Impurity in Liu E's Presentation of The “Pure Officials”

While constructing his plot for The travels of Lao Ts'an, the flagrant evils brought forth by the "pure officials" are one of Liu E's major concerns. In his view, the virtue that those "pure officials" embrace is precisely the origin of their sins and crimes. Nonetheless, a close reading of Liu E's presentation of characters and appended fiction vomments in juxtaposition with his personal background reveals dubious points inside Liu E's narrative. Pursuing further, we realize that behind the facade of principled social criticism and historical awareness of a broad scale, Liu E's psyche is preoccupied with the fresh impact rendered by the Boxer Rebellion that took place in 1900. Secretly and possessively, Liu E's castigation against the "pure officials" coalesces toward that calamitious event. His express moral indignation seems to serve a personal agenda to solicit understanding from a sympathetic public. To read The travels of Lao Ts'an in such light, then Liu E's exposure of social malaise and his stance of conscience are cast into doubt; the historical perspective of his story, however relevat to history, is of limited referential value only.