Monkeys are one of the smartest animals amongst the animal kingdom according to the Chinese culture.
Monkeys, particularly macaques and monkey-like gibbons, have played significant roles in Chinese culture for over two thousand years. Some examples familiar to English speakers include the zodiacal Year of the Monkey, the Monkey King Sun Wukong in the novel Journey to the West, familiar from its TV version Monkey, and Monkey Kung Fu.