Who is the author of The Journey to the West?

Wu Cheng'en (1506- 1582), whose real name is Ruzhong, was born in Huai 'an in the Ming Dynasty and was the author of the novel The Journey to the West. He was born at the wrong time and had a rough life. However, 400 years after his death, his graveyard, bones and some inscriptions were discovered. Wu Cheng'en's former residence has been rebuilt in Tongxiang under Huai 'an River, and the Wu Cheng'en Cemetery in Bauer Village in Madian Township has also been repaired. When he was a teenager, Wu Cheng'en liked to listen to the stories of the Huaihe River Water God and the Sangha Great Sage. After middle age, he began to combine the story of Tang Priest's Journey to the West with Tang Dynasty legends, Buddhist and Taoist classics, folk stories and Huai 'an local stories, and wrote hundreds of stories about Journey to the West in his study. As soon as this book came out, it was hailed as one of the "four wonderful books" and became a treasure of the world literary world. Wu Cheng'en is good at painting and calligraphy. However, the imperial examination was unfavorable, and it was not until middle age that he entered the tribute. At the age of 60, he became Changxing County Cheng, but left home because of disagreement with the chief executive. Later, he hired Jing Wang Fu Ji Shan. Wu Cheng'en's father, Wu Rui (146 1- 1532), whose real name is Tingqi, is an honest man who likes to tell stories about history and visit ancient temples in Huaidi, and often tells stories about folk ghosts and gods to young Wu Cheng'en. Married to the Xu family, the daughter of a lace merchant. Xu gave birth to a daughter named Wu Chengjia, who married Shen Shan, a member of Huai 'an Minister. After middle age, he married Zhang and gave birth to the famous writer Wu Cheng'en. Introduction to Journey to the West (by Wu Cheng'en) The Journey to the West mainly tells the story of the Monkey King's 81-year-old journey to learn from the West to protect Tang Priest. It is a true story in history that Tang Priest learned the scriptures. About 1300 years ago, in the first year of Zhenguan of Emperor Taizong (627), Xuanzang, a 25-year-old young monk, left the capital Chang 'an and went to Tianzhu (India) to study alone. After starting from Chang 'an, he passed through Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and finally arrived in India. He studied there for more than two years and gave a speech at a large-scale debate on Buddhist classics, which was well received. In the 19th year of Zhenguan (645), Xuanzang returned to Chang 'an and brought back 657 Buddhist scriptures. He traveled to Wan Li in 19 before and after this Buddhist pilgrimage, which was a legendary Long March and made a sensation. Later, Xuanzang dictated his The Journey to the West, which was compiled by his disciples into a 12-volume Record of the Western Regions of Datang. But this book is mainly about the history, geography and transportation of countries seen on the road, and there is no story. As for "Datang The biography of Master Sanzang" written by his disciples Huihe and Yan Cong, it adds a lot of myths to Xuanzang's experience. Since then, the story of Tang Priest's Buddhist scriptures has been widely circulated among the people. There were poems by three monks in the Tang Dynasty in the Southern Song Dynasty, Tang Sanzang and Pan in the Jin Dynasty, Tang Sanzang's "Learning from the Western Heaven" in Wu Changling, and "Great Sage" in the Fifth Ming Dynasty, all of which laid the foundation for The Journey to the West's creation. It is also on the basis of folklore, scripts and operas that Wu Cheng'en completed this great literary masterpiece that the Chinese nation is proud of through hard re-creation. Wu Cheng'en, like a Chinese character, was born in Yangshan, Huai 'an Prefecture (now Huai 'an City, Jiangsu Province). Born in the 13th year of Hongzhi in Ming Dynasty to the early year of Zheng Dechu (1500— 15 10), died in the 10th year of Wanli (1582). Wu Cheng'en's great-grandfather and grandfather were both scholars, and both served as lecturers and lecturers in county schools. But in his father's generation, due to his poor family, the Xu family became redundant. "So he attacked the Xu family and became the boss" and became a small businessman. Nevertheless, the Wu family has not lost the tradition of reading. It is said that although his father Wu Rui is a businessman, he is not only decent, but also good at reading and talking about current affairs, which naturally has a great influence on Wu Cheng'en. Wu Cheng'en was very clever since he was a child, and he entered school very early. He was very successful as a teenager and was famous in his village. Volume 16 of The Apocalypse of Huai 'an Prefecture