  We study the $bar{d} - \bar{u}$ asymmetry of the proton in a model approach
in which hadronic fluctuations of the nucleon are generated through gluon
splitting and recombination mechanisms. Within this framework, it is shown that
the \ud asymmetry of the proton is consistently described by including only
nucleon fluctuations to $|\pi N>$ and $|\pi \Delta>$ bound states. Predictions
of the model closely agree with the recent experimental data of the E866/NuSea
Collaboration.
