International Bathtub-JOURNEY TO THE WEST (aka MONKEY), Vol 1: RGBIB 437

The bathtub is back, baby! And we brought the international bathtub out there and back again, just like Bilbo Baggins!
(Oh, and we are only reading the four volume translation by Anthony C. Yu, though the old abridged version translated by the great Arthur Waley is fine for grandma and the kids... I mean, grandma probably wouldn't last long enough to make it through these remarkable 2000 plus pages!)
And now (drum roll, please) we can finally reveal the special name that has been bestowed upon our ol' humble master-bather by the entire nation of mainland China. It goes like this:
pào zǎo
跑 澡
jiào shòu
教授
Which literally (and figuratively) translates as: Professor Foamy Bathtub!
Put that in your wok and smoke it!

[@1zangelique]

about time you got back in the tub, mister!

[@Scottmbradfield]

Thanks Gare! It's always great being back to your own bathtub, however much you enjoyed bathtubs far, far away! s

[@malcolmthompson9848]

For 28 years I read audiobooks while doing home remodeling. I can tell you the job I was doing when I read Monkey, but remember almost nothing about the book save that Monkey was a bit of a trickster and a jerk. He had a bunch of companions with him and they got in and out of scrapes.

[@Scottmbradfield]

@@malcolmthompson9848 that’s basically the gist of it, but I find the stories pretty magical and hilarious…s

[@AJBell-dh6ry]

I'm sure Georges Simenon would approve of your new hedonistic lifestyle, Mr. Bradfield.

[@Scottmbradfield]

@@AJBell-dh6ry yeah but he would’ve had a couple hookers in the tub with him. All I got is this fat book…s

[@GypsyRoSesx]

Quality bathing content 🛁

[@Scottmbradfield]

Thanks, Gypsy, we aim to please! s

[@bluewordsme2]

hahaha, AWESOME...we need to nominate this for an EMMY or @KZbin AWARD....BRILLIANT...never looked better...and so happy you are reading Journey to the West...fabulous epic...enjoy Guangzhou...a city that has now become Tier 1 city...and lots of great restaurants...and just think one of my favorite Chinese authors (please read her) Can Xue just might win the Nobel...which is amazing, as when i first read her, was in a HK-published version as she was prohibited in China...an extraordinary writer....HAPPY READING/BATHING and Eating....enjoy, bb

[@Scottmbradfield]

Thanks, BBBB, yeah we went to some major cities besides Beijing this time, I liked GuangZhou but loved Shaghaii, wow. And we have a couple extra credit bathtubs set in various Chinese lit sites, hang on! s

[@bluewordsme2]

@@Scottmbradfield oh yes...shanghai is my fave chinese city, after the old hong kong...if there was ever a place to be a poet, shanhai sure was, if you;'ve never read, can i recommended eileen chang, lust, caution (also a hot movie for the bathtub btw), shanghai baby, Years of Red Dust (by one of my fave chinese/uk writers,qui xiaolong and one of my books of my childhood, a must: empire of the sun, the book that made me a life long fan of ballad...ENJOY ENJOY, after 5K viewers, you deserve...enjoy the 2nd honeymoon SB :)

[@Scottmbradfield]

@@bluewordsme2 I really enjoyed LUST CAUTION the movie and it haunts me like almost everything I saw of Ang Lee's... will try to read her some day...

[@stantonsullivan-readdelillo]

Wow in mainland China?! Very cool, Scott. Have fun; be careful. (You have far more experience with travel than me so why am I saying that? lol) Anyway, been meaning to read this one for a long while but haven’t got to it yet. I have the abridgment but would like to get the unabridged (or less abridged) as well.

[@Scottmbradfield]

@@stantonsullivan-readdelillo thanks, Stanton, China is fascinating. Try the short Arthur Waley trans it is great fun and if you like it save the massive 2000 page version for your elderly bathtub, like me! S

[@stantonsullivan-readdelillo]

@@Scottmbradfield Sounds like a plan, sir. Thanks

[@excelsiorathletic]

Who's looking after Dodo? Or did you take her with you?

[@Scottmbradfield]

@@excelsiorathletic I boarded her at the vet. She drove them pretty crazy. S

[@1zangelique]

First!