MUZIChinese Matrix
Scholars › Philosopher / Thinker
Yuyao disciple of Wang Yangming who with Wang Ji led the school after their teacher's death, edited the Chuanxi lu and lectured for decades after his dismissal
A thatched pavilion open on three sides stands among tall bamboo; one person sits with their back turned at the veranda rail beside a zither and a stack of bamboo slips, while a stone path runs to a calm pond reflecting clouds and distant hills.
Also known as Zi Hongfu · Hao Xushan
Qian Dehong, originally named Kuan, later used the courtesy name Hongfu and came from Yuyao in Zhejiang. When Wang Shouren (Wang Yangming) came home to teach, Qian brought dozens of local men to study with him and, together with Wang Ji, explained the main ideas to newcomers. He passed the metropolitan examination in 1526 but went home without sitting the palace examination, and when he set out again late in the seventh Jiajing year he learned on the road of Wang's death, went to Guixi to mourn him and kept three years of mourning, gaining his jinshi only in 1532. As a director in the Ministry of Justice he was twice sent to the imperial prison over his handling of the case of the noble Guo Xun, and was finally dismissed. He spent the following decades lecturing and edited Wang's Instructions for Practical Living (Chuanxi lu), his collected writings and his chronological biography. Restored to rank under the Longqing emperor, he died in 1574 in his seventy-ninth year.
MingAfter his dismissal Qian Dehong traveled in all directions lecturing on the learning of liangzhi. At a time when many officials lectured to gain a name, he and Wang Ji, as leading disciples of Wang Shouren, were especially honored. The Ming shi says his insight was not as deep as Wang Ji's but his discipline was firmer, and he never lost the bounds of a Confucian.
