ABSTRACT
The title The Journey to the West (Xiyou ji [Hsi-yu chi]) refers not to a single literary work, but to an entire narrative tradition in China dealing with the legendary expedition of the Tang [T’ang] Buddhist master Xuanzang [Hsüan-tsang] to India in quest of Mahayana scriptures, in the company of a party of disciple/protectors including the “Monkey King” Sun Wukong [Sun Wu-k’ung]. The principal characters and episodes of this story-cycle have been treated in a variety of genres and literary forms from Tang times down to the present day, producing materials of great importance for the history of Chinese popular culture. For the purposes of literary analysis and comparative discussion, however, attention must be focused primarily on the hundred-chapter allegorical novel Xiyou ji that appeared in print during the late Ming period.
