of Wu's hometown attributed it to him early on, and kept records to that effect as early as 1625; thus, claimed Hu, Journey to the West was one of the earliest Chinese novels for which the authorship is officially documented. More recent scholarship casts doubts on this attribution. Brown University Chinese literature scholar David Lattimore stated in 1983: "The Ambassador's confidence

4214-585: The West ( Chinese : 西遊記 ; pinyin : Xīyóu Jì ) is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en . It is regarded as one of the great Chinese novels , and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia. It is widely known in English-speaking countries through Arthur Waley 's 1942 abridged translation, Monkey . The novel

4312-426: The West as the outcome of a writing game which was popular among Chinese literati. The overall plot of Journey to the West was "already a part of Chinese folk and literary tradition in the form of "folk stories with informal language", a poetic novelette , and a six-part drama play series, which was transcribed and written down, before the current version was written. Fragments of an earlier text, Journey to

4410-449: The West has strong roots in Chinese folk religion , Chinese mythology , Chinese Buddhism , Confucianism , Taoist and Buddhist folklore, and the pantheon of Taoist immortals and Buddhist bodhisattvas are still reflective of certain Chinese religious attitudes today, while being the inspiration of many modern manhwa , manhua , manga and anime series. Enduringly popular, the novel

4508-599: The West as Storytelling , are recorded in other texts. The narrative threads from this earlier text which survive are the wager between the Dragon King of the Jing River and fortune teller Yuan Shoucheng and the contest between the pilgrims and the three Taoist demons in Cart Slow Kingdom. Regardless of the origins and authorship, Journey to the West has become the authoritative version of these folk stories, and while

4606-554: The West," c.  1640 ) follows Sun Wukong as he is trapped in a magical dream world created by the Qing Fish Demon, the embodiment of desire ( 情 , qing). Sun travels back and forth through time, during which he serves as the adjunct King of Hell and judges the soul of the recently dead traitor Qin Hui during the Song dynasty , takes on the appearance of a beautiful concubine and causes

4704-496: The ages, some general images persisted. Immortals usually live in clean and pure places such as high mountains; they do not eat cereals; they appear only to people who perform the proper religious practices or have the right kind of destiny. Some immortals also live in grottoes underneath the sacred mountains. They can freely change their appearance: sometimes they appear in the everyday world looking like ordinary men, to test young immortal aspirants. They move very swiftly and fly though

4802-436: The air, sometimes using wings. (1989:73-98) Victor H. Mair describes the xian archetype as: They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that

4900-598: The attention of the Jade Emperor , he is given a minor position in heaven as the Keeper of Horses (弼馬溫, bìmǎwēn) so they can keep an eye on him. When Sun realizes that he was given the lowest position in heaven and is not considered a full-fledged god, he becomes very angry. Upon returning to his mountain, he puts up a flag and declares himself the "Great Sage Equal to Heaven (齊天大聖, qí tiān dàshèng)." The Jade Emperor dispatches celestial soldiers to arrest Sun Wukong, but none succeed. The Jade Emperor has no choice but to appoint him to be

4998-467: The bride up in a separate building. At this point, Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong arrived at the Gao Family Village and helped defeat him. Renamed Zhu Bajie by Tang Sanzang, he consequently joined the pilgrimage to the West. His weapon of choice is the jiuchidingpa (" nine-tooth iron rake "). He is also capable of 36 transformations and can travel on clouds, but not as fast as Sun Wukong. However, Zhu

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5096-536: The building of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to store the scriptures and icons he had brought back from India. He recorded his journey in the book Great Tang Records on the Western Regions . With the support of the emperor, he established an institute at Yuhua Gong (Palace of the Luster of Jade) monastery dedicated to translating the scriptures he had brought back. His translation and commentary work established him as

