Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/557

 Lu Hsi-hsiung's maternal grandfather, Ts'ao I-shih 曹一士, member of a celebrated family in Shanghai, was an uncle of Ts'ao Hsi-pao (see under ). A chin-shih of 1730, Ts'ao I-shih rose to be a supervising censor. His collected poems, entitled 四焉齋詩集 Ssŭ-yen-chai shih-chi, 6 chüan, and his works in prose, Ssŭ-yen-chai wên-chi (文集), 8 chüan, were printed in 1750 in the collectanea, 石倉世纂 Shih-ts'ang shih-tsuan. There appeared in the same work a collection of poems by his eldest daughter, Ts'ao Hsi-kuei 曹錫珪, entitled 拂珠樓偶鈔 Fu-chu-lou ou-ch'ao, 2 chüan. Two younger daughters of Ts'ao I-shih were also poets, the second being the above-mentioned Ts'ao Hsi-shu, the mother of Lu Hsi-hsiung. After her death, a younger sister, Ts'ao Hsi-k'un 曹錫堃, became Lu's stepmother. Ts'ao Hsi-k'un, too, left a collection of poems, entitled 五老堂詩稿 Wu-lao-tang shih-kao.

[1/326/7a; 3/96/7a; Shanghai hsien-chih (1871) 21/5a, 201, 26/109a, 27/7a, 24a, 29/15b;, Ch'ien-yen tang wên-chi, 45/1a; Pan-li Ssŭ-k'u chüan-shu tang-an (see bibl. under ).]

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 LU Hsin-yüan 陸心源, 1834–1894, Dec. 5, bibliophile, scholar and official, was a native of Kuei-an (part of present Wu-hsing), Chekiang. His family was descended from Lu Chih 陸贄, a famous minister of the Tang dynasty. Beginning his studies at a very early age, Lu Hsin-yüan is said to have mastered the Nine Classics by the time he was thirteen sui, and came to be recognized as one of the seven learned scholars of his native place. He was an admirer of the critical scholar, and named his studio I-Ku t'ang 儀顧堂 after him. Lu was graduated as chü-jên in 1859, but in the following year he failed in the chin-shih examination. On his way home from Peking he was attacked by a band of Nien rioters (捻匪) at Ch'ing-chiang-p'u, Kiangsu, and barely escaped with his life. Upon his return he and Niu Fu-hai 鈕福海, with other fellow-villagers, made an effort to protect their town from the Taiping rebels. Shortly afterwards, having qualified as prefect, he was sent to Kwangtung province. In 1863, who was then governor-general of Chihli (1863–67), had him transferred to Chihli where as Liu's adviser he succeeded in clearing the boundaries of Chihli, Shantung and Honan of bandits. In the following year, at the call of Mao Hung-pin 毛鴻賓, governor-general of Kwangtung and Kwangsi (1863–65), he went to Canton, and was appointed (1865) intendant of the Nan-Shao-Lien Circuit. In this year under the direction of he subdued the rebellious aborigines in Ch'ang-ning (Hsin-fêng) and mutinous soldiers from Hunan. In 1866 he was transferred to the intendancy of the KaoLien Circuit, and in the following year re-established the Ching-jên (敬仁) Academy at Mao-ming and the T'ao-nan (陶南) Academy at Shih-chêng (Lien-chiang).

This same year Lu was obliged to return home to mourn his father. In 1872, however, at the, call of Li Ho-nien 李鶴年, governor-general of Fukien and Chekiang (1871–76), he went to Foochow where, with the rank of acting salt intendant, he served as Li's adviser on financial, diplomatic and naval matters. When Japanese troops penetrated Formosa in 1874 he lodged a strong protest with the Japanese commander against what he regarded as unwarranted invasion. In 1874 Lu retired to his native place, taking up his residence in a garden situated in the eastern part of the town, which he named Ch'ien-yüan 潛園. Thereafter he devoted himself to writing and book-collecting, at the same time rendering service to his neighbors by way of flood-relief, establishing schools, etc. In 1888 he donated 150 valuable books to the Imperial Academy. Although he had been deprived of his rank and title two years after his retirement because of some irregularities in connection with his term of office in Foochow, his distinguished services—military and social—were recognized by and other high officials. On their recommendation he was decorated with the Red Coral Button of the second class. In 1892, when returning from an audience with the emperor at Peking, he was taken ill at Tientsin and two years later died at his residence.

Lu Hsin-yüan was famous as one of the most celebrated bibliophiles at the close of the Ch'ing period. During the Taiping Rebellion the contents of many of the famous private libraries in central and south China were dispersed. Lu is said to have gathered portions of some ten of these libraries, among them about 48,000 volumes from the I-chia t'ang 宜稼堂 in Shanghai, which was 545