#Journey to the West: The Biography of Tang Sanzang

[the-monkey-ruler]

Didn’t jttw’s publisher see the book’s success and wanted to replicate it with north, east, and south? I thought I read that somewhere but it’s been a while.

I can't say I know anything about that, or at least I haven't heard about it. If you find the link to where you read that I would love to see it! The story of Xiyouji was popular before Wu Cheng'en's version, hence why there were so many different versions around it, just that it was theorized that Wu Cheng'en was able to connect multiple of the one-off tales of them fighting demons and finally put it together in a coherent narrative. Wu Cheng'en's version started to become the 'canon' because of its popularity but that doesn't discredit the popularity or notoriety of previous Xiyouji media.

Xiyouji was based on The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures 大唐三藏取經詩話 which was released around the late-13th-century, giving a good few centuries for the story to rise in popularity before the Wu Chengen's 1592 cut. From there we do see other versions of the story, such as the early-Ming Journey to the West zaju play 西遊記雜劇 which was created between these productions.

If we want to see when the other novels were created it's just a matter of trying to put them in order.

Late-13th-century ~ The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures 大唐三藏取經詩話

Early-Ming ~ Journey to the West zaju play 西遊記雜劇

1522-1526 - Journey to the East 東遊記 by Wu Yuantai

1566 ~ Journey to the West: The Biography of Tang Sanzang 西游唐三藏出身传 by Yang Zhihe

1570s-1580s - Journey to the South 南遊記 by Yu Xiangdou

1592 - Journey to the West 西遊記 by Wu Cheng'en

1602 - Journey to the North 北遊記 by Yu Xiangdou

I think that considering how close the publication dates (even the estimates) that it would be fair that most of these pieces of media were either inspired by previous interpretations of Xiyouji and it took some time before Wu Cheng'en's version finally became popular enough to be considered the 'canon' as it is referred to as today. I can't say how fast the spread of literature was back in the 16th century but I assume it would be much slower by today's standards at least.

[journeytothewestresearch]

Buddhist Deities Exiled From the Western Heaven

My new article examines the reasons why three Buddhist deities from Ming-Qing vernacular Chinese literature are exiled from the Western Heaven.

Master Golden Cicada (Jinchan zi, 金蟬子) (a.k.a. Tripitaka, Tang Sanzang, 唐三藏) from Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) - a Buddha disciple who is caught sleeping during the Tathagata's sermon.

Miao Jixiang (妙吉祥) from Journey to the South (Nanyouji, 南遊記, c. 1570s-1580s) - A Buddha disciple who kills a belligerent sage on the grounds of the Thunderclap Monastery.

 Great Peng, the Golden-Winged King of Illumination (Dapeng jinchi mingwang, 大鵬金翅明王) from The Complete Vernacular Biography of Yue Fei (Shuo Yue quanzhuan, 說岳全傳, 1684) - An avian dharma protector who kills a stellar-spirit for farting during the Tathagata's lecture.

The article analyzes them together and notes parallels, even with concepts from Greek philosophy.

The motif might serve as a good idea for writers wanting to create an OC with an interesting backstory. I have, for example, previously used it to suggest a fictional origin for Sun Wukong as a hot-tempered Bodhisattva (see the 06-16-23 update here).

[valentine--heart]

[journeytothewestresearch]

How long would it have taken to carve 100 chapter woodblocks for the 1592 Journey to the West? Wu Cheng’en died in 1580-1582 so when would he have submitted his work?

Wu Cheng'en's authorship is not completely settled among the academic community. But even if he contributed to the standard 1592 edition of the JTTW, he only added his own flourishes to an already extant body of episodes. For example, during the Ming (1368-1644), there were no less than three versions of the novel in circulation. These include:

The 1592 edition, Newly Printed, Illustrated, Deluxe and Large Character, Journey to the West (Xinke chuxiang guanban dazi Xiyou ji, 新刻出像官板大字西遊記).

The "Zhu edition," Newly printed, Completely Illustrated, Chronicle of Deliverances in Sanzang of the Tang’s Journey to the West (Xinqie quanxiang Tang Sanzang Xiyou shi ni (e) zhuan, 新鍥全像唐三藏西遊释尼(厄)傳) by Zhu Dingchen (朱鼎臣) of Yangcheng (羊城, i.e. Guangzhou).

The “Yang edition,” Newly Printed, Complete Biography of Sanzang’s Career (Xinqie Sanzang chushen quanzhuan, 新鍥三藏出身全傳) by Yang Zhihe (陽至和) of Qiyun (齊雲).

