An Analysis of the 86 Version of Journey to the West

Answer 1

The 86 edition of Journey to the West had many details worth analyzing:

** 1. Character Creation **
1. ** Sun Wukong **
- In the plot of being trapped in the Five Elements Mountain, unlike the original novel, which only briefly described it, several sets of images showed his loneliness, helplessness, and pity during his 500 years of imprisonment. For example, he looked at the birds, the changes of the four seasons, picked up the flowers on his head and looked in the direction of freedom, etc., vividly creating an image of once free and unruly, but now trapped and helpless. Moreover, Sun Wukong had always been suspicious of Patriarch Bodhi's warning. Even though he was imprisoned, he did not confess his master, but his master did not come to save him. This kind of mentality was reflected in his waiting and emotional changes.
- In terms of social interaction, when Sun Wukong first went to the Heavenly Palace, he took the initiative to visit the immortals and showed a pro-social personality. This also foreshadowed that many immortals were willing to help him on his way to the Heavenly Palace.
2. ** Monk Sand **
- He had always been low-key and honest, but he did not keep a low profile in the plot of Bao Xiang Country. When the King of Baoxiang asked who could save the princess, he took the initiative to ask for a fight. Moreover, when the yellow-robed monster blamed Princess Baihua for asking Tang Sanzang to inform the king to save her, Monk Sand explained that he had come to save her because he saw the portrait of the princess in Baoxiang Kingdom and had nothing to do with the princess, so as to avoid the yellow-robed monster from persecuting the princess.
3. ** Pigsy **
- After being taught a lesson by Old Mother of Lishan, Manjushri and Guanyin, he still hadn't completely given up on women. On the way to the scriptures, he showered with the spider demon, exchanged glances with the scorpion demon, and chased after Chang'e when he subdued the jade rabbit. All of these showed that his lust did not change.
4. ** Yellow-robed Monster (Kui Wood Wolf)**
- He was the demon who loved his wife the most. He let Tang Sanzang go after listening to Princess Baihua. This was very rare among other demons. After all, Tang Sanzang's flesh meant immortality. At the same time, he was also the most successful demon. He had a beautiful and obedient wife and had two children. After the battle with Sun Wukong, he was unharmed and returned to the Heavenly Court smoothly. He enjoyed 13 years of happiness in the human world and returned to heaven after being a demon for several years.

** 2. Plot adaptation **
1. ** Add plot, create atmosphere **
- In the plot of Sun Wukong being suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain, he added the plot of him seeing the cowherd boy. The cowherd boy affectionately called him "little monkey" and even gave him peaches to eat. After the cowherd boy left, Sun Wukong's envy pushed the desolation in his heart to a climax. This was not in the original novel.
- After Sun Wukong pushed down the Ginseng Fruit Tree, he went around asking for help. In the movie, he finally found the Crescent Three Stars Cave, which was also an adaptation of the original work.
- In the plot of Guanyin Bodhisattva saving Sun Wukong, Guanyin Bodhisattva directly told Sun Wukong that someone would come to save him. In the play, Guanyin Bodhisattva said,"There is someone in the world who will save you, but not me." This increased the suspense and also gave Sun Wukong a sense of enlightenment.
2. ** Reflects the depth of the story and the relationship between the characters **
- Among the many calamities, many were related to the king. For example, the king of Wuji Kingdom visited Tang Sanzang in his dream, and Tang Sanzang exposed the fake king; the king of Baoxiang Kingdom was to save the daughter from the demon, reflecting the deep love between father and daughter; the king of Zhuzi Kingdom was to save the Golden Divine Lady. These plots enriched the content of the story, and also reflected the relationship between the road to obtain scriptures and the various countries, as well as the role of Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
- Zhenyuanzi and Sun Wukong became brothers, but they never crossed paths again. This plot showed a subtle relationship between the characters. Although they became sworn brothers, there was no continuation of the plot.

** 3. Monster classification **
1. ** The difference between the ending of the monsters in the sky and on the ground **
- In the end, most of the demons in the sky managed to escape, such as the golden-nosed white-haired rat demon, the Kui Wood Wolf (yellow-robed monster), and the Gold-haired Hou, who were all summoned back to the celestial heavens. Most of the demons on the ground died, such as White Bone Demon, Yellow Flower Temple's abbot, Black Fox Demon, etc. Only a few lucky ones, such as Black Bear Monster and Spider Demon, were taken away by Bodhisattva.
2. ** Different purposes of monsters **
- Most of the demons were after the meat of the Tang Priest, because eating the meat of the Tang Priest would grant immortality (although it was unknown where this rumor came from, all demons knew). There were a few demons who came to date, such as the Apricot Fairy, Jade Rabbit Spirit, Pipa Spirit, etc. There were also some demons who didn't eat or talk, such as the Black Bear Monster, Wuji Kingdom's Quanzhen Taoist Master, Nine-headed Bug, and Che Chiguo's three national teachers.
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