Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/127

Rh eleven sui. He learned horsemanship under his maternal grandfather and studied the classics under a fellow-townsman,. In 1804 he passed the provincial examination for chü-jên and then made his residence at Peking where he became interested in various branches of learning. After becoming a chin-shih (1811) he was made a bachelor, and later a compiler, in the Hanlin Academy. In 1821 he was detailed for duty in the Imperial Study (see under ). In the same year he was appointed chief examiner of the provincial examination of Szechwan and later (1822) a secretary of the Supervisorate of Imperial Instruction. In 1823 he was made commissioner of education of Kweichow where he promoted sericulture, and so greatly benefited the people of that region. He made a reprint of the Yüeh Ko 岳珂 edition of the Five Classics, which has proved of great value to students. In 1826 he was transferred to be commissioner of education of Hunan. After returning to Peking (1828) he was made libationer of the Imperial Academy. In 1829 he went home to mourn the death of his mother, but returned to Peking in 1831. In 1832 he was appointed chief-examiner for the provincial examination of Kwangtung, and early in the following year made tutor to Mien-yü (see under ), younger brother of Emperor Hsüan-tsung. In 1834 he was appointed junior vice-president of the Board of Works, and was transferred in the following year to the Board of Revenue. He served twice (1835, 1836) as reader of the Palace examination. Owing to the intense heat of the summer of 1837 he suddenly fell ill and died at the early age of fifty-three (sui).

In his studies Ch'êng Ên-tsê covered a wide field, including mathematics, geography, etymology, divination, inscriptions on bronze and stone, calligraphy, painting, and the study of the Classics. As a calligrapher he was noted for his skill in the chuan 篆 style. He was an intimate friend of, who being much older, had cherished the hope that Ch'êng Ên-tsê would succeed him in his special field of study. Juan, however, outlived his friend. Ch'êng left numerous notes, but the only work ready for publication at the time of his death was a study of place-names in the Chan kuo ts'e, entitled 國策地名考 Kuo-ts'e ti-ming k'ao, 20 chüan, which he wrote in collaboration with his friend, Ti Tzŭ-ch'i 狄子奇. A collection of his miscellaneous writings, entitled 程侍郎遺集初編 Ch'êng shih-lang i-chi ch'u-pien, 10 chüan, published in 1846, was compiled by and. Both works were later included in the Yüeh ya t'ang ts'ung-shu (see under ).

[1/382/3b; 3/114/9a; 5/10/12a; 7/44/5a; 20/4/00 (portrait); 26/310b; 29/9/1a.]

2em 2em

 CH'ÊNG Hsüeh-ch'i 程學啟, d. Apr. 15, 1864, age thirty-five (sui), a leading general of the Anhwei army, was born in a peasant family in T'ung-ch'êng, Anhwei. When that city fell into the hands of the Taipings Ch'êng aligned himself with the rebels and later, in a minor official capacity, defended the city of Anking against the attacks of. In May 1861 he was persuaded by a relative to go over to the side of the government and was made commander of a battalion. Thereafter he fought bravely at the front for the recovery of Anking (September 5, 1861) and other cities. He was rewarded for his merits with the rank of a lieutenant-colonel. In the spring of 1862 mobilized the newly-organized Huai-chün 淮軍 or Anhwei forces, for the rescue of Shanghai. Ch'êng Hsüeh-ch'i was ordered by to assist Li in command of the fighting. He was placed in command of a thousand veterans at the front, and his soldiers seem to have been more effective in battle than the other Anhwei troops.

At this time a large part of Kiangsu was in the grip of the Taipings. Chiefly owing to the effectiveness of the British and French forces and the so-called "Ever Victorious Army" organized by Frederick T. Ward (see under ), Shanghai was saved from complete occupation by the rebels, but was nevertheless menaced by frequent assaults. As soon as Ch'êng Hsüeh-ch'i's re-enforcements came upon the scene they defeated the Taipings at Hung-ch'iao, a town west of Shanghai, and took part in raising the siege of Sungkiang. Then, in co-operation with Ward, they took Ch'ing-p'u and a number of small towns and villages near Shanghai. For these achievements Ch'êng was rewarded in 1862 with appointment to the rank of brigade-general and his force was increased to 3,000 men.

In 1863 Ch'êng Hsüeh-ch'i advanced to the capture of Soochow which was protected by a moat and other defenses difficult to negotiate. Fighting again in co-operation with Charles George Gordon (see under ), then commander of the "Ever Victorious Army," 115