Koss (1981) shows that the 1592 edition is an expansion of Zhu, and Yang is a later abridgement of the former. Zhu being the oldest, with portions likely predating 1450, is based on its earlier style phrasing and chapter structure; the use of vernacular language with simplistic two-person dialogue and fewer and less literary poems, suggesting a reliance on oral literature; and Zhu illustrations serving as the basis for many pictures from the 1592 edition.

As you know, Wu died 10 years before the 1592 edition was published, so it was later published anonymously. But since portions of the 1592 JTTW are almost exactly the same as the Zhu version, it may not have taken long to finish the chapter woodblocks.

You can read more about this here:

Edit:

Here is an example of how close certain sections of the Zhu version are to the 1592 version. The following quote describes the first time that Monkey meets the Patriarch Subodhi. It then continues with a poem describing the awe-inspiring presence of the holy master. The red indicates differences in the Zhu edition:

With solemnity the Monkey King set his clothes in order and followed the boy into the depths of the cave. They passed rows and rows of lofty towers and huge alcoves, of pearly chambers and carved arches. After walking through innumerable quiet chambers and empty studios, they finally reached the base of the green jade platform. Patriarch Subodhi was seen seated solemnly on the platform, with thirty lesser immortals standing below in rows. He [It] was truly [a realm of immortals. Let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter]: A Golden Immortal of Great Awareness and of great ken and purest mien, Master Bodhi, whose wondrous appearance like the West Had no end or birth by work of the Double Three. His whole spirit and breath were with mercy filled. Empty, spontaneous, it could change at will, His Buddha-nature able to do all things. The same age as Heaven had his majestic frame. Fully tried and enlightened was this grand priest (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 114). 這猴王整衣端，隨童��徑入洞天深處觀看：一層層深閣瓊樓，一進進珠宮貝闕，說不盡那靜室幽居，直至瑤台之下。見那菩提祖師端坐在台上，兩邊有三十個小仙侍立台下。果然是座仙境。且聽下回分解。 大覺金仙沒垢姿，西方妙相祖菩提，不生不滅三三行，全氣全神萬萬慈。空寂自然隨變化，真如本性任為之， 與天同壽莊嚴體，歷劫明心大法 (原作“怯”) 師。

The Zhu version is comprised of ten scrolls (juan, 卷) with three to ten subsections each. These subsections differ from the chapter layout of the 1592 edition. For example, subsections one to three and four to five respectively correspond to chapters one and two of the 1592 edition (Koss, 1981, pp. 14-15). It’s interesting to note that the above quote describing Monkey and Subodhi's meeting caps the first subsection of scroll one. This is why it ends with: “Let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter” (qieting xiahua fenjie, 且聽下回分解).

Source:

Koss, N. (1981). The Xiyou ji in Its Formative Stages: The Late Ming Editions (Vols. 1-2). (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 8112445)

[journeytothewestresearch]

The Origin of Sandy from Lego Monkie Kid

Many readers will be surprised to learn that Sandy (fig. 1) has the longest association with the Journey to the West story cycle, predating Sun Wukong (c. 1000) and Zhu Bajie (14th-century) by centuries. He can be traced to an obscure desert spirit mentioned in an embellished 7th-century biography of the historical monk Xuanzang (a.k.a. Tang Sanzang; a.k.a. Mr. Tang). The spirit is said to have helped him find water after the cleric spilled his supply while traveling through the "Moving Sands", a harsh desert in the northwest of China. It's interesting to note that the spirit was eventually equated with a Buddhist deity and came to be worshiped in Japan as the "General of the Deep Sands" (Jinja Taishō, 深沙大將) (fig. 2), a minor Buddhist guardian spirit. Japanese material describes him as a seemingly frightening creature with a bloody mouth, a necklace of skulls, serpent-wrapped arms, and demonic knees.

The spirit was eventually remolded as a monster, as evidence by his appearance as a villain in the 13th-century version of the story cycle. He claims to have eaten Xuanzang's two previous incarnations when they attempted to obtain the scriptures in the past. But he is eventually defeated and helps the monk cross a river with a magic golden bridge. This monster eventually became the antagonist-turned-protagonist Sha Wujing in the 1592 version of Journey to the West (fig. 3). For more info, see my article on the subject.

Now a note on Sandy's weapon. Those who have seen Lego Monkie Kid will know that he uses a large, chunky "crescent staff". This is commonly referred to as a "Monk's spade" in martial culture. But while weapons featuring the crescent do date to the Ming, the Monk's spade is believed to be a 20th-century weapon. Most importantly, the 1592 edition of the novel mentions that Sha Wujing actually uses a wooden, pearl-covered staff. See my other article for more info.