Spring is here, time to go out of the city for our #205 boxer run, we will take you to a Journey to the West. Ahh…not Europe but Mentougou, west of Beijing for real journey but a virtual journey to one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. You’ll need to read the entire write-up scroll down; otherwise you would miss the rules of the whole journey!
About therunning and walking trail:
Running trail will be about 12km, elevation rise about 200m.
Walking trail will be about 6km, elevation rise about 100m.
Hares:
Walking hares: Tang Sanzang(Master Shifu): Shtupwaffel; Zhu Bajie (hottest Bajie ever): Hot Girl Farts
Running hares: Monkey King: Just Noah; Sha Wujing: Shitposter_69
When:
12 March 2022
3月12日
Time:
9.30am meet at Paddy O` Shea`s, bus departs at 10:00am sharp!
Bus departs at Renmin University 10.30am subway station, also sharp!
10点Paddy O` Shea`s出发，10点半人民大学地铁站A1口，不见不散！
Hash Cash:
200RMB gets you…
– Trail and circle
– Around-trip bus ride
– Bottomless beer
– Hash dinner: Chang`an and Xinjiang food
_ Mulled wine
_ Snacks
Itinerary
| Notes | ||
| 9.30 | Meet at Paddy`s | Bar not open, no food available, please bring own breakfast, there`s food nearby |
| 10.00 | Bus leaves Paddy`s | |
| 10.30 | Renmin University subway station A1 walk to intersection | |
| 11.30 | Arrive at trail, hares off, chalk talk | Outskirts of Beijing |
| 11.50 | Runners and walkers off | Options: walking trail
Runners trail |
| 15.00 | Walkers and Runners pick up site | |
| 16.00 | Circle | |
| 17.00 | dinner | |
| 18:30 | Back to town | |
| On-after | Paddy`s | |
What to Bring:
Mobile phone, power bank, running or hiking shoes, a water bottle or water pouch.
A sense of adventure, direction, and humour.
Food& beverages:
Breakfast,extra snacks
Registration:
We need to have numbers for renting the bus! So go ahead and register.
Sign up link: scroll down to click “Read more”
Meet Up:
Paddy O` Shea`s (on the street)
朝阳区东直门外大街28号，澳大利亚大使馆对面
D’ERECTIONS:
If you come by subway:
LINE2 AND 13
Dongzhimen subway station 澳大利亚使馆对面(Exit C) Ten minutes walk east.
LINE10
Agricultural Exhibition Center subway station 农业展览馆(Exit D2) Ten minutes walk west.地铁：10号线亮马桥站西北A口
- Introduction to the novel and the characters as our backgroud :
Journeyto the West (Chinese: 西游记; pinyin: Xī Yóu Jì) is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to WuCheng’en. It is regarded as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia. Arthur Waley’s abridged translation, Monkey, is known in English-speaking countries.
The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who travelled to the “Western Regions” (Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent) to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras)and returned after many trials and much suffering. The monk is referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel, but adds elements from folk tales and the author’s invention: Gautama Buddha gives this task to the monk and provides him with three protectors who agree to help him as an atonement for their sins. These disciples are Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie,and Sha Wujing. The group of pilgrims journeys towards enlightenment by the power and virtue of cooperation.
Journey to the West has strong roots in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology, Confucianist, Taoist, and Buddhist philosophy,and the pantheon of Taoist immortals and Buddhist bodhisattvas are still reflective of some Chinese religious attitudes today. Enduringly popular, the novel is at once a comic adventure story, a humorous satire of Chinese bureaucracy, a source of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory.
Sun Wukong or Monkey King
Monkey King learnt skills from “GrandMaster of Bodhi (菩提祖師),” who taught him the 72 heavenly methods of transformation and a “sumersault cloud” which allows him to travel 108,000 li(1li=half a km) almost instantaneously.
His primary weapon is his staff, the “Ru yi Jingu Bang,” which he can shrink down to the size of a needle and keep in his ear, as well as expand it to gigantic proportions. The rod, which weighs 17,550 pounds, was originally a pillar supporting the undersea palace of the Dragon King of the East Sea, but he was able to pull it out of its support and can swing it with ease.
He`s the strongest one among the three protectors.
Tang Sanzang or Tripitaka
He set off for Dahlia kingdom (天竺国, an appellation for India in ancient China) to retrieve original Buddhist scriptures for China. Although he is helpless in defending himself, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin)helps by finding him powerful disciples who aid and protect him on his journey.In return, the disciples will receive enlightenment and forgiveness for their sins once the journey is done. Along the way, they help the local inhabitants by defeating various monsters and demons who try to obtain immortality by consuming TangSanzang’s flesh.
Zhu Bajie or Pigsy
Once an immortal who was the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy commanding 100,000 naval soldiers of the Milky Way, he drank too much during a celebration of the gods and attempted to harass the moon goddess Chang’e, resulting in his banishment to the mortal world. He was supposed to be reborn as a human but ended up in the womb of a sow due to an error on the Reincarnation Wheel, which turned him into a half-man, half-pig monster. Zhu Bajie was very greedy, and could not survive without eating ravenously.
He is the second strongest member of the team; also he is spiritually the lowest of the group due to his lust for women, extreme laziness, and greediness.
Sha Wujing or Sandy
Wujing also knows 18 transformation methods and is highly effective in water combat.
Wujing is known to be the most obedient, logical, and polite of the three disciples, and always takes care of his master, seldom engaging in the bickering of his fellow disciples. He has no major faults nor any extraordinary characteristics. He is also the person whom Tang Sanzang consults when faced with difficult decisions.
- Walkers and Runners need to do:
On the journey to the west, the team of one master and three disciples needs to conquer 81 obstacles. On our trail, we choose 8 stories among them, you need to find 8 trophies which hidden by hares on the trail, 3 for walkers and 5 for runners, if you succeed finding all 8 of them, there will be five cases of ‘west beer’ (Xinjiang hardcore Wusu beer) as reward. Believe me the beer can make you immortal.
1. The Monster of the Black Wind mountain steals the Cassock. ( Find a golden robe.)
2. The monkey eats all the heaven peaches which can make human immortal. ( Find peaches.)
3. The Corpse Fiend thrice tricks Tang Sanzang. ( Find a basket of Baozi,you can eat the baozi keep the basket only.)
4. Not content with the title of Equal of Heaven. ( Find a feather crown.)
5. Platform for drying the Sutra book.(Find a sutra book.)
6. The Power of Heterodoxy oppresses the true nature, the mind-ape wins the treasures and beats the demons. ( Find the monkey king`s rod.)
7.In the Wuzhuang Temple Monkey steals Manfruit. ( Find a fruit in human shape.)
8. False and true form combine when the Jade Hare is captured. (Find a pair of hare ears or capture the running hares.)
The novel for reading if you are interested.
TheGreat Way: Journey to the West(innerjourneytothewest.com)