Wild Man's Revelations (Volume 1, 2, 3)

Author: Xia Jingqu (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was a flourishing time when long popular novels were produced in batches. Among them, the longest one was Xia Jingqu's Wild Man's Exposure of Words. Xia Jingqu, with great ambitions that were never realized, created this extensive text of over one hundred and fifty chapters titled Wild Man's Exposure of Words, and he himself described it as "an old man doing nothing but chatting in the sun." He called it "chatting in the sun," but in reality, it was a work born of frustration. It can be said that the author wove his entire life's knowledge and dreams into the novel. Xia Jingqu focused on shaping Wen Sacun, an all-powerful hero. The characters "Wen" and "Bai" written together resemble the character "Xia," clearly indicating that he was describing himself. However, this could only be considered a dreamlike illusion for an unsuccessful and narrow-minded scholar. Mr. Lu Xun also said, "Using fiction as a means to store knowledge and literary works, with the purpose of admonition but different in application, nothing in the Qing Dynasty preceded Wild Man's Exposure of Words." The novel vividly records the mentality, aspirations, ideals, and pursuits of scholars in the feudal era, providing a unique window for us to understand that time. Wild Man's Exposure of Words was written by Xia Jingqu in his later years. The novel is set against the backdrop of the Chenghua and Hongzhi reigns of the Ming Dynasty, narrating the heroic achievements of Wen Bai's life. Wen Bai, styled Sacun, was both literary and martial, full of ambition, and was described as a "truly righteous scholar with great courage, unaware of the world's fickleness" (Chapter 1). Witnessing the rise of eunuchs to power and the abuse of monks, as well as the declining state of the nation, he traveled the world. Along the way, he suppressed villains, restored justice, and helped the needy, successively rescuing the beautiful and talented women Xuan Gu, Su E, and Xiang Ling, who later became his concubines. Upon entering the capital, he cured the emperor and the prince, demonstrating the art of bringing the dead back to life. The crown prince respected him as a teacher and granted him a position in the Hanlin Academy. He was ordered to suppress the Miao rebellion in Guangxi and achieved great success. Later, upon learning of a plot by the Prince of Jing to rebel in the capital, he immediately rode alone to rescue the crown prince and escorted the emperor to the Le Mansion in Shandong, eliminating the rebellious faction. When the crown prince ascended the throne, he promoted Wen Sacun to the positions of Grand Secretary of the Huagai and Jingshen halls, and concurrently served as Minister of Personnel and Minister of War. He was also given a princess as his left wife. Wen Sacun suppressed the rebellion in Zhejiang and the Japanese invasion, achieving new feats, and the emperor bestowed upon him the title of "Sacun Father," building a mansion for him, with his two wives and four concubines residing in six floors. Wen Sacun then fully realized his ambitions, condemning Buddhism and Taoism, conquering Japan to the east, pacifying the Mongols to the north, and subduing India to the south, making all Buddhist countries adopt Confucianism. Wen Sacun's descendants prospered, all achieving high positions and wealth. The novel ends with Wen Sacun and his four generations dreaming together on the night of the New Year's Eve, implying that Wen Sacun should be ranked among the sages, no less than Han Yu.