《西遊證道書》為清代最早、影響最廣泛的百回《西遊》刪評本，其評點觀繼承明代世評本將《西遊》視為寓言、關注其中道教內丹隱喻，同時對明代李評本的心學解讀進行批評、回應。《證道書》對清代《西遊》版本與評點觀影響極大，形成「講道說」一系；其藉猜謎、測字等尋找隱藏意義之讀法，更預示紅學索隱派的出現。編評者汪淇（1604-1668）兼具出版家與道教徒身份，他刊印書籍涉及的通俗知識展現在《證道書》評點中；他編撰第一人稱小說《呂祖全傳》，其中「閱歷」觀念使汪淇《西遊》評點具有不同義意。加上道教信仰促使他以謫仙神話中罪與解罪觀點評閱《西遊》，將之視為「道」的具現，使《西遊》成為「證道」寓言。

The Xiyou zhengdao shu 西遊證道書 is the earliest and most influential edition of the Journey to the West (Xiyou ji 西遊記) produced in the Qing dynasty. Carrying forward the position of the Shi pingben 世 評本, the Zhengdao shu interprets the Journey to the West as a religious allegory and also criticizes the xinxue 心學perspective advanced in the Li pingben 李評本. The Zhengdao shu influenced subsequent editions of the Journey to the West, and moreover gave rise to the jiangdao shuo 講道說 tradition of interpretation, which comprehended the Journey to the West in Daoist terms. In addition, the Zhengdao shu reconceptualized the Journey to the West in a metaphorical way, which foreshadowed the hidden meanings in the Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢. Wang Qi 汪 淇 (1604-1668), the Zhengdao shu’s redactor and commentator, was both a publisher and a Daoist. His views on common knowledge, found in the books he published, are evident in the marginalia of the Zhengdao shu. Before the Zhengdao shu, Wang Qi composed a first person narrative novel titled the Lüzu quanshu 呂袓全書. This book incorporates the concept of “experience” (yueli 閱歷), which imbues the Zhengdao shu with a different meaning. Wang’s convictions impelled him to interpret the Journey to the West from the viewpoint of a banished immortal, an interpretive stance that led to the text being read as an allegory for verifying the dao.