Journey to the West
#4903.86 of 664 ranked universes · 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, recounting the monk Xuanzang's pilgrimage to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures, accompanied by three supernatural disciples: the trickster Monkey King Sun Wukong, the pig-spirit Zhu Bajie, and the river-spirit Sha Wujing. Structured as a 100-chapter episodic quest through a world of demons, gods, and magic, it is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature and has shaped fantasy storytelling across East Asia ever since.
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? #490 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 476 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #490?
Ranked #490 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.86 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (476 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #489, The West Passage (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- 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 #490 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.