<p>This week the crew attend an annual lantern festival that's so expensive that the townsfolk must starve to afford it. We wonder about what happens to old religious traditions and whether they ever really go away.</p>

This week the crew attend an annual lantern festival that's so expensive that the townsfolk must starve to afford it. We wonder about what happens to old religious traditions and whether they ever really go away.

The lantern festival with the three oily Buddhas.

Join us each week as we take listeners through one of China's most beloved novels. Meet Sun Wukong the Monkey King, his Buddhist master, Xuanzhang, the lustful monster Pigsy aka Zhu Bajie, and the reformed sand demon, Sha Wujing, and journey with them to India to acquire invaluable Buddhist scriptures. 

This immortal tale has delighted billions of Asian children yet is relatively unknown here in the west. This podcast aims to change that!

Childhood friends Richard Tseng and James Young will read and review every single chapter of the Anthony C Yu translation of Wu Chen'en's epic book. Along the way, we'll bust myths (did the Sun Wukong really burst out of stone?) examine its impact (Which world-famous animes did this legend inspire?) and learn more about Asian culture and its myths overall (which Indian monkey god inspired our monkey king?) 

So quit monkeying around Subscribe, and let's hit the silk road!

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Join us each week as we take listeners through one of China's most beloved novels. Meet Sun Wukong the Monkey King, his Buddhist master, Xuanzhang, the lustful monster Pigsy aka Zhu Bajie, and the reformed sand demon, Sha Wujing, and journey with them to India to acquire invaluable Buddhist scriptures. This immortal tale has delighted billions of Asian children yet is relatively unknown here in the west. This podcast aims to change that! Childhood friends Richard Tseng and James Young will read and review every single chapter of the Anthony C Yu translation of Wu Chen'en's epic book. Along the way, we'll bust myths (did the Sun Wukong really burst out of stone?) examine its impact (Which world-famous animes did this legend inspire?) and learn more about Asian culture and its myths overall (which Indian monkey god inspired our monkey king?) So quit monkeying around Subscribe, and let's hit the silk road!

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The lantern festival with the three oily Buddhas.

The lantern festival with the three oily Buddhas.

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