S

Here, descriptive passages are recorded in parallel prose and integrated within the text. The sophisticated characterisation in this novel distinguishes it from earlier narrative novels where dramatic action often overshadows characterisation. There are some two hundred characters in the novel, many of them portrayed with impressive subtlety. It is often considerd to be a landmark in Chinese fiction as the first full-length fictional satire based on idealistic Confucianism and is also noted for its written style which is closer to the vernacular language. Set in the Ming dynasty, Rulin waishi is a series of tenuously linked stories spanning the period 1487 to 1595. The novel begins with an account of the famous artist-recluse Wang Mian of the Yuan dynasty, an exemplar of moral standards, against whom the later scholars, Du Shaoqing and his friends, are measured. It is clear that scholars who commit themselves to gaining wealth and social position never achieve the self-cultivation required of a true Confucian and thus descend into inhumanity and ignorance. The poignancy of this novel also lies in the fact that it fully reflected the social realities of the time (as well as Wu’s own life ), such as the obsessive dedication of Chinese scholars to passing the imperial examinations, the sterile learning that this produced and the incompetence and corruption of the official class. W U Jingzi. The Scholars, trans. Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang. Introd. C .T. Hsia (Columbia University Press, 1992); Paul ROPP, D issent in Early M odern China: Ju-lin waishih [The Scholars] and C h’ing Social C riticism (University of Michigan Press, 1981).