From Homo Economicus to the Rational Practitioner: Reconstructing Rational Choice Through Inner Cultivation in Journey to the West

Abstract

This paper examines the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West through the lens of rational choice theory, with a particular focus on the logic of cultivation and behavioral decision-making. By incorporating the notion of “inner cultivation” (xin xing xiulian) into the analytical framework, we introduce the concept of the “cultivating economic agent,” aiming to explore how rationality is generated, evolved, and transcended throughout the spiritual journey. The study argues that, in the context of Eastern culture, rationality is not merely an innate or static faculty but one that can be cultivated and transformed. Through textual analysis of the behavioral trajectories of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Tang Sanzang, we uncover a structured behavioral logic of “goal orientation–institutional discipline–purification of the mind.” The findings suggest that although cultivation behaviors are not utilitarian decisions per se, they exhibit rational characteristics such as goal stability, autonomous will, and embedded incentives.