Course:ASIA325/2025/Love, Art, and Culture in "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella"

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Love, Art, and Culture in "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella"
A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella; released on February 4, 1995; directed by Jeffrey Lau

Group Members' Contributions

AW: Intro, stories behind the film, scholarly literature review (Cultural Identity and Reception), and comparative analysis.

AM: Histories of the film reception, scholarly literature review (Mortal features of the Monkey King), and comparative analysis.

JS: Alternative Interpretation, scholarly literature review (Interart Approach), and conclusion.

Introduction

Jeffrey Lau's Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella

A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella is a Cantonese-language fantasy-comedy directed by Jeffrey Lau.[1] The film is written by Jeffrey Lau and Cheng'en Wu, starring Stephen Chow as Joker (the reincarnation of the Monkey King), Athena Chu as Zixia Fairy, and Man-tat Ng as Pigsy.[1] The film premiered in Hong Kong on February 4, 1995 and has since become a cult classic in Hong Kong cinema.[2] The film is a sequel to Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora’s Box. The film blends slapstick humour, tragic romance, and metaphysical themes into a Cantonese parody of the classic Journey to the West.

The Joker (Stephen Chow) continues his time-travelling journey, desperately using the magical Pandora’s Box to change his fate and avoid becoming the Monkey King. Along the way, he meets Zixia (Athena Chu), a spirited immortal who marks him as her fated lover. What begins as a comedic misadventure soon spirals into a tragic realization that Joker must relinquish his love for Zixia to fulfill his role as the Monkey King and restore cosmic order. The film explores the painful irony that to become who he is meant to be, he must forget who he wants to be. The Monkey King returns with characteristics of an asexual mythological creature. Still, he later develops romantic feelings and desires. The film created a cult following in mainland China as media accessibility increased, primarily through digital platforms, and its popularity went beyond its initial box office results. This wiki page provides a comparative analysis, alternative interpretation and various scholarly perspectives: love, interart, and culture, which extends a new understanding of the film's cultural and significant relations to Hong Kong cinema.  

Stories Behind the Film

Production Conflict:

A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella (1995) was filmed primarily at Xi’an Film Studio in Mainland China.[3] The film was produced as a Hong Kong–Mainland co-production, involving Stephen Chow's Choi Sing Company and Xi’an Film Studio. As a result, the production brought together crews that spoke different dialects. Hong Kong technicians spoke Cantonese, while Mainland staff spoke Mandarin, creating consistent communication difficulties that slowed the shoot.[4]

Actor Law Kar-ying (Longevity Monk)


Co-star Dramas:

Stephen Chow

Tensions between Stephen Chow and Law Kar-ying surfaced during the filming of A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella. An interview has exposed that Stephen Chow has offended multiple actors, including Law Kar-ying, while filming for A Chinese Odyssey series and other films such as Kung Fu (2004).[5] While preparing to film Kung Fu (2004), Stephen Chow invited Law Kar-ying to participate in the production. Law later recalled that he had already prepared costumes for the role and had declined other film offers while waiting for Chow's project to begin.[5] [6] However, over a month later, Law was informed by one of Chow’s assistants that his role had been cancelled and he would no longer be needed for the film.[5] Although Law acknowledged that casting changes are common in the industry, he expressed disappointment that Chow did not personally inform him or offer any explanation.[5] [6]

Furthermore, A Chinese Odyssey was initially planned to be a singular movie rather than a two-part series. Law Kar-ying later shared that his role in A Chinese Odyssey was filmed over seven or eight days, but the footage was ultimately divided between Part One and Part Two.[6] Law should be compensated for both productions, as his performance was used in each film. However, Chow declined to provide additional payment for the second film and offered no clear explanation for this decision.[6]


Studio Collapse and Financial Fallout:

The financial aftermath of A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella became a significant story behind its production history. Although the film is now regarded as a cult classic, it underperformed at the Hong Kong box office upon its release. According to the Hong Kong Film Archive, both Part One and Part Two together grossed under HK$46 million, failing to meet expectations.[7] [8] The commercial failure directly led to the bankruptcy of its production company, Choi Sing Film Company, shortly after the film’s release. The financial failure reflected the broader structural decline of Hong Kong’s film industry during the mid-1990s, characterized by a period of overproduction followed by the destabilizing impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which led to the rapid contraction of Southeast Asian film markets.[9]

