The Journey Begins

The young monk Xuanzang sets out on his westward journey. His journey is difficult and filled with dangers. He runs into trouble immediately when he is captured and nearly killed by the Monster King and his ogres.  He escapes with the help of a mysterious old man, only to be attacked on the road later by tigers, snakes and more monsters.  Eventually he meets the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. Together they face bandits and wild animals, and Sun Wukong must make a difficult decision.

This is the 6th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen'en.  That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled from Chang'an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book Tangseng and his companions face the 81 tribulations that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.

The story is written, as much as possible, using the 600-word vocabulary of HSK3. It is presented in Simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, and includes an English version and glossary.  An audiobook is available on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel and also on the Imagin8 Press website.