Buddhism in China: Journey to the West

Who was Monkey?

The Journey to the West was a novel published in China in 1592 (16th Century.)  It tells the story of a Buddhist monk named Xuanzang who traveled from central China in the mid 7th century, across the Himilayas to India where he studied Buddhism.  He wanted to learn the ancient Buddhist texts and bring them all back to China where Buddhism was still a new idea.

If Xuanzang is the hero of his journey, then his three companions are his allies: Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) and Sha Wujing (A strong man called Sandy also known as the Water Buffalo.)  The three companions were probably not based on real people. They are considered folklore and have been very popular in China.  Each of them goes on the journey to atone for their sinful lives by helping Xuanzang.

You can read about Monkey by following the two links below.

The Journey to the West part 1

The Journey to the West part 2

Your assignment:

Create a book about Buddhism in China.  Your book will include information about The Journey to the West and about Buddhism in China.  Your book will take the form of a Tibetan prayer book like the ones pictured below.

For this project, you will work in teams of three students.  Each student will make one section of your book.  To make your book use three pieces of legal size paper folded accordion style and taped together into a single long book like this:

To start, fold a single piece of paper in half like this:

Then fold each half back the other way, in half again like this.

Your end result should open up and lay flat.  Make three.

One student will have the cover and pages 1 through 4.  Like this.

This student will do the following pages:

• A cover page including a title, artwork and the authors full names  
• 1. Who was the real life Xuanzang? 
• 2. What was The Journey to the West?
• 3. Summary of slide show #1 from Asia Society Kids.
• 4. Summary of slide show #1 from Asia Society Kids.

One student will have pages 5 through 8.  

This student will do the following pages:

• 5. Summary of slide show #2 from Asia Society Kids.
• 6. Summary of slide show #2 from Asia Society Kids.
• 7. What are the Four Noble Truths?
• 8  What is The Eightfold Path?

One student will have pages 9 through 12 and the back cover.

This student will do the following pages:

• 9. What is Pure Land Buddhism?
• 10. What is Chan Buddhism?
• 11.  Where is Buddhism today?
• 12. Who is the Dalai Lama?
• Back cover artwork and list of sources used.

Each partner has $3.00 to spend on writing to be divided between the four pages in any way you choose.  Each page must include an illustration as well.

When everyone has finished their work, put your pages together into a single book. 

Use the websites above, the packet on Buddhism from Stanford and other sources to complete your project. 

Buddhist prayers books like this are known for fairly simple, colorful artwork. You may write yours in Chinese characters going down, (This counts as an illustration for that page.) but include an English translation. You may number the pages.

Your project will be graded on overall appearance, quality of the writing included, historical accuracy and the creative touches your group adds to the book.

Projects are due on Friday. You will have time in class today, Wednesday and on Friday.

Just for fun here is a trailer for a movie based on The Journey to the West.  The Journey to the West continues to be popular in China.  There have been several movies and a television series based on the novel.