sun wukong monkey king with dragon turtle

Sun Wukong “Monkey King with Dragon Turtle” Statue

Sun Wukong Statue created by skilled craftsmen in traditional style with fine handcrafts.This is a great piece of a valuable collection, a valuable personal alter or a very good present. The handwork is very fine with incredible detailling. Perfect style, pleasing design and wonderful workmanship make this statue a rare work of art. The Monkey King, known as Sun Wukong in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West and many later stories and adaptations. In Journey to the West, 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 500 years, he accompanies the monk Tang Sanzang and 2 other disciples on a journey to get back Buddhist Sutras from the West (the Indian subcontinent), where Buddha and his followers dwell. Sun Wukong possesses many abilities. He has amazing strength and is able to support the weight of 2 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.

Sun Wukong also acquires the 72 Earthly Transformations, which allow him to access 72 unique powers, including the ability to transform into sundry 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 and can stop people in place with fixing magic. As one of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, the Monkey King has a varied background and colorful cultural history. His inspiration comes from an amalgam of Indian and Chinese culture. The Monkey King was possibly influenced by the Hindu deity Hanuman, the Monkey-God, from the Ramayana, via stories passed by Buddhists who traveled to China. The Monkey King’s origin story includes the wind blowing on a stone, whereas Hanuman is the son of the God of Wind. Some scholars believe the character originated from the first disciple of Xuanzang, Shi Banto. His inspiration might have also come from the White Monkey legends from the Chinese Chu Kingdom (700-223 BC), which revered gibbons. These legends gave rise to stories and art motifs during the Han dynasty, eventually contributing to the Monkey King figure.

He may have also been influenced by local folk religion from Fuzhou province, where Monkey Gods were worshipped long before the novel. This included the 3 Monkey Saints of Lin Shui Palace, who were once fiends, who were subdued by the Goddess Chen Jinggu, the Empress Lin Shui. The 3 were Dan Xia Da Sheng, the Red Face Monkey Sage, Tong Tian Da Sheng, the Black Face Monkey Sage, and Shuang Shuang San Lang, the White Face Monkey Sage. The 2 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 centuries. 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 2 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. Sun Wukong “Monkey King with Dragon Turtle” Statue sizes: 4.4 inches / 11 cm x 3.2 inches / 8 cm x 8.1 inches / 20.5 cm.