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1. The Life of Wang Ch`ung.
The principal data of Wang
Ch`ung's life are furnished by his autobiography and by the biographical
notice in chapter 79 p. 1 of the Hou Han-shu, the
History of the Later Han Dynasty, which was written by
Fan Yeh in the 5th cent. a.d.
and commented on by Prince Chang Huai Hsien of the
T`ang dynasty. There we read:
"Wang Ch`ung, whose style
was Chung Jên, was a native of Shang-yü in K`uei-chi. His
forefathers had immigrated from Yuanch`êng in the
Wei circuit. As a boy he lost his father and was
commended in his village for his filial piety. Subsequently he repaired to the
capital, where he studied at the academy.
The book of Yuan Shan Sung
says that Wang Ch`ung was a very precocious youth. After
having entered the academy, he composed an essay on six scholars on the
occasion of the emperor visiting the Imperial College.
His teacher was Pan Piao
from Fu-fêng. He was very fond of extensive reading, but
did not trouble much about paragraphs or sentences. His family being poor, he
possessed no books. Therefore he used to stroll about the market-place and the
shops in Loyang and read the books exposed there for
sale. That which he had once read, he was able to remember and to repeat. Thus
he had acquired a vast knowledge of the tenets of the various schools and
systems. Having returned to his native place, he led a very solitary life as a
teacher. Then he took office in the prefecture and was appointed secretary, but
in consequence of frequent remonstrances with his superiors, disputes, and
dissensions with his colleagues, he had to quit the service.
Wang Ch`ung had a strong
penchant for discussions. At the outset, his arguments
would often appear rather queer, but his final conclusions were true and
reasonable. Being convinced that the ordinary savants
stuck too much to the letter, and thus would mostly lose the true meaning, he
shut himself up for meditation, and no longer observed the ceremonies of
congratulation or condolence. Everywhere near the door, the windows, and on the
walls he had his knives and pens placed, with which he wrote the
Lun-hêng in 85 chapters containing over 200,000
words.
Yuan Shan Sung says in his
book that at first the Lun-hêng written by
Wang Ch`ung was not current in the central provinces.
When T`sai Yung came to Wu, he
discovered it there, and used to read it secretly as a help to conversation.
Afterwards Wang Lang became prefect of K`uei-chi, and likewise got into possession of the book. On
his return to Hsü-hsia his contemporaries were struck
with the great improvement of his abilities. Some one remarked that, unless he
had met with some extraordinary person, he must have found some extraordinary
book. They made investigations, and found out that in fact it was from the
Lun-hêng that he had derived this advantage. Thereupon
the Lun-hêng came into vogue. Pao P`u
Tse relates that his contemporaries grudged T`sai
Yung the possession of a rare book. Somebody searched for it in the hiding
place behind his curtains, and there in fact found the Lun-hêng. He folded some chapters together in order to take
them away, when T`sai Yung proposed to him that they
should both keep the book, but not divulge its contents.
He explained the similarities and the diversities
of the different classes of things, and settled the common doubts and errors of
the time.
The governor Tung Ch`in made
him assistant-magistrate. Later on he rose to the rank of a sub-prefect. Then
he retired and returned home. A friend and fellow-countryman of his
Hsieh I Wu addressed a memorial to the throne, in which
he recommended Wang Ch`ung for his talents and
learning.
In the book of Hsieh Ch`êng
it is stated that in recommending Wang Ch`ung, Hsieh I
Wu said that his genius was a natural gift and not acquired by learning.
Even Mencius and Sun Ching in
former times, or Yang Hsiung, Liu Hsiang, or
Sse ma Ch`ien more recently in the Han epoch could not surpass him.
Su Tsung commanded a
chamberlain to summon Wang Ch`ung into his presence, but
owing to sickness, he could not go. When he was nearly seventy years of age,
his powers began to decline. Then he wrote a book on "Macrobiotics" in 16
chapters, and refraining from all desires and propensities, and avoiding all
emotions, he kept himself alive, until in the middle of the Yung-yuan period, when he died of an illness at his
home."
By his own testimony Wang
Ch`ung was born in the third year of the Chien-wu
cycle, i. e. in a.d. 27, in
Shang-yü-hsien, the present Shao-hsing-fu of the province of Chekiang. His family had originally been residing in
Yuan-ch`êng = Ta-ming-fu in
Chihli. His father's name was Wang
Sung. Owing to their violent temper his ancestors had several times been
implicated in local feuds, which are still now of frequent occurrence in
Fukien and Chekiang, and were
compelled to change their domicile. Wang Ch`ung's
critics are scandalized at his coolly telling us that his great-grandfather
behaved like a ruffian during a famine, killing and wounding his
fellow-people.
