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The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West
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Product Description
Anthony C. Yu’s celebrated translation of The Journey to the West reinvigorated one of Chinese literature’s most beloved classics for English-speaking audiences when it first appeared thirty years ago. Yu’s abridgment of his four-volume translation, The Monkey and the Monk, finally distills the epic novel’s most exciting and meaningful episodes without taking anything away from their true spirit.
These fantastic episodes recount the adventures of Xuanzang, a seventh-century monk who became one of China’s most illustrious religious heroes after traveling for sixteen years in search of Buddhist scriptures. Powerfully combining religious allegory with humor, fantasy, and satire, accounts of Xuanzang’s journey were passed down for a millennium before culminating in the sixteenth century with The Journey to the West. Now, readers of The Monkey and the Monk can experience the full force of his lengthy quest as he travels to India with four animal disciples, most significant among them a guardian-monkey known as “the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.” Moreover, in its newly streamlined form, this acclaimed translation of a seminal work of world literature is sure to attract an entirely new following of students and fans.
“A new translation of a major literary text which totally supersedes the best existing version. . . . It establishes beyond contention the position of The Journey to the West in world literature, while at the same time throwing open wide the doors to interpretive study on the part of the English audience.”—Modern Language Notes, on the unabridged translation
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #150972 in Books
- Published on: 2006-11-15
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 528 pages
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Anthony C. Yu is the Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Humanities at the University of Chicago, where he has held appointments in the Divinity School, in the departments of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, English, and Comparative Literature, and served on the Committee on Social Thought.
Customer Reviews
Poor translation, poor abridgement
1) The translation is poor. For example, when Sun Wukong ("Monkey") calls himself "lao3 sun1" in Chinese, Yu translates that into "old Monkey." This is just dumb. Something like a plain "I" or "this old monkey" would have worked better. There are many such examples. The translated English text almost requires you to know Chinese to understand. Definitely not for the masses.
2) I can't believe most of the stories in the 2nd half of the original novel are omitted. This abridged edition seems to focus on the first half of the Xiyouji ("Journey to the West") novel. Great stories like the Ox King and the nymphs are completely cut out. This is just absolutely terrible. On the other hand, the uninteresting, semi-religious side stories about the origin of Xuanzang (Tang Sanzang) are kept. What's more, all those poems in the chapters that are included here are retained -- you know, Chinese poems (shi and ci) that are extremely difficult to translate which should have been left out of an abridged edition.
In short, don't get this book. It's absolutely terrible and a waste of money. You might as well get the unabridged translation, by either Yu (expensive) or by Waley (old but affordable). But if you really want to appreciate the great novel, you should study Chinese (5-6 years full-time) and then read the original Chinese edition.
Buddhism's Defeat of the Taoist Quest for Real Immortality
Interesting to note that Xuanzang's journey coincided with the Taoist
alchemist's failed attempt to create the elixir of life (immortality).
He blundered into gunpowder instead, thus sending mankind down the road
to Prometheus, Pandora, and perdition rather than up and over the fabled
hill of Sisyphus to the Shangri-la realm of Asklepios and Panacea.
The tamed Monkey controlled initially by a fillet and later by himself
represents the victory of Buddhism's metaphorical immortality over
Taoism's failed experiments in real immortality. Had Tony Yu made this
point in his preface, I'd have given him 5 stars.
Note: Joseph Needham is very good on Taoist alchemy and gunpowder.
I love this book
This is the best translation you will find Anthony C Yu has really made this book shine, it displays all that only people who can read Chinese could only know until now ,previous books in English on the monkey king have been dry and lacking in spirit this book is beautifully descriptive and spiritually deep at the same time,but don't let the word spiritual throw you off this book is full of adventure and excitement, not a boring moment to be found. .P.S. this is the abridged version of the 3 volume full version.I usually don't bother with abridged books but got this one to read to my [...]son,not only does my son love this,but I love just as much as the whole set
