growing up one of my favorite tv shows was a strange japanese comedy
called saiyuki known outside of japan as monkey or monkey magic it lasted only 52 episodes
but the english dubbed reruns became a cold hit in the 80s and 90s
at first i had no idea that this series was based on the chinese classic novel journey to the west
a story over 400 years old which itself is a fictionalized retelling of a buddhist monk's
journey to india over a thousand years ago to be honest i didn't even know the show was japanese
but as i grew older i noticed the characters and storylines appearing in other media
and slowly i began to understand how truly influential this novel has been
on modern culture during my research for this video i found that in the century since the first
journey to the west film was made there are now over 220 movies and tv shows based on its story
which brings us to the question why is journey to the west so popular
sherlock holmes and dracula are arguably the most retold and reimagined characters from
modern western fiction since the dawn of cinema and the advent of television there is rarely a
year that goes by where they have not appeared on screen in some form their characterization
adventures and appearance are now so iconic that they have become kind of a shorthand for character
archetypes in western storytelling simply saying their names or showing a piece of their ensemble
immediately invokes the characters and an understanding of how they will most likely behave
in asian fiction no characters are more evocative or iconic than those of journey to the west the
ming dynasty novel is centered on the buddhist monk xuanzang known in the west as tripitaka
who is sent on the titular pilgrimage to india to fetch a set of holy scriptures and save the
souls of china while the novel is based on the real story of a rebellious monk of the same name
his fictional counterpart is quite the opposite within the story xuanzang is naive passive and
in most cases finds himself kidnapped by demons who believe that eating his flesh will extend
their lives while he does often chastise the other characters for acting immorally he mostly exists
in the story as a master in distress someone to be protected rescued and whose primary goal
serves as a vehicle which fuels the rest of their quest zhubajie or pigsy one of
the most popular characters of the group is the reincarnated spirit of the marshal of
heaven who was banished to earth after getting drunk and sexually assaulting a moon goddess
his soul was sent into a pregnant pig resulting in his iconic half-man half-pig looks as denoted
by his appearance he is characterized as greedy lustful and lazy his companions and
often the narrator of the book often refer to him as an idiot for his lack of self-control
the two most often forgotten characters of the group are shawujing known as sandy and their
trusty steed bailongma or the white dragon horse the horse was originally the dragon prince ailong
who was to be executed by his father after he accidentally burned a royal treasure he was
later released and after a short battle where he ate xuanzang's horse he himself was transformed
into a horse and ordered to carry the monk on his journey he rarely speaks or plays a role in
the story outside of one or two instances and as a result is the most overlooked of the characters
while shawujing or sandy has a more active role he is also one of the least celebrated companions
like pigsy he was also cast down from heaven but for the much more minor infraction of breaking
a vase upon his reincarnation he lived by a river killing travelers and using their skulls to make a
necklace once defeated by the pilgrims he converts to buddhism his necklace is transformed into his
distinctive prayer beads and he joins the quest in china it's a common joke that his role in the
journey is to act solemnly and occasionally cry and tell others that the master is being kidnapped
and the character which stands above all as the most recognizable and most influential
is the monkey king while xuanzang's journey to india is the basis son wukong is most definitely
the main character the first chapters of the novel tell the story of monkey's birth from a stone egg
his quest obtaining immortality and mastering taoist magical skills as well as his fight to
take over heaven all climaxing in his defeat at the hands of buddha after being imprisoned in a
mountain for 500 years he is released by xuanzang who outfits him with the iconic golden circlet
which crushes his head if he disobeys the monk wukong is played as a fun-loving trickster but
at the same time as an arrogant wild card who equipped with his legendary gold-banded cudgel
is an extremely powerful fighter admittedly the basic traits and personalities of these characters
are nothing new even by the standards of the 16th century as mentioned before
shranzang and the story itself is based on the exploits of a monk by the same name
and many argue that sun wukong himself is inspired by the hindu god hanuman but it is their
simplicity of what defines them not their origin that has given them such long lasting appeal
the benchmark for good character design is to visualize them in an empty room and being
able to know exactly how they will respond to any given stimuli even someone with a cursory
knowledge of the characters should have no problem predicting their behavior the personality of each
member of journey to the west is so well represented by their appearance and actions
that it becomes impossible to separate these traits from these characters the happy-go-lucky
fighter the greedy fool the helpless master and the ones that everyone forgets the cast of journey
to the west have become permanent character archetypes in fiction just as a deer stalker
hat immediately brings to mind a brilliant yet slightly egotistical detective the golden circlet
just as clearly evokes a wildly powerful yet immature monkey as a child i loved watching
these crazy characters battle their way across the world though i never once considered why
while the characters are undoubtedly classics and the action can be fun as an adult i now
understand that the true meaning behind journey to the west is perhaps something much deeper
the ming dynasty was an interesting time in chinese history the shift towards sea trade
facilitated greater interaction with the wider world but at the same time the dynasty became
more isolationist in nature even so with improved printing processes and increased literacy rates
art theology philosophy and fiction flourished the strongest influences on culture at the time namely
confucianism taoism and buddhism are exemplified in his works and especially in journey to the west
within the text lies complex and interwoven themes of a buddhist universe that has merged with taoist
mysticism all held together by confucian order this has led many to debate the underlying
intent of the author some claim that the novel is a parody of the ineptitude of bureaucracy
noting such events as when the journey was finally over even the keepers of the heavenly scriptures
demanded bribes despite the fact that presenting scrolls was their sole duty for me personally i
tend to agree that although it is a buddhist allegory the meaning is not totally religious
in nature i believe the journey to the west is a story of personal improvement and fighting
