“The Monkey King´s Amazing Adventures”

Translated by Timothy Richard

With a new introduction by Daniel Kane

A Journey to the West in Search of Enlightenment

China´s most popular traditional novel, “The Monkey King´s Amazing Adventures” is the story of the Monkey King, his incredible origin and downfall, and his epic quest to redeem himself with his trusted comanions, as they face fantastic foes, demons, and monsters and have amazing adventures in their travels to the Western paradise.

No matter what obstacle was put before him, the clever, wily Monkey King always got what he wanted – unimaginable strength, eternal life, even his own position in the Celestial Realm with the gods. But more than anything else, the Monkey King loved mischief and rule-breaking, and he was sure that he was the most powerful creature in the world.

But after defeat and punishment, the Monkey King found himself wanting some things he never expected: to be good enough and have the discipline to help the monk Xuanzang on his mission to bring Buddihist Scriptures – and enlightenment – to China.

Readers will thrill to Timothy Richard´s retelling of the Monkey King´s exploits – he never disappoints, whether in the Dragon King´s underwater castle, the Halls of the Dead, or the palace of Buddha himself – and find themselves captivated as he joins Xuanzang and his other trusted companions, the Dragon Horse, the Monk Sand, and the equally mischievous Pig on the dangerous trek West.

Timothy Richard traveled to China in 1868 as a Babtist missionary. When other missionaries were attempting to stamp out the popular local tales of gods and heroes such a “The Monkey King´s Amazing Adventures”, Timothy Richard championed them for the universal messages of spiritual challenge and growth they contain. He is also the author of “Forty-five Years in China”.

Daniel Kane is the Head of Chinese Studies at Macquarie University. He has a BA in Chinese from the University of Melbourne and a PhD from the Australian National University. He was visiting scholar at the Department of Chinese at Peking University in 1988 and 1993 and Cultural Counselor at the Australian Embassy in Beijing in 1996.