The Journey to the West was a famous novelist in Ming Dynasty and one of the ancient Four Great Classical Novels in China.
Wu Cheng'en was born in a family where a small official was reduced to a small businessman. His father, Wu Rui, is optimistic and open-minded, pursuing the philosophy of happiness. He was made a loyal minister, hoping that he could study as an official, inherit the kindness of the emperor and be a loyal minister in history.
When Wu Cheng'en was a child, he was eager to learn and read and recite quickly. When he was a teenager, he was already famous in his hometown. In addition to being studious, he especially likes to search for anecdotes and read books such as immortals, ghosts, foxes and monkeys. For example, unofficial history's novels, such as Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio and Miscellanies of Youyang, have developed a hobby of curiosity in this colorful mythical world, which has a great influence on his The Journey to the West creation.
Wu Cheng'en, who entered his youth, is a wild and arrogant young man. Low social status, poverty and hardship made this great genius wild and uninhibited, which attracted a flood of laughter. Gone are the days when he was praised by others.
When Wu Cheng'en was about twenty years old, she married a girl from her hometown named Ye. After marriage, she had deep feelings. Although Wu Cheng'en was bohemian, she was virtuous and faithful to her wife.
In the ten years of Jiajing, Wu Cheng'en achieved excellent results in the annual examination and scientific research, obtained the qualification of Jinshi, and went to Nanjing to take the provincial examination with friends. However, his talent is not as good as his companion's. He, a famous genius in a village, fell into Sun Shan.
The following spring, his father passed away with regret. Wu Cheng'en accepted the lesson of his first failure and studied hard for the next three years, but he still failed in the exam in the autumn of Jiajing 13th year. Wu Cheng'en felt ashamed and resentful, and fell ill this winter.
The defeat of two provincial examinations, coupled with the death of his father, was a heavy blow to Wu Cheng'en. In his view, it is not only unreasonable to fail the jury in the exam, but also a shame for parents and grandparents. However, he didn't think that he didn't have the ability to pass the exam, but he was just unlucky. He believes that "fame and fortune have their own lives, and it is stupid to have them?"
The hardships of life have brought Wu Cheng'en no less pressure than the failure of scientific research. After his father died, he needed to manage all the expenses at home, but he was unable to support his family, let alone the means to support it. The source of family life, in addition to getting back six dou of rice from the university every month, can only eat the legacy left by my father.
Wu Cheng'en, who had tasted the ups and downs of social life, began to think more clearly and deeply about the problems of social life, and used his own poems to fight against unreasonable society.
Wu Cheng'en, who was poor all his life, made every effort to complete the famous The Journey to the West at home and abroad, and passed away in the ten years of Wanli.
Although he never succeeded in his life, he and his The Journey to the West have achieved a glorious and lofty position in the history of China studies, which will shine forever.