我从六岁就开始画孙悟空了。小时候没有足够的纸，更没有彩笔，所以我索性就拿着滑石和粉笔在家门口的水泥地上画。在那个还没有太多娱乐活动的年代，孙悟空几乎“陪伴”了我整个童年。

今天依然很多人问我为什么画孙悟空。如果是六岁的我，那个小男孩会告诉你，他被孙悟空的七十二变吸引了，他希望能像孙悟空一样，变成任何他想变的东西，去任何他想去的地方。如果是二三十岁的我，那个年轻人会说，因为孙悟空无所畏惧，他想让每个看到画的人，都能接过画中的金箍棒，去大胆砸向生活中的一切不公。可如今再回答这个问题，我可能要想很久。

有很长一段时间，凡是跟孙悟空相关的艺术形式，我都会去了解和学习，我还尝试过用动漫、游戏的风格画孙悟空，但最终触动我的还是京剧舞台的演绎。戏曲艺术的典型化造型是历代艺术家集体智慧的结晶，其中所体现的“精、气、神”更是我国人文思想的精华。

在京剧中，孙悟空以大武生的形象呈现。靠（铠甲）、护背旗无不彰显威武气概。它浓缩体现了东方人的体态之美。这种美不同于西方对肌肉线条的极致追求，是更灵动的、更英武的独特之美。

在探索过程中，我愈发认识到孙悟空是少有的可以随时代变化而不断变化的经典形象，不同时代的他都被赋予了不同的内涵，每个人对于孙悟空都有自己独特的诠释。孙悟空这个形象不断被注入新元素，也在时代的变迁中迭代出更多元的可能。虽然我已经创作了多幅孙悟空作品，但是它们所体现的状态是千变万化的：有的凌厉，有的惬意，有的张扬，有的顽皮。孙悟空的多变和丰富给予我源源不断的灵感，促使我不断打磨这个形象，因为每一次创作都是“不重复”的。当我画了很多孙悟空作品之后，我发现，在传统文化 IP 中，再也找不到这样一个形象：他嬉笑怒骂，放荡不羁；他果敢义气，上天入地；他遍历繁华，终归本心。因此，每一次提笔画孙悟空，他都能带给我一份截然不同的心境。

每个人的一生都会有很多阶段，孙悟空的一生也是如此。有时我会开玩笑地自问：如今的我到了孙悟空的哪个阶段了？

年少时，谁都会拥有花果山上无忧无虑的一段时光，可试问有哪个“美猴王”愿意平凡一生？于是你漂洋过海，拜师学艺，在师父须菩提祖师的教诲下，化身为掌握一身本领的“孙悟空”。

当你真正拥有了上天入地的能力，又怎会甘于屈居人下？于是你不愿臣服于天庭，大闹天宫，成为把野性和能量发挥到极致的“齐天大圣”，代价是被压在五行山下五百年，但这压不住你内心的活力和希望。

后来你成为“孙行者”，保护唐僧西天取经，斩妖除魔，历经九九八十一难，最后取得真经、修成正果，终成“斗战胜佛”。

孙悟空最初寻访仙道的时候，曾遇一樵夫。他问何处可拜师学艺，樵夫道：“不远，不远。此山叫做灵台方寸山。山中有座斜月三星洞。那洞中有一个神仙，称名须菩提祖师。那祖师出去的徒弟，也不计其数。”所谓“灵台方寸山，斜月三星洞”，不过隐喻了一个“心”字。

所以，修行即修心，在跟随孙悟空进行人生历练的同时，我们也完成了一场心的旅行，孙悟空的不同经历映照着我们人生的各个阶段，人生在世三万余天，终极命题便是修自己的心。

可究竟如何修心呢？《西游记》第二十四回中，孙悟空说：“只要你见性志诚，念念回首处，即是灵山。”

在近现代中国，孙悟空已成为一个极强的文化符号，伴随着新中国的变革精神而逐渐丰满、完善。每个人心中都有一个孙悟空，我希望我笔下的孙悟空能为观者的精神赋能。他是阳光、通透、健康、纯然的存在，寄托着我们内心中的期许；他不断精进、努力，是人生观的极致体现；他坚定、一心不二，是精彩人生的诠释。

艺术赋予我的能量，我也希望通过作品传递出去。很多人说我的作品给了他们振奋、温暖、元气满满的感受，这让我很欣慰。艺术治愈心灵是一种美好的向往，虽然这是非常专业的领域，但当人们感到困顿时，我能用作品带给他们一丝慰藉，这确实是一件充满成就感的事情。

I’ve been drawing Sun Wukong since I was six. Back then, paper was scarce and colored pencils were a luxury, so I simply took bits of talc or chalk and drew right on the concrete ground outside my door. In an era where entertainment was hard to come by, the Monkey King was my constant companion throughout my childhood.

