Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/175

 to protect and to defend. Though he perceived that books written after the period of the Warring Kingdoms distorted our knowledge of antiquity and the truth of the sages, he could not admit that the sages, too, may have distorted the past in the interest of their own special views. Criticism of this sort can, however, easily become ungracious and captious—overlooking the contributions which Ts'ui Shu actually made, expecting of him complete modernity when he was in fact a man of the eighteenth century. A more just attitude was proclaimed by Hu Shih in the chronological biography referred to above, "If we wish to surpass him, we shall first have to follow him."

[Hu Shih and Chao Chên-hsin, Chronological Biography mentioned above; Ts'ui Tung-pi i-shu, 1936 definitive edition, passim; 古史辨 Ku-shih pien (1926) 上編, pp. 19, 22, 27, 59f.;, T'ung-shan shih-chi, 7/17b, for the poem referred to above. It was not noticed by the editors of the definitive edition of 1936, but has been found since then by Tu Lien-chê; 建陽縣志 Chien-yang hsien chih (1929) 10/39a for biography of Hsiao Yüan-kuei; Ts'ui's essay, Chêng-lun, translated by A. W. Hummel under the title, "The Place of Acquiescence in Conflict" appears in T'ien Hsia Aug.–Sept. 1940, p. 87–93.]

2em

 TS'UI Tzŭ-chung 崔子忠, also named Ts'ui Tan 丹,, c. 1595–c. 1644, Ming artist, was a native of Lai-yang, Shantung, but registered as a licentiate of Shun-t'ien prefecture and lived in Peking. He achieved fame as a painter and was recognized as the equal of his contemporary, —the two being often referred to as "Ch'ên of the South and Ts'ui of the North" (南陳北崔 Nan Ch'ên pei Ts'ui). Although very poor, he refused assistance from most of his acquaintances, and would not paint for people whom he disliked. When Li Tzŭ-ch'êng took Peking in 1644 Ts'ui went to live in an obscure quarter of the city where, according to some accounts, he starved to death. Some of his paintings are preserved in the Palace Museum, Peiping.

[Shun-t'ien-fu chih (1884) 98/43a; 1/509/2a; 7/44/9b; 26/1/9a; L.T.C.L.H.M. 258b; Waley, Index of Chinese Artists, p. 88.]

2em

 TU Chên 杜臻, a native of Hsiu-shui, Chekiang, was a chin-shih of 1658 who died between 1700 and 1705. Appointed a second-class Hanlin compiler, he became a reader of the Grand Secretariat and later vice-president of the Board of Civil Office. In 1683 he was ordered to proceed to Kwangtung and Fukien to supervise the rehabilitation of the coastal districts which had been depopulated for almost thirty years. The removal of the people inland for a distance of thirty to fifty li was suggested by in 1657 as a measure to starve out the naval forces under the rebel,. The plan, which included the suspension of all trade and industries on the coast, was put into effect, and was more or less strictly enforced throughout the time that Chêng and his descendants controlled Formosa. In 1683, after the conquest of Formosa (see under ), the rehabilitation of the depopulated coasts became an urgent matter which was supervised by officials sent from Peking. Chin Shih-chien 金世鑑 and a Manchu were entrusted with the work of rehabilitation in Kiangsu and Chekiang; Tu Chên and Hsi-chu 席柱 with the same task in Kwangtung and Fukien. The two last-mentioned set out on their mission in the winter of 1683, and concluded it about the middle of 1684. In Kwangtung 28,192 ch'ing (1 ch'ing = 16.44 acres) of land were reapportioned to a population of 31,300; and in Fukien, 31,018 ch'ing were divided among a population of about 40,800. In addition to repatriating the people on this land, the commissioners helped them to resume fishing, salt manufacturing and trading.

While in Kwangtung, Tu Chên enjoyed the whole-hearted co-operation of Governor-general Wu Hsing-tso 吳興祚 who is known also for encouraging the resumption of foreign trade at Canton, and for sponsoring in 1685 the compilation of the atlas, 廣東輿圖 Kwangtung yü-t'u, 12 chüan (see Report of the Librarian of Congress, 1938, p. 229–30). Concerning his experiences in rehabilitation work, Tu Chên wrote a treatise entitled 閩粵巡視紀略 Min Yüeh hsün-shih chi-lüeh, 6 chüan. He also wrote a work about the coastal defenses, entitled 海防述略 Hai fang shu-lüeh, 1 chüan. While he was in Kwangtung in 1684 he was promoted to be president of the Board of Works.

Upon the death of his mother in 1686 Tu Chên went home, remaining in mourning until 1689 777