Once Upon A Time,
a wife and a husband celebrated the birth of their first son, Samuel. In just the first few years of Samuel's life, the wife and husband noticed that Samuel had different qualities than other children. He was extremely intelligent for his age. He began speaking in full sentences at the age of 1, and by the time Samuel was 3, he was fluent in 10 different languages. Samuel was also extremely strong. He hit a home run in his first baseball game when he was 7. There was also a time when Samuel got into a bad car accident and was expelled from the car after getting hit by an 18-wheel semi truck. He was run over by the truck and no one could believe how he walked away with only a small scratch on his knee, let only survived. The wife and husband were just normal people with no extraordinary qualities, so how could Samuel be so different from his parents? Already aware of Samuel's remarkable, yet questionable characteristics, the husband and wife went seeking for answers. The husband once read a story about an immortal Chinese monk that was born with similar characteristics to Samuel. The husband thought that it was just a Chinese myth, but he came to realize that the monk could actually be alive in the deep Western Forest of China. The husband and the wife decided to take a family vacation to China to visit the monk when Samuel was 17 years old. After a month of looking for this secret palace, the husband and wife had lost hope. The day before they were supposed to depart, a woman bumped into Samuel at the local market. She looked into his eyes and told the family to follow her. She said that the Chinese monk had sent her into the city because he felt the presence of the next immortal being in China. She was excited to see Samuel because she had been looking for him for a month. A three days journey took the woman and the family into the Western Forest of China, where between two mountains laid a beautiful county, unknown to the world around it. Samuel noticed the magnificent castle in the middle of the county and immediately began running towards it. The husband and wife called after Samuel, but the woman stopped them. She said that the monk summoned Samuel, and he was to become the new immortal king of the world. The monk serves in this position and it is his job to keep the peace among nations, and it was time for Samuel to take his rightful throne.
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Author's Note:
I based my story off of the famous Chinese folklore and literature character, Sun Wu Kung (the "Monkey King"). This character is an ape born from a rock containing all of the hidden power of heaven, earth, sun, and the moon. The ape is born with immense power and goes on a journey to seek immortality. He meets a saint (I changed my character to a monk), who gives the King of the Apes a new name: Sun Wu Kung. The saint trains him and Sun Wu Kung becomes a powerful warrior.
Unit: The Monkey King Su Wu Kung taken from The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm
Story: The Master
a wife and a husband celebrated the birth of their first son, Samuel. In just the first few years of Samuel's life, the wife and husband noticed that Samuel had different qualities than other children. He was extremely intelligent for his age. He began speaking in full sentences at the age of 1, and by the time Samuel was 3, he was fluent in 10 different languages. Samuel was also extremely strong. He hit a home run in his first baseball game when he was 7. There was also a time when Samuel got into a bad car accident and was expelled from the car after getting hit by an 18-wheel semi truck. He was run over by the truck and no one could believe how he walked away with only a small scratch on his knee, let only survived. The wife and husband were just normal people with no extraordinary qualities, so how could Samuel be so different from his parents? Already aware of Samuel's remarkable, yet questionable characteristics, the husband and wife went seeking for answers. The husband once read a story about an immortal Chinese monk that was born with similar characteristics to Samuel. The husband thought that it was just a Chinese myth, but he came to realize that the monk could actually be alive in the deep Western Forest of China. The husband and the wife decided to take a family vacation to China to visit the monk when Samuel was 17 years old. After a month of looking for this secret palace, the husband and wife had lost hope. The day before they were supposed to depart, a woman bumped into Samuel at the local market. She looked into his eyes and told the family to follow her. She said that the Chinese monk had sent her into the city because he felt the presence of the next immortal being in China. She was excited to see Samuel because she had been looking for him for a month. A three days journey took the woman and the family into the Western Forest of China, where between two mountains laid a beautiful county, unknown to the world around it. Samuel noticed the magnificent castle in the middle of the county and immediately began running towards it. The husband and wife called after Samuel, but the woman stopped them. She said that the monk summoned Samuel, and he was to become the new immortal king of the world. The monk serves in this position and it is his job to keep the peace among nations, and it was time for Samuel to take his rightful throne.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Author's Note:
I based my story off of the famous Chinese folklore and literature character, Sun Wu Kung (the "Monkey King"). This character is an ape born from a rock containing all of the hidden power of heaven, earth, sun, and the moon. The ape is born with immense power and goes on a journey to seek immortality. He meets a saint (I changed my character to a monk), who gives the King of the Apes a new name: Sun Wu Kung. The saint trains him and Sun Wu Kung becomes a powerful warrior.
God Creating the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars by Antonio Tempesta
Unit: The Monkey King Su Wu Kung taken from The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm
Story: The Master
Hey Melanie! I really enjoyed your story about Samuel. Putting the character into our culture and times is always difficult, but you did it very gracefully! I especially enjoyed the quest for Samuel by the monk. I think it is really cool that the story works as a bridge between the two cultures as well.
ReplyDeleteHey Melanie! I loved reading your story this week. You did an excellent job spinning the story. I think it would be really cool if you wrote more about Samuel's time after he takes the throne. There is a lot of material there that could really add a lot to the story. I think that you are very talented at writing, your story was interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteHey Melanie! I liked reading your story! Samuel seems like a really cool, powerful character. I would love to learn more about him and how he feels about his powers/immortality. I like how the family takes a vacation to China to find the monk; it reminds me of the part in Doctor Strange where he goes to Nepal. If you haven’t watched that movie and you like Asian themes in storytelling or superheroes, you definitely should!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good writing work!
Hi Melanie, I love that you decided to do an adaption of the Monkey King. While I have not read the specific version you used to reference your story, I am familiar with the tale just from childhood. I like how Samuel discovers his calling all through a coincidental family vacation to China, a funny way to find out you are the chosen one. Overall, I enjoyed your story, good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie! I have a few thought regarding your story. Your story is great. I love the idea that connect the story all over the world in to one, which is brought Western to Eastern. However, i could't find any common between Sun Wu Kung and Samuel except their talent. If you have chance, i recommend you to watch the movie: "Journey to the West" (1986 series version, in which Liu Xiao Ling Tong casted as Sun Wu Kung). It is a perfect adaption if you want to explore the journey.
ReplyDelete