Histories of the Film’s Reception

Dahua Fan Culture and Personal Allegories

Following the theatrical release of A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora’s Box in 1995, its latter part Cinderella screened the same year in Hong Kong and mainland China, which was largely considered a box-office disaster.[10] As A Chinese Odyssey narrates the continuity of Joker’s voyage towards self-identity and his fate as Sun Wukong, his encounters of supernatural and earthly obstacles openly combine with lead star Stephen Chow’s humorously-nonsense trademark in slapstick comedy films.[10] Chow’s use of Cantonese comedy genre mou-lei-tou, along with the clever wordplay in Lau’s screenplay, contains a charm that would later form Dahua,  an internet subculture known to root from the fandom creation of A Chinese Odyssey in 1998, and named after a Mandarin phrase “big talk.”[11]

Despite the slow reception of both installments, numerous drives in the shifting film distribution and evolving television market were beneficial to the late success of Lau’s A Chinese Odyssey.[10] Bootleg discs and the growing internet use swarmed mainland university campuses in the late 1990s and onwards.[10] College students’ active underground trading and selling of pirated copies became the film’s main pillar of circulation, with one seller noting consistently high-demand sales of over a thousand copies.[10] Upon the cinema entering the postmodern scope, university students and, generally, the youth have become effective participants of the ensuing Chow-centric subculture through societal allegories of reinvented A Chinese Odyssey storyline, particularly in the mainland Chinese popular media.[11]

Dahua culture is stated by sociologist Matthew Ming-tak Chew to have comprise, “the nonsensical (wulitou) discourses and practices that permeate all of Chow’s 20th-century films.”[11] This subcultural phenomenon developed extensively at the advent of accessible internet, creating subsequent fan cultures that embrace diverse elements featuring a Stephen Chow quality, such as intellectually-big catchphrases, foul yet witty retorts, non-sequitur wisdom, and comedic exaggeration.[11] Nonsensical speech online and offline generated further cultural interaction with reference to several dialogues from the film,[11] yet such a mania for A Chinese Odyssey expanded all through the 2000s, now under the factors of personal allegories and intertextuality.[10] According to Hongmei Sun’s study, the rapid online popularity of the film can be traced back to websites that once operated to embrace the fans’ creative re-interpretation of the film.[10] Thus, rather than critiquing the accuracy of the plotline based on the 16th century novel, nor alternating specific characterization, Joker serves as a heroic counterpart of the young adults facing hardships in the late 1990s.[10] Apart from the film’s dark humour ridiculing gods and worshippers amidst political tension in the Chinese regions,[10] many mainland fans expressed the mirroring journey of Joker with their individual life trajectories. As such, most fan correspondence relate to growing pains and self-discovery throughout college years and early adulthood, similar to the evolution from Joker into Sun Wukong, likely confronting celestial figures and orders which equates to uncertainties made by real-life social powers.[10] Among the multiple film reviews, a striking insight by a fan was titled “Havoc in Heaven,” and like so stated, “all [one’s] talents and personality do not matter underneath the mountain of Buddha’s palm,” hence demonstrating the fans’ personal connection with Joker.[10]

