Monkey: A Folk Novel of China book review

Monkey, was originally published anonymously by Wu Chengen resulting from informality present in the text, and its lack of Classical Chinese. Published in the vernacular during the highly formal Ming dynasty, this would have defaced the image of Wu Chengen, a highly distinguished scholar. Resulting from the rise in the merchant and middle class in literacy, in conjunction with the printing press; Monkey has become a highly acclaimed Chinese classic that has been enjoyed for …

…reader to continue on into the next chapter. This not only keeps the reader interested and on the edge of his or her seat, but it also facilitates him or her to immerse themselves in the novel and to finish it quickly. Buddhist values incorporated in the text, decrease in formality, and spread of literature allowed this complex, yet simple story of adventure to survive for centuries and to be read continually throughout the world.