Medal China Journey to the West with Staff, Shovel, Rake, and Bar

One of China's famous stories dating back to the 1500s (Ming dynasty) is Journey to the West, attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. In English-speaking countries, the work is widely known as Monkey, the title of Arthur Waley's popular abridged translation.

Journey to the West is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the 'Western Regions', that is, Central Asia and India, to obtain Buddhist sacred texts.

Main characters in the story include Xuanzang (also referred to as Tang Sanzang), Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing.

During modern times, enterprising sales people have produced nice-looking medals that commemorate the grand story and the characters in it. These are sold in sets to tourists for a few tens of US dollars. The medals contain no silver and are worth about $2 each. Once in a while you can find them online for sale to collectors.

Thanks to Wikipedia for a comprehensive summary of Journey to the West.
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