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A long, long time ago, in a magical version of ancient China, an island called Aolai stood in the sea like a king in his palace. In the center of the island was Flower Fruit Mountain, and at the very top of the mountain was a large stone, as tall as six men. The stone was made pregnant by heaven and earth, and one day the wind blew over the egg and it cracked open. A little stone monkey emerged. He opened his eyes, and two beams of light shot up to heaven. The Jade Emperor on his throne saw the beams of light but he did not interfere. The little stone monkey grew up to be Sun Wukong, the Handsome Monkey King.Journey to the West is probably the most famous and best-loved novel in China and is considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. The original Chinese novel written by Wu Chen'en in the 16th century is over a half million Chinese characters long, and a direct English translation runs over 2,000 pages and has a very large vocabulary. This book is not a literal translation of the Journey to the West. Rather, it's a retelling of the story in easy-to-read English. Unlike the other full-text translations, this is a graded reader that uses a restricted vocabulary, simpler sentence structure, and fewer proper nouns. The chapters start off quite easy and gradually increase in complexity. For example the first chapter is written at a grade level of 2.6 (using the Flesh-Kincaid scale), while the final chapter is written at a grade level of 5.1.

The monk Tangseng and his three disciples are nearing the end of their epic journey. They approach Thunderclap Monastery in India, the home of Tathagata Buddha. But Tangseng's ordeals are not over yet. First, the travelers are mistaken for murderers and thieves and must talk their way out of jail with some help from Sun Wukong's body-changing magic. When they finally arrive at the home of the Buddha, Tangseng asks for the holy scriptures which he plans to bring back to China. But it turns out that he has only endured eighty trials, one fewer than the 81 that are required of him. And bringing back the Buddhist scriptures turns out to be much more difficult than the pilgrims expected.This is the 31st and final book in the best-selling Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Simplified Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen'en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Tangseng, who traveled from Chang'an (today's Xi'an) westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book the four travelers face the 81 trials that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.The entire Journey to the West story has been told using a total of about 2,000 different Chinese words, but only 1,112 are used in this book. We introduce 25 new words for the first time, and each one is defined on the page where it is first used. The book includes pinyin, an English translation, and a full glossary. A free audiobook is available at www.imagin8press.com, and on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel.

The weary monk Tangseng and his three troublemaking disciples have now been traveling for over fourteen years. They arrive at a city near the Indian border just in time for the annual Lantern Festival, when three Buddhas come down from the sky and gather up large quantities of special lamp oil. Unfortunately these are not true Buddhas but monsters. They grab Tangseng and spirit him away to their cave. The monkey king Sun Wukong must get help from four wood bird stars and a dragon king to rescue his master.Later, the travelers arrive at a monastery where a strange girl is being held in a locked cell for her own protection. She claims to be the daughter of the King of India, but if so, who is the girl living in the king's palace? The travelers investigate and learn the truth, but not before Tangseng is nearly forced to marry a beautiful demon.This is the 30th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Simplified Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen'en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Tangseng, who traveled from Chang'an (today's Xi'an) westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book the four travelers face the 81 trials that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.The first 30 books in the Journey to the West series have used a total of about 2,000 different Chinese words, but only 1,065 are used in this book. We introduce 31 new words for the first time, and each one is defined on the page where it is first used. The book includes pinyin, an English translation, and a full glossary. A free audiobook is available on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel and on www.imagin8press.com.

The Buddhist monk and his three disciples finally approach the western border of China. They find themselves in a kingdom where it hasn't rained for three years because the prefect has angered the King of Heaven. Sun Wukong brings rain and, of course, trouble. Continuing their journey, they meet a prince and his three sons. The sons want to learn how to use the disciples' magic weapons, but one night the magic weapons are stolen by a nearby lion demon. When the disciples go to retrieve them, they encounter an entire family of lion demons, including a nine-headed lion with vast powers.This is the 29th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Simplified Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen'en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Tangseng, who traveled from Chang'an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book the four travelers face the 81 tribulations that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.Books 1 through 29 in the Journey to the West series have used a total of about 2,000 different Chinese words, but only 919 words are used in this book. We introduce 23 new words for the first time in this book, and each one is defined on the page where it is first used. The book includes pinyin, an English translation, and a full glossary. A free audiobook is available on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel and on www.imagin8press.com.

