Old Man Zan's Journey (Illustrated Edition)

Author: (Qing) Liu E
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-09-01
Features: A Journey to the West is a representative work of late Qing Dynasty satirical novels and also serves as an aestheticized historical archive for later generations to understand the late Qing society. The author, Liu E (1857–1909), styled Tieyun, was from Dantu County, Jiangsu Province (now Zhenjiang City). He was born into a feudal official family. In 1876 (the second year of the Guangxu reign), he failed the provincial examination in Nanjing. Afterward, he engaged in business and medicine, gaining broad exposure to various strata of society. In 1888 (the fourteenth year of the Guangxu reign), the Yellow River burst its banks in Zhengzhou, and Liu E, leveraging his expertise in flood control, went to Henan to offer his services. He was highly valued by the Yellow River Commissioner Wu Dazhi. Later, he was transferred to Shandong by the Shandong Governor Zhang Yao and appointed as the chief inspector of the lower Yellow River. He achieved notable success in flood control, which led to his examination and appointment as an acting prefect by the Imperial Household Department. Influenced by the Self-Strengthening Movement, Liu E advocated for mining, road construction, and industrial development, believing these could enrich the nation and benefit the people. However, he faced opposition from conservative officials. Soon after, he accepted a position as the Chinese manager of the German company Fuhua. During the Boxer Rebellion, he was nearly executed by the Qing government for "collaborating with foreigners." In 1908 (the thirty-fourth year of the Guangxu reign), due to old grievances with Yuan Shikai from his time in Zhang Yao's entourage, he was exiled to Xinjiang on trumped-up charges. He died the following year in Dihua (now Urumqi). A Journey to the West has long been recognized for its artistic achievements in "describing landscapes and objects." One characteristic of classical Chinese novels is the lack of lengthy psychological portrayals, but A Journey to the West made significant breakthroughs in this regard. Its detailed and layered psychological descriptions greatly enriched its artistic expression, contributing to its enduring appeal. Of course, due to the limitations of the era and the author's ideology, the novel's evaluations of certain historical events and figures are not entirely accurate, and some details are not handled with sufficient care—these are its shortcomings. In this reissue, twenty illustrations from the early Republican stone-printed edition of the twenty chapters are used. Each original illustration was divided into two parts by a central line, but they are now reduced and presented as single images, placed at the beginning of each chapter's historical and literary notes. Additionally, eight fine engravings from the late Qing era have been sourced. The original book was divided into four volumes, each containing two illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. These are presented in their original order, reduced in size, and inserted into the text to replace the stone-printed illustrations, preserving the original essence. This edition of A Journey to the West is the first published domestically since the founding of the People's Republic of China.