Sun Wukong - WikiHQ

Sun Wukong (, <small>Mandarin pronunciation:</small> ), also known as the Monkey King, is a literary and religious figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. In the novel, Sun Wukong is an intelligent monkey (likely a rhesus macaque or a golden snub-nosed monkey) born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven, he is imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha. Five hundred years later, he accompanies the monk Tang Sanzang riding on the White Dragon Horse and two other disciples, Zhu Bajie and Sha Heshang, on a journey to obtain Buddhist sutras, known as the West or Western Paradise, where Buddha and his followers dwell.

Sun Wukong possesses many abilities. He has supernatural strength and is able to support the weight of two heavy mountains on his shoulders while running "with the speed of a meteor". He is extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li (54,000km, 34,000mi) in one somersault. He has vast memorization skills and can remember every monkey ever born. As king of the monkeys, it is his duty to keep track of and protect every monkey. Sun Wukong acquires the 72 Earthly Transformations, which allow him to access 72 unique powers, including the ability to transform into animals and objects. He is a skilled fighter, capable of defeating the best warriors of heaven. His hair has magical properties, capable of making copies of himself or transforming into various weapons, animals and other things. He has partial weather manipulation skills, can freeze people in place, and can become invisible.

The supernatural abilities displayed by Wukong and some other characters were widely thought of as "magic powers" by readers at the time of Journey to the West writing, without much differentiation between them despite the various religious traditions that inspired them and their different and varied functions, and were often translated as such in non-Chinese versions of the book.

History

thumb|The golden statues of [[White Dragon Horse, Sha Wujing, Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang and Zhu Bajie at the Rua Yai City Pillar Shrine in Suphan Buri, Thailand]]

As one of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, Wukong has a varied and highly debated background and colorful cultural history. His inspiration might have come from an amalgam of influences, generally relating to religious concepts.

One source for inspiration came from differing ways gibbons were venerated during the Chinese Chu kingdom (700–223 BC), and various legends about gibbons and monkeys in Chu and its successors. These legends and religious practices, alongside doctrine from Taoist organizations that reinforced them and combined elements from all five kinds of traditional religious Taoism gave rise to stories and art motifs during the Han dynasty, eventually contributing to the Sun Wukong figure. Hu Shih first suggested that Wu Cheng'en may have been influenced by the Hindu deity Hanuman from the Ramayana in his depictions of the Monkey King. The Ramayana was first translated into Chinese in the 20th century, 500 years after Journey to the West was written, by Mi Wenkai, Sun Yong and Ji Xianlin. Although Ji Xianlin speculated that some related stories might have circulated in China before that, he also acknowledged that most scholars, including Lu Xun, believe the Ramayana had not been translated into Chinese or was accessible to Wu Cheng'en prior to the writing of Journey to the West. Instead, Lu Xun suggested the 9th-century Chinese deity Wuzhiqi, who appears as a sibling of Sun Wukong in older Yuan dynasty stories, as the inspiration. Sun Wukong may have also been influenced by local folk religion from Fuzhou province, where monkey gods were worshipped long before the novel. This included the three Monkey Saints of Lin Shui Palace. Once fiends, they were subdued by the goddess Chen Jinggu, the Empress Lin Shui. The three were Dan Xia Da Sheng (), the Red Face Monkey Sage, Tong Tian Da Sheng (), the Black Face Monkey Sage, and Shuang Shuang San Sheng (), the White Face Monkey Sage. The two traditional mainstream religions practiced in Fuzhou are Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. Traditionally, many people practice both religions simultaneously. However, the roots of local religion dated back many years before the institutionalization of these traditions.

Sun Wukong's religious status in Buddhism is often denied by Buddhist monks both Chinese and non-Chinese alike, but is very welcomed by the general public, spreading its name around the world and establishing itself as a cultural icon.

Background

Birth and early life

thumb|225px|Depiction of the Forbidden Temple's Sun Wukong as depicted in a scene in a [[Peking opera]]

According to Journey to the West, Sun Wukong is born from a strong magic stone that sits atop the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. The stone is said to receive the nurture of heaven (yang), which possesses a positive nature, and earth (yin), which possesses a negative nature, and thus is able to produce living beings, according to Taoist philosophies. The stone develops a magic womb, which bursts open one day to produce a stone egg about the size of a ball.

When the wind blows on the egg, the egg becomes the stone monkey. As his eyes move, two beams of golden light shoot toward the Jade palace and startle the Jade Emperor. When he sees the light he orders two of his officers to investigate. They report the stone monkey, and that the light is dying down as the monkey eats and drinks. The Jade Emperor believes him to be nothing special.

