Who is the Monkey King in Chinese mythology?

Who is the Monkey King in Chinese mythology? Sun Wukong is the Monkey King.

Sun Wukong is the central trickster-hero of Journey to the West, the celebrated Chinese novel traditionally associated with Wu Cheng’en. He is born from a magical stone on Flower Fruit Mountain and becomes king of a monkey tribe after entering the Water Curtain Cave. His name is often translated as “Awakened to Emptiness.”

Wukong pursues immortality, learns Taoist techniques from the patriarch Subhuti, and gains the 72 Earthly Transformations and a powerful somersault cloud. His weapon is the Ruyi Jingu Bang, a magical iron staff associated with the Dragon King’s underwater palace. He repeatedly challenges Heaven before the Buddha imprisons him beneath a mountain for 500 years.

Released to protect the monk Tang Sanzang, Wukong travels west to obtain Buddhist scriptures and faces 81 tribulations. Erlang Shen is a notable rival, while Zhu Bajie is a fellow traveler; neither is the Monkey King.