Journey to the West
Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. In English-speaking countries, "Monkey", Arthur Waley's popular abridged translation is well known.
Sea in culture
The sea has appeared in literature since at least the time of the Ancient Greek poet Homer who describes it as the ""wine dark sea"" (oînops póntos). In his epic poem the "Odyssey", written in the 8th century BC, he describes the ten-year voyage of the Greek hero Odysseus who struggles to return home across the sea after the war with Troy described in the "Iliad". His wandering voyage takes him from one strange and dangerous land to another, experiencing among other maritime hazards shipwreck, the sea-monster Scylla, the whirlpool Charybdis and the island Ogygia of the delightful nymph Calypso.