Zou Hao

Life

His father was Zou Jian; his younger brothers were Zou Dong (1062–1110) and Zou Kuang, and his sons were Zou Xu, Zou Xiang, and Zou Bing. Other family relationships included Zou Chu as a nephew, Zou Yu as a grandson, and Sun Shinan as his father's maternal grandfather. His friends included Tian Zhou and Wang Hui.

In 1082, the fifth year of Yuanfeng, he passed the jinshi examination. He successively served as an instructor at Yangzhou and Yingchang Prefecture; during the Yuanyou era of Emperor Zhezong he served as Taichang boshi and was then sent as an instructor to Xiangzhou. Su Song appointed him Taichang boshi, but Lai Zhi-shao later had him dismissed; in the eighth year of Yuanyou, he was assigned as instructor at the Xiangzhou state school.

In the first year of Yuanfu (1098), after an audience with Emperor Zhezong, he was appointed Right Remonstrator, repeatedly submitted memorials on affairs of state, and was known for frank remonstrance. When Liu was installed as empress, Hao submitted a memorial opposing the appointment, bringing him into conflict with Zhang Dun. When Zhang became chief councillor, he denounced Hao as reckless; in the second year of Yuanfu, Hao was stripped of office, dismissed from the rolls, and placed under confinement at Xinzhou.

After Huizong's accession, Hao was assigned to supervise the wine-tax office in Yuanzhou, soon restored as Right Remonstrator, promoted to Left Remonstrator, and transferred successively to the posts of Qiju Sheren and Zhongshu Sheren; he later served as Vice Minister of Personnel and Vice Minister of War. In the first year of Chongning (1102), because he had opposed Cai Jing, he was sent out as Bao wenge daizhi to serve as prefect of Jiangning; he was then transferred to Hangzhou and served as prefect of Yuezhou in 1105.

After the matter of Liu's installation as empress was reopened, he was demoted to assistant prefect of Hengzhou and placed under administrative confinement at Yongzhou; six months later, he was dismissed from the rolls and banished to Zhaozhou, transferred to Hanyang Army in the fourth year of Chongning, and returned to Changzhou in the fifth year. During the Daguan era he was partially restored as zhi Longtuge, and his titles also included Kaiguo Nan of Wen'an County.

His name was entered in the Yuanyou party register, and he was known by the honorific 鄉先生.

Scholarship and works

His works included *Lunyu jieyi* (《論語解義》) and *Mengzi jieyi* (《孟子解義》). He also wrote *Daoxiang ji* (《道鄉集》) in forty juan, a collection also titled *Daoxiang xiansheng Zou Zhong gong wenji* (《道鄉先生鄒忠公文集》). The poetry collection used the edition carved by Zou Liang in the sixth year of Chenghua as its base text, collated against Zou Ling's edition of the seventh year of Zhengde, the Wen yuan ge *Complete Library of the Four Branches*, and other editions; newly compiled poems outside the collection were appended at the end.

Later honors and death

He died in the third month of the first year of Zhenghe (1111), aged fifty-two. In the third year of Jianyan, he was posthumously restored to Longtuge daizhi, further granted the rank of Bao wenge zhixueshi, and given the posthumous name Zhong.