Who wrote the story of the monkey king?

Answer 1

No....and yes

The Monkey King stories which we hear today are based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, published in the 1590s, which in turn is based on traditional tales about Sun Wukong - the Monkey King, and Great Tang Records on the Western Regions by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang.

Xuanzang was a real person who travelled from China to India in 629-645 AD in search of knowledge and Buddhist scriptures. On his return to China he wrote about his travels and the things he saw and the people he met. He became very famous in China and made an important contribution both to Chinese culture and the Buddhist religion.

His story is reflected in the adventures of Tripitaka, the monk from the Monkey stories, who Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy have to help on his quest to India to find Buddhist scriptures.

Unfortunately for Xuanzang, the parts of the story about the immortal assistants was a later, fictional addition.

Answer 2

The Journey to the West (Xiyouji) was published anonymously in 1592. It wasn't until 1923 that a Chinese scholar connected the story to Wu Chengen. However, Glen Dudbridge has called this attribution into question. Wu's verifiable writings show that he did not have enough knowledge on religion, mysticism, and politics to have written the novel. In addition, antecedents of the novel date back hundreds of years before Wu's time. For more, see The Hsi-yu Chi: A Study of Antecedents to the Sixteenth-century Chinese Novel (1970) by Glen Dudbridge. See also Wu Chengen's biography in Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368-1644: Volume 2 (1976).

Answer 3

He is born from a stone boulder high atop the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. He becomes king of all the monkeys on this island when he proves himself in a test of bravery. He rules for many years from the immortal water curtain cave. however, he begins to fear death because he is growing old. One of his monkey advisers suggests that he seek out a Daoist immortal to give him the secret of eternal life. He sails all around the world until he finds Subodhi, who teaches him 72 methods of transformation; cloud-jumping, a type of flying; all manner of magical spells; Martial Arts; and, most importantly, a method to become immortal. He is later disowned by the immortal for selfishly showing off his magical skills. He returns to his island and kills a demon who had taken control of it during his absence. During the battle, he learns he is far too strong to wield earthly weapons, so his adviser suggests that he go to the undersea palace of the Eastern Dragon king to retrieve a celestial weapon. This is where he receives his powerful iron cudgel that weighs 18,000 pounds and can grow as big or as small as he wants. Shortly after returning, his soul is dragged to hell because, according to the ledger that tracks the allotted lifespan for all creatures, it was his time to die. But he forces King Yama, the ruler of the underworld, to acknowledge his immortality. Both the Eastern Dragon King and King Yama go to heaven to complain to the Jade Emperor about Monkey's conduct. After several small battles with Monkey, heaven is forced to give him increasingly prestigious heavenly rank to keep him happy. He goes from being the menial "Keeper of the Heavenly Horses" (a glorified stable boy) to being the "Guardian of the Immortal Peach Groves" (an important position). He rebels against heaven for a last time due to not being invited to the Heavenly Queen Mother of the West's immortal peach banquet. Heaven sends its entire armies but finds it is no match for Monkey's power. Finally, the Jade Emperor calls upon the Buddha to intervene. The Buddha plays a trick on Monkey, and then he traps him under a mountain, where he is imprisoned for 500 years. This covers the first 7 chapters of Journey to the West (1592).

To make a long story short, the other 74 chapters deal with Monkey being released from his imprisonment so he can escort the Buddhist Monk Xuanzang from China to India in order to procure Buddhist Sutras that are needed to release untold souls from the sufferings of hell. They meet other monsters-turned-disciples who agree to aid in the monk's defense. Monkey battles all sorts of ghosts, monsters, demons, and gods along the way. In the end, he is given the rank of the "Victorious Fighting Buddha" for protecting Xuanzang over the long journey.

A continuation of the novel called A Supplement to the Journey to the West (1641) takes place between chapters 61 and 62 of the original. In the story, the Monkey King is trapped in a dream world by the Qing Fish demon, an embodiment of desire (qing), who wishes to eat Xuanzang. He wanders from one adventure to the next, using a magic tower of mirrors and a Jade doorway to travel to different points in time. In the Qin Dynasty, he disguises himself as Consort Yu in order to locate a magic weapon needed for his quest to India. During the Song Dynasty, he serves in place of King Yama as the judge of Hell. After returning to the Tang Dynasty, he finds that Xuanzang has taken a wife and become a general charged with wiping out desire. In the end, Monkey unwillingly participates in a great war between all the kingdoms of the world, during which time he faces one of his own sons on the battle field. He eventually awakens in enough time to kill the demon, thus freeing himself of desire.

