Chen Qin

Chen Qin

Chen Qin (about 34 B.C. - 15 A.D.) was a Confucian scholar of the Western Han Dynasty. He was born in Guangxin County, Cangwu county. Qu Dajun, the earliest Confucian scholar in Lingnan area, was called "the master of Guangdong humanities". The important successors of Zuo's spring and Autumn Annals were Jia Hu and Chen Qin. He studied Chunqiu and Zuozhuan all his life and wrote Chunqiu of Chen family (lost).

Life of the characters

He was diligent and eager to learn since he was a child. He had a good education and was familiar with the five classics of Yi, Shu, Shi, Chun Qiu and Li Ji.

From 32 BC to 29 BC (during the reign of Jianshi), Chen Qin went to the capital Xi'an to study Zuo's spring and Autumn Annals with Jia Hu. He is unconventional and creative. He wrote Chen's spring and Autumn Annals, which is recognized as the descendant of Zuo's family. At that time, there was a saying that Zuo's family was far away from Cangwu in the academic circles.

In the period of Liu Ao, Emperor Cheng of the Western Han Dynasty (around 32 BC), Chen Qin was promoted by the governor of Jiaozhou. After arriving in Chang'an, the capital, he was appointed as "doctor of five classics" and was granted the title of marquis De. Later, Chen Qin learned from Jia Hu, a master of Confucian classics. From then on, he made great progress in his studies, and was as famous as Liu Xin, another scholar in the University at that time, and became one of the authorities of ancient Chinese classics in China at that time.

Before long, Chen Qin was recommended as a regular official to educate the Royal Children and relatives of the Liu and Han Dynasties, and to take charge of the ritual of sacrificing the ancestral temple. Chen Qin became the main master of Chunqiu Xue and Zuoshi Chunqiu. Now, it's not the ordinary people who listen to him, but the emperor who is the supreme ruler. He taught two emperors: one was Emperor Ping of Han Dynasty, the other was Wang Mang who was then the great Sima and later usurped the Han Dynasty. He also taught Wang Mang his book Chen's spring and Autumn Annals (lost).

In 9 A.D., because Chen Qin was "reused" by Wang Mang, the latter half of his life was very difficult. In 9 A.D., Wang Mang became emperor himself and changed his name to "Xin", replacing the rule of emperor Liu in the Western Han Dynasty. Wang Mang named Chen Qin "a general tired of hardships" in recognition of his fighting spirit of hating theological heresy. In December of that year, Wang Mang ordered to change the name of Xiongnu Shanyu to "surrender the Nu to serve the Hun". He sent 300000 troops and stationed them in tunbian County in ten routes. Prepare to attack Xiongnu on a large scale. Among them, the army led by General Chen Qin was stationed in Yunzhong (now toketo, Inner Mongolia).

In 11 A.D. (the third year of the founding of the people's Republic of China), "the founding of the people's Republic of China" was the first year of the new dynasty established by Wang Mang, which lasted for five years. It is the first time in the history of our country to use the three word year name). When the Huns learned that the army was pressing down, they immediately sent his younger brother Xian to the court to see Wang Mang. Xian said that he surrendered to Xin and left his son Zhu hedeng as a hostage in Chang'an. Wang Mang was overjoyed, and happily granted Xian as Xiao Danyu and Zhu as Shun Danyu. Unexpectedly, after the return of Xian, the Xiongnu army often came to invade the border, making the border very restless.

In 12 A.D. (the fourth year of the founding of the people's Republic of China), Chen Qin truthfully reported to Wang Mang the situation that the Xiongnu army often came to invade the border: those who violated the border were Xiaoshan and xianzijiao. " It is suggested that the son of Xian be executed. Wang Mang was so angry that he immediately beheaded Deng in Chang'an.

In AD 14 (the first year of Tianfeng), when the frontier fortress was hungry and people were eating each other, he admonished dada to strike, and the frontier army was returned from afar. When Xian succeeded to Hun Shan Yu, he realized that his son Deng was dead. He was filled with grief and indignation, and demanded that his son's bones be taken back for burial. In order to make peace with Xian and please him, Wang Mang withdrew the troops stationed in Bianjun and transferred Chen Qin back to Chang'an. The next year, he arrested 18 people including Chen Qin and put them in prison on the pretext of committing crimes, and put the responsibility of killing Deng on Chen Qin. Knowing that he could not escape death, Chen Qin angrily said in Chang'an prison that he wanted to speak to Xiongnu, so he committed suicide. Fengkai County outskirts of the low hill in the tomb of Chen Qin, Yu laodai village general temple.

