Wu Jingzi

Wu Jingzi (吳敬梓; 1701 – January 11, 1754) was a Chinese scholar, author of the satirical novel Rulin Waishi (The Unofficial History of the World of the Literati), known in English as The Scholars.

Fan Chin feasted his eyes on this announcement; and, after reading it through once to himself, read it once more aloud. Clapping his hands, he laughed and exclaimed, "Ha! Good! I have passed." Then, stepping back, he fell down in a dead faint.

Quotes

• Fan Chin feasted his eyes on this announcement; and, after reading it through once to himself, read it once more aloud. Clapping his hands, he laughed and exclaimed, "Ha! Good! I have passed." Then, stepping back, he fell down in a dead faint. His mother hastily poured some boiled water between his lips, whereupon he recovered consciousness and struggled to his feet. Clapping his hands again, he let out a peal of laughter and shouted, "Aha! I've passed! I've passed!" Laughing wildly he ran outside, giving the heralds and the neighbours the fright of their lives. Not far from the front door he slipped and fell into a pond. When he clambered out, his hair was dishevelled, his hands muddied and his whole body dripping with slime. But nobody could stop him. Still clapping his hands and laughing, he headed straight for the market.
  • The Scholars (c. 1750), Chapter 3 (trans. Gladys Yang)

Quotes about Wu

• Wu Ching-tzu's The Scholars is the first novel in which a writer criticizes social abuses without any personal malice, directing his attack mainly on the literati. The style is warm and humorous, gentle and ironical. This must rank as China's first novel of social satire.
  • Lu Hsun, A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, trans. Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1959), p. 273

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Wu Jingzi on Wikipedia