A gun tarihin adabi na kasar Sin, an sami shahararrun littattafan zamanin da ke da shekaru aru aru na kasar guda hudu, su ne littattafan da ake kira "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" da " Dream Of Red Mansions" da "Pilgrimage to the west" da "Heroes of the Marshes". Wadannan littattafai hudu na zamanin aru aru na kasar Sin sun yi zurfaffen tasiri ga kasar Sin da duk duniya. Daga cikinsu, tatsuniyoyin da aka rubuta a cikin littafin "Pilgrimage to the west" an yada su sosai a tsakanin jama'ar kasar Sin. Mawallafinsa shi ne Wu Cheng'en.

An haifi Wu Cheng'en a daular Ming ta karni na 16 a wani gidan karamin dan kasuwa da ke birnin Huai'an na lardin Jiangsu. Tun da lokacin da yake karami, ya nuna hazikanci, kuma yana da sha'awa sosai kan fannoni da yawa, ya kware wajen nuna fasahohi a fannoni da yawa. Ya saba da yin rubuce-rubuce, kuma ya yi kishin wallafa wakoki da kide-kide, har ma ya kware wajen yin wasan dala, yana da sha'awa wajen tattara da kuma tanada takardun rubuce-rubuce da zane-zane da shahararrun mutane suka yi. Tun daga lokacin yarantakarsa , ya kan samun yabo daga wajen mutane bisa kwarewarsa a fannin adabi. Amma ba sau daya ba sau biyu ba Wu Cheng'en ya taba shiga jarrabawar da aka yi domin neman damar samun mukamin jami'in gwamnati, amma ya yi ta yi bai samu nasara ba bisa sanadiyar halin da ake ciki na yin almbazalunci a gwamnati, saboda haka ya kasance cikin mawuyacin hali , ya yi fama da talauci sosai, halin nan ya sa shi boye karfin yin adawa da rashin adalcin zamantakewar al'umma a cikin zuciyarsa. Sai Wu Cheng'en ya maido da irin karfi na nuna fushi sosai da neman cim ma buri mai kyau wajen wallafa kagaggen littafi mai suna "Pilgrimage to the west".