The patriarch said, “Once you go, nothing good can come of you. In all your violent troublemaking, I forbid you from saying that you are my disciple. I will know if you let even one word slip, and I will skin you and crush your bones. I will banish your spirit to the furthest reachesContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 2.4”
Category Archives: Journey to the West
Narration style in Journey to the West
When I first started translating Journey to the West, I didn’t really think about what kind of narration I should use. (Rookie mistake? Probably.) It struck me recently that in the original text, the narrator is talking directly to the reader, as if we were all sitting around a fire listening to a story. TheContinue reading “Narration style in Journey to the West”
Journey to the West – Chapter 2.3
Wukong’s hair stood on end, he quickly bowed, saying, “Master, in your infinite compassion, please tell me how to avoid these catastrophes. I will never cease to be grateful.” The patriarch said, “It is not difficult, but you are different from others. I cannot teach this to you.” Wukong said, “My head points toward theContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 2.3”
Journey to the West – Chapter 2.2
Wukong spent that day happily with the others in front of Three Star Cave, impatiently awaiting evening. At dusk, he went with the others to sleep, pretended to close his eyes, and settled in to wait. In the mountain, there was no one announcing the watch and no way to tell the time. He couldContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 2.2”
Translation Difficulties: The Secret of Immortality in Journey to the West
I hit a major roadblock while translating Chapter 2 of Journey to the West, and thought I would share my process with you. In the story, Wukong is receiving the secret to immortality at the bedside of his master, a Daoist sage. However, instead of giving Wukong specific instructions or an incantation a la HarryContinue reading “Translation Difficulties: The Secret of Immortality in Journey to the West”
Journey to the West – Chapter 2.1
After the Handsome Monkey King got his name, he thanked Master Puti enthusiastically. The patriarch ordered the disciples to take Wukong to the inner courtyard and teach him to sweep and the proper manners to use among the disciples. Obediently, they went out. Outside, Wukong paid respects to his senpais,1 and they found a placeContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 2.1”
Journey to the West – Chapter 1.3
While he was looking around, he suddenly heard a voice coming from deep in the woods. He hurried through the woods toward the sound and found a person singing. “Watching chess, the axe handle rots.1 Thwack, thwack, I’m chopping wood. I walk through valleys at the edge of clouds and trade my wood for wine.Continue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 1.3”
Journey to the West – Chapter 1.2
*As usual, translation notes are in the mouseover text or at the bottom of the post. 🙂 Let’s continue the story! The monkey multitude cheered upon hearing this.1 They said “Lead us inside! We’ll follow you.” The stone monkey closed his eyes,2 crouched, and jumped in once more, calling “Follow me!”3 The braver of theContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 1.2”
Journey to the West – Chapter 1.1
First, a note on retelling Journey to the West. As a part of this, I wanted to share with you some of the decisions I made during translation, but I don’t want to distract from the story, so I’ve inserted them footnotes with mouseover text. There are these decisions almost everywhere. (For touchscreen viewers, clickingContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 1.1”
A note on retelling Journey to the West, and translations in general.
It feels like this should go without saying, but I am not a professional translator. Please don’t take my translations as authoritative in any way. I’m using translating these texts as a way to learn the language, and taking you along on this journey. The nuances of one language just cannot be fully represented inContinue reading “A note on retelling Journey to the West, and translations in general.”
Etymology Adventures 