Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/69

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Sun
Sun

In 1630 he directed the operations of Tsu Ta-shou [q. v.] and others—a move which resulted in the recapture of four cities from the enemy. Though honored by the Emperor with new titles, he refused to accept them, and repeatedly asked permission to resign. On December 15, 1631, his resignation was accepted and he retired at the age of sixty-nine (sui).

When the Manchus reached Kao-yang, seven years later, Sun led his relatives and retainers in a desperate resistance, and when this failed he committed suicide. In 1645 he was posthumously given the honorary title of Grand Preceptor and was canonized by the Ming Prince of Fu (see under Chu Yu-sung) as Wên-chung 文忠. His character appealed sufficiently to the Manchus to induce Emperor Kao-tsung also to canonize him in 1776 as Chung-ting 忠定.

Sun's collected works, entitled 孫高陽文集 Sun Kao-yang wên-chi, 20 chüan, were printed about the year 1655. They were banned for a number of years in the Ch'ien-lung period, but were reprinted in 1807. Three chüan of his prose are included in the collectanea Ch'ien-k'un chêng-ch'i chi (chüan 570–72, see under Huang Tao-chou). An undated treatise of his on the use of carts in warfare may be found in the Chi-fu ts'ung-shu (see under Ts'ui Shu).

A descendant in the ninth generation, General Sun Yüeh 孫岳 (T. 禹行), 1878–1928, was a graduate of the military school at Paoting. He joined the revolutionists in 1911, took part in a number of civil wars, and helped Fêng Yü-hsiang (see under Sung Ch'ing) in the coup d'état of 1924.


[M.1/250/1a; M.30/4/34a; M.39/6/1a; M.55/1/1b; M.64 hsin 2/1a; M.84 ting chung 71a; Pao-ting fu-chih (1886) 57/14b, 44/16a; Discussion of his death, Sun K'ai-yang hsien-shêng hsün ch'êng lun, and a biographical sketch by a personal friend, Ts'ai Ting, entitled Sun Kao-yang ch'ien hou tu shih lüeh-pa in the collection, Ching-t'o i-shih (see bibl. under Yüan Ch'ung-huan); Nien-p'u edited by Sun Ch'i-fêng [q. v.]; Mu-chai ch'u-hsüeh chi by Ch'ien Ch'ien-i [q. v.] 46, 47.]

George A. Kennedy


SUN Ch'i-fêng 孫奇逢 (T. 啓泰, H. 鍾元, 夏峯), Jan. 14, 1585–1675, May 15, scholar, was a native of Jung-ch'êng, Chihli. He became a chü-jên in 1600 at the early age of seventeen (sui), but was unsuccessful in the examinations for a higher degree. His father died in 1605, his mother in 1608. For both parents he strictly observed the mourning rites. From 1611 to 1617 he lived in Peking teaching in the homes of wealthy families; thereafter he taught in his native town, Jung-ch'êng. In 1625 two friends, Tso Kuang-tou and Wei Ta-chung (see under Yang Lien), were imprisoned by the powerful eunuch, Wei Chung-hsien [q. v.], on the false charge of receiving bribes from Hsiung T'ing-pi [q. v.]. Most officials, fearing the wrath of the eunuch, refrained from interference in their behalf, but Sun did everything he could for them, protecting their sons and raising funds for their release. Although unsuccessful, he gained through his efforts a reputation for bravery and righteousness. In 1628 he was honored by imperial decree for filial piety and two years later was recommended to the Emperor as worthy of an official post, but declined the offer, preferring to teach and study at home. Recommended again in 1635, he declined once more. He was a friend of Lu Shan-chi 鹿善繼 (T. 伯順, H. 乾嶽, 江村, 1575–1636), who likewise lived as a retired teacher in the neighboring district of Ting-hsing. When Manchu forces invaded Chihli province in 1635–36, they attacked Ting-hsing. The city fell and Lu Shan-chi was killed. They also attacked Jung-ch'êng, but thanks to the skill of Sun Ch'i-fêng in directing the defense, that city withstood a seven-day siege. Realizing that the walls of Jung-ch'êng would be inadequate to withstand heavier onslaughts of bandits from the west and Manchus from the east, Sun sought a retreat in the mountains southwest of I-chou to which, in 1638, he removed his relatives and friends, establishing regulations for the community and continuing military preparations. In 1643 this community resisted an attack from Manchu troops then on their way home from an invasion of Shantung.

In 1644 Peking fell to the Manchus, and an alien dynasty was established. Four times, by imperial direction, Sun was offered posts in the new regime but each time he declined. In 1646 his farms and properties, as well as those of thousands of other land-owners in Chihli, were confiscated by the Manchus and appropriated for their own uses. After moving from place to place, he started southward in 1649, settling in the following year in Hui-hsien, Honan. After 1652 he resided in the village of Hsia-fêng, ten li southeast of Hui-hsien—and for that reason was familiarly referred to as "The Teacher of Hsia-fêng" (夏峯先生). There many students went regularly to learn from him or to pay their respects; and there it was that his most important works were compiled. In 1664 the publication

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