"The Immortal Peaches" is the third book in the "Journey to the West" series of stories by Jeff Pepper and Xiao Hui Wang. Other titles include "Rise of the Monkey King," "Trouble in Heaven" and "The Young Monk." Sun Wukong, the Handsome Monkey King, is one of most famous characters in Chinese literature and culture. His legendary bravery, his foolish mistakes, his sharp-tongued commentary and his yearning for immortality and spiritual knowledge have inspired hundreds of books, television shows, graphic novels, video games and films.
In this, the third book in the "Journey to the West" series, we wrap up the story of Sun Wukong's early years, before he joins the monk Xuanzang's little band of travelers and journeys to the West. Once again the Monkey King's unlimited ambitions and uncontrolled appetites land him in deep trouble. He is given a job in heaven taking care of the Emperor's Garden of Immortal Peaches, but he can't stop himself from eating all the peaches. He impersonates a great Immortal and crashes a party in Heaven, stealing the guests' food and drink and barely escaping to his loyal troop of monkeys back on Earth. And in the end, he battles an entire army of Immortals and men, and discovers that even calling himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven does not make him equal to everyone in Heaven.
The story is written, as much as possible, using the 600 word vocabulary of HSK 3. It is presented in simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, and includes an English version and complete glossary. Additional study aids are on our website, www.imagin8press.com.
About the Author: Jeff Pepper is a writer, publisher, computer scientist and CEO. He has started and led several successful tech companies, authored two software related books, and holds three U.S. software patents. In 2017 he started Imagin8 Press (www.imagin8press.com) to serve English-speaking students of Chinese. In collaboration with Xiao Hui Wang, he has written six books based on the Chinese classic novel "Journey to the West." He received a B.S. in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught computer science.
Xiao Hui Wang (translator) is a native Chinese speaker born in China. She came to the United States for studies in biomedical neuroscience and medical imaging, and has more than 25 years of experience in academic and clinical research. She has been teaching Chinese for more than 10 years, with extensive experience in translating English to Chinese as well as Chinese to English.
