Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/210

  5/36a; Sungkiang fu chih (1884) 83/20b;, Fu-ch'u chai chi-wai shih, 9/11a, 14/1b, 16/5a.]

2em

 WANG Chien 王鑑, 1598–1677, a native of T'ai-ts'ang, Kiangsu, was a great-grandson of Wang Shih-chên (see under ), in recognition of whose distinguished services Wang Chien was made prefect of Lien-chou, modern Ho-p'u-hsien, Kwangtung, during the reign of the last Ming emperor (see under ). Although he did not remain at this post for any length of time before retiring to private life, he is commonly known as Wang Lien-chou 王廉州 after the prefecture in which he served. He was fond of painting, and in this art had the great advantage of owning a rich collection of old pictures which he inherited from his great-grandfather. He was a landscape painter in the style of Tung Yüan (see under ) and Chü-jan (see under ), but he also studied the works of many other prominent artists, which he copied diligently. He was thus able to combine many of the best points of other artists with the general style of Tung Yüan. His work shows the care in execution and the exactness and freedom that come with a thorough mastery of all the intricacies of the art.

Wang Chien was a few years younger than and really belonged to a later generation, but in the field of painting they were the closest of friends. These two distinguished artists were chiefly responsible for carrying the Ming tradition over into the new era of the Ch'ing. They had both received their early training in painting during the last years of the Ming and lived on until the Ch'ing dynasty was firmly established. Both of them believed in thorough training, and in this they laid the foundation for painters of the Ch'ing period. They were generous in giving help to the young artists of their time, among whom later became the most celebrated.

A few of Wang Chien's annotations on paintings may be found in the Hua-hsüeh hsin yin (see under ) under the heading 染香庵畫跋 Jan-hsiang an hua-pa.

[1/509/1b; 3/428/35b; 20/1/00 (portrait); 畫史彙傳 Hua-shih hui-chuan (1825) 29/3a;, Mei-ts'un chia-ts'ang kao 19/1a; L.T.C.L.H.M. pp. 69–71.]

2em

WANG Chih-ts'ai 王之寀, d. June 2, 1627, was a native of Chao-i, Shensi, who became a chin-shih in 1601 and rose to be a secretary in the Board of Punishments. In 1615 he acquired notoriety, and at the same time aroused the enmity of one of the Court factions, for his activity in the so-called "club case" (see under ). On May 30 of that year an unidentified man broke into the palace of the Crown Prince and severely injured one of the guards with a club before he could be overpowered and captured. The censor in charge of the investigation pronounced the culprit insane, and this verdict was seconded by Wang's superiors on the Board who were natives of Chekiang. Not satisfied with the decision, Wang visited the prisoner on June 6 and secured from him a story which pointed to a plot, by eunuchs, on the life of the Heir Apparent. He reported the case and requested a retrial at which, despite attempts to suppress the facts, two eunuchs attached to the palace of the Emperor's favorite concubine, Chêng (see under ), were implicated. On June 23 the Emperor called a meeting of his ministers in the apartments of the Crown Prince, this being the first audience he had granted them in twenty-five years. He displayed great affection for his son and, in order to dispel further suspicion, ordered the execution of the prisoner and the two eunuchs. Ten years later, when Wang had risen to the post of junior vice-president of the Board of Punishments, the case was revived, and revenge was taken by adherents of the eunuch, then in power. Wang was accused of mischiefmaking and slander, and died in prison.

[M.1/244/25a; Chao-i-hsien hou-chih (1712) 6/10b; 明通鑑 Ming t'ung-chien 80/16a.]

2em

 WANG Ching-ch'i 汪景祺, 1672–1726, Jan. 15, victim of a literary inquisition, was a native of Ch'ien-t'ang (Hangchow), Chekiang. His personal name was originally Jih-ch'i 日祺. His father, Wang Pin 汪霦, passed in 1679 the special examination known as po-hsüeh hung-tz'ŭ (see under ), and served as libationer of the Imperial Academy (1689–1691), and as vice-president of the Board of Revenue (1705–1706), but was dismissed in 1706 on the charge of unfairness in the conduct of the examination for chü-jên held in Peking. Wang Ching-ch'i, the second son in the family, was associated as a 812