On the mountain, the monkey joins a group of other wild monkeys. After playing, the monkeys regularly bathe in a stream. One day, they decide to seek the source of the stream and climb the mountain to a waterfall. They declare that whoever goes through the waterfall, finds the stream's source, and comes out again will become their king. The stone monkey volunteers and jumps into the waterfall.

The stone monkey finds a large iron bridge over rushing water, across which is a cave. He persuades the other monkeys to jump in also, and they make it into their home. He then reminds them of their prior declaration, so they declare him their king. He takes the throne and calls himself Handsome Monkey King (). This happiness does not last. When one of his older monkey friends dies, the Monkey King is very upset. He decides to strike out from his island on a self-made raft, in search of an Immortal to teach him how to beat death.

He comes ashore and wanders around. Humans see him and flee, uncertain of his ape-like appearance. He takes some clothes that were left out to dry and continues on foot. His face hidden by a hood, he travels through towns and sees many examples of human degeneracy and vice. He continues on and into a forest. The Monkey King hears a woodcutter singing an interesting song, and when questioning the woodcutter about the origin he learns it was taught to the woodcutter by an Immortal who resides in the forest.

The Monkey King comes to the entrance of a temple in which a magical Taoist martial artist named Puti Zushi resides. Puti Zushi initially refuses to let him in, but the Monkey King refuses to leave and waits outside the entrance for months. Puti Zushi is impressed by the Monkey King's persistence and allows him to enter. He accepts the Monkey King as a student, giving him his religious name, "Sun Wukong", and teaches him many advanced Taoist practices, including the Way of Immortality.

He later advises Sun Wukong never to needlessly show off his skills, because others might ask him to teach them, and if he does teach them, they may go on to cause trouble, but if he doesn't teach them, they will resent him for it. He then forbids Sun Wukong from ever revealing who it was that taught him, and the loyal Monkey King promises never to reveal the identity of his Master. Later, whenever Sun Wukong is asked about his powers and skills, he honestly replies that he learned everything in his dreams. Throughout the rest of the book, however, Sun Wukong is, repeatedly, referred to as a member of the "Monad Sect".

After the Monkey King returns home, he learns that a demon called the Demon King of Confusion is kidnapping the monkeys of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to use as slaves. He subsequently kills the demon and his minions, saving the kidnapped monkeys. He also brings the entire weapon storage of a nearby country for his subjects but is unable to find a weapon fit for himself. Upon hearing that Dragon Kings possess many treasures, he travels the oceans and finds the palace of a Dragon King.

At the entrance, Sun Wukong asks for an introduction, but Dragon King Ao Guang tells his guards to turn him away. Sun Wukong barges in anyway, brushing off protests from the guards, insisting the Dragon King must be confused to turn away a fellow king. Inside, he introduces himself and encourages the Dragon King to give him a weapon. Quickly realizing Sun Wukong is quite formidable, the Dragon King feigns willingness and hospitality, ordering his underlings to bring out weapon after weapon, starting from basic spears and swords but quickly escalating to genuine treasures. Sun Wukong tests each weapon, but none are robust enough for the Monkey King, who is unhappy with the situation.

Sun Wukong then acquires the golden-banded staff Ruyi Jingu Bang/Ding Hai Shen Zhen (), the stabilizer of the Four Seas and a treasure of Ao Guang. The Monkey King is the only creature strong enough to wield the staff-like weapon and there is an instant affinity between them. The golden-banded staff can change its size, elongate, fly, and attack opponents according to its master's will. It weighs 13,500 jīn or 7960kg. When not wielding the weapon, the Monkey King shrinks it down to the size of a sewing needle and stores it in his ear.

In addition to taking the magical staff, the Monkey King encourages the Dragon King to gift him attire fit for a King. The Dragon King calls upon the Dragon Kings for assistance, and they arrive and give Sun Wukong a golden chain mail shirt (), a phoenix-feather cap (), and cloud-walking boots (). Sun Wukong thanks the Dragon Kings and leaves happy.

Upon his return to the mountain, Wukong demonstrates the new weapon to his monkey tribe and draws the attention of other beastly powers, who seek to ally with him. He forms a fraternity, the Seven Sages (), with the Bull Demon King (), the Saurian Demon King (), the Roc Demon King (), the Lion Spirit King (), the Macaque Spirit King (), and the snub-nosed monkey Spirit King ().