The travelers arrive at a tall mountain. An old man warns them that it's infested with thousands of man-eating demons but Sun Wukong ignores the warning. Soon they meet the three demon leaders: a blue-haired lion, an old yellow-tusked elephant, and a huge terrifying bird called Great Peng. The demons trap Sun Wukong in a magic jar but he escapes. Later the three disciples try but fail to defeat the three demons. Finally, with nowhere else to turn, Sun Wukong goes to Spirit Mountain to beg help from the Buddha himself.This is the 25th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen'en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Tangseng, who traveled from Chang'an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book the four travelers face the 81 tribulations that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.The first 25 books in the Journey to the West series have used a total of about 2000 different Chinese words, but only 890 words are used in this book. We introduce 17 new words in the book, each one defined on the page where it is first used. The book uses Simplified Chinese characters and includes pinyin, an English translation, and a full glossary. A free audiobook is available on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel and on www.imagin8press.com.

The Monkey King Sun Wukong leads the Tang monk and his two fellow disciples westward until their path is blocked by a river eight hundred miles wide. On the riverbank is a village where the people live in fear of the Great Demon King, who demands two human sacrifices each year. Sun Wukong and the pig-man Zhu Bajie come up with a clever plan to trick the Demon King and save the people of the village, but they soon discover that the Demon King has clever plans of his own.This is the 16th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen'en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Tangseng, who traveled from Chang'an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book Tangseng and his companions face the 81 tribulations that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.The story is written, as much as possible, using the 1200 word vocabulary of HSK4, plus several hundred words introduced in previous books in the series. It is presented in Simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, and includes an English version and glossary. A free audiobook is available on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel and also on www.imagin8press.com.

This book contains the full text of the 25th, 26th and 27th stories in our Journey to the West series for people learning to read Chinese. The three stories told here are unchanged from the three original books except for minor editing and reformatting.In Great Peng and His Brothers, the travelers arrive at a tall mountain and must confront three powerful demons: a blue-haired lion, an old yellow-tusked elephant, and a huge terrifying bird. In The Thousand Children, the king of Boytown has locked a thousand little boys in cages in front of their homes. Sun Wukong must defeat a demon masquerading as a Daoist master, release the king from a spell, and save the children. And in The Monk and the Mouse, Tangseng saves a lovely young woman in the forest, only to learn that she is a mouse demon intent on marrying him. His disciples just manage to save him, with unexpected help from one of Sun Wukong's old adversaries.These three stories are written in Simplified Chinese and use a total of 1344 different Chinese words. Each page of Chinese has a facing page of pinyin. The book includes a full English translation and glossary. Free audio versions of the three stories are available for free on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel and on the Imagin8 Press website.

In a dark forest the monk Tangseng comes upon a beautiful young woman tied to a tree and half-buried in the ground. The monk frees her, not realizing she is a deadly mouse demon. Later they arrive at a nearby monastery where she devours some monks and tries to force Tangseng to marry her. Sun Wukong learns the truth about her, lodges a complaint with the great Jade Emperor in heaven, and battles the mouse demon to save his master.This is the 27th book in the best-selling Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Simplified Chinese. It is based on the events in Chapters 80 through 83 of the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen'en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Tangseng, who traveled from Chang'an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book the four travelers face the 81 tribulations that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.All 27 books in the Journey to the West series have used a total of about 2000 different Chinese words, but only 904 words are used in this book. We introduce 23 words for the first time in this book, and each one is defined on the page where it is first used. The book includes pinyin, an English translation, and a full glossary. A free audiobook is available on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel and on www.imagin8press.com.

