Tang Zhongyou

Life

His father was Tang Yaofeng; his elder brothers were Tang Zhongwen and Tang Zhongyi, and his brother-in-law was He Song. His second son was Tang Shichi; a later descendant, Tang Huaide (1307–1357), is described both as his seventh-generation descendant and as a 仍孫.

In 1151, the twenty-first year of the Shaoxing reign, he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed county registrar at Xi'an in Quzhou. His second success in the boxue hongci examination is dated to Shaoxing 30 (1160) in some accounts and Shaoxing 31 (1161) in another; he subsequently served as professor at the Jiankang prefectural school, Zhengzi in the Palace Library, and vice-prefect at Jiankang.

During Emperor Xiaozong's reign, he submitted a ten-thousand-word memorial on current affairs, which the emperor accepted; after a summons and examination, he was appointed as 著作郎 in the Palace Library (秘書省著作郎) and sent out as prefect of Xinzhou. In 1180 he transferred to Taizhou, and in 1181 was promoted to judicial commissioner for Jiangxi. His administration and financial management were credited with considerable achievements; in scholarship, he often diverged from Zhu Xi. After taking up the Jiangxi post, he was impeached by Zhu Xi, dismissed, and assigned a shrine sinecure.

He returned home and devoted himself more intensely to classical and historical studies. He died in 1188, the fifteenth year of the Chunxi reign, at the age of fifty-three.

Scholarship and associations

His scholarly range included astronomy, history, Neo-Confucian learning, the Confucian classics, statecraft, and geography, while his official career also involved administrative and financial affairs. Zhu Zhi first studied with Lü Zuqian and completed his studies under Tang; Ye Xiufa was also his student, and his disciple Jin Shi printed 帝王經世圖譜. Ding Shifa was his tongnian friend, and Zheng Bing protected him.

Works

His writings included 六經解 (partly extant), 諸史精義, 帝王經世圖譜 (extant), 孝經解, 九經發題 (extant), 陸宣公奏議解, 經史難答, 乾道秘府群書新錄, 天文詳辯, 地理詳辯, 魯軍制九問 (extant), and 愚書 (extant).

His collected works, 悅齋文集, comprised forty juan and were largely lost; ten juan and a one-juan supplement survive as 悅齋文鈔. The collection is also found under the title 說齋文集, while 唐說齋文鈔 is separately listed. Other works include 後典麗賦, 故事備要, 詞科雜錄, 說齋先生文粹, 說齋別集, and 詩解鈔一卷; sixteen-juan and one-juan versions are also listed for 帝王經世圖譜 and 九經發題, respectively.