If Wang Ch`ung's own
description be true, he must have been a paragon in his youth. He never needed
any correction neither at the hands of his parents nor of his teachers. For his
age he was exceptionally sedate and serious. When he was six years old, he
received his first instruction, and at the age of 8 he was sent to a public
school. There the teacher explained to him the Analects
and the Shuking, and he read 1,000 characters every day.
When he had mastered the Classics, one was astonished at the progress he made,
so he naïvely informs us. Of his other attainments he speaks in the same strain
and with the same conceit. The Hou Han-shu confirms that
he was a good son.
Having lost his father very early, he entered the
Imperial College at Loyang, then the capital of
China. His principal teacher was the historian
Pan Piao, the father of Pan Ku,
author of the History of the Former Han dynasty. In
Loyang he laid the foundation of the vast amount of
knowledge by which he distinguished himself later on, and became acquainted
with the theories of the various schools of thought, many of which he
vigorously attacks in his writings. His aim was to grasp the general gist of
what he read, and he did not care so much for minor details. The majority of
the scholars of his time conversely would cling to the words and sentences and
over these minutiæ quite forget the whole. Being too poor to buy all the books
required to satiate his hunger for knowledge, he would saunter about in the
marketplace and book-shops, and peruse the books exposed there for sale, having
probably made some sort of agreement with the booksellers, who may have taken
an interest in the ardent student. His excellent memory was of great service to
him, for he could remember, even repeat what he had once read. At the same time
his critical genius developed. He liked to argue a point, and though his views
often seemed paradoxical, his opponents could not but admit the justness of his
arguments.
Having completed his studies, Wang Ch`ung returned to his native place, where he became a
teacher and lived a very quiet life. Subsequently he took office and secured a
small position as a secretary of a district, a post which he also filled under
a military governor and a prefect. At last he was promoted to be
assistant-magistrate of a department. He would have us believe that he was a
very good official, and that his relations to his colleagues were excellent.
The Hou Han-shu, on the other hand, tells us that he
remonstrated so much with his superiors and was so quarrelsome, that he had to
leave the service. This version seems the more probable of the two.
Wang Ch`ung was much too independent, much too
outspoken, and too clever to do the routine business well, which requires
clerks and secretaries of moderate abilities, or to serve under superiors, whom
he surpassed by his talents. So he devoted himself exclusively to his studies.
He lived in rather straitened circumstances, but supported his embarassments
with philosophical equanimity and cheerfulness. "Although he was poor and had
not an acre to dwell upon, his mind was freer than that of kings and dukes, and
though he had no emoluments counted by pecks and bushels, he felt, as if he had
ten thousand chung to live upon. He enjoyed a tranquil
happiness, but his desires did not run riot, and though he was living in a
state of poverty, his energy was not broken. The study of ancient literature
was his debauchery, and strange stories his relish." He had a great admiration
for superior men, and liked to associate with people rising above mediocrity.
As long as he was in office and well off, he had many friends, but most of them
abandoned him, when he had retired into private life.
In a.d. 86
Wang Ch`ung emigrated into the province of
Anhui, where he was appointed sub-prefect, the highest
post which he held, but two years only, for in 88 he gave up his official
career, which had not been a brilliant one. The reason of his resignation this
time seems to have been ill health.
So far Wang Ch`ung had not
succeeded in attracting the attention of the emperor. An essay which he had
composed, when the emperor had visited the college of Loyang, had passed unnoticed. In the year 76, when parts of
Honan were suffering from a great dearth,
Wang Ch`ung presented a memorial to the Emperor
Chang Ti in which he proposed measures to prohibit
dissipation and extravagancies, and to provide for the time of need, but his
suggestions were not accepted. He did not fare better with another
anti-alcoholic memorial, in which he advocated the prohibition of the use of
spirits. When finally the Emperor became aware of Wang
Ch`ung, it was too late. A friend and a countryman of his,
Hsieh I Wu recommended him to the throne for his talents
and great learning, saying that neither Mencius or
Hsün Tse nor in the Han time
Yang Hsiung, Liu Hsiang or See Ma
Ch`ien could outshine him. The Emperor Chang Ti
(76-88 a.d.) summoned him to his presence, but owing
to his ill-health Wang Ch`ung had to decline the honour.
His state had impaired so much, that already in 89 he thought that his end had
come. But the next two years passed, and he did not die. He found even the time
to write a book on "Macrobiotics," which he put into practice himself,
observing a strict diet and avoiding all agitations in order to keep his vital
fluid intact, until he expired in the middle of the Yung-yuan period (89-104) about the year 97. The exact year
is not known.
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