Tangseng and his disciples have been traveling for two or three years. They arrive at a secluded mountain monastery which turns out to be the home of a powerful master named Zhenyuan and an ancient and magical ginseng tree. As usual, the travelers'' search for a nice hot meal and a place to sleep quickly turns into a disaster. Although Zhenyuan has gone away for a few days, he has left his two youngest disciples in charge. They welcome the travelers, but soon there are misunderstandings, arguments, battles in the sky, and before long the travelers are facing a powerful and extremely angry adversary, as well as mysterious magic fruits and a large frying pan full of hot oil.This is the 10th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen''en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Tangseng, who traveled from Chang''an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book Tangseng and his companions face the 81 tribulations that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.The story is written, as much as possible, using the 1200-word vocabulary of HSK4. It is presented in Simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, and includes an English version and glossary. A free audiobook is available on YouTube''s Imagin8 Press channel and also on www.imagin8press.com.

This is the 20th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Chinese.

The monk Tangseng and his disciple, the short-tempered Monkey King Sun Wukong, begin their multi-year journey to retrieve Buddhist scriptures from Thunderclap Mountain in India. They first encounter a mysterious river-dwelling dragon, then run into serious trouble while staying in the temple of a 270 year old abbot. Their troubles deepen when they meet the abbot''s friend, a terrifying black bear monster. This is the 7th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen''en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled from Chang''an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book Tangseng and his companions face the 81 tribulations that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.The story is written, as much as possible, using the 1200-word vocabulary of HSK4. It is presented in Simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, and includes an English version and glossary. A free audiobook is available on YouTube''s Imagin8 Press channel and also on www.imagin8press.com.

This book contains the full text of the 13th, 14th and 15th stories in our Journey to the West series for people learning to read Chinese. The three stories told here are unchanged from our original versions except for minor editing and reformatting.In The Magic Ginseng Tree, the Buddhist monk Tangseng is visited in a dream by someone claiming to be the ghost of a murdered king. Tangseng's chief disciple Sun Wukong offers to go to the king's palace and sort things out with his iron rod, but things do not go as planned. In The Cave of Fire, the travelers encounter a young boy hanging upside down from a tree. They rescue him only to discover that he is really Red Boy, a powerful and malevolent demon and, it turns out, Sun Wukong's nephew. And in The Daoist Immortals, the travelers arrive at a strange city where Daoism is revered and Buddhism is forbidden. Sun Wukong gleefully causes trouble in the city, and finds himself in a series of deadly competitions with three Daoist Immortals.The stories are written, as much as possible, using the 1200-word vocabulary of HSK4 plus several hundred additional words introduced in these books and earlier books in the series. It is presented in Simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, and includes an English version and complete glossary. Free audiobooks are available on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel, and on our website, www.imagin8press.com.

Our band of travelers arrives at Level Top Mountain and encounters their most powerful adversaries yet: Great King Golden Horn and his younger brother Great King Silver Horn. These two monsters, assisted by their elderly mother and hundreds of well-armed demons, attempt to capture and liquefy Sun Wukong, and eat the Tang monk and his other disciples.  Led by Sun Wukong, the travelers desperately battle their foes through a combination of trickery, deception and magic, and barely survive the encounter.This is the 12th book in the best-selling The Journey to the West series of stories for students learning to read Chinese. It is based on the epic 16th century novel of the same name by Wu Chen''en. That novel was inspired by an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Tangseng, who traveled from Chang''an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned seventeen years later with priceless knowledge and spiritual texts. Over the course of the book Tangseng and his companions face the 81 tribulations that Tangseng had to endure to attain Buddhahood.The story is written, as much as possible, using the 1200-word vocabulary of HSK4. It is presented in Simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, and includes an English version and glossary. A free audiobook is available on YouTube''s Imagin8 Press channel and also on www.imagin8press.com.