Jeff Pepper Books

Exploring the origins of the beloved folk tale, this account traces Cinderella's journey from its earliest known version in ancient Greece to its adaptations across Europe, culminating in the iconic Disney film. The narrative highlights the tale's evolution over two millennia, showcasing its enduring appeal and cultural significance as it transformed through various interpretations in France, Italy, and Germany.

The book features the complete texts of the 13th, 14th, and 15th stories from the Journey to the West series, specifically tailored for Chinese language learners. While the narratives remain faithful to the original versions, they have undergone minor editing and reformatting for clarity and ease of reading. This collection aims to enhance language acquisition while immersing readers in classic Chinese literature.

The final two stories in the 31-volume Journey to the West series are presented in their original form, featuring only minor edits and reformatting for clarity. Tailored for learners of Chinese, this collection maintains the essence of the classic tales while making them accessible to modern readers.

"The Rise of the Monkey King" is the first book in the 6-volume "Journey to the West" series of stories by Jeff Pepper and Xiao Hui Wang. Other titles include "Trouble in Heaven," "The Immortal Peaches" 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. The full story of Sun Wukong's adventures is told in Journey To The West, an epic 2,000 page novel written in the 16th Century by Wu Cheng'en. Journey To The West is probably the most famous and best-loved novel in China and is considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. Its place in Chinese literature is roughly comparable to Homer's epic poem The Odyssey in Western literature. Wikipedia sums up the book's role perfectly, saying "Enduringly popular, the tale is at once a comic adventure story, a humorous satire of Chinese bureaucracy, a spring of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeys towards enlightenment by the power and virtue of cooperation." Journey To The West is a very, very long story, consisting of a hundred chapters. It is loosely based on an actual journey by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled from the Chinese city of Chang'an westward to India in 629 A.D. and returned 17 years later with priceless knowledge and texts of Buddhism. Over the course of the book Xuanzang and his companions face the 81 tribulations that Xuanzang had to endure to attain Buddhahood. This book, The Rise of the Monkey King, covers the events in the first two chapters of this epic story. We learn how the little stone monkey is born, becomes king of his troop of monkeys, leaves his home to pursue enlightenment, receives the name Sun Wukong (literally, "ape seeking the void") from his teacher, and returns home to defend his subjects from a ravenous monster. Future books in this series will tell more stories from the life of this famous monkey and his companions. Because of this story's importance in Chinese culture, we've made every effort to remain faithful to the original while retelling it in simple language suitable for beginning Chinese learners at the HSK 3 level. We have tried to not add or change anything, though of course we've had to leave out a lot of detail. Wherever we had to use a word or phrase not contained in the 600-word HSK 3 vocabulary (which for example does not include the word "monkey"!) or that has not entered common usage since the HSK lists were created, those new words are defined in footnotes on the page where they first appear. New compound (multi-character) words and expressions are, whenever possible, chosen so that they use characters already in HSK 3. An English version of the story is included for reference at the end, as well as a complete glossary. In the main body of the book, each page of Chinese characters is matched with a facing page of pinyin. This is unusual for Chinese novels but we feel it's important. By including the pinyin, the English version and the glossary, we hope that every reader, no matter what level of mastery they have of the Chinese language, will be able to understand and enjoy the story we tell here. Our website, www.imagin8press.com, contains many helpful study aids, including an audio recording of the book, downloadable word lists, study questions and exercises for classroom use, and links to other books you might enjoy, including other books in this series as they become available.

This book contains the full text, in Traditional Chinese, of the first three books in our Journey to the West series for people learning to read Chinese. The three stories told here - The Rise of the Monkey King, Trouble in Heaven, and The Immortal Peaches - are unchanged from our original versions except for minor editing and reformatting. These three stories all focus on the adventures of Sun Wukong, The Handsome Monkey King, one of the most famous characters in Chinese literature and culture. His legendary bravery, foolish mistakes, sharp-tongued commentary and yearning for immortality and spiritual knowledge have inspired hundreds of books, television shows, graphic novels, video games and films. These books are based on the original epic 2,000 page novel written in the 16th century by Wu Cheng'en. It is probably the most famous and best-loved novel in China and is considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. These stories are written, as much as possible, using the 600 word vocabulary of HSK3. They are presented in Traditional Chinese characters and pinyin, and include an English version and complete glossary. Free audio versions of all books in this series are available on YouTube's Imagin8 Press channel, and on our website, www.imagin8press.com.

The book features the full text of the 28th and 29th stories from the 31-volume Journey to the West series, specifically tailored for Chinese language learners. The narratives remain faithful to the original works, with only minor editing and reformatting to enhance readability. This edition serves as a valuable resource for those looking to improve their Chinese reading skills while enjoying classic tales.

This version of the book is presented in Traditional Chinese, catering to readers who prefer this script. For those interested, a Simplified Chinese version is also available, allowing for broader accessibility among different Chinese-speaking audiences.

The book features the complete texts of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th stories from the Journey to the West series, specifically designed for Chinese language learners. These stories remain true to the original narratives, with only minor edits and reformatting for clarity and accessibility. This edition aims to support readers in their language acquisition while enjoying classic tales.

The narrative unfolds during a business trip to Japan, where a dinner with Japanese executives takes a reflective turn. A senior Sumitomo executive shares a poignant joke that encapsulates the paradox of life stages: youth with time and health but lacking money, middle age with wealth and health but no time, and old age with both money and time but diminished health. This moment highlights the complexities of success and the inevitable trade-offs in life, providing a thought-provoking commentary on the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment.

The collection includes the complete texts of the 10th, 11th, and 12th stories from the Journey to the West series, specifically designed for Chinese language learners. These stories remain faithful to the original versions, featuring only minor edits and reformatting for clarity. This book provides an engaging way for readers to enhance their language skills while enjoying classic tales.