Monkey: A Folk Novel of China - Wu Ch`eng-en and Arthur Waley
Wu Ch`eng-en lived in the sixteenth century, a time when conservative literary men could not risk their reputations by collecting and writing up folk legends. But Old Wu liked old stories so he published under a pseudonym Monkey, a stitching together into a novel the ancient myths and legends that he enjoyed as a kid.
The first part of the story is about The Monkey. He is not so much devoted to learning but soaks up knowledge of magic and kung-fu through sheer curiosity and boundless energy. From the Dragon of the Eastern Sea, he snatches a magic iron cudgel and creates havoc in both Hell and Heaven. For his pranks and capers, he is buried under a mountain by the Buddha himself. Born in a Year of the Monkey myself, I was entranced by the Monkey’s trouble-making antics and tolerant of the woe he causes out of own pure conceit. Life would go much smoother if folks would just let us stable geniuses born in the year of Monkey implement our plans and follow our whims.
Along comes Tripitaka (based on the historical traveler Hsuan
Tsang), who is on a mission to India in order to find Buddhist scriptures to
bring back to China and lead the people to enlightenment. According to the
prophecy, Tripitaka frees the Monkey and enlists him as a bodyguard against the
various thieves, goblins, ogres, beasts, demons, imps, bogeys and monsters that
they will inevitably encounter. Tripitaka is a comic character because
he’s not up to the rigors of the pilgrimage. He is easily annoyed and thwarted.
The slightest setback brings tears to his eyes.
It’s hard to classify this diverse novel because it has
elements of folk tale, fantasia, allegory, and poetry. It even satirizes
bureaucracy, sending up a Heaven that is ridden by nepotism, bribery,
indolence, and petty functionaries in endless celestial offices, bureaux, and
divisions. The supernatural elements are wonderful, featuring ghosts, fairies,
and all kinds of haints.
This translation was done by the near-legendary ArthurWaley. In all his work, his goal was to put the story into lively English that
could be enjoyed by ordinary people. Thus, his footnotes are few and pithy.
Waley wanted to make this sometimes profound, sometimes silly, always
fantastical story readable with a blend of imagination, humor, and charm. I recommend this to readers who like P'u Sung-Ling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio aka Strange Tales of Liaozhai. This fantasy
offers, in Tolkien’s words, consolation, the recovery of a clear view, and the
chance to escape the bleakness of the quotidian.
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