The prototype of the Monkey King in history should be called Che Fengchao. This person is more likely. If traced back to the source, he should be a descendant of Xianbei Tuoba. He began to learn martial arts when he was young. Although Che Fengchao was a nobody at first, he later became famous in the army. Proficient in martial arts, brave and good at fighting, and good at using eyebrow piercing sticks. The Monkey King used a wishful gold hoop, weighing 13500 Jin. Sticks are also one of the weapons that monks especially like to use. The stick monks in Shaolin Temple were very famous at that time.
Another prototype is Shipantou. At that time, Xuanzang was wandering in front of the temple in Dunhuang, worried about the desert in front of him. At this time, a westerner came to worship, claiming to be Shipantou, and was willing to swear to worship Xuanzang as a teacher, saying that he would be a guide and escort Xuanzang through the customs. But he tried to kill the master many times in just three days, and was later driven away by Xuanzang. This is a so-called apprentice who has only been with Xuanzang for three days. At first glance, he looks like a villain and is unlikely to be the prototype of the Monkey King.
There are also stories in Tai Ping Guang Ji (Volume 467) and Chatting in the Curtain. In Wu Changling's Journey to the West in Tang Sanzang in Yuan Dynasty, the image of the Monkey King and the words "Wu is his sister" appeared. It can be seen that the image of the Monkey King is borrowed from Wu. Wu Zhiqi is a water monster in China mythology. He is shaped like an ape, with a flat nose, a white and green head, a protruding forehead and golden eyes. His head and neck are 100 feet, and his strength exceeds that of nine elephants. Wu's story had been circulating for 800 years before Wu Cheng'en processed The Journey to the West. Wu Cheng'en, who likes to adopt folklore, will definitely read such a big book. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Yu Dafu's story of "Wu" has been widely circulated among the people and become a household name. After the appearance of Wu Cheng'en in The Journey to the West, the image of Wu was gradually replaced by the Monkey King.
The argument about the Monkey King's prototype is only the author's understanding and speculation in the book. There is no conclusive evidence yet. Because Mr Wu Cheng'en has already passed away, he can be said to be the Monkey King's father. The difficulty of his writing a book is beyond your imagination and mine. Huaguoshan is the residence that the author yearns for in the secular mind. The Monkey King is a local mythological figure created by us in China. Undoubtedly, the Monkey King is an original monkey that combines various original ideas.