Journey to the West

Japanese: 西遊記 - さいゆうき

A long colloquial novel written in chapters, completed in the Ming Dynasty in China. It is one of the so-called "Four Great Classics," along with "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," "Water Margin," and "Jin Ping Mei."

[Sato Tamotsu]

Established

The historical fact that Tripitaka Xuanzang (Xuanzang) broke the national ban and left the country during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, overcoming difficulties to travel to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures, became a legend as early as the Tang Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, a short and simple story called "Poetry from Tripitaka of the Great Tang Retrieved from the Buddhist Scriptures," which seems to be a script for storytelling, appeared, in which Sun Wukong (Son Gokong) appears as the Monkey Hunter and Sha Wujing (Sagojyo) as the God of Deep Sha. In addition, fragmentary tales that were passed down in murals, poems, plays, etc. became the well-structured "Journey to the West" at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The "Pak Tongji Yeonhae" (Pak Tongji Genhae), which has been passed down in Korea, and the "Yongle Daenten" (Yongle Encyclopedia), an encyclopedia from the Ming Dynasty, contain fragments of stories from that time. It was with the publication of "Journey to the West: The Story of Shakuni (Yaku)" in the middle of the Ming Dynasty that this story came very close to its current form. "The Story of Shakuni," which is said to have been a compilation of previous stories and added much more to them, no longer exists, and its editor is unknown, but the outline was passed down in "Journey to the West" (Shihon) published by Shidetakutang in Jinling in 1592 (the 20th year of the Wanli era), and this marked the tentative completion of "Journey to the West." Later, during the Kangxi period of the Qing dynasty (1662-1722), "Journey to the West: True Questions" (1696), written by Chen Shibin, was also published.

It is commonly believed that the author was the Ming dynasty scholar Wu Cheng'en, based on descriptions in the Huai'an Fuzhi, but as can be seen from the process by which it was created, it was not written by one person at a certain time, but was created over a long period of time through the hands of many people. It is possible that Wu Cheng'en was involved in some way, but he cannot be said to be the author.

[Sato Tamotsu]

It is roughly divided into four parts. (1) The upbringing of Sun Wukong (Episodes 1-8) Born from the immortal stone of Mount Huaguo, Sun Wukong mastered the art of transformation, rode on a cloud (which could fly 108,000 li with one somersault), and used his staff (flexible and capable of defeating an opponent with one strike) to cause chaos in heaven and earth. At one point he was almost taken in by the Emperor of Heaven, but he devoured a peachy peach and caused chaos in the Heavenly Palace once again, fighting the gods on the Emperor's side. In the end he was captured under the five fingers of the Tathagata. (2) The upbringing of Xuanzang (Episode 9). (3) Emperor Taizong's tour of hell (Episodes 10-12). (4) Journey to India to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures (Episodes 13-99) Xuanzang rescues Monkey from the foot of the Five Elements Mountains and sets out on a journey. On the way, he rides on a dragon that has turned into a white horse, and takes on the pig monster Chohakkai, who has married into a human family, as his attendant. Next, he takes on Sha Wujing, who is hiding in the river at the Quicksand River. The group encounters 9981 difficulties and fights various demons. They suck the golden and silver horns into a gourd, trick the female rakshasa, Gyumaoh, into handing over the Basho fan, and quell the flames of Mount Flame, safely reaching the paradise in the west. Then, the group returns to the capital with the Buddhist scriptures and attains nirvana (Episode 100).

[Sato Tamotsu]

Evaluation and Impact

One of the charms of "Journey to the West" is the clever combination of Tripitaka and his three attendants. The vivid portrayal of each character's personality, including the free-spirited and violent Sun Wukong, the slow and obsessed with food and women, the sullen Sha Wujing, and the incompetent Tripitaka, who only talks about slogans, along with the vivid descriptions, makes this long story not flat. "Journey to the West," which adds humanity to even the monsters with a mix of humor and satire, is unmatched by other novels about gods and demons since the Ming Dynasty. In particular, the exploits of Sun Wukong, who rebels against the Heavenly Court and fights against demons, have captured people's hearts and become popular in Peking opera. Furthermore, this book is said to be a treasure trove of Chinese folk tales, and in that sense it is a valuable work.

In China, sequels to "Journey to the West" were compiled, such as "Journey to the West Supplement" in the late Ming Dynasty and "Later Journey to the West" in the early Qing Dynasty. Among them, "Journey to the West Supplement" is a masterpiece that satirizes the social conditions of the late Ming Dynasty through the Monkey King who gets lost in a dream world. "Journey to the West" was introduced to Japan in the early Edo period, and in the mid-Edo period, Japanese translations "Popular Journey to the West" and "Ehon Journey to the West" were published and became widely read.

