This was a blog that I originally made back on January 18, 2014 at 6:35 PM.
I've learned and heard about the story of the Journey to the West over a decade ago in my youth. I learned of course mostly from looking at library books and the internet today. Of course, nowadays almost all my data, news, media, music, etc. are acquired from browsing the interwebs. I stumbled upon this trailer of this movie called the Monkey King over a year ago which stars Donnie Yen as of course the Monkey King himself. If you don't know Donnie Yen then look up the IP Man movies, Hero with Jet Li, an appearance in Blade 2, SPL aka Sha Po Lang aka Kill Zone, Flash Point, Iron Monkey, etc. Just type his name in the interwebs to see his other movies. If you guys don't know the story of the Monkey King then look up Journey to the West on the interwebs. The Monkey King of course is known as Sun Wukong. Here's some stuff about Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong 孙悟空, also known as the Monkey King, is a main character in the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West authored by Wu Cheng'en. Wukong is also found in many later stories and adaptations. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India. 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 one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. In English-speaking countries, the work is widely known as Monkey, the title of Arthur Waley's popular abridged translation. There are videos about this classic story on the internet and if you watch a few then you might get familiar with it. If you want any more other media related to this then look up The Forbidden Kingdom and you'll see the Monkey King played by Jet Li there. Also, check out The Journey to the West Conquering the Demons which is directed by Stephen Chow. He's known for movies like Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. This movie is base of Journey to the West but it doesn't have Sun Wukong the Monkey King as the main character. He's more of a supporting character while Tan Sanzang is the main protagonist. This new upcoming movie with Donnie Yen on the other hand has Sun Wukong as the main character and it takes place before his 500 year imprisonment. This shows his origins after being born from a magic stone and his rebellion against the Jade emperor of heaven played by Chow Yun-fat (known for movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Hard Boiled; The Killer; etc. If you want another popular media then you probably heard about the Dragon Ball series. It stars the monkey-tailed boy named Goku which is loosely base on the Chinese traditional folk tale Journey to the West. Sun Wukong from the Chinese tale is similar to Son Goku as both wield a magic pole, rides a flying cloud aka nimbus, and have a tail. That's not all but the characters like Krillin, Oolong, Tien, etc. are all base on characters that accompany Sun Wukong. Not saying that they're exactly the same word for word. The Dragon Ball series is just base and inspired by Journey to the West. Dragon Ball Z may not be very similar as it is completely different since it is more of the action type Marvel and sci-fi base compared to the mystical Journey to the West so the original Dragon Ball is a better start for comparison. A lot of people will probably disagree with my opinion which is just fine because people will latch on the popular opinion and I'm not popular and I prefer it that way. Well, back to the topic at hand Monkey King will come out in theaters in Hong Kong on January 30, 2014, in China on January 31, 2014, and in the United States on September 14, 2014. I don't know about the other countries but they'll most likely announce it later. I saw the trailers and I must say that I like it! If you wanna know more about the Monkey King and the upcoming movie then check out the pics and videos below.
According to interweb sources, here are some info about Sun Wukong. He's actually pretty powerful when it comes to his feats, powers, capabilities and in his descriptions from the stories! Sun Wukong possesses an immense amount of strength; he is able to lift his 13,500 jīn (8,100 kilograms (18,000 lb)) staff with ease. He is also extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li (54,000 kilometres (34,000 mi)) in one somersault. Sun knows 72 transformations, which allows him to transform into various animals and objects; however, he is troubled in transforming into other forms, due to the accompanying incomplete transformation of his tail. Sun Wukong is a skilled fighter, capable of holding his own against the best warriors of heaven. Also, each of his hairs possessed magical properties, capable of being transformed into clones of the Monkey King himself, and/or into various weapons, animals, and other objects. He also knows spells that can command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, and freeze humans, demons, and gods alike. One of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, Sun Wukong has a varied background and colorful cultural history. For example, Sun Wukong is considered by some American, Chinese, and Indian scholars to be influenced by both the Hindu deity Hanuman from the Ramayana and elements of Chinese folklore. In summary, he kicks a lot of ass!
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