China:The Glorious Tang And Song Dynasties - Asian Art Museum ...

time—was a perilous expedition, fraught with unknown dangers. In the novel, Buddha, with the
help of the compassionate bodhisattva Guanyin, helps Monk Tang acquire three escorts for his
treacherous journey: Sun Wu Kong and his sidekicks Zhu Ba Jie and Sa He San. Together, they
make it to India and return to the Tang court to present the precious scrolls—scrolls that can still be
seen today on a visit to Xi’an (ancient Chang’an), the former Tang capital city.
Along the way, the heroes meet up with countless obstacles—demons, bandits, and even greedy
monks. Monkey is supreme in his efforts to protect his charge, battling one evil character after
another. With a flip and twirl of his golden rod, which he can also shrink and put behind his ear for
safe keeping, he can transform himself into numerous manifestations—an army of thousands of little
monkeys, a tiger, a fish, a temple, even a mountain. And all along the way, he keeps us laughing
with his wisecracks and playful arrogance.
Monkey is the universal trickster. But he must learn to use his special powers— his magic, his
intelligence, and his tricks—for doing what is truly good. Monkey is like any one of us. We are fascinated
by his impulse to quip and fool, to outsmart and challenge the powers that be. His appetite
for exciting new toys or just following his fancy needs to be harnessed and refined by wisdom.
His own mischief sometimes results in Monkey stumbling upon wisdom while trying to be
audacious. His insolence is a stark contrast to the norms of behavior learned in a Confucian
upbringing (likely one of his key attractions to Chinese children). He begins the Journey not showing
proper respect to his elders, or to the community of wise ones, the Immortals, not even to the
Buddha. And although he is successful in fooling everyone else in Heaven, he does not actually fool
the Buddha. Sun Wu Kong, although clever and powerful, has to be taught a lesson.
Jiao Long (Zhang Ziyi’s character) of Crouching Tiger has to learn a similar lesson—to use her
powers in service of the greater good, not just as a vehicle to escape the confines of her family’s
expectations. Without the proper education, and without appropriate deference to the right kind of
teaching and wisdom, her ambitions allow her to become a pawn in someone else’s nefarious
agenda. Her own selfish and small-minded desires have tragic consequences for the lives of those
around her, while bringing shame upon her own family.
Journey to the West opens with Sun Wu Kong’s emergence as king of the monkeys of Flower Fruit
Mountain. His curiosity about the world and his desire to be a more powerful leader inspire him to
study under a sage who teaches him many skills and tricks, but he is dismissed when he shows too
much disrespect. Monkey then makes his way to Heaven and through all his mischief, wreaks chaos
and confusion among the daily lives of the Immortals. He is challenged by a succession of lesser
immortals, but ultimately it is the Buddha who must intervene. The Buddha exiles Monkey to
imprisonment at Five Element Mountain to suffer the elements and eat iron and copper. There, Sun
Wu Kong must wait for a monk who is traveling westward to India in search of Buddhist scriptures.
This is the only person who can free Monkey, for once freed, Monkey’s mission is to accompany the
monk on his very important journey and protect him from all dangers.
The monk, Monk Tang, will teach Sun Wu Kong the wisdom he needs in order to reach
enlightenment. He must learn that killing is bad, that he may injure or chase away any of the evil
entities they meet along their perilous journey, but not kill them. (Incidentally, Jackie Chan’s movies
and many others respect this code of honor and philosophy, too.) Monkey’s voyage is a journey to
enlightenment. When he stays true to the mission of protecting and serving Monk Tang, he
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