Shen Guangwen

Shen Guangwen

Shen Guangwen, whose name is Wen Kai and his name is Si'an, was born in Yinxian County, Zhejiang Province. He was a scholar and official in the Southern Ming Dynasty of China. He lived in Taiwan for some reason in the latter half of his life. He wrote down the first written literary works in Taiwan with his poems, which has a special significance in the history of literature. Shen Guangwen himself has lived in Taiwan alone for many years, leaving behind some poems and essays about the local customs and customs, among which the latter can be used to study the situation on the island before the 17th century. He left some first-hand materials to record the local customs and customs of Taiwan at that time. He was the first person to work in Taiwan literature.

Personage introduction

When Shen Guangwen was a child, he devoted himself to study and worked very hard. He was able to enter the Imperial College by taking part in the Mingjing examination. During the reign of King Fu of Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty occupied most of the territory. As a adherent of Ming Dynasty, Shen Guangwen followed King Fu and worked in his small court. He was awarded doctor Taichang and was promoted to minister of industry. Before long, the small court of King Mingfu was exterminated by the Qing government, and Shen Guangwen was not able to follow him, so he had to find another way. Later, it was explained that the king of GUI was in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, so he went to the king of GUI and became a servant Shaoqing. In 1649, Shen Guangwen arrived in Jinmen by boat from Chaoyang. At that time, Li Liutai, the governor of Fujian Province, was quietly recruiting the Ming Dynasty's old and talented people, so he secretly sent people to recruit Shen Guangwen, and gave him gold and silver as a high-ranking official. Shen Guangwen politely delayed each other and returned the money and letters. At this time, the imperial court of the king of Guangxi in Guangdong was unable to support the situation. Shen Guangwen had to stay in Fujian for the time being, considering that the situation was over. He wanted to move his family to Quanzhou. He didn't expect to encounter a typhoon on the way, but was blown to Taiwan by the wind. At that time, Taiwan was occupied by the Dutch. The Dutch carried out a series of colonial policies in Taiwan, such as forced rule in politics, brutal suppression in military affairs, crazy plunder in economy, and forced dissemination of Western religious culture. They also restricted the activities of the people of Taiwan and did not allow them to migrate at will. Under such circumstances, Shen Guangwen lost contact with the mainland on the other side of the Strait, and there was no news from the mainland about him.

Self experience

Nanming period

Shen Guangwen studied hard since he was a child, and entered Taixue after taking the Mingjing examination. Later, he was awarded doctor Taichang by the Fuwang imperial court, and he participated in military affairs and was promoted to minister of work. After King Fu's regime was annihilated by the Qing army, Shen Guangwen learned that the king of GUI had set up another court in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. He went to defection and moved to Taipusi as Shaoqing. In 1649, Shen Guangwen went to Jinmen; Li Xiangtai, governor of Fujian Province in the Qing Dynasty, enticed him with high official position and high salary. Although Shen politely refused, he stayed in Fujian. Later, Shen Guangwen planned to move to Quanzhou by sea, but encountered a typhoon on the way and drifted to Taiwan. At that time, China was in the process of changing dynasties and rushing troops. The Qing army swept most of the central part of China, and Zheng Zhilong's legacy department controlled the coastal areas of Fujian. In addition, Taiwan was under the control of the Dutch East India Company, and there was no general communication channel and no news between the regions. Under such circumstances, Shen Guangwen completely lost contact with the Chinese side.

The period of exile

From Shen's drifting abroad to Zheng Jun's entering Taiwan, there is no record of his specific whereabouts and activities on the island during the 13 years. Today, people can only speculate from the clues in his poems. In 1661, Zheng Chenggong led his army to conquer Taiwan, and the Ming Dynasty's old people came to Taiwan to follow him. After Zheng Chenggong learned that Shen Guangwen was also in Taiwan, he met him and gave him a house. After Zheng Chenggong's death, Shen Guangwen was dissatisfied with some policies of Zheng Jing, who succeeded to the throne. He was satirized and persecuted several times, but he became a monk and avoided disaster in the "luohanmen" mountain. Scholars have different opinions on where this "luohanmen" is. After Zheng Jiangqing in Ming Dynasty, Yao Qisheng, governor of Fujian Province in Qing Dynasty, promised to help Shen Guangwen return to his hometown. In his later years, Shen Guangwen settled in mujialiuwan community (now Shanhua Town, Tainan County). He made some medical, cultural and educational contributions to the local aborigines, and later generations built monuments to commemorate them.