inner demons starring characters that symbolically represent different aspects of the human condition
xuanzang the reincarnated spirit of the golden cicada and the real life perfecter of the heart
suture quite literally depicts the body and the heart a heart is compassionate and kind
yet in the face of advertising it is often weak and fragile it is only with the strength of mind
that we are able to accomplish our goals physically it is perhaps through correct
cultivation and ceremony that we are able to shed our mortal shell and discover our true selves
samukong i believe represents the duality of the mind on the one hand the mind is a powerful weapon
just as wukong wields his casual we are able to go beyond our limits and break down every barrier in
front of us yet at the same time symbolized with his golden circlip we must learn restraint and
how to control our anger if we wish to find true purpose this is famously taken to its thematic
extreme in one chapter where wukong must fight the six-eared macaque a power-hungry and violent
impostor who disguised himself so perfectly as wukong that only buddha could tell them apart
the chapter ends with wukong killing the impostor figuratively destroying the older
unrestrained version of himself pigsy i believe illustrates our own greed pleasure and consumption
his chinese name juba jia translates to the pig of eight precepts a vow that buddhists take to
abstain from earthly proclivity at the end of the novel pigsy failed to control himself and is the
only character not to achieve enlightenment as a result he is given the role of cleaner of the
altars perhaps showing that although not everyone can be saved there is still some place for them
to me sandy describes regret being cast down from heaven for a seemingly minor infraction he becomes
a river demon and a murderer i believe that this may show us that not only can bad actions send us
down a wrong path but redemption is possible if we are truly repentant and do our best to make amends
even the horse though mostly overlooked i think is an example of duty
and quiet responsibility we all have our own burdens to bear
but if we take it step by step we can eventually get the job done and reap the rewards of hard work
like i said this is just my own thoughts in the story and that's what makes the novel interesting
no one is technically wrong you are free to interpret it as you wish which ensures that the
story will continue to be retold in a variety of different ways we have seen it represented
as a soppy love story a coming-of-age tale propaganda inciting war in the defeat of enemies
and of course as a kung-fu adventure fighting monsters which brings us to the final section
chinese characters like bolan have seen many screen adaptations and might be more of a
household name in the west thanks to the disney movies but for better or worse there is no single
story or character in all of asia that can boast as many versions produced as some wukong and the
journey to the west in my research for this video i found that there were no definitive
lists anywhere on the internet detailing exactly how many movies and shows existed spoiler alert
i made a list the link is in the description and you're welcome not including cameo appearances i
have found that as of this writing there are about 220 films and tv shows that are directly about or
inspired by journey to the west in my making of the list i realized that most of the movies fall
into one of four categories the retelling the crossover the reimagining and the appropriation
the narrative of the original novel is structured very much as a series of self-contained yet
connected adventures each chapter almost always ends with the narrator speaking directly to
the reader asking them what they think will happen next and encouraging them to read on
it feels almost as if you're reading a comic book or watching a saturday morning cartoon
as a result it's no wonder that retellings are by far the most common of all screen adaptations
tv shows and cartoons usually start from the beginning of the novel and go on from there
but the films often choose whichever chapters translate easily to film with little context
notable examples are the 1986 journey to the west cctv series starring lil xiao ling tong
as son wukong chances are if you turn on a tv in china it will be playing this show and of
course saiyuki or monkey the campy japanese tv show that introduced me to the novel
the crossover while not exactly common there are a few movies and shows where the main characters
will be transported to the world of journey to the west western adaptations frequently use this style
with disappointing results the 2001 american tv series the lost kingdom and the 2008 film starring
jackie chan and jet li both see a modern day white protagonist transported to the world of journey to
the west neither adaptations are good and you're not missing anything by skipping them for a more
successful example of this style i would recommend the 1988 animated mouthful of a title doriamon the
record of nobita's parallel visit to the west it's a fun and wholesome adventure without being
a disservice to the original the reimagining takes the basic story and characters from journey to the
west and creates a new universe or continues on from where the original finished these adaptations
are most commonly manger an anime such as akira toriyama's dragon ball or the 1978 starzinger
which reimagines the story as a space opera i would also recommend the korean animation fly
superboard and the hong kong film series a chinese odyssey for interesting takes on the formula
the appropriation is where a movie or series has nothing to do with the actual story of journey
to the west yet still takes a character usually wukong and have them take the role of the lead or
side character i assume this is done to create some kind of instant recognition for their ip
but as with the crossover the results are mixed the 1989 anime goku midnight eye takes place in a
blade runner-type future with detective goku a man who is brought back to life given an extendable
cudgel and implanted with a super computer in his eye for unexplained reasons with over 200
films and tv shows it is impossible to cover them all here and it would just distract from the point
of this video but these many adaptations show the strength of journey to the west and demonstrate
perfectly how a story from the ming dynasty is more popular now than at any point in time
xuanzang the priest zhubajie the pig shawujing and the horse as well as some wukong the monkey king
their simplicity and iconic characterizations have allowed them to transcend their medium
exciting the imagination of children for over 400 years and it is the deeper themes
and messages that will stay with us well into adulthood and ensure that people will continue
interpreting and adapting this story long after we have left this world so to answer the question
why is journey to the west so popular well in the words of a classic childhood tv show
it's because the nature of monkey is irrepressible
so thank you so much for watching another one of my videos this one took a really long time
to put together but i hope it was worth it if you're watching this on the first day of upload
you can come back tomorrow for the full list of every film and tv show of journey to the west
but as always thank you so much for watching i'm wukong and goodbye