Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/211

 young man with such older poets as and. The latter wrote a preface to a collection of Wang's poems which was entitled 讀書堂詩集 Tu-shu t'ang shih-chi, but his collection was never published. About the year 1700 Wang was a student in the Imperial Academy. He took his chü-jên in 1714 and, though he made several attempts, was unable to secure a higher degree.

In 1724 he made a journey to Shensi, perhaps in the hope of advancing his fortunes by joining the staff of, commander-in-chief of the armies on the northwestern border of China. On the way thither he travelled through Chihli and Shansi and recorded what he saw or heard, in a work entitled 西征隨筆 Hsi chêng sui-pi, "Jottings of a Western Journey", in 2 chüan. This included a letter and several poems that he had submitted to Nien in praise of the latter's exploits. A manuscript copy of the work was found among the personal effects of Nien Kêng-yao when these were confiscated in 1725 at the time of Nien's imprisonment at Hangchow. Many passages contained criticisms of the government, and ridiculed such famous officials as, , , and. Even Emperor Shêng-tsu did not escape Wang's critical notice. One of the chapters dealing with the ungrateful treatment of successful generals by despots of history, might well have been taken as a hint to Nien Kêng-yao either to retire or to revolt. When Emperor Shih-tsung saw the work he was so incensed that he wrote on the cover, "Seditiously false and maniacal to the last degree! Sorry I did not see it earlier. Keep it for later reference. May I never let one like that elude my net!" (悖謬狂亂至於此極惜見此之晚留此以待他日弗使此輩得漏綱也). A facsimile reproduction of this inscription appears in the 1928 edition of the Hsi-chêng sui-pi. Wang Ching-ch'i, then in Peking, was arrested, and executed early in 1726. His wife and children were banished and enslaved in Heilungkiang, his near relatives were exiled to Ninguta, and others of his kinsmen were deprived of official posts. When Nien Kêng-yao was condemned, his failure to inform the throne about the contents of Wang's work constituted one of his five "crimes of a rebellious nature" (大逆). As an aftermath to this case and that of, who also was a native of Chekiang, the examinations of that province were temporarily suspended, and an official was dispatched "to examine and rectify social abuses" (see under ).

In the preface to his Hsi-chêng sui-pi Wang acknowledges that from youth on he was unduly conscious of his intellectual attainments and of his skill in satire, and that his arrogance and unfriendliness made him many enemies. At fifty sui (1721) he felt that though his temperament had improved, he yet could be friends with only a few, and had not learned to restrain himself from criticising others. Perhaps his repeated failure in the examinations induced a feeling of inferiority, particularly in view of the fact that other members of his family became holders of the coveted chin-shih degree—his elder brother,Wang Chien-ch'i 汪見祺, having obtained it in 1709, and his cousin, Wang Shou-ch'i 汪受祺 , in 1715.

[Hsi-chêng sui-pi, published by the Palace Museum, Peking, 1928; Tung-hua lu, K'ang-hsi 45: 1, Yung-chêng 3: 8, 3: 12; Chu I-tsun, P'u-shu t'ing chi 21/16b; Mao Ch'i-ling, Hsi-ho ho chi 27/9b; Hangchow fu-chih (1922) 111/16/13b.]

2em

 WANG Ch'ing-yün 王慶雲, Apr. 14, 1798–1862, Apr. 6, official and scholar, was a native of Min-hsien (Foochow). His family settled at Foochow in the sixteenth century and came to be known as the Hsi-ch'ing Wang-shih 西清王氏. His ancestors were wealthy merchants, but the family fortunes declined owing to his father's delicate health. Graduated as chü-jên in 1819 and as chin-shih in 1829, Wang Ch'ing-yün became a compiler of the Hanlin Academy (1832). In 1837 he was made educational commissioner of Kweichow, a position he held until the close of the year 1840. During this period he devoted himself to the development of local industry and education under Governor. At the same time his reading of the Huang-ch'ao ching-shih wên-pien, compiled by the governor, increased his interest in matters of statecraft. After his father's death (late in 1841), he remained for about four years in his native place, and proceeded to Peking in the spring of 1846. In the ensuing five years he held various posts in the Hanlin Academy, the Historiographical Board, etc., where he availed himself of the archives—especially administrative documents which were ordinarily barred to the public. On the basis of these sources he wrote a concise financial history of the Ch'ing Empire, which is regarded as one of the best of its kind in the Ch'ing period. It later became popular and was 813