said that Wu Cheng'en was "quick and wise, and learned a lot of books, whether poetry or prose." However, Wu Cheng'en, as an adult, encountered many setbacks on the road to the imperial examination. He didn't make up for one-year-old Gong Sheng until he was in his forties. In his fifties, he worked as a county magistrate in Changxing, Zhejiang Province, and later as a king's residence, Jishan. This is a sinecure, with the same level as the county magistrate. Wu Cheng'en created The Journey to the West after middle age, or was considered to have done it in his later years. The exact time cannot be determined. Besides The Journey to the West, he also wrote long poems "Song of Jiro Seeking Mountains" and "In Zhi Ding". Sheyang Survival Draft consists of four volumes, including one volume of poetry and three volumes of prose, which were edited by Du Qiu after Wu Cheng'en's death. The complete works of Journey to the West have one hundred chapters, which can be divided into three parts from the big structure. The first time to the eighth time is the first part, mainly about the birth of the Monkey King, his apprentice, who made a scene in heaven. This is the most wonderful chapter in the book, very vivid. The Monkey King had a good meal in heaven and earth, which showed his rebellious character to the fullest. Chapters 8 to 12 are the second part, mainly describing the origin of Tang Priest and the reasons for learning from the scriptures. The thirteenth to the last time is the third part, mainly about Tang Priest's Buddhist scriptures. On the way, I received three apprentices, the Monkey King, Pig Bajie and Friar Sand. After eighty-one difficulties, I finally got the true scripture and got the right result. Journey to the West shows people a colorful world of ghosts and gods, and people are all amazed by the author's rich and bold artistic imagination. However, any literary work is a reflection of a certain social life, and The Journey to the West, as an outstanding representative of ghost novels, is no exception. As Lu Xun pointed out in A Brief History of China's Novels, The Journey to the West "satirized and mocked the world at that time and described it in an extravagant way". He also said: "The author's nature is to restore a beautiful and humorous drama, so although he said something sudden, he also said something confusing, which made all gods and demons have a human touch and sophisticated." That's true. Through the illusory world of ghosts and gods in The Journey to the West, the projection of real society can be seen everywhere. For example, in shaping the image of the Monkey King, the author's ideal is entrusted. The Monkey King's indomitable spirit of struggle and fearless spirit of sweeping away all monsters and ghosts reflect the wishes and demands of the people. He represents the power of justice and shows the people's belief in overcoming all difficulties. Another example is the monsters encountered on the way to the scriptures, or the illusion of natural disasters, or the symbol of evil forces. Their greed, ferocity, insidious and cunning are also the characteristics of the dark forces in feudal society. Not only that, the Heavenly Palace ruled by the Jade Emperor and the Western Heaven under the jurisdiction of the Buddha have also been heavily painted with the color of human society. The author's attitude towards the supreme ruler of feudal society is also quite interesting. In Journey to the West, there is no competent emperor at all. As for the incompetent Jade Emperor, the King of Guo who loves monsters, and the King of monks who want to use childlike innocence as medicine, they are either bad kings or tyrants. The portrayal of these images, even if handy, is of great practical significance. The Journey to the West not only has profound ideological content, but also has made great achievements in art. With rich and peculiar artistic imagination, vivid and tortuous story, vivid characters and humorous language, he has built a unique art palace in The Journey to the West. But I think the greatest artistic achievement of Journey to the West is that he successfully created two immortal artistic images, the Monkey King and Zhu Bajie. The Monkey King is the first hero in the Journey to the West and a great hero. He has unlimited skills, fearlessness and indomitable spirit of resistance. He has the extraordinary bearing of a great hero, but he also has the disadvantage of listening to compliments. He is witty, brave and humorous. And his biggest feature is that he dares to fight. Dare to fight with the supreme jade emperor, and have the reputation of "Monkey King"; If you dare to hit a monster, you will never let go of a monster and show no mercy to the monster under the golden hoop; Dare to fight