Introduction to < scholar >

The Scholars is an outstanding realistic satirical novel in the history of China literature.

Mr. Lu Xun evaluated it as "breaking the brocade collection and merging it into one post." Although it is not huge, it varies from time to time. " Feng and Lu Kanru's Outline of the History of China Literature hold that "there is a great alcohol flaw".

Although the story of the book has no backbone, there is one center that runs through it, that is, opposing the poison of the imperial examination system and feudal ethics, and satirizing the extremely hypocritical and bad social habits caused by greed for fame and fortune. Such ideological content was undoubtedly of great practical and educational significance at that time. Coupled with its accurate, vivid and refined vernacular language, vivid characterization, beautiful and delicate scenery description and wonderful irony, it has also achieved great success in art.

At that time, due to the limitations of the times, although the author criticized the dark reality in his book, pinned his ideals on the scholar-officials who were "excellent in character and learning" and preached ancient rites and music, he could not see the way to really change Confucian scholars and society, which should be criticized.

Content introduction

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, in a village in Zhuji County, there was a young man named Wang Mian. Because of his poor family, he has been herding cattle for others since childhood. He is clever, clever and diligent. His lotus flowers are vivid, lifelike, well-read and brilliant. He doesn't want to make friends, let alone pursue fame and fortune. The county magistrate came to inspect and couldn't hide; Zhu Yuanzhang gave him the position of "counselor joining the army", but he didn't accept it. He willingly fled to Kuaiji Mountain and lived an anonymous life.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Mian could not help but sigh that this system of selecting scholars in the form of eight-part essay not only failed to select real talents for the country, but also was the only way for future scholars to gain honor, so they would despise the standards of learning, morality, being an official and success. This is a generation of literati who have suffered bad luck! Wang Mian is a hermit who opposes stereotyped writing and is willing to be poor. However, in the society at that time, there were too few people in Rainbow. During Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, a hundred years after Wang Mian's death, the literati became obsessed with the imperial examination and embarked on a different road.

At the end of Chenghua in Ming Xianzong, there was a teacher named Zhou Jin in Wenshang County, Yanzhou, Shandong Province. In order to get ahead and win glory for the village, he took part in the imperial examinations many times, but over 60 years old, he didn't even get in as a scholar.

One day, he and his brother-in-law came to the provincial capital and walked into Hiram's Hospital. Moved by this scene, he was deeply saddened. He hit the license plate and was unconscious. After being rescued, he rolled on the ground and shouted blood. Several businessmen saw that he was pitiful, so they collected 220 taels of silver and donated a Guo Jian Zi to him. He immediately kowtowed to everyone and said, "I will serve you every week when I become a donkey and a horse!" " "

Before long, Zhou Jin was admitted as Guo Jianzi. In an instant, people who are not relatives also come to recognize relatives, and people who are not friends also come to recognize friends. Even the school where he teaches has a "longevity card" dedicated to "Master Zhou Tai". A few years later, he was elected as a scholar, promoted to the imperial history and assigned to Guangdong to study Taoism. Zhou Jin found Jin Fan in Guangzhou. In order to take care of this 54-year-old boy, he read his paper three times, and finally found it to be the best article in the world, so he turned Fan Enterprising into a scholar. Shortly thereafter, Jin Fan took the exam again and won an award.

At that time, Jin Fan was given a cold shoulder at home because his situation was similar to that of Zhou Jin. His wife called him and his father-in-law scolded him in every way. When Jin Fan's family was worried about selling chickens for rice, there was a happy news that Jin Fan had been recovered from the collection. After learning the good news, he was ecstatic. Fortunately, his father-in-law slapped him in the face before waking him up and curing his madness. In the blink of an eye, Jin Fan's luck changed. He not only has money, rice and a house, but also slaves and maids. Jin Fan's mother was breathless with joy and died in the West. Butcher Hu is also uncharacteristic, saying everywhere that he has long known that his son-in-law is satellites, and he will not be as respectful as ordinary people. Later, Jin Fan went to Beijing to visit Zhou Jin, was recommended by Zhou Jin, won the Jinshi, and was appointed as the Shandong Jinshi. Although Jin Fan developed eight-part essay, he only knew four books and five classics. When people mentioned Su Shi, a writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, they thought he was a scholar in the Ming Dynasty and made a big joke.

The imperial examination system not only trained a group of mediocre talents, but also trained a group of officials and corrupt officials. Xu was appointed as the magistrate of Nanchang. The first thing he did after taking office was not to ask about the local public security, people's livelihood and the public opinion of the case, but to ask about the local people's feelings, and to know what local specialties there are and where various cases can be accommodated. Then customized a No.1 library, handed over all six rooms in the yamen, asked about the profits of various errands, and asked everyone to transfer the money back to the government. From then on, the sound of castanets, abacus and boards was heard all day in the yamen. Chiefs and people were beaten out of their wits one by one, shivering in their sleep. And his own creed is "three years to clear the magistrate, 100 thousand snowflakes and silver." When the imperial court inspected his achievements, it was agreed that he was "the first able man in Jiangxi".

Gaoyao County ordered Tang Feng to strictly enforce the laws and regulations of the imperial court to show incorruptibility. The imperial court explicitly forbids the killing of cattle. Don't ask why, Tang Feng flogged the father of the Hui teacher who was engaged in beef business to death, and the masses were filled with indignation, and gongs and drums were loud. After the incident. The inspector didn't punish Tang Feng, but asked the victims of the Hui people on the charge of "raping the government and investigating its responsibility according to law". Such a "clean" magistrate of a county actually found 8,200 pieces of silver in one year.

Officials corrupt and pervert the law. Under the stereotyped imperial examination, local tyrants and evil gentry also run amok. Juren Zhang Jingzhai is a bully in the South China Sea. He communicated with the government by surprise. In order to occupy the temple, he instigated seven or eight hooligans and framed the monk for adultery with women, which made the monk inexplicably sued.

Yan, the supervisor of Gaoyao County, is a rich man, who regards money as everything and is rich. He is too ill to eat, bedridden and dying. He is still obsessed with harvesting early rice in the fields and sending the servants of Guanzhuang to the countryside. He is not at ease, but he is just impatient. He is stingy by nature, and his family is full of rice, cattle and horses, but he is reluctant to buy a catty of pork at ordinary times. When he died, he refused to give up his life because he lit an extra lamp.

His brother Gong Sheng is strict and loyal, and he is a villain who runs amok in the village. He fenced his neighbor Wang Xiaoer's pig, and when others came to beg, he attacked and broke the legs of the Wang Xiaoer brothers. He blackmailed people everywhere, not lending money to others, but forcing them to pay interest; He described the cloud cake as a valuable medicine, threatened the boatman and lost a few dollars. After Yan Jian's death, as a brother, he forced his sister-in-law to adopt the second son as his son, seeking to seize his brother's property, and claimed that this was "birthright and propriety, but we squire families can't make mistakes in these gifts."

The imperial examination system created a number of social moths and poisoned the whole society. There is a farmer's son named Kuang Renchao in Yueqing County, Wenzhou. He is simple and honest. In order to support his parents, he went out to do small business and lived in Hangzhou. Later, I met Mr. Ma Er who chose to print eight-part essay. Mr. Ma Er gave him twelve taels of silver and advised him to study hard. After returning home, Kuang Chaoren studied eight-part essay while doing small business. Soon, he was appreciated by Li, the magistrate, and was promoted to Jinshi. In order to pursue higher fame and fortune, he worked harder to write eight-part essay. Unexpectedly, something happened to the magistrate of a county. In order to avoid being tied up, he fled to Hangzhou. Here, he met Jing Lanjiang, the owner of the headscarf shop posing as a celebrity, and Pan, a clerk in the yamen, and learned the skill of taking exams and litigating on behalf of others. Because of Mr. Ma Er, he became a "writer" of eight-part essay, boasting that 95 copies of eight-part essay were printed, and everyone rushed to buy it. Scholars and families in the five provinces have presented "the sacred status of Confucianism and Kuang Zi" on the case.

