Zhaobi (照壁) has a long history. 【小题1】(locate) outside the entrance of various buildings, it, in its earliest form during the Western Zhou Dynasty, 【小题2】(construct) to serve the function of status symbol. It would let passersby know that this was the residence of someone of high rank. It also served the practical function of acting as a form of 【小题3】(private) by blocking the entrance from any prying (窥探) eyes.

【小题4】 the Tang and Song Dynasties, Zhaobi took on the role in the principle of feng shui, 【小题5】 practice that focuses on achieving harmony and balance in all things. Later, it acted as a threat to gui, or “wondering evil spirit”, which would attempt 【小题6】(enter) a home.

Moving further forward in time, Zhaobi became more of a form of artistic expression and creativity, with poetry, painting and characters 【小题7】(represent) luck and good fortune on the walls. Families used Zhaobi to tell their family’s 【小题8】(exception) history and achievements.

Whether Zhaobi is a physical symbol of someone’s social position 【小题9】 a tool for defending against evil spirits, 【小题10】 can be said for sure is that these interesting structures give us a brief look at life at a particular time.

In the novel Journey To the West, most of the characters are not human, but they show recognizable human 【小题1】 (characteristic). This human element is one reason for the novel’s 【小题2】 (popular). People see 【小题3】 (they) in the characters. A good example of this is the Monkey King himself. He enjoys playing tricks, and at one point he masked himself as a demon (妖怪) 【小题4】 (rescue) his friends from a prison, without telling them who he was. He talked about eating Pigsy, nearly 【小题5】 (frighten) Pigsy to death. In a real sense, he had the same life journey that so many people have had through the ages. When young in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, he could escape all of the problems in life, but he had to grow up and face the 【小题6】 (reality) world, with all its worries. In doing so, he changed 【小题7】 someone who loved to play tricks and cause trouble, to someone who is self-disciplined and faithful.

Another reason for the novel’s success is that it is more than just 【小题8】 adventure story. It is not only a group’s journey to the West, but is a spiritual journey 【小题9】 the characters were forced to examine the nature of right and wrong. For example, in their journey, they faced both demons and gods. Yet, through enlightenment (教化) some of the demons became gods, and some of the gods became demons because they 【小题10】 (choose) to do wrong.