against all difficulties, never flinch or bow. This is the Monkey King, a dazzling mythical hero. When it comes to Pig Bajie, his skill is far worse than that of the Monkey King, not to mention his brilliant and tall figure, but this image is also well portrayed. Pig Bajie is a cartoon character. He is honest, powerful and dare to play demons. He is the Monkey King's first right-hand man. But his mind is full of problems, delicious and delicious, taking advantage of small things, liking women and being afraid of difficulties. He often gives in, always thinking of Gao Laozhuang's daughter-in-law. He likes to lie sometimes, but he is all thumbs. From time to time, he provoked the Tang Priest to recite a spell, which made the Monkey King suffer. He even hid some private money in his ear. He has many problems, which is a bad habit of small private owners. The author's criticism of Zhu Bajie's shortcomings is severe, but it is also kind. He is not a denied figure, so people don't hate Pig, but think it is real and cute. The image of Tang Priest is well written, but it is much worse than that of the Monkey King Pig Bajie. Friar Sand lacks distinctive personality characteristics, which is the shortcoming of Journey to the West. Nevertheless, The Journey to the West's artistic achievements are still amazing. The Monkey King and Zhu Bajie, two images, with their distinctive personality characteristics, have established an immortal artistic monument in the history of China literature. A Brief Introduction to The Journey to the West Among China's classical novels, The Journey to the West, The Water Margin, Jin Ping Mei and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms are listed as four fantastic books in Ming Dynasty, which have been circulated among the people for a long time and are well-known masterpieces. The Journey to the West is the crystallization of myths, fables and comic novels. Its story is mainly about a group of anthropomorphic animals, escorting a monk to West India to learn Buddhist scriptures, and it also brings some fairy tale interest. These animals, all fairy fetuses with magical power, are playing with gods and demons in order to escort Buddhist scriptures. The fantasy world created by the author Wu Cheng'en is absurd and vivid, implying different faces of human nature. The Monkey King, originally a stone monkey, has the dexterity and nifty of a monkey, and is good at subduing demons, while Pig Bajie has the heavy and unswerving character symbol of a pig, often making a fool of himself and making a lot of jokes. Because people who want to learn Buddhism have to go through 8 1 difficulties and overcome the challenges of cattle, spider essence and white one by one in order to complete the task of learning Buddhism, which also symbolizes that everyone will encounter all kinds of difficulties and challenges in the process of pursuing their ideals. Journey to the West can be loved by ancient and modern readers, mainly because of the success of role-building. Readers can not only enjoy comedy, but also have a deep understanding of human nature and life. On the surface, Journey to the West is a funny novel, a supernatural novel. Most readers think that the purpose of the author's writing is just to make you laugh, but in fact, the motivation and purpose of the author's writing are definitely not like this. Some people think that The Journey to the West is a religious novel that expounds Buddhism, which cannot be completely summarized. Journey to the West should be a profound satire novel. We should look at it from the perspective of literature, politics or sociology in order to understand the true meaning and literary value of this book. To understand a literary work, it is best to understand it from the author's life and background. Wu Cheng'en, the author of The Journey to the West, is a well-read and talented person. However, his life experience is not good. At that time, the society was corrupt, and he wanted to take bribes in the exam. Because he had no money to bribe the scholar, he failed the exam and worked as a scholar until he was in his forties. Regarding the historical background of Journey to the West, we might as well look at the official records of Tang Priest. There was a master Xuanzang in the Tang Dynasty, that is, Master Sanzang. He once crossed the desert and went to West India to learn from the scriptures. At that time, it lasted 19 years, and more than 600 Buddhist scriptures were brought back to China, which was the backbone of The Journey to the West's story. Of course, Tang Sanzang, the protagonist in The Journey to the West, is also a figure created by the author to cater to the folk psychology, and it is difficult to be associated with the great achievements of Master