Anti-Journey to the West (2012) 反西游记

Author: Zhuang Die'an

Format: ebook

Genre: Fantasy

Date: July 2012

Pages: 300

Language: Chinese

Adaptation: Reimagining

Summary:

The novel is divided into two parts.

Part One: After wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace, Sun Wukong learns his allotted lifespan is coming to an end and subsequently causes chaos in the Underworld. While traversing the Underworld, he encounters various ancient heroes and deities, and uncovers a secret held by the Jade Emperor. He drinks tea at a teahouse there—which turns out to be the Soup of Oblivion—and loses his memory.

Part Two: The Tang Monk takes on disciples—Xingzhe (whose past memories are hazy), Bajie, and Sha Seng—as they journey through various strange and wondrous lands. Along the way, Xingzhe encounters a small monkey claiming to be Sun Wukong; after a skirmish, the small monkey burrows into Xingzhe’s mind, revealing to him his true identity as Sun Wukong. Upon reaching the Buddha, the mystery of his identity is finally resolved…

While rooted in the classic Journey to the West, Anti-Journey to the West breaks free from the constraints of the original; for its imaginative elements, it draws heavily from ancient texts such as the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing) and the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions (Da Tang Xiyu Ji). The book’s central theme lies in shedding the framework of Buddhist doctrine to focus on individual destiny. The dual journey through the Underworld and the human realm symbolizes the two contexts of personal growth: history and reality. Stylistically, it follows the same path as novels like Qigong Guo (Land of the One-Armed People), emulating the style of ancient vernacular fiction and blending the solemn with the grotesque—serving as a tribute to the "carnivalesque" tradition of ancient Chinese literature exemplified by works such as He Dian.

Source: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%8F%8D%E8%A5%BF%E6%B8%B8%E8%AE%B0/1341397