Journey to the West
#5113.86 adjusted 3.93 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1592 Reading commitment Low Wu Cheng'en Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
Journey to the West is a 16th-century Chinese classic, traditionally attributed to Wu Cheng'en, first published in 1592, recounting the monk Xuanzang's pilgrimage westward to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures for the Chinese emperor. He is accompanied and protected by three supernatural disciples atoning for past transgressions: the trickster Monkey King Sun Wukong, the greedy but loyal pig-spirit Zhu Bajie, and the quiet river-spirit Sha Wujing. Structured as a hundred-chapter episodic quest, the pilgrims cross a world thick with demons, gods, and magic, most episodes turning on some monster or spirit that must be outwitted, fought, or converted before the journey can continue. It is counted among the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, and its characters, especially Sun Wukong, have gone on to shape fantasy, folklore, opera, and popular storytelling across East Asia for more than four centuries, inspiring countless retellings, adaptations, and derivative works well beyond China.
Mythic fantasy · For All ages
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Journey to the West Wu Cheng'en
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Journey to the West | 1592 | 1 | core | 3.86 (476 ratings) |
The single 100-chapter novel, traditionally attributed to Wu Cheng'en, recounting the monk Xuanzang's pilgrimage to India with his disciples Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature; complete English translations exist (Anthony C. Yu's four-volume edition, W.J.F. Jenner's three-volume edition), alongside Arthur Waley's earlier abridged translation Monkey.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Journey to the West? Journey to the West's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Journey to the West finished? Complete (1592).
- How much reading does Journey to the West take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~428 pages).
- How is Journey to the West ranked? #511 in this site's official ranking, based on 476 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #511?
Ranked #511 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.86 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (476 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.08 behind #510, City of Ghosts.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 476 ratings · Ranks #511 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Predates the era of literary awards; no formal award history to record.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.86 across 476 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Journey to the West admitted; Core Canon = the single classical novel accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Journey to the West Tier 2
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Journey to the West Tier 1
- Anthony C. Yu, complete unabridged translation (University of Chicago Press) Tier 1
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon is the single 100-chapter novel. No companion or expanded material is registered; the countless later adaptations, retellings, and derivative media are outside this canon's single-work scope for this admission.