"The Scholars" is a full-length novel (also called a chapter novel) written by Wu Jingzi in the Qing Dynasty. There are fifty-six chapters in the book (some people think that the last chapter was not written by Wu), with about 400,000 words, describing nearly 200 characters. The novel pretends to be clear, but actually describes the fame and life of scholars under the imperial examination system during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods. Brief description of the work "The Scholars" is an outstanding realist satirical novel in the Qing Dynasty of my country. It was written around the same time when the author was 50 years old, and it took Wu Jingzi 20 years. It mainly describes the activities and mental outlook of intellectuals, officials and gentry in the late feudal society. Mr. Lu Xun rated it as "like a collection of scraps of brocade, combined into a post, although it is not huge, but sometimes rare." The "Compendium of the History of Chinese Literature" co-authored by Feng Yuanjun and Lu Kanru regarded it as "big and small flaws". Of course, due to the limitations of the times, although the author criticizes the dark reality in the book, he pins his ideals on scholar-bureaucrats who are "excellent in character and learning" and promotes ancient rituals and music, without seeing a real way out to change the Confucian community and society. , which should be criticized. According to Cheng Jinfang's "Poems of Remembering People", it can be proved that Wu Jingzi had already completed the manuscript when he was 49 years old ("Chun Sail Collection" contains more than a dozen "Poems of Remembering People", one of which is noted: "Quanjiao Wu Jingzi's courtesy name is Minxuan." The whole poem The last four sentences say: "The scholars in foreign history chronicle the story of He Gongyan! I feel so sad for this person that I use barnyard grass to tell the story."), but it was not until more than ten years after the author's death that Jin Zhaoyan published it for him. This engraving has now been lost. The current version of the book has 56 chapters, the last of which is a forgery by later generations. Although there is no main storyline in the whole book, there is a central theme running through it, which is to reflect the poison of the imperial examination system and feudal ethics, and to satirize the extreme hypocrisy and bad social customs caused by the passion for fame and wealth. Such ideological content undoubtedly had great practical and educational significance at the time. Coupled with its accurate, vivid and concise vernacular language, lifelike character creation, beautiful and delicate description of scenery, and excellent satirical techniques, it has also achieved great success in art. The 56 chapters of "The Scholars" are connected by many vivid stories, which are all based on real people and real events. The central content of the book is to criticize the rigid examination system and the serious social problems caused by it. "The Scholars" is a model of ancient satirical literature in my country. Wu Jingzi's successful portrait of feudal literati living in the last days of feudalism and the imperial examination system The shaping, as well as the vivid description of cannibalistic imperial examinations, etiquette and events, made him one of the outstanding writers of critical realism in the history of Chinese literature. "The Scholars" not only directly influenced modern condemnation novels, but also deeply inspired modern satirical literature. Now, "The Scholars" has been translated into English, French, German, Russian, Japanese and other languages, and has become a worldwide literary masterpiece. Some foreign scholars believe that this is a work that satirizes pedantry and nonsense, but it can be called a model of the least quotable and most poetic prose narrative in the world. Introduction to the content: In the last years of the Chenghua reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty, there was a teacher named Zhou Jin in Wenshang County, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. In order to stand out and honor his hometown, he took the imperial examinations many times. However, he was over 60 years old and was not even admitted as a scholar. superior. One day, he and his brother-in-law came to the provincial capital and walked into the Gongyuan. He was so moved by the scene that he was so sad that he hit his head on the board and fell unconscious. After being rescued, he rolled on the ground and cried so much that blood flowed from his mouth. Several businessmen saw that he was very pitiful, so they collected two hundred taels of silver and donated a prison student for him. He immediately kowtowed to everyone and said, "I, Zhou Jin, turned into a donkey and turned into a horse, so I have to repay the favor!" Soon, Zhou Jin passed the exam with his qualifications as a supervisor. In an instant, people who were not relatives came to recognize him as relatives, and people who were not friends came to recognize him as friends. Even the school where he taught actually enshrined the "immortality tablet" of "Mr. Zhou". A few years later, he won the Jinshi again, was promoted to the imperial censor, and was assigned to study Taoism in Guangdong. In Guangzhou, Zhou Jin discovered Fan Jin. In order to take care of this 54-year-old boy, he read Fan Jin's paper three times and finally found that it was the best article in the world, word for word, so he promoted Fan Jin to a scholar. Soon after, Fan Jin took the exam again and won the imperial examination. At that time, because Fan Jin was in a similar situation to Zhou Jin, he was looked down upon at home. His wife yelled at him, and his father-in-law scolded him in every possible way. When Fan Jin's family was worrying about being unable to open the pot and waiting for the chicken to be exchanged for rice, the good news came that Fan Jin had passed the examination. Fan Jin was found from the market. After learning the good news, he went crazy with joy. Fortunately, his father-in-law Hu Tutu slapped him awake and cured him of his madness. In the blink of an eye, Fan Jin's fortune changed. He not only had money, rice, and children, but also servants and maids. Fan Jin's mother was so happy that she couldn't breathe and died. Butcher Hu was also uncharacteristically saying that he had known for a long time that his son-in-law was a descendant of Wenquxing and would not be like ordinary people. He was even more respectful to Fan Jin. Later, Fan entered the capital to meet Zhou Jin. He was recommended by Zhou Jin and won the Jinshi Scholarship, and was appointed as the Shandong Scholar. Although Fan Jin became prosperous with his eight-part essay, he was only familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics. When others mentioned Su Shi, the literary giant of the Northern Song Dynasty, he thought he was a scholar from the Ming Dynasty, which made a huge joke. The imperial examination system not only cultivated a group of mediocre people, but also fostered a group of corrupt officials.

