Officialdom Unmasked (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Li Baojia [Qing Dynasty]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: Li Baojia, styled Boyuan, was a native of Wujin, Jiangsu. He was born in the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign (1867) and died in the thirty-second year of the Guangxu reign (1906). After reaching adulthood, he adopted the title Nanting Tingzhang. During his youth, he showed exceptional talent and embarked on the path of the imperial examinations with the noble aspiration of "leading the way to Yao and Shun's virtue and restoring purity to the customs." Years of setbacks led him to profound enlightenment, recognizing the corruption and depravity of late Qing politics and the various vices of the officialdom. From then on, he abandoned his pursuit of office and dedicated himself entirely to fiction, using literature as a weapon to fiercely criticize the extremely corrupt autocratic system and the vile behavior of the officials in the late feudal society. The Story of a Runaway Official is currently divided into five volumes, each with twelve chapters, totaling sixty chapters. The author originally planned for a ten-volume work: the five volumes completed were intended as the first half, exposing the corruption and evils of the officialdom; the second half was to teach people how to be good officials. However, in reality, the author passed away due to illness before completing the fifth volume. The final small portion of the sixty chapters was later completed by his friends. As for the second half, "teaching the ways of being an official," it remains merely a fantasy.