The Monkey King vs. Harry Potter 孙悟空PK哈利•波特

A：I read in the press that some people are thinking of making Sun Wu Kong, the Monkey King, an international star, just like Harry Potter. Their argument is that the Monkey King is a lot more talented and capable than Harry and could be a big hit for audiences outside China.
B：In China, the Monkey King is a household name. Everybody knows he uses a magical golden stick as a weapon and can be transformed into 72 alter egos.
A：But many young people seem to like Harry Potter better. Harry is real and shares a lot of things in common with them. For example, he has conflicts with his teachers and classmates and he has his own best friends. The Monkey King, on the other hand, is born out of a stone. He doesn’t feel happy like an ordinary person, nor get angry like them. He doesn’t interact with other people either. He does not have the familiarity which people find in Harry.
B：That’s an interesting observation. Western characters like Superman, Spiderman and Batman, all have the qualities of an ordinary person. Even Tarzan has a sweetheart and friends. Those characters are very brave and always ready to help. In comparison, the Monkey King is a lone ranger. His only job is to protect his master, a saint. Although he rebels against the authority, the character lacks the worldly conflict between good and evil. As a result, he seems less approachable than Harry.
A：Many students told me that they like Harry because he has a girlfriend. The same is true of Superman and Spiderman. The girls are the source of their courage. The Monkey King doesn’t have love. Of the four characters in the novel Pilgrimage to the West, only Zhu Ba Jie has some interest in women but as a consequence he is always scolded and scorned. Most female characters in this novel are evil incarnations, being portrayed as temptations for the saint and his disciples. In traditional Chinese culture women used to be considered a source of evil.
B：So it seems that an intimate understanding of a worldly life and the righteousness of the superhero are the deciding factors in the popularity of these characters.
A：It certainly makes it easier for people to identify themselves with those super characters. A monkey born out of a stone doesn’t seem to resonate with the vibes of modern society.

A：我在报上看到，有人计划把孙悟空打造成一个国际明星，因为孙悟空的本领比哈利?波特大得多，在世界范围内一定能更火。
B：在中国，孙悟空是个家喻户晓的名字。谁都知道他手中的金箍棒和七十二变本领。
A：但是许多年轻人似乎更喜欢哈利?波特。哈利?波特是个活生生的人，他有一般孩子的特点。比如他也和老师、同学发生冲突，有自己最好的朋友。孙悟空则是从石头中诞生的，缺乏常人的喜怒哀乐和人际交往。他没有人们在哈利?波特身上发现的相似性。
B：那倒是一个有趣的看法。西方的超人、蜘蛛侠、蝙蝠侠等形象都具有普通人的特征。既便是人猿泰山，也有他的恋人和朋友。他们非常勇敢，并且随时准备出手相助。相比较而言，孙悟空是一个孤胆英雄。他肩负着护卫圣人取经的职责，虽然他也反叛权威，但是缺少了俗世常有的善恶冲突。孙悟空的形象与哈利波特比，少了亲近感。
A：许多学生告诉我，他们喜欢哈利波特，因为他有女朋友。超人和蜘蛛侠的故事也如此。这些女性给予英雄们力量。但孙悟空没有爱情。《西游记》中的师徒四人，只有猪八戒对女人有兴趣，却总是被其他人嘲弄或斥责。这部小说中的女性多数是妖怪，是用来诱惑圣人和他的徒弟们的。她们是中国古人观念中的祸水。
B：看来，决定一个超级英雄能否被更广泛接受的主要因素，是他们易于亲近的特性和崇高的品行。
A：超级英雄因为与人类的相似而易于被接受，石头缝里生出来的猴子似乎很难与人产生共鸣。