The two ancient civilizations of the East, India and China, have representative "divine monkeys" in classical literature. The Hindu monkey is a literary image from the famous epic Ramayana produced about 2,500 years ago and is called "Hanuman". His image is not only deeply rooted in the hearts of his own people, but also spread to many countries and regions, exerting influence in the fields of customs, social culture and ideas, covering almost half the world. Another eastern power, China's representative monkey "Monkey King", was "born" with the famous mythological novel "Journey to the West" produced in the 70s of the 16th century. He is magical, unpredictable, and intelligent. The two works have a long history of formation, and in the process of circulation, they have been "carved" by different cultural regions and different ethnic groups, accumulating the rich and colorful folk customs and folk culture elements of Eastern countries. Thailand is located in the southwest of the Indochina Peninsula, between the Indian Peninsula and China, this special geographical environment makes it located at the intersection of the South Asian cultural circle and the East Asian cultural circle, and has long been influenced by the cross-influence of the two ancient oriental cultural countries, absorbing more literary and artistic traditions of India and China. The story of the Indian and Chinese gods monkey has also been passed down to Thailand in a folk oral way, and is deeply loved and respected by the Thai people.
In the early days when shipbuilding technology was not yet developed, Sino-Indian cultural exchanges were mainly carried out through the overland Silk Road through northwest China and Central Asia, as exemplified by Xuanzang. Later, with the development of shipbuilding and navigation, the Maritime Silk Road became the main channel for economic and cultural exchanges between China and Southeast Asia and South Asia. Thailand is located at the main point and crossroads of maritime exchanges, and has played an intermediary role in the exchange process between the two cultural centers of India and China. With the increasing prosperity and development of economic exchanges, the story of Hanuman and Sun Wukong, which was originally widely circulated among the people of India and China, has also taken root and blossomed with the immigration of Indians and Chinese into Thailand. The Ramayana and Journey to the West are closely related to religion. Thailand's special religious and cultural environment provides fertile ground for the spread of Hanuman and Monkey King stories in Thailand. Theravada Buddhism (Theravada Buddhism), which originated in India, developed into the state religion of Thailand; Mahayana Buddhism in China and its Chinese character culture has also exerted a lasting influence in Thailand with the existence of a large Chinese society. Thailand is a free and open society that allows different cultures to live and develop here, which also provides favorable conditions for the interaction between these cultures.
Hanuman and his master, whom the people of India worship
A statue of the "Walker" characteristic of Thailand
Thai Hanuman is vast and varied, and the large one becomes a giant monkey
The circulation of the text of "Journey to the West" in Thailand
Just as the monkey Hanuman was born in the famous classics that contain elements of splendid ancient civilization, the Monkey King is the representative of the monkey that grew up in another ancient eastern power, China. Compared with the more than 500 years of circulation in China, the story of the Sun Walker has not been circulated in Thailand for as long as the Hanuman story. Although the Monkey King story should have been passed down orally in Thailand, it is not as extensive and bizarre as Hanuman. The story of the Monkey King in the Thai translation does not change much from its image, and it remains basically the same, and the way of circulation is more direct and clear.
In Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, in addition to the continuous re-creation and derivation of the film and television version of "Journey to the West", many new images have appeared in advertisements and computer games. In this new era of increasingly developed science and technology culture, Thais can also absorb and accept the stories of "Journey to the West" in various forms and carriers spread by China and other countries in more forms. It's just that the mainstream of Monkey King's story in Thailand is still the three major communication channels that are more valuable for research and worth introduction, namely the worship of the walker, the dissemination of texts, and the dissemination of film and television.