Scholarly Literature Review

Mortal Features of the Monkey King

In the book Transforming Monkey: Adaptation and Representation of a Chinese Epic, published in 2018 by Professor Hongmei Sun, a chapter is dedicated to exploring diverse thematic details attributed in the film A Chinese Odyssey, notably the characterization of the Monkey King under the context of sexuality and humanization.[10] “From Fighter to Lover” begins with Sun examining the role of sexuality predicated on the nature of the leading characters from the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. Sun foremostly mentions the opposing elements between temptation and abstinence that can be found in the essence of each character, with Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) upholding the very core of a sinful lust, as Tripitaka (Longevity Monk) embodies an endured purity for ten reincarnations.[10] Contrary to these characters struggling past troublesome pleasures along the way, Sun explains Monkey King’s passivity for abstinence. Sun’s analysis of Monkey King’s effortless disregard of carnal desire stems from his very conception, in which it dismisses that he is a product of a sexual activity, but instead is born from a stone at a mountain.[10] Hence, such a background spares him of a lasting link with worldly temptation throughout the journey, as “his body is built for battles and transformational magic.”[10] As a result, through a religious lens, the Monkey King is made a role model for his oblivion of sexuality, further relating his character as the heart of the pilgrimage through the Five Phases of Chinese philosophy.[10] Monkey King maintains his heroic arc via leadership and control over his body, which parallels a revolutionary figure during the mainland’s socialist era,[10] until love comes along.

The Monkey King inevitably transcends past a valiant disciple in the journey, signifying a remarkable change of heart that now works against his own body, as depicted in the characterization of Joker in A Chinese Odyssey. Sun critiques the decentering of Monkey King’s heart through the stance of Stephen Chow’s Joker in the 1995 film, from a story of self-discovery to a romantic plot focus. Apparent in the storyline are the frequent contemplations Joker encounters, including his fate and love for Zixia, which are among the subjects Sun utilizes to justify Monkey King’s humanization.[10] The actual portrayal of Joker’s perishable body in numerous conditions indeed accounts for his humanization, yet it is his realization, or a sense of enlightenment towards his love for Zixia, that establishes an intense, mortal conflict.[10] When Joker is killed, Sun describes Joker’s heart fleeing from his body to formally exist as Monkey King.[10] Even so, despite the rightful conclusion in accordance with the original text, the Monkey King in the film remains conscious of this particular affection, thus using Joker’s reincarnated body to assure an alternate fairytale ending with Zixia before the journey unfolds.[10] Sun later argues the persisting impact of a contrasting heart and body. As a result, the Monkey King now holds the humanizing capability to experience the complexities of life like an ordinary fellow.

An Interart Approach to the Reception of Stephen Chow’s

In the article “Metamorphosis and Mediality: An Interart Approach to the Reception of Stephen Chow’s A Chinese Odyssey in Mainland China,” Yang Feng analyzes the cultural impact of Stephen Chow’s cult movie “A Chinese Odyssey” from an interart perspective.[12] Yang argues that the film is constructed through the “spatialization of the visual,” “non linearized dialogue,” and “the juxtaposition of both to a greater effect.”[13] Yang’s claim suggests that the film challenges the traditional structure of what a movie is supposed to be. “A Chinese Odyssey” disrupts logic by using exaggerated visual scenes and dialogue where characters speak in riddles. The combination of elements opens up new interpretations and deeper meanings within the film. Yang references Jin Hezai’s online novel “The Story of the Monkey King,” which was heavily influenced by “A Chinese Odyssey,” to show the internet provides an ahistorical space for Chinese audiences and allows for the kind of creative freedom that Chow explored in the film industry.[10] In doing so, Feng aims to establish a theoretical basis for exploring the relationship between media transformation and its political, historical, and cultural implications. Yang also discusses the film’s initial reception, noting that it was a box office failure in Hong Kong. Although the film was initially under appreciated, it gained major success in the early 2000s.[14] Yang argues that the film's rise in popularity was due to the emergence of new forms of media and entertainment.[15] Illegal copies of the film on video CDs were cheap and easily accessible, especially for financially struggling students.[11] The accessibility helped “A Chinese Odyssey” build its reputation and contributed to Stephen Chow being recognized as the new king of cultural comedy.[11] Yang then discusses the general rule of film adaptation, explaining that instead of trying to minimize the gap between the original text and its visual translation, “A Chinese Odyssey’ embraces the difference and uses it to enhance the overall effect. To support this idea, Yang cites Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, who believed that artists should be aware of the limitations of their chosen medium and work wisely within those boundaries.[10] Lessing described painting as a spatial art form representing objects in space, while poetry is a temporal art form expressing events over time. However, both “A Chinese Odyssey” and “The Story of the Monkey King” can be viewed as successors to the rise of cultural secularism.[16] Overall, Yang argues that the two works together have created a new way of adapting classical texts through modern media while exploring identity, humour, and creative freedom.[16]

