Journey to the West

Wu Cheng'en, translated by Anthony C. Yu

The complete translation, volume 1 of 4.

The basis for this novel is the journey of Xuanzang (602-664), a Buddhist monk who travelled from China through Central Asia to India and back. The 16th century novel attributed to Wu Cheng’en is very remote from the original travel account. Essentially, it is a series of stand-alone adventure stories, often involving a hungry monster from whose clutches Monkey has to save the pilgrims so they can continue on their way to Thunderclap Monastery and bring back Buddhist scriptures. This is one of the great classics of Chinese literature, starring the irrepressible character Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong.