Wu Jingzi

Wu Jingzi (吳敬梓) (Quanjiao, Anhui, 1701 - 1754) Chinese writer of the Qing dynasty, author of Indiscreet Chronicle of the Lettermen (Rulin waishi 儒林外史) or simply The Lettermen about the life of literati and officials.

He came from a family of landowners, many of whom had achieved official positions. But he renounced his class and showed himself to be anti-feudal in his novel The Lettered (that is, & # 34; The Mandarins & # 34;), written probably between 1723 and 1735 in Nanjing. He directs his satire against the inhumane feudal morality and then against the examination system. He shows how the only aspiration of those who passed his tests was to climb the official ladder and make a lot of money. In Chapter XXXII, Sang Liaozhai asks Du Shaoqing to lend him money to purchase the rank of lawyer with a salary. When Du Shaoqing asks him what such a rank is for, Zang answers that it is to be an official, to pass sentences against others and to beat whoever he wants. Something similar is shown in chapter XLVII, when the wealthy class of Wuhe goes in procession to the temple, the members of the Yu clans stoop to marching after them to ingratiate themselves with the powerful Fang family.