Сунь Укун: Король обезьян из китайской мифологии

Character in Chinese mythology

The Monkey King or Sun Wukong is a fictional character best known as one of the main players in the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West (t=西遊記), and many later stories and adaptations. 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. After five hundred years, he accompanies the monk Tang Sanzang (唐三藏) riding on the White Dragon Horse and two other disciples, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, on a journey to obtain Buddhist sutras from the West (India), where Buddha and his followers dwell. Sun Wukong possesses many abilities. He has amazing strength and is able to support the weight of two heaven mountains on his shoulders while running "with the speed of a meteor". 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 also 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 also shows partial weather manipulation skills, can freeze people in place, and can become invisible. The supernatural abilities displayed by Wukong and some other characters were widely thought of "magic powers" by readers at the time of Journey to the West's writing, 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.

As one of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, the Monkey King has a varied and highly debated background and colorful cultural history. His inspiration might have come from an amalgam of influences. One source for inspiration came from differing ways gibbons were worshipped during the Chinese Chu kingdom (700–223 BC), and various legends about gibbons and monkeys in Chu and its successors. These legends and religious practices, alongside doctrine from Taoist organizations that reinforced them and combined elements from all five kinds of traditional religious Taoism, gave rise to stories and art motifs during the Han dynasty, eventually contributing to the Monkey King figure. via stories passed by Buddhists who traveled to China. However, others such as Lu Xun point out there is no proof that the Ramayana has been translated into Chinese or was accessible to Wu Cheng'en. Instead, Lu Xun suggested the 9th Century Chinese deity Wuzhiqi, who appears as a sibling of Sun Wukong in older Yuan Dynasty stories, as another potential inspiration. The two traditional mainstream religions practiced in Fuzhou are Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. Traditionally, many people practice both religions simultaneously. However, the roots of local religion dated back many years before the institutionalization of these traditions. These diverse religions embodied elements such as gods and doctrines from different provincial folk religions and cultures, such as totem worship and traditional legends. Though there are primarily two main religions in China since it is so big, different folk stories will vary from towns, cities, and provinces with their own myths about different deities. Sun Wukong's religious status in Buddhism is often denied by Buddhist monks both Chinese and non Chinese alike, but is very welcomed by the general public, spreading its name around the world and establishing itself as a cultural icon.