A non-textual circulation of "Journey to the West" in early Thailand
The spread of Chinese literature in early Thailand was first expressed in the court. Since King Rama I of the Bangkok Dynasty (reigned 1782~1809), translating Chinese literature has been one of the national policies. The first Chinese literature to be translated into Thai was The Three Kingdoms (1802) and the Western Han Dynasty (before 1844). These two novels were translated and were loved by the Thai king and the dignitaries of the court. Especially because of the successful "compilation" of "Three Kingdoms", many ancient Chinese literary works were successively translated into Thai during the period of King Rama II to King Rama VI of Thailand (1809~1925), among which the "Records of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms", "List of Gods" and "Eastern Han Dynasty" during the period of the Second King; During the period of the fourth king, there were "Romance of the Western Jin Dynasty", "Romance of the Eastern Jin Dynasty", "Romance of the Southern Song Dynasty", "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "Romance of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties", "Romance of the Five Dynasties", "Wanhualou", "Five Tigers Pingxi", "Five Tigers Pingnan", "Say Yue", "Water Margin", "Romance of the Ming Dynasty"; During the period of the fifth king, there were "Pangu Kaitian", "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "Luotong Sweeping the North", "Xue Rengui Zhengdong", "Xue Rengui Zhengxi", "The Legend of the Martyrs", "Qianlong Tour of Jiangnan", "Da Hong Pao", "Little Red Pao", "Lingnan Anecdote", "Romance of the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties", "Bao Longtu Gong Case"; During the period of the sixth king, there were "Romance of the Tang Dynasty", "Yuan Dynasty", "Wu Zetian" and "Wusong Fighting Tigers".
Journey to the West, translated during the reign of King V (1898), appeared in Thailand later than many other Chinese literary works (96 years later than Three Kingdoms), but it cannot be said that the story of Journey to the West circulated later in Thailand than other Chinese stories. Because the circulation of Chinese literature in Thailand is not only written literature, but also the folk beliefs introduced above, in addition to rap art. According to some records of Chinese in Thailand, in the early days when China's education level was not developed, there were very few people who read books, let alone modern newspapers, magazines, movies, television, CDs and other mass media. "Since ancient times, the knowledgeless Chinese used listening to stories as a way to enjoy entertainment, and Chinese who immigrated to Thailand also brought the custom of storytelling with them. It can be seen that in the Chinese Hakka Friendship Association, the old Chinese gentleman is sitting on the table next to him with a book in his hand, and an oil lamp is lit on the table. The old gentleman spoke loudly and quietly, sometimes modestly, sometimes seriously, and slapped the table and spoke loudly, while his face was fierce. The audience is at their own discretion, paying him more or less. ”
Although the above record does not say exactly what story the old gentleman told at the time, it at least tells us that this method of spreading Chinese stories has existed for a long time. And the story of "Journey to the West" was probably circulated in Thailand in the early days, most likely in this way. In addition, Chinese scholars of Chinese history have shown that the custom of telling Chinese stories was once loved by the princes and ministers of the Thai court. Sometimes ministers would introduce storytellers into the court, both to please the king and to entertain themselves.
During the period of King Rama I to King Rama V, the Chinese literary works circulated in Thailand were generally historical novels, and the content was mostly related to war, so its circulation was basically in the court, not among the people. As for the story of "Journey to the West", its content is all-encompassing, the plot is ups and downs, and it is related to Buddhism in ideology, which has a natural similarity with Thai culture, how could Chinese immigrants and Chinese businessmen come to Thailand at that time without taking Monkey King with them? Therefore, the author speculates that long before the Thai translation of "Journey to the West" was born in the Thai court, the story of "Journey to the West" and even the story of the Monkey King were brought into the Thai folk by the Chinese.
2. "Journey to the West" as seen in Thai
Regarding the story of "Journey to the West", Thai people are accustomed to calling "Sai-You" in Hokkien, and more accustomed to calling Sun Wukong "(Hengjie" (Hokkien transliteration of the traveler). In Thailand, "Journey to the West" has not been published for a long time, there are not many translated versions in circulation, and the text is not widely circulated. The characteristics of circulation are the diversity of communication methods, a wide range of recipients, different age stages, and different degrees of acceptance (some absorb the connotation of the story of "Journey to the West", and some only absorb superficially). According to the collected and sorted Thai translated texts, in addition to the full translation, other copies of "Journey to the West" were found, namely a retranslated version, a condensed version, a complete set of picture books, and a comic book that Thai children like to read, as detailed below.
(1) Full translation
There are only two versions of the full Thai translation of Journey to the West in Thailand.
