Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/154

Rh of the great T'ang poet, Li Po (see under ), nor of the Ch'ing poet, ; he regarded their poems as rather lacking in content. Both in his verse and in his dramas he leaned toward realism, preferring themes from historical or contemporary events in which he could demonstrate the virtuous qualities in human nature. His collected prose, in 12 chüan, is entitled 忠雅堂文集 Chung-ya t'ang wên-chi. His verse, Chung-ya t'ang shih-(詩) chi, appeared in 31 chüan, including 2 chüan of tz'ǔ 詞. These works were printed a few years after he died and were reprinted in Canton in the years 1816 and 1817.

Chiang Shih-ch'üan was the foremost dramatist of his time. He was an ardent admirer of, and composed about T'ang and his masterpiece, Mu-tan t'ing, a drama entitled 臨川夢 Lin-ch'uan mêng. Nine of Chiang's best known dramas appear in print under the collective title, Ts'ang-yūan chiu-chung ch'ü (九種曲), but are also known as 紅雪樓傳奇 Hung-hsüeh lou ch'uan-ch'i, or 清容外集 Ch'ing jung wai-chi. Two of them, entitled 一片石 I-p'ien shih, and 第二碑 Ti-êr pei, commemorate the wisdom of the far-sighted Lou P'ei 婁妃, concubine of a rebel Ming prince, Chu Ch'ên-hao 朱宸濠 (d. 1520). The plays, 空谷香 K'ung-ku hsiang, and 香組樓 Hsiang-tsu lou, revolve about the tragic life of Yao Mêng-lan 姚夢蘭, concubine of the afore-mentioned Ku Hsi-ch'ang at whose request Chiang compiled the Nan-ch'ang hsien chih. The play, 四弦秋 Ssŭ-hsien ch'iu, is a dramatization of the famous lyric poem, 琵琶行 Pi-p'a hsing, written by the T'ang poet, Po Chü-i (see under ). The drama, 冬青樹 Tung ch'ing shu, deals with the career of the well-known Sung patriot, Wên T'ien-hsiang 文天祥 (1236–1282). The 桂林霜 Kuei-lin shuang rehearses the story of who resisted to the end the pressure of the rebel,. Finally, the 雪中人 Hsüeh-chung jên, "The Man in the Snow", dramatizes an alleged incident in the life of. The incident in question is related by Wang Shih-chên in his Hsiang-tsu pi-chi; by Niu Hsiu 鈕銹 in his book of miscellaneous notes, entitled 觚賸 Ku-shêng; and by  in his collection of short stories, the Liao-chai chih-i.

Chiang Shih-ch'üan had seven sons; the eldest, Chiang Chih-lien 蔣知廉, was a senior licentiate (pa-kung) of 1777; the second, Chiang Chih-chieh 蔣知節 , was a chü-jên of 1779; the third, Chiang Chih-jang 蔣知讓 , was a chü-jên of 1780; the fourth, Chiang Chih-po 蔣知白 , was a senior licentiate of 1801. Chiang Chih-chang 蔣志章, grandson of Chiang Chih-chieh and great-grandson of Chiang Shih-ch'üan, rose in his official career to the governorship of Shensi and was given the posthumous name Wên-k'o 文恪.

[1/490/10b; 3/129/3a; 20/3/00, portrait; Yüan-shan hsien chih (1873) 15/54b; Chu Hsiang 朱湘, Chiang Shih-ch'üan in the 小說月報 Short Story Magazine (July 1927), a special number, entitled 中國文學研究 chüan 下; autobiographical nien-p'u (not consulted); Ch'ên Shu 陳述, 蔣心餘先生年譜. in 師大月刊 Shih-ta yüeh-k'an, no. 6.]

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 CHIANG T'ing-hsi 蔣廷錫, Sept., official and painter, was a native of Ch'ang-shu, Kiangsu. His grandfather, Chiang Fên 蔣棻, was a chin-shih of 1637 who held various official posts in the last years of the Ming dynasty. His father, Chiang I 蔣伊, a chin-shih of 1673, made a name for himself, when officiating as censor in Kwangsi (1679–1681), by submitting memorials to the throne accompanied by pictures painted by himself depicting the sufferings of the people. Chiang T'ing-hsi had an elder brother, Chiang Ch'ên-hsi 蔣陳錫, who rose in his official career to governor-general of Yunnan and Kweichow (1716). Chiang T'ing-hsi himself became a chü-jên in 1699. He then served as a painter in the Imperial Court and gained distinction, particularly in the portrayal of plant life. As he rose higher in his official career his fame as a painter increased, and his paintings have since been highly esteemed and treasured. In 1703 he failed to pass the metropolitan examination, but the emperor bestowed upon him the special favor of participation in the palace examination, as if he had passed. He therefore became a chin-shih in 1703; and as a member of the Hanlin Academy, he was ordered to serve in the Imperial Study. After filling various posts, he was promoted to be a sub-chancellor of the Grand Secretariat (1717).

Beginning with the new reign of Emperor Shih- 142