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Synthesis: Lord Hanuman in China
by Guest Thu Jun 30, 2016 7:30 pm
We are all familiar with the Chinese Monkey God, Sun Wukong, but we are not quite familiar with the Indian monkey god Hanuman. In fact, academics have for a long time been interested in finding out if there any connection between the two....
Where did the predecessor of Sun Wukong came from? In 1923, Hu Shi in doing research on “Journey to the West” guessed: “I always believed that this monkey with magical powers is not of local origin but it is imported from India, perhaps even Wu shiqi’s legend is also came out of Indian influence.” “In India’s oldest record ‘Ram’s Biography’ or ‘Ramayana’, Hanuman is considered a great Sage”. Hu shi hypothesizes that “China has been culturally in close communication with India for more than 1,000 years, countless Indians came to China, in this way a lot of Hanuman stories passed into the China. So I assume Hanuman is the foundation of the monkey monk.” Chen Yinke in “Journey to the West- Xuanzang disciple stories evolution” supported Hu’s view. Hanuman is the Hindu idol who along with Hinduism spread overseas. China’s Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian Province also has a Yuan Dynasty stone with an inscription of “Monkey King Hanuman”. It can be considered to be circumstantial evidence for Hu shi’s ‘bold hypothesis’.
In the 1980’s Ji Xianlin translated the entire seven volumes of Ramayana and published them. He reconciled Hu shi and Lu Xun’s views and repeatedly said that “The connection between Sun Wukong and Ramayana’s Hanuman cannot be ignored; it will be futile to negate it. However, at the same time, it cannot be said that the author who developed Sun Wukong was the most innovative. The author combined India’s Hanuman and China’s mythical water goblins and added fantasy elements to create Su Wukong, a character who is courageous, brave and lively and loved by everyone”.
http://niasindiainchina.in/2016-01-31/chinese-and-india-monkey-gods-king-and-hanuman/
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See also:
http://www.sino-platonic.org/abstracts/spp114_journey_to_the_west.html
Where did the predecessor of Sun Wukong came from? In 1923, Hu Shi in doing research on “Journey to the West” guessed: “I always believed that this monkey with magical powers is not of local origin but it is imported from India, perhaps even Wu shiqi’s legend is also came out of Indian influence.” “In India’s oldest record ‘Ram’s Biography’ or ‘Ramayana’, Hanuman is considered a great Sage”. Hu shi hypothesizes that “China has been culturally in close communication with India for more than 1,000 years, countless Indians came to China, in this way a lot of Hanuman stories passed into the China. So I assume Hanuman is the foundation of the monkey monk.” Chen Yinke in “Journey to the West- Xuanzang disciple stories evolution” supported Hu’s view. Hanuman is the Hindu idol who along with Hinduism spread overseas. China’s Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian Province also has a Yuan Dynasty stone with an inscription of “Monkey King Hanuman”. It can be considered to be circumstantial evidence for Hu shi’s ‘bold hypothesis’.
In the 1980’s Ji Xianlin translated the entire seven volumes of Ramayana and published them. He reconciled Hu shi and Lu Xun’s views and repeatedly said that “The connection between Sun Wukong and Ramayana’s Hanuman cannot be ignored; it will be futile to negate it. However, at the same time, it cannot be said that the author who developed Sun Wukong was the most innovative. The author combined India’s Hanuman and China’s mythical water goblins and added fantasy elements to create Su Wukong, a character who is courageous, brave and lively and loved by everyone”.
http://niasindiainchina.in/2016-01-31/chinese-and-india-monkey-gods-king-and-hanuman/
--------
See also:
Beyond the Question of the Monkey Imposter: Indian Influence on the Chinese Novel, The Journey to the West
by Ramnath Subbaraman
http://www.sino-platonic.org/abstracts/spp114_journey_to_the_west.html
Guest- Guest
Re: Synthesis: Lord Hanuman in China
by goodcitizn Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:00 pm
Yeah, yet the Chinese eat monkey brains.
goodcitizn- Posts : 3263
Join date : 2011-05-03
Re: Synthesis: Lord Hanuman in China
by Guest Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:09 pm
goodcitizn wrote:Yeah, yet the Chinese eat monkey brains.
my Chinese friends say that there were many famines in China's history and this resulted in the Chinese eating just about everything. according to them there is a saying in Chinese: 'anything which moves with its back facing the sun can be eaten'. in other words, one can eat anything other than a human.
Guest- Guest
Re: Synthesis: Lord Hanuman in China
by goodcitizn Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:16 pm
I am glad the toddler is spared! :-)Rashmun wrote:goodcitizn wrote:Yeah, yet the Chinese eat monkey brains.
my Chinese friends say that there were many famines in China's history and this resulted in the Chinese eating just about everything. according to them there is a saying in Chinese: 'anything which moves with its back facing the sun can be eaten'. in other words, one can eat anything other than a human.
goodcitizn- Posts : 3263
Join date : 2011-05-03
Re: Synthesis: Lord Hanuman in China
by goodcitizn Fri Jul 01, 2016 3:46 pm
A laboriously long and boring story.Rashmun wrote:
goodcitizn- Posts : 3263
Join date : 2011-05-03
Re: Synthesis: Lord Hanuman in China
by Guest Fri Jul 01, 2016 3:49 pm
goodcitizn wrote:A laboriously long and boring story.Rashmun wrote:
this book makes it exciting. give it to any grand child or grand nephew/nieces if you have any:
https://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Novel-China-Wu-Chêng-ên/dp/0802130860/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467406101&sr=1-1&keywords=monkey+arthur+waley
here is a review of the book on amazon:
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazingly Funny / Witty / Deep Novel
By David E. Weekly on February 22, 2000
Format: Paperback
I was expecting a mildly amusing but somewhat slow-going novel when I picked up Monkey for my class in Chinese Literature. But I could not put it down and finished the whole of it in two sittings! This book is as much of a page turner as any modern novel, using everything from cunning plot turns to end-of-chapter guises ("And if you don't know what became of them, you must listen to what is told in the next chapter.") to absolutely hilarious anecdotes. (I laughed aloud at the "Taoist Holy Water" episode!) An amazingly well-crafted novel with a very very fluid translation that makes it an absolute delight to read. Again: I could not put this book down! The fight scenes were also spectacular...[still panting, having just finished the book]...you must read this book! =)
Guest- Guest
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