Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/229

 the succeeding Emperor Shih-tsung by requesting to retire shortly after the latter ascended the throne. Although the request was granted (1723), he was reprimanded and was forbidden to return to his home. Two years later, when was indicted, Wang Shan was charged with having encouraged his sons, I-ch'ing and I-hung, who were subordinates to Nien, to seek the latter's approbation. To signify his displeasure, the Emperor decreed that the two sons be banished still farther into western Mongolia, thus depriving Wang himself of the pleasure of seeing them before he died. The two brothers were recalled from exile when the succeeding Emperor Kao-tsung ascended the throne. Wang I-hung served as intendant of the Ch'uan-tung circuit in Szechwan from 1737 to 1739 and then retired.

The family of Wang Shan was distinguished for producing two famous Grand Secretaries, the first one being his great-grandfather, Wang Hsi-chüeh (see under ). Several brothers and nephews of Wang Shan were painters or poets (see under ). Wang Shan himself is credited with having left a collection of memorials, entitled 西田奏議 Hsi-t'ien tsou-i, and a collection of literary works, entitled Hsi-t'ien chi (集), in 4 chüan. The existence of both works is questionable.

[1/292/1a; 3/11/24a; Tai-ts'ang chou-chih (1919) 20/1la, passim;, Hu-hai wên chuan 33/7b; 康熙建儲案 K'ang-hsi chien-ch'u an in Wên-hsien ts'ung-pien (see bibl. under ) no. 4; Tung-hua lu, K'ang-hsi 56:11; 60:3; 3/135/27a; , Hsiao-t'ing tsa-lu 4/9b.]

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WANG Shih-chên 王士禛, Oct. 19, 1634–1711, June 26, poet and official, came from a family of note in Hsin-ch'êng, Shantung. He was born at Kaifeng, Honan, where his grandfather,, was then serving as provincial judge. A precocious child, he is said to have composed poetry at the age of eight (sui). By 1648, when he was fifteen (sui), his first volume of verse was published, under the title 落箋堂初稿 Lo-chien t'ang ch'u-kao. He passed the metropolitan examination in 1655, becoming a chin-shih three years later. In 1659 he was named police magistrate of Yangchow, assuming that office the following year. In this capacity he served for five years (1660–65), during which he cleared up a number of difficult cases and passed out just sentences which won the applause of many people. Always busily occupied with official duties, he yet found time to become acquainted with many poets of Kiangsu and to attend their gatherings; he received in particular the encouragement of and. Recommended highly by his superiors, he was promoted in 1664 to be a secretary in the Board of Ceremonies, an office which he assumed in September 1665. Two years later he was raised to an assistant department director and from 1669 to 1670 he served as superintendent of customs at Ch'ing-chiang-p'u, Kiangsu. In 1671 he was transferred to the Board of Revenue. A year later he was sent to Szechwan to direct the provincial examination, but on his way back he learned of the death of his mother and hurried home. In 1676 he returned to Peking to resume his post in the Board of Revenue.

Having then only light official duties, Wang Shih-chên spent much of his time in the company of scholars and poets who were gathered in the capital from many parts of the country. He came to be recognized as one of the leading poets of his day and his name was mentioned to Emperor Shêng-tsu. Although he had failed to enter the Hanlin Academy when he became a chin-shih (1658), he was favored in 1678 with an imperial audience and was appointed a subreader in the Academy. Early in 1681 he was promoted to be libationer of the Imperial Academy, and three years later was named junior director of the Supervisorate of Instruction. Early in 1685 he was sent to Kwangtung to offer sacrifices to the Spirit of the South Seas. Later in that year his father died; he returned home to observe the period of mourning. Thereafter he served as: a vice-president of the Censorate (1690), of the Board of War (1690–92), and of the Board of Revenue (1692–98); and as president of the Censorate (1698–99), and of the Board of Punishments (1699–1704). He officiated concurrently as a director of the State Historiographer's Office and in the compilation of the classified dictionary, 淵鑑類函 Yüan-chien lei-han, 454 chüan (completed in 1702, printed in 1710). In 1696 he served as commissioner to offer sacrifices to the Spirit of the Mountains of the West.

In 1704 it was found that Wang Shih-chên and other officials of the Board of Punishments had meted out to a murderer a very light sentence. For his part in the mistrial, Wang was 831