Wu Jianren

Wu Jianren (T: 吳趼人, S: 吴趼人, P: Wú Jiǎnrén, W: Wu Chien-jen; 1866–1910), also known as Wu Woyao (T: 吳沃堯, S: 吴沃尧, P: Wú Wòyáo, W: Wu Wo-yao) was a Chinese writer of the late Qing period.[1] A native of Foshan, Guangdong province,[2] he is known for several novels, namely Bizarre Happenings Eyewitnessed over Two Decades and The Sea of Regret.[3] Wu Jianren published one of the earliest modern Chinese novel in the 19th century. He is a representative of modern Chinese novel for two reasons, time and his technique. The time he posted his modern Chinese novel is ahead Lu Xun at least one decade, and his technique about narrator and centralized character is ahead of other novels that written in the same time.[4] From 1902 to 1910, Wu Jianren wrote the most articles in the group of writers who responded to Liang Qichao's “revolution of Chinese novel”.[5] His novel 《二十年目睹之怪现状》(Bizarre Happenings Eyewitnessed over Two Decades) and 《九命奇冤》(strange grievance case of nine lives) has deeply affected modern Chinese novel.

Jianren Wu
Born1866 (1866)
Foshan, Guangdong, China
Died1910 (1911) (aged 43)
OccupationWriter
Wu Jianren's picture (42 years old)

Life

Wu Jianren was born in 1866, Foshan, Guangdong province. His great great grandfather, grandfather, and his father all works for the Qing government. Soon after he was born, his family changed his name from Baozhen to Woyao. Wu Jianren start to go to school when he was eight, then he enrolled in Foshan Academy(Foshan shuyuan) at the age of 12. He lived in poverty since his father passed away in 1882, at that time he was 17 years old.[6] In 1883, 18 years old Wu Jianren moved to Shanghai and start working as a waiter in the tea house, clerk in Jiangnan Manufacture General Bureau(now known as Jiangnan shipyard). Since 1897, he started to edit 《字林沪报》(Zilin Shanghai news)、《采风报》(Wind collector news)、《奇新报》(Peculiar news)、《寓言报》(Fable news), etc. Later in 1906, he became the Chef editor of 《月月小说》(alternative title All-story monthly). Then, he continues his life as a writer, his work includes fables, biography, and opera. He has never been rich in his life, he passed away in October 1910(45 years old) because the poverty and overwork.[7]

Between 1902 and 1910, Wu Jianren start to publish his work. He used the knowledge that he learned in traditional Chinese study, created many great pieces of Novels-poetry, anecdotes, fiction criticism and joke collections. By the influence of Liang Qichao's "revolution of Chinese novel", he starts to writing the "New Novel".[8] In those social novels, he uses irony to reflect his concern of the loosing traditional Chinese culture and shows social problems in China.[9]

Writing style

Wu Jianren wrote novels for an audience who did not receive a classical education, and he used everyday vernacular speech in his works.[10]

Wu Jianren recorded stories from newspapers that he could use as a source in his work within a notebook. Bao Tianxiao, the editor of early Republican journal Funu Shibao 妇女时报[11] and another novelist who wrote an account of Wu Jianren's notebook, used this technique to write Shanghai Chunqiu (上海春秋; Shanghai records).[12]

In some of Wu Jianren's novel he let the self-conscious author-narrator lead readers to understand the fiction setting, sometimes he uses a prologue to help develop the fiction scene. Because he says that his story incouded some events that himself witnessed, so he can not write those work like other normal novels.[13] Some scholars think Wu Jianren's work was inspired by Western translated novels. Such as "A mystery book of Liang Tianlai" was considered as Oriental Sherlock Holmes. They also believe in his work "strange grievance case of nine lives" that the special narrative technique in this novel was influenced by the writing style in Western novels.[14]

Works

《二十年目睹之怪现状》(Bizarre Happenings Eyewitnessed over Two Decades) is one of the "Four Best Condemnation Novels in the Late Qing Dynasty". The story was about the story of main character 九死一生(a narrow escape from death). The twenty years in the novel was start since 九死一生(a narrow escape from death) father's death, and end in the fail of his business. The story shows reader a very comprehensive society in Qing dynasty. The novel not only talks how main character want to build his business, but also talks about many kind of people's life in Qing dynasty(thief, government agent, monk, etc.).

