A common feature of all religions is the struggle to expand and adapt to new geographies and evolving societies. To globalize successfully, a religion must adapt to the interests and concerns of the individuals involved; if a religion fails to change, it will die and be forgotten. It was this principle that caused Buddhism to expand from the national religion of India to an international religion extending to the entire Asian continent. After a certain period of slow diffusion from the northern regions of India to the great Chinese civilization, the contrast between Buddhism and Confucianism began to attract the attention of the Chinese. It was this interest that inspired curious individuals to undertake pilgrimages to India to learn more about the context and nature of the Buddhist religion. These particular pilgrimages, spoken of in Monkey, occurred along the Silk Road which stretched from northern China through most of India. (Wriggens, IIIX) The story of Xuanzang told in the Monkey is one of the most important writings for the Chinese people because it represents a historical and informative reference for the foundations of Buddhism in China. The emergence of the Monkey folk tale was a key resource for Buddhist culture in China because it allowed for a transition between what was already accepted and what was unfamiliar. The story was based on the pilgrimage of Xuanzang, a Chinese monk who traveled the Silk Road, exploring in extreme detail every aspect of Buddhism he could encounter. It was thought that during his journey “every place he turned seemed to present a story connected with an event in the life of the Buddha, the life of a… middle of paper… a lost man, and Buddhism would not pass successfully to China. This reiterates the fundamental role that the Monkey plays within Chinese culture, helping not only to explain the new religion, but also to establish historical records of important artistic and infrastructural forms of Buddhism. Works Cited Monkey, Wu Ch'eng-en, translated by Arthur Waley, Grove Press, 1943.A History of Chinese Literature, Lai Ming, Capricorn Books Edition, 1964.The Age of Confucian Rule: The Song Transformation of China, Dieter Kuhn , The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009.Ping Shao, “Huineng, Subhuti, and Monkey's religion in Xiyou ji,” Journal of Asian Studies, 4(2006): 713-740.Buddhism in Chinese History, Arthur F. Wright , Stanford University Press, 1959.Buddhism: The Light of Asia, Kenneth KS Ch'en, Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1968.