Journey to the West (1986 TV series)

Journey to the West is a Chinese television series adapted from Wu Cheng'en's 16th-century novel of the same name. It was directed by Yang Jie and stars Liu Xiao Ling Tong as Sun Wukong, Chi Chongrui as Tang Sanzang, Ma Dehua as Zhu Bajie, and Yan Huaili as Sha Wujing.
The pilot first aired in Mainland China in 1982. Eleven completed episodes were released on 1 October 1986 before all 25 episodes were collectively broadcast on CCTV in 1988. A second season totaling 16 episodes was filmed in 1998. The series concluded in 2000 with 41 episodes broadcast over two seasons.
Set in Tang-era China, Journey to the West follows the journey of Chinese Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang and his three disciples, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing on their pilgrimage to India. The series incorporates elements of Chinese mythology as well as Chinese Buddhism and Taoism.
Journey to the West attracted record viewership in China and gained national widespread popularity upon its release. It has been praised for staying faithful to the novel and its opening and ending themes have become iconic tunes in the public conscious. In 1988, the show received a Feitian Award (Outstanding Artistry) and two Golden Eagle Awards (Best Television Series and Best Actor).
Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang embarks on a holy pilgrimage to India seeking out and bringing back to China Buddhist scriptures. He is accompanied by three powerful disciples: Sun Wukong, a shapeshifting stone monkey and trickster who rebelled against Heaven; Zhu Bajie, a former Marshal Canopy of Heaven expelled for harassing the moon goddess Chang'e and subsequently reincarnated as a humanoid pig; and Sha Wujing, a former Curtain-Lifting General in Heaven expelled for breaking a valuable vase and reincarnated as a man-eating monster. Along their journey, the four pilgrims face 81 tribulations, some of which involve affairs of normal humans, whilst others consist of the disciples protecting their master from various demons and monsters who wish to consume Tang Sanzang's flesh in hopes of gaining immortality.
Due to budgetary issues, five of the initially planned episodes were not filmed during the first season:
Journey to the West was greenlit in late 1981 as part of reformist leader Hu Yaobang's efforts to dramatise Chinese literary classics on state-run television. Yang Jie was appointed director of the series in 1982 and developed the screenplay with Dai Yinglu and Sou Yiping. Yang sought to explore the humanity of the original novel's characters and so focused on the complexities of interpersonal relationships between them in preference to focusing on action sequences. A major difference from the novel was the depiction of Tang Sanzang having his faith challenged after the queen of Women's Kingdom develops romantic feelings for him and he is, in turn, tempted to give into mortal desire.
Due to a shortage of staff, Yang largely managed the series’ budgeting, financing, scouting, writing, editing and casting. She insisted on filming on location instead of a sound stage and spent months searching across China for suitable locations. In preparation for the stunt work required of the actors, she and her husband Wang Chongqiu also studied wire work in Hong Kong.
Initial casting for the characters, notably the role of Sun Wukong, proved difficult as the production team had no points of reference to base off of in modern media. Peking opera was ultimately selected due to its history and artistry in depicting various characters and tales from Chinese folklore, which codirector Xun Hao perceived as an important foundation and reference point for the writing of Sun Wukong's character, as well as for capturing his appearance and mannerisms that felt familiar to a Chinese audience. As a result, a majority of the cast hailed with a background in Peking opera and elements of the genre, such as pantomiming, were incorporated into their scenes.
Performing artist Liu Xiao Ling Tong, who hailed from a family of performers specializing in portraying Sun Wukong, was cast in the role after Yang Jie requested to see a private demonstration in Beijing. His speaking voice was dubbed by Li Shihong from episodes one to five in season one and by Li Yang for the remainder of both seasons.
Wang Yue was cast as Tang Sanzang and filmed four episodes before leaving mid-production to pursue a film career. He was replaced by Xu Shaohua who departed soon after filming the episode Encounter in Women's Kingdom, to pursue university in Shandong. Peking opera singer Chi Chongrui took on the role for the remainder of the first season and had been recruited by chance after being spotted by Yang Jie while passing each other in a corridor. Both Xu and Chi would return in season two, sharing the role for eight episodes each between them. The voice of Tang Sanzang was dubbed by Zhang Yunming.
Ma Dehua was cast as Zhu Bajie and Yan Huaili as Sha Wujing. Both were replaced in season two by Cui Jingfu and Liu Dagang respectively. Zhao Guangshan and Li Po provided the dubbed voice of Zhu Bajie, while Yan Huaili and Qi Kejian provided the dubbed voice of Sha Wujing.
Several horses were used for Tang's steed White Dragon Horse before a four-year-old white Ujumqin was purchased from Inner Mongolia in 1983.
Filming began on 3 July 1982 with the entirety of season one being shot on a single Sony BVP-300 model camera. On location shooting took place across various provinces and cities in China including Beijing, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Xinjiang, while episodes depicting India were completed in Thailand. Various underwater scenes and those depicting Heaven were shot at a sound stage, with dry ice being used to imitate the effects of clouds. The first season's episodes were not shot in chronological order, with episode 13 Slaying Demons in the Kingdom of Wuji being completed first followed by episodes 9, 1, 6, and 10. Slaying Demons in the Kingdom of Wuji was broadcast as a pilot on National Day of 1982 where it was poorly received by test audiences, who primarily criticised its crude makeup and cinematography while CCTV was also reportedly unhappy with Wang Yue's portrayal of Tang Sanzang. These resulted in extensive reshoots and editing which would not be complete until 1986 when the production team was satisfied with the episode.
