More epic than the myth

New book follows the journey of real-life Buddhist monk, Wukong, including the mortal's challenges during the decline of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Ru reports.

Sun Wukong, better known as the Monkey King, is more than a household name in China — he is a cultural icon born from the pages of the ancient classic novel Journey to the West. The fearless monkey escorted his master, the monk Tang Sanzang, on an arduous journey westward, encountering evil-doers along the way to India in search of Buddhist scriptures, and became a symbol of rebellion, wit and courage.

Although the Monkey King is fictional, there was a real Buddhist monk named Wukong, who shared Sun's experience by embarking on a journey to the West during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) from the then capital Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi province) and returning after four decades. His lesser-known story is recounted in the recently published non-fiction book, The Journey to the West of Another Wukong.

Penned by author Miao Zixi, the book traces the story of Che Fengchao, who, as a lower-level military official in his 20s, accompanied a diplomatic corps on a mission to an ancient state at the juncture of present-day Central and South Asia in 751, during the reign of Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong, who ruled the dynasty at its zenith. However, after completing the task, Che suddenly fell terribly ill and could not return with the corps, staying abroad while he recovered.

During his stay, the chaotic An-Shi Rebellion (755-763) led to the decline of the Tang. When he recovered, Che could not find a proper chance to return to China. He became a Buddhist monk, later known as Wukong, wandering in present-day South and Central Asia. He finally made his way back to Chang'an in 790, after four decades, only to discover that his whole family was deceased.

"Over four decades, from his departure until his return, Wukong transformed from a young military official to an old monk. The Tang Dynasty had also declined. His story accurately reflected the era's tremendous changes," says Miao.

Miao worked as a book editor for years and chose to become a full-time writer focusing on history in 2017. One of her publications was highlighted at the 18th Wenjin Book Awards in 2023, an event considered one of China's most prestigious in the publishing industry.

Miao began writing the story of Wukong when she saw it at the site museum of Beiting city in Jimsar county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, in 2023. Although Wukong's name only appeared in a brief introduction to the ancient people who passed through Beiting, a political, military and cultural center on the ancient Silk Road, Miao was attracted to his story because his legendary experience mirrored the turbulent current of his time.

She turned his inspiring story into The Journey to the West of Another Wukong, which has achieved a solid 9.0 points out of 10 on China's popular review site Douban.

Fan Chaoqun, editor of the book, says when he was told by Miao that she wanted to write the monk's story, he immediately became interested in this figure.

"We all know the ancient classic novel Journey to the West was based on Buddhist monk Xuanzang's experience of embarking on a westward pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures. I felt there was an intertextuality and a sense of mirroring between the monk Wukong and Xuanzang.

"Xuanzang lived in the early Tang Dynasty, while Wukong's life stretched from its glorious peak into the mid-Tang period. They stand like twin stars across time. In our literary imagination, Xuanzang is the prototype of Tang Sanzang, the master of Sun Wukong, which creates a subtle, tacit bond with the historical monk Wukong. Yet their life paths were very different. That contrast is what makes this story so fascinating," he says.

After deciding to write a book about monk Wukong, Miao began collecting materials. She carefully researched his journey and important events of his time, trying to put his experiences into context. She also sought historical literature, scholars' existing publications, and paid field trips to places related to him.

"The only direct historical material about monk Wukong is an article with over 3,000 characters describing his four-decade experience written by another monk who interviewed him, and a tower epitaph from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) found near where he was buried in present-day Shaanxi," says Miao.

However, since the introduction of Wukong was affiliated with the Buddhist scriptures he brought from abroad, his story caught the attention of domestic and overseas scholars when they studied the history of Buddhism and that of Central and South Asia. Thus, British explorer Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) and some Japanese scholars had researched his itineraries, according to Miao.

For the locations Wukong didn't describe in detail during his journey, Miao searched other contemporary historical literature and inferred what he might have seen and experienced.

"Compared with Sun Wukong, the fictional character, the monk Wukong didn't possess supernatural abilities," says Miao. "As a normal person, the obstacles he met on the way must have been very challenging and in no way less dramatic than Sun's legendary odyssey — one might even say that this mortal's pilgrimage is more epic than the myth."

"I was impressed by the broad vision in this book," Qiu Jingjia, a history professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong province, says at a recent book discussion."The book not only traces a person's individual story but also offers a panoramic view of East Asia in the 8th to 9th centuries."

He is also impressed by the vivid depictions of figures like Wukong and many others in the book, saying the author "stands in their shoes as a voice for the 'nobodies' of their times".

Miao says she used literary techniques to describe people's emotions in the book, making the story feel more true-to-life. "Given the limited resources available, the challenge was whether to portray the characters as mere symbolic figures or as fully fleshed-out, living individuals. I chose the latter, and real people, of course, have emotions," says Miao.

"Therefore, I tried to put myself in their shoes, to empathize deeply with their experiences and to render what they felt. It's only through emotional resonance that characters truly come to life," she adds.

Fan notes that the emotional depictions were also grounded in careful textual research.

"When writing about those who are no longer with us, you must treat them as living. You owe them that respect, to write in a way that, if they could read it, they would not call your words nonsense," says Miao. "I think during the entire year of 2024, when I was creating the book, I immersed myself in the world of Wukong, and even felt he was with me."

Qiu says that, currently, historical studies also tend to place greater emphasis on ordinary individuals, tracing their stories to reflect the broader narratives of their eras.

"Although ordinary people rarely made decisions that could directly alter the course of their era, they demonstrated incredible courage and tenacity, which is very precious in my eyes," says Miao.

"I hope to bring luster to stories like these, long buried by history, and to carry them into people's collective memory because such stories belong to everyone," she adds.

Contact the writer at wangru1@chinadaily.com.cn