Gu Yanwu () (July 15, 1613 – February 15, 1682), also known as Gu Tinglin (), was a Chinese philologist, geographer, and famous

scholar-official The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

in Qing dynasty. He spent his youth during the

Manchu conquest of China The transition from Ming to Qing, alternatively known as Ming–Qing transition or the Manchu conquest of China, from 1618 to 1683, saw the transition between two major dynasties in Chinese history. It was a decades-long conflict between the em ...

in anti-Manchu activities after the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

had been overthrown. He never served the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. Instead, he traveled throughout the country and devoted himself to studies.

Biography

Statue of Gu Yanwu in Tinglin Park, Kunshan

Gu, a native of

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

, was born as Gu Jiang (). Gu began his schooling at the age of 14. In the spring of 1645, Gu was recommended to be the position of ''Bingbu Siwu'' in the royal court at

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. There he proposed many ideas. Unsatisfied with the royal court's organization, Gu resigned and returned to his hometown. In 1655, local officials laid charges against him and threw him into prison. He was released from prison with the help of a friend. Inspired by Chen Di, who had demonstrated that the

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 ...

has its own phonological system, Gu divided the words of Old Chinese into 10 rhyme groups, the first one to do so. His positivist approach to a variety of disciplines, and his criticism of

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in t ...

had a huge influence on later scholars. His works include ''Yinxue Wushu'' (), ''Ri Zhi Lu'' () and ''Zhao Yu Zhi'' (). Along with

Wang Fuzhi Wang Fuzhi (; 1619–1692), courtesy name Ernong (), pseudonym Chuanshan (), was a Chinese essayist, historian, and philosopher of the late Ming, early Qing dynasties. Life Born to a scholarly family in Hengyang in Hunan province in 1619, Wang F ...

and Huang Zongxi, Gu was named as one of the most outstanding Confucian scholars of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. In 1682, while returning from a friend's home to

Huaying Huaying () is a county-level city in the east of Sichuan province, China. It is administered by the prefecture-level city Guang'an. Its total population is 360,000 and with 50000 in the central city district. The city tree is the small leafed ...

, Gu fell from horseback and died the next day.

Aphorism

"''Everybody is responsible for the fate of the world''" () Alternatively, ''The rise and fall of the nation concerns everyone''; or ''Everyone bears responsibility for the prosperity of society''.

Legacy

Gu is commemorated by

Tinglin Park Tinglin Park (Chinese: 亭林公园; pīnyīn: tínglíngōngyuán) is located in the north-west of Kunshan, China. Because the Yufeng mountain () in this park looks like a saddle (Chinese: 马鞍; pīnyīn: mǎ’ān), the park was named Ma’ans ...

and the Gu Yanwu Museum in Tinglin Park of

Kunshan Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province with Shanghai bordering its eastern border and Suzhou on its western boundary. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. Name There is a strong p ...

. In 2005, the

Central Propaganda Department The Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, also known as the Propaganda Department or Central Propaganda Department, is an internal division of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in charge of spreading C ...

of China named the Gu Yanwu Museum located at Gu's former residence in

Qiandeng town Qiandeng () is a town in Kunshan, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. , it has 12 residential communities and 16 villages under its administration. It is located 15 kilometers south of Kunshan city and borders Qingpu District, Shanghai on its east side. Qiande ...

as a "national patriotism education base".

Former residence of Gu Yanwu

The former residence of Gu Yanwu is located in

, a Ming dynasty complex with main hall, living quarter, a study and a garden. Gu Yanwu's grave is located in a quiet corner of the garden.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gu, Yanwu 1613 births 1682 deaths 17th-century geographers Chinese geographers Linguists from China Chinese Confucianists Ming dynasty philosophers Ming dynasty scholars Philosophers from Jiangsu Qing dynasty philosophers 17th-century Chinese philosophers Scientists from Suzhou Writers from Suzhou Qing dynasty writers People from Kunshan