The Monkey King, now sentenced to death for extorting the Dragon Kings, then defies Hell's attempt to collect his soul. He wipes his name out of the Book of Life and Death, a collection of books claimed to have every name of every mortal alive and the ability to manipulate lifespan, along with the names of all monkeys known to him. The kings of the Diyu report him to the Jade Emperor. monkey, warning that failing to defeat Monkey would harm the reputation of Heaven. Gold Star advises the Jade Emperor to superficially appease Sun Wukong's vanity while treating him as a pet, and invite him back to Heaven to keep him from causing trouble on earth. The Jade Emperor agrees after Gold Star laughs that, in reality, the fanciful title is a meaningless joke revealing Sun Wukong's overconfidence and ignorance of the important workings of Heaven.

Sun Wukong suspects a trap but is happy when Gold Star, acting as an envoy, addresses him as the Great Sage Equal of Heaven and presents him with official papers. Gold Star tells Sun Wukong he has been granted a far more important position as "Guardian of the Heavenly Peach Garden", which peach-loving Sun Wukong accepts. Later, when seven heavenly maidens are sent by Queen Mother Xi Wangmu to pluck peaches for the Royal Banquet, Sun Wukong discovers every important god and goddess has been invited to the banquet except for him. When he tells the maidens he is the Great Sage Equal of Heaven, the maidens giggle, replying that everyone in Heaven knows he is merely an immortal who tends to the peach garden. The Monkey King's indignation then turns to open defiance.

During the preparations for the Royal Banquet, Sun Wukong sneaks in to taste the fine foods and drink royal wine. In a tipsy state, the Monkey King roams Heaven while all the gods and goddesses are on their way to the banquet. He reaches high levels of the palace that the authorities of Heaven leave unguarded, for they can only be accessed by deities of the highest and purest spiritual power. Upon realizing that he is at the top of the 33 layers of the heavenly palace, Sun Wukong steals and consumes Laozi's Pills of Immortality and Xi Wangmu's Peaches of Immortality, takes the remainder of the Jade Emperor's royal wine, and then escapes back to his kingdom in preparation for his rebellion.

The Jade Emperor refuses to accept Gold Star's counsel to find another peaceful way to deal with Sun Wukong and orders his forces to mobilize. Laughing continuously and fully enjoying himself, and with a combination of martial prowess, guile, and quick-witted creative responses to many different types of powerful Heavenly weapons used against him, the Monkey King single-handedly defeats the Army of Heaven's 100,000 celestial warriors, all 28 constellations, Nezha, and all of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Then Guanyin, the Boddhisattva of Mercy, and her disciple Muzha/Moksha arrive. Guanyin sends Muzha to inspect the situation and fight Sun Wukong. Muzha is defeated, and then Guanyin suggests the Jade Emperor's nephew Erlang Shen fight Wukong. Wukong and Erlang are evenly matched and eventually, both turn into terrifying figures, which scares Wukong's monkey army away. Sun Wukong is disheartened and turns into a fish to run away, then both of them keep shapeshifting to turn into more powerful things than the other, finally, Laozi throws his Diamond Jade ring at Wukong from behind while he is fighting, knocking him senseless and enabling Erlang to bind him up.

After several failed attempts at execution, Sun Wukong is locked into Laozi's eight-way trigram crucible for 49 days to be distilled into an elixir by samadhi fires; this will allow Laozi to regain his pills of longevity. The fire of the crucible is hot enough to burn beings of so much unspeakable power that they rival Buddha himself.

When the cauldron is opened 49 days later, the Monkey King jumps out, having survived by hiding in a corner marked by the wind trigram, where there is less fire. The heat from the samadhi fires has reinforced his bodily frame, making him stronger than ever before and impervious to greater damage. The heat gives him a new ability; the Monkey King can now recognize evil with his new (, ). Sun Wukong then proceeds to destroy the crucible and makes his way to Heaven's main chamber to confront the Jade Emperor and his senior advisors.

Imprisonment

The Jade Emperor and the authorities of Heaven appeal to the Buddha, who arrives from his temple in the West in person. After listening to Sun Wukong, who makes a case that he should be the new Jade Emperor, the Buddha makes a bet that the Monkey King cannot escape from his palm. The Monkey King smugly accepts the bet. He leaps and flies all the way to the edge of the universe. Seeing nothing there but five towering pillars, the Monkey King believes that he has reached the end of all existence. with only his head and hands protruding from the base of the mountain. The Buddha arranges two earth spirits to feed the Monkey King iron pellets when he is hungry, and molten copper when he is thirsty. In the play, Bodhisattva Guanyin gives him the name during a scene in which she has a circlet put on his head and presents a robe to cover his animal body.

