Monkey Subdues the White-Bone Demon

Traveling with his three followers to the West to seek Buddhist scriptures, Hsuan-tsang encounters the White-Bone Demon, who keeps changing herself into different human forms in order to catch and eat him. When Hsuan-tsang's follower, Monkey, sees through her disguises and tries to kill her, the deluded Hsuan-tsang orders him away, only to fall into the demon's clutches. At the last moment Monkey returns to rescue him. This picture-story book is based on an episode from "The Pilgrimage to the West," a mythological novel by Wu Cheng-en. The novel has had a wide appeal among Chinese readers since its appearance in the 16th century and its hero, Monkey, has become one of the most lovable figures in Chinese literature. Monkey is a fearless and loyal character capable of performing supernatural feats. The line drawings are in the traditional Chinese style, while the operatic costumes in which the characters appear add to the legendary atmosphere of the story.