Zheng Xuan (127– July 200),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...

Kangcheng (), was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer near the end of the Eastern

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. He was born in Gaomi, Beihai Commandery (modern

Weifang, Shandong Weifang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the ...

), and was a student of Ma Rong, together with Lu Zhi. Like his teacher, he was a member of the

Old Text In Chinese language, Chinese philology, the Old Texts () refer to some versions of the Five Classics discovered during the Han Dynasty, written in archaic Chinese character, characters and supposedly produced before the To burn the classics and to ...

School that was challenging the state orthodox New Text School. His contemporary rival was He Xiu (, 129-182). Zheng is notable for his syncretic attempt to bridge the two centuries of rivalry between the two schools. He adopted the strengths of each school in the interpretation of the Confucian classics although he usually favored the Old Text teachings. He was very influential but the government never officially adopted his teachings. The Han Dynasty was already in decline during his lifetime and collapsed a generation after his death. Both schools did not survive the chaos but Zheng's conception of Confucianism would be the mainstream interpretation for centuries. In 200, during the

Battle of Guandu The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victo ...

, Zheng was ordered by the warlord

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred t ...

to Yuan's stronghold (in modern-day Daming County,

Hebei Province Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

), where he died of illness in July. The commemorative shrine of Zheng Xuan in Shandong was rebuilt under supervision of

Ruan Yuan Ruan Yuan (; 1764–1849), courtesy name Yuntai (云台), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer of the Qing Dynasty who was the most prominent Chinese scholar during the first half of the 19th century. He won the ''jinshi'' degree i ...

阮元 (1764–1849) in 1793.Elman, Benjamin A. ''Classicism, politics, and kingship: the Chang-chou school of New Text Confucianism in late imperial China'' (e-resource). 1990:220.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Zheng Xuan appears in Chapter 22 of the novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

'', which dramatises the end of the Han dynasty and the subsequent Three Kingdoms era. Zheng is depicted as living in

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

asks Zheng to write to Yuan Shao to propose an alliance against Cao Cao.

References

Citations

* 127 births 200 deaths 2nd-century Chinese philosophers Chinese Confucianists Han dynasty essayists Han dynasty philosophers Philosophers from Shandong Writers from Weifang Han dynasty classicists {{Confucianism-stub

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

References

Citations