The informant knew of this story from a young age and it was told to him by his parents. However, he also acknowledged that Sun Wukong had many stories surrounding him, and as he couldn’t remember many of them, consulted Wikipedia to refresh his memory. His explanation follows:

“Sun Wukong, also the Monkey King, was supposed to be one of the strongest fighters in Ancient China and he was like immortal and had a staff and could fly on a cloud and stuff and he was a monkey that could transform into different things. Anyways he has a bunch of stories like one is he made some gods mad, so he was given a low rank in heaven. I think he was guarding a peach garden and the peaches would make whoever ate them immortal. Wukong ate one of these peaches and so he became an immortal. After this, he wants to get back at heaven and basically crushes their entire army, until Buddha himself stops him and imprisons him under the ocean. When hes under the ocean, he meets a dragon who says that if he can lift a really heavy pillar in the dragons temple, he will get a powerful weapon. Wukong completes this challenge pretty easily and finds out that the pillar can change size and is actually a magic staff that he uses as a weapon. Then there’s another story where he did something bad, and as punishment was thrown in a magic fireplace to be burned to death. But Wukongs really strong so instead his skin hardened into armor and when he came out his eyes were on fire but he could see through enemy disguises and tricks or something like that. Basically Wukong was a monkey that was really strong and theres a lot of stories everyone knows about him.”

This is a Chinese myth surrounding the Monkey King, who probably played a role in the creation of the Earth and nation, as he dealt with many of the gods surrounding Chinese culture. He has many warrior qualities, that may have been symbols of strength in the age of Imperial China, which is likely where this story originated. Thus this story is one that promotes nationalism and patriotism by portraying Wukong as a symbol of national strength and perseverance. This is further shown in his interaction with other figures found in the official history, such as Buddha. This interaction provides insight to why certain things are the way they are, and also ties into the moral foundation of the nation, as figures such as Buddha are major proponents of Chinese religion.

Recently in the computer game, League of Legends, Wukong has made an appearance. In the game, Wukong is created when a group of monkeys finds a magical stone in the forest. He is described as driven by an unquenchable desire for greatness, and defeats all evil in the forest, but it’s still not enough of a challenge. He then seeks out a master warrior and asks him for advice, and trains under him, receiving his staff weapon during this time, before journeying on to the arena in which the game takes place.

In the game, Wukong is represented in much of the same ways as he appears in traditional folklore. His staff is his main weapon, and it extends to attack foes. He can also create images of himself to confuse the enemies and summon clouds for transportation, which has also been documented in many stories. Finally, the legend where he is burned but emerges stronger is incorporated and in the game he has “stone skin,” which “Increases Wukong’s armor and magic resistance for each nearby enemy.”

“Once upon a time, two nations were at war in Ancient China. One was a peasant nation, while the other was an invading force, attempting to subjugate the peasants and assimilate them into their iron rule. Both sides had been battling for many years now, and their armies had been whittled down to mere shadows of what they had once been. Now, it was time for a decisive battle, one that would determine the outcome of the war, and who would be defeated. The two armies camped across a river from each other, making preparations for this final battle. It was at this point that the peasant army realized that it was dangerously low on arrows. There was no way they could win a skirmish without arrows to support the army. The general knew he had to do something, and quick, or else the invading army would easily win. And so he thought of a plan. He ordered his men to gather all the straw they could find, and bundle these straw piles on all of the boats they had on the river. Then, he ordered his men to strip down and put their clothes on these straw men, and told his men to sleep and be rested for tomorrow’s long day. The next morning, before dawn, the general woke up a small group of soldiers, and ordered them to go with him to the river. They tied ropes to the boats and with a push, sent the straw men in boats on their way to the enemy camp. In the enemy camp, at dawn, the soldiers woke up to hundreds of boats carrying soldiers ready to attack. The general panicked, immediately concluding that the peasant army must have mobilized in the night. He ordered his archers to fire upon the boats, yet was shocked to see that none of the peasant soldiers fell. He ordered them to fire again, and this time the archers sent out an immense volley. At this point, the sun had risen a little higher, illuminating the battlefield better, and at this point, the general realized he had made a huge mistake. He had just expended a huge amount of his arrows shooting at the peasants straw decoys. The peasant army reeled the boats back in, and with a new found supply of arrows, went on to win the battle and maintain their independence.” (translated from Chinese)

The informant is from Taiwan, and it is easy to see how the Taiwanese would come up with a story where a smaller, less equipped army defeats a larger invading force with their wits. As Taiwan has been at odds with their Chinese neighbor across the strait, such a story would be a nationalistic tale to inspire the people of Taiwan in their own struggle to gain independence as the underdog achieves victory. It is also a story that parents would likely tell their children in order to promote pride and resourcefulness as qualities to pursue.

Whether this battle actually occurred, or the story is the product of fakelore is a question that cannot be easily answered. In both cases, we see motifs such as the brave good leader defeating the looming imperial force with overwhelming numbers, never giving up and beating incredible odds.