5194-401: The bureaucracy of the heavens. Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang both achieve Buddhahood , Sha Wujing becomes an arhat , Bai Long Ma is made a nāga and Zhu Bajie, whose good deeds have always been tempered by his greed, is promoted to an altar cleanser (i.e. eater of excess offerings at altars). Sun Wukong ( 孫悟空 ) (pinyin: sūnwùkōng) is the name given to this character by his teacher, Subhuti ,

5292-826: The constant strands of Heaven and violate the true form of things, then Dark Heaven will reach no fulfillment. Instead, the beasts will scatter from their herds, the birds will cry all night, disaster will come to the grass and trees, misfortune will reach even to the insects. Ah, this is the fault of men who 'govern'!" "Then what should I do?" said Cloud Chief. "Ah," said Big Concealment, "you are too far gone! [( Chinese : 僊僊 ; pinyin : Xiān xiān )] Up, up, stir yourself and be off!" Cloud Chief said, "Heavenly Master, it has been hard indeed for me to meet with you—I beg one word of instruction!" "Well, then—mind‑nourishment!" said Big Concealment. "You have only to rest in inaction and things will transform themselves. Smash your form and body, spit out hearing and eyesight, forget you are

5390-402: The cumulative authorship of the text is acknowledged, Wu is generally accepted as the author of the 1592 printed version widely considered canonical. Although Journey to the West is a work of fantasy, it is based on the actual journey of the Chinese monk Xuanzang (602–664), who traveled to India in the 7th century in order to seek out Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to China. Xuanzang

5488-596: The disciples will receive enlightenment and forgiveness for their sins once the journey is done. Along the way, they help the local inhabitants by defeating various monsters and demons who try to obtain immortality by consuming Tang Sanzang's flesh. Zhu Bajie ( 豬八戒 , literally "Pig of the Eight Prohibitions") is also known as Zhu Wuneng ("Pig Awakened to Power"), and given the name " Monk Pig ", " Piggy ", " Pigsy ", or just simply " Pig " in English. Once an immortal who

5586-502: The distance and through any disguise), makes Sun Wukong by far the strongest member of the pilgrimage. Besides these abilities, he can also pluck hairs from his body and blow on them to convert them into whatever he wishes (usually clones of himself to gain a numerical advantage in battle). Furthermore, he is a master of the 72 methods of transformation ( 七十二变 ), and can transform into anything that exists (animate and inanimate). Notably, however, Sun cannot fight as well underwater, and often

5684-685: The downfall of the Qin dynasty , and even faces Pāramitā , one of his five sons born to the rakshasa Princess Iron Fan , on the battlefield during the Tang dynasty . The events of Xiyoubu take place between the end of chapter 61 and the beginning of chapter 62 of Journey to the West . The author, Dong Yue ( 董說 ), wrote the book because he wanted to create an opponent—in this case desire—that Sun could not defeat with his great strength and martial skill. Saiyūki (西遊記) , also known by its English title Monkey and commonly referred to by its title song, "Monkey Magic,"

5782-520: The duty of cleaning every altar at every Buddhist temple for eternity by eating excess offerings. Sha Wujing ( 沙悟淨 , "Sand Awakened to Purity"), given the name " Friar Sand ", " Sand Monk ", " Sandman ", " Sand Fairy ", " Sand Orc ", " Sand Ogre ", " Sand Troll ", " Sand Oni ", " Sand Demon ", " Sand Monster ", " Sand Hulk ", " Sand ", or " Sandy " in English, was once a celestial Curtain Lifting General, who stood in attendance by

5880-504: The end of the book, there is a scene where the Buddha commands the fulfillment of the last disaster, because Tang Sanzang is one short of the 81 tribulations required before attaining Buddhahood . In chapter 87, Tang Sanzang finally reaches the borderlands of India, and chapters 87–99 present magical adventures in a somewhat more mundane setting. At length, after a pilgrimage said to have taken fourteen years (the text actually only provides evidence for nine of those years, but presumably there

5978-616: The etymology of xian involve Arabic and Sino-Tibetan languages . Wu and Davis suggested the source was jinn , or jinni "genie" (from Arabic جني jinnī ). "The marvelous powers of the Hsien are so like those of the jinni of the Arabian Nights that one wonders whether the Arabic word, jinn , may not be derived from the Chinese Hsien ." Axel Schuessler's etymological dictionary suggests