Relative members

Chen Yuan, the eldest grandson of Chen Qin, inherited his father's career and made extensive and profound textual research and annotation on Zuo Zhuan, and wrote Zuo Zhuan in a foreign country (lost). In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the debate between ancient and modern classics was raised again, focusing on whether to establish a doctor in Zuozhuan. In this debate, Chen Yuan showed his knowledge, critical thinking and perseverance, and won the debate. "The emperor and his death established the study of Zuoshi, and he often selected four doctors, and Yuan was the first.". During the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty, Chen Yuan, as a representative of the school of classical Chinese classics, reached the highest level in the study of Zuo's spring and Autumn Annals. He was as famous as Huantan, Dulin and Zhengxing, and had a considerable influence in the academic circles of the whole country. At the same time, it also showed that Guangxin (now Wuzhou City) was the focus of the study of Zuo's spring and Autumn Annals in Lingnan.

Literary contribution

In the late Western Han Dynasty, in the process of its popularity and prosperity, the study of jinwenjing became more and more complicated, and the family rules and sentences became more and more dense. At that time, most of the Confucians believed in divination, and Tongjing and tongtuchen became an important symbol of "Tongru". Because of the prosperity of Chenwei, it was regarded as "internal learning", but Wujing fell into the dilemma of "external learning". The reason is that the study of jinwenjing is mysterious and absurd.

Zuo Zhuan, written in the fourth century BC, is a famous historical work in ancient China, belonging to the school of classical Chinese classics. Since Emperor Wudi, the study of modern classics has been the official philosophy of Han Dynasty. The study of ancient classics has no position in politics, but is given and received privately among the people.

Therefore, during the reign of Ai Di in the Western Han Dynasty, Chen Qin and Liu Xin proposed to establish the "old ancient books" such as Zuo's spring and Autumn Annals, Mao's poems, Yi Li and Gu Wen Shang Shu as the official school, and asked the imperial court to set up the doctor of Zuo Zhuan, which led to a great academic debate with the school of modern Wen Jing. The reason is that Zuo Qiuming shared the same way with Confucius and met him personally. The biographies of spring and autumn Gongyang and spring and autumn Guliang, which are called jinwenjing, are the works of seventy scholars who "recite biographies by mouth" and "lose sainthood".

In the court of the Western Han Dynasty, not only the doctorates of Taichang were modern writers, but also those high-ranking officials got their official positions by studying jinwenjing. Therefore, the demands of Chen Qin and Liu Xin aroused resentment and fierce opposition from the doctorates of Taichang, and violated the ruling ministers at that time. There was a fierce debate between the two sides. Dan, a famous Confucian teacher at that time, was so angry that he played Chen Qin and Liu Xin "to change the rules and regulations is not to destroy the previous emperor.".

When Hanping emperor ascended the throne, Wang Mang, the great Sima who had been taught by Chen Qin, manipulated the government. Wang Mang accepted the view of ancient Chinese classics, and compared himself with Duke Zhou. He also supported Chen Qin and Liu Xin's idea of establishing ancient Chinese classics as an official school and establishing a doctor. Behind these activities is Wang Mang's intention to usurp the Han Dynasty in order to "reform" the ancient Chinese classics. Thanks to Wang Mang's help in the debate, the school of classical Chinese classics represented by Chen Qin won the victory. Zuo's spring and Autumn Annals was finally listed as an official school and set up a doctor. The impact is far-reaching. Chen Qin, as the standard bearer of ancient Chinese classics, is admired by the academic circles. His book Chen's spring and Autumn Annals (lost) is regarded as the classic of ancient Chinese classics.

evaluate

Chen Qin and Chen Yuan, as scholars with great academic achievements in Lingnan, were not only recognized by scholars of the same period, but also recorded in history. In general annals of Guangdong and general annals of Guangxi, Chen's father and son were listed in the first place, saying that "Chen Yuan was able to prosper for a time by studying Confucian classics, and chenglinghai was also the Confucian school." Luo Xianglin, a famous modern historian, spoke highly of Chen's father and son: "for example, Chen Yuan and his father Chen Qin in Guangxin were the first advocates in the spring and Autumn Annals of Zuo clan in Guangdong. Chunqiu Zuoshi Zhuan has a long history, but without Chen Yuan's research and advocacy, it may not be able to stand in the official school. Since then, Zuo Zhuan has played an increasingly important role in the academic field, and has a great influence on Chinese academic thought, which is Chen Yuan's contribution.

Chinese PinYin : Chen Qin