Monkey King, the Trickster Archetype, Weight of the Past
Existential Espresso Vol. 108
What I’ve been reading:
Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en
My first and unfortunately brief visit to China a couple of weeks ago wouldn’t have been complete without purchasing one of the most influential novels ever written: Journey to the West.
Looking at the historical and cultural background of this almost 2000-page story, you aren’t surprised that it’s arguably the most literary work of all time in Asia.
But there is reason why a fantasy retelling of a a real 7th-centuryinese monk’s journey to India has managed to inspire storytellers across the globe and stay relevant to this day.
Although not the main character in the story that introduced him to the world, Sun Wukong, better known as the Monkey King, is one of the most influential fictional characters of all time. This enthusiastic, high-energy, freedom-loving, (overly) confident monkey on a seemingly endless self-improvement journey and always up for a fight has inspired generations of widely popular protagonists who embody these same traits and values.
As mentioned, the novel spans almost 2000 pages or 100 chapters, so I intend on taking my time with this one and making it my main fiction read of 2025.
What I’ve watched:
The Trickster Archetype (and why our world needs it) - Eric Dodson
Revisiting one of my favorite videos by one of my favorite teachers.
Professor Eric Dodson is an educator who encourages you to take care of your soul and engage in life more deeply. He deserves as big an audience as Jordan Peterson or any other professor or academic who has managed to go mainstream. But I guess the same qualities make Professor Dodson such an interesting and beautiful human being that also make him unable or uninterested in pursuing fame.
What I’ve been thinking about:
On the one hand, the past is one of our greatest burdens, as it weighs on us and forms the basis for most of our assumptions, judgements, and prejudices towards ourselves and the rest of the world.
On the other hand, some of our greatest riches come from how we draw from the past that has been assimilated and interpreted in a more constructive way.
Engaging in your life as an ongoing story is the attitude that allows for a later, healthier relationship with your past.
Thank you for reading.
Stay strong, love life, and never feel sorry for yourself.
Free Resources:
Clarity Quest - self-exploration course
My free ebook: The Lost Art of Reading
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Love this. There is actually a kids’ illustrated version of this story as well. It is an important myth.