Wu Cheng'en, Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Wu and one of his peers went to Nanjing in Jiangsu province to take the keju test in 1531. Wu was already well-known in his hometown for being talented. Unexpectedly, the peer who was not that talented as him but wound up passing the test as Wu failed. In the next three years, he made great efforts in writing essays in preparation to take the test again, but failed again. After several attempts, he didn't pass even at the age of 40. While poverty-stricken and depressed he wrote the novel "Journey to the West," one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.

A sculpture of Wu Cheng'en at Mount Huaguoshan in Jiangsu province, Nov 25, 2007. [Photo/IC]