Indian Influences and the Transgender Imagination in the Chinese Literary Classic Journey to the West (西遊記)

Abstract

Journey to the West (西遊記), published in the time of the Ming Dynasty, is one of the four most celebrated works of Chinese Literature. The novel traces the fortunes of a Tang dynasty monk, Xuanzang (also known as Tripitaka), who leads his three disciples to travel to India in search of holy Buddhist scriptures. The figure of the monk, as well as that of one of his disciples, Monkey King (also known as Sun Wukong), and another major character, Guanyin (a bodhisattva), beckon a transgender studies critical reading. Peter I-min Huang provides an example of such a reading, beginning by briefly recapitulating arguments by scholars who examine the manifest Taoist and Buddhist influences and then elaborating on the latter in the context of the nonbinary and nondualism teachings of Buddhism, teachings that are unquestionably central to understanding Journey to the West and its engagement with transgender issues. To date, there are no well-known studies of Journey to the West that consider that engagement. As Huang argues, content in the novel that speaks for transgender identity is key to fully understanding and appreciating this classic work of Chinese literature. In support of this argument, Huang relies on several authoritative critical studies of Journey to the West as well as transgender studies publications. Those critical studies make no mention at all of issues of transgender, but, as Huang points out, they carry arguments that support his claim that any comprehensive reading of Journey to the West is not possible without consideration of the novel’s play—both serious and playful—with gender binarism.