Wu Cheng'en was an outstanding novelist in Ming Dynasty in China. He was born in poverty, from a scholar to a businessman. Wu Cheng'en was brilliant since childhood, and Huai 'an County Records recorded that he was "sensitive, wise and knowledgeable, which made him a writer."
However, his scientific examination was unfavorable, and he didn't make up for the "year-old tribute student" until middle age, and then he lived in Nanjing for a long time and subsidized his family by selling literature. 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. There are some controversies about the author of The Journey to the West, but it is generally believed that the author is Wu Cheng'en.
Extended information 1529 (Jiajing eight years), Wu Cheng'en went to Longxi Academy founded by Ge Mu, the magistrate of Huai 'an, and was appreciated by Ge Mu. 1550 (the 29th year of Jiajing), Wu Cheng'en was admitted as a one-year-old tribute student at the age of 44. 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. 1553 (thirty-two years of Jiajing) traveled around Xinhua (Gumeishan) in Hunan, selling articles and writing books for a living.
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 (the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing) was falsely accused and ran 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 76 years. He died in poverty in his later years.
Wu Cheng'en likes reading unofficial history and strange novels, and is appreciated by the government, celebrities and squires. The Records of Huai 'an County shows that he is "sensitive and wise, writes poems with extensive reading" and likes to read books such as Ghost Lemurs, for example, novels such as Records of Hundreds of Monsters, 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.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Wu Cheng'en