Cultural export

Black Myth: Wukong has proved so popular that a question about its was raised at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs news conference on Aug 21.Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said while she knew little about video games, judging from its name and the fact that it is derived from Journey to the West, she believes Black Myth: Wukong showcases the attractiveness of traditional Chinese culture.

Many voices on Sina Weibo called it "an excellent showcase for a Chinese cultural export".

Feng Ji, founder and head of Shenzhen-based Game Science, the developer of Black Myth: Wukong, said his team did not set out to represent Chinese culture when they started the project in 2018.

"For us, it's natural that traditional Chinese literature, which is based on Oriental philosophy and values that are appealing to the world, has much space to explore," he said.

"We are naturally expressing Chinese culture. For us, that's a rational thing to do, so we have done it."

It was an instinctive decision to choose Journey to the West as the basis for the game, he said.

"When we Chinese see the image, or hear the name of Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), or even hear the music of the TV series Journey to the West, we have a unique feeling," Feng said. "We (the company employees) have been following our hearts to create games that touch our souls," he added.

Wukong's popularity with both domestic and global audiences is another reason the Monkey King was selected as the hero of the game.

The story of Wukong is known by some people in the West.

Dota, a popular game based on the Western-style fictional magic of WarCraft III, included the Monkey King's magical staff in its divine weapons list and added him to the game's pool of heroes in recent years. Dota 2, the game's successor, continued the practice.

On YouTube, videos about the Monkey King with English audio or English subtitles were popular before the game's release, with some of them viewed as many as 4 million times.

Wukong's story has also attracted Western scholars such as Jim R.McClanahan who studied anthropology at Miami University. His online articles about Wukong give intricate details about the Monkey King, such as his immortal breath being able to save souls, or his equivalent birth year in the Gregorian calendar.