Set against the backdrop of the myths and legends of China’s Yellow Mountains, Monkey King’s Vigil tells the poignant love story of Sun Wukong and a mortal woman named Zhang Zhu.
According to legend, the Yellow Mountains are known as “the most extraordinary mountains under heaven.” A spiritual monkey practiced there for a thousand years, gaining immense powers. By chance, it met the beautiful and kindhearted Zhang Zhu and fell in love with her. It transformed into a scholar to ask for her hand, and the two elders of the Zhao family agreed to the marriage. But on their wedding night, the monkey got drunk and revealed its true form, frightening Zhang Zhu into fleeing. After that, the monkey searched everywhere for her in vain. All it could do was climb the cliff at Lion Peak in the Yellow Mountains every day and gaze longingly toward Xianyuan Village, where Zhang Zhu lived. As the years passed, it eventually turned into the famous stone formation known as “Monkey Watching the Sea.”
Before Sun Wukong set out on his journey to the West to obtain the scriptures, he heard this tale and felt deep sympathy for the monkey’s fate. By chance, he came to the Yellow Mountains and unexpectedly found himself facing a similar destiny. Sun Wukong met and fell in love with Zhang Zhu, but after he got drunk and revealed his true form, he frightened her away. He searched everywhere for her, enduring one hardship after another, but never gave up. Along the way, he experienced the sweetness and bitterness of love, as well as the pain and helplessness of losing the one he loved. In the end, Sun Wukong’s devotion and persistence moved heaven and earth, allowing him and Zhang Zhu to reunite. Their love became an eternal legend, and the stone formation known as “Monkey Watching the Sea” bears witness to their sincere love.