Answer 4

The concept of the Monkey King can be traced back to the Hindu monkey deity Hanuman, who is featured in the 4th century BCE epic the Ramayana. Other elements can be traced to native Chinese stories about monkeys and water spirits from the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). Fledgling stories about the Monkey King were popular during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The earliest published edition of the novel, the Kozanji Version, was published during the 13th century. The final and most complete incarnation of the story was anonymously published in 1592.

For more, see the book The Hsi-yu Chi: A Study of Antecedents to the Sixteenth-century Chinese Novel (1970) by Glen Dudbridge and the paper "Indigenous or Foreign?: A Look at the Origins of the Monkey Hero Sun Wukong" (1998) by Hera S. Walker.

Answer 5

A monkey, looking very sad and dejected, was walking along the bank of the river one day when he met a turtle.

"How are you?" asked the turtle, noticing that he looked sad.

The monkey replied, "Oh, my friend, I am very hungry. The squash of Mr. Farmer were all taken by the other monkeys, and now I am about to die from want of food."

"Do not be discouraged," said the turtle; "take a bolo and follow me and we will steal some banana plants."

So they walked along together until they found some nice plants which they dug up, and then they looked for a place to set them. Finally the monkey climbed a tree and planted his in it, but as the turtle could not climb he dug a hole in the ground and set his there.

When their work was finished they went away, planning what they should do with their crop. The monkey said:

"When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and have a great deal of money."

And the turtle said: "When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and buy three varas of cloth to wear in place of this cracked shell."

A few weeks later they went back to the place to see their plants and found that that of the monkey was dead, for its roots had had no soil in the tree, but that of the turtle was tall and bearing fruit.

"I will climb to the top so that we can get the fruit," said the monkey. And he sprang up the tree, leaving the poor turtle on the ground alone.

"Please give me some to eat," called the turtle, but the monkey threw him only a green one and ate all the ripe ones himself.

When he had eaten all the good bananas, the monkey stretched his arms around the tree and went to sleep. The turtle, seeing this, was very angry and considered how he might punish the thief. Having decided on a scheme, he gathered some sharp bamboo which he stuck all around under the tree, and then he exclaimed:

"Crocodile is coming! Crocodile is coming!"

The monkey was so startled at the cry that he fell upon the sharp bamboo and was killed.

Then the turtle cut the dead monkey into pieces, put salt on it, and dried it in the sun. The next day, he went to the mountains and sold his meat to other monkeys who gladly gave him squash in return. As he was leaving them he called back:

"Lazy fellows, you are now eating your own body; you are now eating your own body."

Then the monkeys ran and caught him and carried him to their own home.

"Let us take a hatchet," said one old monkey, "and cut him into very small pieces."

But the turtle laughed and said: "That is just what I like, I have been struck with a hatchet many times. Do you not see the black scars on my shell?"

Then one of the other monkeys said: "Let us throw him into the water,"

At this the turtle cried and begged them to spare his life, but they paid no heed to his pleadings and threw him into the water. He sank to the bottom, but very soon came up with a lobster. The monkeys were greatly surprised at this and begged him to tell them how to catch lobsters.

"I tied one end of a string around my waist," said the turtle. "To the other end of the string I tied a stone so that I would sink."

The monkeys immediately tied strings around themselves as the turtle said, and when all was ready they plunged into the water never to come up again.

And to this day monkeys do not like to eat meat, because they remember the ancient story.

Answer 6

A Supplement to the Journey to the West (1641) takes place between chapters 61 and 62 of the original. In the story, the Monkey King is trapped in a dream world by the Qing Fish demon, an embodiment of desire (qing), who wishes to eat Xuanzang. He wanders from one adventure to the next, using a magic tower of mirrors and a Jade doorway to travel to different points in time. In the Qin Dynasty, he disguises himself as Consort Yu in order to locate a magic weapon needed for his quest to India. During the Song Dynasty, he serves in place of King Yama as the judge of Hell. After returning to the Tang Dynasty, he finds that Xuanzang has taken a wife and become a general charged with wiping out desire. In the end, Monkey unwillingly participates in a great war between all the kingdoms of the world, during which time he faces one of his own sons on the battle field. He eventually awakens in enough time to kill the demon, thus freeing himself of desire.

Answer 7

The story is set during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Answer 8

The story of the Monkey King is from the Chinese classical novel "Journey to the West," written by Wu Cheng'en during the Ming Dynasty.