Wu Cheng'en
c. 1500–1582
Biography
Wu Cheng'en (吳承恩) was a novelist and poet of the Ming dynasty, from Huai'an in what is now Jiangsu province. Dates for his life vary: English sources give c. 1500 to 1582, while the Chinese encyclopaedia article gives 1506 to 1582. He used the courtesy name Ruzhong and the literary name Sheyang Shanren. Records of his life are sparse, so the outline of his biography rests on a small number of documents and on tradition.
He is generally credited with Journey to the West, the sixteenth-century novel about the monk Xuanzang, who travels to India to bring back Buddhist scriptures. The journey is carried by its companions, above all the mischievous Monkey King, Sun Wukong, and the novel is counted among the four great classical Chinese novels. The attribution is widely accepted, though it rests on tradition rather than on certain evidence.
On this site, the book is 西遊記, the Chinese title of Journey to the West, credited to him under his name. Its best-known episodes include the Monkey King's rebellion in heaven, the demons who try to stop the pilgrims, and the long series of trials that turn the journey into a test of patience and faith. It remains one of the most widely read works of Chinese fiction.
This biography was written by a language model. The sources below are where to check it; treat details with care.
Books
西遊記
by Wu Cheng'en
A stone monkey born from a rock learns magic, makes himself a nuisance to Heaven and is pinned beneath a mountain, until he is freed to guard the monk Xuanzang on his long road to India for the Buddhist scriptures. With a greedy pig, a quiet river ogre and a dragon turned horse…
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.