Cultural Identity & Reception

Matthew Chew (2022) offers a detailed cultural sociological analysis of how A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella and Stephen Chow’s broader filmography challenge conventional understandings of Hong Kong’s and China’s cultural relations. Past research has characterized these relationships in terms of hegemony and conflict in the past, emphasizing political domination, cultural repression, or "sub-imperialism”.[17] China is viewed as a regional power that enforces cultural control over Hong Kong.[18] However, Chew's 2022 study contends that a more complex and counter-hegemonic dynamic is revealed by the way Chow's films are received in mainland China.

Chew (2022) noted that A Chinese Odyssey Part Two has been immensely popular among Chinese audiences. On platforms such as Douban, it received extremely high ratings of 9.2 out of 10, even surpassing globally acclaimed Hong Kong directors like Wong Kar-wai.[10] This positive outcome gives the assumption that mainland viewers would choose Beijing-approved plots over Hong Kong's culturally unique cinema.[10] Instead, mainland and Mandarin viewers actively engage with the film’s humour, Cantonese sensibilities, and underlying social critiques, which indicates a cross-border cultural dialogue rather than a one-sided cultural assimilation.[19]

Chew (2022) highlights the counter-hegemonic aspects of A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella by identifying the various theoretical perspectives Chinese intellectuals and scholars used to interpret the work. Using postmodern theory, early readings pointed out that the movie subverts Buddha and other moralistic authority figures while embracing Zen-like nonsense that goes against Chinese and Western meaning structures[20]; thereby analyzing the original Journey to the West myth. Chew (2022) states that Mikhail Bakhtin's carnival theory was later used by academics, who emphasized how Chow's use of parody, underdog heroes, and hideous humour captures the rebellious spirit of carnival culture.[11] This enables familiar viewers to oppose authority and social hierarchies symbolically.[10] [16]

Likewise, Chew (2022) highlights how popular culture influenced this counter-hegemonic reception. Chinese fans, both Mandarin and Cantonese, do not simply consume A Chinese Odyssey Part Two or any of Stephen Chow’s movies. Audience and viewers actively use fan fiction, memes, and internet culture to reinterpret and remix their content.[11] [16]A good example is incorporating Chow's film elements into online political satire, such as the "Chinese Santa" meme, which embeds humour from Hong Kong into Chinese digital spaces while subtly criticizing state policies.[21]

The film’s reception in China shows that Hong Kong cinema can circulate widely, retain its local identity, and foster grassroots cultural exchange that challenges the simplistic narrative of cultural domination. Chow’s work complicates existing theories of post-handover cultural relations, showing that non-hegemonic, bottom-up forms of interaction continue to flourish despite rising political tensions between Hong Kong and the mainland.[22]

Comparative Analysis

Comparing with Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013) directed by Stephen Chow

A Chinese Odyssey Part 2: Cinderella (1995), directed by Jeffrey Lau, and Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013), directed by Stephen Chow, are modern adaptations of the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West". Although based on the same source material, the two films take different approaches to exploring themes of love, fate, and personal sacrifice through their distinct comedic styles and storytelling techniques. A comparison of the two highlights how each director reinterprets the familiar story to reflect different cultural contexts and cinematic visions.

Similarities

Both films use comedy to address serious subjects like fate, sacrifice and enlightenment. A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella is full of absurd humour, such as the scene where Longevity-Monk (Law Kar-ying) sings a parody of “Only You and You Alone” by The Platters (Yau 00:44:20). The Cantonese slang is a use of modern elements to create a surreal comedic effect. Similarly, comedy begins from the early scenes in Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons. During the fight with the river demon, the village’s failed attempts at exorcism turn into a slapstick (Chow 00:17:55). Yet, both films gradually turn serious as the characters face painful choices between love and duty.

Both films center on fate as an unstoppable force. Joker tries many times to change his destiny, but always becomes the Monkey King. Similarly, in Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, Longevity-Monk’s journey leads him to renounce his feelings for Duan and fully embrace monkhood after Duan’s death (Chow 00:58:32). Both films show that personal desires are powerless against karmic destiny.