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6076-405: The family agreed to let Zhu Bajie marry the maiden. But during the day of the wedding, he drank too much alcohol and accidentally returned to his original form. Being extremely shocked, the villagers ran away, but Zhu Bajie wanted to keep his bride, so he told the bride's father that if after one month the family still did not agree to let him keep the bride, he would take her by force. He also locked

6174-402: The flesh of Tang Sanzang) or animal-spirits with enough Taoist spiritual merit to assume semi-human forms. Chapters 13–22 do not follow this structure precisely, as they introduce Tang Sanzang's disciples, who, inspired or goaded by Guanyin , meet and agree to serve him along the way in order to atone for their sins in their past lives. Chapter 22, where Sha Wujing is introduced, also provides

6272-660: The following major Chinese texts, many others use both graphic variants of xian . Xian ( 仙 ) occurs in the Chunqiu Fanlu , Fengsu Tongyi , Qian fu lun , Fayan , and Shenjian ; xian occurs in the Caizhong langji , Fengsu Tongyi , Guanzi , and Shenjian . They are usually found in Taoist texts, although some Buddhist sources mention them. Chinese folk religion and writings on it also use them, such as in Northeast China with

6370-454: The founder of the Dharma character school of Buddhism. Xuanzang died on 7 March 664. The Xingjiao Monastery was established in 669 to house his ashes. The novel has 100 chapters that can be divided into four unequal parts. The first part, which includes chapters 1–7, is a self-contained introduction to the main story. It deals entirely with the earlier exploits of Sun Wukong , a monkey born from

6468-789: The game is set after the main events of the novel. On May 16, 2020, The Lego Group released the theme, Lego Monkie Kid , to which Journey of the West was credited as the main inspiration, featuring many characters from the original work. Four days later on May 20, an animated television series pilot was released to coincide with the theme, and was later picked up for production and released serially starting in September 2020. Taoist immortals Model humanity: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: A xian ( Chinese : 仙/僊 ; pinyin : xiān ; Wade–Giles : hsien )

6566-531: The guardian of the heavenly peach garden. The different varieties of peach trees in the garden bear fruit every 3,000, 6,000, and 9,000 years, and eating their flesh will bestow immortality and other gifts, so Sun Wukong eats nearly all of the ripe peaches. Later, after fairies who come to collect peaches for Xi Wangmu 's heavenly peach banquet inform Sun Wukong he is not invited and make fun of him, he once again begins to cause trouble in Heaven, stealing heavenly wine from

6664-554: The help of an official in the Underworld . In the story, Tang Sanzang is considered an allegorical representation of the human heart. The third and longest section of the work is chapters 13–99, an episodic adventure story in which Tang Sanzang sets out to bring back Buddhist scriptures from Leiyin Temple on Vulture Peak in India, but encounters various evils along the way. The section is set in

6762-408: The immortals, riding on those white clouds all the way up to the village of God. (12) Without using the word xian , several Zhuangzi passages employ xian imagery to describe individuals with superhuman powers, such as flying in the clouds. For example, Chapter 1, within the circa 3rd century BCE "Inner Chapters", has two portrayals. First is this description of Liezi (below). Lieh Tzu could ride

6860-580: The imperial chariot in the Hall of Miraculous Mist. He was exiled to the mortal world and made to look like a sandman, orc, ogre, troll, oni, demon, monster, or hulk because he accidentally smashed a crystal goblet belonging to the Queen Mother of the West during a Peach Banquet. The now-hideous immortal took up residence in the Flowing Sands River, terrorizing surrounding villages and travelers trying to cross

6958-416: The instruction to wait there for a monk Guanyin is to send on a pilgrimage to the Buddha. When Tang Sanzang is crossing the stream, the prince appears in the form of a gigantic white dragon and swallows Tang's white horse in one gulp. The dragon fights with Sun Wukong but is no match and retreats underwater. Sun Wukong hears from an Earth Deity that the dragon was placed there by Guanyin so he goes to find

