247 years ago today, on May 30, 1778 (May 5, 1778 in the lunar calendar), Voltaire, the pioneer of the French Enlightenment, passed away. During the magnificent Enlightenment Movement in France, in order to avoid persecution by feudal autocracy, a thinker published anti-feudal works under more than a hundred pseudonyms. Among them,"Voltaire" is the most familiar pseudonym. Voltaire's real name was François Marie Arouet. He was born in 1694 in Paris to the family of a court notary. He is talented and intelligent and has loved literature since he was a child. After graduating from high school, he was forced to enter a law school at his father's orders, but he aspired to become a litterateur and later became an unemployed literati. In 1717, he was imprisoned in the Bastille for 11 months for writing satirical poems alluding to the promiscuous life of the court. While in prison, he wrote the tragedy "King Oedipus" for the first time under the pseudonym "Voltaire". After he was released from prison, the public performance of the play made him famous. He also won the crown of "France's Best Poet" with his epic "Alliance". In 1726, Voltaire was imprisoned again for false accusations and was expelled from France after his release. He went to Britain to inspect the political system of a constitutional monarchy, deeply studied Locke's philosophical works and Newton's scientific achievements, and formed a political proposition against feudal despotism and a materialist philosophical view of natural deism. Three years later, he returned to Paris and actively carried out enlightenment propaganda. He successively created the historical drama "Brut", which praises the democratic and republican system, and the tragedy "Chair", which opposes religious fanaticism. In 1734, his first philosophical masterpiece,"Philosophical Letters", was published, which systematically introduced British philosophy, literature, political theory and political conditions to the French people for the first time. As soon as the book was published, it was immediately banned by the authorities and burned in public, and Voltaire was forced to leave Paris. Since then, Voltaire has carried out various creative activities and achieved fruitful results in the fields of philosophy, science and literature. He published the famous historical masterpiece "The Times of Louis XIV", which systematically discussed the political proposition of an enlightened monarchy. He also wrote immortal masterpieces such as philosophical novels "Honest Man" and "Innocent Man". As the Enlightenment deepened, Voltaire's reputation grew higher and higher. In February 1778, the 84-year-old enlightened master returned to Paris after a long absence, and the public's cheers and tributes far exceeded the formal courtesy of the emperor. This was the culmination of his lifelong career and honor. On May 30 of the same year, 241 years later, Voltaire passed away due to illness. The French Enlightenment in the 18th century was a glorious era in human history. Among many thinkers of the time, Voltaire was recognized as a leader and mentor. He is knowledgeable, talented, writes profoundingly, and has made outstanding contributions in many fields of drama, poetry, novels, political theory, history and philosophy. He opposed despotism and feudal privileges all his life, and pursued freedom, equality and bourgeois constitutional monarchy. Voltaire inspired the minds of people with his thoughts and influenced an entire generation.