Chen Zilong

Life

Raised by his grandmother, he took the child examination in 1623 at the age of sixteen and married in 1628 the daughter of Zhang Guiduan, magistrate of Shaoyang County in Baoqing Prefecture, Huguang. He became a juren in the 1630 Yingtian provincial examination and earned the dingchou jinshi degree in 1637; the latter is also listed as third class, seventeenth place.

After earning the jinshi degree, he first served as judicial commissioner of Huizhou Prefecture in Guangdong and then as judicial commissioner of Shaoxing Prefecture. He later served as a Director in the Ministry of Personnel and became a Supervising Secretary in the Bureau of Military Affairs in 1644. During his Shaoxing tenure, the Dongyang uprising led by Xu Du occurred: Chen, an old acquaintance of Xu, persuaded him to surrender on a promise of safety, but the investigating censor had Xu killed; Chen protested unsuccessfully.

His appointment as Supervising Secretary had just been issued when Beijing fell. He went to Nanjing to serve Prince Fu, proposed naval training, and argued that a ruler seeking restoration should lead his troops in person; when these proposals were rejected, he resigned to care for his parents. After the Southern Capital fell, he raised troops against Qing in Songjiang and served as military supervisor. After the defeat he put on monk’s robes, used Xinzhong as his Buddhist name, and was later appointed Minister of War under Prince Lu.

He then linked with forces around Lake Tai to plan another uprising. When the plot was exposed, he was arrested in the Suzhou area and drowned himself while being escorted in shackles. On the night of 15 June 1647, the first year of the Yongli era and the fourth year of the Qing Shunzhi era, he broke his shackles and threw himself into the river while crossing Kuatang Bridge on the way by boat to Jiangning; his students recovered the body and buried it in the Chen family cemetery. During the Qianlong reign, he received the posthumous name Zhongyu.

Literary activity and associations

In his youth, Chen showed literary promise, joined the Jishe with Xia Yunyi and others, and also entered the Fushe. He was a disciple of Huang Daozhou and taught Xia Wanchun, Mao Xianshu, Gu Youxiao, and Shi Yinan. Chen was associated with Li Wen and Song Zhengbi; another account names the latter Song Zhengyu, and groups Chen with Li and Song as the “Three Masters of Yunjiang.”

Known for his integrity, Chen was regarded as a major poet, ci poet, and writer of classical prose, and he also pursued learning in the Classic of Poetry. He held a leading place in the literary world of the late Ming. His prose was expansive and forceful, his poetry elevated and vigorous—earning him the designation “rear guard of Ming poetry”—while his ci was praised for its exquisite beauty, depth, and natural resonance; he helped establish both the Yunjiang poetry and ci schools.

Works

His works include 《湘真閣稿》, 《安雅堂稿》, and 《白雲草》, as well as 《廬居》; 《安雅堂稿》 is also found under the title 《安雅堂集》.

《詩問略》 is associated with him as an author, and he compiled 《明經世文編》; the latter also appears as 《皇明經世文編》, in 508 volumes. The Qing scholar Wang Chang compiled 《陳忠裕公全集》, and another collection is 《陳忠裕公詞》.