Book of Mortals

In the middle of the night, Wukong's soul is tied up and dragged to the World of Darkness. He is informed there that his life in the human world has come to an end. In anger, Wukong fights his way through the World of Darkness to complain to "The Ten Kings", who are the judges of the dead. The Ten Kings try to address the complaint and calm Wukong by saying many people in the world have the same name and the fetchers of the dead may have gotten the wrong name. Wukong demands to see the register of life and death, then scribbles out his name, thus making him untouchable by the fetchers of death, along with the names of all of the monkeys in his tribe. It is because Wukong has learned magical arts as a disciple to Puti Zushi that he can scare the Ten Kings, demanding from them the book of mortals and removing his name, thus making him even more immortal. After this incident, the Ten Kings complained to the Jade Emperor. on the battlefield during the Tang dynasty.

The events of the Xiyoubu take place between the end of chapter 61 and the beginning of chapter 62 of Journey to the West. The author, Tong Yue (), wrote the book because he wanted to create an opponent—in this case, desire-itself—that Sun Wukong could not defeat with his great strength and martial skill.

Influence

thumb|Sun Wukong's shrine at [[Thien Hau Temple (Cholon)|Thien Hau Temple, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam]]

alt=Sun Wukong statue and shrine at Waterloo Street, Singapore.|thumb|Sun Wukong statue and shrine at [[Waterloo Street, Singapore]]

In The Shaolin Monastery (2008), Tel Aviv University professor Meir Shahar claims that Sun influenced a legend concerning the origins of the Shaolin staff method. The legend takes place during the Red Turban Rebellion of the Yuan dynasty. Bandits lay siege to the monastery, but it is saved by a lowly kitchen worker wielding a long fire poker as a makeshift staff. He leaps into the oven and emerges as a monstrous giant big enough to stand astride both Mount Song and the imperial fort atop Shaoshi Mountain, which are five miles apart. The bandits flee upon seeing him. The Shaolin monks later realize that the kitchen worker was the Monastery's local guardian deity, Vajrapani, in disguise. Shahar compares the worker's transformation in the stove with Sun Wukong's time in Laozi's crucible, their use of the staff, and the fact that Sun Wukong and his weapon can both grow to gigantic proportions.

The Chinese DAMPE satellite is nicknamed after Wu Kong. The name could be understood as "understand the void" literally, relates to the undiscovered dark matter.

In popular culture

thumb|Cartoon-style models of Monkey King on the streets of [[Lianyungang]]

alt=Sun Wukong Lantern Display|thumb|Sun Wukong lantern display during a Mid-Autumn Festival event in Singapore.

Sun Wukong has been the subject of myriad popular media including movies, television, books and music. Some of the notable ones are highlighted below.

