The Journey to the West: Volume I

The duality of mountains in the physical world is represented through metaphor in the religious world. Though mountains can be dangerous because they are treacherous to cross and often home to monsters, they provide natural boundaries that offer people security and protection. Because mountain peaks connect Earth to Heaven, they are the ideal place for holy activities—being closer to Heaven means Heavenly powers are closer at hand. In the novel, mountains are also a symbol of immortality: “In the mountain there is no passing of time; The cold recedes, but one knows not the year” (102). 

The mischievous and intelligent monkeys in the text symbolize the unfettered mind: “Befitting their stubbornly prankish nature, the monkeys could not keep still for a moment and stopped only when they were utterly exhausted” (105). They are continuously running wild and breaking objects around their Water-Curtain Cave. The monkeys behave like humans because they yearn to be more like them—especially Wukong, who seeks the Way. In fact, Wukong captures a human to steal his clothing: “One of them could not run and was caught by the Monkey King, who stripped him of his clothes and put them on himself, aping the way humans wore them” (109).