Was the story of the strange current situation and the revelation of officialdom true?
Not necessarily. The Strange Status Quo Witnessed in Twenty Years and The Story of officialdom are both Chinese novels. Some of the plots and characters involved may be fictional, while others may be imagined and created based on historical events and real people. Twenty Years of Witnessing the Strange Situation described some of the real problems of Chinese society in the late Qing Dynasty, such as official corruption, social injustice, and the desolation of the people. There may be some real historical events and characters as the background. However, there are also many fictional plots and characters in the novel, as well as some more bizarre and absurd plots. These plots may be created by the author to enhance the drama and legibility of the novel. The plot and characters in The Story of officialdom were probably more based on imagination and creation based on the real situation in history. Some of the plots and characters in the novel, such as the various conspiracies, struggles, and corruption in the officialdom, may reflect some of the real problems of Chinese society at that time. Therefore, whether the characters and plots in these two works were real or not needed to be analyzed in detail.