1. Nai Ding translation: "Journey to the West" (Sai-you)
Nai Ding's translation of "Journey to the West", with the cover inscription "Sai-you", is the first Thai translation of "Journey to the West" found today, and the most complete 100-time translation currently available in Thailand. This version was translated during the reign of King Rama V (1898). At that time, Thailand was open and absorbed a lot of Western scientific and technological civilization, especially in publishing and printing. At the same time, during the period when the tide of publishing Chinese literary Thai translations was prevalent, foreign literary works were more open than before, and there were new developments, and translators and readers were no longer fixed in the court, but turned to the people. "Journey to the West" is an important book selected for translation by Thai folk among many classical Chinese literature at that time. "Journey to the West" was chosen for translation at that time because Nailek, the manager of Sopong Phupi Patanakorn's private publishing company, believed that "Journey to the West" was an interesting Chinese novel, so he hired a Thai Chinese named Nai Ding to translate it into Thai. At the same time, a Thai man named Naiwan was hired to revise and retouch the translation.
Sai-you, vol. 6, cover and title page of the 1969 edition, author's collection
At the beginning of the 21st century, the new edition of "Sai-you" Thai version, the author's collection
Nai Ding's "Journey to the West" has probably been published many times, and the older versions that can be seen today are the 1898, 1907, 1968, and 1969 editions. The newer editions (re-reprints of the originals) are the 2004 and 2009 editions. Initially, its copyright was privately owned, but later transferred to the Ministry of National Education, where it continued to be published by the Kulu Saba Publishing Company. In the preface to its publication of Journey to the West, the Ministry of Education explained the reason for publication: Thailand translated many Chinese literary works in the early days, but most of the original versions have been lost. In order to regain the vitality of Chinese literature in Thailand, "in order to preserve the country's important literary works, it was decided to publish a series of works in Thai, which is divided into three parts: 'Thai Literature Collection', 'Rama Gan Collection' and 'Chinese Literature Collection'." Among them, the "Collection of Chinese Literature", is a recompilation and publication of Thai translations of a total of 35 Chinese literary works that have been published in Thailand, based on rare books provided by private bibliophiles. The newly published Kulu Saba edition of "Journey to the West", entitled "Ancient Chinese Literature: Journey to the West", is divided into eight volumes, with a total of 2,000 sets of the first edition, including hardcover and paperback. The cover of the book is a picture of the Tang monk and three apprentices. Each book is accompanied by a preface, introduction, and white drawings of the characters (with biographies on the back). The preface briefly describes the reception of Chinese literature in Thai society, rearranges the Thai translations of Chinese literary works published during the reigns of King Rama I to King V in the order of Chinese history, and finally expresses gratitude to the bibliophiles who provided rare books. The introduction outlines the rationale for the first translation in 1898.
Nai Ding's translation of "Journey to the West" did not translate one by one according to the original book hundred times, and for the content of the original book one hundred times, Nai Ding divided it into three parts; The first part is called "The Origin of the Walker", which is the content of the 1~8th episode of the original book; The second part tells the origin of Tang Sanzang, which is generally consistent with the 9~12th episode of the original book; The third part describes the process of taking scriptures, which is equivalent to the 13~100th cycle of the original book. The translators of the second and third parts are not named separately. In addition to readjusting the content of the hundred times, it was also found that the translator had told many chapters and deleted a lot of content, including rhymes, character dialogue, and some more complex cultural backgrounds and plots that the translator considered insignificant. If we talk about the translation style, we find that many places use misnomers and words that do not reach the meaning, and some proper nouns are directly translated using Teochew transliteration. Nai Ding's Journey to the West was apparently not modified or polished by Thai experts, or translated and rewritten like Pakang's version of Three Kingdoms. The reason for this, as Nai Tianwan said in the latter part of the book and in the introduction, is that the translator needs to retain the essence of the original text, so he did not change it significantly. This situation, which is rare in ancient Chinese novels from Han to Tai, has become a special situation. For linguists or translators, this version may not be very good, but it has been praised by several famous Thai religious scholars and historians, who believe that fortunately the translator is not willing to let the retoucher modify the original text of his translation, otherwise the meaning of the original text, that is, the essence, may be invisible. Although the version of Nai Ding's "Journey to the West" has the shortcomings of not reaching the meaning of the words and the sentences are not smooth enough, over time, Thai readers will slowly accept the translator's writing after reading it many times.
