University of Virginia Library

1. The Life of Wang Ch`ung.

The principal data of Wang Ch`ung's life are furnished by his
autobiography and by the biographical notice in chapter 79 p. 1 of the
Hou Han-shu, the History of the Later Han Dynasty, which was
written by Fan Yeh in the 5th cent. a.d. and commented on by Prince
Chang Huai Hsien of the T`ang dynasty. There we read:

"Wang Ch`ung, whose style was Chung Jên, was a native of
Shang-yü in K`uei-chi. His forefathers had immigrated from Yuanch`êng
in the Wei circuit. As a boy he lost his father and was
commended in his village for his filial piety. Subsequently he
repaired to the capital, where he studied at the academy.

His teacher was Pan Piao from Fu-fêng. He was very fond
of extensive reading, but did not trouble much about paragraphs
or sentences. His family being poor, he possessed no books.
Therefore he used to stroll about the market-place and the shops
in Loyang and read the books exposed there for sale. That which
he had once read, he was able to remember and to repeat. Thus
he had acquired a vast knowledge of the tenets of the various
schools and systems. Having returned to his native place, he
led a very solitary life as a teacher. Then he took office in the
prefecture and was appointed secretary, but in consequence of
frequent remonstrances with his superiors, disputes, and dissensions
with his colleagues, he had to quit the service.

Wang Ch`ung had a strong penchant for discussions. At the
outset, his arguments would often appear rather queer, but his

final conclusions were true and reasonable. Being convinced that
the ordinary savants stuck too much to the letter, and thus
would mostly lose the true meaning, he shut himself up for
meditation, and no longer observed the ceremonies of congratulation
or condolence. Everywhere near the door, the windows,
and on the walls he had his knives and pens placed, with which
he wrote the Lun-hêng in 85 chapters containing over 200,000 words.

He explained the similarities and the diversities of the
different classes of things, and settled the common doubts and
errors of the time.

The governor Tung Ch`in made him assistant-magistrate.
Later on he rose to the rank of a sub-prefect. Then he retired
and returned home. A friend and fellow-countryman of his Hsieh
I Wu addressed a memorial to the throne, in which he recommended
Wang Ch`ung for his talents and learning.

Su Tsung commanded a chamberlain to summon Wang Ch`ung
into his presence, but owing to sickness, he could not go. When
he was nearly seventy years of age, his powers began to decline.
Then he wrote a book on "Macrobiotics" in 16 chapters, and
refraining from all desires and propensities, and avoiding all
emotions, he kept himself alive, until in the middle of the
Yung-yuan period, when he died of an illness at his home."

By his own testimony Wang Ch`ung was born in the third
year of the Chien-wu cycle, i. e. in a.d. 27, in Shang-yü-hsien, the
present Shao-hsing-fu of the province of Chekiang. His family had
originally been residing in Yuan-ch`êng = Ta-ming-fu in Chihli. His
father's name was Wang Sung. Owing to their violent temper his
ancestors had several times been implicated in local feuds, which
are still now of frequent occurrence in Fukien and Chekiang, and were
compelled to change their domicile. Wang Ch`ung's critics are scandalized
at his coolly telling us that his great-grandfather behaved like
a ruffian during a famine, killing and wounding his fellow-people.

If Wang Ch`ung's own description be true, he must have been
a paragon in his youth. He never needed any correction neither
at the hands of his parents nor of his teachers. For his age he
was exceptionally sedate and serious. When he was six years old,
he received his first instruction, and at the age of 8 he was sent
to a public school. There the teacher explained to him the Analects
and the Shuking, and he read 1,000 characters every day.
When he had mastered the Classics, one was astonished at the
progress he made, so he naïvely informs us. Of his other attainments
he speaks in the same strain and with the same conceit.
The Hou Han-shu confirms that he was a good son.

