… the definitive guide for your Journey to the West
Monkey Trivia
What would you do?
Dec 14th
After re-reading some of Sun Wukong’s exploits, I actually had nightmares about monkeys. What would you do if a group of them suddenly came to attack you because you fought back? Southeast Asia is known for monkey “grab and go” tactics where unsuspecting humans lose their bags, packs, drinks and even sunglasses to the furry cheeky monkeys.
Too much incursion into their territory by humans have unfortunately meant that food comes in plastic bags. I actually had a friend carry a briefcase during our trek because he said it was the only way to fool the monkeys. We all laughed, but he was the only one who was left unscathed that day.
Controversial Canadian Stamps of Sun Wukong
Dec 5th
This 2004 version of the Monkey King had some Canadians fuming mad. People wrote into the postal service claiming it was too big of a departure from traditional Chinese depictions of the monkey during its Lunar Year in the Chinese Calendar.
The response from the postal service was quite funny, but definitely not to those who were unhappy. Here’s an excerpt:
“You write that some Canadians of Chinese origin claim that this monkey bears no resemblance to the one on the lunar calendar. Yet 99 percent of the people consulted through this same poll acknowledged that the monkey depicted was in fact that from the famous legend of Sun Wu-k’ung, the Monkey King. Sun Wu-k’ung is the classic symbol of the monkey in the Chinese culture and its image has been featured countless times on stamps issued by Asian countries.
Finally, another measure of the favourable reception the Chinese community has given the stamp are definitely the sales figures at events surrounding the launch of the new stamp in Vancouver and Toronto. These sales of stamps and various products generated more than $35,000 in just a few hours.”
SO THERE! (hahahahh) For the record though, the monkey is wearing all the wrong clothes and his cudgel shouldn’t have that adornment either as it should be a simple pole with gold bands on both ends. Funny anyway.
You can read the full version here.
Sun Wukong goes to the Beijing Olympics
Aug 8th
Created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett - Monkey and his friends became the faces of the BBC's Beijing Olympics coverage in 2008
It probably helped that Tripitaka, the moral force of the story in the BBC version, is played by a beautiful young woman instead of the manly monk in the original. Apparently, the same scene plays out in Australia and New Zealand where the show also aired, but in the US you would only see men scratching their heads wondering what drugs you’re on.
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