The Journey to the West is a famous mythological novel based on folk creation and recreated by scripture writers. The book is divided into three parts: the first part, chapters 1 to 7, tells the story of the birth of the Monkey King and the Three Kingdoms; The second part, eight to twelve, tells the story of Tang Taizong's ghost, explaining the reasons for learning from the scriptures; The third part, 13 to 100, is about the Monkey King, Pig and Friar Sand escorting Tang Priest to fetch Buddhist scriptures from the West. Along the way, the master and the apprentice fought against the devil and went through eighty-one difficulties. Finally, I arrived at the Lingshan Mountain in the West Tianzhu Kingdom, met the Tathagata Buddha, and was escorted back to the East Land. The four people also achieved positive results and became Buddhas.
The third part is the story of Buddhist scriptures, which is the main body of the book and accounts for most of the space. However, the first part is the most vivid and wonderful part of the article. From the Monkey King's extraordinary background, the process of seeking immortality and enlightenment, and the plot of trouble in the three realms (making trouble in Heaven), he created an idealized hero image full of magic, full of contempt for imperial power, miraculous, daring to rebel and positive and optimistic. The second part connects the first part and the third part, which plays a transitional role in structure, but the story itself shows obvious religious superstition in thought. The third part is the story of learning from the Buddhist scriptures, which consists of 4/kloc-0 stories which are relatively independent and interrelated, and is connected by four disciples who went to the Western Heaven to learn from the Buddhist scriptures, which shows the Monkey King's fearless, brave, positive and optimistic fighting spirit and good moral character.
What kind of image is the Monkey King? He is an idealized hero of the so-called "Lin Feng" in the author's mind, and the author describes and praises him with all his enthusiasm. Its characters have the following characteristics:
First of all, the Monkey King is a man of extraordinary birth (a celestial being, a feeling of the sun and the moon, a cultivation of heaven and earth), smart and witty.
He studied Taoism from Bodhi's ancestor, and learned a thousand miles, and seventy-two changes. Later, he got a golden hoop with a weight of 13500 Jin in the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea. After he was caught by Erlang God, the Jade Emperor ordered him to be sent to the demon chopping platform for execution. As a result, he was "tied to the demon beheading column, cut by a knife and axe, stabbed by a gun, and unwilling to hurt himself." Fire and thunder can't hurt a hair of his. He burned in the gossip furnace of the old gentleman in Taishang for 7749 days, but he didn't burn him to ashes. Instead, he refined a pair of critical eyes. During the riots in the Heavenly Palace, 100,000 heavenly soldiers were beaten out of the water by him. After escaping from the gossip furnace, I "played the Nine Obsidian Stars, closed myself to the outside world, and the four heavenly kings disappeared without a trace". In the Heavenly Palace, "there is no God to stop the East from attacking the West." Later, Pingyao killed the devil in the process of learning from the scriptures and overcoming difficulties and obstacles, showing superhuman wisdom, courage and strength.
Second, the Monkey King was a rebellious figure who despised imperial power and feudal hierarchy.