Having lost his father very early, he entered the Imperial
College at Loyang, then the capital of China. His principal teacher
was the historian Pan Piao, the father of Pan Ku, author of the
History of the Former Han dynasty. In Loyang he laid the foundation
of the vast amount of knowledge by which he distinguished
himself later on, and became acquainted with the theories of the
various schools of thought, many of which he vigorously attacks
in his writings. His aim was to grasp the general gist of what
he read, and he did not care so much for minor details. The
majority of the scholars of his time conversely would cling to the
words and sentences and over these minutiæ quite forget the
whole. Being too poor to buy all the books required to satiate
his hunger for knowledge, he would saunter about in the marketplace
and book-shops, and peruse the books exposed there for
sale, having probably made some sort of agreement with the booksellers,
who may have taken an interest in the ardent student.
His excellent memory was of great service to him, for he could
remember, even repeat what he had once read. At the same time
his critical genius developed. He liked to argue a point, and
though his views often seemed paradoxical, his opponents could
not but admit the justness of his arguments.

Having completed his studies, Wang Ch`ung returned to his
native place, where he became a teacher and lived a very quiet
life. Subsequently he took office and secured a small position as a
secretary of a district, a post which he also filled under a military
governor and a prefect. At last he was promoted to be assistant-magistrate
of a department. He would have us believe that he
was a very good official, and that his relations to his colleagues
were excellent. The Hou Han-shu, on the other hand, tells us that
he remonstrated so much with his superiors and was so quarrelsome,
that he had to leave the service. This version seems the
more probable of the two. Wang Ch`ung was much too independent,
much too outspoken, and too clever to do the routine business
well, which requires clerks and secretaries of moderate abilities, or
to serve under superiors, whom he surpassed by his talents. So
he devoted himself exclusively to his studies. He lived in rather
straitened circumstances, but supported his embarassments with philosophical
equanimity and cheerfulness. "Although he was poor
and had not an acre to dwell upon, his mind was freer than that
of kings and dukes, and though he had no emoluments counted
by pecks and bushels, he felt, as if he had ten thousand chung to
live upon. He enjoyed a tranquil happiness, but his desires did
not run riot, and though he was living in a state of poverty, his
energy was not broken. The study of ancient literature was his
debauchery, and strange stories his relish." He had a great admiration
for superior men, and liked to associate with people rising
above mediocrity. As long as he was in office and well off, he
had many friends, but most of them abandoned him, when he had
retired into private life.

In a.d. 86 Wang Ch`ung emigrated into the province of Anhui,
where he was appointed sub-prefect, the highest post which he
held, but two years only, for in 88 he gave up his official career,
which had not been a brilliant one. The reason of his resignation
this time seems to have been ill health.

So far Wang Ch`ung had not succeeded in attracting the attention
of the emperor. An essay which he had composed, when
the emperor had visited the college of Loyang, had passed unnoticed.
In the year 76, when parts of Honan were suffering from
a great dearth, Wang Ch`ung presented a memorial to the Emperor
Chang Ti in which he proposed measures to prohibit dissipation
and extravagancies, and to provide for the time of need, but his
suggestions were not accepted. He did not fare better with another
anti-alcoholic memorial, in which he advocated the prohibition of

the use of spirits. When finally the Emperor became aware of
Wang Ch`ung, it was too late. A friend and a countryman of his,
Hsieh I Wu recommended him to the throne for his talents and
great learning, saying that neither Mencius or Hsün Tse nor in the
Han time Yang Hsiung, Liu Hsiang or See Ma Ch`ien could outshine
him. The Emperor Chang Ti (76-88 a.d.) summoned him to his
presence, but owing to his ill-health Wang Ch`ung had to decline
the honour. His state had impaired so much, that already in 89
he thought that his end had come. But the next two years passed,
and he did not die. He found even the time to write a book
on "Macrobiotics," which he put into practice himself, observing
a strict diet and avoiding all agitations in order to keep his vital
fluid intact, until he expired in the middle of the Yung-yuan period
(89-104) about the year 97. The exact year is not known.