Project Gutenberg 2007-12-25 Public domain in the USA. 2430 Wu, Jingzi 1701 1754 吳敬梓 Wu, Ching-tzu 儒林外史 Ru Lin Wai Shi Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scholars_(novel) Wikipedia page about this book: https://zh-min-nan.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BB-l%C3%AEm_G%C5%8De-s%C3%BA Produced by Hoi Man Man "儒林外史" by Jingzi Wu is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. The story chronicles the life of Wang Mian, a poor farmer's son who possesses artistic talent, particularly in painting and poetry. It explores themes of scholarly ambition, social aspirations, and the contrast between true merit and the superficial social status associated with wealth and power. The opening of the novel introduces Wang Mian, whose mother struggles to support his education after the death of his father. Despite their hardships, Wang Mian finds joy in his studies and artistic pursuits, creating paintings to sell while tending to a neighbor's cattle. This section sets the stage for Wang Mian's journey as he grapples with societal expectations, the allure of fame and wealth, and his own innate desire for knowledge and artistic expression. As he matures, he demonstrates both brilliance and disdain for the corruption inherent in the pursuit of official status, foreshadowing the challenges he will face in a society obsessed with hierarchy and recognition. (This is an automatically generated summary.) zh Chinese fiction -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912 Scholars -- China -- Fiction China -- Social life and customs -- 1644-1912 -- Fiction PL Text Category: Historical Novels 866116 2025-08-10T05:54:55.543351 text/html 865937 2025-01-10T06:08:14.213805 text/html 410101 2025-08-10T05:55:00.643369 application/epub+zip 364742 2025-08-10T05:54:57.242367 application/epub+zip 364742 2025-08-10T05:54:56.185362 application/epub+zip 821455 2025-08-10T05:55:03.398345 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 698712 2025-08-10T05:55:00.022330 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 782835 2022-09-11T08:08:01.500652 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 853673 2025-08-10T05:54:55.247328 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 853621 2007-12-25T09:59:18 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17739 2025-08-10T05:55:03.536295 application/rdf+xml 7873 2025-08-10T05:54:56.669326 image/jpeg 2374 2025-08-10T05:54:56.423327 image/jpeg 343665 2007-12-25T09:59:22 application/octet-stream application/zip 404119 2025-08-10T05:54:55.602393 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog zh.wikipedia en.wikipedia