Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a figure who features in a body of legends that
can be traced back to the Song dynasty.[2] He appears as a main character in the 16th
century Chinese classical novel Journey to the West(西游记) and is found in many later stories and
adaptations. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers
through Taoistpractices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain
by the Buddha, he later accompanies the monk Tang Sanzang on a journey to
retrieve Buddhist sutras from "the West".
Sun Wukong possesses immense strength; he is able to lift his 13.500 jīn or 7960 kg staff with ease.
He is also extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li (21,675 kilometres (13,468 mi)) in one somersault.
Sun knows the 72 Earthlytransformations, which allow him to transform into various animals and
objects; however, he has trouble transforming into other forms, due to the accompanying incomplete
transformation of his tail. Sun Wukong is a skilled fighter, capable of defeating the best warriors of
heaven. Each of his hairs possesses magical properties, capable of being transformed into clones of
the Monkey King himself, and/or into various weapons, animals, and other objects. He knows spells
to command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, and freeze humans,
demons, and gods alike.[3]
One of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, Sun Wukong has a varied background and
colorful cultural history. Sun Wukong's origin is from the White Monkey legends from the
Chinese Chu kingdom (700–223 BC), which revered gibbons and especially white ones.[4] These
legends gave rise to stories and art motifs during the Han dynasty, eventually contributing to the rise
of the Sun Wukong figure.[4] Sun Wukong was initially developed as a Taoist immortal/Deity before
being incorporated into Buddhist legends.[4] He is also considered by some scholars to be influenced
by elements of both Chinese folk tales and the Hindudeity Hanuman from the Ramayana.[4][5][6]

Birth and early life[edit]

Depiction of the Forbidden Temple's Sun Wukong as depicted in a scene in a Beijing opera
According to the legend, Sun Wukong is born from a magic stone that sits atop the Mountain of
Flowers and Fruit. The stone develops a magic womb, which bursts open one day to produce a
stone egg about the size of a ball.
When wind blows on the egg, it turns into a stone monkey that can already crawl and walk. He bows
to each of the four-quarters. 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 befriends various animals, and joins a group of other monkeys. After
playing, the monkeys regularly bathe in a stream.
One day, they decide to seek the stream's source, 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.
He 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. Sun Wukong then reminds them of their
prior declaration, so they declare him their king. He takes the throne and calls himself Handsome
Monkey King.
Sun Wukong establishes himself as a powerful and influential demon. In search of a weapon, he
travels to the oceans and acquires the Golden-banded staff Ruyi Jingu Bang (如意金箍棒), a
treasure of Ao Kuang, the dragon-king of the Eastern Seas. Upon Sun Wukong's approach, the staff
glows to signify it has found its true master. It can change its size, multiply, and fight according to its
master's whim. It weighs 13,500 jin (8.1 tons). When not wielding the weapon, Sun Wukong shrinks
it down to the size of a sewing needle and tucks it behind his ear.
In addition to taking the magical staff, Wukong defeats the dragons of the four seas in battle and
forces them to give him a golden chain mail shirt (鎖子黃金甲), a phoenix-feather cap (鳳翅紫金
冠 Fèngchìzǐjinguān), and cloud-walking boots (藕絲步雲履 Ǒusībùyúnlǚ). The phoenix-feather cap
was one of the treasures of the dragon kings, a circlet of red gold adorned with phoenix feathers.
Traditionally it is depicted as a metal circlet with two striped feathers attached to the front,
presumably the signature plumage of the fenghuang or Chinese phoenix.
Upon his return to the mountain, he demonstrates the new weapon to his followers and draws the
attention of other beastly powers, who seek to ally with him. He forms a fraternity with the Bull
Demon King (牛魔王), the Saurian Demon King (蛟魔王), the Single-horned Demon King (单角魔王),
the Roc Demon King (鵬魔王), the Lion Spirit King (獅狔王), the Macaque Spirit King (獼猴王) and
the Snub-nosed monkey Spirit King (禺狨王).[7][Note 1]
Sun Wukong then defies Hell's attempt to collect his soul. Instead of reincarnating, he wipes his
name out of the Book of Life and Death along with the names of all monkeys known to him. The
Dragon Kings and the Kings of Hell report him to the Jade Emperor.[3]