It is worth noting that before the story officially begins, the translator mentions in the wedge that when Tang Sanzang met his apprentice Wukong, he called Sun Wukong "Chinese Hanuman". Does this mean that Thais or Chinese Thais will naturally associate Hanuman whenever they come into contact with the Monkey King?
2. Shou Bodapu Moon Translation: "Journey to the West"
Shou Bodapumeon translated the book as "Journey to the West" to the West. It was published in the monthly magazine "Cai Yapu" in Thailand in 1960, and was originally collected by the National Library of Thailand, but due to the continuous relocation of the library, the author found that its content was not complete when I investigated again in 2013. This edition is very carefully translated and smoothly written, but unfortunately few people know about it, and the publishing company of "Cai Yapu", Taiva Thanapa Reverse, only stopped publishing until the 11th time, for unknown reasons. The translator's foreword leaves some history of translation and publishing. The preface says:
"Journey to the West" or "Journey to the West" story, the author named "Western Heaven Extraction" in Thai, this literary work was written by Wu Chengen, a minister and literary scholar in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (1500~1582). Although the content focuses on being well-informed, he still has a tight grasp of Chinese history, the fun of literature, various aspects of knowledge, and Chinese customs and etiquette... The translator translated the original Chinese into Thai, which was first published in 1919, when it took 40 months to translate. It is estimated that this version can no longer be found in the National Library for reference, so in order not to make the work disappear, the original text was re-edited and translated. This time the work has the potential to take more time than before. One thing to understand is that although the work is an old story, the new translation adds notes and Chinese idioms that are not found in the original translation.
The above is very helpful for Thailand to study the whole situation of the Thai translation of "Journey to the West". Shou Bodapumoang's foreword can prove several clues: first, "Journey to the West" published in the monthly magazine "Caiyapu" is not the first time it has been published; Second, among many translations of Chinese literature, the translator Shou Bodapu Moang only valued the book "Journey to the West" as interesting, although it had been published once in 1919, but after 40 years, it was necessary to re-translate it; Third, the text mentions that "the translator translated the original Chinese into Thai, which was first published in 1919, and it took 40 months to translate it", from which we can infer that the complete translation of "Journey to the West" in Thailand should be more than just a Ding translation, but we cannot find anything else at present.
It is even more regrettable that if the translation of Shou Bodapumoang's "Journey to the West" is compared with Nai Ding's translation of "Journey to the West", it can be said that Shou Bodapumoang's writing is smoother and more complete than Nai Ding's, and there is a tendency for the back wave to push the front wave. His translation is appropriate, fluent, close to the original, and the rhyming part of the original text is also translated into the Thai vernacular, and the translator's annotations also help the reader to understand Chinese culture, Chinese customs and historical background. From his translations, it is not difficult to see that his research on Chinese literature, history and culture is quite deep. In addition, the translator is fluent not only in Chinese and Thai, but also in Pali and Sanskrit. When the reader reads this work, one can feel the different language styles of the other three languages in Thai, and the use of Pali and Sanskrit also makes the article very elegant. Given the merits of this version, it should undoubtedly be of great help to the spread of Journey to the West, including the "Walker" story in Thailand. Unfortunately, for other reasons, this version did not become famous.
(2) Drawing books
There is only one picture book of "Journey to the West" seen in Thailand, that is, the complete picture book of Poe Pong: "Journey to the West". This edition and the abridged translations mentioned below do not include the author's name, but the only collection of both editions is recorded by Thammasat University in Thailand, which records the work of Poe Pong, published in 1966. The book is divided into ten volumes, each volume has about 30 pages, each page has pictures, and the titles of each volume are: (1) "Journey to the West Story "The Walker" (the content briefly describes the original 1~13), (2) "The Journey to the West Story "White Dragon Horse" (is the original 14~17th time), (3) "The Journey to the West Story "Zhu Bajie" (the original 18~21), (4) "The Journey to the West Story "Sand Monk" (the original 22~35th time), (5) "The Journey to the West Story "Red Son" (the original 36~43rd time), (6) "The Journey to the West Story "Three Demon Kings" (44~47 times), (7) "Journey to the West Story "False Walker" (original 57~58 times), (8) "Journey to the West Story "Bull Demon King" (original 59~61 times), (9) "Journey to the West Story "Spider Spirit" (original 72~73 times), (10) "Journey to the West Story "Buddha" (original 91~100 times).