Differences

The first difference lies in the two films’ comedic style. A Chinese Odyssey Part 2: Cinderella represents the peak of Hong Kong’s 1990s “mo lei tau” humour, a Hong Kong style fast-paced, nonsensical, full of random jokes and meta references.[23] The characters often break the fourth wall, and scenes feel intentionally absurd. In contrast, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons has a more balanced tone, mixing early comedy with growing emotional depth. As the story progresses, the humour becomes bittersweet, especially after Duan’s death, creating a tragic yet reflective mood.

The second difference is the language of the films. A Chinese Odyssey Part 2: Cinderella was filmed in Cantonese, which could reflect its strong Hong Kong identity and local audience in the 1990s. Cantonese adds to the film’s unique style of humour, including wordplay and slang that are deeply rooted in Hong Kong culture. On the other hand, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons was filmed in Mandarin. Since the story “Journey to the West” is a Chinese novel written in the 16th Century by Wu Cheng'en[24] and Mandarin is the standard Chinese language, it is not surprising that the director and film production continue to use Mandarin in the film for a broad Chinese-speaking audience. The language difference also reflects the shift from a locally focused Hong Kong cinema to a more commercially broad Mainland Chinese film industry.

Tragic Romance and Enlightenment

A parallel aspect between films A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella and Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, a 2013 comedy-fantasy film co-directed by Stephen Chow and Derek Kwok, is exceptionally distinguished through its narrative arrangement. With both films deriving from a form of intertextuality, the newly-inserted romantic patterns in the storyline are instead emphasized, as discussed in the previous analysis by Hongmei Sun in the transforming character of the Monkey King.[10] In A Chinese Odyssey, love becomes a vital instrument that prompts Joker’s inevitable destiny, from being identified as a rebellious bandit to a lovesick figure upholding a pivotal duty to embark on the journey in another identity. Love is not realized by Joker in the beginning, it is only prolonged through his ignorance and Zixia’s persistence, yet his heart remains aware when she once magically penetrated into his body to converse with his heart.[25] Among the many remarkable excerpts of the film includes Joker’s infamous dialogue expressing his affection in a tearful scene, “If you have to give a time limit to this love, I hope it is 10,000 years.”[26] In spite of all, Joker embraces the principles of the Monkey King after he transforms into one, and thus, sacrifices his love for Zixia who later succumbs to her death. Even then, the golden ring that signifies his supposed supernatural-self soon shrinks on his head,[27] implying his humanized emotional pain amid their tragic end. At the film’s conclusion, a closure of the two’s relationship is relatively offered in reincarnated bodies, while the Monkey King walks off to bid a silent farewell to such specific love.

Conquering the Demons narrates a similar sequence of events, now in the perspective of Tang Sanzang prior to the pilgrimage. Like Joker before transitioning into the Monkey King, Sanzang holds unalike qualities from his destiny as Longevity Monk, presently taking position as a gullible and misunderstood demon hunter.[28] Regardless of fulfilling a grueling enlightenment mission ordered by his master, he meets a fellow demon hunter, Duan, who opposes his cautious methods from her daring ways. The two’s eventual joint-force to defeat demons causes Duan to grow romantic interest in Sanzang, in which the film sustains as a crucial factor to Sanzang’s ultimate realization. However, Sanzang continuously rejects and flees from her advances to pursue his own expedition instead, until their final reunion at the Monkey King’s cave. Due to the ironic deception of the Monkey King, Duan collapses and shares a solemn conversation with Sanzang who admits he has loved her from the beginning, and promises to do so in the next 10,000 years.[29] Duan disapproves and asks him a particular line, “Just love me now,” before she passes next to him.[30] Sanzang looks back on this memory as a turning point in his assignment, becoming the sole gateway to his own enlightenment towards the greater love, as in this case, his Buddhist faith as a monk. The film concludes with Sanzang sighting a dancing Duan in the sand during his departure to the West.

