Journey to the West: An Interpretation of the Journey to the West

2026-03-23 07:16

Journey to the West was a classic with rich content. There were many ways to interpret it. ** 1. The perspective of society and officialdom ** 1. ** Reflects the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty ** - The Heavenly Court was seen as a reflection of the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. The Jade Emperor was similar to the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was superstitious about Taoism and devoted himself to cultivation, just like the Jiajing Emperor, who devoted himself to longevity and did not care about government affairs. - The Taoist ancestor, the Grand Supreme Elder, and the others were hinting at the civil officials of the imperial court. They had great power and appeared to be worried about the country and the people, but in reality, they harmed the public and benefited their own interests. The Jade Emperor could do nothing about it, so he used the Buddhist forces to contain it. - The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and his faction were too close to Buddhism. Buddhism was humble in front of the Jade Emperor, but in fact, they secretly cultivated their power. On the surface, they obeyed, but on the inside, they opposed. On the way to the scriptures, the two factions sent people to do official business. They supported the project in name, but in reality, they competed for benefits. Along the way, there were two factions of demons and ghosts. They were transferred away after finishing their work, and the local tyrants without backgrounds were eliminated. - The book revealed the ugliness and internal struggles of the Heavenly Court, as well as Buddhism's apparent compliance with the Heavenly Court and its self-interest. It also hinted at the hardships on the way to the scriptures, reflecting the author Wu Chengen's dissatisfaction with the feudal system and his understanding of the darkness of society. ** 2. Symbol angle ** 1. ** From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Chinese culture ** - Sun Wukong represented the mind that grew with enlightenment. The "Crescent Moon and Three Stars Cave" that he was apprenticed to symbolized the place where the mind grew. The combination of the "Crescent Moon and Three Stars" was the word "heart". His master was Bodhi, and "Bodhi" had the meaning of enlightenment. He also symbolized a kind of teacher who transcended the limitations of religion. Sun Wukong's Dharma name, Wukong, corresponded to his mind, which represented the growth of enlightenment. - Zhu Bajie was in charge of the kidneys. Because the kidneys could not be "Wukong" like the heart, his Dharma name was "Wuneng". - Sha Wujing was related to the spleen. The heart was fire, and the kidney was water. Water and fire were transported and transformed by the spleen (earth). The heart, kidney, and spleen corresponded to Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing respectively, symbolizing the unity of the primordial spirit, essence, and vitality to form Sanzang. - From this point of view, Journey to the West could be understood as a person's mental journey of enlightenment."A trip is a thought." This thought was the distance from ignorance to enlightenment. The 81 difficulties were all mental demons. The Holy Mountain was in the heart. Everyone had a Holy Mountain Pagoda and had to cultivate their hearts under the Holy Mountain Pagoda. 2. ** From the perspective of a character prototype ** - Sun Wukong abhorred evil and dared to offend both the Heavenly Court and Buddhist forces. He had a stubborn temper and there were many possible explanations for his original form. ** 3. Perspective of literary creation ** 1. ** Relationship with other works ** - Among the Four Great Masterpieces, Journey to the West was the most adapted work. It originated from stories such as "The Great Tang Sanzang's Poetry on the Pilgrimage to the West","The Commentary on Journey to the West", and "The Zaju of Journey to the West". The first protagonist of the Journey to the West was changed from Tang Sanzang to Sun Wukong. - At the beginning, the author constructed a magnificent "Journey to the West Universe", setting the time of the universe (such as the number of heaven and earth, the division of one yuan into twelve meetings, etc.) and space (the structure of the four continents, the four seas, the underworld, the celestial heavens, etc.). 2. ** Literature Evaluation ** - Lu Xun believed that "Journey to the West" was a book written by a Confucian scholar, but it was actually a game, not a language. Therefore, the book only occasionally talked about the five elements of life and death, especially did not learn Buddhism. Therefore, there were absurd and nonsensical scriptures in the last chapter. It was because of the mixed teachings that it had been popular for a long time. Therefore, his works were also the same as Sakyamuni and Laojun. The true nature and the primordial spirit were mixed, so that the disciples of the three religions could be attached to it." - Hu Shi mentioned,"Therefore, although he narrates things that change suddenly, but also every word that is used to explain the situation, so that the gods and devils have human feelings, the essence of charm is also familiar with the world, and the meaning of cynicism is contained." The two masters both thought that Journey to the West had the characteristics of "game" and "cynicism." However, Journey to the West could also be said to be a profound book. It was not just a simple game. ** 4. Thematic perspective ** 1. ** Positive energy and harmony ** - Journey to the West could also be regarded as a masterpiece full of positive energy. It was a description of the image of China's "fighting gentleman", a secret manual to free himself from worries, and a classic work of harmony between Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. 2. ** Dark side revealed ** - The world of Journey to the West was filled with dark phenomena. For example, demons ate people (General Yin, Techushi, etc.), people ate people (the monk king failed), and immortals ate people (Kui Wood Wolf). Buddhism was greedy for money and killed people (Guanyin Zen Monastery coveted the kasaya, and the Great Thunderclap Monastery demanded personnel), Daoism caused chaos in the country (Wuji Kingdom's national master murdered the king, and Bhikhu Kingdom's national master harmed the children), the underworld was bent on favoritism (Judge Cui privately changed the Life and Death Book), and the Heavenly Court was plunged into misery (Fengxian County had no rain for three years, and two people starved to death). Read more exciting novels for free