Soon, Li Ping, the magistrate who had promoted him, was promoted to Beijing official, and Superman Kuang followed him to Beijing. In order to please the powerful, he abandoned his wife and children and became the teacher's nephew and son-in-law. His wife died in poverty in her hometown. At this time, Pan, who had helped him, went to prison. For fear of affecting his reputation and future, Kuang Chaoren broke off his relationship with Pan and refused to even look at it. As for Mr. Ma Er, who once helped him, instead of repaying his kindness, he slandered and laughed at him and completely degenerated into the devil who sold his soul.

The imperial examination system not only deprived people, but also was an accomplice of feudal ethics. Wang Yuhui is a poor scholar in Huizhou government. He is over 60 years old. He takes the imperial examination every year, but he still insists on moral standards. His third son-in-law died, and his daughter wanted to be martyred, but his in-laws refused. Instead, he advised his in-laws to let his daughter die. He said to his daughter, "Son, since you are like this, this is a matter of going down in history. Should I stop you? " Do it. "Eight days later, his daughter, dressed in white mourning, died of hunger strike. He smiled and said, "Good death! Good death! "But after the incident, when his daughter's spirit tablet was sent to the martyr's shrine for public sacrifice, he suddenly felt sad. When he came home to see his wife's grief, he really couldn't bear to go out for fun. Along the way, he observed a moment of silence for his daughter. When he arrived in Huqiu, Suzhou, he saw a young woman in white on board, but suddenly he remembered his daughter who was martyred in mourning. His heart choked and tears rolled down.

These ethos formed during the Ming Chenghua period intensified during the Wanli period. The examination room stands out from the crowd and is considered outstanding; Anyone who is frustrated in the examination room, such as Li Bai, Du Fu's literary talent, Yan Yuan and Zeng Shen, is regarded as stupid and incompetent. Large families talk about promoting to a higher position and making a fortune, while poor Confucian scholars learn to flatter. Confucian scholars degenerate and society is more corrupt. It seems that if you want to find a "strange man" who is not affected by stereotyped writing in the imperial examination, you can only put aside the scholars and look at ordinary people.

There are really some strange people in the middle of that street.

One can write. This man's surname is Ji, which is a distant year. He has been homeless and unemployed since he was a child, and has been living in these monasteries. His calligraphy is the best, but he refuses to learn ancient calligraphy. He just created his own style and wrote with a pen. He has a perverse personality, but mortals want him to write. He wants to fast for a day and grind ink for himself. If he doesn't want to, he will be unhappy. If he doesn't want to, let your princes and ministers give him a lot of money, and he won't even look at it. He was unkempt again, wearing a thin straight pleat and looking at a pair of worn-out sandals. I write every day, take other people's money, eat at home, give him the rest, and give it to the poor I don't know. One snowy day, his rotten shoes trampled mud all over his friend's house, and his friend asked him to change his shoes. He said I can't sit in your house in these shoes? I sat in your house, I flattered you once, and he saw a box of fine fragrant ink in the monk's room. Whether people want to write or not, they use it to write. When a powerful squire asked him to write, he vowed, "I don't want your money, your power or your light." How dare you let me write! "

Another company sells tin foil spools. This man's surname is Wang and his name is Tai. He likes playing Go best since he was a child. He has no livelihood, and sells fire paper tubes around Hujufu every day.

On that day, Miao Yi Temple will do something. Mrs. Wang will come in and meet three or four senior officials around two people playing chess there. Everyone looked down on him at first, but just after half a game with Mrs. Wang, they were about to throw in the towel. Everyone was frightened and would take Mrs. Wang to drink. Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "This is as happy as killing chess! I have killed chess, and I am very happy. I cannot eat or drink there! " Say that finish, he smiled and left without looking back.

There are still hermits who are indifferent to fame and fortune like them in the market, but in the eyes of those dignitaries, pursuing fame and profit is the right way.

Zhang Hui catalogue

The Scholars was originally published only 55 times. According to Cheng Jinfang's "Poems for Feeling", it can be proved that Wu wrote the manuscript at the age of 49, but it was not until more than ten years after the author died that Jin carved it for him. This print has been lost today. At present, there are 56 engravings, and the last one was forged by later generations.

It is the first time to say that Dayi Chen borrowed celebrities to collect the full text.

