Wú Chéng’ēn 吳承恩 (ca. 1500–1582; Kanripo catalog romanization: 呉承恩, following the Japanese kanji convention), zì Rǔzhōng 汝忠, hào Shèyáng Shānrén 射陽山人, of Huái’ān 淮安 (Jiāngsū). Conventionally attributed author of the canonical novel KR4k0074 Xīyóu Jì 西遊記 (Journey to the West), though the attribution is scholarly convention rather than secure historical fact. No CBDB entry for this person has been located; the lifedates (ca. 1500–1582) are approximate and derived from the Huái’ān prefectural gazetteer and biographical notes.
The attribution of the Xīyóu Jì to Wú Chéng’ēn rests chiefly on an entry in the Huáiān fǔzhì 淮安府志 (Tianqi reign) mentioning him as the author of a “xīyóu jì.” Wú reportedly served as a local magistrate’s subordinate but never achieved higher office. Glen Dudbridge (The Hsi-yu chi, CUP 1970) has examined the textual antecedents of the novel without resolving the attribution question. Wilkinson (§31.2.1) describes it as a “conventional” attribution with approximate dates of ca. 1500–1582.
Note on romanization: The Kanripo catalog uses the character 呉 (simplified/alternate form) rather than 吳 (standard). Both refer to the same person; this note uses 呉承恩 as the filename to match the Kanripo catalog entry.