New Monkey King epic brings back memories

"Odyssey," the latest film adaptation of the legendary Monkey King story, is enjoying success at the box office and fueling waves of nostalgia among Chinese audiences.

The fantasy-action film directed by acclaimed Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow took in 123 million yuan (19.7 million U.S. dollars) when it debuted in theaters on Feb. 10, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, setting a new record for single-day earnings at the Chinese box office.

The movie was adapted from the 500-year-old Chinese classic "Journey to the West," or "Monkey," the story of Monk Xuanzang's pilgrimage to India with the Monkey King and two other disciples.

Throughout the past century, "Journey to the West" has been successfully adapted to Peking Opera, comics, films, TV series and plays.

"Odyssey" is considered a companion piece to the film "A Chinese Odyssey," which Chow acted in 20 years ago. It also pays tribute to "Biography of Wukong," which was published by author Zeng Yu online, chapter-by-chapter, before being compiled in book-form in 2000.

The latter two overturned the traditional story by allowing the Monkey King, or Wukong, and his fellow pilgrims to experience the same struggles, joys, pains and thrills that regular people go through. They also added romance to the monotonous, monster-battling journey detailed in the original novel.

"A Chinese Odyssey" and "Biography of Wukong" were hits with both audiences and readers, and they even became "guides for people in love" among university students born in the 1970s.

"Dozens of my friends have borrowed lines from the film 'A Chinese Odyssey' to propose to their girlfriends and they all succeeded," said Xie Zhen, a female fan of the film, who is in her 30s.

"I can still recite the most famous lines, that is 'If God would give me a chance, I would tell my true love three words - I love you. If our love has to have a time limit, I wish it could last for 10,000 years,'" said Xie, who agreed to marry her then boyfriend after he recited the lines to her.

Other fans consider "A Chinese Odyssey" and "Biography of Wukong" the best cure for a broken heart.

"They teach you how to deal with life's obstacles and setbacks," said Chen Shu, 33, who watched the film on three occasions and read the novel five times when he was lovelorn.

Chen said the film and the novel are so imaginative and rebellious that they present their audience with new ways to live life. "I became much more magnanimous and open-minded," he said.

People like Xie and Chen are going to movie theaters hoping to enjoy a bit of something from their past, and have found yet another interpretation of an old favorite in "Odyssey."

"China's speedy development in the past decade left people much more lonely and detached in bustling mega-cities. It explains why the "Odyssey" audience feels nostalgic when watching it," Zeng, author of both "Biography of Wukong" and the novel adapted from the film "Odyssey," told Xinhua.

"But times change. The Monkey King's love oath changes from the moving 'love you for 10,000 years' [in 'A Chinese Odyssey'] to 'carpe diem' [in 'Odyssey']," said the author, who is better known in China by his pseudonym Jinhezai.

He added that the film displays today's Chinese society, in which people feel more anxious about the future.

"People now rush to do everything. They are also more realistic as they value material needs such as a house and cars more within a marriage than older generations did," said Chen.

He said it is a pity that fewer believe in love forever now. "Romance is more like a luxury."

Those adapting films from works of literature, literary scholars and film critics agree with Jinhezai's notion that "there are 1,000 Monkey Kings in 1,000 people's eyes."

Zhang Yiwu, a culture critic and professor with Peking University, said the original novel's combination of mythology, distinct characters and comic elements has made imaginative adaptations possible.

He said in an increasingly open and diverse society like China's, more eye-catching adaptations of the Monkey King mythology will emerge.

Meanwhile, Zeng hopes to make another Monkey King film in the near future. "It will tell my outlook on life."