Zha Shenxing (; 7 June 1650 – 25 September 1727) was a Chinese poet in the early

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Biography

Zha was born Zha Silian in 1650 in

Haining () is a county-level city in Zhejiang Province, China, and under the jurisdiction of Jiaxing. It is in the south side of Yangtze River Delta, and in the north of Zhejiang. It is to the southwest of central Shanghai, and east of Hangzhou, the p ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. He had two younger brothers, Zha Sixun and Zha Siting. In his early years, he studied Confucian Classics under Confucianist

Huang Zongxi Huang Zongxi (; September 24, 1610 – August 12, 1695), courtesy name Taichong (), was a Chinese naturalist, political theorist, philosopher, and soldier during the latter part of the Ming dynasty into the early part of the Qing. Biography Huan ...

. At the age of 19, he became a student of Ye Boyin. At the age of 20, he began traveling around the country. In 1689, he was dismissed and sent home for involvement in the case of Hong Sheng. In 1703, he sat for the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

and obtained the position of a ''Jinshi''. He was assigned to the

Hanlin Academy The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed sec ...

and the

Southern Study The Grand Council or ''Junji Chu'' (; Manchu: ''coohai nashūn i ba''; literally, "Office of Military Secrets"), officially the ''Banli Junji Shiwu Chu'' (; "Office for the Handling of Confidential Military Affairs"), was an important policy-m ...

. In 1727, his brother Zha Siting committed a literary inquisition, he was also arrested.

Yongzheng Emperor , regnal name = , posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi () , temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung () , house = Aisin Gioro ...

knew that he was prudent and righteous, and intentionally let him return to his hometown. He died in the following year.

Biography

References

Further reading