Journey to the West

Wu Cheng'en · 1592 CE · Novel · Chinese · Renaissance

A monk is sent from Tang China to India to fetch Buddhist scriptures, escorted by three disciples working off old offenses. Chief among them is Monkey, a stone-born trickster who once wrecked heaven and is now bound to the pilgrimage. Enlightenment through mischief and trial.

Open Journey to the West in the archive — filters, lineage graph and full facet browsing.

Lineage

• alludes to ↑ Chang'e Flies to the Moon
  Chinese myth · c. 200 BCE · Myth / Legend
• influenced by ↑ Tao Te Ching
  Laozi (attrib.) · c. 400 BCE · Scripture
• influenced by ↑ Water Margin
  Shi Nai'an (attrib.) · c. 1370 CE · Novel
• influenced by ↑ The Ramayana
  Valmiki · c. 400 BCE · Poem
• influenced by ↑ The Jātaka Tales
  Buddhist tradition · c. 300 BCE · Folktale

Attributes

Closest analogues

• The Lord of the Rings
  J.R.R. Tolkien · 1954 CE · Novel

  47% · 15 shared
  NovelFantasyAdventureGood vs EvilHeroMentorThe QuestHero's JourneySupernatural AidRoad of TrialsReturn with the ElixirThe Journeyvs Supernaturalvs SelfMythic
• Haroun and the Sea of Stories
  Salman Rushdie · 1990 CE · Novel

  47% · 15 shared
  NovelFantasyAdventureGood vs EvilTricksterHeroMentorThe QuestHero's JourneySupernatural AidRoad of TrialsReturn with the Elixirvs SupernaturalMythicComic
• The Faerie Queene
  Edmund Spenser · 1590 CE · Poem

  47% · 14 shared
  FantasyFaith & DoubtTemptationGood vs EvilRenaissanceHeroThe QuestEpisodicRoad of TrialsTranscendence / SalvationThe Beastvs Supernaturalvs SelfMythic
• The Pilgrim's Progress
  John Bunyan · 1678 CE · Novel

  43% · 13 shared
  NovelRedemptionFaith & DoubtTemptationMentorThe QuestHero's JourneyRoad of TrialsTranscendence / SalvationThe Journeyvs Supernaturalvs SelfMythic
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  Coen Brothers · 2000 CE · Film

  42% · 12 shared
  AdventureComedyTemptationTricksterThe QuestEpisodicRoad of TrialsReturn with the ElixirThe JourneyThe BeastMythicComic
• The Golden Ass
  Apuleius · c. 170 CE · Novel

  42% · 12 shared
  NovelAdventureComedyTransformationFaith & DoubtTemptationTricksterThe JourneyMetamorphosisThe Beastvs SelfComic