7056-455: The journey, Sun is granted the title of Victorious Fighting Buddha ( 斗战胜佛 ; 鬥戰勝佛 ; dòu zhànshèng fó ) and ascends to Buddhahood . The monk Tang Sanzang ( 唐三藏 , meaning "Tripitaka Master of Tang," with Tang referring to the Tang dynasty and Sanzang referring to the Tripiṭaka , the main categories of texts in the Buddhist canon which is also used as an honorific for some Buddhist monks)

7154-477: The journey, the four disciples have to fend off attacks on their master and teacher Tang Sanzang from various monsters and calamities. It is strongly suggested that most of these calamities are engineered by fate and/or the Buddha, as, while the monsters who attack are vast in power and many in number, no real harm ever comes to the four travelers. Some of the monsters turn out to be escaped celestial beasts belonging to bodhisattvas or Taoist sages and deities. Towards

7252-521: The latter part of which means " Awakened to Emptiness " (in the Waley translation, Aware-of-Vacuity ); he is often called the " Monkey King ". He is born on Flower Fruit Mountain from a stone egg that forms from an ancient rock created by the coupling of Heaven and Earth. He first distinguishes himself by bravely entering the Water Curtain Cave on the mountain; for this feat, his monkey tribe gives him

7350-678: The lifespan of humans depending on the human's level of their discretion. Xian were also thought by some Taoists to be synonymous with the gods inside the body, and as beings that would sometimes cause mortals problems but could be fought with martial virtue and martial arts. Xian could be good or evil. Not all Xian are Taoist, but they are usually associated with Taoist adepts who have ascended to immortality and godhood through spiritual practice and mastery. Besides enlightened humans and fairy-like humanoid beings, xiān can also refer to supernatural animals, including foxes, fox spirits , and Chinese dragons . Xian dragons were thought to be

7448-448: The logographic " radical " rén ( 人 or 亻 "person; human") with two "phonetic" elements (see Chinese character classification ). The oldest recorded xiān character 僊 has a xiān ("rise up; ascend") phonetic supposedly because immortals could "ascend into the heavens". (Compare qiān 遷 "move; transfer; change" combining this phonetic and the motion radical.) The usual modern xiān character 仙 , and its rare variant 仚 , have

7546-1032: The mountains." Its writing is a combination of 人 ( pinyin : rén ; lit. 'human') and 山 ( pinyin : shān ; lit. 'mountain'). Its historical form is 僊 : a combination of 人 ( pinyin : rén ; lit. 'human') and 遷/䙴 ( pinyin : qiān ; lit. 'moving into'). Xian is often used as Chinese compound , such as the Bāxiān ( 八仙 "the Eight Immortals "). Other common words include xiānrén ( 仙人 , sennin in Japanese, "immortal person; transcendent", see Xianren Cave ), xiānrénzhăng ( 仙人掌 "immortal's palm; cactus "), xiānnǚ ( 仙女 "immortal woman; female celestial; angel"), and shénxiān ( 神仙 "gods and immortals; divine immortal"). Edward H. Schafer defined xian as "transcendent, sylph (a being who, through alchemical, gymnastic and other disciplines, has achieved

7644-565: The mounts of gods and goddesses or manifestations of the spirit of Taoists such as Laozi that existed in a mental realm sometimes called "the Heavens ". The mythological húlijīng ( Chinese : 狐狸精 ; pinyin : Húlíjīng ) (lit. "fox spirit") "fox fairy; vixen; witch; enchantress" has an alternate name of húxiān ( Chinese : 狐仙 ; pinyin : Hú xiān ) (lit. "fox immortal"). The Zhong Lü Chuan Dao Ji ( Chinese : 鐘呂傳道集 ; pinyin : Zhōng lǚ chuándào jí ), "Anthology of

