Journey to the West" and the Legacy of Jianyang Woodblock Printing
The global success of Black Myth: Wukong, inspired by China’s classic novel Journey to the West, has reignited interest in the tale’s origins. The story evolved from historical records of monk Xuanzang’s pilgrimage, documented in The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Jianyang’s printing workshops published The Poetic Journey of Tang Sanzang, marking early literary development of the epic.
Jianyang woodblock printing, a cultural treasure spanning over a millennium (originating in the Five Dynasties, flourishing during the Song, and persisting through the Yuan and Ming dynasties), established the region as one of China’s three major publishing hubs alongside Hangzhou and Chengdu. Known as the "Capital of Books," Jianyang pioneered illustrated “Jianben” editions, blending text and imagery to make literature accessible to the public—a tradition that shaped China’s popular reading culture.
