A Journey to the West, Monkey King, 25 TV, 13 DVD, CCTV

A Journey to the West    (Xi You Ji, Monkey King)

13-DVD Boxset,  One of Four Greatest Classics in Chinese History

In Chinese Only, Without English  

About this DVD set

25 television episodes, 13 DVDs boxset

DVD Region: All regions (not regional coded)

Soundtrack: Chinese Mandarin or Cantonese (switch between), no English

Subtitle: Traditional Chinese only (Removeable); no English  

Produced by CCTV, directed by Yang Jie

ISRC CN-A03-98-323-04/V.J9

Starred by Liu Xiao Ling Tong, Chi Zhong Rui, Ma Dehua, Xu Shaohua  

About this TV Series

Adapted from the famous Chinese classic novel of the same title by Wu Cheng'en, a writer in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), "Journey to the West" in the TV version is directed by the female director Yang Jie. In 1986, the series topped the TV ratings.

Based on the actual pilgrimage of the monk Xuanzang to India in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the story had already become a favorite of the Chinese people when Wu Cheng'en shaped it into a romantic novel which describes the Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, and his entourage protecting Xuanzang against that is all kinds of demons on an adventurous journey westward.

About this classic

Journey to the West is a mythological novel based on many centuries of popular tradition. It was probably put into its present form in the 1570s by Wu Cheng'en (1500-82).

This lively fantasy relates the amazing adventures of the priest Xuanzang as he travels west in search of Buddhist sutras with his three disciples, the irreverent and capable Monkey, greedy Pig, and Friar Sand. The opening chapters recount the earlier exploits of Monkey, culminating in his rebellion against Heaven. We then learn how Xuanzang became a monk and was sent on his pilgrimage by the Tang emperor who had escaped death with the help of an Underworld official.

The main story, the journey, takes the priest through all kinds of entertaining trials and tribulations, mainly at the hands of monsters and spirits who want to eat him. Most, like the ferocious Red Boy, want to devour him. Some, such as the scorpion spirit of Pipa Cave, take the form of beautiful women in the hope of seducing him. Only the courage and powers of his disciples, especially Monkey, save him from death.

Monkey has to use all his connections in the supernatural world to find the help that will enable him to defeat these and other formidable enemies, such as the Bull Demon King and Princess iron Fan, or the imitation Monkey who is indistinguishable from himself.

On the last part of the journey the demons come in as wide a range of shapes and kinds as ever. Among them are spider-women who spin webs from their navels, a pride of lion monsters and a terrible female spirit who carries the Tang Priest down into her bottomless cave to marry him.

These and all the other fiends test to the very limit Monkey's ingenuity, supernatural powers and connections throughout the universe. Monkey is the hero of the fantasy, and the reader will soon learn why he has long been so loved in China.

The story is as full of imagination as Monkey is of magic, and packed with incident and down-to-earth humor.  

Contents of 25 Episodes

1     The Birth of Monkey King
2     Monkey King Being in Charge of Horses
3     Monkey King Making a Mess in Heaven Palace
4     Monkey King Being imprisoned in Wuhang Mountain
5     Monkey King Becomes the Body Guard of Monk Tang
6     Disaster in Kwan-yin Temple
7     Getting Ba Jie with Strategy
8     Facing Three Adversities During the Rough Journey
9     Stealing the Ginseng Fruit
10    Beating the Dead Bones Spirit Three Times
11    Stimulating the Monkey King Wisely
12    Seizing Treasures in Lotus Flower Cave
13    Killing the Devils in the Wuji Country
14    A Battle with the Red Boy
15    Defeating the Three Monsters with Magic
16    The Funny Advantage in the Women Nation
17    Getting the Palm-leaf Fan for Three Times
18    Cleaning the Tower and Clarifying the Injustice
19    Getting in the Little Thunder Temple Accidentally
20    Doctor Monkey King
21    Falling in the Spider Silk Cave Accidentally
22    Visiting the Abyss for Four Times
23    Teaching in Yuhua Continent
24    Getting the Rabbit Spirit in India
25    Arriving the Pure Land