Prior to his enlightenment, Wukong is usually depicted as a naked macaque. Attributesīeing a monkey, Sun Wukong has a very distinct appearance that sets him apart from the other gods. His name literally translates as the “monkey awakened by the emptiness.” Wukong’s name is meant to represent his spiritual journey from an ignorant, short-tempered monkey to a benevolent, enlightened being. Though the character sūn (孫) usually refers to grandsons, in this context it refers to monkeys. Sūn Wùkōng’s name is comprised of the characters for “grandson” (孫), “awakened” (悟) and “space”(空).