Even today, people still ask why I paint Sun Wukong. If you were to ask my six-year-old self, that little boy would tell you he was spellbound by the Monkey King’s seventy-two transformations—he longed to shift into any form he imagined and roam wherever his heart desired. If you asked the man in his twenties or thirties, that spirited youth would say it was because Sun Wukong was fearless; he wanted everyone who saw his art to seize the Golden Cudgel from the canvas and strike out boldly against all the injustices of life. But to answer that same question today, I might need to pause for a long time.

For years, I immersed myself in every artistic medium related to the Monkey King, even experimenting with styles from anime and gaming. Yet, in the end, it was the portrayal on the Peking Opera stage that truly stirred my soul. The stylized archetypes of traditional opera are the crystallization of collective wisdom passed down through generations of artists; the Jing, Qi, and Shen—the essence, energy, and spirit—embodied within them are the very soul of our cultural heritage.

In Peking Opera, Sun Wukong is embodied in the form of a Da Wusheng (lead martial role). The Kao (heavy armor) and the Hubeiqi (back-protecting flags) radiate a majestic, commanding presence—a quintessence of Oriental physical aesthetics. This beauty differs from the Western pursuit of muscular definition; it is a unique elegance, more fluid, more spirited, and heroically gallant.

Throughout my exploration, I have come to realize that Sun Wukong is a rare classic icon that evolves alongside the eras. Each generation imbues him with new meaning, and every individual finds their own unique interpretation within him. He is a vessel for new elements, iterating toward diverse possibilities as time shifts. Though I have created numerous works featuring the Monkey King, the spirit they manifest is ever-changing: some are sharp and fierce, some serene and at ease, some flamboyant, and others mischievous. His boundless complexity is a perennial spring of inspiration, urging me to refine his image continuously, for every stroke of the brush is a refusal to repeat the past. Having painted him so many times, I’ve found that no other figure in traditional culture compares: he who laughs and curses with reckless abandon; he who is resolute, loyal, and capable of traversing heaven and earth; he who has tasted all the world's splendors only to return to his true self. Thus, every time I lift my brush to paint him, he brings me to a completely different state of mind.

Every life unfolds in chapters, and Sun Wukong’s is no exception. Sometimes, I ask myself with a wry smile: which stage of the Monkey King’s journey have I reached?

In our youth, we all enjoy a carefree season upon the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. Yet, what 'Handsome Monkey King' is truly content with a life of ordinary ease? And so, you crossed vast oceans to seek a master, and under the tutelage of Subhuti, you were transformed into 'Sun Wukong'—a being of extraordinary mastery.

Once you possess the power to traverse heaven and earth, how could you ever settle for a life of subservience? Refusing to bow to the Celestial Court, you wreaked havoc in Heaven, becoming the 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven'—a force of primal wildness and boundless energy. The price was five hundred years beneath the Five Elements Mountain, yet even that weight could not crush the vitality and hope burning within you.

Later, you became the 'Acolyte Sun,' shielding Tang Sanzang on the pilgrimage to the West. Slaying demons and weathering eighty-one tribulations, you finally secured the sacred sutras and attained enlightenment, ascending as the 'Victorious Fighting Buddha.

When Sun Wukong first set out in search of the Dao, he encountered a woodcutter. Upon asking where he might find a master, the woodcutter replied: 'Not far, not far at all. This mountain is called the Mountain of Mind and First Cause, and within it lies the Cave of Slanted Moon and Three Stars. There dwells an immortal named Patriarch Subhuti, whose disciples are beyond count.' In Chinese, the names 'Mind and First Cause' (Lingtai Fangcun) and 'Slanted Moon and Three Stars' (Xieyue Sanxing) are both elegant metaphors for a single word: the Heart.

Thus, to cultivate oneself is to cultivate the heart. As we follow Sun Wukong through his trials, we are also completing a journey of the soul. His diverse experiences mirror the various stages of our own lives. In the thirty-thousand-odd days of a human existence, the ultimate quest is the cultivation of one's own heart.

But how does one truly cultivate the heart? In the twenty-fourth chapter of Journey to the West, Sun Wukong says: 'As long as you are sincere in your nature, every moment of reflection is the path to the Sacred Mountain.'

In modern China, Sun Wukong has evolved into a potent cultural icon, growing in depth alongside the transformative spirit of the nation. There is a Monkey King in everyone’s heart, and I hope the Sun Wukong beneath my brush empowers the spirit of the viewer. He is a radiant, transparent, healthy, and pure existence—a vessel for our inner aspirations. His constant self-improvement is the ultimate realization of a life well-lived; his unwavering resolve is the very definition of a brilliant journey.

The energy that art grants me is what I wish to pass on through my work. It brings me great solace when people say my art feels uplifting, warm, and full of vitality. While using art to heal the soul is a profound and professional undertaking, it is deeply rewarding to know that when people feel weary or lost, my work can offer them a glimmer of consolation.