Key words: Journey to the West: the Monkey King rebelled in pursuit of freedom and fought against injustice and evil.
Abstract: the Monkey King is the central figure in The Journey to the West. His story is divided into two stages: first, from the rule of Huaguoshan to the havoc in Heaven, which mainly shows his rebellious character of resisting theocracy and pursuing freedom; The second is to escort Tang Priest to fetch Buddhist scriptures from the West, which shows his fighting spirit of defying hardships and conquering evil forces. Before and after the two stages, the personality is basically unified. This paper discusses the multi-level characteristics of the Monkey King, the central figure in The Journey to the West.
Although The Journey to the West is a ghost novel, it was not invented by the author. Under the confusing content of this book, there is an attack on profound social problems. Wu Cheng'en lived in the Ming Dynasty, where the ruling class was politically corrupt and decadent, and the people were miserable. The order of the whole society is in a state of chaos. The Journey to the West is the product of the collision between the author's thoughts and reality. The supreme jade emperor in the book is exactly the same as the hedonistic and incompetent feudal rulers in the world, except that the same straw bag uses different skins. Capturing the Monkey King Tathagata for the Jade Emperor was just a group of accomplices of feudal emperors to suppress the people's resistance struggle. The author deliberately created such a just and brave image of the Monkey King, in order to form a strong contrast with this group of fairies and monsters. The Monkey King is a fighter who defies authority and dares to resist. He is a hero who can save the tiger from the dragon. And there is no lack of human touch. The author endowed the Monkey King with infinite courage and skills, which made him a great threat to these ghosts and gods. In the Monkey King's eyes, the throne of the ruler is not made of copper and iron, it will last for thousands of years. In his view, "Lingxiao Hall is not his long time, and all the kings have passed it down." He didn't follow the ceremony of the monarch and the minister, and he was distinguished from others. It's about justice, and the brave is king. Therefore, he dared to provoke the jade emperor without fear and put forward the "reactionary" slogan of "the emperors take turns to do it and come to my house next year"; Dare to expose the cowardly and incompetent nature hidden under the solemn appearance of the gods. The Monkey King was born in Guo Hua with beautiful scenery, singing and dancing, and fragrant melons and fruits. Here, it is full of equality and friendship, and it can be said that "wolves and insects are companions, tigers and leopards are groups, roes are friends, and apes are relatives". This is a paradise on earth, a paradise in the Monkey King's eyes where he can live freely without exploitation and oppression, and the only pure land where he can stay away from all the filth and noise. The Heavenly Palace, where the immortal Buddha lives, is a hierarchical ruling institution headed by the Jade Emperor. Although the regions, customs and customs of the countries through which Tang Priest's disciples and disciples went to learn from the West are different, demons are rampant and the law of the jungle can be seen everywhere. Some kings do not hesitate to kill monks in order to seek immortality from evil ways. The king of the bhikkhu kingdom was cruel enough to eat111the heart of a young child. Even the "Elysium" where Tang Priest learned Buddhist scriptures in the West is not as peaceful and perfect as he imagined. Only the water curtain cave in Huaguoshan, where the Monkey King lives, is "not under the jurisdiction of Kirin, not under the control of Phoenix, not under the constraint of human throne". On the way to learn from the scriptures, the Monkey King personally experienced, heard and witnessed all kinds of ugly and dark phenomena in heaven, earth and even the western world, and felt the loveliness and preciousness of Huaguoshan. He promised the same kind of Huaguoshan: "After success, I will come back to be happy with you." Similarly, although Pig Bajie has been reduced from a commanding marshal of the canopy to an ugly pig, I think Pig Bajie doesn't miss the carefree time of being a god in heaven so much. What he misses most is the happy life in the world. It can be seen that the so-called heaven is actually a ruthless vanity fair compared with the world.
Journey to the West works realize the perfect unity of reality and myth. The beauty of Wu Cheng'en's writing about the Monkey King is that he has the power to travel everywhere, but he is not invincible and omnipotent. The Tang Priest and his party are going to cross the flaming mountain. The Monkey King designed Princess Iron Fan's treasure fan, but was tricked back by Niu Wangmo who pretended to be Pig Bajie. He is very picky, but occasionally he makes mistakes. The Monkey King fought Erlang God and turned himself into a small temple. The rest of his body became so lifelike that only the monkey tail behind him could not handle it, so he had to turn it into a flagpole and stand behind the small temple. But the flagpole should always stand in front, and it is this tail that makes Erlang God see through the Monkey King's strategy. In this way, the Monkey King's image gives readers more sense of reality.
