Myths and Legends · Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser, Nextpod

Monkey King: Not Found

·41 min·2 clips

A king has already killed 9,996 Buddhist priests and wants 10,000.

1. Myths and Legends episode 404, "Not Found," returns to the Monkey King story from The Journey to the West and the episode's closing cinnamon-bird segment. 2. Jason Weiser hosts and narrates the retelling, and Carissa Weiser is credited with him in the show's closing credits. 3. The episode asks how Sun Wukong and Xuanzang survive a kingdom whose ruler has ordered the deaths of 10,000 Buddhist priests. 4. Jason frames The Journey to the West as a medieval Chinese novel about a westbound pilgrimage for holy Buddhist scriptures. 5. Xuanzang is described as the monk-protagonist who needs Sun Wukong, Pigsy, Sandy, and Yulong the Dragon Horse to get through demons and monsters. 6. Sun Wukong is given shapeshifting powers, cloud flight, and a staff that changes size, shape, and density. 7. Pigsy is introduced as a humanoid pig man with a rake, a huge appetite, and a reputation for being the least intelligent of the group. 8. Sandy is described as an indigo sandman who can shapeshift through his sand, and Yulong is the dragon who stays in horse form. 9. A woman on the road warns that the Dharma-destroying kingdom has already killed 9,996 Buddhist priests and needs only four more. 10. Monkey scouts the city as a moth, then steals hotel clothes from Steward Wong and turns the theft into a monk disguise. 11. Widow Zhao runs an inn with superior, moderate, and inferior service levels, including a vegetarian feast and a wardrobe-sized sleeping arrangement. 12. Xuanzang objects to sleeping in a wardrobe, and Monkey seals the holes with paper so no light shows through. 13. The wardrobe is carried out of the hotel by thieves, and the city guard response turns the night into a public chase. 14. Monkey's next move uses hair transformations, insects, and local spirits, turning his body into the mechanism of the plan. 15. The narration pauses to question why Xuanzang treats a king's order as morally weightier than a religious precept. 16. The final creature segment explains Cinnamologus, the cinnamon bird, and compares medieval cinnamon stories from Herodotus and Aristotle. 17. The narration is fast, comic, and full of parenthetical asides, with modern comparisons to Costco, TripAdvisor, and Talladega Nights. 18. It also pauses to question medieval ethics, religious rules, and whether a king's order deserves the same deference as a precept. 19. Listeners who like Chinese mythology, folklore, and long comic retellings. 20. Skip if you want a terse, spoiler-free folklore summary.

As heard by us

A Monkey King road stop turns pants theft and cinnamon lore into a nimble folklore detour.

Monkey King: Not Found turns a road stop into a brisk comedy of bad lodging, missing clothes, and explanations that get stranger than the trouble itself.

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Why you'd press play

You want a Monkey King road episode where hotel trouble and strange cinnamon lore travel together.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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