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

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

in the early Qing dynasty. After the Manchu conquest of north China in 1644, Gu participated in anti-Manchu activities. He never served the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. Instead, he traveled throughout north China, engaging in local studies intended to strengthen China's intellectual and spiritual resources.

Biography

Gu, a native of

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, was born as Gu Jiang (). Gu began his schooling at the age of 7. In the early spring of 1645, Gu was appointed to be Office Manager in the Ministry of War 兵部司務 at the Southern Ming court in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. There he proposed strategies for strengthening resistance to the Qing. Disillusioned by the Southern Ming's ineffectiveness, Gu resigned and returned to his hometown. In 1655, Gu and friends killed a disloyal family servant who had revealed to Qing officials Gu's service at the Southern Ming court. Gu was arrested and charged by corrupt local officials, but a friend caused the case to be removed to another jurisdiction, from which he was released. In the next year, Gu was the target of an assassination attempt instigated by a predatory neighbor formerly allied with the deceased disloyal servant. Gu then left home and traveled in north China for nearly all his remaining years. Inspired by Chen Di, who had demonstrated that

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

has its own phonological system, Gu studied rhyming words in ancient classics and grouped them in 10 rhyme categories, which served as a founding model for Qing period evidential research on the classical legacy. Gu's 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, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) i ...

had a huge influence on later scholars. His works include "Five Studies on Phonology" ''Yinxue Wushu'' (), "Digest of Daily Learning" ''Ri Zhi Lu'' () and "Compendium of Historical Geography" ''Zhao Yu Zhi'' (). 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 A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China ( ...

, Gu fell from horseback and died the next day. Together with Wang Fuzhi and Huang Zongxi, Gu is regarded as one of the most outstanding Confucian scholars of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.

Aphorism

* Depending how Tianxia is interpreted, can be variously translated as: ** ''Everybody is responsible for the fate of the world.'' ** ''The rise and fall of the nation concerns everyone.'' ** ''Everyone bears responsibility for the prosperity of society.''

Legacy

Gu is commemorated by Tinglin Park and the Gu Yanwu Museum in Tinglin Park of

Kunshan Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu Province, 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 Th ...

. In 2005, the Central Propaganda Department of China named the Gu Yanwu Museum located at Gu's former residence in Qiandeng town as a "national patriotism education base".

Former residence of Gu Yanwu

The former residence of Gu Yanwu is located in Qiandeng town of

, 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 17th-century Chinese scientists 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