Luo Guanzhong was an outstanding classical novelist in China at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty. He pushed the style of Italian novels to a mature stage. Later, many scholars and writers spoke highly of him and compared him with Ma and Guan Hanqing. His great achievements in literary creation have become a valuable asset in the treasure house of China literature and world literature. The well-known Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by him is not only a household name in China, but also translated into the languages of more than ten countries, which is popular all over the world and deeply loved by people all over the world. Abroad, his Romance of the Three Kingdoms is called "a masterpiece rich in people's nature", while the Encyclopedia Britannica calls him "the first master of art".
Nai'an Shi
Automatic book addiction
Outside the gate of Suzhou, there is a family named Shi in Shijiaxiang, North of Huaixu Bridge, which is a descendant of Shi Zhichang, one of the seventy-two disciples of Confucius. The father who spread this branch to Shi Naian was the14th generation. In the second year of Yuan Chengzong Yuan Zhen (AD 1296), another man was added to the family. An old scholar named the baby Yan Duan, which means that the child must be a clever genius when he grows up. The strict passage in this infant is Shi Naian, who later wrote the historical masterpiece Water Margin. When Shi Naian was seven years old, his family was poor and he couldn't go to school. But he is smart and eager to learn, often borrows books, asks his neighbors to teach him, and sometimes goes to the university to audit. In this way, he read many books, such as "The University", "The Analects of Confucius" and "Poetry Ceremony". /kloc-at the age of 0/3, he can answer questions in public and write beautifully.
Once, an old neighbor died of illness. Please ask Ji Xiucai, who teaches in a private school in Xushuguan, to write a eulogy. Ji Xiucai failed to arrive in time, so others suggested Yan Duan try. Nai 'an, in high spirits, wanted to show his talents and didn't give in. He came over and waved. Later, Ji Xiucai read this naive and brilliant eulogy and praised it greatly. Offered to take Shi Naian to Hushuguan for free study. Later, he betrothed his daughter to Shi Naian.
Shi Naian studies hard at the Hushu Pavilion. He is not only familiar with the contention of a hundred schools of thought, but also browses various books. At that time, The Legacy of Xuanhe in the Great Song Dynasty told stories such as "Classical outsmarted Yan Poxi", "Sung River was killed" and "Yang Zhi sold knives", which aroused Shi Naian's interest. He often read after school. I also dance knives and sticks with friends and practice martial arts. At that time, Suzhou City often rap some scripts and zaju, such as Stalagmite Plum, Green-faced Beast, Flower Monk, Warrior, Fighting Fish in Tongleyuan by Yan Qing, and Negative Jing by jy. Shi Naian sometimes amuses himself and admires these "heroic heroes" and "lofty heroes".
Abandoned official monograph
In the spring of the second year of Shun (A.D. 133 1), 36-year-old Shi Naian went to Beijing to take the exam. According to God's will, Qiu Wei won the championship in one fell swoop, and Nai 'an won the gold medal in the Wei Xin list. After the list was published, he met Liu Ji (blog post), a native of Qingtian, Zhejiang Province, and he also got the same list among his teachers and friends. They often chat together and get along well. Soon, the court sent to Qiantang as the county Yin. However, after only two years, he resigned angrily because he didn't want to be ignorant of the powerful.
Shi Naian returned from Qiantang, abandoned his official position and started his apprenticeship at Shijiaqiao in the southeast corner of Suzhou City. Four towns and eight neighbors have joined this department. One day, a businessman took a boy 14 years old to visit Shi Naian. The businessman surnamed Luo is from Taiyuan, Shanxi. He often goes to Suzhou and Hangzhou on business. He had heard about Shi Naian, and this time he took his son Luo Guanzhong to learn from his teacher. Shi Naian saw Guan Zhongsheng's fine features and elegant speech, and he liked it very much.
When winter went and spring came, Shi Naian felt that he was interested in saving the people, but he had nowhere to display his talents. One day, he passed by the bookstore and saw many yuan people's calligraphy. One of them is Zhang Shuye Catching Thieves, which tells the story of 108 people including Song Jiang and Liang Shanbo. He bought it at a high price. I'm going to use this as a clue to mix other water margin stories and write a biography of Jianghu hawkers.
At this time, the father and wife's Jishi passed away one after another, and the remarried wife's surname was Shen. The Shen family is very rich and a cultured family. It is very supportive of Shi Naian's writing books. It specially spent a sum of money, and asked the painter to copy 36 portraits according to Gong Kai's "Song Jiang Thirty-six Zan" at the end of the Song Dynasty, so that Shi Naian could hang them at home for reference. With the support of his family, Shi Naian stopped teaching as a student, leaving only his favorite student, Luo Guanzhong, to help him sort out the manuscript.
Later, Shi Naian went abroad to study and went to Xu Qi's house in Zhutang, Jiangyin. After Liu Bowen became Zhu Yuanzhang's military adviser, he found that Shi Naian lived in seclusion in Zhutang and quickly recommended it to Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang sent Liu Bowen to invite him. Shi Naian had to avoid it and return to his home in Shijiaxiang, Nagato, Suzhou. This is the first time that Zhu Yuanzhang sent someone to find Shi Naian.