Sun Wukong, better known as the Monkey King, is more than a household name in China — he is a cultural icon born from the pages of the ancient classic novel Journey to the West. The fearless monkey escorted his master, the monk Tang Sanzang, on an arduous journey westward, encountering evil-doers along the way to India in search of Buddhist scriptures, and became a symbol of rebellion, wit and courage.
Although the Monkey King is fictional, there was a real Buddhist monk named Wukong, who shared Sun's experience by embarking on a journey to the West during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) from the then capital Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi province) and returning after four decades. His lesser-known story is recounted in the recently published non-fiction book, The Journey to the West of Another Wukong.
