I was reading the wikipedia article on 西遊記 and one thing I noticed is that in this book, the first section gives some background on one character in the book, the second section gives background on another character, and in the rest of the book they have their journey together (think Dragon Quest III or any number of JRPGs which use a similar format).
I was wondering if anyone knows about this type of format as it is used in storytelling and how/when it would have reached Japan, and if it was popular in Japanese books (or plays, etc) before/after 西遊記 reached Japan.
Sorry IDK anything else about this, just wondering.
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西遊記 was and is quite popular and influential in Japan – it started being translated in the 18th century (though there wasn’t a complete translation until the 1830s) and there have been movie/TV/anime adaptations in Japan many times in the 20th century (and continuing to this day). If you’re curious, there’s a [whole Master’s thesis on this!](https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0343980)
I’m not sure if 西遊記 itself had a strong influence on this kind of storytelling format, but it certainly sounds plausible.
It’s Journey to the West, folks.
I think you misspelled Dragon Ball.
西遊記 (saiyuki / xiyouji) is an extremely well-known story throughout East Asia. I would estimate that 100% of East Asians have at least seen an adaptation of it. If you’re from a Western country, you can think of it as on the same level of prominence as the Odyssey. It is difficult to overstate how influential this work is.
It is one of the four “Great Classics” of Chinese literature—and of those, probably the most accessible, easy-to-adapt, and child-friendly. If you are interested in the other three:
* 三国演義 (sangoku engi / sanguo yanyi), Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a military/political-intrigue story. I’ve also seen the Japanese title written as 三国志演義 (sangoku shi engi). I would compare it to the Iliad, Shakespeare’s histories, or maybe A Song of Ice and Fire in terms of sub-plots.
* 水滸伝 (suikoden / shuihu zhuan), Water Margin, about a group of outlaws. Since this is an anthology where each outlaw tells a story, I would compare it to Cantebury Tales, or One Thousand and One Nights.
* 紅楼夢 (kouroumu / honglou meng), Dream of the Red Chamber, a family saga. Published in the 1700s, this is the most modern of the classics, and my personal favorite. I would compare it to Roots by Alex Haley, or maybe One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
All four of these stories are widely taught in China, Japan, and Korea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West