Wu Jingzi

Wu Jingzi

Wu Jingzi (1701 - December 11, 1754), a writer of Qing Dynasty, was born in Quanjiao, Anhui Province. His ancestral home is Wenzhou, Zhejiang. Because of his family's "wenmu Mountain House", he called himself "wenmu old man" in his later years. He also called himself "Qinhuai guest" because he moved from his hometown to the Bank of Qinhuai River in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. (the existing preface to Lanting written by Wu Jingzi is stamped with the seal of "Quan Jiao Wu Jingzi No. Limin"

Wu Jingzi was born in a gentry family. He was intelligent and good at reciting. In his early years, he lived a luxurious life. He was a student at the beginning of his schooling. Later, he was trapped in the imperial examination, and his family declined. At the beginning of Qianlong's reign, he recommended erudite ci poetry, but he didn't go to the hospital to take care of his illness. He is proficient in selected works, works of poetry and prose, and helps to write poems and Fu. He has written 12 volumes of satirical novels, including scholars' unofficial history, wenmu Shanfang's poetry anthology, and seven volumes of wenmu Shanfang's poetry theory.

(general picture Wu Jingzi's portrait is from the database of Chinese portraits)

Life of the characters

Young talent

In 1701, Wu Jingzi was born in a bureaucratic family in Quanjiao, Anhui Province, where he was known as "the most prominent official in Kedi". His ancestral home is Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Wu Jingzi is the son of Wu Wenyan, and his descendants are Wu Linqi, the eldest grandson of Changfang. Because he was able to inherit more heritages and gain more benefits, Wu Jingzi attracted resentment and criticism from the clansmen, and was involved in the whirlpool of family disputes in his childhood.

After Wu Jingzi was born, Wu Linqi was very strict with his education. He had to study four books and five classics and eight part Arts all day long. In his poem for Minxuan's thirtieth birthday, the scene of "the first time when he was a child, he was a stranger, and when he was a child, he was hoarse and wrote a letter" truly reflects his childhood hard life. Wu Jingzi was very tired of Bagu making, but he loved poems, lyrics and songs that could cultivate his feelings since he was a child, and even learned to make music from others. However, the intellectuals who lived in the imperial examination society could only find a way out by seeking fame through the imperial examination, and Wu Linqi, who was born in the imperial examination family, used it to educate his son. Wu Jingzi, a young man, was constantly instilled by his father, and he also developed the idea of taking the imperial examination as the way out.

When Wu Jingzi was 13 years old, his mother died of illness. All kinds of contradictions in his family hit him again, and Wu Jingzi became depressed and lonely. He often hid in his study alone and read his favorite poems, novels, operas and other books all day. Whether it's a collection of classics and histories or "novels and obscene Ci", he browses it as long as he can get it. Extensive reading broadened his horizons, increased his knowledge and accumulated a lot of materials, which had a great impact on his later creation.

In 1714, Wu Linqi was selected as the county teaching and learning official of Ganyu County in Jiangsu Province. He took Wu Jingzi to Ganyu Institute. Ganyu is located on the seashore. Wu Jingzi often climbs mountains and waters and travels around. In Ganyu, Wu Linqi conducted a systematic imperial examination education for Wu Jingzi. Under the long-term indoctrination and repeated emphasis, Wu Jingzi's aversion to the "knowledge" of four books, five classics and Eight Legged prose was not as strong as in his early years. He laid a solid foundation for writing Eight Legged prose, and thus was praised by people around him.

Around the age of 16 or 7, Wu Jingzi returned to his hometown Quanjiao and married Tao Qinli's second daughter. During the period of staying in Quanjiao after marriage, Wu Jingzi began to browse novels, operas and other works without the discipline of his father. His personality of pursuing freedom developed to a certain extent. Soon after, Wu Jingzi went to Nanjing alone to visit her sick father Wu Wenyan. During that time, she rushed to Chuzhou to take the year-old examination. After the examination, she and other relatives sent her critically ill father back to Quanjiao.

Wu Wenyan died soon after returning to his hometown. Just as the whole family was immersed in grief, the news came that Wu Jingzi had been admitted as a scholar. After Wu Wenyan's death, Wu Jingzi was disgusted by the disputes between his relatives over the inheritance. He left his hometown and returned to Ganyu.

In 1719, when Wu Jingzi was 19 years old, Tao gave birth to his eldest son Wu Zhen. In 1722, Wu Linqi was dismissed from the county school and returned from Ganyu, Jiangsu Province to his hometown of Quanjiao, Anhui Province.

Black sheep

After Wu Linqi resigned, Wu Jingzi accompanied his father back to his hometown from Ganyu, but Wu Linqi finally fell ill. Since then, Wu Jingzi's life has changed fundamentally. First of all, relying on the large number of people, the clan put forward the requirement of family separation, "brothers participate in business, clan denounce". In a civil war for inheritance, Wu Jingzi, who was isolated and helpless, ended up in failure, leaving him little money. After the separation, Wu Jingzi's ailing wife, Tao Shi, also died of hatred because she was unwilling to endure the bullying of her clansmen. His views on life and society also changed.

