Monkey: A Folk Novel of China

The ability to transform oneself is a key skill of almost every deity, spirit, and high-level religious figure throughout Monkey. Monkey masters 72 transformations as part of his religious study and uses them in almost every situation he encounters once he’s mastered the skills. Almost every creature Monkey fights also has some degree of transformation skill. Kuan-yin disguises herself as a priest when walking among humans to select a pilgrim, and Buddha changes his fingers to the size of mountains when punishing Monkey the first time. Many creatures in the story also undergo some form of transformation as punishment, or as a natural result of their karma, including Pigsy’s transformation into a pig-like man.

The ability to transform oneself is a key skill of almost every deity, spirit, and high-level religious figure throughout Monkey. Monkey masters 72 transformations as part of his religious study and uses them in almost every situation he encounters once he’s mastered the skills. Almost every creature Monkey fights also has some degree of transformation skill. Kuan-yin disguises herself as a priest when walking among humans to select a pilgrim, and Buddha changes his fingers to the size of mountains when punishing Monkey the first time.