Confucianism

"The Scholars" focuses on the Shilin Ukiyo-e under the shadow of the prosperous period of Qianlong. When Chen Mengli, a talented scholar from a poor family, first entered the examination room, he witnessed the arrogance and power of the son of the wealthy salt merchant Xu family on the day of the examination results release in Songjiang Prefecture. On the road to the provincial examination, he witnessed how money and joints blatantly trampled on the poor people to study hard, and the title of Jieyuan became a thing of trade. Frustrated in Jinling, he struggled between the down-and-out celebrities on the banks of the Qinhuai River and the vanity of prosperity. He even got a glimpse of Wang Shizhen, the academic and political leader who controlled the literary and political affairs. From Songjiang to Jinling, from the examination room to the salt merchant's deep residence and the academic and political official residence, Chen Mengli was trapped in a huge web intertwined by the temptation of fame, the magic of money and the struggle for power. The last words of his former mentor, "Keep your heart," are becoming increasingly heavy, and the mournful cry of the crazy old scholar Zhou Mukong who froze to death on the street is like the last elegy of the scholars in the last days. When Xu Wenfu embarked on an official career with donations, and Wang Shizhen retired after success, Chen Mengli sat alone in front of the grave of his mentor, staring at the gate of the examination room where a new batch of ignorant children were pouring into reincarnation. Under the halo of the prosperous civilization, the scholarly spirit has been mottled and eroded in silence, leaving only a piece of ashes eaten away by money and power.