A SCENE FROM ‘JOURNEY TO THE WEST’, BY PU RU (1896-1963)China. Ink and watercolors on paper, laid down on paper. Depicting the monkey king Sun Wukong and another monkey in a vicious fight, each holding a long staff and standing in a dynamic pose on a bridge next to a crashing waterfall, with Zhu Bajie watching nearby.Inscriptions: Top left, inscribed ‘Journey to the West’, signed ‘Pu Ru’. One seal of the artist, ‘Xinshe’.Provenance: British trade.Condition: Very good condition with only minor wear and soiling.Dimensions: Image size 16.4 x 8.1 cm, size incl. backing 30.4 x 15.8 cmThe present painting depicts a famous scene from Journey to the West (Xi You Ji), in which Sun Wukong is fighting a six-eared macaque who was impersonating him. Eventually, Sun Wukong vanquishes his doppelganger. Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a legendary mythical figure who also appears in many later stories and adaptations. In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven, he is imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha, until he joins Tang Sanzang in his quest. Sun Wukong possesses many abilities, including amazing strength and extreme speed. Sun Wukong also acquires the 72 Earthly Transformations, which allow him to access 72 unique powers, including the ability to transform into sundry animals and objects. He is a skilled fighter, capable of defeating the best warriors of heaven. His hair has magical properties, capable of making copies of himself or transforming into various weapons, animals, and other things. He also shows partial weather manipulation skills and can stop people in place with fixing magic.Journey to the West (Xi You Ji) is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia. The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled to the ‘Western Regions’ (Central Asia and India) to obtain Buddhist sacred texts and returned after many trials and much suffering. The monk is referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel. The novel retains the broad outline of Xuanzang's own account, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, 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, together with a dragon prince who acts as Tang Sanzang's steed, a white horse. The pilgrims journey towards enlightenment through the power and virtue of cooperation.Pu Ru (1896-1963), also known as Pu Xinshe, was a traditional Chinese painter, calligrap