(iii) Translations of stanzas
1. Poe: "Sai-you"
A translation of Sai-you by Odian Publishing Company in 1968. It is now in the library of Thammasat University, Thailand. The complete set consists of 15 story illustrations in two volumes, drawn by Thai artists. He was selected and translated 80 times out of 100 times in the original text, and re-divided into 84 times. The parts omitted by the translator are: 33~35, 43rd, 55th, 62nd~67th, 80~86th and 91~92nd. Poe divided the hundred times "Journey to the West" into more independent sections, some divided the original text into 1~6 sections, and some reduced the original text 1~6 times into a section in Thai.
Judging from the style of the translation, the Poe Pingjie translation is completely different from the previous two. Its translation is plain and concise, and he is good at Thai idioms or colloquialisms, sometimes following the stanza method of traditional Thai novels, incorporating Thai writing into the original text. The so-called Thai writing is concise in form, straightforward, without much suspense. This version is written without hesitation, allowing readers to read smoothly and meeting the reader's need to know the ins and outs of the story within each episode. Traditional Chinese novels, on the other hand, often pause at a critical moment and then "break down next time." When translating, the theme of the original text is revealed, and the problem of one story is solved in one time, and the next time is another story. The review is also very brief. This translation does not focus on the power of the Monkey King like the previous two versions, but pays more attention to the funny of Zhu Bajie, and the description is very witty and interesting. At the same time, Zhu Bajie is also portrayed as a womanizer to satirize some men in modern Thai society.
2. Kaimananda: "Journey to the West" Long Journey
The author speculates that this version was condensed by Kaimananda based on the Nai Dingtai translation. When first published, the book was titled Journey to the West, published by the Foundation for Internship and Dharma Practice, first published circa 1974 and later republished in 1987, 1997, 2003, and 2004. In the second edition, the title of the book was changed to "Journey to the West" Wisdom Ape. In the book "Journey to the West", almost every chapter is illustrated to express the theme of the chapter. Also attached are prefaces by several famous Thai writers and historians. Because the author used to be a monk, he rewrote the story of "Journey to the West" into another face, which is more otherworldly. The novelty lies in the author's use of Buddhist concepts to explain the profound meaning hidden in the story, that is, what the author calls "interpreting the code in the story". The author believes that in the story of "Journey to the West", whether it is the name of a person, a place name, or the plot of each weapon and story of the character, all are decipherable codes, all contain various meanings, and the secret to cracking them is to interpret them from a Buddhist point of view. At the beginning of each episode of the edition, the translator first summarizes the plot of the story, then adds a dialogue, with the "concrete" and "abstract" apprentices answering each other, and "I" solving the riddle. At the end of the book, the riddles found in the story are compiled into a small dictionary. The author particularly appreciates "Journey to the West" and believes that "Journey to the West" has a mystery that is different from other literary works. Examples of his views on "Journey to the West" are as follows:
"Journey to the West" by the Thai monk Kaimananda "Journey to the West" by the wise ape
"The mystery of "Journey to the West" is that, first of all, the reader must regard the whole content as "nothing", that is, the so-called Western Heaven is what Buddhism calls Nirvana - Nibbana, such as the Buddha is the Buddha realm, the three disciples are originally wisdom (Sun Wukong), Jie (Zhu Bajie), Ding (sand monk), Tang Sanzang represents "forbearance", white horse represents "perseverance", and each monster is all kinds of human "desires". Mankind has to break away from the cycle of desire and enter the Buddha realm and attain Bodhi Nirvana, so that he can be ahead of the various paramitas above. However, the Boromi mentioned in "Journey to the West" is wilderness, "wisdom" is barbarism, "commandment" is evil commandment, and "determination" is wandering. Tang Sanzang, who represents "forbearance", does not appreciate wisdom ("walker") very much, and because "forbearance" prefers the eight precepts (precepts), he is easily induced by the "precepts" (eight precepts), causing him to get lost. The "walker" (wisdom) is obliged to remind Sanzang (Shinobi) to escape "entertainment". In contrast, the eight