Sun Wukong in Journey to the West turns out to be real, but is he scheming to harm Tang Monk?

Journey to the West is one of the four great Chinese masterpieces, composed by Ngo Thua An. If the image of Tang Tang was literaryized from the real historical figure, the magician Xuanzang, then the prototype of the character Sun Wukong is still mysterious and controversial.

"Journey to the West" is probably one of the most famous Chinese literary novels in Vietnam in particular and in the world in general. The television series of the same name produced in 1986 has also become an unforgettable childhood memory for many generations.

Born around the 1590s, the movie "Journey to the West" is based on the original work of the same name by writer Ngo Thua An, about the journey of overcoming all difficulties and dangers of 4 teachers and students of Tang Tang to visit Thien Chuc. terrible. On the way, the four teachers and students of Tang Tang faced many traps and harmful demons. From there, they realized the feelings between teachers and students, and the messages between people in life.

Based on extant historical documents, it can be affirmed that writer Ngo Thua An drew inspiration for the character Tang Monk, the central person in Journey to the West, from a real monk named Duong Huyen. Zhuang, lived during the Tang period.

Tang Xuanzang was a famous Chinese monk and one of the four leading translators in translating Sanskrit texts into Chinese during that period. He also made a pilgrimage to India to further study the Buddhist scriptures.

From this discovery, researchers continued to discover another interesting character, named Thach Ban Da. Many scholars believe that Thach Ban Da could be the prototype of Sun Wukong - the character "Great Saint Qi Thien" in Journey to the West, who is talented and straightforward, but also very affectionate and loyal.

Thousand Buddha Caves is a complex of 32 Buddhist caves located in Xi'an, Gansu, northwest China. Inside the caves, there are still many murals and sculptures dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). In particular, an intact painting was discovered that recorded the traces of monk Duong Huyen Trang.

One en.d of the painting is the image of Guanyin Buddha sitting on a noble five-colored cloud, the other en.d depicts monk Huyen Trang respectfully clasping his hand.s in prayer. The important thing here is that he did not stand alone, next to him was an elegant white horse and a companion Thach Ban Da.

Shi Pan Da is from Suyang, Anxi district, Gansu province. In the third year of Tang Zhengyuan (629), Xuanzang on his way to Xizhu stopped at Suyang and preached in local temples for more than a month.

Here, Thach Ban Da - originally a Ho ethnic person with a wild and free nature - was inspired by Huyen Trang's teachings and vowed to go with him to request sutras.

With the popularity of Buddhism as well as Xuanzang's reputation at that time, the companionship of the two people was widely circulated. However, later for unknown reasons, Thach Ba Da stopped and did not accompany Huyen Trang to the en.d like Sun Wukong.

There have been many hypotheses put forward, the most popular being the rumor that Huyen Trang actually agreed to let Thach Ban Da go with him not simply because he had the same mind. In fact, he just wanted to take advantage of Thach Ban Da.

At that time, Huyen Trang did not have a travel permit from the royal court. If she wanted to cross the border, she had to ask for help from an ethnic person who knew the terrain like Thach Ban Da. If discovered, both people could be sentenced to deat.h. When Thach Ban Da learned about this, he was furious with Huyen Trang. The two people from here go their separate ways.

Another theory is that the prototype of Ton Ngo Khong originated from a Tang Dynasty monk named Thich Ngo Khong (731 - 812), whose real name was Xa Phung Trieu, from Kinh Trieu district, Van Duong district.

Wukong was intelligent from a young ag.e, loved Confucianism, was famous for being respectful and knew how to treat people. In the year 751, Wukong followed Truong Quang Thao on an envoy to the Western Regions. Due to a serious illness, he had to stay in the country of Kien Da La - where Buddhism flourished (now Peshawar, Pakistan), unable to return home.

That same year, Wukong accepted the magician Tripitaka as his master, took the Dharma name Dat Ma Da Do and became a monk, and did not return to the capital until 789.

Thich Ngo Khong accompanied Huyen Trang for 40 years, in the West participating in translation and evangelism, leaving behind many stories and legends.

Some theories say that people mixed the name Thich Ngo Khong with the name "Hau Hanh Gia", the person who was always next to Tang Monk in the story of taking sutras and then relating to each other.

After returning from the Western Regions, Wukong began translating scriptures and participated in missionary activities for many years. Some scholars believe that the journeys of Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong were mixed together to create the tumultuous and thrilling story of "reciting sutras" over the centuries.

Journey to the West was written by Ngo Thua An when he was over 70, at an ag.e when he had almost tasted all the flavors of life, had enough ups and downs and experiences. That masterpiece shows many thoughts and contemplations about life that Ngo Thua An has experienced. And Ton Ngo Khong also carries within him many messages, ambitions, and philosophies that the author is aiming for...

Sun Wukong is generous, magnanimous, generous but arrogan.t and conceited. But he allowed Wukong to meet the great master Tripitaka, to be transformed into a practice, to bring within himself a mind oriented towards Buddha, and a meaningful journey to request sutras.

Found the tomb of 'Te Thien Dai Thanh', inside found a wish-fulfilling stick and a golden ring Hoàng Anh16:44:28 13/06/2022The movie Journey to the West and the character of Te Thien Dai Thanh are probably too familiar to Vietnamese audiences. However, the mysteries surrounding the existence of the magical figure Sun Wukong always bring up many big question marks, and we can only wait for...