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CTC Family Guide 
Family Guide: The Monkey King
A detailed description of the play, including things to do and think about, for parents to share with their families.
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Summary 
What do you get when you cross an ancient epic story with a totally hip chimp that makes Curious George look like a chump? This play. Meet Sun Wu Kong, aka the Monkey King. With the powers of a superhero and the spirit of a seven-year-old he has been the most beloved hero in Chinese culture for centuries. This totally physical, funny production has its roots in Chinese opera, which means it's chock full of movement and martial arts. Imagine: to travel a great distance is to move in circles, fights are danced instead of dangerous, lengths of silk become rivers, sand dunes, and mountains. Think Jackie Chan meets Saturday morning cartoons - and it's beautiful! Wow.
A Synopsis of the Story
The lights come up on the Heavenly Palace. The Jade Emperor and the Jade Empress are holding a feast. Suddenly there's a NEWS FLASH! A monkey has hatched from a rock, declared himself King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, and is raising a major racket! He is shaking the foundations of heaven and earth. He has even travelled to the underworld and erased his death in the book of the dead. In other words, he is a royal pain, and he is immortal!
The Jade Emperor sends his armies to capture the Monkey King, but the wily Monkey escapes and ends up in a showdown with Buddha himself! They make a bargain: if Monkey wins he can rule heaven and earth. If not - he does whatever Buddha tells him to do. He loses, and thus begins his adventures on earth.
The Buddha sends the Monkey King on a mission. He is to accompany the honest, mild-mannered Monk Tang on a pilgrimage - an epic quest across China to the mountains of India in search of the Sacred Scrolls. Monk Tang christens the Monkey King, Sun Wu-kong, and together they set off on their journey.
They are assigned two travelling companions right away: a pig, Ba-jie, and a carp, Sha-sen, both of whom have been sent down to earth after causing trouble in the Heavenly Realm. As with every great quest story, from The Lord of the Rings to The Wizard of Oz, the journey tests the character of the four travellers. To complete the journey successfully, each must learn to recognize his weaknesses and understand their strengths. This is especially true for the mega-mischievous Monkey King, Sun Wu Kong. He's brave enough to battle tigers and bandits, fast enough to cross the earth in a single somersault and magical enough to morph into a million shapes. But before he can truly help his master, Monk Tang, he must learn to harness his powers - to balance bravery with compassion, speed and magic with restraint and understanding. Together they successfully pass through many perils - bandits, greedy monks, a hungry skeleton, a land of women (no boys allowed!!), and a burning mountain and arrive at the Spirit Hill where the Sacred Scrolls are kept. Having proved worthy companions to Monk Tang, Buddha welcomes Ba jie and Sha-sen back into the Heavenly Realm. Sun Wu Kong, the magical, mischievous Monkey King, armed now not only with superpowers but with maturity and wisdom, accompanies his master, Monk Tang, into the Golden Temple to claim the Sacred Scrolls.
| LIST of CHARACTERS |
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Sun Wu Kong, aka The Monkey King: King of Flower Fruit Mountain, challenger of the Heavenly Realm, companion to Monk Tang. The mischief-maker. His magic weapon is the Mystic Pillar, stolen from the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea. He has the ability to change his shape and size.
Jade Emperor: The immortal top dog in the Chinese pantheon. Powerful. Mysterious.
Buddha: The enlightened one. In this story we see Buddha in the form of all-encompassing guardian and teacher who is larger than earth itself.
Bodhisattva Guanyin: A goddess of compassion who owns a magic jar.
Monk Tang: The most devout of all Buddhist pilgrims, he is a follower of Buddha who is seeking enlightenment. He has been given the task of bringing the Sacred Scrolls, which contain the tenants of Buddhist teachings from their resting place in India to China.
Ba-jie: A totally zany pig-man who was once Admiral of the Galactic Navy but got kicked out of heaven for offending the Jade Emperor. Strong and good hearted, he's always in search of food or a nap. He has no manners.
Sha-sen: A carp who was also exiled to earth after breaking the crystal bowl of the Heavenly Empress. A fierce warrior with power over oceans and rivers, on land he's unsure of himself and a bit of a klutz.
White Skeleton Demon: The crafty but obnoxious queen of the skeleton demons. She thinks Monk will make a tasty meal—especially for her mother's birthday party. Like Sun Wu Kong, she has the power to shape shift.
Queen of the Women's Nation: Ruler of a place where only women live. Beautiful and wise, she falls in love with Monk Tank and wants to marry him.
Iron Fan Princess: A powerful princess who can warm or cool the mountains where she lives depending on which of her fans she uses. Everybody likes her Palm Leaf fan best.
Bull King: Iron Fan Princess' husband. He's wandered off with the Jade Fox in this story, and returns to do battle with our heroes.
Development of The Monkey King was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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| AS you get READY to SEE the SHOW |
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For a really fun way to learn about The Stone Monkey online, check out www.godchecker.com/pantheon/chinese-mythology.php?deity=MONKEY.
Once you've found this site you may want to look around for some of Sun Wu-Kong's pals, such as the Jade Emperor, as well.
This explanation of the cast of immortals in Chinese culture may help put the characters in the play in perspective. From the site: China, the Middle Kingdom, is an ancient country full of mystery and paradox. Over the eons, primitive folk religion absorbed sophisticated ideas - the common sense of Confucius (Kongzi), the ritual and magic of Daoism, the sublime spirituality of Buddhism - to produce a stir-fry mix of Gods for all occasions. (NOTE: Godchecker is written in a humorous style but we do NOT aim to mock, spoof or belittle. Godchecker is a mythology site. Not a religious site.)
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| SOMETHING to DO |
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These are tuzhang, or chops, a stamp of a person's name. Think of it as a seal. The oval is the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin. The square is the Jade Emperor. The one on the previous page is the God of Mischief, or the Stone Monkey.
Design a tuzhang for yourself containing all or part of your name, or a picture of your most important quality.
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| RELATED READING |
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 The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China by Leonard Everett Fisher. A brief introduction to seventeen of the most popular traditional Chinese gods and goddesses accompanied by bold paintings. (gr. 2-6)
Ho Yi the Archer: And Other Classic Chinese Tales by Shelley Fu. Seven traditional tales of human nature - wisdom, vanity, greed, love, self-sacrifice - are related through the culture of China and the characters of Shun Wu Kong, the Monkey King, Ho Yi, the master archer and Bai Su-Tzin, the white snake spirit. (gr. 4-8)
Monkey King by Ed Young. Caldecott Award-winning author-illustrator Ed Young animates the tale of the trickster monkey who must change his ways and understand that there is strength in admitting weakness in order to progress to a more enlightened state. (gr. K-3)
Trickster Tales: Forty Folk Stories from Around the World by Josepha Sherman. The trickster is alive and well in cultures from all points on the globe from Polynesia to Africa, from the lore of the Inuit people of Alaska to the Mataco people of Argentina. (gr. 4-6)
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