Journey to the West is a classic work by scholar Wu Cheng'en, considered one of the four greatest literary works in China, along with Dream of the Red Chamber (Cao Xueqin), Water Margin (Shi Nai'an) and Romance of the Three Kingdoms (La Guanzhong). In Vietnam alone, the film Journey to the West - adapted from the work of the same name - has been associated with the childhood of many generations.

In fact, the beauty and emotion of the book Journey to the West cannot be denied, but is there a flaw in this classic work? The answer is obviously yes.

Many readers of Journey to the West have pointed out the errors in this work, one of which is the little girl Ma Si Si. Most notably, Ma Si Si pointed out the absurdity that most readers of Journey to the West overlooked, when she was only 11 years old.

Along with Dream of the Red Chamber, Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West has become one of the four great literary works of China

More specifically, in Journey to the West, the four disciples of Tang Monk go on a journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures from the eastern land of the Great Tang Dynasty to the West. The journey is extremely far and spans many different regions. Because of such a wide range, the habits and customs of the people are certainly different, most clearly shown in the culinary aspect.

However, little girl Tu Tu discovered that wherever Tang Monk and his disciples go, they eat the same food day in and day out. Usually, their dishes only include white rice, green vegetables, mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, tofu and steamed buns.

According to Tu Tu, those dishes are all the cuisine of the Jiangsu region - the hometown of the "father" of the novel Journey to the West. The girl deduced that in ancient times, author Wu Cheng'en did not have the conditions to "travel" everywhere, so it was difficult for him to collect many authentic materials for his works.

During the 4-year journey to the West, the four masters and disciples of Tang Sanzang only ate familiar foods

After discovering the "loophole" in the novel Journey to the West, Tu Tu wrote an analysis article on her personal page. The 11-year-old girl's post was praised by readers of Journey to the West, including literary critics. From the time the work was published (in 1590) until Tu Tu posted the article (in 2018), no one had ever pointed out this loophole for more than 400 years.

Reading Tu Tu's post, a netizen asked back: "Did Tang Sanzang and his disciples bring food?" However, the girl responded bluntly: If such a case really existed, the food of the four teachers and students would have run out long ago. Because the journey to the West lasted 14 years, under the harsh conditions of the trip, no food could be preserved for that long.

Reading Tu Tu's post, many education experts praised the 11-year-old student's thorough observation and analysis. Not only reading books for normal entertainment, this girl also knows how to analyze works, using logical thinking to find loopholes in great masterpieces that not all adults can easily recognize.

It is known that in real life, Tu Tu has a special love for literature. Since she was a child, she has read many Chinese classics, which are often considered "difficult to swallow" for children's thinking. Among them, Journey to the West is Tu Tu's favorite work, which she reads over and over again.