University of Chicago Press The Monkey and the Monk – An Abridgment of The Journey to the West

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 Review   "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>0;One of the greatest ventures of our time in humanistic translation and publication.1; New York Times Book Review," on the unabridged translation> 0;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.1;Modern Language Notes," on the unabridged translation>0;This is a deftly streamlined version of Anthony Yu7;s complete translation of the famous Ming dynasty novel "The Journey to the West," "The Monkey and the Monk" offers a generous selection of carefully chosen chapters, preserving the essential outlines of the story and including all of the main characters who are familiar to young and old alike in China: the monk, the monkey, the white horse, the pig, and the sand-spirit. Reading through this marvelous abridgment, one can experience the whole range of rapture and transformation occasioned by the pilgrimage to India in search of Buddhist scriptures undertaken by the Tang monk Xuanzang and his four faithful companions.1;Wandering on the Way" and "Tao Te Ching"> -- Victor H. Mair, translator of Wandering on the Way and Tao Te Ching"One of the greatest ventures of our time in humanistic translation and publication.""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."?This is a deftly streamlined version of Anthony Yu's complete translation of the famous Ming dynasty novel The Journey to the West. The Monkey and the Monk offers a generous selection of carefully chosen chapters, preserving the essential outlines of the story and including all of the main characters