Liu Xiao Ling Tong

Zhang reprised his role as Sun Wukong in Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West, a 2010 television series about Wu Cheng'en—the author of Journey to the West—and his inspiration for writing the novel. Zhang also simultaneously portrayed Wu Cheng'en.

Zhang gained international fame for his starring role as the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) in the 1986 television series Journey to the West, adapted from the classic Chinese novel of the same title. Zhang's compelling performance, which was greatly praised by critics, helped him win the Best Actor award at the 6th Golden Eagle Awards in 1988. After that, he also appeared in other films and television series, such as New Year's Day (《过年》 ). On September 27, 2006, he was conferred the Certificate of Mouthpiece of the 3rd International Forum of the China Cultural Industry.

As a dedication to the memory of his elder brother, Zhang put great effort into playing the role of Sun Wukong well. He also helped people affected by leukemia. In 1992, China Central Television produced an eight-episode television series titled Hou Wa (猴娃 ; 'monkey child') about Zhang's life.

His compelling performance in Journey to the West was greatly praised by critics and helped him win the Best Actor award at the sixth Golden Eagle Awards in 1988. On Sept 27, 2006, he was conferred the Certificate of Mouthpiece of the 3rd International Forum of the China Cultural Industry.

Zhang's uncle, who specialized in playing Zhu Bajie, had the stage name "Qi Ling Tong" (七龄童 ; 七齡童 ; Qī Líng Tóng ; 'Seven Year Old Child'). Zhang's elder brother used the stage name "Xiao Liu Ling Tong" (小六龄童 ; 小六齡童 ; Xiǎo Liù Líng Tóng ), which means "Little Six Year Old Child", or "Six Year Old Child, Junior". The role of Sun Wukong was originally offered to Zhang's elder brother, but because his brother died of leukemia in 1966, Zhang inherited his father's legacy instead. He changed his stage name slightly, to "Liu Xiao Ling Tong", which still means "Little Six Year Old Child".

Zhang Jinlai (simplified Chinese: 章金莱 ; traditional Chinese: 章金萊 ; pinyin: Zhāng Jīnlái ; born 12 April 1959), better known by his stage name Liu Xiao Ling Tong (六小龄童 ; 'Little Six Year Old Child'), is a Chinese actor best known for his role as the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) in the 1986 television series Journey to the West (Chinese: 西游记 ; pinyin: Xiyou Ji ) adapted from the classic Chinese novel of the same name. Zhang adopted his father Zhang Zongyi's stage name, Liu Ling Tong, and amended it to Liu Xiao Ling Tong.

Zhang was born on April 12, 1959 in Shanghai, in a family of performing artists. His family members, who are Peking opera actors, specialized in playing the role of the Monkey King (Sun Wukong), the protagonist of the classical novel Journey to the West. Zhang's great-grandfather, Zhang Tingchun (章廷椿 ), was even considered "better than a living Monkey King". Zhang Tingchun mostly performed in the countryside of Zhejiang under the stage name "Huo Hou Zhang" (活猴章 ).