To ensure the acrobatic elements of Peking opera did not detract from the realness of battle scenes, wushu practitioner Lin Zhiqian, who also portrayed Erlang Shen, provided most of the action choreography for season one. For season two, a stunt team from Hong Kong, headed by martial arts instructor Cao Rong, was hired.
Limited resources and poor logistical support caused several issues during season one's production process. Many actors were injured during airborne battle sequences as the wires used to suspend them frequently broke. To compensate, cardboard boxes and pillows were placed beneath the wires while young athletes from local sport schools were hired to perform stunts using trampolines for high angle shots. Due to the innate danger of using real flames, special effects were originally set to be used whilst filming Sun Wukong's imprisonment in Taishang Laojun's furnace as well as during his battle with Red Boy. However, Yang was dissatisfied with the poor quality of the effects resulting in pyrotechnics to be implemented. On Yang's insistence, the intensity of the flames were increased on both instances and nearly resulted in Liu Xiao Ling Tong suffering fatal injuries. The actor recalled that while filming the furnace scene, "the fire burned beyond the control of the technical staff" and the fur on his monkey suit was burned off, whilst the fire used in the battle scene, which required him to be set alight with nothing but cotton-padding in his costume, caused him to collapse from suffocation.
With individual scenes being shot on a single camera, a significant amount of time was required for the completion of a single episode, often needing three to four months. By 1986, the first fifteen episodes had accrued CCTV three million yuan in production costs resulting in funding to be pulled. Production was further interrupted when Yang Jie and the production team came under investigation by the network on suspicions they were squandering national funds. Season one was only able to be completed when supporting cast member Li Hongchang helped secure a three-million-yuan loan from the China Railway 11th Bureau Group. However, five of the planned 30 episodes remained unfinished and were adapted into a later season a decade later in 1998. Season two reportedly received thirteen million yuan in funds to film.
Xu Jingqing was selected to be the series' main music composer in 1983 after Yang Jie heard a demo of "Happy Gathering at Flower Fruit Mountain". Xu used a combination of traditional Chinese instruments as well as a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer and an electronic drum to create most of the series' music, and has described the genre as a 'mix between Chinese traditional music, electronic music, and orchestral song'. At the time, his use of electronic music was perceived by the network as "Western" and "modern" and thus unfitting for an adaption of one of China's four great novels. It became such an issue of debate that Xu was almost fired during production. Prior his involvement with Journey to the West, two themes had been recorded and released in 1982 and 1984, with one titled "Swaying Clouds, Vast Seas" and the other “Thousands of Adversities Prove One's Sincerity". Yang, however, was dissatisfied with both songs and wanted a tune that better captured the four disciples' enduring fervor. The third and final theme, "Immortal Sound Above Cloud Palace" was drawn from Xu hearing a group of part-time workers humming and drumming their lunchboxes in tune, whilst tunes to the ending theme song "Dare to Ask Where is the Road" and several other songs used in the first season, including "Women's Feelings", were drawn from his personal life experiences. He also referenced the 1951 Indian film, Awaara, when composing the song "Tianzhu Maiden", used in episode 24 following the four disciples' arrival in India.
Yan Su and Yao Ming were the lead lyricists for season one and two respectively. While writing "Dare to Ask Where is the Road", Yan referenced novelist Lu Xun's 1921 short story "My Old Home", specifically its ending sentence 'For actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made' to complete the song. Zhang Baomo originally performed the song, her version being used for the first season's 11 episodes before it was rerecorded by folk singer Jiang Dawei. This new version would replace Zhang's for the remainder of the first season. A remixed version (still sung by Jiang) was used in season two.
All tracks were composed by Xu Jingqing except where stated.
At the zenith of its release, a two-hour television special was aired on the Lunar New Year of 1987. Titled Qi Tian Le Festival Gala, it featured a range of performances by a majority of the show's main and supporting cast from episodes 1 to 20, alongside guest appearances by singers Jiang Dawei, Yu Junjian, Wu Jing and Hu Yinyin. Members of the Chinese Communist Party, including former Premier Zhao Ziyang, also attended the event.
Season one was aired weekly in 1986 and 1988 while season two aired as a collective package on CCTV on 28 January 2000. Reruns of the episodes have continued to be aired across various channels on CCTV.
In 2017, CCTV released edited versions of both seasons on YouTube complete with English subtitles. Episode five of the second season was removed and instead merged with the fourth episode "Obstacle at Lion Camel Ridge", making a total of 40 episodes instead of the original 41.
Upon its release, Journey to the West was praised for its faithfulness to the source material and lauded as one of the pioneers in national media for artistically representing China's traditions and values, its aesthetics helping break 'the single-role-image constructed by previous TV series'. On Chinese social networking service Douban, season one currently holds a 9.7/10 rating and season two 9.1/10, with the latter receiving some criticism for its writing, casting choices and music.
In the mainland, season one received a record viewership rate of 89.4% in 1987 while season two was less successful, peaking at a viewership rate of 30% in 2000. "Dare to Ask Where is the Road" has been called 'a household name' and has gone on to become one of the most recognized songs from a television series. Since their original airing, the first 25 episodes have been rebroadcast over 2000 times across various television networks in Mainland China, making Journey to the West one of the country's most watched series.
Internationally, Journey to the West received similar acclaim in Southeast Asia and helped launch Sun Wukong actor Liu Xiao Ling Tong into international stardom. The opening theme was also featured in the 2024 video game Black Myth: Wukong.
In response to the series' enduring popularity, Yang Jie was quoted as saying "People often express their love for Journey to the West to me, but every time I hear that kind of thing, I regret that I didn't do it better. If you ask me why so many people love this TV adaptation, I think I know the answer: In those days, my whole crew and I were working for art, not for money, fame or personal benefits.”