《九命奇冤》(strange grievance case of nine lives) is a novel that wrote based on 《梁天来警富奇书》(A mystery book of Liang Tianlai).

《新石头记》Xin shitou ji (The new story of the Stone) is a novel continued the story of Cao Xueqin's novel《红楼梦》 (Dream of the red chamber). This is a fantacy story about Jia Baoyu exploring China in 1900s.[15]

According to editors themselves《月月小说》(alternative title All-story monthly) is a magazine with a main idea that "We talk about all weird things, many kinds of articles; with people who have amazing ideas, talk about truth, make the society better and inspire people"[16]

References
  1. Novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
  2. Wu Jianren
  3. The sea of regret : two turn-of-the-century Chinese romantic novels (Book, 1995) [WorldCat.org]. worldcat.org. OCLC 31867424. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  4. Hanan, Patrick; Hanan, Professor Chinese Literature Emeritus Patrick (2004). Chinese Fiction of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: Essays. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13324-1.
  5. Huters, Theodore (2005). Bringing the World Home. www.jstor.org. University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 9780824828387. JSTOR j.ctt1wn0r4p. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  6. Chinese fiction writers, 1900-1949. Moran, Thomas, 1957-. Detroit: Thomson Gale. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7876-8146-3. OCLC 68712263.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. "清代谴责小说家吴趼人-上海档案信息网". www.archives.sh.cn. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  8. Chinese fiction writers, 1900-1949. Moran, Thomas, 1957-. Detroit: Thomson Gale. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7876-8146-3. OCLC 68712263.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Isaacson, Nathaniel (7 February 2017). Celestial empire : the emergence of Chinese science fiction. Middletown, Connecticut. ISBN 978-0-8195-7669-9. OCLC 960106602.
  10. Doleželová-Velingerová, p. 724.
  11. Joan Judge, Republican Lens: Gender, Visuality and Experience in Early Chinese Periodical Press, University of California 2015, P6
  12. Des Forges, p. 44. "The description of the writing process recalls the intensive use of anecdotes in the construction of novels of the first decade of the century, especially Wu Jianren's Strange Events Eyewitnessed over the Last Two Decades."
  13. Hanan, Patrick; Hanan, Professor Chinese Literature Emeritus Patrick (2004). Chinese Fiction of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: Essays. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13324-1.
  14. Wang, David Der-wei (2017-05-22). A New Literary History of Modern China. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-96791-5.
  15. Huters, Theodore (2005), "Melding East and West:: Wu Jianren's New Story of the Stone", Bringing the World Home, Appropriating the West in Late Qing and Early Republican China, University of Hawai'i Press, pp. 151–172, ISBN 978-0-8248-2838-7, JSTOR j.ctt1wn0r4p.10, retrieved 2020-12-04
  16. "晩清文学丛钞小说戏曲研究卷 : 1 《警世奇话》之一 - 中国哲学书电子化计划". ctext.org (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  • Des Forges, Alexander. "Anxiety, brand names, and wild chickens." In: Rojas, Carlos and Eileen Chow (editors). Rethinking Chinese Popular Culture: Cannibalizations of the Canon. Routledge, December 8, 2008. ISBN 020388664X, 9780203886649.
  • Doleželová-Velingerová, Milena. "Chapter 38: Fiction from the End of the Empire to the Beginning of the Republic (1897–1916)" in: Mair, Victor H. (editor). The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. Columbia University Press, August 13, 2013. p. 697-731. ISBN 0231528515, 9780231528511.


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