Journey to the West (1986 TV Series)

Journey to the West (Chinese: 西遊記; pinyin: Xī Yóu Jì) is a Chinese mythology TV series adapted from the classic novel with same title. It depicts the Monk Tang Sanzang 's pilgrimage to the Vulture Peak (灵山) with his four disciples during the Tang Dynasty in ancient China. The series consists of two seasons, both directed by Yang Jie and produced by CCTV. It received great response from the audience and is widely considered as the best adaptation of the original work. First broadcasted in 1986, the series has been played for thousands of times on TV Networks. It is one of the most popular TV series in Chinese history.

About
The director Yang Jie received the task from the Chinese officials to film the classic novel Journey to the West, which is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. Though the one she really wanted to film is another one from the four great novels called Dream of the Red Chamber, director Yang Jie accepted the task and organized a film crew by 1982. The filming process was extremely tough at that time. Because of the nature of the original work as a mythology, the crew needs to use a lot of special effects in the show. However, with limitation in techniques and experience, making special effects costs the team great amount of money and causes considerable danger at the same time. Almost all of the main casts had experience of falling down when they were hung by the wires several meters above the ground. Despite the difficult conditions, the team managed to finish the first season after 6 years of filming. It was piloted on CCTV in 1986, and all of the 25 episodes were released by 1988. The show was an immediate success after being broadcasted. The viewership rate reached 89.4% in 1987.

In 1998, the crew gathered again to film the rest of the stories from the original work that were not covered in the first season. Since there wasn't a plan to film a second season, the story was already finished by the end of first season. As a result, the crew adapted the uncovered story into flashbacks of the protagonists after they returned to the Tang Empire from the Vulture Peak. The second season consists of 16 episodes and was broadcasted on CCTV in 2000.

Main Plot
One day, a monkey is born from a stone nourished by the essence of the world. He becomes an Immortal after being named as Sun Wukong and practicing Taoist for hundred of years. He makes his name of Great Sage Equal to Heaven(齐天大圣) after starting a war against the Heaven. The Monkey causes great trouble in the Heaven, as almost no one can matches his power. When he finally threats the Jade Emperor to give up his position, the Buddha arrives and manages to trap him under a mountain for five hundred years.

Five hundred years later, a monk called Tang Sanzang in the Tang Empire sets out to bring back Buddhist scriptures from the Vulture Peak in India under the instruction of Guanyin Bodhisattva. He releases the Monkey from the mountain, make him his disciple and meets the other three disciples during the journey. As a team, they experiences 81 tribulations, defeats relentless demons and manages to receive the scriptures from the Buddha at the end of the journey. They then returns to the Tang Empire, spreads the thoughts from the scriptures and tells the emperor about their experiences in the whole trip.