Wu Cheng'en (Traditional Chinese: 吳承恩; Simplified Chinese: 吴承恩; Pinyin: Wú Chéng'ēn, ca. 1500–1582), courtesy name Ruzhong (汝忠), was a Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty. He was born in Huainan, Jiangsu. He studied in ancient Nanjing University for more than 10 years.
His most famous novel is Journey to the West in which a monk encounters the Flaming Mountains. The novel has been enjoyed by many generations of Chinese and is the most popular Chinese classic folk novel. The most famous English translation of the novel is by Arthur Waley and entitled Monkey.
- Zhou, Xianshen, "Wu Cheng'en". Encyclopedia of China, 1st ed.