The mythical noval-Pilgrimage to the West, with rich and marvelous imagination, depicts a master and his three disciples making the difficult overland trek from China to India to fetch Buddhist scriptures during the reign of the Tang Dynasty. The four characters struggle with barren mountains and unruly rivers, demons and ghosts and finally reach their destination. Also the novel personifies the animals and vividly represents the dangerous and difficult road. The novel is the paean of human conquering the nature.
The Monkey King --- Sun Wukong is vividly depicted in the novel. He always explores out in front and heads off dangers. To celebrate the coming of Year of the Monkey, the People's Bank of China will issue Chinese Classical Literature Works --- Pilgrimage to the West Commemorative Colored Gold and Silver Coins (the 1st set), including one gold coin and three silver coins.