More epic than the myth

Miao began writing the story of Wukong when she saw it at the site museum of Beiting city in Jimsar county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, in 2023. Although Wukong's name only appeared in a brief introduction to the ancient people who passed through Beiting, a political, military and cultural center on the ancient Silk Road, Miao was attracted to his story because his legendary experience mirrored the turbulent current of his time.

She turned his inspiring story into The Journey to the West of Another Wukong, which has achieved a solid 9.0 points out of 10 on China's popular review site Douban.

Fan Chaoqun, editor of the book, says when he was told by Miao that she wanted to write the monk's story, he immediately became interested in this figure.

"We all know the ancient classic novel Journey to the West was based on Buddhist monk Xuanzang's experience of embarking on a westward pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures. I felt there was an intertextuality and a sense of mirroring between the monk Wukong and Xuanzang.

"Xuanzang lived in the early Tang Dynasty, while Wukong's life stretched from its glorious peak into the mid-Tang period. They stand like twin stars across time. In our literary imagination, Xuanzang is the prototype of Tang Sanzang, the master of Sun Wukong, which creates a subtle, tacit bond with the historical monk Wukong. Yet their life paths were very different. That contrast is what makes this story so fascinating," he says.