Hong Zicheng (, ) was a

Chinese philosopher Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developmen ...

who lived during the end of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. Zicheng (自誠) was Hong's ''zi'' (字, '

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 Theo ...

'); his

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

was Hong Yingming (Hung Ying-ming, 洪應明), and his ''hao'' (號, '

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

') was Huanchu Daoren (Huan-ch'u Tao-jen, 還初道人, 'Daoist Adept who Returns to the Origin'). Hong Zicheng wrote the ''Caigentan'', the ''Xianfo qizong'', and several no-longer extant books. The '' Caigentan'' (菜根譚, 'Vegetable Roots Discourse') is an eclectic compilation of philosophical aphorisms that combine elements from

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

Daoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

, and

Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit ''dhyāna in Buddhism, dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century Common Era, CE onwards, becoming e ...

. The 1602 ''Xianfo qizong'' (仙佛奇蹤, 'Marvelous Traces of Transcendents and Buddhas') contains legends about Daoist and Buddhist masters. The

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 ...

catalog to the '' Siku Quanshu'' summarizes the ''Xianfo qizong'': Hong is a historically enigmatic figure. "Nothing is known about his life and career", write Goodrich and Fang (1976:678), except that he was a contemporary of Yu Kongqian (于孔兼), both of whom flourished during the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...

's reign (1572–1620). Yu Kongjian was a high-ranking

scholar-bureaucrat The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

in Wanli's administration, but he resigned in 1588 after involvement in a controversy, returned to his birthplace in

Jintan Jintan District is a district under the administration of Changzhou in the Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. History Jintan, known as Jinshan () in ancient times, was a township of Yanling commandery since the reign of the ...

(

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

), and devoted himself to writing and teaching, including lectures at the

Donglin Academy The Donglin Academy (, Wade–Giles ''Tung-lin''), also known as the Guishan Academy (龜山書院 ''Guīshān Shūyuàn''), was a former Chinese educational institution in Wuxi, China. It was originally built in 1111 during the Northern Song dyna ...

. Yu's preface to the ''Caigentan'' provides the only early information about Hong Zicheng's life. "We glean from this work that Hong might have suffered, like his friend Yu Kongjian," say Aitken and Kwok (2006:173), "a disappointing departure from official life joining the increasing ranks of recluses in the towns and lake areas of the lower Yangzi River region." Modern research (Lo 2002:136) suggests that Hong might have been a native of

Xindu District Xindu District () is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, Southwest China, covering part of the northern suburbs. Overview The Xindu District borders the prefecture-level city of D ...

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

(

Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

References

*Aitken, Robert and D. W. Y. Kwok (2006). ''Vegetable Roots Discourse: Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living: Caigentan''. . *Chao Tze-Chiang. 2006. ''Epigrams from the Ming Dynasty. Discourses on Vegetable Roots''. Kessinger Publishing. *Goodrich, L. Arrington and Fang Chaoying. 1976. '' Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644''. Columbia University Press. *Lo Yuet Keung 劳悦强. 2002. "Cong ''Caigentan'' kan moshi de xinling neizhuan 从《菜根譚》看末世的心灵内转 iewing End-of-era Spiritual Change in the ''Caigentan''" ''Yazhou wenhua'' 亚洲文化 sian Culture 26:136-153. *Röser, Sabine: Die Aphorismensammlung T'sai-ken t'an: Hung Ying-mings Werk als Spiegel seiner Zeit, der Wan-li Ära der späten Ming-Zeit. PhD dissertation, Würzburg, 1987. *Vos, Frits. 1993. "The ''Ts'ai-ken T'an'' in Japan," in ''Conflict and Accommodation in Early Modern East Asia'', ed. by Leonard Blussé and Harriet Thelma, 169–188. Brill. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Zicheng 17th-century Chinese philosophers Ming dynasty philosophers 16th-century Chinese philosophers