Chen Zilong and His Time (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Zhu Dongrun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: How was Chen Zilong as a person? The author pointed out that his life could be divided into three stages. During his youth, he was a scholar, and his ideal was simply to pass the imperial examinations and become a jinshi. This could not be said to be without ambition, but such ambition was also quite limited. Every three years, around four to five hundred jinshis were promoted, and what could one jinshi contribute to the people? Fortunately, at the right opportunity, he met Huang Daozhou, and only then did he realize that there was also a goal of serving the country and its people. At this time, Zilong was a man of aspiration, realizing that he must contribute his strength to the nation. Was Zilong without flaws? He was not a superhuman, and it was impossible for him to be without flaws. Because of the need to remain faithful to the genre of biographical literature, the author did not have the right to portray him as a superhuman. He was a figure of his time, and his life's experiences were closely intertwined with his era. Therefore, in this work, the author wrote more about his era. This approach is frequently seen abroad, but in China, due to the centuries-old tradition of the eight-legged essay, some might find it too off-topic. Thus, the author specifically mentions his era in the title of the book, indicating his respect for this tradition.