precepts (eight precepts) will indulge in "desire", and even more tempt "forbearance" to stop the will to learn from the western heavens; He has a long mouth, talks a lot, has long ears, and hears "reason" as an "evil commandment", so he is often forced by "wisdom" to close his mouth and ears. The monk is more confined in the community, and his task is to guard the white horse (refinement) and the monk's robe wrap (discipline). This wild Boromi needs to encounter thousands of hardships before they gradually become determined, mainly because they cannot solve the problem alone when they are suffering, and they have to work together to break the calamity. Tang Sanzang (forbearance) cannot reach the Western Heaven (Nirvana) alone, and still needs to rely on the help of his disciples: wisdom, precepts, and determination to eliminate those thousands of monsters. Wisdom first eliminated lust and ignorance before it overcame distress. Sun Wukong, a 108,000-li somersault cloud, can fly to the Buddha (Buddha realm) but cannot get the classics; Wisdom can enter the Buddha state but cannot remain firm, and it is still restless, because all that is gained is knowledge, not the noble truths of meditation. Therefore, his divine powers are only temporary, and other powers are needed to achieve nirvana. ”
It can be said that Kaimananda is the only compiler and researcher who interprets the "Journey to the West" from the perspective of Thai Buddhism, and even the only Thai who has done in-depth research on the "Journey to the West". His compilation and research gave the "walker" another image in the minds of Thais, that is, the image closely related to Buddhism. This shows that the circulation of "walkers" in Thailand is not limited to a narrow scope, and its image is not monolithic.
(4) Selected translations
Biyada Vannanan: "Storytelling – Journey to the West"
The selected translation of children's literature writer Biyada Vannan's "Journey to the West" is entitled "Storytelling - Journey to the West", which is estimated to be based on the Nai Ding Ben and is divided into 18 sections, named as: (1) The origin of Journey to the West, introducing the historical background of the story of "Journey to the West"; (2) Tang Sanzang (the first time in the original text, illustrated "Tang Sanzang"); (3) "Walker" (is the third episode of the original text, illustrated "Monkey Wukong"); (4) The will of the Buddha (equivalent to the 8~11th episode of the original text, illustrated "Buddha Rulai"); (5) Borrowing scriptures from the West Heavenly Road (the original 12~23 times, illustration "Pig Wu Neng"); (6) Ginseng fruit (original 24~30 times, illustration "Sha Wujing"); (7) Yellow Robe Kuixing (original 31~33rd time, illustration "Walker Battle White Bone Essence"); (8) Wuji Country (original 34~43 times, illustration "Walker beats white bone essence"); (9) Che Chi Guo (original 44~52 times, no illustrations); (10) The widow of Xiliang (53~61 episodes, illustration "Walker beats leprechaun"); (11) Sai Guo and Zhu Zi Guo (62~71 times, illustration "Walker Flying in the Sky"); (12) The country of bhikshu (72~79 times, no illustration); (13) The woman of the banshee god (80~85 times, no illustration); (14) Fengxian County (86~90 times, illustration "Tang monk and three apprentices traveling to the west"); (15) False Buddha (original 91~95 times, illustration "Master and disciple worship if they come"); (16) Crowned Rich (original 96~97th edition, no illustration); (17) to the West Sky (original 98th, unillustrated); (18) The Last Karma (99~100 times, illustration "Fairies turned into mother and daughter to deceive Tang monks").
Byada's chapters for the story are clearly focused on children's books. For the same purpose, he rewrote and abbreviated the original text. Readers who want a brief synopsis of Journey to the West will find pleasure in this edition. The 167-page translation was published by the Children's Society, published by Suzari Publishing Company in 1987 and republished by the same community in 1997.
A total of 34 volumes of "Journey to the West: The Monkey King" and the cover of one of the volumes, Hong Kong Haifeng Press, 1986, author's collection
(5) Comic books
The circulation or distribution of the Journey to the West comic book in Thailand can clearly be divided into two phases: the 20th and 21st centuries. Most of the 20th-century distributions were imported from Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong by the same publishing company and translated into Thai, as well as directly from other foreign languages, with earlier editions from 1962, 1986 and 1989. The 21st century can be said to be the period when "Journey to the West" Thai comic book is popular, and almost every year different publishing houses will release "Journey to the West" comic book picture book.
