First off, the amount of loanwords in the readings overwhelmed me. Prajna-paramita? Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi? I can’t even begin to pronounce those.
On another note, the history behind early modern Chinese vernacular literature was an informative read, and only a little dull. The Journey to the West sounds like a fun, action story with lots of deus machina involved. To me, it sounds like a traditional tall tale.
But really, a monkey made out of stone? Waterfalls that just happen to contain a ready-made home behind them?
Also, the prose of the story is a little unusual, with what looks like poetry blending in with the text to tell the story. I’ve never read anything like that before. I’m wondering if in the original language, the poetry has any sort of rhyme scheme or structure.