Jinshi Wang Hui was appointed as the prefect of Nanchang. The first thing he did when he took office was not to inquire about the local security, the people's livelihood, or the grievances of the case, but to inquire about local people and learn about local specialties. Where can I be accommodated? Then I ordered a number of treasurers, passed all the six secretaries in the yamen together, asked about the remaining profits of each errand, and asked everyone to return the money to the public. From then on, the yamen was filled with the sound of clasps, abacuses, and boards all day long. The government servants and the common people were all beaten to the point of losing their wits, and they were all shaking in their sleep. But his personal creed is "Three years to clear the prefecture, and one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver." When the imperial court inspected his political achievements, they unanimously believed that he was "the most capable person in Jiangxi." Tang Feng, the magistrate of Gaoyao County, strictly enforced various imperial decrees in order to show that he was clean and honest in government. The imperial court had a ban on killing farm cattle. Tang Feng, without asking the reason, actually shackled an old beef businessman to death. The crowd was filled with indignation and the gong was sounded. After the incident. Not only did the Ancha Division not punish Tang Feng, but he charged the victim with "a traitor who held the government hostage and punished him according to the law." Such an "incorruptible" magistrate actually plundered eight thousand taels of silver in one year. Officials were corrupt and perverted the law, and under the Eight-Part Examination system, local tyrants and evil gentry also ran amok. Zhang Jingzhai, who was born in Juren, was a tyrant in the South China Sea. He colluded with the government and took advantage of others. In order to seize the temple's property, he instigated seven or eight gangsters to falsely accuse the monk of adultery with a woman, so that the monk was in court without any explanation. Yan Zhihe, a prison student in Gaoyao County, is a wealthy man who regards money as everything and has a huge fortune. He was so sick that he couldn't eat enough, was bedridden, and was dying. He still kept thinking about harvesting early rice in the fields, and sent the servants in charge of the village to the countryside. He was worried and just impatient. He was stingy by nature. His rice barn was rotten and there were many cattle and horses in his house. However, he could not bear to part with a pound of pork in normal times. When he was dying, he refused to die because there was an extra lantern in the lamp. His elder brother Gongsheng Yan Zhizhong was even more of a villain running rampant in the countryside. He forced his neighbor Wang Xiaoer's pig into a pen, and when others came to take it away, he committed murder and broke Wang Xiaoer's brother's legs. He went around blackmailing people, not lending money to others, but forcing them to pay interest; he threatened the boatman by pretending that the cloud cake was a valuable medicine, and wasted a few cents on the ship's money. After Yan Jiansheng's death, as his elder brother, he forced his sister-in-law to adopt his second son as his son, and attempted to seize his brother's property. He also claimed that this was "a rightful title, but in our country gentry family, these great gifts are not allowed to go wrong." . The imperial examination system created a group of social worms and poisoned the entire society. In Yueqing County, Wenzhou Prefecture, there was a farmer named Kuang Chaoren. He was originally simple and honest. In order to support his parents, he went out to study as a child and lived in Hangzhou. Later, I met Mr. Ma Er, who selected and printed eight-legged essays. Mr. Ma Er gave him ten taels of