西游记 [Xi you ji]

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Journey to the West is one of the Greatest Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Originally published in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty, by Wu Cheng'en. The novel is a mythical story of the legends around a Chinese Buddhist monk's quest to India to obtain Buddhist religious text. The monk and has four animal protectors- disciples — namely the Monkey King, Pigsy the Pig, a River Demon and a Dragon prince who acts as the monk's horse. These four characters have agreed to help the monk as an atonement for past sins. Part of the novel's enduring popularity comes from the fact that it works on multiple levels: it is an adventure story, a dispenser of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeying toward India stands for the individual journeying toward enlightenment.