The Journey to the West is a famous masterpiece in classical novels. The Journey to the West has been translated into English, French, German, Italian and Russian. The Encyclopedia Britannica called The Journey to the West "one of the most precious magical novels in China". Therefore, the multi-level personality characteristics of Journey to the West, China and the Monkey King are shown in the following aspects:
1. The fighting spirit of conquering evil forces despite difficulties and dangers. He has the heroic nature of eliminating evil and helping the weak to eliminate evil. He swept away monsters not only to protect Tang Priest's scriptures, but also to kill people. He is brave, aggressive, brave, talented and knowledgeable.
On the way to learn the scriptures, he swept away monsters, not only to protect Tang Priest from learning the scriptures, but also to eliminate disasters for the people. He wants to eradicate all monsters and let the darkness pass. He has a strong spirit of saving the world, so his struggle with monsters is just. He is courageous, talented and knowledgeable, and his struggle with monsters is just. For example, in The Kingdom of Monks, the Monkey King learned that the monster wanted to use the hearts of110 children to decoct medicine, but he had to take the monster's "black heart soup" to subdue the monster and save11. He used a banana fan three times to put out the fire in the Flame Mountain, which not only opened the way to the west, but also saved the suffering of the local people. After Gao Lao celebrated, he did not hesitate to get rid of the exorcism, saying, "You are lucky, I have a business ... this is to take care of the doctor, and the second is to cure my eyes." (back to the 18th) In the sacrificial country, the Monkey King cheated the relics and kuya Mimi from Wansheng Princess? Incite the boss? Convex? Hey? Species that prey on mushrooms? Spinal collapse? The corridor doesn't poke? Southern catalpa barrel material? ? What's the story? Zheng? Call jojo? Suck; ぬ ぬ? Is it beautiful? Hey? Γ? Euprocreation？ Bran base? I'm sorry? What happened to the emperor? lt； /SPAN>。
Second, he pursues freedom, opposes theocracy, and still despises deities and buddhas. Being a Buddhist does not mean that he obeys God and Buddha unconditionally. He still insists on an independent personality, has a strong sense of self, dares to challenge all authority, always maintains abundant fighting enthusiasm and never gives up. No matter who you are or how high your position is, he still insists on the spirit of returning to democracy until the end of the Buddhist paradise. The Monkey King's pursuit of freedom began with the most fundamental natural life. He was born without father and mother, and from the beginning, he went beyond the restrictions and constraints of patriarchal clan system and society on people in spirit. As a "natural stone monkey", the Monkey King was born in Guo Hua, the proud country of Dongsheng. After his birth, he lived a free life in the blessed land of Fairy Mountain, which made the Monkey King appear defiant in the face of traditional bondage. For example, the reason why The Journey to the West wrote about the Monkey King causing havoc in Heaven is very complicated, but it can be reflected from two aspects that the Monkey King pursues freedom and opposes theocracy. The jade emperor is in a daze, and the immortal is mediocre. They only know the monarch, the monarch, the minister and the minister, and they only talk about benevolence and righteousness and play tricks; But I don't know talent and talent, and I can't use people. Summon the Monkey King and seal Marvin, which is already overqualified. It is even more interesting to instruct Sheng Da, a monkey who was wrapped in peaches since childhood, to guard the Flat Peach Garden. What's so strange about picking some and tasting them? Nature is different from stealing in the park. Second, the Monkey King, as the demon fairy on the earth, never thinks he is worse than anyone else, and the Dragon King of the Four Seas is just his "neighbor"; As the Great Sage of Qi Tian, he never thought he was nobler than anyone else, and the gods of He Han were also his "friends". The unrestrained and free life became his paradise. It is this seemingly innate concept of freedom and equality that determines his arrogance and ignorance in the face of hierarchical order, which makes him particularly arrogant and willful. Therefore, once he feels humiliated or oppressed, "the strong want me to be respected, and the hero only dares to fight for the first place" has become his general way to deal with the hierarchical order of the Heavenly Palace. This arrogant beauty essentially belongs to Shu Han in the new century. The result of the development of the Monkey King's concept of freedom and equality was crushed by Tathagata's design, and he completely lost his freedom. That is to say, the Monkey King caused havoc in Heaven, not because of his material greed, not because the Jade Emperor "can't employ people", but because of the inevitability of the development of his innate concept of freedom and equality. It should be noted that the author's attitude towards the Buddha is ridicule, and his attitude towards the Monkey King is appreciation.