[Sato Tamotsu]

"Translated by Tatsuo Ota and Hisayasu Torii, "Chinese Classical Literature Series 13 and 14, Journey to the West, Volumes 1 and 2" (1962, Heibonsha)" ▽ "Translated by Shinobu Ono, "Journey to the West" (Iwanami Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

中国、明(みん)代に完成した長編の口語体章回小説。『三国志演義』『水滸伝(すいこでん)』『金瓶梅(きんぺいばい)』とともに、いわゆる「四大奇書」の一つ。

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成立

唐の太宗のとき、玄奘三蔵(げんじょうさんぞう)が国禁を犯して出国、困難を克服してインドに取経旅行した史実は、唐代に早くも伝説化された。南宋(なんそう)に至ると、講談の台本とみられる、短く素朴なストーリー性をもつ『大唐三蔵取経詩話』が現れ、孫悟空(そんごくう)が猴行者(こうぎょうじゃ)、沙悟浄(さごじょう)が深沙神(しんしゃしん)として登場する。そのほか、壁画、詩、戯曲などに伝承された断片的な説話が、元末になってほぼ骨格の整った『西遊記』となる。朝鮮に伝わる『朴通事諺解(ぼくつうじげんかい)』、明(みん)の百科全書『永楽大典(えいらくたいてん)』は、そのころの物語の断片を存する。これが現行の形に大きく近づくのは、明の中葉に成った『西遊釈尼(しゃくに)（厄(やく)）伝』によってである。従来の物語を集大成し、大幅に肉づけしたとされる『釈尼伝』自体は現存せず、編者も不明であるが、概要は、1592年（万暦20）に金陵(きんりょう)の世徳堂が刊行した『西遊記』（世本）などに伝わり、ここで『西遊記』はいちおうの完成をみる。その後、清(しん)代康煕(こうき)年間（1662～1722）には、陳士斌(ちんしひん)評の『西遊真詮(しんせん)』（1696）も刊行された。

　著者は明の文人呉承恩(ごしょうおん)という通説があるのは、『淮安府志(わいなんふし)』の記述などに拠(よ)るものだが、成立の過程をみてもわかるように、1人の人間がある時期に書き上げたものではなく、長い間に多くの人の手を経て成った書である。呉承恩がなんらかの形でかかわった可能性はあるが、著者とはいえない。

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内容

大きく分けて四つの部分から構成される。(1)孫悟空の生い立ち（第1～8回）　花果山(かかざん)の仙石から生まれた悟空は、変化(へんげ)の術を身につけ、觔斗雲(きんとうん)（一つとんぼ返りをやると10万8000里飛ぶ）に乗り、如意棒(にょいぼう)（伸縮自在、一打ちで相手を倒すことができる）を得物に天地を騒がす。いったんは天帝に取り込まれそうになるが、蟠桃(ばんとう)をむさぼり食ってふたたび天宮を騒がせ、天帝側の神々と戦いを繰り広げる。最後は如来(にょらい)の5本の指の下に取り押さえられる。(2)玄奘の生い立ち（第9回）。(3)唐太宗の地獄巡り（第10～12回）。(4)インド取経の旅（第13～99回）　玄奘は五行山下の悟空を救い出して旅に出る。途中で白馬となった竜を乗り物にして進み、人間の家に婿入りしていた豚の化け物、猪八戒(ちょはっかい)を従者に加える。次に、流沙(りゅうさ)河で河に潜む沙悟浄も従者とする。こうして一行は、九九八十一難(くくはちじゅういちなん)に遭い、さまざまの妖怪(ようかい)と戦う。金角・銀角を瓢(ふくべ)の中に吸い込み、羅刹女(らせつにょ)・牛魔王から芭蕉扇(ばしょうせん)をだまし取って火焔山(かえんざん)の炎を鎮め、無事西方の楽土にたどり着く。そして経文を携えて都に帰った一行はみごとに成仏する（第100回）。

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評価・影響

『西遊記』の魅力の一つは、三蔵法師と3従者の取り合わせの妙にある。天衣無縫で乱暴者の孫悟空、鈍重で食物と女に目のない猪八戒、むっつり屋の沙悟浄、お題目だけで無能な三蔵法師と、それぞれの性格の鮮やかな描き分けは、精彩ある描写とともにこの長い物語を平板でないものにしている。ユーモアと風刺を交えながら妖怪にまで人間性を加味した『西遊記』は、明代以降の他の神魔小説の追随を許さない。とりわけ、天宮に反抗し妖魔と戦う孫悟空の活躍は、人々の心をとらえ、京劇でも人気を博している。さらに本書は、中国民間説話の宝庫ともいわれ、その意味でも貴重な存在である。

　中国では『西遊記』の続作として、明末の『西遊補』、清初の『後西遊記』などが編まれた。なかでも『西遊補』は、夢境に迷い込んだ悟空を通して明末の世相を風刺する秀作である。日本に『西遊記』が入ったのは江戸初期であるが、中期に至って邦訳『通俗西遊記』『絵本西遊記』が刊行され、広く読まれるようになった。

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『太田辰夫・鳥居久靖訳『中国古典文学大系13・14　西遊記　上下』（1962・平凡社）』▽『小野忍訳『西遊記』（岩波文庫）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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