{"product_id":"the-scholars","title":"Bilginler","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat happens when one kind of essay decides who deserves wealth, power, and respect?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn The Scholars, Wu Jingzi follows scholars, officials, poets, and frauds through Ming China. The civil service examination promises rank and wealth, but its demands reach far beyond the examination hall. Zhou Jin keeps failing. Fan Jin endures poverty and humiliation. Around them, a society learns to value success above character.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is no single hero here. One life gives way to another, building a sharp portrait of ambition and vanity. Wang Mian, a poor boy who teaches himself to paint lotus flowers, offers a different measure of worth. As scholars chase recognition, Wu asks what learning means when an essay becomes its only test.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat you'll discover\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAn examination rules lives\u003c\/strong\u003e – See how the eight-part essay shapes hopes, livelihoods, and the right to be called a gentleman.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA painter stands apart\u003c\/strong\u003e – Meet Wang Mian, whose independence challenges a world that puts rank above character.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVanity under close inspection\u003c\/strong\u003e – Follow misers, hypocrites, and clever frauds through country houses and the circles of powerful patrons.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLearning narrowed to a formula\u003c\/strong\u003e – Encounter Ma Chunshang, an editor who sees examination essays as the highest form of learning.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMany lives, no single hero\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enjoy a wandering story whose small portraits reveal the pressures of an entire social world.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers who enjoy social satire, sharp portraits of human vanity, and wandering stories about imperial China beyond its emperors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page and meet the painter who sees beyond the promise of rank.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534576845148,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/01881_en_ebook-front_c15_7f91a90e-09aa-45bc-b363-55f5262db919.jpg?v=1792174911","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/tr\/products\/the-scholars","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}