Journey to the West (Xiyouji西遊記) by Wu Cheng'en吳承恩(ca. 1500-ca. 1582) is one of the esteemed "four great Ming novels" and is available in English translation as an unabridged 4-volume set and in shorter versions. The full novel is based loosely on the pilgrimage of the monk Xuanzang to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures to bring back to China. Along the way, he and his animal companions-most notably the audacious Monkey King-confront a series of trials. Supplement to Journey to the West (Xiyou bu西遊補, 1641) is a short piece, a sort of novella that is intended to be read between sections of the parent novel. The novella's philosophical message is a revisionist comment on the late Ming (1368-1644) culture of fascination with desire. Set in a dream narrative, it is characterized by innovation and sophistication even by modern standards. This new translation supersedes an earlier one, published under the title The Tower of Myriad Mirrors: A Supplement to the Journey to the West (Asian Humanities Press, 1978). In this new, fully annotated translation, which includes a critical introduction, experienced translators Robert Hegel and Qiancheng Li bring to light the sources of the novel's intertextual references, revealing the author's erudition and versatility, as well as his innovative methods of literary composition. They demonstrate that in creative imagination, as well as religious and philosophical signification, Further Adventures surpasses even its parent novel in literary skill"