吴敬梓

Wu Jingzi (1701–1754) was born into a wealthy scholar-official family in Quanjiao, Anhui. After failing to secure a high degree in the imperial examinations, he squandered his inheritance and moved to Nanjing, where he lived in poverty. His masterpiece, The Scholars (儒林外史), written in the 1740s, is a satirical novel that exposes the moral decay and absurdities of the examination system and the Confucian elite. Unlike earlier episodic novels, it uses a loose, interlocking structure that influenced later Chinese fiction. Wu died in 1754, leaving behind a work that, though not widely recognized in his lifetime, became a classic of Chinese literature, admired for its sharp wit and realistic character portrayal. His legacy endures as a critical voice against bureaucratic corruption and social pretension.