The Wus Imperial-Examination Family And Their Literary Studies In Quanjiao County During Ming And Qing Dynasties

The Wus of Quanjiao was a famous imperial-examion family in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. From the ancestor Wu Fengbu living in Quanjiao county to the third generation Wupei setting imperial exams as a way of thriving the Wus, until the eighth generation Wulang, people of this family had been following the road of studying, attending the imperial exams and entering the political stratum. They dabbled in the learning of classics, historiography, literature, essay on political issues, etc. and most of them had poetry and prose writtings as well as published works, forming an unique family culture and carrying the profound cultural heritage of family history and tradition. In this essay the Wus imperial-examination family in Quanjiao county and their literary studies are focused on, and the family's literary works are put into its certain historical and cultural era to prove, analyze and comprehend. Besides, the author probes into some representative writers and their works in this family by analyzing the functions of family, imperial-exams, confucianism and literature during the rising, development and change of the Wus.Family consciousness, like the gene of Chinese culture, was the driving force of intellectuals in Fedual Age to moving forward. Wupei was the heart and soul of the Wus. He regarded the revival of the Wus as his top priority in his lifetime and overcomed hardships in pioneering the cause of the Wus, which greatly influencing every progress of people in this family. Imperial-examination was an efficient way to change the family destiny of the Wus from the poor. The people of Quanjiao county created Rulin Culture with rich connotations, which centred on imperial culture and reflected the understanding and pursuing to imperial-examination of Quanjiao scholars represented by the Wus. Confucianism was the method and spiritual drive for the Wus to thrive their family, thus promoting confucianism had been endowed with a very strong family sense at the very beginning of the development of this family for the purpose of prosperity of the family. What's more, with success of the Wus in imperial-examination and official career, confucianism showed a conspicuous and expended trend in the family, urging the Wus to make a peaceful and tranquil world as their own duty. Family is the homeland of confucianism. Confucianism brought an accessible way by blood inheritance and its ultimate goal was to "run a state in order and make a peaceful world". However, only during the period of social progress imperial-examination could play its active role and confucianism could emancipate from the family, giving its full play. But it was a pity that the Ming and Qing Dynasties were not that eras.Rebellion of Wu Jingzi opened up to the change of the Wus while Wulang's unwilling to entering official career was a big change in the Wus. The choice of Wulang and his father in the way of life and culture indicated the failure of this imperial-examination family. Always with literature, the Wus made their name by imperial-examination from scratch and their literary works achieved a great success from the third generation to the eighth. If compared the literary development of the Wus to a big growing tree, Wupei was then the stem and his brother Wu Guoding was the branches. The ahead generations of the Wus had made a significant contribution. Wuqing, Wu Jingzi, Wulang were the fruits of this tree, among which Wu Jingzi was in particular a miracle. His literary achievements had finally formed the most profound and lasting cultural heritage, and Wulang was the last great figure of the literary development of the Wus.Wupei and Wu Jingzi were two extraordinary symbols with strong personality in the history of the Wus, promoting the magnificence of the Wus in two distinct directions. Wu Jingzi and Wulang eventually got out of the family tradition addicted to imperial-examination and turned to the pursuit of literature and culture and arts. Wulang extended the tragic fate of his father Wu Jingzi. Their miserable life revealed predestination of the tragic fate of literators in a dilemma in Feudal Age.