Asian Philosophies | The Scholars - A Satirical Novel

We are going to introduce one of the greatest satirical novel, the Scholar (or Unofficial History of the Scholars, published 1750). Please read the most famous story, "Fan Jin Passed the Imperial Examination" (范進中舉) from ctext: (from paragraph 10 to 42)
https://ctext.org/rulin-waishi/3
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The Scholars (儒林外史) is a satirical novel that describes the life activities of various Chinese Confucian scholars, prudently set mostly in the Ming dynasty (i.e. the early 16th century AD). Addressing the ruling Qing dynasty could lead to capital punishment; thus it was safer to depict Ming intellectual life. Characters are obsessed by the fame and glory of civil service to the point of losing sanity. Some of them are philosophically dogmatic, rigidly following the old ways and denying all flexibility and innovation. Some are hypocrites, spending days talking about morality and ethics but actually living despicable and useless lives. Some are so corrupted that they eagerly sacrifice friends, relatives and family for ever more fame and glory. Via these scholars and the novel's sarcastic voices, Wu Jingzi (吳敬梓) indirectly criticized the civil service examination and education system under the Qing dynasty.
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