Theocratic rule in heaven is the projection of feudal rule on earth. The highest ruler of the celestial world is the Jade Emperor, but the Monkey King made a scene in the sky and didn't care about the Jade Emperor. He calls himself a "born saint". After disturbing the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea and the Ten Kings of Hades, he was accused of going to the Jade Emperor. In the eyes of ordinary people and God, the Jade Emperor is the supreme ruler with great dignity and authority. Venus on Taibai "worships" at first sight, but the Monkey King "stands by and does not salute." The Jade Emperor asked, "Is that demon fairy? Wukong replied: "I am! "The immortals were scared to death after hearing this. They thought it was damn to be so rude to the Jade Emperor! Damn it! (Fourth time) Later, the Jade Emperor sent heavenly generals to subdue him. He was defeated and forced to admit that he was "the Monkey King". The second time I saw the Jade Emperor, I didn't bow down. "He just sang a grateful sigh. He refused to admit the strict hierarchy of the stars in the Heavenly Palace, but "no matter how high or low", "all treat each other as brothers" and "all treat each other as friends" (the fifth time). The sky, like the secular world, pays attention to the pecking order, and the concept of hierarchy is very strict. So he was not invited to the flat peach party of the Queen Mother of the West, and he was greatly dissatisfied. He stole Xiantao, Xianjiu and Xianpin, and then stole the elixir of the old gentleman, which messed up the pecking order in the Heavenly Palace. The jade emperor could not think about it, so he stepped forward and surrendered. The Tathagata asked him why he "wanted to seize the throne of the emperor"? He replied: "As the saying goes,' The emperor takes turns to do it and comes to my house next year'." Just teach him to move out and give me the heavenly palace. If you don't let me, you must stir up trouble and never make it clear! The Jade Emperor put him to death on the charge of "regardless of the top and bottom, with one heart and one mind". "It means that he has no imperial power, which destroys the ceremony of this manner and disrupts the hierarchical order from top to bottom. Even when he was appeased by the Tathagata, converted to Buddhism, and protected Tang to go to the Western Heaven to learn Buddhist scriptures, he was very disrespectful to the rulers of the Buddhist and Taoist circles, such as the Jade Emperor, Tathagata and Laojun. When they meet, they call themselves "old gods", "sing a song" and call themselves "old grandsons". The thirty-third time I wrote that he borrowed the jade emperor's day and said, "If you don't obey, go to the Lingxiao Hall and fight with your sword! "In the struggle, he found that the monster turned out to be a green cow beside the old gentleman, so he went to the Jade Emperor and the old gentleman to apologize and reprimanded them for" not clamping tightly "and" letting the monster go vertically ". In the era of feudal autocracy, the emperor is the representative of the supreme power, sacred and inviolable, determined by God's will and inviolable. But the Monkey King didn't take these seriously at all, showing a strong rebellious and rebellious spirit. Denying the concept of hierarchy and demanding to break the inherent pecking order, especially the contempt for the imperial rule based on the theory of destiny and descent, may only appear after the middle of the Ming Dynasty when citizens' thoughts rise and demand a place in social life and ideology. From the Monkey King's ideological character and spiritual temperament, we clearly smell a new era breath of breaking the old order.
Third, the Monkey King is still a positive, optimistic, courageous and responsible person.
On the way to learn from the scriptures, there are many difficulties and dangers. He is never afraid to back down, always positive, optimistic and brave. Hearing that there was a monster, Tang Priest cried, and Bajie was frightened. Only the Monkey King was very happy and thought it was "business". He takes pleasure in fighting and killing monsters. The sixty-seventh time, it was written that the old man Tololi asked him to exorcise demons, and he sang "thank you"? Pig Bajie said, "Even his grandfather is not very affectionate when he hears that he is carrying a demon." He does not shy away from danger and is not afraid of difficulties. He knows that there are demons in the mountains, and he prefers to go to the demon mountain. Pig Bajie is a jealous man, especially the Monkey King. He seldom speaks well of him, but he also praises the Monkey King as a brave man who is "not afraid of digging deep soil, chopping fire with an axe and frying pan". He often fights the devil with perseverance and indefatigability. For example, from chapter 50 to chapter 52, he wrote that he had a fight with the one-horned king in Jinshan. After a day and a night of continuous fighting, the Vietnam War became stronger and stronger. Even if I lost the battle and was crushed under three mountains, I wouldn't be discouraged. The book says, "its ambition is still there, its natural climate is high, and its voice is loud." He never admits defeat and is still a hero. In Pingdingshan, Tang Priest, Pig Bajie and Friar Sand were all arrested. He fought alone and was caught twice, but he persisted in fighting and finally turned defeat into victory. At Xiaoleiyin Temple, he was first held hostage by the golden yellow-browed monster, but only wrapped in white cloth. He fought tenaciously and finally won. He is always full of optimism and self-confidence in very difficult times (for example, from the 73rd to the 77th, he wrote that he was put into a bottle of yin and yang by a monster in Lion Camel Mountain and almost died), so Cao Huyou, the god on duty, called him a "fairy on earth". A word "hi" tells the most important character of the Monkey King. This may be an important reason why countless readers like the Monkey King's image and Journey to the West through the ages. The seventy-seventh time I wrote that all four of them were caught by the three monsters, and their performances were in sharp contrast: Tang Zeng was crying, but the Monkey King was caught and killed this time. Pig Friar Sand was helpless and had to cry with the sound. Sun Wu smiled and said, "Don't worry, master, don't cry. No matter what he does, he will never be hurt. " We won't leave until the old devil is quiet. What kind of spiritual realm is this! This spiritual realm is obviously extracted from the positive factors of Chinese national character, which contains profound national culture.
