This is a Chinese Epic and Allegory of Higher Buddhism by one who appears to be a liberal Nestorian Christian. It is one of the world's great masterpieces of literature and must be classed with the Epics of Homer, Dante, and Milton, and Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" It is a splendid schoolmaster to (Christ the Light of the World. In fact it is impossible to deal fairly with Buddhism without knowledge of Higher Buddhism, and the gain to the missionary influence from this knowledge is incomparable.

About the Author

Wu Cheng En's literary prowess surfaced early, in his teenage years. He passed his provincial examinations to attain the rank of Xiu Cai, but never proceeded beyond that. This was mainly because he excelled at multiple writing forms and not just poems, and also multiple subjects, including Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and he was also an adept in many fields such as Chinese chess, painting, military skills, medicine, and many, many more. He basically wrote about everything under the sun. Which meant that he was not suited for the strict requirements of the examinations of his period. He held a couple of minor postings but that was about all. Despite this, he and his writings were always in demand and he was renown as a writer and poet. His genius was widely recognized as he wrote many other works of value apart from Xiyouji, which he is believed to have finished in his early sixties, around 1570.