The Travels of Lao Can

The Travels of Lao Can was written by Liu E, a brilliant intellectual born into a scholarly family at the end of the Qing dynasty. By describing what Lao Can sees and hears on his travels, the author fiercely attacked the injustices he witnessed and exposed so-called 'honest and upright officials' as hypocrites who tried to rise to power at the expense of the people. Written in 1905, The Travels of Lao Can has been circulating for a century and readers think highly of Liu E's mastery of language. The use of language, observations and detailed descriptions all show the author's originality. Among late Qing-dynasty novels, The Travels of Lao Can is, artistically, a prominent work.