Fourthly, the Monkey King is also a figure with a very clear concept of good and evil.
In this respect, the Monkey King and Tang Priest are in sharp contrast. Although the Tang priest is the spiritual leader of the Buddhist scriptures team, he is often an ignorant fool who does not distinguish between man and demon, good and evil. The Monkey King not only has the ability of panning for gold, but also can distinguish between true and false and know monsters. More importantly, his concept of friend or foe is very clear, and his love for monks is also very clear. I hate the demons that harm the people and do everything except evil; For those who are mutilated, they help those in need and save lives. He fought against the devil all the way, of course, in order to overcome the obstacles on the way to learn from the Buddhist scriptures, protect the Tang Priest's smooth passage, and complete the task of learning from the Western Heaven. However, he often takes the initiative to attack, completely out of the rough road, drawing a sword to help, killing the people. Gao Laozhuang's "Pig Bajie Collection" is naturally based on the Buddha's statutes. But at the beginning, the Monkey King took the initiative to kill the people. In the land of birds and chickens, he swept away demons, distinguished right from wrong, avenged the infinite country, and took the initiative to completely eliminate demons. In China, when the bus was late, the Monkey King offered to help people in need. Rescue those monks who are oppressed and exploited to fight for Taoist priests. Therefore, the young monks were very moved and said, "The Great Sage in the sky is omnipotent, loyal and loyal, resentful of the world, helping the needy and caring for the widowed." In Tongjianhe, Chenjiazhuang, he killed the people, sacrificed two children to the king of love, and got rid of the goldfish monster who ate a pair of boys every year, otherwise it would bring disaster to the people. The Monkey King said to Pig Bajie, "Be considerate of others" must wait until the king comes to dinner, which is the whole story. Otherwise, it would be too ugly to teach him to bring disaster and harm. Although he is mainly poking fun at Zhu Bajie here, he also shows sympathy for the oppressed. When crossing the flaming mountain, Monkey not only fanned out the flaming mountain to ensure the death of Tang Priest, but also deliberately fanned 7749 fans to cut off the fire, so as to make the weather smooth and benefit the people. Most of the demons he destroyed along the way harmed the Tang Priest and the people. Therefore, in the process of reading, readers often naturally regard those monsters as the embodiment of monsters, bureaucrats, local tyrants and evil gentry that endanger people in real life, which is very natural. In this way, the Monkey King's struggle with them is logical. This is an important reason why this image has won readers' love and praise.
The Monkey King's courage to fight, not afraid of difficulties, is more prominent in comparison with Tang Priest and Pig Bajie. In The Journey to the West, the images of Tang Priest and Pig Bajie are not only typical, but also used to better contrast the image of the Monkey King. The author criticized the Tang Priest for being cowardly and timid, like a pustule, which set off the Monkey King's fighting courage. Pig Bajie's lack of self-confidence and perseverance, or his tendency of "parting luggage" and "breaking up", or his chickened out, all show that the Monkey King persisted in fighting despite difficulties.
