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Archive #21 – Qing-Period Color-Illustrated Complete Edition of Journey to the West

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Upon the initial release, I was entranced by the cover art for the 2012 revised edition of Anthony C. Yu’s famed Journey to the West translation. For example, the cover for volume one (fig. 1) featured the pilgrims crossing the Flowing-Sands River via a boat made from Sha Wujing‘s skull necklace and a heaven-sent gourd. I loved the individuality and color scheme of each figure. They look almost like characters from a comic book. Though the art style was old, I assumed the bright, vibrant colors signaled the illustration was a modern reproduction. This was not the case. I later learned that the art was made by an anonymous painter of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The paintings from this series were later gathered into an abridged ten-volume set titled Qing-Period Color-Illustrated Complete Edition of Journey to the West (Qing caihui quanben Xiyouji, 清彩繪全本西遊記, 2008). Here I present lower res PDFs of this work, complete with the gorgeous artwork. Each page is formatted with simplified Chinese dialogue on the left side and art on the right (fig. 2).

Fig. 1 – The cover of volume one (larger version). Fig. 2 – An example of the page format (larger version). It portrays the pilgrims finally coming before the Buddha in India. The formerly subjugated “Peng of 10,000 Cloudy Miles” (i.e. Garuda) can be seen hovering above the Enlightened One’s throne.

Book links

Disclaimer

These have been posted for educational purposes. No malicious copyright infringement is intended. Please support the official release.

Citation

Ming, Q. (Ed.). (2008). Qing caihui quanben Xiyouji [Qing-Period Color-Illustrated Complete Edition of Journey to the West]. Beijing: Zhongguo shudian.

Archive #4 – Mid-Century Illustrated Journey to the West Children’s Books from Japan

Jim R. McClanahan 1 Comment

For my 50th post, I am excited to host PDF copies of two gorgeously illustrated Journey to the West children’s books produced in Japan during the middle part of the 20th-century.

1. Son Goku (孫悟空, 1939)

This work was illustrated by Shotaro Honda (本田庄太郎, 1893-1939), a Western-trained artist closely associated with children’s literature for nearly 30 years. As the title suggests, the book focuses on the first 7 chapters of the novel, from the time of Monkey’s birth to his final imprisonment under Five Elements mountain. Literally every single panel is worthy of framing. The illustrations are bright and vibrant, seemingly jumping from the page. See below for an example.

Shotaro_Honda_1939 - Hell (small)

Monkey in the underworld striking his name from the Book of Life and Death (larger version).

PDF link:

Click to access e5ad99e6829fe7a9ba-e7bb98e69cac-e5ae87e9878ee6b5a9e4ba8ce69687-e69cace794b0e5ba84e5a4aae9838ee7bb98-1949e5b9b4e78988.pdf

2. The Illustrated Journey to the West (繪本西遊記, 1950)

This three volume work was illustrated by Mizushima Nio (水島爾保布, 1884-1958). The first volume covers Monkey’s birth to the submission of Sandy; the second covers the Ginseng fruit tree to the battle with Guanyin’s goldfish; and the third covers the Rhino demon to the end of the novel. The dark on light line work reminds one of delicate paper cut artwork brought to life. Here’s a sample.

The Illustrated Journey to the West (1950) - End of Volume 1 (small)

The group bowing before a Buddhist figure (larger version).

PDF Link:

Click to access e7bb98e69cace8a5bfe6b8b8e8aeb0-e4b88ae4b8ade4b88b-e6b0b4e5b29be5b094e4bf9de5b883-e794bb-1950e5b9b4.pdf

Thanks:

The original PDFs are hosted on shuge.org and are free to download. I’m posting them here for posterity. 50Watts appears to be the first English site to host images from both Son Goku and The Illustrated Journey to the West, but they either skip some images or only show a partial spread.