Thursday, February 18, 2010

Journey to West (西遊記) insults Taoism

In the epic story Journey to West (西遊記), in the chapter Havoc in Heaven (大闹天宫), the Monkey God (孙悟空) made a monkey out of the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝), mock at the founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, also known as 李耳 and 太上老君. The Jade Emperor was forced to honour the monkey with the title "Great Sage who is Equal to Heaven (齐天大圣)". Finally, the Jade Emperor was forced to look for Buddha (如来佛祖) to tame this monkey, thus proving that Taoism is inferior to Buddhism.
No Taoist ever lodges a complaint to ban this book. This is because the story is so popular and everyone is desensitised because of the common knowledge. Every Taoist has been inoculated with this story, and they do not feel that they are being insulted.

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