5th grader picks up stones in Journey to the West, no one has been able to do it for 400 years, experts give up

A fifth-grade girl’s discovery of a huge mistake in Journey to the West shocked the public. Even in the past 400 years, no scientist or expert has recognized the strangeness of this detail.

"Journey to the West" has long been a work of art associated with the childhood memories of many generations, and is also a familiar research topic for scholars. However, experts had to "admit defeat" to an elementary school girl when she unexpectedly pointed out a major "flaw" in this classic work. A detail that no one had noticed for over 400 years, until it was confirmed by experts themselves.

It is known that the girl's name is Ma Tu Te, born in 2009, at that time she was only 11 years old and was studying in grade 5 in Hangzhou (China). Since childhood, she has had a passion for reading, often carrying books with her and reading whenever she has free time. Despite her young age, Ma Tu Te has studied many books with different literary genres. Among them, the work she loves the most is "Journey to the West" by Ngo Thua An.

Although the TV series of the same name has been broadcast for a long time, Ma Si Qi did not watch the series, but only focused on the original work. He thought that the film version could not fully reproduce the depth and richness that Wu Cheng'en had conveyed, nor could it fully portray the vast fantasy world that the work built.

This passion made her read "Journey to the West" over and over again. Each time she read, she made new discoveries. Thanks to this habit of careful consideration, she discovered an interesting detail in "Journey to the West", which was that throughout the journey to the West, the meals of Tang Monk and his disciples seemed to have not changed at all.

Surely everyone knows that Tang Sanzang and his three disciples had to travel through countless lands, from cities to villages, before reaching the West to get the scriptures. However, according to Ma Siqi's observations, the dishes that Wu Cheng'en described in the story were all dishes from the Jianghuai region - that is, the Jiangnan and Huainan regions, now Jiangsu and Anhui. This is completely inconsistent with the context of Tang Sanzang and his disciples setting out from Chang'an, passing through many lands to the West, but the meals in the book did not change in taste, revolving around Jianghuai dishes.

The girl realized that, even though they went all the way to the West, the four masters and disciples still only ate the typical dishes of the author's hometown. This shows that Wu Cheng'en had put his personal culinary preferences (his hometown is Huai'an, Jiangsu) into his work. A long journey, experiencing countless difficulties and adapting to new living environments, the cuisine should have been more diverse, but in the book there was only one type of dish - this was indeed a big "hole".

The girl took detailed notes and then wrote an analysis of the description of cuisine in "Journey to the West". The article, as soon as it was published, attracted great attention and surprised the research community. Many experts, after reviewing it, agreed with Ma Si Qi's argument, and at the same time stated that this detail showed that the author lacked practical experience in distant lands and had not fully researched the culinary culture before including it in the work.

Ma Si Qi's discovery is considered a new perspective, not only adding value to the study of "Journey to the West" but also opening up a different approach to classical literature. Because ancient literature was subject to many limitations in terms of creative conditions, the appearance of shortcomings is inevitable. However, thanks to these small details, readers and researchers can understand more about the author and the context of the work's creation, thereby approaching and analyzing it more effectively.

"Journey to the West" is one of the four greatest classics of Chinese classical literature, along with "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin". The work was written by writer Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century, inspired by the real-life pilgrimage of Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang to India. After hundreds of years, "Journey to the West" has always maintained its appeal and has become a popular cultural symbol throughout Asia.

The story tells about the 14-year arduous journey of Tang Monk and his disciples, including four people: Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. All four of them overcame 81 hardships to bring the Buddhist scriptures from the West to China. In particular, the image of Sun Wukong - the Great Sage Equaling Heaven - is the central character, famous for his extraordinary strength, his unpredictable Ruyi Jingu stick and his intelligent, stubborn but chivalrous personality.

"Journey to the West" is not only a mythical adventure story but also contains profound philosophy. The work reflects the struggle between good and evil, between obsession and enlightenment, and praises strong will, team spirit and compassion. Using a fictional writing style, blending reality and fantasy, Wu Cheng'en has portrayed a world that is both majestic and familiar, captivating readers of many generations.

Not only a literary success, "Journey to the West" is also an endless source of inspiration for many other art forms such as drama, puppetry, comics, and movies. The Chinese TV series "Journey to the West" released in 1986 is considered a classic version, deeply imprinted in the memories of millions of viewers across Asia, including Vietnam.

Today, despite changes in entertainment technology, "Journey to the West" still holds a special place in cultural life. The image of Tang Monk and his disciples and the thrilling stories of their journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures are still recreated and constantly renewed through modern versions. The work's enduring value lies in its message: the path to truth always requires patience, faith and solidarity.

It can be said that "Journey to the West" is not only a classic literary work but also a valuable cultural heritage, reflecting the great creativity of the ancients and leaving many meaningful lessons for future generations.

Revealing the shocking secret that not everyone knows about Sun Wukong's past life Phượng Vũ21:03:34 12/12/2024Anyone who has seen Journey to the West knows that Sun Wukong is one of the most legendary characters in the work. But not many people know that he was once a powerful god.