The second time, Wang Xiaolian's knowledge in the village was the same as that of Teacher Zhou Meng.

The third time, Zhou Xuedao's scholar pulled out a real butcher Hu and made great achievements.

The fourth time, I recommended that the monk died in Zhai Qi's lawsuit, and the squire suffered a sudden misfortune.

The fifth time, Wang Xiucai proposed that Yan Jian, a wing, fell ill and died.

The sixth time the squire fell ill, the boatman's widow wronged her uncle.

The seventh time, Fan Xuedao regarded the friendship between Master Xueji and Mr. Wang as a foreign country.

The eighth time, Wang observed that the poor met the poor in Lou Gongzi's hometown.

The ninth time, Lou Gongzi donated money to redeem his friend Liu Shoubei and pretended to be a boatman.

The tenth time, Lu Hanlin piteously chose a rich husband, Peng Gongsun, to marry.

The eleventh time, it was difficult for teacher Lu to get justice. The groom, Yang Sixun, recommended the saint to the court.

The twelfth time, the banquet of celebrities, Yingying's belly, and the meeting of chivalrous people in vain.

The 13th time, the husband sought wisdom and help in Ma Chun.

The fourteenth time, Chi Gongsun Bookstore sent his good friend Ma Xiucai to the cave to meet a fairy.

Immortal Ma Xiucai was buried for fifteen years, and his parents were mourned as filial piety.

The sixteenth time, the filial son of Liu Zhuang, a sage near Yueqing County.

On the 17th anniversary, Kuang Xiucai revisited his old place, and Dr. Zhao stood high in the poetry circle.

/kloc-On 0/8, celebrities from the poetry club took Kuang Er to visit Pan San, a friend's bookstore.

The nineteenth time, Superman Kuang was lucky to have a good friend Pan and suffered a disaster.

The twentieth time, Kuang was very happy that Niu Buyi died in Wuhu Pass on Chang 'an Road.

The twenty-first time, with the surname of teenagers seeking fame, missing their loved ones. The old man is ill.

Article 22 Recognize the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren and the friendship between Zong Ai and Xue Zhai.

The twenty-third time, the private poet sighed at the old scene and the widow found her husband.

Niu Pulan was involved in many lawsuits for the 24th time, and Bao Wenqing cleaned up his old job.

The 25th package met old Ni Tingxi in Nanjing and got married in Anqing.

After the twenty-sixth review, I cried, and Bao Tingxi lost his father and married.

Twenty-seven times, Mrs. Wang turned against her husband and met the Ni brothers.

Chapter 28 Xiao Yangzhou's son-in-law Xiao Bai's book selection

On the 29th time, Zhuge You met his friends Du and Naji in the General.

I love Shao Jun for the thirtieth time, visiting friends. God is optimistic and romantic, and it will be Mochou Lake.

On the 31st trip back to Tianchang County, I visited the hero and gave it to a drunken friend in the bookstore.

The last sentence of Du Shao Qing when he lived in a quiet place.

Back to the 33rd time, Mr. and Mrs. Du swam to Red Hengshan to discuss the ceremony with friends.

Discussion on visiting friends, preparing bows and competing for the right to recruit at the 34th celebrity meeting.

Back to the thirty-fifth, the son of heaven asked Zhuang to resign and return to China.

Thirty-sixth time, a famous scholar in Taibo Temple, the birthplace of true Confucianism in Changshu County.

Go back to 37 th to worship the sage Nanjing and send the dutiful son to West Shu to find his relatives.

Thirty-eight times Guo Xiaozi met a tiger, a manna monk and a narrow road of revenge in the mountains.

Back to the 39th Xiaoyunxian rescued Mingyueling Pingshaobao and opened Qingfeng City.

The 40th time Xiao Yunxian was enjoying the snow in Guangwu Mountain, and Shen Qiongzhi helped sell things on the bridge.

Forty-first back to the river, talk about the past, Qinhuai River, Shen Qiongzhi escorted Jiangdu County.

Forty-two times, Ziqinglou said that the family members of the imperial examination hall reported the information in the scenic area.

Back to the 43rd session, General Yeyangtang fought with the leader of the song and dance area to grab the camp.