7742-412: The original work. A second season was produced in the late 1990s covering portions of the original work that the first season skipped over. In 1988, the Japanese anime series Doraemon released a movie named Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West which is based on the same story. In 1997, Brooklyn-based jazz composer Fred Ho premiered his jazz opera Journey to the East , at

7840-523: The peach banquet and eating Laozi 's pills of immortality. He defeats an army of 100,000 celestial troops, led by the Four Heavenly Kings , Erlang Shen , and Nezha . Eventually, the Jade Emperor appeals to the Buddha , who seals Wukong under a mountain called Five Elements Mountain after the latter loses a bet regarding whether he can leap out of the Buddha's hand in a single somersault. Sun Wukong

7938-473: The pilgrimage must rely on Pigsy and Sandy for marine combat. The monkey, nimble and quick-witted, uses these skills to defeat all but the most powerful of demons on the journey. Sun's behavior is checked by a band placed around his head by Guanyin , which cannot be removed by Sun Wukong himself until the journey's end. Tang Sanzang can tighten this band by chanting the "Ring Tightening Mantra" (taught to him by Guanyin) whenever he needs to chastise him. The spell

8036-627: The pillars in the Great Leiyin Temple. Bai Longma is worshipped as a deity in Chinese folk religion . Located in Rua Yai, Mueang Suphan Buri District , Suphan Buri , Thailand , the City Pillar Shrine (ศาลเจ้าพ่อหลักเมืองสุพรรณบุรี) enshrines the golden statue of Bai Longma, along with Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing. Journey to the West Journey to

8134-405: The river. However, he was subdued by Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie when Tang Sanzang's party came across him. They consequently took him in, as part of the pilgrimage to the West. Sha Wujing's weapon is a magic wooden staff wrapped in pearly threads, although artwork and adaptations depict him with a Monk's spade staff. He also knows 18 transformation methods and is highly effective in water combat. He

8232-428: The role of xian also as folk heroes who can offer assistance to "worthy human followers" and whose existence fosters the relationship between the living and the dead. Sometimes, they and other xian were viewed as similar in nature to ghosts , rather than deities. The Eight Immortals and other xian were thought to have powers linked to their tools that were ultimately of a single nature that can add to or subtract

8330-567: The sparsely populated lands along the Silk Road between China and India. The geography described in the book is, however, almost entirely fantasy; once Tang Sanzang departs Chang'an , the Tang capital, and crosses the frontier (somewhere in Gansu province), he finds himself in a wilderness of deep gorges and tall mountains, inhabited by demons and animal spirits who regard him as a potential meal (since his flesh

8428-437: The story, the Buddha tasks the monk Tang Sanzang (or "Tripitaka"), with journeying to India and provides him with three protectors who agree to help him in order to atone for their sins: Sun Wukong (the "Monkey King"), Zhu Bajie , and Sha Wujing . Riding a White Dragon Horse , the monk and his three protectors journey to a mythical version of India and enlightenment through the power and virtue of cooperation. Journey to

8526-464: The title of "Handsome Monkey King (美猴王, měi hóuwáng)." After seeing a fellow monkey die because of old age, he decides to travel around the world to seek the Tao , and find a way to be able to live forever. He eventually found the "Grand Master of Bodhi (菩提祖師, pútí zǔshī)," who taught him the 72 heavenly methods of transformation and a "somersault cloud" which allows him to travel 108,000 li almost instantaneously. After angering several gods and coming to

8624-461: The wind and go soaring around with cool and breezy skill, but after fifteen days he came back to earth. As far as the search for good fortune went, he didn't fret and worry. He escaped the trouble of walking, but he still had to depend on something to get around. If he had only mounted on the truth of Heaven and Earth, ridden the changes of the six breaths, and thus wandered through the boundless, then what would he have had to depend on? Therefore, I say,