In Taiwan

In 1661, Zheng Chenggong led his army to land in Chijian and recaptured Taiwan. When Zheng Chenggong heard that Shen Guangwen was also in Taiwan, he was very happy and summoned Shen Guangwen with a very grand ceremony. At this time, the Ming Dynasty's old and wise men also entered Taiwan to follow Zheng. Shen Guangwen was also very happy to see them. He sighed with each other that it was a blessing to meet them in his lifetime. The recovery of Taiwan by Zheng Chenggong and the entry of these scholars who did not want to submit to the Qing Dynasty greatly enhanced the cultural atmosphere in Taiwan society. Shen Guangwen, who came to Taiwan earlier, together with the more famous Wang Zhongxiao, Gu Chaojian, Shen (ren + Quan), Guo Zhenyi, Li Maochun, Xu Ji (Huo + Jing), began to advocate and publicize traditional culture and spread the seeds of Chinese culture on this rich and beautiful land. In the traditional form of poetry, they wrote down the first batch of literary works in Taiwan and became pioneers of Taiwan culture. Shen Guangwen spared no effort to promote Chinese culture in Taiwan. He not only actively advocated culture and education first, but also practiced it. His works for later generations include: a survey of the map of Taiwan, a miscellany of herbs, a study of exile, a Taiwan Fu, and a collection of Wen Kai's poems and essays, which were later published by his fellow countryman Quan Zuwang. Since Shen Guangwen lived in Taiwan for more than 30 years, he witnessed the rise and fall of the Zheng family from the Dutch occupation of Taiwan to Zheng Chenggong's recovery of Taiwan. Some people have recorded these historical changes before, but many of them have not been preserved because of the war. Only Shen Guangwen not only witnessed it, but also recorded it in writing, which has been preserved to this day, providing us with real and valuable information for future generations to study the history of Taiwan. in the first year of Kangxi (1662), Zheng Chenggong died of illness in Taiwan. His younger brother, Zheng Chenggong, was inherited by his subordinates. Zheng Jing, the son of Zheng Chenggong, quickly returned to Taiwan from Xiamen to pacify the civil strife and formally ascend the throne. When Zheng Jing ran Taiwan, he changed Zheng Chenggong's methods in many aspects, such as employment and administration, which aroused many people's dissatisfaction. Shen Guangwen satirized these practices by writing Fu. Some people told Zheng Jing behind his back that Shen Guangwen had suffered a lot. He had to disguise himself as a monk and fled to BEIBI to live in luohanmen mountain. Later, someone gave him a guarantee in front of Zheng Jing, and the crime was avoided. When he was in luohanmen mountain, he often gave lectures to the fanshe outside the mountain, spread culture and taught apprentices. Sometimes he works as a doctor for the surrounding villages. He often sighed: "I've been wandering on an isolated island for more than 20 years. I don't want to go to the grave early. I just want everyone to keep the hair of the Ming Dynasty, and then I'll see the emperor underground again. And in the end, I didn't fulfill my wish, which can only be said to be my destiny! " In 1683, the Qing Dynasty sent Shi Lang to lead the army to unify Taiwan. At that time, there were few old people left in the Ming Dynasty, and Shen Guangwen was in his twilight years. Yao Qisheng, governor of Fujian Province in the Qing Dynasty, called to see him, but Shen Jian left. Later, Yao Qisheng wrote a letter to send him home to Yinxian County, where he died. It's not going to work. In the last years of Shen Guangwen's life, he formed an association with his fellow poets and left many excellent poems. Finally, he died in Zhuluo, Taiwan.

Confucius in Taiwan

In the middle of the 17th century, Zheng Chenggong expelled the Dutch and recovered Taiwan. His deeds were widely praised on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and were well known to women and children. However, as a pioneer of Taiwan's literary style, Shen Guangwen is little known to the world.

brief introduction

In 1645, Shen Guangwen took part in the anti Qing activities in eastern Zhejiang Province and was awarded doctor Taichang. Later, he took part in welcoming and establishing Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu in the Southern Ming Dynasty, and was appointed as a doctor of the Ministry of industry and counsellor of military affairs. In 1648, when the king of Lu went north, Shen Guangwen was inferior to him and came to Jinmen from the south. At that time, Li Xiangtai, the governor of Fujian Province in the Qing Dynasty, heard his name and sent envoys to persuade him to surrender with letters of appointment and property. In November 1651, he took his family and went out to sea from Kinmen. He wanted to enter Quanzhou. When he crossed weitouyang, he encountered a hurricane and drifted to the south of Taiwan. At that time, Taiwan was occupied by Dutch colonists and carried out Dutch education. Shen Guangwen lived in anonymity and tried to spread Chinese culture by teaching his children in Chinese. He made painstaking efforts to explore the Geography over the years, and inspected the mountains and rivers, mineral resources, ports and roads of Taiwan. The interview of folk customs, big and small things are recorded in detail, which has accumulated a lot of information for the creation of Taiwan's first geographical Chronicle "a survey of the map of Taiwan". In 1661, Zheng Chenggong regained Taiwan and learned that Shen Guangwen was in Taiwan. He was very happy and treated each other with courtesy.

work

Shen Guangwen lived in Taiwan for 30 years and wrote a large number of poems and essays, such as a survey of the map of Taiwan, miscellany of plants and trees, Fu of Taiwan, a survey of Liuyu, and a collection of Wen Kai's poems and essays. After the unification of Taiwan by the Qing government, the scholars who moved to Taiwan organized various poetry societies. At this time, Shen Guangwen, who was over the age of 60, first set up Taiwan's first poetry society, Fu Tai Xian Yong. "Fu Tai" refers to the meaning of Taiwan government of Fujian Province. Later, Ji Linguang, the first county magistrate of the Qing Dynasty, and others also joined, but changed their name to "Dongyin society".

evaluate

Shen Guangwen died in Shanhua, Tainan in 1688, but his achievements as a pioneer of Taiwan culture will always be remembered by the people of Taiwan. Lian Heng spoke highly of it: "in the three hundred years of Taiwan, it has been seen for generations that literature has been famous on the sea. At the time of Zheng, Shen Guangwen, the Minister of Taipu temple, began to sing poems. " In Qing Dynasty, Lugang Academy was named Wenkai academy by Shen Guangwen. In many academies, Shen Guangwen and Zhu Xi were worshipped together, and Shen Guangwen was honored as "Confucius of Taiwan", and the worship continued, even during the Japanese occupation. Now Tainan County has left many roads, bridges, street pavilions and poetry societies named after Wenkai and Wenguang.

Chinese PinYin : Shen Guang Wen