Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/210

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Chu
Chu

thronement, escaped by sea to Canton where he established a court and was proclaimed emperor (December 11, 1646) with the reign-title, Shao-wu 紹武. His was, however, a brief and ill-fated reign for he was oppressed on the one hand by the opposing forces of Chu Yu-lang whom he defeated on January 7, 1647 at San-shui, Kwangtung, and on the other by the Ch'ing forces. The latter, led by Li Ch'êng-tung conquered Canton during the month of January. Chu Yü-yüeh, rather than be captured, committed suicide.

Chu Yü-chien is said to have been tall of stature, with a clear and loud voice. He was an able writer and composed some edicts himself. An ardent reader, he is said to have brought with him several cart-loads of books when he fled from Yen-p'ing to T'ing-chou. In the course of his brief reign he issued copper coins bearing the reign-titles, Lung-wu.


[M.1/118/7b; M.59/3; Fukien t'ung-chih (1922) 10/17a; 隆武遺事 Lung-wu i-shih, 思文大紀 Ssŭ-wên ta-chi, and 鹿樵紀聞 Lu-ch'iao chi-wên in 痛史 T'ung-shih; 明通鑑 Ming t'ung-chien 85/11b and Ming t'ung chien fu-pein (坿編) 2下/4a; Huang Tsung-hsi [q. v.], Hsing-ch'ao lu; 明季南略 Ming-chi nan-lüeh 11; 東南紀事 Tung-nan chi-shih in 邵武徐氏叢書 Shao-wu Hsü-shih ts'ung-shu 1/1a.]

George A. Kennedy


CHU Yün 朱筠 (T. 竹君, 美叔, H. 笥河), July 1, 1729–1781, Aug. 16, scholar, official and calligrapher, came from Ta-hsing (Peking) where his grandfather had settled. The ancestral home was Hsiao-shan, Chekiang. Chu Yün was born in Chou-chih, Shensi, where his father, Chu Wên-ping 朱文炳 (T. 豹采, 1696–1764), was magistrate from 1728 to 1735. He was the third of four sons. The eldest, Chu T'ang 朱堂 (T. 冠山), was assistant district magistrate of Hsin-chien, Kiangsi (1749–1757), and of Ta-li, Shensi (1761). The second, Chu Yüan 朱垣 (T. 維豐, 仲君, H. 冬泉居士, 1723–1773), was a chin-shih of 1751 who served as magistrate of Chi-yang and Ch'ang-ch'ing, Shantung, retiring in 1759 and devoting his later years to Buddhistic studies. Chu Yün became a chü-jên in 1753 and a chin-shih in 1754. He and his youngest brother, Chu Kuei [q. v.], were both members of the Hanlin Academy. Appointed in 1757 a compiler in the Wu Ying Tien (see under Chin Chien), Chu Yün assisted in the compilation of the P'ing-ting Chun-ko-êr fang-lüeh, the official record of the subjugation of Sungaria (see under Fu-hêng). Three times (in 1761, 1769 and 1771) he was associate examiner of the metropolitan examinations, and in 1768 of the Shun-t'ien provincial examination, In 1770 he was chief examiner of the Fukien provincial examination. He served as commissioner of education of Anhwei from 1771 to 1773, and filled a similar post in Fukien from 1779 to 1781.

Chu Yün is remembered as the official who suggested to Emperor Kao-tsung the collection and preservation of rare books and manuscripts and the initiation of a great bibliographical project which finally resulted in the compilation of the Imperial Manuscript Library known as the Ssŭ-k'u ch'üan-shu (see under Chi Yün). On February 7, 1772, the emperor issued a decree ordering that a search be made in every part of the empire for rare books and manuscripts to be forwarded to the capital for examination, transcription and preservation. Chu Yün, then commissioner of education of Anhwei province, memorialized the throne (December 10, 1772) on certain rare works which he himself had already assembled for the object the emperor had in view. Shortly thereafter Chu submitted another memorial in which he outlined four ways to facilitate the collection of rare books. Officials at Court, led by Liu T'ung-hsün [q. v.], advised against three of Chu's recommendations, but accepted one concerning the copying of rare books from the Ming encyclopedia, 永樂大典 Yung-lo ta-tien. [This enormous work was compiled during the years 1403–07 in 11,095 manuscript volumes. Two additional sets were transcribed in the 1560's (see under Ch'ü Shih-ssŭ), but by the time Chu Yün's project was under way only about three-fourths of one set was extant. At present only some 370 volumes are known, forty-one of these (two of them loaned) being in the Library of Congress.] The Emperor approved Chu's suggestion and at least 365 rare works were copied from the Yung-lo ta-tien, thus preserving many items which otherwise might have been lost. Another of Chu's recommendations dealt with the compilation of an annotated, descriptive catalogue, which was presented to the throne in the second moon of 1781 and later published under the title, Ssŭ-k'u ch'üan-shu tsung-mu t'i-yao (see under Chi Yün).

On March 13, 1773, the emperor issued a decree giving to the compilation of rare books and manuscripts the name Ssŭ-k'u ch'üan-shu, "Com-

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