Which novel is called the first German "bildungsroman"?

The picaresque novel is a baroque novel and the forerunner of the German "bildungsroman". The picaresque novel is a major genre of Baroque fiction. This type of novel usually describes the various experiences and encounters of a small person from the lower class of society in society. In order to survive, they often resort to any means to deal with the dangerous social environment. In this sense, picaresque novels generally narrate the rough and uneven growth history of the protagonist.

Hans Christoffel vonGrimmelshausen (1622?1676) was an important writer of the late German Baroque style. Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimi (Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimi) written by him is Germany's first picaresque novel, written in the first-person autonarrative genre. This novel describes the legendary story of a little man named Nishiki during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) in Germany.

In Grimmelshausen's writing, Ximu was an orphan, born in a remote village in Speyside in south-central Germany. Due to the war, he was forced to leave his hometown and lived a wandering life. In the process of wandering, Ximu went through a lot of hardships, saw everything in the world, recognized all kinds of human emotions, and gradually grew up. But after several years of wandering around, Ximu has lost all hope and is determined to bid farewell to this chaotic and disorderly world and live a quiet and inactive life in seclusion.

By chance, Ximu drifted to distant China. Specifically, he passed through Macau during his journey. What happened was this: one night, while Ximu was busy in a gunpowder grinding factory outside the Astrakhan Fortress, he was kidnapped by a group of Russian Tatar scouts, taken back to their country, and imprisoned. Used to exchange some Chinese goods with the Tunguska Tatars. He was then presented as an unusual tribute to the king of Korea, who had just made a truce with them.

Because he was good at wielding swords, Ximu won the favor of the Korean king and was finally released back to his country. On the way back to China, Ximu first passed through Japan and arrived in Macau, China. After many twists and turns, after three years and several months of drifting, he finally returned to Germany. [26] During this extraordinary adventure in the East, although Ximu was unable to control himself and was manipulated by others, he was still fortunate enough to appreciate the exotic scenery of the East and the various customs and habits of different ethnic groups.

However, because "he suffered more abuse than opportunities there" [27], all of this failed to leave any impression on Ximu that was particularly worth remembering and writing about. . It can be said that Ximu's Eastern experience is essentially a part, or a microcosm, of his entire life's suffering. As for whether Ximu’s previous imagined image of China was confirmed or falsified during his journey to the East, we don’t know, because as the novel tells us, Ximu “brought home nothing more than a handful of foreign guests” There is nothing special about a beard that grows from the ground."

In Ximu's fantasy, China and German-speaking countries are completely different. On one side, there are endless wars and the people are miserable. On the other side, "the people live and work in peace and contentment, with stables full of livestock and yards and yards." There are flocks of chickens and ducks, the streets are bustling with tourists, and the hotels are full of guests, all looking for fun."

It is not difficult to see that this is a picture of life full of harmony and vitality. It is indeed in sharp contrast to Germany, which was suffering from the Thirty Years War at that time. "There is no such thing here." Fear of enemies and worries about robbery do not need to worry about the safety of life and property. Everyone lives carefree under their own grape trellis and figs."

In the eyes of Ximu and even all the erratic Germans, and even in the eyes of the writer himself, "here is a joyful and pleasant scene", [31] so that they are full of yearning to "take this piece of land." The country is regarded as a paradise on earth." It can be said that Ximu's imagination of the East is "heaven on earth". However, in reality, he gradually discovered that all he needed was a foreign country, the utopia he dreamed of.

Although China is a vague concept, it cannot be denied that Ximu is full of yearning for China and also praises it.

So, will China, as a utopia, occupy an important position in Ximu's mind? In other words, does China as a utopia occupy a central position in the new world picture just established by Baroque writers? Unfortunately, this is not the case. We only need to listen to a wonderful dialogue between Ximu and Jupiter, and everything will become clear.

The god Jupiter told Ximu that he would send a hero to the world to help people establish a new world order. (This hero) does not need a single soldier, but he will change the whole world; as soon as he is born into the world, I will give him a strong body, just like Hercules, and give him full caution , wisdom and reason; Venus will also give him a beautiful appearance, surpassing Narcissus and Adonis, even my Ganymede;

In all his virtues Among them, I want Venus to highlight his outstanding appearance, appearance and elegance, so that he will be loved by the world. In addition, Mercury will give him unparalleled intelligence; An incredible agility; the goddess of science, Pylas, wanted to raise him on Mount Parnassus; Vulcan wanted to forge weapons for him during the "reign of the god of war", especially one for him. The sword with which he will conquer the world.

The hero also divided all the great people into three parts: the first part is those who rule and always want to rule others; he will lead them beyond Hungary and Italy into Moldavia, Wallachia , Macedonia, Thrace, Greece, and then through the Hellespont into the five continents, conquer these countries for them, let all the mercenaries in Germany who live on war accompany them, and make them emperors everywhere.

Then he would capture Constantinople in one day and kill all the Turks who were unwilling to convert and obey; then he would re-establish the Roman Empire there and then return to He went to Germany, took with him the members of his council, and founded a city in the middle of Germany, much larger than Manoa in America, and richer than Jerusalem in the days of Solomon.

It can be seen that the center of this world picture is undoubtedly Germany, and what rules this world picture is German consciousness and Christian concepts. Its scope of inclusion and the number of cultures it covers are breathtaking. And within his reach, everyone bowed their head and surrendered, sighing three times: Long live it. It is no wonder that the art treasure house that this hero will establish will contain cultural treasures from all over the world: these treasures are from the emperors of China, the emperors of Persia, and the East Indians. The great Mughal emperors, the Tatar khans, the great African emperors, and the Muscovite tsar paid him tribute.

[35] Now that the emperor has paid tribute, even if the Eastern countries are powerful, they will inevitably suffer the fate of colonization. Here, Grimmelshausen used irony to assign China a very disgraceful position in its world picture. The reason for this is that we can only analyze the ideology that formed this image. In other words, as long as we understand the hero's "ideology", we can explain the world picture and the image of China in it.

We know from the following text that this hero is actually doing justice for God. Because his purpose in conquering the world was to kill all those who did not believe in God. To kill all those who do not believe in God without shedding blood; to conquer the entire vast world without using extraordinary violence and powerful means. So what to rely on? Naturally, we have to rely on the savior.

So, after this hero creates this so-called peace, he will give a very moving sermon to the religious leaders and secular leaders of various ethnic groups who believe in Christianity and other different sects, so as to make people believe in peace. They use the Bible and the pope's concepts as their governing principles, unify their understanding and achieve universal unity on the basis of establishing a true, sacred, Christian religion. Whoever did not convert to Christianity was to be burned as a heretic with sulfur and pitch, or else be crowned with boxwood laurels and presented to Pluto as a New Year's gift.