I'm thinking of reading an abridged version of this given how from what I understand the vast majority of it is very repetitive episodic monkey saves the day again type shit. Is that true? If so, what's a good abridged translation to read?

Also, what are your thoughts about it as a whole?

The one on Penguin Classics was fun

Never read it, I remember some of the tv adapatations on late night tv and I've seen parts of it referenced too many times to recall directly
some of the parodies are hilarious
https://mangadex.org/title/afab9260-24b4-4a57-b780-1d59b2d317b9/tang-shanzang

>>24598645 (OP)
>abridged version
Didn't read it.

>>24598645 (OP)
I've been thinking of reading the Abridged New Testament. I've heard that Matthew Luke and John are just the same stories.

>>24598765
Just read the marcionite texts. far fewer books and they have a different version of Luke

>>24598765
All the gospels are the personal accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. They're distinct from one another but, and you won't hear this advice often which I think is a shame, since each one was written with a different audience in mind you should pick the one that resonates with you the most and read that all the way through. Which one will resonate with me the most though? I can already hear you asking. Well, Matthew was written for the Jews who had not yet converted, so he is more concerned with the new moral teachings of Christ than the other writers. Mark is written to the Romans and portrays a forceful and mysterious side of Jesus. Luke is a common man writing for a wide audience, and John is just... wild.

>>24598809
>>24598787
So why the cunt would you read an abridged Journey to the West? Each Daoist demon is a different problem of consciousness and desire.

Also Thomas is the only good Gospel. Narratives are for chumps.

>>24598645 (OP)
what are you reading it for? what's driving your interest in it?

>>24598816
not everything can be instrumentalized. narratives existed thousands of years before your theoretical framework and will continue to exist after it has been superseded a hundred times over.

>>24598846
Monkey nostalgia

>>24598863
Best Gravure model.

>>24598863
There's a chinese adaptation too

>>24598876
The one with the gay yellow monkey?

>>24598880
There are quite a few adaptations now that I look.

>>24598846
It's supposed to be a great work of literature and I've never read anything by a Chinaman before. So in a word: Curiosity

>>24598645 (OP)
Monkey by Arthur Waley

>>24598970
the thing about china is if you want its absolute best, you have to look to shorter forms. longform narratives will give you only a limited and flawed view of the chinese literary spirit.
this makes china kind of a difficult sell in most non-specialty literary communities because people will read the "four classics" and realize they don't really stand up to homer, shakespeare, dante, et al., and then come to the conclusion that china is a minor tradition. which, for longform narrative, it is. but for literature as a whole, it does some things better than the west has ever done.
i think >>24598996's answer provides the best way of satisfying your curiosity and having a pleasant experience. but after that maybe check out some of the other things waley has translated and see what you think.

>>24599031
>people will read the "four classics" and realize they don't really stand up to homer, shakespeare, dante, et al.,
They do.

>>24598996
this one:
>>24598649

>>24599252
i haven't read them so i couldn't say for certain. if you're able to substantiate this opinion, please do. but everything i've heard and every bit of my intuition goes against it.

>>24599031
>but for literature as a whole, it does some things better than the west has ever done.

Like what?

>>24599765
delicate/sad beauty, subtlety, indirection, brevity, simplicity.

>>24598645 (OP)
>abridged
Pussy shit. Read the whole thing.

>>24600447
>Just waste finite time bro

>>24599566
Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dream of the Red Chamber are two of the greatest novels ever written.

>>24598645 (OP)
Get this one. It's a fun book.

>>24599566
Dream of the Red Chamber / The Story of the stone is slightly similar to War & Peace in the sense that follows through a person's life and the characters and relatationships of those around him. However, it's more decadent and tragic, it features a rich description of the noble class and the culture of that time rather than historical events.
It's actually interesting how similar some social aspects of back then China's culture are to those in the current era. For example, there's a chapter where the main character attends school and he is bullied and called a fag for being delicate and hanging around his cousin too much.

>>24598763
TRVTHNVKE

>>24601346
>>24601454
i've never seen anyone say dream isn't masterful but it's too modern, it uses the microcosm approach rather than being a true all-encompassing narrative, so it's not competing in the same category.
whereas romance, by all accounts, is not executed masterfully, nor is it quite of the same depth of ancient pedigree as something like homer.