You can click on the image or on this link to play the game.

You can watch the trailer here.

Photograph by Murdo Macleod

The amazingly prolific and diverse writer is best known for his graphic novels: the Sandman series of comics. However, more recently his success has come in the form of books without pictures in the science fiction and fantasy genres. And while his earlier work has exclusively focused on adults, his latter work now includes those for children, although you cannot expect his stories not to have the dark side.

What I am particularly and eagerly awaiting for is his version of Journey to the West which is supposed to feature Sun Wukong – (the Monkey King) – and Xuanzang the historical seventh-century monk who went through treacherous roads, mountains, and valleys on his way to India to bring the Buddhist sacred texts back to China.

Gaiman says, “It will also partly be about me travelling through China and having peculiar things happen to me – the kinds of things you just can’t plan. “Like nearly buying a human elbow. It was being sold by a little old man with a tourist stand outside a temple. After failing to sell me any of the things on the table he rummaged underneath and brought out this bone wrapped in newspaper which turns out to be half a human arm, probably many hundreds of years old – things he’s found after the archeologists went away …”

Wow.

Can’t wait.

William Appledorn's very cool rendition of Sun Wukong the Monkey King

Sun Wukong is often depicted by various artists travelling at high speeds from lofty grounds. Although he can leap as far as 108000 li (54,000 kilometers) in a single bound, he actually prefers to travel on clouds where he can observe what is happening down below without being noticed. He does this by using his “cloud-walking boots” which he got from the Sea Dragons after he refused to leave the Sea Palace without being properly garbed.

Drawings by Zhao Hongben and Qian Xiaodai from Monkey Subdues White-Skeleton Demon printed by Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House

In this scene, Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) is sent away by Tripitaka after he attacks the “white-skeleton demon” who has taken the form of an old, helpless woman looking for her daughter up in the mountains. Incidentally, that daughter was also the “white-skeleton demon” whom Sun Wukong had earlier killed with his Magical Cudgel, the same one he is wielding in this picture.

Unfortunately, Tripitaka believes in all his innocence that the woman was just a frail human being.  Pigsy, also in shock says bad things about Sun Wukong to egg Tripitaka on but regrets it when Sun Wukong is sent away as Pigsy knows he is the strongest of them all. Sandy, less biased, but not a very persuasive or effective character, tries to stop Pigsy and Tripitaka from taking any action against Sun Wukong but to no avail.  The consequences are dire as they will all later be captured after Sun Wukong goes home to the monkey’s lair in the Mountain of Flowers & Fruit.

NOTE: Most of Sun Wukong’s enemies actually have the power of transformation just as he does. So while he may have extraordinary powers, in the world of the Journey to the West, his only real strength over the others is his wit while his greatest weakness is his pride, especially in his belief that he is invincible.

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.

Michael who is teaching English in China took this picture of Flower & Fruit Mountain

The home of Sun Wukong (孙悟空) is said to be the Flower & Fruit Mountain (花果山) located in Lianyungang (连云港) which literally means “connected clouds & harbour”. It is in northeastern section of Jiangsu province whose capital city is Suzhou. Apparently, the enterprising folks have named one of the waterfalls, Water Curtain Cave (水帘洞) to complete the illusion that the Monkey King lorded over his monkeys on this very mountain.

Not sure where these drawings are from ... any help appreciated so I can credit the artists.

The premise of Journey to the West is that Tripitaka needs to obtain the Buddhist scriptures in order to save the people of the land of the South as they only know “greed, hedonism, promiscuity, and sins.”

What makes the trip so dangerous is that Tripitaka is a 10th generation monk whose flesh, when eaten, the demons believe will give them immortality. Interestingly though, these so-called demons also want to do good, just that they are lazy and want the easiest way out. Time and again we meet demons who tell each other, “let’s capture and eat Tripitaka so we don’t have to do good works and gain immediate immortality.” Some demons also turn over a new leaf and vow to only do good for the rest of their lives after encounters with Sun Wukong.

This a very different notion from the term “demons” as used by Westerners where demons are the incarnation of evil and there is nothing good about them. So I think there should be another term used and “monsters” would be much better as many of these creatures that fight Sun Wukong are actually ordinary animals like him that have learned supra normal abilities and magic through one way or another. In fact, the Monkey King, is also a “demon”. As they have decided to use these powers for evil means, their form becomes ugly unless they choose to disguise themselves into a more handsome form.

However, once they have died, which they usually do under Monkey King’s cudgel, they return to their original being.

Japanese Print inspired by Sun Wukong's Adventures

THE BROTHERHOOD
In his travels, he became friends with many and six in particular became his sworn brothers. Just like a mafia, Sun Wukong would meet with his brothers- the heads of the other animals regularly just to chat, sing, dance, eat and make merry. The members of Sun Wukong’s pledged brotherhood included: Strong Buffalo, Hydra, the bird Roc, King of Lions, King of Maggots, and King of Wolves. Although they are all called “demons” in the book, they are not demons in the sense that Western society perceives them because they also try to do good but prefer to get away with what they can.

Click here to find the discourse on why the term “demons” is a misnomer.