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| 1610 births | |
| 1695 deaths | |
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Huang Zongxi (, 1610 – 1695 ), Courtesy Name '''Taichong''' (太冲), was the name of a Chinese political theorist, philosopher, and soldier during the latter part of the Ming Dynasty into the early part the Qing . EARLY LIFE Huang was the son of an official of the Ming court, an adherent of the Donglin Movement who had died in prison. After exonerating his father's name, and bringing those responsible for his death to justice, Huang devoted himself to a life of study. Before becoming a full-time tutor and scholar, however, Huang briefly engaged in political activism and military operations against the Manchus before their occupation of China. STUDY Huang was notable for being one of the first Neo-Confucians to stress the need for Constitutional Law . He also openly advocated the belief that ministers should be openly critical of their emperor; and that rulers held a responsibility to their country. Huang's first work was not completed until the age of 52, and the work's fuller impact was not felt until the declining years of the Qing dynasty. MAJOR WORKS Waiting for the Dawn Waiting for the Dawn (Mingyi daifanglu) was a summary of ideas about political reform that had been advanced by various scholars since the reign of Wanli (1573-1619). The political tract begins with a condemnation of selfish autocratic rule, and declares that the world should belong to the people. The third and fifth section of the work, "On Laws" and "Schools", respectively, are particularly famous. In the former, Huang declares that all laws and regulatory bodies should be an outgrowth of local needs, not imposed by leaders with a political agenda. In the latter, he advocates using the education system as a semiofficial forum for educated opinion on public affairs.1 In the sixth and seventh sections of the work, entitled "Selecting Good Men", Huang also lays out his ideas for reform of the Imperial Examination system. In later sections, he discusses equitable distribution of landholdings, the division between men of civil and military background, fiscal reform, and the problem of Eunuch power during the Ming Dynasty . Struve (1988) pp. 476-478 Mingru Xue'an The Mingru Xue'an was a work later lauded by Liang Qichao as a new kind of Historiography . Struve (1988) p. 480 At the time of his death, Huang Zongxi left behind an uncompleted survey of the Song and Yuan dynasties. REFERENCES |
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