In a
Buddhist novel
Saiyuki (written 1570 in
China, based on a real travel made in 629 - 645 by
Genjou),
Son Goku is a rascal
monkey in heaven that causes quite a ruckus with his
nyoibou (super extendable stick),
kintoun (a cloud-mobile), and his
mischeviousness. As a punishment,
Buddha places him under a
mountain. Poor
Son Goku is trapped there for years and years to come, until a travelling female Buddhist monk
Sanzouhoushi sees him and frees him with her
magical Buddhist powers.
Sanzouhoushi fixes a non-detachable ring around his head as a safety precaution.
Just in case the monkey misbehaves, a splitting headache will be given as a punishment.
During
Sanzouhoushi's time, it had been a while since anyone brought
Buddhist teachings straight from
India to
China, and the authenticity of rewrites after rewrites of the
Buddhist texts are in question.
Sanzouhoushi is on a mission from
China to travel to India and translate the original
Buddhist scriptures into
Chinese and to bring it back.
Son Goku, along with
Chiyo Hakkai, a
pig, and
Sa Goshou, an evil spirit that lives in the Gobi Desert, are protectors of
Sanzouhoushi from evil spirits that want to prevent her from reaching
Tenjiku (
India).
The three followers of
Sanzouhoushi are former gods in heaven, each of whom were either kicked out of heaven or descended down to Earth on their own will, for either the reasons of
mischief,
carelessness, or
sin.
Son Goku is the main character in the novel. Along with his two tools, some of the super powers he posesses includes
incredible strength, and the ability to make miniature clone fighters of himself from his hair.
Note that the names mentioned here is how it would be pronounced in Japanese, which differs greatly from the
Chinese pronounciations.
In Dragon Ball, a girl named Bulma discovers Son Goku, a boy with a tail. Later, they find a talking pig. There are some similarities here.