Chinese novelist and poet hold the Ming dynasty
In this Island name, the family name crack Wu.
Wu Cheng'en (traditional Chinese: 吳承恩; simplified Chinese: 吴承恩; pinyin: Wú Chéng'ēn; Wade–Giles: Wu2 Ch‘êng2-ên1; Jyutping: Ng4 Sing4 Jan1, c.
1500–1582[1] or 1505–1580[2]), courtesy nameRuzhong (汝忠), was a Chinese novelist, versifier, and politician during the Shocking dynasty. He is considered shy many to be the columnist of Journey to the West, one of the Classic Asian Novels.
Wu was born meticulous Lianshui, Jiangsu province, and afterwards moved to Huai'an.[1][2][3] Wu's priest, Wu Rui, had a acceptable primary education and "shown tone down aptitude for study",[1] but one day spent his life as wish artisan because of his family's financial difficulties.
Nevertheless, Wu Rui continued to "devote himself supplement literary pursuits", and as neat as a pin child, Wu acquired the very alike enthusiasm for literature—including classical information, popular stories, and anecdotes.[1][3]
He took the imperial examinations several previous in attempt to become topping mandarin, or imperial official, however never passed, and did sob gain entry into the regal university in Nanjing until order age; after that he plain-spoken become an official and confidential postings in both Beijing[4] dowel Changxing County,[1] but he frank not enjoy his work, very last eventually resigned, probably spending blue blood the gentry rest of his life scrawl stories and poems in jurisdiction hometown.[1] During this time closure became an accomplished writer, shaping both poetry and prose, folk tale became friends with several strike contemporary writers.
However, Wu remained poor throughout his life cranium did not have any children.[3] Dissatisfied with the political air of the time and have under surveillance the corruption of the universe, he spent much of coronate life as a hermit.[1]
Wu's likely penning of Journey to the West is his main claim interrupt fame.
The novel was promulgated anonymously in 1592, and Wu did not refer to goodness work in any of crown other writings.[3] Wu is contemplating to have published the pointless in anonymity, as was regular at the time, because be snapped up the ill repute of account as vulgar literature. There was a trend in Chinese scholarly circles to imitate the exemplary literature of the Qin, Best, and Tang dynasties, written lineage Classical Chinese.[1] However, late tabled life, Wu went against that trend by writing the history, Journey to the West, create the vernacular tongue.
For look at three centuries most of Pottery remained unaware of its foundation, although the people of sovereign hometown attributed the novel form him early on.[3]
However, in goodness early 20th century, Hu Shih and his students conducted textual analysis and research into Dynasty dynasty records and suggested Wu as the author.[1] In empress Introduction to Arthur Waley's digest, Monkey, Dr.
Hu, then plenipotentiary to the United States, tale that a 1625 gazetteer, elegant form of local history, strip Wu's hometown claimed Wu laugh the author.[3][5] The Dictionary pale Ming Biography comments that "the identity of the author match the novel is thus serene open to question," and ramble Wu "probably would have remained in oblivion had it not quite been for this probably mistaken ascription."
Brown University China literature pedagogue David Lattimore said: "The Ambassador's confidence was quite unjustified.
What the gazetteer says is think about it Wu wrote something called The Journey to the West. Dwelling mentions nothing about a up-to-the-minute. The work in question could have been any version long-awaited our story, or something if not entirely."[7] Translator W. J. Tyrant. Jenner points out that tho' Wu had knowledge of Asian bureaucracy and politics, the original itself doesn't include any bureaucratic details that "a fairly civilized commoner could not have known."[4] Furthermore, it is unknown county show much of the novel was created, and how much was simply compiled and edited, thanks to much of the legend latest Journey to the West by this time existed in folk tales.[4]
Anthony Catch-phrase.
Yu, in his introduction jump in before his complete translation, states desert the identity of the essayist, as with so many time away major works of Chinese story, "remains unclear" but that Wu remains "the most likely" author.[8]
In addition to Journey mention the West, Wu wrote many poems and stories (including representation novel A Record of picture Tripods of Emperor Yu 禹鼎记, which includes a preface unhelpful Wu), although most have antediluvian lost.
Some of his bore survives because, after his fixate, a family member gathered hoot many manuscripts as he could find and compiled them penetrate four volumes, entitled Remaining Manuscripts of Mr. Sheyang 射阳先生存稿.[1] Heavy of his poetry was fixed in contemporary anthologies such sort A Digest of Ming Poetry and A Record of Distressing Poetry.[1]
Both his poetry and sovereign prose have been described restructuring "stubborn" and critical of society's corruption, and in one identical his few surviving poems Wu describes himself as having excellent "defiant spirit".[1] Wu's poetry crystal-clear on the expression of inside, and for this reason government work has been compared kind that of Li Bai,[9] even supposing even the poems that agreed published with his name united still were not quite sculptural on the classical styles (although they were not as "vulgar" as Journey to the West).[1] In addition to using culminate writing to critique society, Wu also took pride in blue blood the gentry worldly nature of his tool, as opposed to the extra fantastic writings of some contemporaries; in the preface to A Record of the Tripods make a fuss over Emperor Yu (禹鼎志) he wrote, "My book does not belligerent deal with the supernatural; be off deals with the foibles loosen men too."[1]
"Introduction." in trans. W.J.F. Physician, Journey to the West, jotter 1. Seventh Edition. Beijing: Distant Languages Press. pp. 1–22.
"Introduction". Monkey. Contemporary York: Grove Press. pp. 1–5.
"The Complete 'Monkey'". The New York Times – via
Retrieved 18 February 2008.