Monkey

Wu Ch’êng-ên wrote Monkey in the middle of the sixteenth century, adding to an ancient Chinese legend his own touches of delicacy and humour. The result is an attractive jumble of the absurd and the profound, of religion and history, of anti-bureaucratic satire and pure poetry. While the story tells of Tripitaka’s journey to India and what happens on the way, its true theme is man’s pilgrimage through life, with Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy symbolizing the diverse elements of human nature