1. 20th century Thai version of the comic strip "Journey to the West"
(1) Bo Pengmai: "Journey to the West". The original book is "The Book of Little People", published by People's Art Publishing House and compiled by Luo Lang. Introduced and distributed by the South American company in Thailand, translated by Po Penmai. The original Chinese edition consisted of 40 volumes, of which 8 were not translated: the third volume "The Birth of the Tang Monk", the tenth volume "The Eight Disciplines of Punishing Pigs", the seventeenth volume "Heishui Mountain", the twenty-first volume "Xieyang Mountain", the twenty-seventh volume "Moose Luozhuang", the thirty-third volume "Annihilation of France", the twenty-fifth volume "Fengxian County" and the thirty-ninth volume "Lingshan Elimination". The comic strip was published twice, the first around 1962, and the back cover of the second edition only records the number of volumes (32 copies) and the title of the volume, but does not record the exact date of publication.
(2) "Journey to the West: The Monkey King Collection". Published by Hong Kong Haifeng Press in 1986, published by Thai South American Company, translator's name unknown. This version is a color comic strip and is expensive, so it is not very popular. There are 34 original volumes, but a total of 17 have been selected for translation and publication. The adaptors and painters of each volume are mostly not the same person. According to the cover of the book, there are: (1) the birth of the "walker"; (2) The "walker" made a big disturbance in the Heavenly Palace; (3) the "walker" is corrected; (4) Make a big fuss about Black Wind Mountain; (5) Zhu Bajie as a son-in-law; (6) Liusha River harvesting sand monks; (7) Stealing ginseng fruit; (8) Fighting the Yellow Robe Monster; (9) Lotus Cave; (10) The Lion Lynx King; (11) Bravely rob the Red Son; (12) Change the law to fight the three immortals; (13) The Great War against Tongtianhe; (14) Fighting the green bull spirit; (15) True and false Goku; (16) Advise the good to give rain; (17) Take back the canon.
(3) Qiu Dicai and Kane: "Journey to the West Thirty-Eight Changes". The original book was published by Taiwan Times Culture Enterprise Co., Ltd., and introduced by Thailand South America Company in 1989. The original book consisted of two volumes. The first volume was translated by Mr. Qiu Dicai and has eight episodes, including "Character Introduction", "Birth of Stone Monkey", "Immortal Island Learning Method", "Dragon Palace Borrowing Treasure", "Troubled Heavenly Palace", "Refuge as a Buddha", "Golden Horned Silver Horned Fairy", "Banishing Tiger Deer and Horned Immortal". The second volume is translated by Mr. Kane and consists of six episodes, including "Che Chi Country Demon", "Descending Spider Spirit", "Lion Moose Ridge Fighting Demon King", "Great War against Red Son", "Bhikkhu Country Demon", and "Flame Mountain". Because the content of the original text is concise and very suitable for children, there are not many changes in the translation. The excellence of the translation is that it matches the pulse of the times and the current situation of Thai society, giving the story of Journey to the West a new spirit.
(4) English comic books. In addition to the Thai translation of the comic strip, South American companies introduced the English comic book Monkey Subdues The White-Bone Demon published in Hong Kong at the end of the 20th century (circa 1995), adapted by Hsu Kwang-jung and Pan Tsai-Ying and painted by Chang Hung-tsan.
2. 21st Century Thai Comic Strip "Journey to the West"
Han Yitai's picture books were particularly popular in the early 21st century (since 2004), and a different anime version of "Journey to the West" was released almost every year. Published by South American companies, there are "Journey to the West Animated Version" (translated by Ganara), "Journey to the West" (translated by Shilawi and Tanita, 20 volumes) and so on. Other Thai translations published include Journey to the West by Athen Books in 2009, Journey to the West by Amarin Comics (4 volumes) in 2012, Journey to the West – The Magic of the West (3 volumes) published by Bangkok Books, and Go Go Go Go (7 volumes) published by Nation Edutainment in 2013.