On the 44th trip back to Tang Zong Town, he returned to his hometown of Yu Ming and asked about the funeral after drinking.

Forty-five times, the brothers of the friendship generation received a training in ethics and went home to bury their loved ones.

Chapter 46 Farewell of Sanshanmen Sage Wuhe County snobbery

In the forty-seventh session, Yu Xiucai rebuilt the filial piety temple of salt merchants in Wuying Pavilion.

The forty-eighth time I returned to Taibai Temple, a martyr in Huizhou Prefecture, I felt old-fashioned.

Back to the 49 th Hanlin talk about books, dragons and tigers, taking the Phoenix Pool.

Back to the fiftieth fake officials make a fool of themselves in the street. It is true that they are loyal to seeking fame for their friends.

The fifty-first time, the young woman cheated, and the romantic man was willing to try the official punishment.

The childe who is 52 times higher than martial arts is injured and ruined the hall to collect debts.

Fifty-third Back to the Dream of Snuff Staying in the Guest Room of Fanatical Mansion on a Snowy Night

Back to the fifty-fourth sick beauty brothel fortune-telling fool celebrity prostitute hall to give poems

Back to the fifty-fifth day, add four guests to explain and play a song of high mountains and flowing water.

Back to the fifty-sixth, Emperor Zong wrote a letter to Liu Jingxian's ministers and ordered sacrifices.

Wu and The Scholars

Wu's life can be divided into two parts. In the early stage, like Xiao Shan, he drifted away from the "normal" life track with an emotional lifestyle. "When I was a teenager, I painted a boat in Qingxi Jiuqu. I once remembered to swim and smell ... I spent a lot of money that night, so I didn't care about the price." ("Buy a Limb Pond") "The Wangs have a head cover, geisha know spring songs and drinks, and the whiteboard goes to the west. Only when they win will they know these songs. "(Minus Magnolia) Wu is not really addicted to love like a hill, but flaunts one more.

An unacceptable attitude towards life. You don't swim for the sake of swimming, but you experience freedom in swimming. Hu Shi said that Wu Jiaye was defeated in Qinhuai, but I think it was "sediment throwing a gold, bearing a burden" deliberately. Only when we lose our property and get rid of the shackles of the clan can we enter literary creation with a pure mentality.

"I didn't know that owls were apprentices in the East." ! Wu Jingbang, 33, was penniless. When he moved to Nanjing, he was already regarded as the "black sheep". After three days of rain, the stove was cold and there was no money, he still refused to take Fu's Ci exam. When the "old man's bitter words" interfered with his freedom, he "crossed his hands and thanked the old man, with an eyebrow like a tiger." [45] His "stupidity", "ignorance" and "concealment" remain unchanged throughout his life. How similar he is to Xiao Yan!

Wang Mian is regarded as a "celebrity" in The Scholars. The reason why he has such great ability is that he is an "aboveboard" person and an "interesting" person. Wang Mian is both a childlike cowboy and a talented freak. He painted lotus flowers, "the spirit and color of lotus flowers are very similar", because he himself is a lotus flower that emerges from the mud but is not stained. "When the flowers are beautiful, I ride a cow to my mother's car. He is wearing a top hat, a wide coat, a persistent whip and singing in his mouth. He played around in rural towns and lakes, causing people in rural areas to laugh with him in droves, and he didn't pay attention. " How spontaneous and naive this is! Faced with the threat of "killing a magistrate", Wang Mian would rather live on the streets than bow his head. He is far away from the hut and breeds the whole world. He revealed the essence of the official position: "This method is not good! In the future, scholars will be honored and despise the source of that article. "

In the novel, Feng Si's father seems to have a calcium dobesilate capsule, but it is actually a key. According to textual research, the prototype of Feng Si's father is the chivalrous Gan Fengchi. [46] At that time, Li Jue, the governor of Zhejiang Province, described Gan Fengchi in his memorial: "Investigating this generation of gangsters, false letters, sensational, I really hate it, and it is difficult to let the fish slip through the net." There are no more people who think about the good things in Jiangsu and Zhejiang than the criminals such as Gan Fengchi who are now arrested. "For such a traitor, Wu Jingbang sincerely praised:" The imperial court severely punished the secret network, and many literati bowed their knees when they saw it. You little people regard it as dirt, respectable! "

