中英雙語話中國歷史名人 第60期:吳承恩

Wu Cheng'en (1500~1582) was a novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty, generally acknowledged as the author of the Chinese folk novel Xiyouji (Journey to the West).

吳承恩(1500~1582)，淮安山陽(今江蘇境內)人，明代小說家、詩人。吳承恩被認爲是中國民問小說《西遊記》的作者。

Wu received a traditional Confucian education and became known for his cleverness in the composition of poetry and prose in the classical style.

接受的是傳統儒家教育，因善於做詩和寫文言文而出名。

Throughout his life he displayed a marked interest in bizarre stories, such as the set of oral and written folktales that formed the basis of Xiyouji.

吳承恩一生都對志怪小說(比如作爲《西遊記》成書基礎的口筆頭民問故事)非常感興趣。

In its 100 chapters Xiyouji details the adventures of a cunningly resourceful monkey who accompanies the Buddhist priest Xuanzang on a journey to India.

在100個章節裏，《西遊記》詳細地敘述了一個足智多謀的機靈猴子陪伴唐僧玄奘前去印度取經的冒險故事。

Like all novels of its time, Xiyouji was written in the vernacular, as opposed to the officially accepted classical style, and therefore had to be published anonymously to protect the author's reputation.

與當時的其它小說一樣，《西遊記》是用白話(與官方接受的文言文對應)寫成的，所以，爲了保護作者的名聲，這部小說不得不化名發表。

As a result, the identity of the novelist was long unknown outside of Wu's native district.

這樣一來，吳承恩家鄉以外的地區很長時間都不知道《西遊記》的作者是誰。

Only two volumes of Wu's other writings have survived; these were discovered in the imperial palaces and were reprinted in 1930.

吳承恩的作品只留下來兩冊，這兩冊書在皇宮被發現，並於1930年出版。