唐僧旃檀功德佛 · 2
Leaf 2 of the pilgrimage · 唐三藏 Tripitaka of the Tang
Tang Sanzang 唐僧
In Journey to the West 西遊記 (c. 1592) · one of the four pilgrims · nicknamed 唐三藏 “Tripitaka of the Tang”
The only pilgrim with no powers, who nevertheless is the one who decides when the story may end.
The great deeds 大事記
- ch. 9
Set Adrift on a Plank
陳光蕊赴任An infant set adrift on a plank by his mother, saved by a monk at Jinshan and raised as the river-boy Jiangliu.
- ch. 12
The Oath and the Undated Road
玄奘立誓Named Tripitaka, adopted as the emperor's brother, and he leaves without saying how long it will take.
- ch. 14
Naming the Monkey
收猴He gives Wukong a name and a collar in the same breath, and does not understand either of them for forty years.
- ch. 27
Writes His Own Expulsion Letter
貶書逐徒He writes the expulsion letter with his own hand, and is kidnapped eleven days later.
- ch. 47
Weeping for Chen Village
替人間災He weeps at Chen Village over the boy and girl due to the river god, and his disciples take his place instead.
- ch. 78
Refusing the Heart Elixir
童心之藥He refuses an elixir made of 1,111 children's hearts so flatly that even Wukong is surprised.
- ch. 99
Climbing Vulture Peak
登鷲嶺He walks the last approach on his own two feet, and is the one who must be told the scriptures are wrong.
結局 The ending
He completes the journey, drowns once on the final river, and is made the Candana Merit Buddha. His last recorded act in the world is to fall off a horse and be rescued by his own disciples, which the novel does not treat as a joke.
The book itself: why the monkey was pinned, which translation — The 500 years · The translations · The 81 trials