Twenty-six episodes of a 52-segment cartoon
starring Eight-Commandment Pig, one of the main characters from the
Chinese classic Journey to the West, have been completed and
will be shown nationwide from Wednesday.
Zhu Youlan, chairman of Wuhan's Jiangtong Cartoon
Co. Ltd., said the company had blended philosophy into the mythical
story and hoped that it "would be of positive significance in
educating and enlightening children."
The company, one of China's four animation
companies, began planning the cartoon three years ago and has spent
8 million yuan (US$963,855) on the project so far, Zhu said. He
expects the remaining 26 episodes to be finished in May.
China Central Television (CCTV)?spent 2.3
million yuan (US$277,108) for the rights to the cartoon.
Journey to the West is a novel based on
popular tales dating back many centuries. It is thought to have
been published in its present form in the 1570s, during the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644), by scholar Wu Cheng'en (1504?-1582).
The book relates the fantastic adventures of the
monk Xuanzang as he travels to India in search of Buddhist
scriptures with three companions, the irreverent but resourceful
Monkey King, Eight-Commandment Pig and Friar Sand.
The stories of the three protecting Xuanzang
against demons, goblins and other enemies are popular with adults
and children alike.
A live action Japanese TV series based on the novel
and made in the late 1970s, Monkey, has helped popularize
the stories in the English-speaking world, renaming
Eight-Commandment Pig "Pigsy."
(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2005)