The Scholars Series

This satirical classic offers a penetrating look into the lives of Chinese scholars and officials during the Ming Dynasty. With keen observation and wit, the series exposes the hypocrisy, vanity, and corruption that pervade the bureaucratic and literary world. Through a series of interconnected stories and characters, it explores the pursuit of social status and academic recognition, often with ironic and surprising outcomes. It stands as a timeless work critiquing the decadence and absurdity of chasing power and prestige.

Recommended Reading Order

The Scholars
Wu Jingzi
607 pages
22 hours of reading
A masterpiece from the Ming dynasty, Wu Ching-tzu's The Scholars ranks with Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, and the Water Margin as one of the greatest classic novels of China. The Scholars is the first Chinese novel of its scope not to borrow any characters from history or legend and it is the first work of satiric realism to achieve an almost complete disassociation from the religious beliefs of the people. Departing from the impersonal tradition of Chinese fiction, Wu abandons such established narrative formulas as folk songs and poetic verse in favor of autobiographical experiences, descriptive realism, and characters modeled after his friends and relatives elements that combine to give this critique of the Confucian civil service system an unprecedented immediacy and humor.
The Scholars
Jingzi Wu
692 pages
25 hours of reading
3.9(16)Add rating
One of the great classic Chinese novels, The Scholars departs from the impersonal tradition of Chinese fiction, as the author makes significant use of autobiographical experience and models many characters on friends and relatives.