Origin story

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The Monkey God is perhaps the most iconic figure in Chinese mythology. Yet, many do not realise that beyond his demon-fighting superhero persona lies a far deeper character.

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He represents the ancient concept of the Monkey Mind (心猿 / Xīn Yuán) — the Daoist and Buddhist concept of uncontrolled consciousness, where the restless, impulsive and distracted mind, jumping chaotically from one idea to another, resembles a monkey leaping from branch to branch. This mental chatter, craving and emotional turbulence is what keeps us from clarity, stillness and wisdom.​

 

The Journey to the West, the 16th-century classic of Chinese literature in which Monkey God is the central figure, is a metaphor for this struggle of the human condition.

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It can be read as not only a journey to a geographical destination, but an inner place, reached only by those who, like the Monkey God, tame their ego and overcome demons.

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His iconography expresses his origin story but look carefully, and you realise it is an imagined collage. He wears armour, dons a circlet, wields a rod and holds a peach, but there is actually no point in the Journey to the West he actually looks like that. His iconographic features were acquired at different times of his life, but combined into a single image.

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As king of Flower Fruit Mountain (花果山 / Huā Guǒ Shān), he wore warrior’s armour, but the migraine-inducing Golden Circlet (金箍 / Jīn Gū) clasped immovably around his head came only half a millennium later when he commenced his pilgrimage. By that point, he was dressed - appropriately so - not in regal armour, but in a pilgrim's humble robes.

 

This visual collage allows devotees to recall his epic story at one quick glance, and the many values they represent. The Golden Circlet reminds us of divine authority over individual impulses, necessary for us to achieve a higher purpose.​

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His protective powers are extraordinary: He wields a 7-ton Golden Hoop Rod (金箍棒 / Jīn Gū Bàng) and can traverse 54,000 km with a single leap, using a technique known as the Cloud Somersault (筋斗云 / Jīn Dǒu Yún).​

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The Peach of Immortality (仙桃 / Xiān Táo) he grasps is a forbidden fruit, representing temptation we must avoid.

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In some depictions, instead of holding the Peach of Immortality, he holds up his palm above his brow, shielding his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils (火眼金睛 / Huǒ Yǎn Jīn Jīng) from the sun as he scans for demons.

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The Monkey God’s origin story is one of transformation — chaos tempered by discipline, rebellion yielding to wisdom. His image, rich in symbolism, serves as both a reminder of his mythic journey and a reflection of our human struggle for mastery over the self.

 

Through him, we see that true power is not just strength, but the ability to overcome one’s own nature.

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It is an idea that is in his very name, "孙悟空".

 

While 孙 is a homophone for monkey, 悟 means "awakened" and 空 means "emptiness".

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​​* Depending on your intended use, our statues can be consecrated or non-consecrated. If consecrated, the statues would be considered holy and be used for religious worship. Non-consecrated statues can be displayed as works of culture and art, expressing the same ideas and values but in a non-religious way.