A depiction of Sun Wu Kung, The Monkey King, from Chinese Legend
In this portion of the story, the Havoc in Heaven, Sun Wu Kung is given a job in Heaven by the Jade Emperor as a means to appease the disruptive Monkey King and make him more manageable. The job, however, is the Protector of the Horses, the lowest job in Heaven. To spite the Emperor, he sets the horses free and declares himself The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. The Gods are forced to recognize his status, however the Emperor "allows" him to guard the Heavenly Peach Garden. Sun Wu Kung is left out of an important feast with every other major god and goddess, and after finding out about it, eats the Peaches of Immortality, Laozi's pills of longevity, and drinks the Jade Emperor's royal wine before he heads back to his kingdom to plot his revenge. Later, The Monkey King defeats the Heavenly Army of 100,000, the 28 constellation, 4 heavenly kings, and Nezha, as well as proving the equal of the Heavenly Generals. After a group effort of the greatest and most powerful deities in existence, Sun Wu Kung is captured. He escapes and resists all attempts to be murdered and executed by these Heavenly beings. After all of this, Sun Wu Kung smugly challenges Buddha himself and tries to escape his palm, and leaves a marking on one of five pillars after thinking he has escaped. It is shown only to be the edge of Buddha's hand, and he encloses Sun Wu Kung in his palm for losing the wager, and leaves him trapped for 500 years.
Bibliography: Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book. http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-monkey-king-sun-wu.html
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