Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/137

 ''Jour. China Br. R. As. Soc. (1885), vol. 20, pp. 1–23, also pp. 51–52; Joly, H. B., Hung Lou Mêng; or The Dream of the Red Chamber, A Chinese Novel''. Bk. I, Hongkong, 1892; Kuhn, F., Der Traum der roten Kammer, Leipzig, 1932; see also bibl. under .]

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 TS'AO Chên-yung 曹振鏞, Nov. 8, 1755–1835, Jan. 31, official, was a native of Shê-hsien, Anhwei. His grandfather, Ts'ao Ching-ch'ên 曹景宸, was for many years a salt merchant at Yangchow, and as such amassed a tolerable fortune. His father, Ts'ao Wên-ch'ih 曹文埴, became a chin-shih in 1760 and in the following year a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. After holding the offices of educational commissioner of Kiangsi (1771–74) and of Chekiang (1775–76), and serving as a vice-president on various Boards, Ts'ao Wên-ch'ih was made president of the Board of Revenue (1785). In 1787 he was granted leave to look after his aged mother (née Chu 朱, b. 1707). While in retirement he exchanged poems with Emperor Kao-tsung whom he visited on two occasions—in 1790 to celebrate the Emperor's eightieth birthday, and in 1795 to congratulate the Emperor on his completion of sixty years on the throne. His literary collection, 石鼓硯齋集 Shih-ku-yen chai chi, contains 20 + 1 chüan of writings in prose and 32 + 2 + 8 chüan of verse. He was canonized as Wên-min 文敏.

Ts'ao Chên-yung became a chin-shih in 1781 and a compiler in the Hanlin Academy in 1787. For eleven years he served in various literary offices in Peking and as educational commissioner of Honan (1792–95) and of Kwangtung (1798). From 1798 to 1801 he remained at home to mourn the death of his father, and thereafter served as a sub-chancellor of the Grand Secretariat (1802–04), as provincial commissioner of education of Kiangsi (1804–06), and as president of the Board of Works (1806–09) and of the Board of Revenue (1809–13). In 1813 he was made a Grand Secretary, supervising the Board of Works. After the suppression of the rebellion at Hua-hsien, Honan (see under ), he was given the title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In 1814, on his sixtieth birthday (by Chinese calculation), he received the congratulations of Emperor Jên-tsung.

In 1820, after Emperor Hsüan-tsung succeeded to the throne, Ts'ao was made concurrently a Grand Councilor. During the ensuing fourteen years he headed the highest offices of the government—the Grand Secretariat and the Grand Council. He became, in fact, the venerated old man of the Empire, receiving the congratulations of Emperor Hsüan-tsung on his seventieth and eightieth birthdays (1824, 1834) with high honors. In 1821 he was given a home near the Forbidden City; three years later he was honored with the peacock feather for his part in directing the compilation of the Shih-lu of Emperor Jên-tsung (see under ). For the recovery of Turkestan in 1828 (see under ), he was given the title of Grand Tutor—an honor granted to only a few living men in the Ch'ing period. In 1831 he was decorated with a double-eyed peacock feather, and three years later was permitted to ride in a sedan chair inside the Forbidden City. On receiving the news of his death, Emperor Hsüan-tsung issued a long statement praising him and granting him high posthumous honors. He was celebrated in the Temple of Eminent Statesmen and was given the most coveted posthumous name, Wên-chêng 文正.

In his statement lamenting Ts'ao's death, Emperor Hsuan-tsung praised him as faithful to his trust, and added that although he seemed awkward in speech, he often fearlessly and vehemently gave his views on what should be done and what should not be done. The Emperor resembled Ts'ao in being cautious and frugal, and perhaps for that reason placed so much confidence in him. It is said that owing to Ts'ao's advice, many unnecessary expenses in the government and in the Palaces were abolished. He was not known to seek personal advantage. When began his reforms in the salt administration in Kiangsu, he feared that the changes might incur opposition from Ts'ao whose family was engaged in the salt business there. He therefore apprised Ts'ao of his plans and asked for his opinion. Ts'ao replied that he had never heard of a premier starving to death and would not complain at personal losses if the desired reforms could be carried out.

On the other hand, Ts'ao has been blamed by some writers as having been in part responsible for the weakened state of the empire during the troubled decades following his death. He is said to have minimized the importance of substance in the essays written for the civil examinations, to have overemphasized calligraphy, and to have been too cautious in adhering to precedents of 739