If you compare this with the big numbers, then at the end of Phase XI Heaven and Earth were still one, and no beings had appeared. VII is when the sun reaches noon at VIII it is slipping towards the West IX is late afternoon the sun sets at X XI is dusk and at XII people settle down for the night. Now within a single day, the positive begins at the time I at II the cock crows at III it is not quite light at IV the sun rises V is after breakfast and at VI one does business. Each cycle can be divided into twelve phases: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII, the twelve branches. In the arithmetic of the universe, 129,600 years make one cycle. Read Difficulties Resolved on the Journey to the West. If you want to know about Creation and Time, Living things have always tended towards humanity The separation of clear and impure began. Once Pan Gu destroyed the Enormous Vagueness The Divine Root Conceives and the Spring Breaks ForthĪs the Heart's Nature Is Cultivated, the Great Way Arisesīefore Chaos was divided, Heaven and Earth were one Īll was a shapeless blur, and no men had appeared. The principle story consists of eighty-one calamities suffered by (Monkey) and his guardians (Tripitaka and Sandy, who are monks, and Pigsy, a pig). The story is a pseudo-historical account of a monk (Xuanzang) who went to India in the 7th century to seek Buddhist scriptures to bring back to China. The story has many layers of meaning and may be read on many different levels such as a quest and an adventure, a fantasy, a personal search (on the Monkey’s part) for self-cultivation, or a political/social satire. Wu Chen-en was an elder statesman who witnessed a lot in his life, both good and bad, yet ultimately came away with great faith in human nature to face hardships and survive with good humor and compassion. Journey To the West was written by Wu Chen-en, and is considered to be one of the four great classic novels written during the Ming Dynasty (c.