According to Journey to the West, the Monkey King is born from a strong magic stone that sits atop the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. The stone is said to receive the nurture of heaven (yang), which possesses a positive nature, and earth (yin), which possesses a negative nature, and thus is able to produce living beings (according to Taoist philosophies). The stone develops a magic womb, which bursts open one day to produce a stone egg about the size of a ball. When the wind blows on the egg, the egg becomes the stone monkey. As his eyes move, two beams of golden light shoot toward the Jade palace and startle the Jade Emperor. When he sees the light he orders two of his officers to investigate. They report the stone monkey, and that the light is dying down as the monkey eats and drinks. The Jade Emperor believes him to be nothing special. On the mountain, the monkey joins a group of other wild monkeys. After playing, the monkeys regularly bathe in a stream. One day, they decide to seek the source of the stream and climb the mountain to a waterfall. They declare that whoever goes through the waterfall, finds the stream's source, and comes out again will become their king. The stone monkey volunteers and jumps into the waterfall. The Monkey King finds a large iron bridge over rushing water, across which is a cave. He persuades the other monkeys to jump in also, and they make it into their home. Sun Wukong then reminds them of their prior declaration, so they declare him their king. He takes the throne and calls himself Handsome Monkey King (美猴王). This happiness does not last. When one of his older monkey friends dies, the Monkey King is very upset. He decides to strike out from his island on a self made raft, in search of an Immortal to teach him how to beat death. He comes ashore and wanders around. Humans see him and flee, uncertain of his ape like appearance. He takes some clothes that were left out to dry and continues on foot. His face hidden by a hood, he travels through towns and sees many examples of human degeneracy and vice. He continues on and into a forest. The Monkey King hears a Woodcutter singing an interesting song, and when questioning the Woodcutter about the origin he learns it was taught to the Woodcutter by an Immortal who resides in the forest. The Monkey King comes to the entrance of a temple in which a magical Taoist martial artist named Puti Zushi resides. Puti Zushi initially refuses to let him in, but the Monkey King refuses to leave and waits outside the entrance for months. Puti Zushi is impressed by the Monkey King's persistence, and allows him to enter. He accepts the Monkey King as a student and teaches him advanced Taoist practices, including the Way of Immortality, which he tells Sun Wukong it was his destiny to know. He later advises Sun Wukong never to needlessly show off his skills, because others might ask him to teach them, and if he does teach them, they may go on to cause trouble, but if he doesn't teach them, they will resent him for it. He then forbids Sun Wukong from ever revealing who it was that taught him, and the loyal Monkey King promises never to reveal the identity of his Master. With that, Sun Wukong wakes up to find himself back in the forest, realizing that the many years he spent learning the Way had taken place in some form of compressed time trance. Later, whenever Sun Wukong is asked about his powers and skills, he honestly replies that he learned everything in his dreams. After the Monkey King returns, he learns that a demon called the Demon King of Confusion is kidnapping the monkeys of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to use as slaves. He subsequently kills the demon and his minions, saving the kidnapped monkeys. He also brings the entire weapon storage of a nearby country for his subjects but is unable to find a weapon fit for himself. Upon hearing that Dragon Kings possess many treasures, he travels the oceans and finds the palace of a Dragon King. At the entrance, Sun Wukong asks for an introduction, but Dragon King Ao Guang tells his guards to turn him away. Sun Wukong barges in anyway, brushing off protests from the guards, insisting the Dragon King must be confused to turn away a fellow King. Inside, he introduces himself and encourages the Dragon King to give him a weapon. Quickly realizing Sun Wukong is quite formidable, the Dragon King feigns willingness and hospitality, ordering his underlings to bring out weapon after weapon. Sun Wukong tests each weapon, but none are robust enough for the Monkey King, who is unhappy with the situation. Sun Wukong then acquires the golden banded staff Ruyi Jingu Bang/Ding Hai Shen Zhen (如意金箍棒/定海神针), the stabilizer of the Four Seas and a treasure of Ao Guang, the dragon king of the Eastern Seas. The Monkey King is the only creature strong enough to wield the staff like weapon and there is an instant affinity between them. The golden banded staff can change its size, elongate, fly, and attack opponents according to its master's will. It weighs 13,500 jīn or 7960 kg. When not wielding the weapon, the Monkey King shrinks it down to the size of a sewing needle and stores it in his ear. In addition to taking the magical staff, the Monkey King encourages the Dragon King to gift him attire fit for a King. The Dragon King calls upon the other major Dragon Kings for assistance to source this for Sun Wukong, and they arrive and give Sun Wukong a golden chain mail shirt (鎖子黃金甲), a phoenix feather cap (鳳翅紫金冠 ), and cloud walking boots (藕絲步雲履 ). The phoenix feather cap was one of the treasures of the dragon kings, a circlet of red gold adorned with phoenix feathers. Traditionally, it is depicted as a metal circlet with two striped feathers attached to the front, presumably the signature plumage of the Fenghuang or Chinese phoenix. Sun Wukong thanks the Dragon Kings and leaves happy. Upon his return to the mountain, Wukong demonstrates the new weapon to his monkey tribe and draws the attention of other beastly powers, who seek to ally with him. He forms a fraternity, the Seven Sages (七聖), with the Bull Demon King (牛魔王), the Saurian Demon King (蛟魔王), the Single horned Demon King (单角魔王), the Roc Demon King (鵬魔王), the Lion Spirit King (獅狔王), the Macaque Spirit King (獼猴王) not to be mistaken for the Six Eared Macaque and the snub nosed monkey Spirit King (禺狨王). The Monkey King, now sentenced to death for extorting the Dragon Kings, then defies Hell's attempt to collect his soul. He wipes his name out of the Book of Life and Death, a collection of books claimed to have every name of every mortal alive and the ability to manipulate lifespan, along with the names of all monkeys known to him. The Dragon Kings and the Kings of Hell report him once again to the Jade Emperor.

In the middle of the night, Wukong's soul is tied up and dragged to the World of Darkness. He is informed there that his life in the human world has come to an end. In anger, Wukong fights his way through the World of Darkness to complain to "The Ten Kings," who are the judges of the dead. The Ten Kings try to address the complaint and calm Wukong by saying many people in the world have the same name and the fetchers of the dead may have gotten the wrong name. Wukong demands to see the register of life and death, then scribbles out his name, thus making him untouchable by the fetchers of death, along with the names of all of the monkeys in his tribe. It is because Wukong has learned magic/magical arts as a disciple to Puti Zushi that he can scare the Ten Kings, demanding from them the book of mortals and removing his name, thus making him even more immortal. After this incident, the Ten Kings complained to the Jade Emperor. on the battlefield during the Tang dynasty. The events of the Xiyoubu take place between the end of chapter 61 and the beginning of chapter 62 of Journey to the West. The author, Tong Yue (童說), wrote the book because he wanted to create an opponent—in this case, desire itself—that Sun Wukong could not defeat with his great strength and martial skill.

