Wu Ching-tzu, or Wu Ching-tse, pinyin 'Wu Jingzi', was a Chinese writer born in 1701 in Quanjiao (Ch'uan-chiao) County in eastern Anhui (Anhwei) Provence. He died on 12 December 1754 in Yangzhou (Yang-Chou) in Jiangsu (Chiang-su) Province. Wu Ching-tzu, or Wu Ching-tse, pinyin Wu Jingzi, was a Chinese writer born in 1701 in Quanjiao (Chuan-chiao) County in eastern Anhui (Anhwei) Provence. ... Wu Ching-tzu, or Wu Ching-tse, pinyin Wu Jingzi, was a Chinese writer born in 1701 in Quanjiao (Chuan-chiao) County in eastern Anhui (Anhwei) Provence. ... Pinyin (Chinese: 拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard... Events January 18 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia. ... Anhui (Chinese: 安徽; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: An-hui; Postal System Pinyin: Ngan-hui, Anhwei or An-hwei) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Yangzhou (Simplified Chinese: 扬州; Traditional Chinese: 揚州; pinyin: ) is a city in Jiangsu province, China. ... Jiangsu (Simplified Chinese: 江苏; Traditional Chinese: 江蘇; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ...

Wu was born into a well-to-do family (his father was a Qing Official), but met no success himself. He attempted the Imperial Civil Exam, but placed only at the county level. Poverty stricken by the age of 32, he moved to Nanjing (Nanking), where he met and acquainted himself with many government officials/scholars. Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Nan-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Nanking), is the capital of Chinas Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. ...

While in Nanjing, in 1740, he started his famous novel Ru Lin Wai Shih, which literally means "The Unofficial History of Officialdom"; English translation of the novel was published under the title The Scholars. It was the first Chinese satyrical novel. He completed it in 1750. The novel is now considered Wu's claim to fame. It is a fictitious account of corrupt and hypocritical scholars among the Qing government. While criticising hollow scholars, the novel also praises genuine scholarship. The novel is available in English translation by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang. Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... Events March 2 - Small earthquake in London, England April 4 - Small earthquake in Warrington, England August 23 - Small earthquake in Spalding, England September 30 - Small earthquake in Northampton, England November 16 – Westminster Bridge officially opened Jonas Hanway is the first Englishman to use an umbrella James Gray reveals her sex...

There is a museum in his honor located in his hometown of Quanjiao.

References

• Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Wu Ching-tzu"

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