Yuan Hongdao (1568–1610; one dating gives 1619) was a Ming-dynasty writer and poet. His zi was Zhonglang (中郎) and his hao Shigong (石公); other forms include Liuxiu (六休), 袁中郎, and 袁石公. He was from 公安 in Jingzhou Prefecture, now in Hubei.
Life
Bright and skilled in poetry and prose from an early age, Yuan Hongdao became a shengyuan at sixteen, formed a society south of the city, and made himself its leader. His father was 袁仕瑜, his grandfather 袁大化, and his great-grandfather 袁瑛.
In the Wanli twentieth year (1592), he passed the jinshi examination, placing 92nd in the third class. He first served as magistrate of 吳縣 (also given as 吳江), then as a professor in the prefectural schools and as an assistant instructor at the Imperial Academy (also described as 國子監博士).
He twice held the post of 主事 in the Ritual Office of the Ministry of Rites, in 1600 and 1606. He later served in the Ministry of Personnel's Offices of Verification of Seals and Literary Selection, as an assistant director in the Office of Evaluation of Merit, and as langzhong in the Office of Merit Examination, eventually reaching langzhong in the Ministry of Personnel. Another account says that he resigned through illness soon after taking the Ministry of Rites post.
His elder brother 袁宗道 (1560–1600) and younger brother 袁中道 (1570–1626) were both noted for their talent, and the three brothers were known as the “Three Yuans.” His wives are named 卓氏 and 李安人 (d. 1607), and he also had the concubine 王氏. His children included 袁彭年 and 袁岳年 (born 1610), his daughter 袁禪那, and his eldest son 袁開美 (1591–1594), who died young.
Literary work
Together with his brothers, Yuan Hongdao was known as one of the “Three Yuans.” He attacked the revivalist style associated with 王世貞 and 李攀龍, advocating the direct expression of individual spirit and freedom from fixed formal conventions; this tendency was called the “Gongan style,” and he was regarded as a founder of the “Gongan school.”
His works include 《瓶史》, 《瓶花齋雜錄》, 《袁中郎全集》, 《瀟碧堂集》, 《瓶花齋集》, 《錦帆集》, 《解脫集》, and 《廣莊》.
Other works include 《促織志》, 《觴政》, 《德山暑譚》, 《醉叟傳》, 《拙效傳》, 《破硯齋集》, 《敝篋集》, and 《宗鏡攝錄》. 《破研齋集》 and 《破硯齋集》 are variant forms of the title; other collections include 《袁中郎集》, 《華嵩遊草》, 《廣陵》, and 《桃源》.
In 1599, he wrote 《西方合論》 to expound Pure Land doctrine.
Yuan Hongdao visited the Yellow Crane Tower many times. He grouped the Yellow Crane Tower, Yueyang Tower, Qingchuan Pavilion, and the Zhongyi Tower of Jingzhou as the “Four Famous Towers of Chu,” and wrote two seven-character quatrains entitled 《偕王章甫陳公弼登黃鶴樓》 that introduced the architectural art of the Yellow Crane Tower.
References
- CBDB Yuan Hongdao (35222)
- 搜韵 袁宏道 (51392)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 袁宏道 (A004656)
- Wikidata Yuan Hongdao (Q2983713)