Shen Maoxue (沈懋學; his dates are variously given as 1534–1596 and 1539–1582) was a Ming-dynasty zhuangyuan.
His courtesy name was Jundian (君典), also given as Judian (居典); his sobriquets were Shaolin (少林) and Baiyunshanqiao (白雲山樵). He was from Xuancheng, in the Ming-era Ningguo Prefecture of Zhili.
Life
His father was Shen Chong (沈寵), who held the title Guangxi canyi (廣西參議); his great-grandfather was Shen Qian (沈謙), and his grandfather Shen Pu (沈璞). His mother was a Cui, his stepmother a Ge; his elder brother was Shen Maojing (沈懋敬), and his younger brothers were Shen Maoguan (沈懋官), Shen Maoqing (沈懋卿), and Shen Maoxiao (沈懋孝). His wife was Wang; his son was Shen Youze (沈有則), born in 1573; his third daughter was Shen Tiansun (沈天孫), and his son-in-law was Tu Jinshu (屠金樞).
From an early age, he was known for his talent, was ranked with Mei Dingzuo, and was regarded, together with Tang Xianzu, as one of the notable men of his time. His examination career included the shengyuan (listed with the number 118), a provincial recommended candidate, en'gong (恩貢), and the jinshi degree; his jinshi result was first class, first place. In 1577, the fifth year of the Wanli reign, he ranked 81st in the metropolitan examination and first in the palace examination, and was appointed Hanlin Academy xiuzhuan (翰林院修撰).
Zhang Juzheng hoped that his son Zhang Sixiu would associate with Tang Xianzu and Shen Maoxue; Tang refused, while Shen and Zhang passed in the same examination cohort in 1577, Shen first and Zhang second.
During the mourning for Zhang Juzheng’s deceased father, Zhang retained office under duoqing; Hanlin compiler Wu Zhongxing and others memorialized against the decision and were beaten and banished to military service. Shen wrote to Zhang’s son Zhang Sixiu and to Li Youzi, Minister of Works, pleading for Wu and the others; when this failed, he claimed illness and returned home.
His offices, in addition to Hanlin Academy xiuzhuan, included chengwulang (承務郎), cefeng fushi (冊封副使), guozi siye (國子司業), and guozijian siye (國子監司業). The cefeng fushi appointment is dated to 1581, and the guozi siye appointment to 1586; both siye posts were in Nanjing. His Hanlin xiuzhuan service is also dated through 1586, which conflicts with the 1539–1582 death-date tradition and leaves the chronology of these offices disputed.
His posthumous title was Wenjie (文節), although another account places its bestowal in the reign of Anzong. The History of Ming includes a biography of him.
Works
His works included Jiaoju gao (郊居稿) and the ten-volume Jiaoju yigao (郊居遺稿), whose title also appears as Jiaoju yigao (郊居遺槀). The Jiuhua shan zhi preserves one of his five-character regulated poems, “You Jiuhua.”
References
- CBDB Shen Maoxue (34924)
- 搜韵 沈懋學 (51252)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 沈懋學 (A007755)
- Wikidata Shen Maoxue (Q11138326)