Xu Gan (Chinese: 徐幹, pinyin Xú Gàn, 171–218),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobal ...

Weichang ( 偉長), was a Chinese philosopher and poet of the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a wa ...

. He was also one of the "

Seven Scholars of Jian'an Seven scholars of Jian'an (), also translated as the "seven philosophers of Jian'an", or the "seven masters of Jian'an", were a group of seven Chinese intellectuals of the Eastern Han dynasty. The name was coined by Cao Pi. "Jian'an" refers to the ...

". He is best known in the West for his discourse on the relationship between the names and actualities, preserved in his treatise ''Zhonglun'' (中論).

Life

Born in Ju County, Beihai Commandery (east of present-day

Lechang Lechang (; historically Lokchong) is a county-level city in the northern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hunan province to the north. It is under the administration of Shaoguan prefecture-level city. History In the year 5 ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

), Xu Gan developed a reputation for good memory and diligent studies as a youth. Around 189, Xu Gan left his residence in Linzi and went into hiding on the Jiaodong peninsula.

Literature

*John Makeham, ''Name and Actuality in Early Chinese History''. State University of New York Press, Albany, 1994.

Translations

*''Balanced Discourses: a Bilingual Edition''. English translation by John Makeham; Introductions by Dan Shengyuan and John Makeham. Yale University Press, 2002. 171 births 218 deaths 3rd-century Chinese philosophers 3rd-century Chinese poets Han dynasty philosophers Han dynasty poets Philosophers from Shandong Poets from Shandong Seven scholars of Jian'an {{china-bio-stub