In The Shaolin Monastery (2008), Tel Aviv University Professor Meir Shahar claims that Sun influenced a legend concerning the origins of the Shaolin staff method. The legend takes place during the Red Turban Rebellion of the Yuan dynasty. Bandits lay siege to the monastery, but it is saved by a lowly kitchen worker wielding a long fire poker as a makeshift staff. He leaps into the oven and emerges as a monstrous giant big enough to stand astride both Mount Song and the imperial fort atop Shaoshi Mountain (which are five miles apart). The bandits flee upon seeing him. The Shaolin monks later realize that the kitchen worker was the Monastery's local guardian deity, Vajrapani, in disguise. Shahar compares the worker's transformation in the stove with Sun Wukong's time in Laozi's crucible, their use of the staff, and the fact that Sun Wukong and his weapon can both grow to gigantic proportions. Chinese DAMPE satellite is nicknamed after Wu Kong. The name could be understood as "understand the void" literally, relates to the undiscovered dark matter.

The character of Monkey in Netflix's The New Legends of Monkey (2018–2020), portrayed by Chai Hansen, is based on Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. The character of Son Goku in Dragon Ball is based on Sun Wukong, as attested by his monkey tail, staff, and name (which is simply the Japanese reading of the same name in Chinese: "孫悟空"). The manga anime series Saiyukis Sun Wukong counterpart also uses the Japanese reading Son Goku. The character of Mushra in the Toei Animation anime Shinzo is based on Sun Wukong, retaining the character's golden headband and telescoping staff. The character of Monkey in the 1978 Japanese television series Monkey is based on Sun Wukong. The character of Kongo in Monkey Magic is based on Sun Wukong. In the webtoon The God of High School and its derivative media, the protagonist Mori Jin is based on the God Sun Wukong. The character Sun Wukong in RWBY is based on the lore; but instead of using his hair to make the clones, he can make the clones using RWBY's magic system. The character of Sun Wukong, explicitly said to be the trickster of legend, plays a major role in the DreamWorks animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny. The main characters of Spaceketeers and Force Five are based on the Monkey King. They wear a golden band around their heads that is controlled by the princess, and which may induce agony as well. The golden band is also his primary weapon, a long javelin that decreases in size and shape. Marvel Comics features their own version of Sun Wukong. This version was a crime lord, styled after the famed character, who steals the original staff and encounters the spirit of the real Monkey King. After being punished by being sent to hell, he escapes and decides to devote himself to fighting evil as repentance. DC Comics' Sun Wukong has a human son named Marcus Sun who discovers his parentage and takes up the superhero codename of Monkey Prince. The 2020 cartoon Lego Monkie Kid depicts a new generation of the classic tale where a delivery boy named MK is chosen to be Sun Wukong's successor, calling himself the "Monkie Kid". In 2021, Sunrise Inc. has released an animation series SD Gundam World Heroes, under the SD Gundam franchise. in which feature Sun Wukong as a protagonist along with other mythical characters in novels. The storyline of the 2023 film The Monkey King is derived from the origin stories of the Monkey King, ending with his release from imprisonment. The 2023 TV series American Born Chinese features the character Sun Wukong, played by Daniel Wu. The novel Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint features their own version of Sun Wukong. He is a constellation that goes by the modifier of Prisoner of the Golden Headband, Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.

In Dota 2, there is a hero called Monkey King. His backstory also roughly follows the story of Journey to the West. In Heroes of the Storm, a legendary skin is based on Sun Wukong. League of Legends has a champion based on and named after Wukong. Warframe features a playable character named Wukong, who is modelled on the Monkey King and possesses abilities based on those described in Journey to the West. In Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, the character Sun is based on Sun Wukong. In Honor of Kings, the character Sun Wukong is based on the Monkey King. Sun Wukong is one of twelve mythological heroes that civilizations can summon in Civilization VIs Heroes and Legends Mode. Sun Wukong is the primary protagonist in the upcoming action role playing video game Black Myth: Wukong, referred to in game as "the Destined One" (天命人). The game will be based on Journey to the West and is set to release on August 20, 2024.

Sun Wukong is the inspiration and titular character of K Pop boy group Seventeen's song "Super" (손오공). Journey to the West was adapted into the stage musical Monkey as a collaboration between Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (comprising the band Gorillaz) and Chinese actor and director Chen Shi Zheng. Originally staged as an opera, Albarn released a Gorillaz style album Monkey which takes its name from Sun Wukong.

Hungarian poet Lőrinc Szabó wrote his poem Szun Vu Kung lázadása ("Sun Wukong's mutiny") about Sun Wukong.