In my opinion, it is a true portrayal of the good and evil of the characters' souls, and it is also a touchstone to distinguish the demons in religious stories from the rebellious heroes in fairy tales. This is an important issue that cannot be discriminated against.
In the underworld, the monkey genus was forcibly crossed out of the book of life and death, making him a real free man who transcends the three realms and is not in the five elements. Therefore, in his eyes, the emperor and the farmer are not free. What he pursues is absolute freedom. Therefore, as a symbol of the existing order and authority, the Buddha always tries to bind him, while the Monkey King constantly resists this bondage, and the most symbolic thing is the tight hoop. Facing the Tang Priest, he hit him with a stick and sternly reprimanded Guanyin: "You are the teacher of seven buddha, the compassionate leader! How can you hurt me? " "You let me! Since you let me out, Just let me have fun. ................................................................................................................................................ ..................... (15th time) all the Buddhas praised the Tathagata Dharma. the Monkey King said to the Tang Priest, "Master, I am a Buddha now, just like you, so I have to wear a golden hoop. Why do you want to tighten my hoop? Untie a loose hoop spell as soon as possible and smash it to pieces. Don't let that sage and bodhisattva play tricks on others again. " For the hundredth time, King Zhu Ziguo urged the Monkey King to save Queen Jinsheng. The monster laughed at him as a slave of Zhu Ziguo. He scolded, "I was invited by Zhu Xi and benefited by Monta. My old grandson is thousands of times taller than that throne. He regards them as parents and gods. How can you say the word "slave"! It can be seen (the seventy-first time) that he didn't want to pretend to be a servant, but also maintained his arrogant personality independence, which reflected the author's criticism of the old personality ideal and the pursuit of the new personality ideal, and was actually a criticism of the closed-door policy of the Ming Dynasty. Tang priest is a complex image of feudal intellectuals and devout Buddhists. On the way to learn from the scriptures, he showed omnipotence. When I heard that there were monsters, hundreds of millions of people were frightened, unable to sit in the saddle, and had difficulties in learning Buddhism. Except for begging for mercy, he could only laugh. There is a sharp contrast between Tang Priest and the Monkey King. The Monkey King is positive and optimistic. Because of this, he will devote himself to every battle, actively fight and be invincible. So when I arrived in the Western Heaven, I named it "The Buddha can be defeated without war". For example, the Monkey King's escort to Tang Priest's Buddhist scriptures can be said to be a model to realize personal value. In the process of pursuing personal success, we can't do without teamwork. In the process of pursuing personal success, we can't do without teamwork, because no one can do everything, even if he is as powerful as the Monkey King, he can't complete the task of learning from the scriptures alone. However, we can make up for our own shortcomings by establishing interpersonal interdependence and helping others. For a team, whether it is strong, perfect, lively or peaceful, it is very important for partners to get along and cooperate well. Only in this way can we finally achieve personal and team success.
Thirdly, the Monkey King's personality is the perfect combination of animal nature and human social attributes. The monkey's intelligence, playfulness, love of freedom, courage to resist and human self-esteem blend together, which makes him have multi-level personality characteristics.
