Wu Cheng'en (about 1500-1582), male, whose name is Ruzhong, is from Sheyang Mountain. Han nationality, from Shanyang County, Huai 'an Prefecture (now Huai 'an District, Huai 'an City, Jiangsu Province). My ancestral home was in Gaodian, Tongcheng, Anhui Province, and my ancestors lived in Gaodian, Tongcheng, so I called it Gaodian Wu.
The Journey to the West, an outstanding novelist in China in Ming Dynasty, is one of the four classical novels of China. Since childhood, Minhui has read widely and especially likes fairy tales. After repeated setbacks in the imperial examination, he made up the examination and gave tribute to students in Jiajing. In the forty-five years of Jiajing (1566), he was appointed as the director of Changxing County, Zhejiang Province. Due to the difficult official career, I never wanted to be an official in my later years and wrote behind closed doors.
In 2004, the government of Chuzhou District, Huai 'an City, Jiangsu Province decided to build a memorial hall for Wu Cheng'en in the teahouse on the mountain and a stone statue at the entrance of the mountain to commemorate him.
Brief introduction of characters' lives:
1500 (13th year of Ming Hongzhi) Wu Cheng'en was born in Shanyang County, Huai 'an.
Fall into the merchant's house. His father, Wu Rui, is optimistic and open-minded, pursuing the philosophy of happiness. He was named Cheng En, which means that he hopes to be an official, be grateful to the emperor and be a loyal minister in history. Wu Cheng'en was smart since he was a child. He liked to read wild stories and strange novels, read biographies written by Niu, Duan Kegu and other Tang people, and was good at writing things and feelings. He writes a book about it every time, which is well-known in Huaishang and appreciated by officials, celebrities and squires. Zhu thought he could read all the books in the world, and half of them were separated by the history of paintings hidden at home.
From 65438 to 0529 (the eighth year of Jiajing), Wu Cheng'en went to the Longxi Academy founded by Ge Mu, the magistrate of Huai 'an, and was appreciated by Ge Mu.
1550 In the 29th year of Jiajing, Wu Cheng'en was only about 50 years old, and he got a one-year-old tribute student. He went to Beijing to wait for an official position, but he was not selected.
155 1 year (the 30th year of Jiajing), Wu Cheng'en took over as the magistrate of Xinye County. Moral deeds such as building courts, respecting classics, increasing Confucianism, praising chastity, and building water conservancy projects.
1556 (thirty-five years of Jiajing), because my mother's hometown was poor, she went to Changxing, Zhejiang Province to be a county magistrate, often drinking with her good friend Zhu Hao, enjoying poetry and wine, and having contacts with Xu Zhonghang, a scholar and poet of Jiajing.
1558 (thirty-seven years of Jiajing), who was falsely accused of running away from home. In his later years, he made a living by selling literature. He went to Hangzhou at the age of 67 and lived for about 82 years. He died in poverty in his later years.
Wu Cheng'en likes reading unofficial history and strange novels, likes biographies written by Niu Zhang Qi, Duan Kegu and other Tang people, and is good at writing stories and feelings. Every time he wants to write a book about it, he is praised by the government, celebrities and squires. Huai 'an County Records contains his sensitivity and wisdom. He has a rich collection of books and writes many poems. I like to read books such as ghosts and lemurs, such as novels such as Records of Hundreds of Strange Tales, Miscellanies of Youyang or unofficial history.
When Wu Cheng'en was a child, he was eager to learn and read and recite quickly. He is good at painting, calligraphy, lyrics and music, and he is also proficient in Go. He also likes to collect calligraphy and paintings of celebrities. As a teenager, he was famous in his hometown for his outstanding literary talent and was appreciated by people.
His frustration in officialdom and the hardships of life deepened his understanding of the feudal imperial examination system and the dark social reality, prompting him to express his inner dissatisfaction and resentment in the form of strange novels. He said to himself: although my title is intellectual monster, I don't know ghosts, but I actually remember the variation of human beings, and I have a lesson. Wu Cheng'en also wrote a collection of short stories such as Yu, but it has been lost, and only a brief introduction can be seen.
Wu Cheng'en is good at painting and calligraphy. However, the imperial examination was unfavorable, and it was not until middle age that he entered the tribute. At the age of 60, he became Changxing County Cheng, but left home because of disagreement with the chief executive. Later, he hired Jing Wang Fu Ji Shan.
The Records of Huai 'an County contains his sensitivity and wisdom, extensive reading and poetry creation. However, his scientific research was unfavorable, and he didn't make up for the old tribute students until middle age, then lived in Nanjing, and subsidized his family by selling literature for a long time. In his later years, due to his poor family, he became a county magistrate in Changxing. Because he didn't like the darkness of officialdom, he quickly resigned angrily and died of poverty. After the age of 30, the anecdotes he searched have been stored in his chest, and he has plans to create them.
At the age of 50, I wrote about the first ten times of The Journey to the West, and then I was interrupted for many years. It was not until he resigned in his later years and returned to his hometown that he was able to formally create The Journey to the West.