The author of A Journey to the West has remained a controversy for more than a century,a miracle indeed in the history of
Chinese novels. Studies in this respect have contributed a lot to academic research into the novel.This paper makes a review of the studies on the author of the
100-chapter A Journey to the West and clarifies the key factors in the controversy.It holds that Huai'an Chronicle,related statements in Qianqingtang Books, Huai'an dialect and
owner of Huayang Cave are all factors related to the studies of the author.Only by investigating into the interrelationship between the writing process,statements in the novel itself,the time that the author lives in and the history of literary development can we settle this dispute.Based on 10-odd years of closing reading and research into pertinent documents,the author holds that the conclusion of Wu Cheng'en being the novelist is solid and reasonable,and that it will not become flabby simply because of the doubts of a few Japanese and Chinese scholars.