Nyugati utazás: avagy a majomkirály története (1969)
Translator: Barnabás Csongor
Publisher: Európa
Format: Hardback
Genre: Fantasy
Date: 1969
Pages: 1100 pages
ASIN: 9630722348
Language: Hungarian
Adaptation: Retelling
Summary:
The greatest value of ancient Chinese novels is that they immortalized those aspects of the Chinese world that were not considered worthy of recording by high literacy and historiography. Wu Cheng-en's 16th-century novel also grew largely from this unofficial treasure trove of tradition, from the world of folk beliefs. The framework of the Chinese worldview was provided by the three great teachings, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, for almost two millennia. In everyday practice and thought, the elements of these teachings were inextricably intertwined. The plot of the novel takes place in this tangled world inhabited by gods, demons, immortals and saints. Its main character, Sun Wu-kung, the Monkey King, is born from a stone egg, and when he has mastered the science of immortality and other magical abilities, he sets off to fight against the palace of heaven, wanting to seize the throne of the Jade Emperor. It takes the gods no small effort to defeat him. But Buddha catches him and locks him under Mount Wuxing for five hundred years. He is only released when the gods order him to serve the holy friend Xun-tsang, who is traveling to the western heavens in search of the sacred books of Buddhism. He and his two other companions, Eight Forbidden and Sand Friend, have the task of protecting the Chinese friend from the demons of the mountains and forests. For these monsters all want to devour Xun-tsang in order to gain immortality from the power of his holy body. Without the fang-sharp, haughty, miraculously powerful monkey, the holy monk could never achieve his goal.
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52823685-nyugati-utaz-s-avagy-a-majomkir-ly-t-rt-nete-i-ii
