Gu Yanwu | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Gu Jiang 顧绛 (1613-07-15)15 July 1613 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 15 February 1682(1682-02-15) (aged 68) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Gu Zhongqing 顧忠清 Gu Ningren 顧寧人 Lord Tinglin 亭林先生 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Student of theGuozijian (1643) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Known for | One of the Five Great Qing scholars (Huang Zongxi,Fang Yizhi,Wang Fuzhi, Zhu Zhiyu) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Lady Zhu | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Great grandfather:Gu Zhangzhi Nephew:Xu Qianxue,Xu Bingyi,Xu Yuanwen | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 顧炎武 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 顾炎武 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gu Yanwu (Chinese:顧炎武; July 15, 1613 – February 15, 1682), also known asGu Tinglin (Chinese:顧亭林), was a Chinese philologist, geographer, and a famousscholar in the early Qing dynasty. After theManchu conquest of north China in 1644, Gu participated inanti-Manchu activities. He never served theQing dynasty. Instead, he traveled throughout north China, engaging in local studies intended to strengthen China's intellectual and spiritual resources.
Gu, a native ofJiangsu, was born asGu Jiang (simplified Chinese:顾绛;traditional Chinese:顧絳;pinyin:Gù Jiàng). 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 inNanjing. 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 byChen Di, who had demonstrated thatOld Chinese 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 ofNeo-Confucianism had a huge influence on later scholars. His works include "Five Studies on Phonology"Yinxue Wushu (音學五書), "Digest of Daily Learning"Ri Zhi Lu (日知錄) and "Compendium of Historical Geography"Zhao Yu Zhi (肇域志).
In 1682, while returning from a friend's home toHuaying, Gu fell from horseback and died the next day.[1]
Together withWang Fuzhi andHuang Zongxi, Gu is regarded as one of the most outstanding Confucian scholars of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.[2]
Gu is commemorated byTinglin Park[3] and the Gu Yanwu Museum in Tinglin Park ofKunshan. In 2005, theCentral Propaganda Department of China named the Gu Yanwu Museum located at Gu's former residence inQiandeng town as a "national patriotism education base".[4]
The former residence of Gu Yanwu is located inQiandeng town ofKunshan, 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.
