Journey to the West
by Levin Arnsperger
1. Characters
1.1. Xuanzang (Tripitaka)
1.2. Sun Wukong (Stone Monkey, Pilgrim)
1.3. Zhu Bajie (Pigsy, Idiot)
1.4. Bodhisattva Guanshiyin
1.5. Sha Wujing (Sandy)
1.6. Patriarch Subodhi
1.7. Tang Emperor Taizong
2. Places
2.1. Chang'an (Xi'an)
2.2. Flower-Fruit Mountain
2.3. Water-Curtain Cave
2.4. Western Heaven
2.5. Kingdom of Women
2.6. Daoist Kingdom
3. Questions
3.1. How is the fusion of religions and traditions expressed or symbolized in the novel?
3.2. What are the characteristics of the four travelers?
4. Summary of Relevant Chapters
4.1. Monkey is born from a stone, soon becomes leader of the monkeys (Monkey King)
4.2. Monkey King congregates with other monkeys in a form of paradise on Flower-Fruit Mountain (they reside in Water-Curtain Cave to be precise)
4.3. Monkey sets out to seek immortality, is taught by Patriarch Subodhi, assumes name of Sun Wukong
4.4. Monk Xuanzang (Tripitaka) frees Sun Wukong, takes him on his journey to India (Western Heaven) to retrieve sacred Buddhist scriptures (sutras)
4.5. along with the other members of this fellowship Sandy and Pigsy (we could call them Xuanzang's disciples), Xuanzang and Monkey experience various adventures
4.6. Monkey challenges Buddha, is captured beneath a rock for 500 years
4.7. among the places they visit are the Daoist Kingdom and the Kingdom of Women
5. Personal Todo List
6. Themes and Peculiarities
6.1. Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism
6.2. Journeys: seeking immortality, seeking scriptures
6.2.1. INS to insert (Windows)
6.2.2. TAB to insert (Mac OS)
6.2.3. ENTER to add siblings
6.2.4. DEL to delete
6.2.5. Press F1 to see all key shortcuts
6.3. Vernacular Chinese
6.4. Novel
6.4.1. sequential story (which does not need to be told in a linear fashion, however)
6.4.2. fictional
6.4.2.1. Vacation Planning
6.4.2.2. Meeting Minutes
6.4.2.3. Project Plan
6.4.2.4. more...
6.4.3. prose