The Scholars ends with the story of four strange people. When "Nanjing's celebrities have gradually sold out", the strange man appeared in the middle of the road. The season when I can write meets the year, "but I refuse to learn ancient calligraphy, just create my own style and write with a pen." "If he doesn't want to, let your princes send him a lot of money, and he doesn't even look at it." He met Shi's face and scolded him: "What kind of person are you? Dare to ask me to write! I am not greedy for your money, your power or your light. Don't you dare let me write words to express my independent personality and high spirit. Wu regards "Four Musts" as a first-class figure who "reminisces about the past and thinks about the future". Konglin is a mess, but Jingcheng has a shining personality. Wu has quietly changed a brand-new value standard. Why can you maintain the independence of personality and the freedom of mind in the street?

Yuan Jing is a tailor, who can play the piano, write and like to write poems. A friend asked him, "If you want to be an elegant person, why do you want to work in your expensive business?" Why is it different from people in some schools? "He said," I don't want to be an elegant person, just want to be similar in temperament, so I often learn. "As for our cheap business, it was left by my grandfather. Don't you defile yourself by reading and writing as a tailor? Besides, those friends at school have other knowledge and don't want to get along with us! Now I find sixty or seventy cents of silver every day. It's up to me to play the piano and write when I'm full. Do not covet the wealth of others, do not serve their faces; If the sky doesn't accept it and the earth doesn't care, it will be happy. This sentence is really groundbreaking. Wu realized that behind personality independence is economic independence. In the Confucian forest covered by the power network, there are only vassals like climbing vines and independents like Yan Yuansong. Street people run a profession despised by literati, but they gain real economic independence in this profession. What do you mean, "everything is up to me"! Scholars dare not say such big things even if they climb to the highest position like Zaifu. Wu broke through the traditional moral judgment and revealed the economic basis of "strange man". No one realized this before.

Wang Mian appeared at the beginning, four grandfathers appeared in the middle and four strange people appeared at the end, which was carefully arranged by the author. They are ordinary people who have no social status and are outside the ruling order. Their simplicity, enthusiasm and indifference are in sharp contrast with the ugly Confucian scholars and officialdom. As Hu Shi said in "Comment on Wu", "Being an official is the only way for an autocratic monarch to be trapped. There is only one way to resist this vicious cage: to advocate a new social psychology and let people know the ugliness of the industry and the ugliness of officials; People think that' people' are more valuable than' officials', and character is more valuable than wealth. If we cultivate this kind of psychology in society, we will not be afraid of the emperor's diabolical means of "doing nothing for the official". "The scholar's intention is only to develop this kind of social psychology."

However, this kind of social psychology is difficult to cultivate after all. Wu, the upright black sheep in Embedded Battery, is lonely, and so are the strange people in his works. Yuan Jing plays the piano for his bosom friend. "After playing for a while, he suddenly changed the emblem. It was so sad that the old man couldn't help crying when he heard it in the depths." Readers read here, hiding their own ideas, afraid that they will "cry"!

Hu shi's comments on wu jingzi.

Among China's classical novels, only two books were promised as "great" by Lu Xun, one of which was Wu's The Scholars. The Scholars is about the literati class. In ancient China, the so-called scholar-officials were the world of intellectuals and officialdom. This is a book that criticizes intellectuals, and it can also be said that it is a book that exposes the dullness of officialdom. In this way, it is really necessary to reread The Scholars in contemporary China.

