Mao Qiling (1623–1716; an alternative date range places his death between 26 January 1713 and 13 February 1714) was a late-Ming and early-Qing native of Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, a classical scholar, historian, philologist, poet, ci poet, calligrapher, and painter. His original name was 甡 (Shen); his courtesy name was Dake (大可), and he was also styled Yu Yi (于一) and Qiyu (齊于). He used the sobriquets Chuqing (初晴) and Qiuqing (秋晴) and was known to scholars as Xihe Xiansheng (西河先生). Other sobriquets included Sengkai (僧開), Heyou (河右), Heyouseng (河右僧), Wanqing (晚晴), Kaiqiu (開秋), Sengmi (僧彌), and Chunchi (春遲); other recorded names include Mao Wangyan (毛王彥), Wang Shifang (王士方), Jiashantangliuzi (佳山堂六子), Xiaomaosheng (小毛生), and Xiaomaozi (小毛子).
Life
In the late Ming he was a zhusheng (諸生), and he is also listed as a student of the Imperial Academy and a stipend student. In the early Qing he took part in military resistance to the Qing; after its defeat he spent years in exile, emerging again during the Kangxi reign. In 1679, the eighteenth year of Kangxi, he was nominated for and summoned to the Boxue Hongci examination, where he was placed nineteenth in the second class; another examination entry labels the same result as the jinshi, second class, nineteenth place.
He was appointed jian tao, assigned to compile the History of the Ming, and served as a Hanlin Academy jian tao. In 1685, the twenty-fourth year of Kangxi, he served as a joint metropolitan-examination examiner and is also listed simply as a joint examiner; he soon took leave, returned home, and never resumed office.
His father was Mao Bingjing (毛秉鏡); his siblings included Mao Wanling (毛萬齡), Mao Huiling (毛慧齡), and Mao Xiling (毛錫齡). His wife was Chen He (陳何), and his concubine Zhang Manshu (張曼殊) lived from 1661 to 1685. Mao Wanling is also described as his younger brother, and the two were called the “Two Maos of Jiangdong.”
His friends included Huang Zongxi (黃宗羲), Shi Runzhang (施閏章), Fei Mi (費密), Zhu Yizun (朱彝尊), and Zhao Zhixin (趙執信); other associated friends included Xu Xianqing (徐咸清), Zhu Heling (朱鶴齡), and Ren Chendan (任辰旦).
Scholarship and writing
Mao Qiling studied the Classics, history, and phonology, possessed a prodigious memory and broad learning, and wrote extensively; his scholarly and artistic fields also included philosophy, music, poetry, ci, calligraphy, and painting. His citations were wide-ranging, but his refusal to check original texts led to many errors; in classical scholarship he attacked Zhu Xi relentlessly, and critics consequently denied him the status of a “pure Confucian.”
His poetry modeled itself on the Tang poets and opposed the contemporary preference for Song style, yet was judged capable of producing new ideas rather than merely imitating its models. His ci followed the Huajian style and drew the comment “Qi and Liang within the song lyric” (曲中齊梁).
Works
His collected works, Xihe heji (《西河合集》), are divided into the Classics, History, Literary Works, and Miscellany, totaling more than four hundred juan. The corpus is also found under the titles Xihe ji (《西河集》), in 189 juan, Xihe wenji (《西河文集》), and Xihe shiji (《西河詩集》). The ci collection is called Mao Hanlin ci (《毛翰林詞》), and related works include Xihe tian ci (《西河填詞》, six juan), Xihe shihua (《西河詩話》, eight juan), and Xihe zaji (《西河雜箋》, one juan); the collected corpus therefore appears under variant titles and stated totals.
Works in classical learning, ritual, history, and phonology include Zhongshi Yi (《仲氏易》, 30 juan), Chunqiu Maoshi zhuan (《春秋毛氏傳》, 36 juan), Sishu gaicuo (《四書改錯》, 22 juan), Jingwen (《經問》, 18 juan plus three supplementary juan), Zhouli wen (《周禮問》, two juan), Sangli wu shuo pian (《喪禮吾說篇》, 10 juan), Gujin tongyun (《古今通韻》, 12 juan), Yunxue yaozhi (《韻學要指》, 11 juan), and Huangyan dingsheng lu (《皇言定聲錄》, eight juan). Other titles associated with his corpus include Shengchao tongshi shiji (《勝朝彤史拾記》), Zhike zalu (《制科雜錄》), Houjian lu (《後鑒錄》), Xianghu shuili zhi (《湘湖水利志》), and Xiaoshan xianzhi kanwu (《蕭山縣志刊誤》), extending from classical and historical learning to ritual, music, local gazetteers, and poetics.
Legacy
Together with Mao Xianshu (毛先舒) and Mao Jike (毛際可), Mao Qiling was known as the “Three Maos of central Zhejiang” and the “Three Literary Heroes.” His students included Jin Nong (金農), Chen Zhuan (陳撰), Li Gong (李塨), and Shao Tingcai (邵廷采).
References
- CBDB Mao Qiling (33879)
- 搜韵 毛奇齡 (56660)
- Wikidata Mao Qiling (Q704075)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 毛奇齡 (A043109)