Journey to the West

First it was the book, Journey to the West: I had read the novel long time ago, in a Romanian translation (Calatorie spre Soare Apune). It's a classic of the Chinese literature: the legend of a Buddhist monk (Tripitaka) who journeyed from China to India (so to the West) to get the correct version of the Scriptures.

A stone monkey was part of his team - a witty guy always ready for a foolishness or two while also capable of saving his master from tight spots of all sorts.

Then there was the movie of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, The Puppetmaster, and I learned that puppet theaters are the most popular performances in Taiwan (and that Li Tian-Lu is their greatest puppetmaster). And then it was another movie, by Zhang Yi-Mou, To Live, and I understood that puppet performances are the most popular all over China.




So I went to watch the performance of the troupe of Liao Wen-Ho, having in memory the great Chinese classical and the works of two great masters of contemporary cinematography. And I was captivated by the pace of the performance, by the imagination and the wit: so I realized why they made such a passion for puppets. It was fine.


Then there was another play, The Brave Boy.



The story is of course very entertaining: a princess was kidnapped by some perverts and it takes a village to rescue her. There is a Master Kung-Fu who fights for the good cause, only he smokes too much which explains why he lost his fighting abilities. Eventually Brave Boy (kind'o Charming Prince) solves the matter and frees the princess. They lived happily ever after.




(A Life in Books)