Author Wu (A.D.1701-1754) grew up in a big family of "famous families" in Quanjiao County, Anhui Province on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Great-grandfather and grandfather were both successful in their official careers. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a period of "family wealth" for 50 years. But his own grandfather was not well-known among his peers and died young; Since he was a child, he has had an heir to his eldest son, Wu, who is his adoptive father. Wu was only a county magistrate for a few years, but later he lost his post because he offended his boss and died of depression. Wu lost his mother at the age of 13 and his father at the age of 23. He is neither keen on fame and wealth, nor despises money. He is extravagant and generous. In a few years, the property left by the previous generation was squandered by him, so that "Tianlu sold out", "slaves fled and servants scattered" and "the village handed down descendants as a warning" ("Word Magnolia Geng Xu, New Year's Eve Guest"), coupled with the failure of the examination room, was very exciting. "Must be temporary eyebrows? "After returning to my hometown, I moved to Nanjing in the eleventh year of Yongzheng because of the unbearable cold reception. From this time until his death in Yangzhou at the age of 54, he mainly made a living by selling articles and giving alms to friends. It was also during this period that he completed his masterpiece The Scholars.

Wu has been living in a noble social environment since childhood, but the family he grew up in has been declining, and suddenly fell into poverty after middle age. In the process of his family's decline from "gradual" to "sudden", he lived in his hometown Quanjiao County, Ganyu County in northern Jiangsu (where his father worked) and Nanjing, and traveled to Yangzhou, Anqing and Wuhu. Judging from several generations of clan relations and his own interpersonal relationship, he contacted a wide range of literati classes and got to know and know many people. The faces he saw, the warmth and coldness he received, the people he experienced and the world he experienced were extremely rich and profound. This cultivated his keen sense of justice and sober mind to observe reality, and made him see through the depravity and shamelessness of the literati class under the dark rule of the Qing Dynasty, the ugliness of politics and the corruption of society. It is this life experience that has become the direct source of Wu's serious realistic spirit.

Scholars mercilessly lashed and criticized the literati class with tears. Mr. Lu Xun once said that "The Scholars" "advocates that public interests are above everything else and criticizes current disadvantages. The direction in front of the plane, especially the stone forest; His writing is both harmonious and harmonious, and more ironic. " By exposing all kinds of absurd phenomena that are inharmonious and contrary to human common sense, we can inject boasting, boasting, self-cleverness, self-defeating, deceiving the world, pretending to be lofty and self-contradictory, etc. As Nikolai Gogol said, "Our liars, our monsters! ..... Let everyone have a good laugh! Laughter is really great. It doesn't take away life or land, but in front of it, you will bow your head and confess, like a tied rabbit. "

The satirical art of The Scholars has a distinct purpose, that is, "the author's original intention is to wake up the world, not to scold it." Although the author tries his best to be sarcastic, he wants to save the satirized group. As the saying goes, "Good people feel the kindness of others; Evil, punish and create people's ambitions. " The author depicts the tragic fate of many literati under stereotyped writing system with compassion, and then unfolds a picture of social customs in the feudal imperial examination era, attacking the decay of the system and the darkness of society, making The Scholars a sacred work in China's classical satirical novels.

The Scholars has always been rated as a masterpiece of classical realism, that is, realistic works, in which many stories and characters come directly from life. Mr. Lu Xun once said in A Brief History of Chinese Novels: "Most of the characters in The Scholars are real people, and their names are implied by homonyms of pictographs and argot words." "The Scholars" is good at using the brushwork of "spreading the autumn", that is, "the mouth is open and the heart is praised and criticized". The author's point of view is not directly imposed on readers, but on the shaping of specific images. The winning bid of Harmony, the transformation of Kuang Superman, Du's heroic act and Mr. Ma's pedantry all show profound and rich thoughts through specific plots. The author didn't praise or criticize us directly, but every image is full of great power and conveys the author's distinct view of justice. We must understand and recognize it from the correlation and development of various images in different periods and occasions. This is a realistic narrative style.

Another artistic feature of this book is the sketches and silhouettes of characters. The Scholars is a novel with a changing protagonist, or a novel composed of countless short stories. Through the detailed description of the life experience of the characters, in the tortuous story, the character characteristics and spiritual world of the characters can hardly be expressed. Therefore, Wu focused on the most dazzling human characteristics, thus showing a relatively static life in depth and detail. It's like intercepting a fragment from the long history of character development, and then turning it around in front of people, magnifying the "this one" here and now. This is an excellent way to sketch satirize the characters, which makes the colors of the characters bright and clear, and the plot flows quickly, as if the face of the characters was sketched 10%, and the story will come to an end, and it is these exquisite plots that leave a deep impression on the readers.