silver and encouraged him to study and make progress. After Kuang Chaoren returned home, he studied hard at reading eight-part essay while doing his homework. Soon he was appreciated by Li Zhixian and was promoted to be a scholar. In order to pursue higher fame and fortune, he worked harder to learn and write eight-legged essays. Unexpectedly, something happened to the county magistrate. To avoid being implicated, he fled to Hangzhou. Here, he met Jing Lanjiang, the owner of a scarf shop who pretended to be a celebrity, and Pan Sanye, an official in the government office, and learned the "skill" of taking exams on behalf of others and handling lawsuits. And because of Mr. Ma Er's relationship, he became the "selector" of eight-part essays, and boasted that he had printed 95 anthologies of eight-part essays. Everyone was vying to buy them, and every student in the five provinces had them on his desk. "The divine position of the late Confucian Kuangzi". Soon, the Li Zhixian who had promoted him was vindicated and promoted to a capital official. Kuang Chaoren also followed him to the capital. In order to curry favor with the powerful, he abandoned his wife and son to become his mentor's nephew and son-in-law. He died in poverty in his hometown. At this time, Master Pan, who had helped him, was imprisoned. Kuang Chaoren was afraid of affecting his reputation and future, so he cut off relations with Master Pan and refused to even take a look. Not only was he ungrateful to Mr. Ma Er who had helped him, he also slandered and ridiculed him, completely degenerating into a beast in disguise. The imperial examination system not only corrupted people, but was also an accomplice of feudal ethics. Wang Yuhui, a poor scholar in Huizhou Prefecture who was over sixty years old, failed in the imperial examinations every year, but he always abided by the etiquette and education. His third son-in-law died, and his daughter wanted to sacrifice her husband, but her parents-in-law refused. Instead, he persuaded his in-laws to let their daughter die. Then he said to his daughter: "My son, since you are like this, this is something that will leave your name in history. How can I stop you? Just do this." Eight days later, his daughter, wearing white clothes to observe filial piety, died on a hunger strike. He looked up to the sky and laughed and said: "Good death! Good death!" But after the incident, when his daughter's spiritual tablet was sent to the Martyrs' Shrine for public sacrifice, he suddenly felt sad. When he returned home and saw his old wife grieving, he felt unhappy and left home to relax. Along the way, he mourned for his daughter and was in a panic. When he arrived at Huqiu, Suzhou, he saw a young woman wearing white on the boat. He suddenly thought of his daughter who died wearing mourning clothes, and he choked up in his heart, and tears rolled down his face. All these trends that have been formed since the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty have intensified during the Wanli period. Those who succeed in the examination are considered to be outstanding; those who fail in the examination will be regarded as stupid and incompetent, regardless of their literary talents such as Li Bai or Du Fu or the conduct of Yan Yuan or Zeng Shen. Rich people talk about getting promoted and making a fortune, while poor and humble Confucian students talk about flattery and flattery. The scholars have degenerated, and the society has become even worse. It seems that if we want to find "strange people" who are not affected by the imperial examination stereotypes, we can only put aside the scholars and look at the common people. A few strange people really appeared in the middle of Zhijing. One can write. This man's surname is Ji and his given name is Ya Nian. He has been homeless since he was a child and has always found a home in these temples.