Xuanzang in the official history. Tang Sanzang: Although Tang Sanzang is a master whose duty is to learn from the scriptures in his book, in fact, he is weak in personality, hypocritical and afraid of death, and lacks transcendental understanding. Although he is kind, he can't tell right from wrong. Instead, I often listen to Zhu Bajie's provocation and misunderstand the Monkey King who can see through evil tricks. Keep shouting "Wukong, help me!" After falling into a trap. In fact, the image of Tang Priest can be said to coincide with the legendary white-flour scholar. Although full of idealism, but helpless, when difficulties occur, always helpless, waiting for foreign aid. And his pedantry and ignorance of the truth seem to show the author's insinuation of politicians' incompetence. However, no matter from the perspective of religion or personal cultivation, Tang Sanzang is not a holy monk, but an ordinary person. The Monkey King So the soul of Journey to the West should be the Monkey King. The Monkey King was originally a lingshi on the fairy mountain, and turned into a monkey. Because of his courage, he was elected king by the monkeys. But one day he suddenly realized that life was limited. Although the Monkey King lived a happy life in water curtain cave, he could not live forever. So he left everything behind and left home to learn how to become an immortal, hence the name "Monkey King". The Monkey King is smart, quick-thinking and quick-acting. He learned high-powered magic, and he can change seventy-two things in one breath. He also has a magic weapon, the golden hoop stick, which can be turned into a needle and enlarged into a copper stick, as well as a somersault cloud. Wukong is still a monkey. He is clever and naughty, and likes to play tricks on others. He deliberately asked Pig Bajie to patrol the mountains and explore the road, but he became a bug and secretly looked at the lazy Pig Bajie. It can be seen that he is thoughtful and mischievous. The Monkey King was fearless, so he dared to make trouble with the Sea Dragon King, the underworld and the Heavenly Palace, and even made a bet with the Buddha. This shows his rebellious, unwilling to be bound and unconventional character. Abundant vitality, fearless spirit, upright character and optimistic character make him fearless and brave to face challenges. His spirit of taking risks and making trouble fully shows the characteristics of a hero. But competitive, arrogant and impatient are his weaknesses. Pig Bajie, who also represents the role of pleasure, can only change thirty-six. Compared with Wukong, he looks stupid and heavy, so he is often teased by Wukong. So I often play tricks on Wukong in the Tang priest's ear, which makes Wukong very painful. Bajie is characterized by gluttony and laziness, and attaches importance to material enjoyment. Quit the team when you encounter difficulties, and you can't persist. He was lured by beautiful women and gold and silver during his journey, and almost left others behind, interrupting his own path of practice. I didn't expect the incarnation of the Bodhisattva to test him. These gaffes are not criticism in Wu Cheng'en's works, but humor and satire. Pig Bajie also made a fool of himself again and again, giving readers a reflection on human greed. Sha Wujing and another disciple, Sha Wujing, wrote less with pen and ink, but showed a resolute and wooden character, silent and practical. Mr. Compass (writer): There really was a great monk who went to India to learn from the scriptures in history. But the Tang Priest on Journey to the West is by no means equal to the real Tang Priest. The real Tang Priest is not only good at learning, but also has great perseverance and courage. When he is in trouble, he is not afraid to back down, and he is committed to getting the truth. But in The Journey to the West, Tang Sanzang was timid and cowardly, and even fell off his horse. Journey to the West, a small group, actually represents a kingdom. Tang Sanzang represents a timid, weak, ignorant, disloyal and treacherous bad king. The theme of Journey to the West is actually to cultivate the mind, because the process of learning from the West is not only a symbol of the process of constantly correcting our personality defects. And all kinds of monsters in the story are actually the embodiment of human desire. Greed, laziness, weakness and even ignorance are actually some characteristics that human beings have always needed to correct. Similarly, kindness, simplicity and courage are also treasures of human nature. These characteristics are shown by the characters in the story and the fighting with ghosts and gods. The story tells us that life needs exercise, so as to achieve the true state of truth, goodness and beauty.