Journey to the West was one of the four great masterpieces of ancient China and a classic in the history of Chinese literature. The TV series Journey to the West was widely praised by the audience through its re-creation and adaptation, which made the original plot coherent. However, the plot and characters in the original novel were not necessarily the same as those in the TV series. The TV series Journey to the West was adapted from the original novel. Although some cuts and adjustments were made to the original work, some core elements and plots of the original work were still retained. Therefore, the true understanding and appreciation of the original novel needed to be combined with the evaluation of the TV series and other people. There were many details and characters in the original novel that needed readers to think deeply before they could truly understand the meaning. Although the TV series Journey to the West has made the original plot coherent through re-creation and adaptation, it is still a work with unique charm. It requires readers to read and think deeply before they can truly understand the essence.
There was no clear answer to the question of the Journey to the West TV series that was most in line with the original work. Different versions had been edited and adapted, and none of them was widely recognized as the best version of the original. Some versions were considered to be more faithful in terms of plot and character image, such as the 86 version and Zhang Jizhong version, but they still had some modifications and cuts. Therefore, it was impossible to determine which version was most in line with the original work.
The original novel of Journey to the West was not exactly the same as the TV series. Journey to the West was one of the classics of Chinese literature. It was a novel written by Wu Chengen, a novelist of the Ming Dynasty. It told the story of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Monk Sand, and Tang Sanzang, four people who went to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures after going through 81 difficulties. The TV series Journey to the West was a the mainland of China series that was first broadcasted in 1986. It was directed by director Li Gang and starred Wu Chengen, Zhou Jie, Xu Qing, Lu Songxian, etc. The TV series had made some adjustments and cuts to the original work, adding some special effects and action scenes to present a modern style. Although the TV series and the original novel were different in some plots and characters, Journey to the West, as a classic Chinese literary work, was still loved and widely read by people.
The episodes of the Journey to the West TV series included "Dare to Ask Where is the Way,""Daughter's Love," and "Great Hymn." Among them," Dare to Ask Where is the Way " was the ending song written by Yan Su, composed by Xu Jingqing and sung by Zhang Baomo. This song was included in the propaganda materials of the spiritual civilization in the autumn of 1986 and won the first China Top Ten Film and Television Golden Melody Award in 1988. " Daughter's Love " was the 16th episode of the 1986 TV series " Journey to the West "," Learning from the Kingdom of Women ". It was sung by Wu Jing with a beautiful and classical melody. " Grand Hymn " was an interlude after Sun Wukong jumped out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace. The background music was passionate and dynamic, with a strong sense of rhythm and momentum. The lyrics were also very domineering. These interludes were all classic works from the TV series Journey to the West.
Journey to the West was one of the four famous novels in ancient China. It told the story of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Monk Sand, and Tang Sanzang, who went to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures after going through 81 difficulties. The story of the novel mainly took place in the Tang Dynasty. It told the story of Sun Wukong and others who fought against all kinds of demons and ghosts on the way to obtain scriptures. At the same time, they also experienced many life situations. They met many good people and many bad people on the road and experienced many thrilling adventures. The content of the novel is rich and colorful, the plot is full of ups and downs, and the characters are full of high literary and artistic value. Among them, there were many classic sentences and plots, such as "The heart is not enough, the snake swallows the elephant","The desire to see a thousand miles to reach a higher level", etc., which are still widely praised and quoted today.
Some of the plots in the animated version of Journey to the West did not conform to the original work because the animation team had created the story according to the original story framework and character settings, but there might be some changes and cuts in the details and plot, resulting in some differences from the original work. There were many reasons why the animated version of Journey to the West was not completed. First of all, Journey to the West was a very complicated classical novel. It required a lot of time and resources to shoot. Secondly, due to the huge background and setting of Journey to the West, a lot of geographical and cultural knowledge was needed to shoot, which would also affect the quality of the animation. In addition, because Journey to the West had gone through many adaptation and creation in the process of inheritance, it was also possible that the animated version of Journey to the West was not filmed in its entirety. In general, it was normal for the animated version of Journey to the West to have some differences from the original. This also reflected the differences and characteristics between different art forms.