Journey to the West is one of the most well-known TV series in mainland China and is broadcast by TV stations every winter and summer vacation. In the series, Sun Wukong is played by Liu Xiao Ling Tong,
Shadow puppetry animation, Sun Wukong Battles Baigujing Three Times (Chinese: 孙悟空三打白骨精), tells one of the classic stories from Journey to the West. In this story, Sun Wukong is expelled by his master, Tang Sanzang (Chinese: 唐三藏, pinyin: Táng Sānzàng), after killing Baigujing (Chinese: 白骨精, pinyin: Bái gǔ Jīng), whom his master mistakenly believes to be an innocent person. Angered, Wukong leaves. In the end, Tang Sanzang realizes the truth—that Wukong killed a demon, not an innocent person—and the two are reconciled.
A Chinese Odyssey is a fantasy comedy film made in Hong Kong 1995. Sun Wukong, portrayed by Stephen Chow, is remembered by a wide Chinese-speaking audience for the film's comedic elements and the profound meaning behind its abstract presentation.
Journey to the West: Legends of the Monkey King consists of 52 episodes, each no longer than 25 minutes. It is regarded as a classic of Chinese animation from the 1990s.
Martial Arts Superstar Donnie Yen plays Sun Wukong in the 2014 movie The Monkey King; despite mixed reviews surrounding the film's pacing, it was a huge box office success grossing almost US$200million worldwide, doubling its budget with Donnie Yen's performance being lauded.
The character of Monkey in Netflix's The New Legends of Monkey (2018–2020), portrayed by Chai Hansen, is based on Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en.
The character of Son Goku in Dragon Ball is based on Sun Wukong, as attested by his monkey tail, staff, flying cloud, and name (which is simply the Japanese reading of the same name in Chinese: 孫悟空).
The manga-anime series Saiyukis Sun Wukong counterpart also uses the Japanese reading Son Goku.
The Four-Tailed Beast, also known as Seiten Taisei Son Gokū (斉天大聖孫悟空) in the manga-anime series Naruto: Shippuden is directly based on Sun Wukong and is directly referred to as Monkey King in the manga.
The character of Mushra in the Toei Animation anime Shinzo is based on Sun Wukong, retaining the character's golden headband and telescoping staff.
The character of Monkey in the 1978 Japanese television series Monkey is based on Sun Wukong.
The character of Kongo in Monkey Magic is based on Sun Wukong.
In the webtoon The God of High School and its derivative media, the protagonist Mori Jin is based on the God Sun Wukong.
The character Sun Wukong in RWBY is based on the lore; but instead of using his hair to make the clones, he can make the clones using RWBY's magic system.
The character of Sun Wukong, explicitly said to be the trickster of legend, plays a major role in the DreamWorks animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny.
The main character of Starzinger, Jan Kugo, is based on the Monkey King. They wear a golden band around their heads that is controlled by the princess, and which may induce agony as well. The golden band is also his primary weapon, a long javelin that decreases in size and shape. In the English-dubbed version featured in the Force Five TV series, he is renamed Jesse Dart, after D'Artagnan of The Three Musketeers.
Marvel Comics features their own version of Sun Wukong. This version was a crime lord, styled after the famed character, who steals the original staff and encounters the spirit of the real Monkey King. After being punished by being sent to hell, he escapes and decides to devote himself to fighting evil as repentance.
DC Comics' Sun Wukong has a human son named Marcus Sun who discovers his parentage and takes up the superhero codename of Monkey Prince.
The 2020 cartoon Lego Monkie Kid depicts a new generation of the classic tale where a delivery boy named MK is chosen to be Sun Wukong's successor, calling himself the "Monkie Kid".
In 2021, Sunrise Inc. has released an animation series SD Gundam World Heroes, under the SD Gundam franchise which features Sun Wukong as a protagonist along other mythical characters in the novels.
The storyline of the 2023 film The Monkey King is derived from the origin stories of the Monkey King, ending with his release from imprisonment.
The Monkey King is reimagined as a major character in Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel American Born Chinese and its adaptation on Disney+ (played by Daniel Wu).
The novel Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint features their own version of Sun Wukong. He is a constellation that goes by the modifier of Prisoner of the Golden Headband, Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.
The animated film Nobody follows a group of low-level spirits who pretend to be Sun Wukong's group. Wukong makes a small but pivotal appearance at the end of the film.

Video games

In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the design of the starter Pokémon Infernape is inspired by the appearance of Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong appears as a playable character in Koei Tecmo's Warriors Orochi franchise, starting with Warriors Orochi 2.
In Dota 2, there is a hero called Monkey King. His backstory also roughly follows the story of Journey to the West.
In Heroes of the Storm, a legendary skin is based on Sun Wukong.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the Wests plot and protagonist, Monkey, are loosely based on Journey to the West and Wukong, respectively.
League of Legends has a champion based on and named after Wukong.
In Guild Wars 2, the items Mini Monkey King and Endless Monkey King Tonic are based on Sun Wukong.
Warframe features a playable character named Wukong, who is modelled on the Monkey King and possesses abilities based on those described in Journey to the West.
In Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, the character Sun is based on Wukong.
In Honor of Kings, the character Sun Wukong is based on the Monkey King.
Sun Wukong is one of twelve mythological heroes that civilizations can summon in Civilization VIs Heroes and Legends Mode.
The player plays as a reincarnation of Sun Wukong with the goal of collecting his 6 relics in the action role-playing video game Black Myth: Wukong.
In the Kemono Friends 3 app, Sun Wukong appears as a playable character.
In Ravenswatch, Sun Wukong appears as an unlockable character. His backstory references characters from Journey to the West.
In Smite, Sun Wukong is a playable God, part of the Chinese pantheon in the mythologic MOBA.

Music

Sun Wukong is the inspiration and titular character of K-Pop boy group Seventeen's song "Super" ().
Journey to the West was adapted into the stage musical Monkey as a collaboration between Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (comprising the band Gorillaz) and Chinese actor and director Chen Shi-Zheng. Originally staged as an opera, Albarn released a Gorillaz-style album Monkey which takes its name from Sun Wukong.
San Francisco Opera premiered The Monkey King, an opera by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang on 14 November 2025.

Poetry

Hungarian poet Lőrinc Szabó wrote his poem Szun Vu Kung lázadása ("Sun Wukong's mutiny") about Sun Wukong.

References

External links

Sun Wukong Character Profile A detailed character profile of Sun Wukong, with character history, listing and explanations of his various names and titles, detailed information on his weapon, abilities, powers, and skills, and personality.
Story of Sun Wukong with manhua
Sun Wukong's entry at Godchecker is a tongue-in-cheek take on the Great Sage.
Journey to the West