The cover of the Thai version of the comic strip "Journey to the West" released in Thailand at the beginning of the 21st century
It is worth noting that in the era when the publishing industry attaches great importance to copyright, Thai publishing companies, large and small, old and new, have been creating their own "Journey to the West" comic strips since 2006, that is, Thai painters and children's writers have compiled their own "Journey to the West" comic books. For example, in 2006, two publishing companies edited two editions of the Journey to the West, Sky Books and Siam Inter Multimedia. The following year (2007), Thatkanit published a nine-volume Journey to the West, followed by a six-volume Monkey King – Journey to the West in 2010. All of the above are compiled and published by the Thais themselves.
(6) Other books related to "Journey to the West"
In addition to the various Thai translations of "Journey to the West", Thailand, as a Buddhist country, the deeds of Tang monks are also very popular with Thai readers, and such documents are generally funded by the Buddhist Foundation of Thailand and issued by temples, objectively maintaining their religious and historical nature, rather than being completely reduced to popular fiction. Here are a few of them.
2008 Thai promotion edition "Tang Sanzang Master Xuanzang's Actual Achievements", the author's collection
Professor Qiu Sulun of Beijing University of Foreign Chinese translated the Thai version of "The Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", and the author has a book collection
(1) "Tang Sanzang", issued by the Mahata College Foundation, published in 1941, written by Kenliang Sibumoang. According to the Chinese edition of the Legend of the Three Masters of the Great Compassion Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty, and the English version of Si Yu ki, Buddhist of the Western World (Rev. Samuel Beal translated) versus translation. The subtitles in the book include Journey to the West and Tang Sanzang, Introduction to Tang Sanzang, Introduction to the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, Master I Ching, Mahayana Buddhism, Hinayana Buddhism, etc., and a Chinese, Thai, and Teochew proper noun comparison dictionary is attached at the back of the book.
(2) "Tang Sanzang Shitu", adapted by Le Shatin Lashu based on Kenliang Sibu Moang's "Tang Sanzang", published by Pumen Bao'en Temple, published four times in 1974, 1980, 1986 and 1990. The book introduces the historical figure Tang Sanzang with extensive illustrations and provides documentary clues to study him.
(3) In September 2008, Tathata Publishing Company published "The Achievements of Master Xuanzang of Tang Sanzang", which was collected and sorted out by Wusa Lohazaron about the resumes of Tang monks and their tasks of translating Buddhist scriptures.
(4) Professor Qiu Sulun of Beijing University of Foreign Chinese translated "Tang Dynasty Western Regions", published by the famous Thai publishing house - Culture and Art Publishing House in 2004, also as an important version to publicize the deeds of Tang monks in Thai.
On the one hand, the Tang monk was generally welcomed by the Thai people as a literary image in "Journey to the West", and on the other hand, he also enjoyed a high status among Buddhist believers as a historical figure and religious master.
Although the translation and research of the text of "Journey to the West" in Thailand is far less in-depth and extensive than that of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", at least the most valuable features of "Journey to the West" are reflected in different Thai translations, such as the witty and fantasy characteristics are played in children's books, the profound and intelligent side is continued in adult books, especially the Buddhist value is also sublimated in the Kaimananda translation of "Journey to the West". Although the editors of the book only refer to the imperfect Thai translation of "Journey to the West", they use the Buddhist outlook on life and cosmology to analyze the connotation of characters and stories, so that the circulation of "Journey to the West" in Thailand no longer stays at a superficial level. Unfortunately, apart from "Journey to the West", which can represent the highest level of appreciation of "Journey to the West" by Thai readers, so far, there is no other deeper special study of "Journey to the West" in Thailand.
For more than 30 years, the circulation of the text of Thailand's "Journey to the West" has shown a trend of continuous decline. However, in recent years, Thailand has revived the publication of various "Journey to the West" texts, such as the republication of Nai Dingben "Journey to the West" by two publishing houses in 2004, the republication of Kaimanada's "Journey to the West" in 2003 and 2004, and the republication of Biyada Vannan's "Storytelling - Journey to the West" in 2004, indicating that as the tide of Chinese in Thailand continues to heat up, the craze of Chinese literature is rising again, and readers' interest in "Journey to the West" will continue to be retained.
A beautiful poster of Thai Confucian opera about the story of Hanuman
Excerpt from [Thai] Xie Yubing, "Divine Monkey: The Spread of the Story of the Indian "Hanuman" and the Chinese "Monkey King" in Thailand", Social Science Academic Press