Although Wu Cheng'en's life was full of ups and downs, his work The Journey to the West, which took seven years to complete, was widely circulated in later generations and became one of the classic Four Great Classical Novels. However, there are not many portraits of this outstanding novelist in the Ming Dynasty, but more vivid works and characters created by the world on the screen to commemorate him.
Wu Cheng'en's ancient portrait
Judging from one of the most widely circulated ancient portraits of Wu Cheng'en, his image is wearing a hat, with eyebrows slightly raised on both sides, eyes slightly open, a low nose, tight lips and a moustache on his chin. His face doesn't give people a sense of seriousness and formality like that of ordinary people. On the contrary, his expression is calm, his eyes are gentle, and he reveals a sense of wisdom and indifference. Combined with his experience, it seems that people can see his ordinary but great life through the portrait. He can be said to be a failure in life and officialdom. The hardships he experienced in life and the corruption in the imperial examination made him feel the darkness of society, so he had to be full of disappointment in real life. But his achievements in novels are undoubtedly enormous. The birth of The Journey to the West had a far-reaching impact on the development of novel culture at that time and even later generations.
In order to commemorate him, a TV series named Wu Chengen and Journey to the West was broadcast in 21, in which six-year-old children played Wu Cheng'en and interpreted his life, which made the audience know more about the story and experience of the man who wrote about The Journey to the West. Since then, when it comes to Wu Cheng'en, it doesn't stop at simple portraits of ancient people, but his image is more vivid and full in front of the public. Wu Cheng'en's famous saying
Wu Cheng'en was a famous novelist in Ming Dynasty. Although he showed his intelligence and talent since childhood, the reason why he was finally known to the public was a mythical novel The Journey to the West. In addition to the impressive story, this novel promoted the vigorous development of ancient novels, and many famous sayings left by the author in the book were also remembered by the world. Among them, "all kinds of demons are born in the heart, and all kinds of demons are destroyed in the heart" is a classic saying full of profound meaning and philosophical significance.
The mind begets all kinds of magic, and the mind extinguishes all kinds of magic.
"The mind begets all kinds of magic, and the mind extinguishes all kinds of magic." This sentence was said by the character Tang Yan in the novel. When the monks in public learned that Tang Priest was going to the Western Heaven to learn Buddhist scriptures, they told him all kinds of difficulties he might encounter on the way. At this time, Tang Priest said this sentence, which was intended to express that as long as he saw the Buddha in his heart and his belief in seeking truth from the scriptures was firm, the difficulties on the road would not be enough to stop him. On the contrary, if you are afraid at the beginning, then all kinds of demons will arise and you will be more and more afraid to move forward.
Now this proverb has another meaning, that is, when we do something wrong, we choose to make up a lie to cover it up, and then we may keep lying in order to round up a lie, so that we are farther and farther away from the real road and our hearts will become more and more tired. This is the so-called "all kinds of magic life are born in our hearts". However, if you don't choose to escape when you do something wrong, but bravely take responsibility and consequences and learn lessons, then your heart will be much easier, that is, "all kinds of demons will be destroyed by your heart."
This famous quote from Wu Cheng'en and The Journey to the West truly expresses the inner choices and fears of the world, which has profound practical value and warning significance. The Story of Wu Cheng'en
Many people at home and abroad know The Journey to the West, and most of them have seen The Journey to the West. Whether listening to stories, reading books or enjoying many related film and television versions, they also know that his author is Wu Cheng'en through this novel. However, few people know about Wu Cheng'en's life experience. So, what kind of experiences and stories did this outstanding novelist of Ming Dynasty have?
Statue of Wu Cheng'en
Wu Cheng'en is a native of Shanyang County, Huai 'an Prefecture, and his family was poor since childhood. However, he is very intelligent, loves to dabble in unofficial history and strange novels, and often listens to old people telling all kinds of fairy tales, so he has accumulated profound literary background and novel materials. When he was studying, he was appreciated by Ge Mu, the founder of Longxi Academy at that time, because of his diligence and extensive reading. However, despite Wu Cheng'en's extraordinary talent, the decline of the Ming Dynasty and the increasing corruption of scientific research and officialdom made him lose many imperial examinations. Such a blow, coupled with the sneer and indifference brought by the hardship of life, made Wu Cheng'en increasingly disappointed with the feudal society and the dark reality. It is against this background that The Journey to the West was completed in seven years.
It was not until 155 that Wu Cheng'en earned a year-old tribute when he was nearly fifty years old. But it didn't last long. Wu Cheng'en's own incorruptible character, honest and frank, made him unwilling to be in officialdom. Only eight years later, he resigned because of being falsely accused and angry, and he devoted himself to creation.
Wu Cheng'en also has a son named Feng Mao with his wife Yip. Unfortunately, Feng Mao died early, and Wu Cheng'en had no other children, resulting in the Wu family having no successors. In his later years, Wu Cheng'en's situation was bleak. He traveled to Hangzhou, Nanjing and other places to make a living by selling poems, and then returned to his hometown in Huai 'an to live in peace. He died of illness at the age of 82.
This is the story of Wu Cheng'en's life. There are joys, sorrows and achievements. Wu Chengen and Journey to the West
As outstanding novelists in the Ming Dynasty, Wu Cheng'en's works spread to later generations are actually not many, and his The Journey to the West is the most popular and classic. The rest of his works are only four volumes of Sheyang's Survival Draft and Yu Ding Ji, a collection of strange novels, which has been lost at present, which has to be said to be a great regret for the development of ancient novel literature.
