1. Huang Zongxi, courtesy name Taichong, was a Chinese naturalist, political theorist, philosopher, and soldier during the latter part of the Ming dynasty into the early part of the Qing.
14 Facts About Huang Zongxi
1. 2.
Huang Zongxi was the son of Huang Zunsu, an official of the Ming court and an adherent of the Donglin Movement who died in prison after opposing the powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian.
3.
Huang Zongxi became a licentiate in 1623 at the age of 14, and in the same year followed his father to Beijing, where his father held a post as a censor.
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The struggle between the Donglin faction and the eunuchs was reaching a climax during this period, and as a result the elder Huang was dismissed from office in 1625 and the two returned home.
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When Huang Zongxi Zunsu was traveling in custody to Beijing in 1626, he introduced his son to Liu Zongzhou, a noted philosopher of the Wang Yangming school.
6.
Huang Zongxi then became a devoted disciple of Liu and a proponent of the Wang Yangming school.
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Still, Huang Zongxi engaged in daring acts of vengeance in the capital, gaining the respect of many.
8.
In 1633, Huang Zongxi completed the Shilu, or "Veritable Records" of the first thirteen reigns of the Ming dynasty.
9.
Liang Qichao later speculated that Huang Zongxi avoided capture by fleeing to Japan during this period, but the evidence consists of only one poem.
10.
Huang Zongxi assisted Ming loyalist forces until his retirement in 1649.
11.
Thereafter, Huang Zongxi devoted himself to study and lived near his native home for much of the rest of his life.
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Huang Zongxi was notable for being one of the first Neo-Confucians to stress the need for constitutional law.
13.
Huang Zongxi openly advocated the belief that ministers should be openly critical of their emperor; and that rulers held a responsibility to their country.
14.
At the time of his death, Huang Zongxi left behind an uncompleted survey of the Song and Yuan dynasties.