Reading Notes: The Monkey King, Part A

Handsome King of the Apes

I wonder what the meaning here is of "stone". Is the stone ape made out of stone? Also, I'm not sure if this really is Sun Wu Kung. I really like the idea of a waterfall hiding a cave because it reminds me of the Incredibles, which is one of my favorite animated films.

The Great Sea

It's always interesting to me when an author builds up a a "good" character like the Monkey King, but then later he has the character commit some sort of random, bad act. It makes the character more realistic, but always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. In this story, the part that gave me this feeling was when the Monkey King knocked the fisherman down and stole his clothes to blend in with the humans.

Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name

Ah, so the reference to the "stone ape" just means that he was born of stone. Also, I wonder how old Sun Wu Kung is at this point because he spent 8 + 6-7 years at least traveling trying to find out the "great truth" of immortality.

The Master

I really like stories that involve teaching various disciplines. I can imagine writing a story that involves a quest similar to Sun Wu Kung's where the main character is as focused on a particular goal as he is. It's pretty inspiring.

Learning the Art

It's funny how Sun Wu Kung misinterpreted the master's teachings. It's so typical of someone young and inexperienced in the world, and also seems to make fun of traditional tales where everything has to mean something significant.

Wait, what? Oh, I guess he really did mean for Sun Wu Kung to come to his bedroom at night? That was a strange exchange.

I feel like if I had been whispered a magical truth, I definitely wouldn't be able to sleep right after.

Sun Wu Kung Departs

Aww, poor guy. The master seems unreasonably angry, but he also knows much more about the powers and their capabilities, so I understand his decision.

I wonder if these secrets are actually a result of the behavior or if the behavior just complements controlling the powers and is the only reason a power would be given. If a secret power can just be given to someone, are there evil groups in this world that have these powers as well?

The Devil-King

Boo, that fight was kind of lame. The Devil King didn't even fight back really.

The Dragon-King

Apparently stealing is okay? It seems like Sun Wu Kung is trying to play god here.

Why does as weapon need to be heavy? This is a weird progression.

The Dragon-Queen

Well, I am really not very happy with Sun Wu Kung's character now. He's very determined, but his determination leads to him upsetting a lot of innocent people. The Dragon King tried to appease him, but even then Sun Wu Kung was not very grateful and just demanded more difficult things to obtain.

The Nether World

Now he is heaven-born? I thought he only assumed that he was born of stone?

So, I bet a conflict is coming with the Lord of the Heavens soon because it seems a lot of upset people are turning to him and complaining about Sun Wu Kung. I don't think they are entirely in the wrong by doing so.

Chinese painting, from the UnTextbook

Bibliography: Stories from "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book edited by R. Wilhems, translated by Frederick H. Martens. Source.