Wu Linqi, Wu Jingzi's father, left a huge legacy of more than 20000 taels of silver. However, Jingzi "never learned to manage his life, but he was rich in sex", "drank and sang, and was poor day and night", "was open-minded and anxious for his friends", there were "property grabbing changes" among the clansmen, "brothers joined the business, and the clan denounced him", and regarded him as the black sheep of his family, "the village passed on as the children's commandment".

In 1733, he moved to Nanjing with the Ye family of Xuxian. He moved to Qinhuai Water Pavilion in Jinling and lived in the west of baibanqiao on the Bank of Qinhuai River. His family was very poor. From then on, Wu Jingzi settled down in Nanjing. At this time, he was thirty-three years old, penniless, to the point of "three days of rain in baimen, cold stove and no money", but he still refused to take Fu Xuehong's Ci examination, still good at making friends, "four sides of the culture and wine, push for the leader of the alliance.". When the elder complained bitterly to interfere with his freedom, he "crossed his hand to thank the elder, his eyebrows as halberd and his voice as tiger". His "infatuation", "concussion" and "obscurity" remain unchanged throughout his life.

Difficulties in old age

In the first year of Qianlong (1736), Anhui governor Zhao Guolin, Jiangning governor Tang Shilin and Xuetai Zheng Jiangli recommended Wu Jingzi to take part in the imperial examination of erudite Hongci. He refused because he was thirsty, but his cousin Wu Zhen and friend Cheng tingzuo failed.

In his later years, Wu Jingzi lived a hard life. He had to sell articles and help his friends. "He had no money to keep, and his belly was full of thunder." he even exchanged books for rice. Every winter, when the temperature is bitter and cold, I go around the city with my friends at night, singing and whistling, which is called "warm feet".

Wu Jingzi once took refuge in Yang Kai, an official gentry who was dismissed and returned to his hometown in Zhenzhou. Due to his poor life, he wrote a poem in rain: "tomorrow morning he will ask Yang Zi when his wife and children will return rice." he hopes that Yang Kai will help him live.

Drunken death

In 1754, Wu Jingzi went to Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province to visit friends and drink. He recited the poem "longitudinal tour of Huainan" written by Zhang Hu of Tang Dynasty. Friends here are a little surprised to hear Wu Jingzi read this poem. A few days later, on October 28, 1754 (December 11, 1754), Wang you, a poet of the same year, went south from Beijing, stopped in Yangzhou, and went ashore to visit Wu Jingzi. In the evening of that day, Wu Jingzi went to the boat to pay homage again. They talked freely and got to know each other very much. After his return, he was drunk, hot in the ears, phlegm gushing, shortness of breath, and died in an instant. At that time, the only one guarding the bedside was his young son Wu.

Friends living nearby, Jin Zhaoyan and Wang youzeng, came to help with the funeral. However, after checking his luggage, he said, "I'm still left with money for clothes" (crying for Wu Minxuan by Cheng JinFang). There was no way to raise the funeral expenses. Wang youzeng went out to ask Lu Jianzeng, the salt transportation envoy of Huaihe River and Huaihe River, for help. Lu Jianzeng regretfully undertook all the funeral expenses, and Jin Zhaoyan transported his coffin to Nanjing by water and buried it at the foot of the cool mountain in Nanjing.

Main impact

Novel creation

Wu Jingzi's satirical novel the scholars established his outstanding position in the history of Chinese literature. The novel took Wu Jingzi nearly 20 years to complete until he was 49 years old.

Ideological content

The content of scholars is broad and profound, which is shining with the thought of democratic progress. The author mercilessly castigates the decadent nature of the feudal imperial examination system and its harm to the minds of intellectuals with sharp brushwork, portrays a series of pedantic scholars, hypocritical celebrities who are deeply poisoned by the imperial examination, and also portrays the ideal characters. Although it is supposed to be in Ming Dynasty, it is a real picture of life in feudal society.

Wu Jingzi lived through three generations: Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong. At that time, the germination of capitalist relations of production appeared, and the society showed a certain degree of prosperity, but it was only a glimmer of hope for the collapse of China's feudal society, and the superficial prosperity could not cover up the fact that the mansion was about to collapse. During the reign of Yongzheng and Qianlong, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty gradually suppressed the armed uprising. At the same time, they used Daxing literary inquisition, set up erudite and macro Ci as bait, tested eight legged, opened imperial examinations to cage scholars, and advocated Neo Confucianism to deal with intellectuals. Among them, the imperial examination system was the most harmful and influential, which made many intellectuals fall into the trap of pursuing wealth and become ignorant and shameless Philistines. Wu Jingzi saw through the dark politics and decadent social atmosphere, so he opposed the Eight Legged essay and the imperial examination system. He didn't want to take part in the examination of erudite and grand CI. He hated that the scholars were addicted to making arts and were keen on fame and wealth. He reflected these views in his scholars. By means of satire, he deeply exposed and strongly criticized these ugly things, showing his Democratic ideological color.

Scholars is a masterpiece with pioneering significance in the history of Chinese novels. Before it, it had been in Chinese literature

Chinese PinYin : Wu Jing Zi