Monkey’s name, Wake-to Vacuity (Wukong) is given to him by the immortal name Patriarch Subodhi at the end of chapter one. His name Wake-to Vacuity can be loosely translated to acknowledgement of emptiness. The meaning of his name can be linked with the theme an ordinary world; where it is safe, but something is not working. In this case the thing that doesn’t work are lives of the monkeys, they are mortal which means that eventually they will be subjects to Yama, King of the Underworld. Wukong first noticed this emptiness in their world after the party inside the waterfall by saying “Though we are not subjects to the laws of man today, nor need we be threatened by the rule of any bird or beast, old age and physical decay in the future will be disclosed the secret sovereignty of Yama, King of the Underworld.” (428). After having spoken with a bareback monkey he said “I will learn from them how to be young forever and escape the calamity inflicted by King Yama” (429). He then sets out on a journey to find the thing that can fix this, immortality.
-Denny Huang
At the beginning Wukong is born on an ordinary world, which is stressed by the descriptions that indicates the existence of higher world, like the polestar where the beam goes to(p.424). This leads us to think that there may exists a way to transcend. Later Wukong realizes this. After being satisfied by the ampleness of material, having daily banquet and enjoying independence in perfect happiness(p.428). He starts the quest for an enlightenment. He starts to looking for ways to be immortal(not subjecting to nature) which he thinks is the ticket to higher world. But this name, whose literal meaning is “acknowledgment of emptiness”, given by a guy who is already immortal, indicates that realizing emptiness is the way to the immortality. Or, being immortal isn’t the ultimate goal of life, but the acknowledgment of emptiness. Since Dao is mentioned at the very beginning of the story, I guess this emptiness does have some connection with the Daoism. In Chapter 16 of Tao Te Ching Lao Zi writes:” Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind become still.” This is the way to the Tao, and Tao Is the ultimate goal of life in Daoism. So here the name of “Wukong” comes from Daoism and it indicates that later in the story Wukong will be always on the way of looking for this enlightenment —- the acknowledgment of emptiness.
-Zeyu Kang