He has the best calligraphy, but he refuses to learn from the ancients' calligraphy. He just creates his own style and writes freely. He has a perverse personality, but if a mortal asks him to write, he will fast for a day and polish it himself. He will not be happy until he is willing. If he doesn't want to, you can let him be a prince, general or prime minister and give him a lot of money, but he won't even look at it. He was unkempt, wearing a tattered straight jacket and a pair of tattered slippers. After writing every day, I got someone else's pen money, and I ate my own meals. I didn't want the remaining money. I just gave it to anyone I didn't know. One day when it was snowing heavily, his rotten shoes stepped on the mud at his friend's house. His friend asked him to change his shoes, but he actually said that I can't sit in your house with these shoes? I'm sitting in your house, and I still think I'm flattering you. Once, he saw a box of fine fragrant ink placed in the monk's room. He would just take it and write regardless of whether he wanted to write. When a powerful squire asked him to write, he actually yelled, "I'm not greedy." You have money, I don’t admire your power, and I don’t want to lend you your light. How dare you ask me to write!” The other one is from a fire paper tube. This man's surname is Wang and Tai. He has loved playing Go since he was a child. He had no way to make a living, so he went to the Hujufu area every day to live in fire paper tubes. That day, there was a meeting at Miaoyi Temple. Wang Tai walked in and saw three or four senior officials, surrounded by two people playing chess. Everyone looked down upon him at first, but as soon as they and Mrs. Wang played half a game, they had to admit defeat. Everyone was shocked and wanted to drag Mrs. Wang to drink. Mrs. Wang laughed and said: "Where in the world is there such a happy thing as killing Yaqi! I killed Yaqi, and I felt so happy. There was even food and wine!" After saying that, she burst out laughing without looking back. Just went. There are many hermits like them in the well who are indifferent to fame and wealth, but in the eyes of those high-ranking officials, pursuing fame and wealth is the right way. About the author Wu Jingzi (~ years), courtesy name Minxuan, was born in Limin. In his later years, he was from Wenlinshan (the existing handwritten "Lanting Xu" written by Wu Jingzi is stamped with: "Quanjiao Wu Jingzi Limin Seal"), novelist of the Qing Dynasty, Han nationality, Anhui Quanjiao people. Wu Jingzi was born in the 40th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty and died in the 19th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign at the age of fifty-four (54 years in his life, 23 years in Quanjiao, 10 years in Ganyu, and 21 years in Nanjing). I have been interested in novels since I was a child and am good at memorizing them. A little longer, supplementary officer students. You Jing's "Selected Works" was completed. If you are not good at managing your life and have a heroic nature, you will squander all your old products within a few years, and sometimes you may run out of food. In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng (AD 1735), the governor of Zhao State refused to go to the imperial examination in response to the "Bo Xue Hong Ci". . He moved to Jinling and became the leader of the literary world. They also gathered comrades to build two sages at the foot of Yuhua Mountain and worshiped 230 people under Taibo. With insufficient funds, he sold his house to make a living, which helped his family become poorer. In his later years, Zi Wenmu, an old man, visited Yangzhou and indulged in drinking. Later he died among the guests. Jingzi committed the most evil deeds in his life, and spent 20 years of hard work to write fifty-five chapters of "The Scholars" (one volume contains fifty-six chapters, and another volume contains sixty chapters, both of which are not original). This book is humorous and hilarious to read. There are also seven volumes of "Shi Shuo", five volumes of "Wen Mu Shan Collection", seven volumes of poetry, and "A Brief History of Chinese Novels" which have been handed down to the world. Because his family had "Wenmu Mountain", he called himself "Old Man Wenmu" in his later years. Because he moved from his hometown Quanjiao, Anhui Province to the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, he was also called "Qinhuai Yuke". He came from a well-known official family. He received a good education as a child and showed a special talent for literary creation. When he reached adulthood, he followed his father to serve as an official in various places and had the opportunity to gain a lot of experience, including officialdom. Wu Jingzi created a large number of poems, prose and historical research works throughout his life, including "Wenmushan Poetry and Essays" in twelve volumes, four of which are now in existence. However, it was his satirical novel "The Scholars" that established his outstanding status in the history of Chinese literature. This novel took him nearly 20 years and was not completed until he was 49 years old. People built the "Wu Jingzi Memorial Hall" in his hometown; the "Wu Jingzi Former Residence" was also built at Taoyedu on the Qinhuai River in Nanjing. Wu Jingzi's family can be said to be a gentry family with a prosperous history. When Wu Jingzi was 22 years old, his father Wu Linqi passed away. Many people recently coveted the inheritance. Wu Jingzi was the heir, which gave them an opportunity to take advantage of. As a result, what Wu Jingzi said in "Yijia Fu" happened: "Brothers participate in business, and the clan There have even been incidents of relatives breaking into homes and seizing property. This incident not only shocked Wu Jingzi, it also made him see clearly the ugly nature of family ethics in feudal society, and the hypocrisy of those well-dressed gentry characters, making him part ways with those vulgar characters who rely on their ancestral property and family status to become parasites. As a rebel of the gentry class, he first squandered his inheritance. At the age of 29, he failed in the provincial examination and failed in the provincial examination. Before the age of 30, all the land and property were consumed. At the age of 33, he moved to Nanjing and began his literary career. At the age of 36, he was recommended to take the Erxue Hongci Examination, but he only participated in the provincial preliminaries. He resigned due to illness and was willing to live a life of poverty. He died in Yangzhou at the age of 54.