Stills of TV series Wu Chengen and Journey to the West
It is no accident that Wu Cheng'en wrote about The Journey to the West. Since childhood, he likes to explore strange things, and he often likes to dabble in some unofficial history and strange novels, so he is particularly familiar with myths and legends, immortals and ghosts and folk stories. Later, Wu Cheng'en's frustration in life and officialdom deepened his understanding of officialdom corruption and social darkness, and he was more willing to express his disappointment and dissatisfaction with reality in the form of writing strange novels. It is against this background that The Journey to the West was born. At the beginning, Wu Cheng'en wrote the first ten chapters of The Journey to the West, but in the middle, he stopped writing for many years and failed to continue. It was not until he was falsely accused in his later years and resigned that he was able to complete the follow-up part of The Journey to the West.
as one of China's four classic works, The Journey to the West is also an outstanding representative of romanticism in the history of world literature. Its appearance, whether in the story itself, the form of expression or the deep meaning behind it, is worthy of serious study by many scholars.
The Journey to the West is not only a story about four disciples who went through hardships and went to the Western Heaven to learn Buddhist scriptures. It also embodies the author's personal ambition and ideal in officialdom. In fact, Wu Cheng'en's own personality has many similarities with Tang Priest, such as honest and frank, kindness, tolerance and kindness, but it is absolutely impossible to go to the Western Heaven to learn from Tang Priest alone, just like Wu Cheng'en's personal political ideal that can't be achieved in real life. Therefore, in his novel, he fantasized about influencing the enemy, and was escorted by three disciples and achieved positive results.
In 21, to commemorate Wu Cheng'en and The Journey to the West, the TV series Wu Chengen and Journey to the West was broadcast, so that the audience could have a deeper understanding of their story. Wu Cheng'en's former residence
Wu Cheng'en, the author of The Journey to the West, one of Four Great Classical Novels, was a famous novelist and writer in Ming Dynasty. His former residence is located at the end of Datong Lane, Hexia Ancient Town, Huai 'an District, Huai 'an City. It displays a bust statue of Wu Cheng'en's skull, as well as various versions of The Journey to the West's books and a large number of literature and history materials.
Wu Cheng'en's former residence
Wu Cheng'en's former residence covers a wide area, consisting of a concierge, a main hall, a guest room, a study and a back garden. Above its main entrance hangs a plaque with several big characters written by Shu Tong, a late famous calligrapher in China-"Former Residence of Wu Cheng'en". Walking into the gate, there is a bamboo forest, green and elegant, tall and powerful, which makes people feel that this is the portrayal of Wu Cheng'en's incorruptible and enduring character! In addition, the word "Sheyang M" in his study was written by Zhao Puchu. There is also an allusion, Wu Cheng'en, a native of Sheyang Mountain. His good friend Shen Kun once gave him a plaque with these three words written on it, which was very popular with Wu Cheng'en, but it was later lost.
Wu Cheng'en's back garden is called "Wu Garden", which is a place with many good memories. When Wu Cheng'en was young, he read a lot of unofficial history and strange novels, and became familiar with all kinds of myths and legends and folk stories. Until later, he began to write The Journey to the West, and the back garden became the main place for his creation and rest.
Wu Cheng'en's former residence, with its historical value and nostalgic significance, and the subsequent restoration and new construction measures to commemorate him, has made this place a famous tourist attraction in Huai 'an, and countless tourists from home and abroad have come here to see the place where the author who wrote the famous fairy tale once lived. Wu Cheng'en Tomb
Wu Cheng'en was a famous novelist in Ming Dynasty. He was born in 15 and died in 1582 at the age of 82.
Wu Cheng'en's Tomb in Madian Town, Huai 'an District
After Wu Cheng'en's death, his tombstone, like his life experience, experienced many ups and downs. So, how was Wu Cheng'en's tomb discovered? This starts with the fact that the tombs of him and his father Wu Rui were stolen at the same time.
In the 197s, there were often some lazy people in Huai 'an who got improper money by robbing ancient tombs. In January, 1975, a teacher in Madian Township, Huai 'an found a newly excavated ancient tomb on his way to work one day, with two stone tablets beside it. One of them can vaguely recognize the tomb owner's surname Wu, while the other stone tablet has the words "orphan boy's kindness", which immediately reminds the teacher of Wu Cheng'en, the author of The Journey to the West. Historical records show that he is from Shanyang County, Huai 'an Prefecture. This discovery excited the teachers and quickly reported it to the school, which in turn reported it to the county cultural center. This incident was taken seriously, and after careful and rigorous textual research, it was determined that this tombstone was the tomb of Wu Cheng'en's father Wu Rui. The previously discovered text is an epitaph written by Wu Cheng'en for his father.
Upon receiving the report of this incident, Nanjing Museum immediately organized personnel to conduct an investigation, but later it was suspended for some reason.
Until August, 1981, under the instruction of relevant departments, Huai 'an county government organized a special person to investigate Wu Cheng'en's tomb. In the end, it was found that after Wu Cheng'en's tomb was stolen, the coffin board had been transformed into the doors and windows of a school, which seriously hindered the search for the tombstone, and the destruction of the tomb also made people feel sad and disappointed.
After that, things took a turn for the better. At that time, Master Wu, a carpenter who was restructured, privately left the upper part of the coffin horizontal board, which was engraved with the words "Ji Shan", a unique official position in the Ming Dynasty, and "Sheyang Wu Gong". Wu Cheng'en was named "Sheyang Mountain Man". All indications prove that the owner of this tomb is Wu Cheng'en.
The investigators conveniently found Wu Cheng'en's cemetery and cleaned it. At present, the cemetery in Wu Cheng'en is located in Guodazhuang, Erbao Village, Madian Town, Huai 'an District. Wu Cheng'en was buried with his two wives. The tombstone is separated from the tomb of his father Wu Ruizhi by three meters, which is considered as the family cemetery of father and son.