Remembering Monkey King’s journey

Chinese actor Zhang Jinlai is known for playing the Monkey King in the Journey to the West TV series in the 80s.

For many in China, Zhang Jinlai should be at the forefront of the Spring Festival this year.

THE Year of the Monkey is fast approaching.

The agile animal has made its entry into the Chinese capital of Beijing in the form of a futuristic sculpture in front of a shopping mall, latte art in a coffee chain and cuddly soft toys peddled by roadside vendors.

One person who has been particularly busy lately is Chinese actor Zhang Jinlai, who is most famous for his role as the Monkey King in the old Chinese TV series Journey to the West.

Malaysian audiences might not be too familiar with Zhang, but to the Chinese, Zhang’s rendition of the brave and righteous monkey with supernatural powers is the best among them all.

Zhang has swung into action – furry-faced and cudgel-wielding – for upcoming special Spring Festival programmes.

It was the Pepsi Chinese New Year commercial that propelled him back into the centre of attention.

Instead of pop artistes, the carbonated drink manufacturer featured Zhang in a mini-epic this time to tell the story of how he landed the role back in the 1980s.

Zhang, now 57, was born into a family of theatre performers. He inherited the legacy from his great-grandfather, grandfather and father, who carved their names as traditional folk artistes specialising in Monkey King-themed Chinese opera.

The stroll down memory lane was a tearjerker, as Zhang recounted how he took over the responsibility when his second eldest brother, who was originally handpicked as their father’s successor, was struck by leukaemia.

“You will see me again when you become the Monkey King,” his brother told him from the sickbed, encouraging him to train for the role.

The commercial has gone viral since its release. Pepsi leaned on the rich tapestry of Zhang’s family while Zhang rode on Pepsi’s fame and creativity to promote the Monkey King culture that has been the axis of his life.

Zhang is more popularly known as “Liu Xiao Ling Tong” (literally Little Six-Year-Old Child), after his father’s “Liu Ling Tong” (Six-Year-Old Child) and his brother’s “Xiao Liu Ling Tong” (Six-Year-Old Child Junior).

In an interview with The Star, Zhang spoke fondly about Malaysia as he had just received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the 2015 World Outstanding Celebrities in Kuala Lumpur last year, some 20-odd years after he did a performance tour in Malaysia with his father.

During his recent visit, he made sure he visited two temples that worshipped the Monkey King, and dropped by Central Market more than once to purchase monkey sculptures and masks for his ever-expanding collection.

Donning a red jacket, a red cap and a pair of red-rimmed glasses – red being the primary colour of the Monkey King’s facial make-up – Zhang sprang up from his chair to demonstrate a few moves during the interview.

His eyes shone with passion each time he struck a pose.

“One needs to grasp the essence of Chinese opera to be able to deliver the demeanour of the Monkey King,” he said of his training in traditional opera, which is no longer appealing to the new generation.

The Monkey King, or Sun Wukong, is the main protagonist in Journey to the West, which is celebrated as one of the four great classical novels in China.

In this 16th century masterpiece by Wu Cheng’en, the Monkey King was born from a rock and possessed the power to transform into anything. His ability came in handy when he was fighting off devils and demons when accompanying Buddhist monk Xuanzang on his journey to retrieve the sacred texts.

Having played the Monkey King for most of his life, Zhang concluded that “only when you train hard to master the 72 transformations, you can face the 81 obstacles with a smile.”

The fictitious character is very motivational, he said.

“The Monkey King did not have a strong family background. He did not have parents and gained success through his own efforts. As long as you persevere, you will reap the fruits of your labour.”

The character’s optimism, wittiness, persistence and respect for his master made him universally popular across all generations.

Commenting on the publication of the Malay version of the classic tale, Zhang said the Monkey King can become the icon of friendship for people from different cultural backgrounds to foster exchanges.

He also wished to see the Monkey King being chosen as the mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by Beijing. “His fighting spirit is relevant in the arena of sports.”

The Chinese public wanted to see Zhang on the Spring Festival Gala, an annual gathering of the country’s popular performers in a live broadcast on state-owned CCTV on the eve of Chinese New Year.

Zhang said he has not received an official invitation from CCTV to be part of the show, but is ever ready should the production team summon him.

Disappointed fans had taken to Twitter-like Weibo and social networking app WeChat to urge the Spring Gala organiser to include Zhang in the show.

The Weibo account of the programme’s director Lv Yitao was flooded with comments, pleas and even rude curses.

The comments read: “Zhang is part of the childhood memory of many of those born in the 80s and 90s. Instead of inviting the new generation of artistes to be on the show to attract the young audience, why not invite Zhang and let us reminisce (about his performance)?

“Everyone, from the elderly to the middle-aged to teenagers and children, only approves of the Monkey King portrayed by Zhang.”

With the Spring Festival gala barely a few days away, some even said they would boycott the show if Zhang is not in the performers list.

But Zhang has confirmed that he would appear on other TV stations’ Spring Festival specials, as well as CCTV’s programme on Chinese opera.

A Chinese-American movie, an animation and a forum on the Journey to the West are also in the works.

Zhang has not named a successor yet and many wonder if he would pass on his tricks of the trade to the next generation.

He said he would possibly launch a worldwide talent search, and who knows, “I might have a Malaysian disciple.”