The Confucian Sage from a Humble Family: I Become a Sage Through Reading

Modern office worker Wang Chen transmigrates to an imaginary ancient world where Confucianism reigns supreme, becoming a poor orphan with barely enough to eat. He discovers that “literary aura” and “righteous virtue” are real forces in this world, and that scholars can cultivate through the imperial examinations until their words shape reality and they become sages capable of determining the fate of nations. Without a System or a golden finger, Wang Chen draws on modern knowledge and ideas from a thousand years in the future to radically reinterpret Confucian classics, forging an unprecedented path to sagehood through the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. He plays the fool while secretly holding the upper hand, crushing the competition from the provincial examinations onward. As a heretic, he stirs up turmoil at court and wages a deadly battle of ideas and power against the hypocritical, hidebound Confucian masters of the age and the Grand Tutor, who is both mentor and adversary. Along the way, he meets the mysterious Empress Feng Qingyi, who stands at the heart of the struggle for power. The two begin as political allies wary of each other, but gradually become kindred spirits and partners. Using modern knowledge of the social sciences, economics, and technology, Wang Chen pushes through reforms, enriches the country, and strengthens its military. In the end, amid domestic turmoil, foreign threats, and trials from the Heavenly Dao, he proves the Way with his own life and attains a level of sagehood never before seen, while gradually uncovering the ultimate truth behind his transmigration and this world.