The main actors in the TV series 'Journey to the West' included: Sun Wukong-Sun Wukong was played by Wu Jing. He had already played the role of Sun Wukong in the first Journey to the West. Zhu Bajie-Zhu Bajie was played by Wu Lei. He had already played the role of Zhu Bajie in the first Journey to the West. 3 Sha Wujing-Sha Wujing was played by Ma Dehua. He had already played the role of Sha Wujing in the first Journey to the West. 4. Tang Sanzang-Tang Sanzang was played by Chen Kun. He had already played the role of Tang Sanzang in the first Journey to the West. Bai Jingjing-Bai Jingjing was played by Yang Mi. She had already played the role of Bai Jingjing in the first Journey to the West. 6 Flaming Mountain-Flaming Mountain was played by Turpan Basin. He had already played the role of Flaming Mountain in the first Journey to the West. These actors and actresses would continue to play their roles in the sequels and present even more exciting performances to the audience.
Journey to the West was a classic Chinese literary masterpiece. There were many TV series versions. The following are some of the clips from the Journey to the West TV series that may be closest to the original work: 186 TV series Journey to the West: This version of the TV series uses the story of the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang as the main line to restore the original plot and characters as much as possible. Among them, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Monk Sand were the most classic and consistent with the original images. The 294 version of the TV series Journey to the West: This version of the TV series is similar to the 86 version of the TV series. The main story of Xuanzang's pilgrimage is restored to the original plot and characters as much as possible. However, in terms of character creation, the 94 version of the TV series paid more attention to the emotional description of Tang Sanzang and weakened the image of Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie. The 303 version of the TV series Journey to the West: This version of the TV series uses the growth of Sun Wukong as the main line to cut and adapt the plot in the original work. However, in terms of character image and character shaping, this version of the TV series was not much different from the original. 410 TV series Journey to the West: This version of the TV series has been rearranged and adapted from the original work, with the story of Tang Sanzang and the Kingdom of Women as the main line. Although there were some modifications and cuts in the TV series, the overall version of the TV series was not much different from the original. It was important to note that there were many differences in the storyline, character image, and performance style of the different versions of the TV series. Therefore, different versions of the classic Journey to the West had their own unique charm.
Journey to the West was a classic Chinese novel, known as one of the Four Great Masterpieces of China. Although the novel itself did not have a fixed horror element, the plot and characters in it might make the readers feel nervous and afraid. When reading a novel, the reader's experience is personal. Some people may find the plot and characters terrifying, while others may find it relaxing and interesting. Therefore, different people would have different opinions on whether the original novel of Journey to the West was scary or not. As for the 86 version of Journey to the West, it was a TV series and not a novel. The production of a TV series would be affected by factors such as the director, actors, and screenwriters, so the plot and expression might be different. However, no matter how the TV series was made, it could not completely replace the novel itself because the novel had more details and plots for appreciation and discussion.
There was some inconsistent information about the number of versions of Journey to the West. According to the different documents, the following versions could be obtained: the 1986 CCTV version, the 1996 Hong Kong TVP version, the 1998 Monkey King, the 2000 sequel version, the 2010 Cheng Lidong version, the 2011 Zhang Jizhong version, and the 2018 Huang Zuquan version. Some documents also mentioned other versions, but the exact number was not clear. Therefore, there were at least seven versions of Journey to the West.
The original novel of Journey to the West was not written in vernacular Chinese but in classical Chinese. In Journey to the West, the boundary between classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese was not very clear. Sometimes, one could see some vernacular expressions. However, the expressions of classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese had their own characteristics. The classical Chinese was more formal and concise, while the vernacular Chinese was more oral and easy to understand.