The Silk Roads: Connecting Communities, Markets, and Minds Since Antiquity

Xuanzang and Monkey King

Journey to the West is a well-known supernatural novel adapted from The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. It is a fictional story loosely depicting the pilgrimage undertaken by monk Xuan Zang in the 7th century from China to India. Wu Cheng'en (c. 1500-c.1582), a Ming novelist and poet, is generally acknowledged as the author of the novel (Eastern Culture Nucleus: Chinese Rare Books in the USC Libraries, Li). The main characters of the novel are a monk named Thang Sanzang and his three disciples: The Monkey King, Pigsy, and Sandy. The novel captures the different challenges the group faced and how they overcame them throughout their journey. With the storyline in mind now let’s direct our attention to the object in display. Please refer to image 1, these are two illustration pages taken from an earlier edition of the novel titled True Meaning of the Journey to the West. According to librarian Tang Li, this book was donated by Prof. Chow Tse-tsung and possibly purchased in Japan as the book retains seals from the Kimura Art Museum in Kanagawa. It was officially housed by the USC library in 2003. Now shifting focus to the visuals of this displayed object. The pages appear to be hand illustrated in the format of black ink on paper. The illustrations are cleanly drawn with fine brush strokes and seem to be added after all writings were printed on. The page on the left is a depiction of Monk Tang Sanzang and on the right, is an illustration of the famous Monkey King. The titles along the left edges of the two pages appear to be woodblock printed due to the neatness as well as the even distribution between each character. Some characters even appear to have ink smudges on both sides further inferring the utilization of woodblock printing technique. This book was printed during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), and due to its popularity, it was mass-produced and circulated across China. Since Prof. Chow purchased the book in Japan it can also be inferred that the novel’s popularity expanded beyond the walls of China.

Comparing the two pages from the True Meaning of the Journey to the West to a similar object the Lankavatara Sutra (see Object Entry) it can be seen that the two objects differ in their medium, printing style as well as origination. Looking at the two pages from the novel True Meaning of the Journey to the West we can see that the illustrations were directly drawn on paper, whereas the writings in Lankavatara Sutra seem to be written on a thin layer of silk paper and then backed with another fabric silk scroll. The pages of the novel are most likely thread-bounded whereas the Sutra is displayed in a horizontal scroll form. Despite their differences in the mediums used their printing style also differs. In the two novel pages, the illustrations seem to be hand-drawn but the characters along the edges are definitely printed using woodblocks. On the other hand, all characters on the Sutra appear to be handwritten and possibly by multiple hands too. This assumption can be backed up by the differences in writing styles throughout the scroll, from thin smooth characters to bold and strong characters. In addition, the scroll also had red correction characters in several places, further indicating that it was handwritten. Lastly, the two objects differ in their origination. As stated previously the novel traveled from Japan whereas the Sutra scroll was discovered in the library cave of Dunhuang. The value of each object is greatly affected by its origination, medium as well as printing style. In this case, the Lankavatara Sutra is valued more than the True Meaning of the Journey to the West novel due to the uniqueness of the handwritten content, the more expensive medium used, and the fact that it came from the one and only library cave of Dunhuang. As a result, the Sutra was most likely intended for members of elite families who came to visit their family caves. Whereas the novel appears to be mass-produced and intended for everyday audiences as a form of entertainment. Despite their differences, as historians, we should value both objects equally because they resemble Chinese cultural heritage.

It is not only important to understand the background of a historical object as well as to conduct a detailed physical analysis of it. But also, important to look at the influence and cultural changes it has brought along the society. Take the displayed object, two pages from the True Meaning of the Journey to the West novel, for example, the story went on to become one of the four most famous classical novels of Chinese literature. It had been translated into multiple languages and even made into live actions and cartoons. The story has been remade to appeal to people of all backgrounds and ages making it a required factor of being Chinese. The story of Journey to the West has deviated from its original story so much so that the main plot was no longer a Monk’s pilgrim to seek enlightenment and knowledge of Buddhism. Rather it has become an action movie focusing on all the challenges the Monkey King faced to successfully escort his master to the west. The Monkey King had evolved from a simple disciple to a national superhero. During the Qing Dynasty when the Monkey King first appeared, he was this fun character created by Wu Cheng'en to make Xuan Zang’s journey more engaging. Throughout time the role the Monkey King played continued to evolve. After the cultural revolution, the Monkey King is no longer the trickster who only made funny moves but a hero who challenged authorities fought evils, and most importantly valued loyalty (Sun, 61). In New China, the Monkey King “epitomized positive and progressive values of the proletarian revolution” (60). During the Sino-Japanese War period, the image of the Monkey King was again transformed into a heroic figure encouraging the Chinese people to unite against the Japanese. The moldability of the Monkey King sheds light on the power of the political discourse of the Communist Party, and its ability to reconstruct images of not only historical figures but also of supernatural characters. It is fascinating to see the evolution of the fictional character Wu Cheng'en created and its political and cultural influence throughout Chinese history. Even to this day, the Monkey King remains to be the number one hero in every Chinese boy’s heart. The fictional character even made its international debut in many Japanese anime, while completely detached from its original storyline (Xuan Zang’s pilgrimage to India) the Monkey King has become a global icon representing fearlessness and loyalty. Despite all the complex roles modern society has placed on the fictional character it is always important to look back at when and why it was created in the first place. As illustrated in the pages from True Meaning of the Journey to the West the Monkey King was just a simple monk who was there to escort his master to reach enlightenment (the west). As academics and historians, we should recognize the complexity of this fictional character and the layers of identities the two pages from True Meaning of the Journey to the West embodies. To fully understand and exhibit an object the combination of observing its surface, conducting comparisons as well as researching its cultural influence should be conducted. These steps will contribute to the construction of a well-rounded online exhibition.

-Sally Chaohui Guo
 
Works Cited:

Li, Tang. “The True Meaning of The Journey to the West 西遊眞詮一百回 (1696).” Eastern Culture Nucleus: Chinese Rare Books in the USC Libraries, scalar.usc.edu/works/chinese-rare-books/media/xiyouzhenquan.

Li, Tang. Questions Regarding Chinese Rare Books, 14 Mar. 2021. (Email with Tang Li)

“From Trickster to Hero: National Mythmaking in Wartime and Maoist China.” Transforming Monkey: Adaptation and Representation of a Chinese Epic, by Hongmei Sun, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2018, pp. 60–90.

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