Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
Journey to the West: Golden Horn and Silver Horn
西游记：金角银角
Journey to the West: Golden Horn and Silver Horn (西游记：金角银角, Xīyóujì: Jīnjiǎo Yínjiǎo) is a story from Journey to the West, the Chinese classic by Wu Cheng'en, retold in simple Mandarin as a 5-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from Wu Cheng'en's classic novel: two demon kings own a gourd that swallows anyone who answers to their name. Can the Monkey King out-trick them and save his master?
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — An old storyteller who tells how the Monkey King tricked two demon kings.
- Sun Wukong · 孙悟空 — The Monkey King, Tang Seng's first disciple: his golden eyes see through any disguise, and he loves a clever trick.
- Tang Seng · 唐僧 — A gentle, soft-hearted monk on the long road west, who cannot bear to see anyone hurt.
- Zhu Bajie · 猪八戒 — The pig-faced second disciple: lazy, greedy, always hungry and always complaining.
- Sha Wujing · 沙悟净 — The quiet third disciple, steady and loyal, who says little and sees a lot.
- The Hurt Taoist · 道士 — A demon in disguise: a weeping Taoist tied to a tree who begs for help.
- King Golden Horn · 金角大王 — The elder demon brother of Lotus Cave: big, loud and proud.
- King Silver Horn · 银角大王 — The younger demon brother, who owns the red gourd and loves to brag.
- Laozi · 老君 — The kind old Taoist master from heaven whose furnace boys ran away with his treasures.
- Mountain God · 山神 — A small nervous god who looks after the local mountains.
- Sky God · 天神 — A heavenly helper who darkens the sky for Wukong and worries about it.
5 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Hurt Taoist
山上的道士
Tang Seng finds a hurt Taoist tied to a tree. Wukong says he is a demon, but the monk insists. Then the Taoist asks Wukong to carry a mountain.
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Chapter 2: Under Three Mountains
三座大山
Wukong is stuck under three mountains. Can the mountain god set him free before the demons harm his master?
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Chapter 3: The Fake Name
假名字
Wukong swaps his name for a fake one. But the gourd catches him anyway. Is it too hot to escape?
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Chapter 4: The Gourd That Holds the Sky
能装天的葫芦
Wukong sells a little gourd that holds the sky. Even Heaven helps him with the trick.
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Chapter 5: Laozi's Boys
老君的孩子
Golden Horn has to answer. Then an old master arrives with a surprise, and a warning for the road.
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Key words in Journey to the West: Golden Horn and Silver Horn
Behind the story
Journey to the West (西游记) was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 1500s. It follows the monk Tang Seng and his three disciples on the long road to bring holy books from India to China.
In this adventure, the Monkey King meets two demon brothers with a magic gourd. Chinese children grow up with this story in books, cartoons and TV shows, and the gourd trick is one of the most famous in the whole novel.
Did you know?
- In the novel, the demon brothers turn out to be boys who tended the fire in Laozi's furnace, and the gourd and the vase are his treasures.
- The gourd (葫芦) is a lucky shape in China. Old Chinese doctors and Taoists carried medicine in gourds.
- Laozi (老君), the founder of Taoism, is a much loved figure in Chinese stories.