Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/12

 tion of the preceding year—affirming at the same time that should his accusation prove to be groundless he would accept the punishment of having his head cut off with an axe. Although such language was regarded by the Emperor as inappropriate in a memorial, he tolerated P'êng, and discharged the examiners. Even so, P'êng persisted in arguing with officials at Court about the case and so continued to embarrass the Emperor. For this breach of decorum P'êng was punished by dismissal from office and by transfer to conservancy work on the lower Yellow River, but he was permitted to retain his rank. In 1697 he was recalled to be a metropolitan censor, and in the following year was promoted to the office of provincial judge of Kweichow. In 1699 he was elevated to the governorship of Kwangsi and in 1701 was made governor of Kwangtung. Although he was often accused of corruption, he always had the confidence of Emperor Shêng-tsu, and was reprimanded only for using strong language to defend himself in his memorials. He died as governor of Kwangtung and was celebrated in the Hall of Eminent Officials of that province. He left a collection of works in prose, mostly official correspondence, which was entitled 古愚心言 Ku-yü hsin-yen, 8 chüan, the author's preface being written in 1695.

P'êng P'êng was one of the idealized officials of the Ch'ing dynasty, like (1638–1700) and  who are remembered for their justice and incorruptibility. The anecdotes relating to them were first utilized—or perhaps invented—by the story-tellers, especially of Peking, and later were woven together as colloquial novels in the same episodical style. These novels gained wide popularity among the common people who, having themselves endured without redress the exactions of corrupt officials and lawless Bannermen, sought satisfaction and compensation in stories which invariably made the rascals suffer in the end. The novel relating to P'êng, entitled 彭公案 P'êng-kung an, in 100 chapters, perhaps first appeared about the years 1891–94. Unfortunately it is the most poorly written and the least skillfully constructed one of its kind. Apparent overstatements in the novel may not be entirely groundless in view of the fact that the Emperor himself once said that P'êng often armed himself with a sword and led the police to the capture of robbers. Other estimates of P'êng were not so favorable. In 1724 Emperor Shih-tsung remarked that in view of P'êng's later conduct, he did not merit the fame so freely accorded to him.

[1/283/3b; 3/157/17a; 4/67/1a; Tung-hua lu, K'ang-hsi 49: 8; Shun-t'ien ju chih (1886) 74/23b; Yung-chêng chu-p'i yü-chih (see under ), 黃國材 p. 45b, 58b; Lu-hsün 魯迅, 中國小說史略 Chung-kuo hsiao-shuo shih lüeh (1923), p. 325–26; Sun K'ai-ti (see bibl. under ), Chung-kuo t'ung-su hsiao-shuo shu-mu (1932) 74/23b.]

2em

 P'ÊNG Shao-shêng 彭紹升, 1740–1796, Feb. 28, Buddhist lay-monk and philosopher, was a native of Ch'ang-chou, Kiangsu. The fourth son of P'êng Ch'i-fêng (see under ), he lost the sight of one eye when a child, but despite this handicap was able while young to master the Confucian Classics. He also studied devotedly the works of the philosophers, Lu Chiu-yüan (see under ) and Wang Shou-jên (see under ), whose stress on the importance of mind was derived from the Ch'an (Zen) sect of Buddhism. Having become a chin-shih in 1769, P'êng at first admired the character of the vigorous, brilliant, and youthful official of the Han dynasty, Chia I 賈誼 (200–168 B.C.), and longed for prominence in public life. But analysis of this ambition soon revealed to him its worthlessness. He investigated Taoism, and found it inadequate. In the meantime he had begun a life-long friendship with Wang Chin (see under ) and Lo Yu-kao (see under ) who were students of the Buddhist sutras. One result of this association was his conversion to the Pure Land Sect (淨土宗) of the Buddhist religion. Thus when in 1769, after he had received his chin-shih degree, he was offered the position of district magistrate, he declined. P'êng's life, from this time until his death, is that of the Pure Land ascetic, eating no meat, remaining celebate, giving clothes, food, and coffins to the poor, etc. He also, in conformity with the best traditions of the ascetic life, did not neglect scholarship. In 1775 he discussed philosophical problems with the poet,. After his father's death in 1784, P'êng retired to a temple where he remained for more than ten years, practicing silence, and keeping the precepts strictly. Shortly after his return home he died.

A collection of P'êng's prose writings, entitled 614