Week 6 Reading Diary: The Monkey King

This week, I am reading the Monkey King. This is a Chinese fairy tale of sorts; my parents would tell me different stories of the adventures of the great Sun Wu Kong when I was a child, so I am familiar with the mischief and and heroism of the Monkey King. I have not been reminded of these stories since then, however, so it has been many years since I have read any part of the account of his adventures. This was definitely a trip down memory lane.

Handsome King of the Apes: It is uncanny that, even after all these years, as I read this story, I can picture the cartoon version that I watched as a child in my head and see the events unfold. The King sprung from an enchanted rock and spent his days running and leaping in the glade. When he was old enough, he was crowned king of the forest after passing through a huge waterfall. If I recall correctly, this is very symbolic: countless times the reader/viewer will see him go under waterfalls throughout the unit.

Sun Wu Kong Gets His Name: I also remember this part of the Monkey King's history. He approaches a saint in his search for the truth, and when asked for his name, he replies that he has none. He tells the religious leader that he was born from a stone, and in return the saint gives him the name Wu Kong, meaning "empty," referring to his origins but certainly not reflecting the magnitude of his future actions.

The Master: In this chapter, the King demonstrates both his stubbornness and cleverness. When trying to learn from the Buddhist master, he certainly is not the most cooperative student, but he quickly understands the symbolism of many things. It is this wit that the reader sees throughout; while he can be very rambunctious, he usually sees through the lies of tricksters with ease and logically deduces many things that others may miss.

The Devil-King: Here, Sun Wu Kong has learned some of the tricks of the trade (but unfortunately has been kicked out of the temple by the Master), and is now in the world beginning to fight evils. Here, the reader sees that his training paid off: although there is not much detail about it in the previous chapters, the King can definitely fend for himself in a fight when defending his hometown and the people he loves.