8722-536: Was a monk at Jingtu Temple in the imperial capital Chang'an (present-day Xi'an ) during the late Sui dynasty and early Tang dynasty . He left Chang'an in 629, in defiance of Emperor Taizong of Tang 's ban on travel. Helped by sympathetic Buddhists, Xuanzang traveled via Gansu and Qinghai to Kumul (Hami), thence following the Tian Shan mountains to Turpan . He then crossed regions that are today Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan and Afghanistan , into Gandhara , in what

8820-600: Was believed to give immortality to whoever ate it), with the occasional hidden monastery or royal city-state amidst the harsh setting. Episodes consist of 1–4 chapters and usually involve Tang Sanzang being captured and having his life threatened while his disciples try to find an ingenious (and often violent) way of liberating him. Although some of Tang Sanzang's predicaments are political and involve ordinary human beings, they more frequently consist of run-ins with various demons, many of whom turn out to be earthly manifestations of heavenly beings (whose sins will be negated by eating

8918-528: Was cognate with wu 巫 "shamanic" dancing. Paper writes, "the function of the term xian in a line describing dancing may be to denote the height of the leaps. Since, "to live for a long time" has no etymological relation to xian , it may be a later accretion." The 121 CE Shuowen Jiezi , the first important dictionary of Chinese characters, does not enter 仙 except in the definition for 偓佺 ( Wòquán "name of an ancient immortal"). It defines 僊 as "live long and move away" and 仚 as "appearance of

9016-459: Was developed by Ninja Theory and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment . The voice and motion capture for the main protagonist, 'Monkey', were provided by Andy Serkis . On 20 April 2017, Australia's ABC , TVNZ , and Netflix announced production was underway in New Zealand on a new live-action television series, The New Legends of Monkey , to premiere globally in 2018. The series, which

9114-483: Was eventually murdered by evil spirits because he lost his book of magic talismans. However, some immortals are written to have used this method in order to escape execution. The Chinese word xian is translatable into English as: The etymology of xiān remains uncertain. The circa 200 CE Shiming , a Chinese dictionary that provided word-pun "etymologies", defines xiān ( 仙 ) as "to get old and not die," and explains it as someone who qiān ( 遷 "moves into")

9212-514: Was originally a pillar supporting the undersea palace of the Dragon King of the East Sea , but he was able to pull it out of its support and can swing it with ease. The Dragon King had told Sun Wukong he could have the staff if he could lift it, but was angry when the monkey was actually able to pull it out and accused him of being a thief. Sun Wukong was insulted, so he demanded a suit of armor and refused to leave until he received one. The Dragon King of

9310-505: Was quite unjustified. What the gazetteer says is that Wu wrote something called The Journey to the West. It mentions nothing about a novel. The work in question could have been any version of our story, or something else entirely." Translator W. J. F. Jenner pointed out that although Wu had knowledge of Chinese bureaucracy and politics, the novel itself does not include any political details that "a fairly well-read commoner could not have known." One interpretive tradition views Journey to

9408-455: Was room to add additional episodes) they arrive at the half-real, half-legendary destination of Vulture Peak , where, in a scene simultaneously mystical and comic, Tang Sanzang receives the scriptures from the living Buddha. Chapter 100, the final chapter, quickly describes the return journey to the Tang Empire, and the aftermath in which each traveller receives a reward in the form of posts in

9506-660: Was the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy commanding 100,000 naval soldiers of the Milky Way , he drank too much during a celebration of the gods and attempted to harass the moon goddess Chang'e , resulting in his banishment to the mortal world. He was supposed to be reborn as a human but ended up in the womb of a sow due to an error on the Reincarnation Wheel, which turned him into a half-man, half-pig humanoid -pig monster. Zhu Bajie

9604-469: Was very greedy, and could not survive without eating ravenously. Staying within the Yunzhan Dong ("cloud-pathway cave"), he was commissioned by Guanyin to accompany Tang Sanzang to India and given the new name Zhu Wuneng. However, Zhu Bajie's lust for women led him to the Gao Family Village, where he posed as a handsome young man and helped defeat a group of robbers who tried to abduct a maiden. Eventually,

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