Reading Notes: Sun Wu Kung: The Lord of the Heavens, Part B
This story is part of the The Monkey King unit. Story source: "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" in The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).
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For the second part of this weeks reading, I found particularly interesting. One of the reasons why was found in the plot of this story. The Gods made Sun Wu Kung seem unworthy to live and should be punished for his sins. The Evening Star advocated in favor of the monkey king and earned him a chance to redeem himself. Surprisingly, the monkey king was just as disrespectful as the Gods had originally believed. At this point, I thought they would banish him or even worse, kill him for his disrespect. Even after not bowing before the Gods, being rude to the gate keeper, and calling him Venerable Sun, the Gods still forgave him as he "is not as yet used to our rules". After this turn in plot, I expected Sun Wu Kung to make a fool of himself as head of the heavenly stables and be punished for his incompetence. This was not the case as he took care of the stables with great care and after half a month had passed, the Gods had prepared a banquet for him. The story seems to have taken the classic "don't judge a book by its cover" approach to this story. Other than the plot aspects, the style of the writing was very similar to Part A's reading and seems very reflective of the time it was written.
For the second part of this weeks reading, I found particularly interesting. One of the reasons why was found in the plot of this story. The Gods made Sun Wu Kung seem unworthy to live and should be punished for his sins. The Evening Star advocated in favor of the monkey king and earned him a chance to redeem himself. Surprisingly, the monkey king was just as disrespectful as the Gods had originally believed. At this point, I thought they would banish him or even worse, kill him for his disrespect. Even after not bowing before the Gods, being rude to the gate keeper, and calling him Venerable Sun, the Gods still forgave him as he "is not as yet used to our rules". After this turn in plot, I expected Sun Wu Kung to make a fool of himself as head of the heavenly stables and be punished for his incompetence. This was not the case as he took care of the stables with great care and after half a month had passed, the Gods had prepared a banquet for him. The story seems to have taken the classic "don't judge a book by its cover" approach to this story. Other than the plot aspects, the style of the writing was very similar to Part A's reading and seems very reflective of the time it was written.
Shrine to Sun Wukung by Prince Roy
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