The Monkey King is a fictional character best known as one of the main players in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, 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.
Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia. Arthur Waley's 1942 abridged translation, Monkey, is known in English-speaking countries.
Saiyūki, also known by its English title Monkey Magic, is a Japanese television drama based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. Filmed in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, the show was produced by Nippon TV and International Television Films and broadcast from 1978 to 1980 on Nippon TV.
Monkey: Journey to the West is a stage adaptation of the 16th century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. It was conceived and created by the Chinese actor and director Chen Shi-Zheng along with British musician Damon Albarn and British artist Jamie Hewlett.
Journey to the West is a Hong Kong television series adapted from the 16th-century novel of the same title. Starring Dicky Cheung, Kwong Wah, Wayne Lai and Evergreen Mak, the series was produced by TVB and was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in November 1996. A sequel, Journey to the West II, was broadcast in 1998, but the role of the Monkey King was played by Benny Chan instead, due to contract problems between Dicky Cheung and TVB. Cheung later reprised the role in another television series The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra (2002), which was broadcast on TVB but not produced by the station.
Jeffrey Lau Chun-Wai is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. Lau is famous for writing and directing "mo lei tau" comedies. His comedies include A Chinese Odyssey and Chinese Odyssey 2002, the latter which was voted Best 2002 Film by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.
Dr Law Kar-ying is a Hong Kong Cantonese opera singer and actor.
Just Another Pandora's Box, also known as Once Upon a Chinese Classic, is a 2010 Hong Kong parody film directed by Jeffrey Lau, starring Ronald Cheng, Gigi Leung, Betty Sun, Eric Tsang, Huang Bo, Guo Degang, Gillian Chung, and Patrick Tam. It is a spiritual successor to Lau's two-part 1995 film A Chinese Odyssey. Athena Chu, who starred in A Chinese Odyssey, makes a guest appearance in Just Another Pandora's Box.
The Monkey King is a 2014 Hong Kong-Chinese action-fantasy film directed by Soi Cheang and starring Donnie Yen as the titular protagonist Sun Wukong. Yen also serves as the film's action director. The film co-stars Donald Chow, Aaron Kwok, Joe Chen and Peter Ho.
Journey to the West II is a Hong Kong television series adapted from the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. The series was produced by TVB and was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong from October to December 1998. It is a sequel to the 1996 television series Journey to the West, also produced by TVB, which covered only the first half of the novel. Benny Chan takes over the role of the Monkey King from Dicky Cheung in Journey to the West II, while the other principal cast members Kwong Wah, Wayne Lai and Evergreen Mak reprise their roles from the previous series.
The Cave of the Silken Web is a 1967 film directed by Ho Meng Hua and produced by Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong. The film is based on an episode from the 16th-century classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is a 2013 fantasy comedy film co-written and produced by Stephen Chow and co-directed by Chow and Derek Kwok. The movie was first announced in July 2011 and was released on February 10, 2013 in China. The film is a loose comedic re-interpretation of the 16th-century novel Journey to the West, a Chinese literary classic often believed to be written by Wu Cheng'en.
The Monkey King Festival is celebrated in Hong Kong on the 16th day of the eighth Lunar month of the Chinese calendar, corresponding to September according to the Common era calendar, a day after the Mid Autumn Festival. The origin of the festival is traced to the epic 16th century novel Journey to the West written by the Chinese novelist Wu Cheng'en (1500–1582) during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The novel brings out the concept of immortality from Taoism and rebirth from Buddhism. The monkey Sun Wukong, a character in the novel, is the featured figure of the festival.
The Monkey King 2 is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese action fantasy film based on the classic 16th-century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. The film was shot in 3D and is a sequel to the 2014 box office hit The Monkey King with Cheang Pou-soi returning as director and Sammo Hung as action director, who replaces Donnie Yen's role from the previous installment. The film stars Aaron Kwok, who portrayed the main antagonist in the previous installment, as the film's titular protagonist, who also replaces Yen from the previous installment. It was released in the United States on 5 February, in Hong Kong on 6 February and in China on 8 February 2016. A sequel, The Monkey King 3, was released in China in 2018.
Monkey King: Hero Is Back is a 2015 Chinese computer-animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Tian Xiaopeng in his directorial debut. The film was released on 10 July 2015, and became the highest-grossing animated film in China until it was surpassed by the 2016 films Zootopia and Kung Fu Panda 3.
A Chinese Odyssey Part Three is a 2016 Chinese-Hong Kong fantasy comedy drama film directed by Jeffrey Lau. It was released in China on September 14, 2016. It won the Golden Angel Award for Film at the 12th Chinese American Film Festival. The film is a sequel to parts one and two of A Chinese Odyssey.
The Monkey King Conquers the Demon is a 1985 Chinese donghua feature film directed by Te Wei, Lin Wen Xiao, and Ding Xian Yan and produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. The film serves as a loose sequel to Havoc in Heaven, and adapts later episodes in the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West.
Lego Monkie Kid is a Lego theme inspired by Monkey King and Journey to the West. It is licensed from The Lego Group. The theme was first introduced in May 2020. The toy line is also accompanied by an animated television series that premiered in China on May 29, 2020, with the special Lego Monkie Kid: A Hero Is Born.
