An Etymological and Controversial Examination of Sun Wukong in <i>Journey to the West</i>

Since the debate between Lu Xun's "indigenous theory" and Hu Shi's "exotic theory" on the origin of the image of Sun Wukong, there has been nearly a hundred years of academic discussion. Scholars from various schools have conducted a large number of beneficial studies and reached well-founded conclusions. However, due to the unique nature of Journey to the West as a work that has been accumulated across generations and carries a distinct historical sediment, the controversy surrounding it has always been at an impasse, with no consensus reached. Based on previous studies, this paper will provide an overview of the mainstream theories within the academic community. It will then conduct etymological and dialectical analysis of the character of Sun Wukong from the perspective of the "indigenous theory", thus demonstrating the high plausibility of the indigenous viewpoint.