It comes to light in these films, particularly those loosely based on the 16th century novel, of the use of tragic romance to set forth a fulfilling enlightenment of oneself in the conclusion. Love, in the film’s thematic setting, functions beyond an emotional state, but a critical agent that becomes interchangeable with loss and further pushes characters to navigate a sense of identity. Certainly, the journey of Joker and Tang Sanzang, with lasting impact from Zixia and Duan, takes advantage of romantic elements and tragedy to maintain an active storyline that foreshadows an ensuing self-improvement and transformation.

Alternative Interpretation

in "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella"
Monkey King (played by Stephen Chow)

The film “A Chinese Odyssey: Part 2 Cinderella,” directed by Jeffrey Lau, is a parody of the classic story “Journey to the West,” written by Xiyou Ji.[31] In the article “Adaptation as an Open Process: Dahua Fandom and the Reception of A Chinese Odyssey,” Li Zeng argues that “Stephen Chow portrays Sun Wukong as a bandit who is not good at fighting and simply wants to live with the woman he loves. He refuses to accept escorting Xuanzang to India as his obligation, and thus is the opposite of the heroic Wukong in the classic novel and its previous media adaptations”.[32] However, the Monkey King contradicts Zeng’s argument through his courageous actions. The Monkey King chooses to fight alone against King Bull and his army of bandits in order to rescue both his master and his love interest, Zixia, showing bravery and selflessness that align more closely with the traditional image of the heroic Wukong.[33]

The setting of King Bull’s wedding with Zixia takes place at his cold and unwelcoming stone castle. The ceremony is held at night, which draws the viewer’s attention to the grand entrance of the Monkey King. The Monkey King’s entrance is god-like, emerging from the colorful bright clouds and transforming into a fireball to stop the wedding and save his master. The transformation into a fireball highlights the Monkey King’s sense of urgency and determination, directly challenging Zeng’s portrayal of the Monkey King as dismissive of his obligations. The long red drapes fly behind the Monkey King as he lands, making him appear heroic and noble. In addition, when the Monkey King enters the castle, the music shifts dramatically. It becomes loud and powerful, filled with percussion and brass instruments that reflect his strong and commanding presence. The use of these instruments resembles a fanfare, a ceremonial welcome reserved for someone of great importance, which supports the Monkey King’s grand entrance. The lighting used in the wedding scene evokes an ominous feeling through the dark night sky and surrounding fog. However, the green lights in the background can be interpreted as Zixia’s hope, waiting for the Monkey King to rescue her from the dark grip of King Bull. Although the Monkey King embodies the characteristics of a foolish monkey, he uses his gross tendencies such as yawning, sneezing, and farting as creative weapons to fight against King Bull and his bandits. While Zeng claims that the Monkey King is “not good at fighting,” these unconventional tactics prove effective in defending himself and those he cares about.[34] His willingness to confront danger alone shows that he is not avoiding his responsibilities. Instead, he embraces them, revealing courage and loyalty that reflect the qualities of the heroic Sun Wukong.

Furthermore, the dialogue asserts the Monkey King's heroic intentions when he states to his master, "I will protect you to the west and get scriptures".[35] The Monkey King's declaration reflects a shift in his understanding of responsibility and duty, show that he is no longer avoiding his role but instead choosing to protect his master and fulfill his mission. In another moment, King Bull angrily says to the Monkey King, "Damn monkey, you flirted with my wife."The Monkey responds, "Although we are friends, I'll indict you for slander if you repeat that again."[36] His serious response suggests that he is protective of Zixia and cares deeply for her. This moment reveals his growing emotional maturity and commitment those he loves, directly challenging Zeng's label of the Monkey King as the "opposite of heroic".[37]

Stephen Chow's performance as the Monkey King challenges Zeng's statement by highlighting how Chow's portrayal of the Monkey King evolves into a heroic figure through his actions, setting, and dialogue in the wedding scene. While Zeng argues that Chow's character rejects responsibility and lack heroic qualities, the scene demonstrates the opposite. The Monkey King's dramatic entrance, creative yet effective fighting style, and emotional commitment to both his master and Zixia reflect bravery, loyalty, and growth. These elements, combined with symbolic visuals and music, position him closer to the traditional image of Sun Wukong than Zeng suggests.