The Monkey King has the attributes of animals and people. He is a monkey, a man, a god and a monkey, which shows his animal nature. He is very active and says he is a monkey. His appearance is a lonely face, with a concave face, a sharp mouth, fleshless cheeks and round legs. He is a monkey. When he stayed at Wang's house for the night, Wang described him as a "kidnapper's face, awkward". At Baolin Temple, the monk saw him and said, "He is really ugly, with a lonely face, two yellow eyes, one hitting his forehead, and fangs coming out, just like crab meat inside and bones outside." (Back to 36) Although he can change seventy-two, he can't change his animal nature. First, the monkey's tail turned into a temple when fighting Erlang God, and the tail had to be turned into a flagpole to stand behind, and the result was seen by Erlang God; The second is the monkey's red ass. (The 43rd time) The Tang Priest and his disciples were captured by King Jinjiao, and the Monkey King disguised himself as a little demon to save them. When Pig saw this, he said, "Although you changed your head, your ass hasn't changed. Do you have two pieces of red on your ass? I knew it was you. " The Monkey King went to the kitchen, touched the bottom of the stove and blackened his ass. Pig laughed when he saw it. "The monkey went for a while and made a black ass." Nevertheless, the monster saw one of the defects; The third is the instinct of monkeys. The Monkey King listened to Bodhi's words and said, "I'm so happy. He scratched his cheek and smiled, and he couldn't stop dancing." It is said that he is a human being, and he has all the social characteristics such as his feelings, his fame, his ambition, his high hat, and his courage to fight and resist. Moreover, he "couldn't bear to be angry all his life" to pursue a free life, and even whimsically pursued a "super-ascending" three realms, jumping out of the five elements and living a freer immortal life, so he crossed Qian Shan and went to the sea to visit the immortals to learn from them. This is completely in line with human psychology. For example, after Bai was attacked, Tang Priest insisted on driving the Monkey King away, and the Monkey King's loyalty was not understood. When it was irretrievable, he insisted on saluting the Tang Priest and saying goodbye. The Tang Priest refused, pulled out a hair and became a Sanzang. He bowed around the master. He also specially told Friar Sand, "If a demon catches Master later, you can say that I am his big disciple, a hairy monster in the west, and I dare not hurt my master when I hear my tricks." Back in Huaguoshan, the novel wrote: When the Great Sage looked into the sky, it turned out to be the sound of the tides in the eastern sea. When he saw it, he remembered the Tang Priest, and he couldn't stop crying on his cheeks. He stopped for a long time. "(back to the 27th) There are many descriptions of the ups and downs of this emotion. Besides, his reputation is competitive. He wears a top hat. The Monkey King's two rebellions against heaven were related to this. For the first time, he boarded the celestial world for the first time and was named Bi. At first, he was diligent and earnest. Later, he learned that this was a "dirty" humble official position and felt greatly fooled and insulted. He overthrew the case and beat the heaven. The second time, the Queen Mother held a flat peach party to entertain all kinds of immortals. The Monkey King became the Great Sage of the Monkey, thinking that he could be a "master". Unexpectedly, there was no place for him at the event. In a rage, he disturbed the event and ran back to Huaguoshan. When the heavenly soldiers and generals were ordered to encirclement and suppression, their dissatisfaction turned into resistance. Shouted out the fierce slogan of "the strong want me to respect, the hero dares to fight for the first place" and "the emperor takes turns to do it and come to my house next year". The spider spirit in Pansi Cave was bathed in the spring water of Luowei, and I thought, "If I hit it, all I have to do is stir the stick into the pool and kill it, which will only degrade my old grandson's reputation. As the saying goes, "Good men don't fight with women." It is really bad for a man like me to kill these girls. "He refused to fight, so he caused a lot of trouble. Wait, these all reflect human nature. The Monkey King is a god, and he is invincible. He relied on the means of "lowering dragons to lure tigers, kicking the sky to dig wells": seventy-two changes, 108,000 miles of somersaults, and the wishful gold hoop in his hand, big and small, weighed 13,500 Jin. Without these magical skills. Heaven can't be used, and monsters can't be removed. So he is an artistic model of the trinity of monkey man and god, and an idealized mythical hero. These personality characteristics of Wukong reflect the rebellious spirit of the oppressed and the beautiful ideal and strong desire of the working people to eliminate all evil forces in the world. So this image has always been loved by the broad masses of the people.
In short, we believe that to fully grasp the Monkey King's personality characteristics, we should not only understand the cultural connotation of this image from the perspective of the author's era, but also from the perspective of national culture and universal human spirit. From the above argument, it is not difficult to see that the Monkey King is actually a fighter image in feudal times; The basic core of its image is the spirit of struggle and enterprising for the benefit of mankind. With the changes of the times, human beings change with each passing day. Only these spirits embodied in the Monkey King will inspire and inspire the present generation and future generations forever!
References:
1, Journey to the West (Inner Mongolia University Press), September 1 Edition, 200 1.
2. Hu Feng's Five Thousand Years Up and Down (Inner Mongolia People's Publishing House)
3. Cao Bingjian: Exploration and pursuit in the sense of multiculturalism-a new theory on the image of the Monkey King in the Journey to the West.
4. Tan Bang and the Novel History of Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hubei People's Publishing House, March 2005.
5. Cao Bingjian's Deep Implication of the Monkey King Image and New National Spirit, Journal of Henan University, No.5, 1996.
6. "the Monkey King is a good employee"
7, Chen "rogue rogue consciousness"