Monkey and Religious Culture: Exploring the Cultural Aspects of the TV Series

World Religions: “Monkey” and Religious Culture
Abstract
This paper looks at the cultural aspects which underlie the TV series called Monkey. It was a
TV series which aired in the late 1970s, and went on for two seasons, including 52 episodes in all. It
is taken from a classical Chinese novel from the 16th century which combines elements from
Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Further, it presents these elements in an action-
packed modern light. It was produced by a Japanese television production company, and later
translated into English by the BBC and aired in Western countries.
This paper will argue that Monkey combines the most basic tenets of Chinese thought with
techniques and skills of modern television production such as cinematography, mise-en-scene,
script-writing techniques, characterization, in order to create a unique and popular series which is
not only enjoyable to the masses, but also gives them a relishing experience of their religious and
social culture.

Introduction
Across world cultures, many religious epics and folk-lore have been adapted to be made
accessible to wider audiences through the medium of television and cinema. These adaptations use
various effects and techniques at their disposal to make the content of the narrative more appealing
and more effective for the audiences. Frequently, it involves computerized visual effects too.
Monkey is a television series which was originally made by a Japanese production company,
shot in China and Mongolia. Its original name was Saiyuki, which is the title of the novel by Wu
Chengen, literally meaning “Journey to the West.” It is a 16th century novel based on the myth of the
monkey king born on a hill from an egg at the time of creation. The protagonist in this series –
Monkey – has magical powers and spends a lot of time fighting the evil forces which are always out
to take over the world.
This paper will look at the cultural context of the series Monkey. It will present a critical
analysis of the skills and techniques which have been used in making this series, and what is effect
upon the viewers and the presentation of the story was. Finally, it will present a personal reflection
into how it feels like watching this series.
Cultural Context of “Monkey”
Origin
The origin of the series Monkey, as already has been noted, lies in the 16th century novel
called Journey to the West by Wu Chengen.1 It was written during the rule of the Ming dynasty, and
is considered one of the four major classical works of Chinese literature. In this respect, it has many
modern adaptations. While the original TV series was made in Japanese under the title Saiyuki, it
was translated into English by David Weir for the BBC a year after its first release.2
Traditional Cultural Influences
1 Teevan, Colin. Monkey! (Oberon Books, 2012): p.14.
2 Geogeghan, Tom. “What was Monkey Magic All About?” (BBC, 2010, Jul 23). Accessed at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7520243.stm on Apr 4, 2019.

One of the major influences to fall upon Wu Chengen in writing Journey to the West was the
journey of the Buddhist monk Hsuang Tsang in the 7th century CE.3 The central character of Wu’s
novel is called Tang Sanzang, which is believed to be fashioned after Hsuan Tsang. The relevance
of Buddhism too is major for this character, as his birth from an egg perched on a hilltop is ordained
by the god Buddha himself. A third similarity between the character and the historical traveller is
that they both travel extensively. The plot of the novel revolves around Tang going far into the
West; Tsang the traveller too travelled deep into the Western regions, all the way till India, to fetch
the Buddhist scrolls and teachings which were in wide currency.4
A second major influence on the novel and the show is that of Confucianism. On the one
hand, there are many quotes and sayings taken from Confucius which are to be found throughout
the novel, just like Buddhist and Taoist quotes.5 But another similarity that it has with Confucianism
is that there is a constant appearance of a concern with the welfare of the people as a theme in the
novel, also captured in the television show. In fact, the show also features the Confucian concern
with justice and just rule for the people,6 and the major antagonist in the show is the Jade Emperor,
who is despotic, and whose soldiers and gangs are often fought by Tang.
Lastly, the series has influences of Taoism. There are frequent uses of sayings and quotes
from the Tao Te Ching. However, additionally to this, there is also an overarching concern with
spiritual well-being and growth,7 which is seen not only in characters such as the Monkey King
Tang, but also in other characters such as the Marshall, the Jade Emperor, Vega his mistress, and
others who frequently have discussions about spiritual issues.
Skills, Techniques, and Effects upon Viewers
Modern Cultural Influences
3 Bhat, Rama, “Xuan Zhang’s Mission to the West With the Monkey King.” (New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 2014):
p.41.
4 Wang, Michelle C. "Changing conceptions of “mandala” in Tang china: Ritual and the role of images."
Material Religion 9, no. 2 (2013): p.187.
5 Wu, Shufang. "Modernizing Confucianism in China: A Repackaging of Institutionalization to
Consolidate Party Leadership." Asian Perspective 39, no. 2 (2015): p.323.
6 Liu, Jianhong. "Restorative justice and Chinese traditional legal culture in the context of contemporary
Chinese criminal justice reform." Journal of Chinese Law 3, no.3 (2009): pp.41-45.
7 Hsia, Chih-tsing. The classic Chinese novel: A critical introduction. (Chinese University Press, 2016):
p.113.