Comrade Mao Zedong once mentioned the story of the Monkey King in his masterpieces "Seven Laws" and "Comrade Guo Moruo", praised the Monkey King's spirit of daring to fight and sweep away the goblins, and pointed out the practical significance of the Monkey King's artistic image. "Golden monkey's rise was a great success, and Yuyu clarified Wan Li. Today, I cheer for Sun Shengda, just because the demon fog is coming again. " Because the Monkey King's struggle to make trouble in Heaven and fight against goblins contains some positive contents of social criticism and objectively reflects some experiences of social struggle. If we use Marxism to analyze and critically summarize these things and give them new contents after transformation, we can make the past serve the present. For example, in the face of monsters like the Heavenly Palace and its rulers, the Monkey King dared to wave weapons to meet the enemy without the slightest timidity, until the Jade Emperor was frightened, and the mountain soldiers would be dumbfounded. This shows that some things in the world seem sacred and powerful on the surface, but in fact they have no great power. As long as you dare to fight, there is nothing. For example, the Monkey King's "critical eye" is best at identifying all kinds of monsters that eat people. Twenty-seven times, Mrs. Bones, a demon, turned into a "beautiful daughter", a kind-hearted "old woman" and an "old man", but failed to escape the Monkey King's "critical eye" and finally succeeded under the Monkey King's golden hoop. Monkey King Thrice Defeats the Skeleton Demon's struggle actually reflects the knowledge and experience of some kind of struggle. It tells us that we must be vigilant and be good at identifying those cunning and changeable "monsters" who eat people. We must not be careless and lay down our weapons, or we will be deceived. Such stories in The Journey to the West still inspire us today.
We should also divide the image of the Monkey King into two parts, analyze and criticize it. On the one hand, we should see that his struggle has positive social significance, and at the same time, we should also see that the shaping of this image is deeply branded with the author's thoughts and has serious limitations of the times and classes. Although the Monkey King once made a scene in the Heavenly Palace, and even shouted out the grandiloquence that "emperors take turns to do it and come to my house next year", he did not deny that the Heavenly Palace needed an "emperor" to rule, and he later expressed regret for his past troubles in the Heavenly Palace. He said to Guanyin, "I know I have repented." Later, he pretended to be a subject in front of the Jade Emperor and said, "I have converted to life now. I will stick to the teaching method and never cheat my heart again." This situation is understandable. As can be seen from the description in the works, the main reasons that prompted the Monkey King to rebel against the Heavenly Palace for many times were that "the Jade Emperor despised virtue" and "he could not choose people". In a word, it was because the Jade Emperor was fatuous that he raised the anti-flag and called himself "the Great Sage of Monkey" to fight against the Heavenly Palace. But the Tathagata and the Jade Emperor were still "strong" after all, so he was crushed under the Five Elements Mountain and suffered. Once he thinks that he will no longer be deceived, he can get rid of the burden of Wuxing Mountain and help Tang Priest to learn from the scriptures to save all living beings in the East, and then he will naturally "convert to life". The Monkey King only opposed the "bad king" and did not completely deny the emperor. For example, he met a "good king" who "loves CoCo Lee" like King Yuhua, and even accepted the request of three princes to "worship him as a teacher and learn from him to protect the country", and enthusiastically taught the prince divine power and martial arts. Visible in heaven and hell, although he showed his contempt and resistance to the Jade Emperor and Yama right, but in his mind, it is impossible to completely deny the feudal system and the feudal emperor's thoughts. This is like his somersault cloud, which can turn over 108 thousand Li, but can't jump out of the palm of Tathagata's hand. He has never been able to make trouble outside the "palm" of the feudal system, and his thoughts have always been tightly bound in the category of feudal thoughts. In the final analysis, this is a reflection of the limitations of the author's world outlook and the result of the limitations of the times and classes.
However, the Monkey King also has obvious weaknesses. He is impatient and active, has a good reputation, is competitive, wears many hats and likes practical jokes. These weaknesses make this image more vivid and friendly.
Generally speaking, although the Monkey King is an image full of fantasy, it is not imagined by the author at will, but rooted in the soil of national culture and social life, which summarizes quite rich social and historical contents and ideological and cultural implications. To sum up, the ideological connotation of the Monkey King's image includes two aspects: on the one hand, it is the historical accumulation of national culture and does not belong to the same era; On the other hand, it is a reflection of social thoughts and social life since the Ming Dynasty, and it reflects the distinctive spirit of the times. The Monkey King's brave and witty, positive and optimistic, clear love and hate, brave and humorous, taciturn character undoubtedly embodies the essence of our national character.
References:
1, Journey to the West in Wu Cheng'en
2. Editor-in-Chief of China Ancient Literature Monographic Study.
3. Zhang Shushen, author of new journey to the west
4. Liu Heyu, editor-in-chief of History of Ancient Chinese Literature.
5. Zhang Tianyi, author of Journey to the West.