2025

Journey to the West is a classic work in which allegory, religion, and philosophy are intricately interwoven. Its notion of “passing the trials” refers not only to physical checkpoints along the journey, but also to inner trials on the path of spiritual cultivation. Drawing on his profound scholarship in religious literature and folklore studies, Academician Li Feng-mao reexamines the magical contests between the “Five Sages” and “demonic spirits” in Journey to the West, revealing an underlying structure in which every method has its countermeasure and every ordeal has its resolution. From the mythic origins of celestial exile to the cultivation narrative of earthly adventures, “passing the trials” becomes a ritual leading toward awakening, symbolizing a spiritual journey of transcending human weakness and overcoming the tests of inner demons.

This lecture will bring together texts, images, and folk beliefs to explore how “cultivation through struggle” is transformed into a cultural drama of self-redemption, from the gourd riddles and images of children passing trials to the symbolic layers of the Five Sages subduing demons. Faculty members and students interested in religious literature, folk belief, and intellectual culture are cordially invited to attend. Together with Academician Li Feng-mao, participants will embark on a journey of thought centered on “passing the trials,” rediscovering the deeper meanings of cultivation and life through classical interpretation and self-reflection.