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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

4/4 - This out of context sentence from the 1974 reprint of Gladiator (1930) is ... interesting

This is a picture of a page from Gladiator. Blurred text sandwiches a certain sentence that reads: "Epstein came to his side before he had dressed."

This refers to a side character interacting with the main character, Hugo Danner, who is changing in a locker room. However, if taken out of context, the sentence brings to mind Jeffrey Epstein and his penchant for molesting minors.

Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

3/4 - Gladiator (1930) 1st editions are expensive. Thankfully, though, I found a much cheaper edition published by The Book League Monthly. It was released alongside the original Alfred A. Knopf printing. Mine has been rebound as a hardcover, and it still has that old book smell! I'm super happy.

This picture shows a hardbound edition of Gladiator with a brown cover and a small label on the spine with golden letters and a black background.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

2/4 - Gladiator (1930) practically invented the modern comic book superhero. It is famous for likely influencing Superman, which premiered in 1938.

This is the cover for Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman. The superhero is shown lifting a green 1930s car and slamming it face first into a bolder. Bad guys can be seen running away in terror.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

1/4 - I'm a big fan of the sci-fi novel Gladiator (1930) by Philip Wylie. The main character, Hugo Danner, is born with super strength & speed & bulletproof skin thanks to a prenatal injection by his scientist father. Here's a PDF for the 1974 reprint: journeytothewestresearch.com/wp-content/u...

This is the original dust jacket for the 1930 Knopf edition. It portrays a nude man standing above a city skyline in harsh, black shadow and red highlights. It's drawn in a very rough style.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

I know this is supposed to be the holy mother Guanyin, but it kind of looks like a transformation Wukong would take to mock her. (A stone carving seen on Facebook Marketplace.)

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

I've added another parallel to my Sun Wukong-Heracles article: (#21) both use their blunt weapons to kill a shapeshifting enemy changed into a bee. journeytothewestresearch.com/2024/12/01/p... - Heracles kills Periclymenus with his club. - Wukong kills the Six-Ear Macaque with his staff.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

My dad also asked about the door's story. I might go back to see if there are any identifying marks.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

I think I found a Sun Wukong door in the wilds of Taipei. I initially thought it was the Green Man due to the leafy elements, but upon inspection, it has a very monkey-like face and the headband. I was told this fancy door leads to an underground parking garage.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

A reader asked how Tripitaka could free Sun Wukong if he was punished to Catholic purgatory by Buddha. The Tang Monk would have to tour hell like the Tang Emperor * & Dante & free Monkey from Mt. Purgatory. * He temporarily dies and is prompted to free orphaned souls after touring hell (ch. 11).

The seven main terraces of Mt. Purgatory can be seen behind Dante in this 1465 fresco by Domenico di Michelino.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

A question asked of me: "In the book, do they refer to Wujing more as Sēng or Heshang?" Sha seng (沙僧; "Monk Sha") - 814 times * 僧 = short for sengqie (僧伽, "sangha"), or Buddhist community Sha heshang (沙和尚; "Teacher Sha") - 94 times * 和尚 = Upādhyāya (उपाध्याय, "teacher; preceptor; spiritual adviser")

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Journey to the West (Xiyou ji, 西遊記, 1592 CE)

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Journey to the West (Xiyou ji, 西遊記, 1592 CE)

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

2/2 Some people online have claimed that the ranks given to the Journey to the West pilgrims are just titles. However, older JTTW media has them become Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. And most importantly, a religious work from 1509 lists Sun Wukong & friends as Buddhas. bsky.app/profile/jttw...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

1/2 - Sun Wukong & the other pilgrims are given immortal foodstuffs in the Western Paradise (ch. 98) & later granted Buddhahood by the Tathagata (ch. 100). Could the food be a symbol for the immortality that comes with being free of the wheel of reincarnation? buddhistuniversity.net/content/arti...

Screenshot from my article about Sun Wukong's powers and skills.

https://journeytothewestresearch.com/2024/08/11/archive-46-a-catalog-of-the-monkey-kings-magic-powers-and-skills/

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

The Five Books and Six Volumes (Wubu liuce, 五部六冊; 1509), a sectarian Buddhist text by Luo Menghong (羅夢(孟)鴻, 1442–1527), lists the Journey to the West pilgrims as Buddhas! This is fascinating because this RELIGIOUS work predates the novel by 83 years. I have an article about this in the works.

Woodblock print from the 1830s Japanese translation of Journey to the West.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Here is the profile for my new Greco-Roman project, "The Hercules Omnibus." I plan to gather public domain translations for all Greek and Roman works about Heracles-Hercules in a single Google Doc/PDF. I will also include info about his Etruscan and Germanic versions. bsky.app/profile/herc...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

One of my longtime students handed me a flyer for a local Buddhist organization before class. It uses Sun Wukong to discuss enlightenment. enlighten.org.tw I really like the Monkey King image.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Journey to the West chapter 16 notes that instead of sleeping, Sun Wukong “exercis[es] his breath to preserve his spirit, with his eyes half-closed” (... 只是存神煉氣，朦朧著醒眼). In chapter 37, Monkey says putting off sleep for 1,000 days (nearly 3 years) wouldn't make him tired.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

A neat fact shared by Journey to the West (西遊記, 1592) and Investiture of the Gods (封神演義, c. 1620) is that immortals don't need lots of sleep. One supreme JTTW immortal states: “Those who have attained immortality should not be so desirous of sleep, for their spirits are full.”

