Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/39

 至能 H. 石湖, 1126–1193). In the collectanea, Hsin-chü chai ts'ung-shu of 1885 (see under ), can be found his corrections and additions to annotations to the poems of Su Shih (see under ), entitled 蘇詩查注補正 Su-shih Cha-chu pu-chêng, 4 chüan. In 1927 two of Shên's works were printed in the Chia-yeh t'ang ts'ung-shu (see under ), namely: 王荊公詩集補注 Wang Ching-kung shih-chi pu-chu, 4 chüan, being corrections and additions to notes of others on the poems of Wang An-shih (see under ); and Wang Ching-kung wên-chi chien-chu (文集箋注), 8 chüan, being annotations to the prose writings of that statesman. Two other works appear in the Kuang-ya ts'ung-shu (see under ), namely: 韓昌黎集補注 Han Ch'ang-li chi pu-chu, 1 chüan, being additional notes to the collected works of Han Yü (see under ); and the 幼學堂文稿 Yu-hsüeh t'ang wên-kao, 1 chüan, comprising several of Shên's essays on the Classics. These essays, which are also entitled Yu-hsüeh t'ang wên-kao, 8 chüan, and his collected verse, entitled Yu-hsüeh t'ang shih (詩) kao, 17 chüan, were printed in part in 1813 and were later amplified with the help of funds supplied by his friend and benefactor, T'u Cho 屠倬, a chin-shih of 1808. Other manuscripts of Shên Ch'in-han, including one of the Shui-ching chu (see under ), were not printed and seem to have been lost. For most of his writings he first made annotations on the margins of the pages of the original works. When no room was left he wrote out his first draft, revised it, and made a second draft—always making three or four drafts before publication. Altogether he wrote some four or five million words. He was humble and was handicapped by a difficulty in speech and by a very ungainly appearance—all of which may account for the fact that he was not honored in his lifetime. But his mind was very penetrating and his annotations are thoroughly critical, consistent and dependable.

[2/69/33a; 3/259/47a; 5/76/15b; T'u Cho, 是程堂集 Shih-ch'êng t'ang chi; Sun Tien-ch'i 孫殿起, 販書偶記 Fan-shu ou-chi, 16/20b; Chêng Tê-k'un 鄭德坤, 水經注引得 Shui-ching chu yin-tê, p. XVII.]

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 SHÊN Fu 沈復, Dec. 26, 1763–?, writer and painter, was a native of Yuanho (Soochow), Kiangsu. His father was by profession a secretary to magistrates, his duties relating primarily to judicial and financial matters. In 1781 Shên Fu became, at his father's command, an apprentice in the same profession, and six years later obtained a post as secretary to the magistrate of Chi-hsi, Anhwei. A year later, owing to disagreements with his colleagues, he relinquished the post to join a relative in a brewing business which depended on the retail market in the island of Formosa. After the rebellion on that island in the years 1787–88 (see under ), the market was lost and the business failed. Thereafter Shên worked, off and on, as secretary, teacher, or merchant. In the years 1792–93 he went to Canton to sell native products of Soochow, but up to 1805 he never remained long at one post. For a time he conducted a studio in Soochow for the sale of his paintings, but could not in this way make even half a living. In the meantime he and his beloved wife, Ch'ên Yün 陳芸 T. 淑珍 (1763–1803), incurred the dislike of his parents, and were compelled early in 1801 to leave the family shelter. In 1803, while they were living miserably in Yangchow, his wife died after twenty-three years of married life. After his father's death in 1804 Shên was deprived of his inheritance through the intrigue of a younger brother. Finally he had to live in Soochow on the bounty of friends.

In 1805 Shên Fu obtained a position as secretary to, then prefect of Chungking, Szechwan. He and Shih were fellow-townsmen and acquaintances of long standing. Shên remained with his friend for more than a year and during that time accompanied him to Tungkwan, Shensi, and to Tsinan, Shantung. In 1806 he obtained a position as secretary to the magistrate of Lai-yang, Shantung, but in the following year accompanied Shih to Peking. In 1807 an embassy led by Ch'i K'un 齊鯤 was dispatched to the Loochoo Islands to give imperial recognition to a new ruler of those islands. Shên joined this embassy as secretary, and probably returned to China in 1809. Such missions usually occupied two years, owing chiefly to long periods of waiting in Fukien for favorable winds. We are told that after his return to China his fame as a painter increased.

Nothing further is known of the later life of Shên Fu. Some details of his career up to 1807 641