Liu Xiaolingtong's First Autobiography: The Walker

Chapter 1

May 2016, 5 is a day worth remembering forever in my life.I took a small propeller plane from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to Lumbini.Although the flight time is only 20 minutes, the process is thrilling.Shortly after takeoff, the plane began to turbulent violently, and several times it went straight down. There were screams from passengers in the cabin. The monks on the same plane had folded their hands and prayed, but my heart was unprecedentedly peaceful. This peace came from under my feet This holy land... "Buddha" blesses me, and I successfully arrived and visited the birthplace of Buddha that I have always dreamed of. That night, thousands of people lit candles to pray for blessings, and the scene was extremely shocking.Looking back on my 40 years of artistic life, I have mixed feelings, like a phoenix nirvana, reborn again.

This time, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Nepal, I served as the China-Nepal Cultural Friendship Envoy and visited Nepal and gained a lot.I participated in the commemorative meeting commemorating the 2560th anniversary of the birth of Sakyamuni, attended the Nepalese premiere of the TV series "Journey to the West" on CCTV, visited the Monkey Temple, visited Nepalese folk scholars, and visited the footprints of Master Xuanzang.

Master Xuanzang has a deep relationship with Lumbini. As early as 1300 years ago, Master Xuanzang went to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha Sakyamuni, to pray for the Buddha.In "Da Tang Western Regions", he described in detail the Siddhartha palace, rivers and many other relics in Lumbini.At this moment, standing in this Buddhist holy land, I am filled with emotion.

Xuanzang's journey to the west is a thousand-year feat in the world.He vowed to travel westward, directly explore the original scriptures, and re-translate them in order to obtain the truth of Buddhism.On the way to the west, after going through many dangers and obstacles, I walked through the [-]-mile desert.He often suffers from hunger and starvation, and is often threatened by thieves, but the mage is determined and vows: "If you don't seek Dafa, you will never go back to the east." - Tang Taizong called Master Xuanzang "a perfect man through the ages", and Lu Xun called it "" The backbone of China", General Secretary Xi Jinping even mentioned the legendary story of Xuanzang's journey to the West on many occasions around the world, and his interpretation of the world famous "Journey to the West" novel.

Mr. Wu Cheng'en created the oriental masterpiece "Journey to the West" based on Master Xuanzang and "The Great Tang Western Regions" as the material.This mythical novel, which is full of magical colors and describes Buddhist disciples traveling thousands of miles to seek Buddhist scriptures through hardships and obstacles, has endured for more than 400 years and has influenced the whole world. "Journey to the West" besides its own fascinating plot, also contains a lot of life wisdom that can be tasted.Children love the quirkiness and splendor of its plot, adults appreciate its justice, bravery, kindness, sincerity, optimism, self-confidence and persistence, entertainers love its endless joy and artistic enjoyment, scholars love its profound academic charm, and wise men appreciate its life philosophy.

The image of Monkey King Sun Wukong in "Journey to the West" has changed the fate of my family, and it has completely changed my fate.

My family, Zhang's Monkey King family, takes shaping the image of Monkey King as a family ideal, and has interpreted the story of the Monkey King generation after generation.Zhang’s monkey show draws nourishment from China’s 5000-year history and culture. It has grown from scratch, from primitive imitation to masterwork, and has gone through four generations including great-grandfather, grandfather, uncle, father, second brother, cousin and me. The time span is as long as one century.The story of "Journey to the West" and the Monkey King were performed from the water town stage of Shaoxing Society Opera to Times Square in New York, USA.

I have the honor to spend 17 years presenting "Journey to the West" in the form of a TV series, dedicating myself to this immortal work of art and wisdom. The 86 edition of "Journey to the West" is a product of the inheritance of Chinese opera monkey show art. It has gathered the hard work of generations of monkey show masters, and it is also the full cooperation of the best directors, actors, artists, and photographers in the country to create this classic. It shaped my image as the Monkey King.

"Walker", mainly tells about my journey of walking life.Looking back on the 57 years, life is like a drama, with ups and downs and mixed flavors.I think that I may be just like Xuanzang's journey to the west, walking on the long desert of life, going through ninety-nine and eighty-one difficulties, searching for the true scriptures of life and art.

This year is the Year of the Monkey in the Chinese lunar calendar, and the voice of "the return of the great sage" makes me feel like a hero is coming back.Actually, I never left.If I said that I practiced monkey show hard when I was young, and spent 17 years filming the TV series "Journey to the West", I was inheriting the art of Chinese monkey show; then, after "Journey to the West", I spent more than 10 years, from kindergarten to primary school From domestic colleges and universities such as Peking University and Tsinghua University to nearly a thousand schools at home and abroad such as Harvard University, Oxford University, University of London, Paris VI University, etc., I exchange ideas with students because of another ideal of mine: I hope that through my own points Bit by bit of effort, let the indomitable Xuanzang spirit of traveling to the west, let the never give up, indomitable, optimistic spirit of the Monkey King go to the world.

In my heart, monkey theater is not surnamed Zhang, but belongs to China and the whole world.

Everyone should have a spiritual mountain of their own in their hearts, and everyone is a traveler on the way to the West.

The road is long and the road ahead is far away. How many mountains and rivers do you have to climb to reach the perfect end?Walking, walking, whether staggering forward, or walking with a strong wind, is always on the way.Walking on the road of learning, the road of life, the Silk Road, and the Belt and Road Initiative, my dreams, family dreams, and Chinese dreams will surely come true.

Wu Chengen gave Sun Wukong life, I want to give Sun Wukong a soul, and let Sun Wukong really take off.

As the Chinese version of this book "Walker" is about to be published, I sincerely thank the times, my life, all the art workers of the "Journey to the West" crew, and my teachers, friends and family members who have given me countless help on my artistic path in life.Thanks to the Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House and all the staff who have made great efforts for this book.

Goodbye walker.

Six young children
2016年5月21日于蓝毗尼（尼泊尔时间23点56分）
(End of this chapter)