Havoc in Heaven[edit]
Hoping that a promotion and a rank amongst the gods will make him more manageable, the Jade
Emperor invites Sun Wukong to Heaven. The monkey believes he will receive an honorable place as
one of the gods but is instead made the Protector of the Horses to watch over the stables, the lowest
job in heaven. He rebels and proclaims himself The Great Sage, Heaven's Equaland sets the Cloud
Horses free in vengeance.
The Heavens are forced to recognize his title; however, they again try to put him off as the guardian
of the Heavenly Peach Garden. When he finds that he is excluded from a royal banquet that
includes every other important god and goddess, his indignation turns to open defiance. He steals
and consumes Xi Wangmu's Peaches of immortality, Laozi's pills of longevity, and the Jade
Emperor's royal wine, then escapes back to his kingdom in preparation for his rebellion.
Sun Wukong later single-handedly defeats the Army of Heaven's 100,000 celestial warriors, all 28
constellations, four heavenly kings, and Nezha, and proves himself equal to the best of Heaven's
generals, Erlang Shen. Eventually, through the teamwork of Taoist and Buddhist forces, including
the efforts from some of the greatest deities, and then finally by the Bodhisattva of mercy, Guanyin,
Sun Wukong is captured. After several failed attempts at execution, Sun Wukong is locked into
Laozi's eight-way trigram Crucible to be distilled into an elixir (so that Laozi could regain his pills of
longevity) by samadhi fires. After 49 days, however, when the cauldron is opened, Sun Wukong
jumps out, having survived by hiding in a corner in which there was no fire and is now able to
recognize evil with huǒyǎn-jīnjīng (火眼金睛) (lit. "golden-gaze fiery-eyes"), an eye condition that
also gives him a weakness to smoke, and proceeds to destroy the crucible, following Heaven's
remaining forces.

Imprisonment[edit]
The Jade Emperor and the authorities of Heaven appeal to the Buddha, who arrives from his temple
in the West. Buddha bets that Sun Wukong cannot escape from Buddha's palm. Sun Wukong
smugly accepts the bet. He leaps and flies to the end of the world. Seeing nothing but five pillars,
Wukong believes he has reached the ends of Heaven. To prove his trail, he marks the pillars with a
phrase declaring himself the great sage equal to heaven (and in some versions, urinates on the pillar
he signed on). He leaps back and lands in the Buddha's palm. He is surprised to find that the five
"pillars" he found are in fact the fingers of the Buddha's hand. When Wukong tries to escape, the
Buddha turns his hand into a mountain. Before Wukong can lift it off, the Buddha seals him there
using a paper talisman bearing the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum in gold letters. Sun Wukong
remains imprisoned for five hundred years.[3]

Disciple to Tang Sanzang[edit]

Sun Wukong with Tang Sanzang

Sun Wukong fighting a wind demon

Five hundred years later, the Bodhisattva Guanyin searches for disciples to protect a pilgrim on a
journey to the West to retrieve the Buddhist sutras. In hearing of this, Sun Wukong offers to serve
the pilgrim, Tang Sanzang, a monk of the Tang dynasty, in exchange for his freedom after the
pilgrimage is complete. Understanding that the monkey will be difficult to
control, Guanyin gives Tang Sanzang a gift from the Buddha: a magical circlet which, once Sun
Wukong is tricked into putting it on, can never be removed. When Tang Sanzang chants a certain
sutra, the band will tighten and cause an unbearable headache. To be fair, Guanyin gives Sun
Wukong three special hairs, to be used in dire emergencies. Under Tang Sanzang's supervision,
Sun Wukong is allowed to journey to the West.
Throughout the epic novel Journey to the West, Sun Wukong faithfully helps Tang Sanzang on his
journey to India. They are joined by "Pigsy" (猪八戒 Zhu Bajie) and "Sandy" (沙悟浄 Sha Wujing),
both of whom accompany the priest in order to atone for their previous crimes. Tang Sanzang's
safety is constantly under threat from demons and other supernatural beings, as well as bandits. It is
believed that by eating Tang Sanzang's flesh, one will obtain immortality and great power. Sun
Wukong often acts as his bodyguard to combat these threats. The group encounters a series of
eighty-one tribulations before accomplishing their mission and returning safely to China. During the
journey, Sun Wukong learns about virtues and learns the teachings of Buddhism. There, Sun
Wukong is granted Buddhahood, becoming the "Victorious Fighting Buddha" (Dòu-zhànshèng-fó (鬥
戰勝佛)), for his service and strength.[3]

Names and titles[edit]

Sun Wukong is known/pronounced as Suen Ng-hung in Cantonese, Son Gokū in Japanese, Son Oh
Gong in Korean, Sun Ngō͘-khong in Minnan, Tôn Ngộ Không in Vietnamese, Sung Ghokong or Sung
Gokhong in Javanese, Sun Ngokong in Thai, and Sun Gokong in Malay and Indonesian.
Painted mural depicting Sun Wukong (in yellow) and other main characters of the novel

Listed in the order that they were acquired:

Shí Hóu (石猴)
Meaning the "Stone monkey". This refers to his physical essence, being born from a sphere
of rock after millennia of incubation on the Bloom Mountains/Flower-Fruit Mountain.
Měi Hóuwáng (美猴王)
Meaning "Handsome Monkey-King", or Houwang for short. The adjective Měi means
"beautiful, handsome, pretty"; it also means "to be pleased with oneself", referring to his
ego. Hóu ("monkey") also highlights his "naughty and impish" character.
Sūn Wùkōng (孫悟空)
The name given to him by his first master, Patriarch Bodhi (Subodhi). The surname Sūn was
given as an in-joke about the monkey, as monkeys are also called húsūn (猢猻), and can
mean either a literal ora figurative "monkey" (or "macaque"). The surname sūn (孫) and the
"monkey" sūn (猻) only differ in that the latter carries an extra "dog" (quǎn) radical to
highlight that 猻 refers to an animal. The given name Wùkōng means "awakened
to emptiness", sometimes translated as Aware of Vacuity.
Bìmǎwēn (弼馬溫)
The title of the keeper of the Heavenly Horses, a punning of bìmǎwēn (避馬瘟; lit. "avoiding
the horses' plague"). A monkey was often put in a stable as people believed its presence
could prevent the horses from catching illness. Sun Wukong was given this position by
the Jade Emperor after his first intrusion into Heaven. He was promised that it was a good
position to have, and that he, at least in this section, would be in the highest position. After
discovering it was, in actuality, one of the lowest jobs in Heaven, he became angry, smashed
the entire stable, set the horses free, and then quit. From then on, the title bìmǎwēn was
used by his adversaries to mock him.
Qítiān Dàshèng (齊天大聖)
Meaning "The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal". Wùkōng took this title suggested to him by one
of his demon friends, after he wreaked havoc in heaven people who heard of him called him
Great Sage (Dàshèng, 大聖). The title originally holds no power, though it is officially a high
rank. Later the title was granted the responsibility to guard the Heavenly Peach Garden, due
to the Jade Emperor keeping him busy so he won't make trouble.
Xíngzhě (行者)
Meaning "ascetic", it refers to a wandering monk, a priest's servant, or a person engaged in
performing religious austerities. Tang Sanzang calls Wukong Sūn-xíngzhě when he accepts
him as his companion. This is pronounced in Japanese as gyōja(making him Son-gyōja).
 Dòu-zhànshèng-fó (鬥戰勝佛)
"Victorious Fighting Buddha". Wukong was given this name once he ascended to
buddhahood at the end of the Journey to the West. This name is also mentioned during the
traditional Chinese Buddhist evening services, specifically during the eighty-eight Buddhas
repentance.
Líng-míngdàn-hóu (靈明石猴)
"Intelligent Stone Monkey". Wukong is revealed to be as one of the four spiritual primates
that do not belong to any of the ten categories that all beings in the universe are classified
under. His fellow spiritual primates are the Six-Eared Macaque(六耳獼猴) (who is one of his
antagonists in the main storyline), and the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey (赤尻馬猴) & the
Long-Armed Ape Monkey (通臂猿猴) (neither of who make actual appearances, only
mentioned in passing by the Buddha), their powers and abilities all on par with each-other.
Sūn Zhǎnglǎo (孫長老)
Zhǎnglǎo used as honorific for monk, because Sun Wukong believed in Buddhism.
In addition to the names used in the novel, the Monkey King
has other names in different languages:

 Kâu-chê-thian (猴齊天) in Minnan (Taiwan): "Monkey,

Equal of Heaven".
 Maa5 lau1 zing1 (馬騮精) in Cantonese (Hong Kong
and Guangdong): "Monkey Imp" (called by his enemies)

In Xiyoubu[edit]
The brief satirical novel Xiyoubu (西游补, "Supplement to the
Journey to the West," c. 1640) follows Sun as he is trapped in a
magical dream world created by the Qing Fish Demon, the
embodiment of desire (情, qing). Sun travels back and forth
through time, during which he serves as the adjunct King of
Hell and judges the soul of the recently dead traitor Qin
Hui during the Song dynasty, takes on the appearance of a
beautiful concubine and causes the downfall of the Qin
dynasty, and even faces King Paramita, one of his five sons
born to the demoness Princess Iron Fan,[8] on the battlefield
during the Tang dynasty.[9] The events of the Xiyoubu take
place between the end of chapter 61 and the beginning of
chapter 62 of Journey to the West.[10] The author, Tong Yue (童
说), wrote the book because he wanted to create an
opponent—in this case desire—that Sun could not defeat with
his great strength and martial skill.[11]