A Weibo user who adamantly claims to be a descendant of the Monkey King, a character from from Wu Chen-en's epic Journey to the West tales, has attracted intrigue and criticism from netizens across the country. The woman has even offered what she says is an 'ancestral stone' and 'monkey wool' as evidence to prove her theory, and on January 6 paid a visit to Fudan University's anthropology research labs in Shanghai to expose her identity through DNA testing.
The Weibo user, Mom's Concubine, comes from Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, a place highly recognized as being the Monkey King's hometown. Reports say that the woman had at first never believed that she could be an offspring of the Monkey King, who, according to legend, was born from stone. But the way her elders had always talked about it led to her curiosity. Now, she wants to prove her identity through scientific method.
Upon testing, Fudan University professors have so far said that the so-called "monkey wool" may not be true monkey wool, and stones she brought aren't able to confirm whether she is Monkey King's descendant or not. Still, she said she won't give up and is set on proving her ancestry.
In relevant timing, the latest trailer for the film adaptation of The Monkey King was released to the public this month and the film is due to come out later this year. Directed by Soi Cheang, the movie stars Donnie Yen as the Monkey King along with Chow Yun Fat and Aaron Kwok and is based on the same material as Steven Chow's previous Journey to the West installments.
Chow's Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons was China's biggest movie in 2013, according to figures, raking in over one-billion yuan ($160 million) in just 16 days.
By Isabel Quan
Exactly how will DNA testing prove or disprove her claim?
As someone who is studying anthropology in college and is a big fan of Xiyouji, I find this story both interesting and crazy at the same time. It's interesting that Monkey is such a famous character that people believe he is real (there is a cult dedicated to him after all). But I find it crazy that people are now claiming they are related to him. The only thing DNA will prove is that she is distantly related to monkeys. I predict that she will claim this is evidence.
The world class team behind Monkey King. Photo: Courtesy of Sands China
Sands China Ltd and Beijing Hua Yan Group held a launch ceremony at the Beijing Grand National Theater, announcing a spectacular stage production, Monkey King - a mythical theater show that will premier in Macao.
It is expected to have its first ever performance at the new theater of Sands Cotai Central at Cotai Strip Resorts Macao in 2015.
Monkey King was created based on the Chinese classic literary work Journey to the West, combining modern stage design and performance with multimedia technology to build a novel and magical work of performance art.
Planned, invested in and produced by Beijing Hua Yan Group, Monkey King will be performed regularly at the new theater of Sands Cotai Central at Cotai Strip Resorts Macao.
"Sands China is delighted to be working with Hua Yan to bring this exciting new stage production to Macao," said Edward Tracy, Sands China Ltd president and CEO, during the press conference.
"With this show, Sands China is glad to continue providing an avenue of cultural exchange that allows international audiences to better understand Chinese art and culture.
And of course, this show further enhances the integrated resort experience for families with children, while diversifying the entertainment landscape in Macao - and this is an important part of Macao being a world center of tourism and leisure."
Founded by highly regarded Chinese experts and scholars, cultural industry leader Beijing Hua Yan Group is a comprehensive enterprise holding the leadership position in China in the investment in and production of large-scale theatrical shows.
Hua Yan Group and its creative team, comprised of members such as Grammy Award-winning composer Tan Dun and renowned film director Li Qiankuan, have produced, operated and invested in various well-known and successful works, including Impression Liu Sanjie and Zen Shaolin Grand Ceremony, large-scale live shows directed by Zhang Yimou, and also large-scale musical epics like Jinggangshan - Hua Yan Red Classics Series I and Taihangshan - Hua Yan Red Classics Series II.
"We are very honoured to have our project chosen by Sands China Ltd," said Xu Feng, Beijing Hua Yan Group chairman.
"The production team are the leaders in their own professions in modern China. We have reason to believe that in the near future, Monkey King at Sands Cotai Central will not only become a cultural landmark of Macao, but also a brand new classic art piece from the Orient in the global commercial performance market."
It's been a while since a Journey to the West character has been spotted around town doing ordinary things among citizens (and making children cry), but four men dressed as characters from the classic Chinese novel-turned-box office franchise were seen parading through the streets last Saturday advocating environmental protection. Whatever' gets the masses attention, we suppose.
These four guys were actually environmental volunteers. They sweat it out under costumes so as to promote a cleaner environment. During their parade, the masked vigilantes marched through the streets with a stage prop white horse while stabbing at pieces of trash and ridding of them in bins with their "weapons" (plastic tongs). They wanted to live up to the “everyone has the responsibility to protect the environment” idea.
We hope it catches on.
