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Sun Wukong
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Color woodcut by Katsushika Taito II shows Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, blowing hair that transforms into monkeys, with calligraphy and a patterned silver background. Stone relief carving of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, holding a staff and wearing robes, on a wall at Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, China. Steel sculpture of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, made from recycled auto parts, holding a staff and displayed outdoors at Binzhou International Conference Center.
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Monkey King
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Color woodcut by Katsushika Taito II shows Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, blowing hair that transforms into monkeys, with calligraphy and a patterned silver background.
The Monkey King Blows His Hair Away Color woodblock print attributed to Katsushika Taitƍ II, Japan, 1836. In this scene, Sun Wukong creates an army of monkeys from his plucked hairs, illustrating one of his supernatural abilities in Journey to the West. The print was produced as a calendar for the Year of the Monkey.

Sun Wukong

Chinese mythology
Also known as: Monkey King
Written by
Frannie Comstock
Frannie Comstock is a writer based in Chicago.
Frannie Comstock
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
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Top Questions

Who is Sun Wukong?

What abilities does Sun Wukong possess?

How does Sun Wukong’s story in Journey to the West begin?

What is the cultural impact of Sun Wukong?

What are some adaptations of Sun Wukong in modern media?

News •

A Monkey King and a Maiden Fell in Love. For China’s Regulator, It Crossed a Line. • Oct. 29, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (New York Times)

Sun Wukong, Chinese mythological character who first appeared in the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. Since then, he has served as the inspiration behind movies, television shows, and video games across the globe.

Origins in Journey to the West

Sun Wukong first appeared in Journey to the West, a 16th-century Chinese novel generally attributed to Wu Cheng’en. The work draws on earlier sources, including the 7th-century text Records of the Western Regions, which documents the travels of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang during his 16-year journey to India in search of sacred texts.

Journey to the West presents a fictionalized version of Xuanzang’s pilgrimage, reimagining him as the monk Tang Sanzang, who is accompanied by three supernatural disciples, including Sun Wukong. The character is often described as having been modeled on a macaque monkey.

Character and story

In the novel, Sun Wukong is born when a stone gives birth to an egg. He earns his title of Monkey King when he bravely volunteers to jump through a waterfall and discovers new territory on the other side. He possesses extraordinary abilities, including shape-shifting, somersaulting through clouds, and repelling evil spirits.

After rebelling against the authority of the Jade Emperor (the supreme deity in traditional Chinese cosmology), he is subdued by the Buddha and imprisoned beneath the Five Elements Mountain. He is later released through the intervention of Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion, and agrees to accompany and protect Tang Sanzang on his journey. By the end of the novel, Sun Wukong attains Buddhahood. His transformation from rebellious trickster to disciplined devotee is often interpreted as an allegory of spiritual development.

Folkloric and religious influences

Stone relief carving of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, holding a staff and wearing robes, on a wall at Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, China.
Sun Wukong sculpture, Kaiyuan TempleRelief carving of Sun Wukong at Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, China.

Although Sun Wukong first appeared in written form in Journey to the West, many scholars believe that the character draws on earlier folklore. Possible influences include Hanuman, the monkey deity of Hindu tradition, and Wuzhiqi, an apelike figure from Chinese mythology.

Cultural impact and adaptations

Literature and comics

Sun Wukong has appeared in numerous literary works and graphic novels. He features in children’s and young adult literature such as Laurence Yep’s Dragon series (1982–92), Ji-li Jiang’s The Magical Monkey King: Mischief in Heaven (2002), and Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese (2006).

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In comics, DC’s Monkey Prince is portrayed as Sun Wukong’s son, and Marvel introduced a character named Monkey King in a 2011 issue of Iron Man.

Film, television, and games

Sun Wukong has been a central figure in film and television adaptations. He appeared in China’s first animated feature, Princess Iron Fan (1941), as well as in later works such as Havoc in Heaven (1961), Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015), and The Monkey King (2023). A widely known television adaptation of Journey to the West aired in China beginning in 1986.

The character has also influenced productions outside of mainland China, including the Australian-New Zealand television series The New Legends of Monkey (2018–20) and the American AMC series Into the Badlands (2015–19), whose character Sunny draws on the Monkey King archetype. In film, he has been portrayed by Jet Li in the Chinese-American collaboration The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) and featured in Hong Kong director Soi Cheang’s Monkey King trilogy (2014, 2016, and 2018).

In video games, the character reached a new level of global prominence with the 2024 release of the action role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong, which quickly became one of the most played games on the Steam platform.

Legacy and interpretation

Steel sculpture of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, made from recycled auto parts, holding a staff and displayed outdoors at Binzhou International Conference Center.
Sun Wukong sculpture made from auto partsSteel sculpture of Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) constructed from recycled automobile parts and displayed at the Binzhou International Conference Center in Shandong province, China, in 2016. The work was created in connection with a local auto show.

Sun Wukong is one of the most enduring figures in Chinese literature and popular culture. He is often interpreted as a symbol of rebellion, ingenuity, and the untamed mind, particularly within Buddhist readings of Journey to the West. His story continues to be reinterpreted across cultures and media.

Frannie Comstock