Hsi Yu Chi is above a fantastic adventure. It is a romance that puts the
heroes in a remote, idealized world so that we can see the process of
their transformation. An analysis of the novel's structure and its
eighty-one calamities reveals a conceptual scheme of duality: the journey
is in fact an inner movement and the various calamities are mostly mental
and spiritual activities. The subsequent discussion of the five pilgrims'
roles, their relationship, and the development of their characters and
their relationship discloses a scheme of conceptual unity. The five
pilgrims are deliberatelly moulded to represent the different aspects of
a man: the body, the mind, the physical need, the temperament, and the
will. The relationship of the five pilgrims demonstrates man's inner
activities and inner conflict. The pilgrims are divine by nature but
degraded for their sins; however, they manifest the will and perseverance
to achieve their elevation. It suggests that mam is good and pure by
nature but shows obvious deficiency and that he has the autosuggestion to
pursue his cultivation. Moreover, man is divided into five components so
that the features and developmet of man's different parts can be fully
elaborated. Furthermore, the pilgrims' process to procure elevation
dramatizes man's progress to pursue cultivation. During the journey, the
pilgrims are closely knitted with their mutual help and mutual reliance.
Yet, the drawbacks of the individual members and the incompatibility of
the group always incur great perils. Through tje perilous experiences,
each learns to modulate his nature and to reconcile with the others. At
the end, they display significant improvement and reach a state of
accordance. In other words, man's deficiency in his characters and his
inner conflict among the different components arouse all the disturbance
and put the many obstacles in his way. To cultivate himself, Man is
required to discipline his nature and to remove the conflict. The body
should follow the guidance of the mind but bridle its wayward nature, and
command the assistance of the physical strength put restrain the desire
of the physical need. Besides, the peaceable temperament keeps pacifying
the conflict and effecting harmony. And the strong and steadfast will
serves as the basic support. Cultivation is finally achieved when man
reaches the state of moderation.