[Images Via The Sun]
By Jennifer Hui
Nice mascots for an important campaign. I particularly like the white horse trash bin.
This spring, Princeton University students worked with guest martial artist Scott Parker and Senior Lecturer in Dance Rebecca Lazier to perform a martial arts musical fantasy, the first of its kind at Princeton. In this video, rising sop****re Nathan Lam, seen here as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, talks about how cast members prepared for their roles.
Video stills from Danielle Alio, Office of Communications
Princeton's Lewis Center for the Arts offered an Atelier and dance course this past spring in which students learned the martial art of wushu to perform an act from composer Fred Ho's "Journey Beyond the West: The New Adventures of Monkey," a martial arts musical fantasy.
The Princeton Atelier program brings professional artists to campus to work with students, and the course was taught by Scott Parker, a martial artist and performer, and Rebecca Lazier, a senior lecturer in dance. Incorporationg a variety of global musical and cultural influences, "Journey Beyond the West" is a reimagining of the Chinese epic "Journey to the West."
Wushu is a contemporary form of Chinese martial arts with roots in defense, offense and health.
"In wushu, we bring out more of the performance quality to the forefront and this is perfect for stage, performance and competition," Parker said.
The students in the course had a wide range of martial arts abilities, from beginner to expert.
"I saw this on the course list, and I thought this is a dream class for me," said Edward Leung, a rising junior majoring in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "I always wanted to do wushu, but I never had the opportunity to explore it before college. I love the cross-genre aspect of this class, because it fuses music as well as sociology, anthropology and wushu into this 35-minute act."
According to Lazier, "Journey Beyond the West" is unique.
"This is the first time anything like this has been done at Princeton both in terms of inclusion of martial arts in a choreographic setting within the Lewis Center for the Arts, and then taking something that is such a dynamic intersection of many different cultures and bringing it to life," Lazier said.
Students, faculty and a guest martial artist discuss how they staged the martial arts musical fantasy "Journey Beyond the West: The New Adventures of Monkey." (Video by Danielle Alio, Office of Communications)
A man dressed as "Pigsy" (Zhu Bajie), one of the main characters in the Journey to the West series, was photographed selling roasted pig's trotters in a store called "Pigsy Roasted Trotters" near a bus station in Jilin on Tuesday.
30-year-old Huang Junxiang, the owner of the store, found that pig's trotters were a popular food item in Shanghai, and introduced the food to his hometown in Jilin city, according to Tencent.
He created five flavors, only two of which can be found in stores in other cities. As a final touch, he had his workers dress like Pigsy in a bid to draw in customers.
Huang told reporters that his store has sold 7,000 RMB worth of roasted trotters every day since its opening. On one occasion, he was able to make 3,000 RMB in just one hour.
Would you buy pig's trotters from a pig? (Pig-man, to be fair.)
By Lucy Liu
I know this sounds wrong, but I'd much rather get a bite of Sanzhang. Those familiar with the tale understand.
There must be an interesting story here about Zhang coming from a lineage of Monkey performers...well, his father at least. I'd love to see this when it comes out. Might even deserve it's own thread someday. Very interesting about the Guinness record application. I hope they get recognized there.
Chinese actor Liuxiaolingtong performs the Monkey King in a fan meeting in Yangon, Myanmar, May 22. (Photo/Xinhua)
Fans of the Monkey King will soon get to see the hero in another 3D film starring one of the most renowned Monkey King performers in a new project.
Xiyouji, or Journey to the West, one of the classic novels of Chinese literature, will be adapted into an entertaining movie at the end of the year. It will star Zhang Jinlai, better known as Liuxiaolingtong, Zhang confirmed to Yangtse Evening News in a Monday interview. Zhang has become a household name in China for playing the role of Monkey King in the TV series Journey to the West in 1986.
He said that making a 3D version of the novel was the unfulfilled wish of his late father Zhang Zongyi, one of China's most famed Monkey King performers, who died earlier this year at the age of 90.
Monkey King is one of the main characters in Xiyouji, which tells the story of a Chinese Buddhist monk's quest to the west to obtain sacred Buddhist texts. The Monkey King is one of the monk's protectors.
Journey to the West starring Zhang Jinlai has been rebroadcasted for more than 3,000 times so far, making it the most played TV series in the world, according to Zhang. Zhang has just applied for a Guinness World Record for its rebroadcast rate.
Film makers have attempted to recreate the story by employing the latest technology, with Hong Kong stars Chow Yun Fat, Donnie Yen and Aaron Kwok starring in a 3D blockbuster, which was screened earlier this year.
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Originally Posted by GeneChing
