Monkey King Sun Wukong 孫悟空 | |
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In-universe information | |
Species | Monkey |
Gender | Male |
Religion | Buddhism and Daoism (also known as Taoism) |
Birthplace | Flowers and Fruit Mountain |
Source | Journey to the West, c. 1592 (print) |
Ability | Immortality, 72 Bian (Morphing Powers), Jin Dou Yun (Cloud Surfing), Jin Gang Bu Huai Zhi Shen (Superhuman Durability), Jin Jing Huo Yan (True Sight) |
Weapon | Ruyi Jingu Bang/Ding Hai Shen Zhen |
Height | 1.3m |
Master/Shifu | Patriarch Subodhi, Tang Sanzang |
Sun Wukong | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 孫悟空 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 孙悟空 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Burmese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Burmese | မျောက်မင်း (စွန်းဝူခုန်း) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IPA | [mjaʊʔ mí̃] (Myouk Minn) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vietnamese alphabet | Tôn Ngộ Không | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chữ Hán | 孫悟空 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thai name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thai | ซุนหงอคง | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RTGS | Sun Ngokhong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hangul | 손오공 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hanja | 孫悟空 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kanji | 孫悟空 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hiragana | そん ごくう | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Katakana | ソンゴクウ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Khmer name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Khmer | ស៊ុន អ៊ូខុង UNGEGN: Sŭn Ukhŏng ALA-LC: S′un ʿ′ūkhung IPA: [sun ʔuːkʰoŋ] |
Sun Wukong (Chinese: 孫悟空, Mandarin pronunciation: [swə́n ûkʰʊ́ŋ]), 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.[1] In the novel, Sun Wukong is a 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 Wujing, on a journey to obtain Buddhist sutras, known as the West or Western Paradise, where Buddha and his followers dwell.[2]
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".[3] He is extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li (54,000 km, 34,000 mi) 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.[4]
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's writing,[5] 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.