'Monkey King' actor hopes to save historic Buddhist temple in Xian
Zhang Jinlai, who played the Monkey King in Journey to the West, has called on the government to wade in on a proposed project to demolish a part of Xingjiao Temple where a revered Tang Dynasty monk is buried.
The main actor of a popular 1988 television drama Journey to the West is campaigning to save parts of an ancient Buddhist temple in Xian where a revered Tang Dynasty monk is buried.
Zhang Jinlai, who played the Monkey King in Journey to the West, on Wednesday called on the government to wade in on a proposed project to demolish a part of Xingjiao Temple in Shaanxi province.
“The Xian Xingjiao Temple which houses a relic of monk Xuanzang is facing large-scale demolition…As an actor I sincerely hope the religious affairs administration and other relevant government organs will co-ordinate [on the matter],” he posted on Sina Weibo.
Xuanzang, born in year 602, is a well-respected Chinese Buddhist monk most famous for going on a 17-year pilgrimage to India for Buddhist scriptures. He was the inspiration of an epic Chinese classical novel Journey to the West, which has been made into various television series, movies and comics. The Monkey King is a key character who accompanies Xuanzang.
As of Thursday afternoon, Zhang’s post was reposted more than 110,000 times and received more than 24,000 comments.
