A MODERN JOURNEY TO THE WEST

This series depicts the tales of Sun Wukong (Jp: Songoku), the legendary monkey king of the 16th-century novel Journey to the West (Xiyouji), believed to be written by Wu Cheng'en (1500-1582). Though the novel consists of 100 chapters, only twenty-one designs have been identified thus far. The texts in the cartouches are attributed to the author Sumida Ryoko (also known as Hosojima Seizo).

The epic tale focused on a monkey is based on the life of a historical figure, the monk Xuanzang (602-664; Jp: Genjo), who traveled from China to India (known as the Western Kingdoms in Tang Dynasty China) to retrieve sacred Buddhist scriptures. By the 14th century the story of his journey had evolved into a legendary quest for scriptures from heaven and, ultimately, enlightenment, and had been adapted as popular plays, operas, and novels. In the original version of the tale the monk Xuanzang is accompanied by a spirit in the form of a pig, an old monk made of sand, and the Monkey King Sun Wukong, who assumes a greater role after the first seven chapters. The portions pertaining to Sun Wukong were the focus of an English translation of the novel, which was condensed and edited by Arthur Waley (1889-1966) and published under the title, Monkey, in 1942. In this and other retellings, Sun Wukong is the protagonist of the tale in which he uses his magical powers in a personal journey for spiritual enlightenment and immortality. Our quotations of Journey to the West are borrowed from WJF Jenner's 1955 translation, republished by Collinson Fair in 2005.

Sun Wukong Plunges Down a Waterfall
Prince Nezha Fights the One-horn Demon King
Sun Wukong Battles the Demon of the Yellow Wind
Sun Wukong and The Golden Horned King
kikumon

Scholten Japanese Art is open Monday - Friday, and some Saturdays by appointment only

Contact Katherine Martin at
(212) 585-0474 or email
[email protected]
to schedule a visit between 11am and 4pm preferably for no more than two individuals at a time.

site last updated
March 29, 2024

Scholten Japanese Art
145 West 58th Street, suite 6D
New York, New York 10019
ph: (212) 585-0474
fx: (212) 585-0475