Sun Wukong (Great Sage Equal to Heaven)

Sun Wukong’s mythological prototype synthesises multiple strands: the legend of the Tang-dynasty Buddhist monk Shi Wukong (Master Wukong), the ‘Monkey Pilgrim’ figure from Song- and Yuan-dynasty storytelling traditions, and the ancient flood-demon Wu Zhiqi from classical mythology. Wu Cheng’en’s *Journey to the West* reimagined him as a rebellious yet heroic figure who wreaked havoc in Heaven and later safeguarded the monk Xuanzang on his pilgrimage to India for Buddhist scriptures; upon successful completion of the journey, he was enshrined as the Dousheng Zhanfo (Victorious Fighting Buddha). Revered by the populace for his fierce opposition to injustice and his extraordinary supernatural powers, Sun Wukong became widely worshipped across southern China and Taiwan. The Qitian Dasheng Ancestral Temple on Baoshan Mountain in Shunchang County, Fujian, is regarded as the foremost site of his cult; in Taiwan, he is affectionately called ‘Dasheng Ye’ (Lord Great Sage) and invoked to perform soul-calling rituals, heal illnesses, and exorcise malevolent forces. His defiant spirit of resistance and unwavering loyalty to the vulnerable have elevated the Qitian Dasheng cult beyond literary fiction into a deeply rooted folk faith.