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

I'm going to take a break from writing about 'Journey to the West' for a while in favor of working on a compilation of sources about Heracles/Hercules. The tentative title is 'The Hercules Omnibus.' Read more here: www.tumblr.com/journeytothe... Carving by Antonín Pavel Wagner (1834-1895).

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Journey to the West gives 3 explanations for Sun Wukong's invulnerability: - Ch. 7: Samadhi fire refined immortal foodstuff into a "Diamond body" (per Laozi) - Ch. 34: Laozi's furnace refines a metallic body (Per Sun) - Ch. 75: Born w/a head of bronze & iron, further refined by furnace (Per Sun)

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

I recently came across a Chinese translation of a 1990 TMNT comic for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Taiwan. I may get it.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

My new article provides a more natural reason for Sun Wukong to fight Heracles from Greco-Roman Myth. journeytothewestresearch.com/2025/10/04/s... Drawing by Dario Virga (Onibotokemaru on Instagram).

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

I just figured out a way to insert Sun Wukong into Greek myth. The "Cercopes" (Gr: Κέρκωπες; lit: "tail men") were two bandit brothers that were transformed into monkeys by Zeus for their misdeeds. Another version says they were turned to stone. Why not both?

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

(1/2) I thought of another parallel between Sun Wukong & Heracles/Hercules: both figures have twins! - Heracles' twin (half) brother is Iphicles. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphicles - Monkey's twin is the Six-Eared Macaque. journeytothewestresearch.com/2020/11/04/o...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

I have written a quick article about the origins of the JTTW episode where the white turtle-spirit dumps the pilgrims and the scriptures into the water. journeytothewestresearch.com/2025/08/09/o...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

I've archived a PDF of Dr. Moss Robert's four-volume Foreign Language Press translation of Three Kingdoms (Sanguo yanyi, 三國演義, 14-century). I did this because per the Journey to the West Library blog the book influenced aspects of Journey to the West. journeytothewestresearch.com/2025/07/27/a...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

I was interested to learn that the animators had a surprising amount of freedom during the production.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Here's a Master's thesis that describes the cultural and political context behind the creation of the animated film 'Havoc in Heaven' (1961/1964). journeytothewestresearch.com/2025/07/24/a...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

The scorpion-spirit from Journey to the West is one of my favorite baddies. A cursory search of CBETA shows that snakes, scorpions, and centipedes are commonly cited evils in Buddhist literature. This might explain her (ch. 55), the red python-spirit (ch. 67), and the centipede-spirit (ch. 73).

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Reposted by Journey to the West Research

Silly Rookie @sillyrookie.bsky.social · 26/12/2023

Heaven, 7am. Jade Emperor: "I'm sorry, Sun Wukong did WHAT!?"

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

This is cute beyond words! Thank you. It does look pretty nice.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Here is my new article about Shi Pantuo, Xuanzang's historical (temporary) guide that likely influenced Sun Wukong. journeytothewestresearch.com/2025/06/29/a...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Blood magic is one of Sun Wukong's most powerful skills. In ch. 25, he bites his tongue and spits blood to change trees into the JTTW pilgrims. These clones can even talk and answer questions. They are so perfect, in fact, that Monkey feels a shiver up his spine when his is hit with a magic whip.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

I've previously posted that Sun Wukong's Buddha title, "Victorious Fighting Buddha" (鬥戰勝佛), is based on the historical Yuddhajaya Buddha (Sk: युद्धजय). I just learned that Yuddhajaya has another name, "Vijita-saṃgrāma" (Ch: 勇健吉祥佛; Viet: Dũng Kiện Cát Tương Phật; lit: “Brave and Auspicious Buddha”)

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

I bought this JTTW bag on Taiwan Facebook marketplace.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Two of the neatest things I learned from a book on Indo-European mythology is that someone can recognize a disguised god by two things: 1) They are exceptionally heavy for their size. 2) They walk with great ease, almost like they are skating or hovering just above the ground.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

My article about the “four monkeys of havoc” (四猴混世, a.k.a. "four celestial primates") is one of my most popular pieces. It's received roughly 45K views in just 3 years. This is surprising since the group is only mentioned by name once in JTTW. journeytothewestresearch.com/2022/02/20/a...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

I've updated the images on my "Qitian Dasheng Monkey King Temples in Taiwan" article. The links originally stopped working when my old uni gmail account was deleted in 2024. journeytothewestresearch.com/2021/02/15/q... Pic: Monkey spirit-generals from Shengfo Tang (聖佛堂) in Beigang, Yunlin.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

A British friend of mine visited a Zhu Bajie temple in Yunan, China and got me two of these Talismans. They arrived in the mail today.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Zhu Bajie has two giant forms in Journey to the West. In chapter 29, he grows 8 or 9-zhang (八九丈), which is 83.44 or 93.97 feet / 25.44 or 28.62 meters tall. In chapter 67, his giant boar form is 1,000-chi (千尺), which is 1,025 feet / 312.42 meters tall.

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Here's a new article analyzing the claim that Sun Wukong can gain the strength and magical abilities of an opponent by copying their appearance via the 72 Changes or hair clones. It's a misconception based on Monkey's battle with Nezha in JTTW chapter 4. journeytothewestresearch.com/2025/05/04/c...

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Journey to the West Research @jttwresearch.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

I saw it in theaters. I'll check out the trailer to see if I can get a screenshot.

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