Conclusion

The film A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella continues to resonate with audiences for its unique blend of slapstick comedy, tragic romance, and cultural tradition. While it parodies the classic Journey to the West, the film moves beyond simple retelling by exploring themes of love, destiny, and self-sacrifice. Joker’s transformation into the Monkey King reflects the painful cost of becoming who he is meant to be at the expense of who he wants to be. The film's growing popularity across mainland China through digital access shows the media circulation helped turn the film into a cult classic long after its original release. This wiki page offers a deeper look into the film’s meaning through comparative analysis and interpretation, which continues to shape and reflect cultural conversations within Hong Kong cinema.

References

‎

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114996/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114996/releaseinfo/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Zhang, Hening (2024). "Jeffrey Lau's journey to the mainland: Strategic hybridization in Hong Kong-mainland film co-production". Transnational Screens. 15 (2): 162 doi:10.1080/25785273.2024.2375126.
  4. ↑ lbid, 164
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 十三说娱乐 (2023). 罗家英谈周星驰：骗我拍戏又把我辞掉，以后他找我要先给钱https://www.sohu.com/a/674421976_121200919
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 央视国际 (2007).罗家英爆周星驰不厚道 拍《大话西游》少给片酬.https://news.cctv.com/performance/20070717/100468.shtml
  7. ↑ https://web.arc hive.org/web/20230528200007/http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=260
  8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230317182419/http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=273
  9. ↑ Hendrix, Grady (2003). “Hong Kong Horror - The ‘90s and Beyond”. Senses of Cinema. 29
  10. ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 10.25 10.26 Sun, Hongmei (2018). Transforming Monkey: Adaptation and Representation of a Chinese Epic. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 91–118. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":3" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":3" defined multiple times with different content
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 Chew, Matthew Ming-tak (2020). "Discovering the digital Stephen Chow: The transborder influence of Chow's films on the Chinese Internet in the 2010s". Global Media and China. 5: 124–137 – via Sage Journals. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":4" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":4" defined multiple times with different content
  12. ↑ Yan, Feng. Metamorphosis and Mediality: An Interart Approach to the Reception of Stephen Chow’s A Chinese Odyssey in Mainland China. Hong Kong: David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies, 2007. LEWI Working Paper Series no 68.
  13. ↑ Feng,1
  14. ↑ Feng, 2.
  15. ↑ Feng, 2.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Feng, 12 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":5" defined multiple times with different content
  17. ↑ Matthew Ming-tak Chew (July 2022). Rethink the Cultural Relations between Hong Kong and China: An Analysis of the Chinese Reception of Stephen Chow’s Films. Modern China. 48 (4): 785-813. https://doi.org/10.1177/00977004221079194
  18. ↑ lbid, 786-787
  19. ↑ Ibid, 796
  20. ↑ lbid, 799-800
  21. ↑ lbid, 804-805
  22. ↑ lbid, 806
  23. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_lei_tau
  24. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West
  25. ↑ A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, directed by Jeffrey Lau (1995; Hong Kong), 19:58
  26. ↑ A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, 38:45.
  27. ↑ A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, 1:27:16.
  28. ↑ Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, directed by Stephen Chow and Derek Kwok (2013), 6:38.
  29. ↑ Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, 1:36:30-1:37:26.
  30. ↑ Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, 1:37:30.
  31. ↑ Li Zeng, “Adaptation as an Open Process: Dahua Fandom and the Reception of A Chinese Odyssey,” Advance Access publication 6, no. 2 (2012): 187, accessed June 8, 2025, doi:10.1093/adaptation/aps028
  32. ↑ Zeng, 191.
  33. ↑ King Bull and Zixia’s Wedding”, A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, directed by Jeffrey Lau (1995; Hong Kong, Color Star Film), Online.   
  34. ↑ Zeng, 191.
  35. ↑ “King Bull and Zixia’s Wedding”, A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, directed by Jeffrey Lau (1995; Hong Kong, Color Star Film), Online.   
  36. ↑ “King Bull and Zixia’s Wedding”, A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, directed by Jeffrey Lau (1995; Hong Kong, Color Star Film), Online.   
  37. ↑ Zeng, 191.
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