16th-century adventure allegory art asia asian buddhism c17 central-asia children china chinese chinese-literature classic classic-fiction classics eastern fairy-tale fantasy fiction folk-tales folklore folktales general-fiction heroes japan legend legends literature magic myth mythology mythology-folklore myths novel religion religious-fiction retelling sixteenth-century spiritual spiritualism tao taoism trickster world-literature

Probably the most popular book in the history of the Far East, this classic sixteenth century novel is a combination of picaresque novel and folk epic that mixes satire, allegory, and history into a rollicking adventure. It is the story of the roguish Monkey and his encounters with major and minor spirits, gods, demigods, demons, ogres, monsters, and fairies. This translation, by the distinguished scholar Arthur Waley, is the first accurate English version; it makes available to the Western reader a faithful reproduction of the spirit and meaning of the original.