Xu Qian

Life

Orphaned young, he devoted himself to learning and studied under Jin Lixiang, receiving the full substance of his teacher's transmission. He taught in his native area and declined recruitment to office. The Eastern Zhejiang censorial office later summoned him, but he did not take up the appointment; Liu Tingzhi and Zhao Hongwei successively recommended him as an outstanding talent and as a recluse, but he firmly declined both recommendations.

At the beginning of the Yanyou era, he lived at Mount Bahua in Dongyang. Scholars traveled great distances to study with him, and more than a thousand students were listed as having studied with him. He taught according to their abilities and refused to teach examination prose, saying, “This is where righteousness and profit are distinguished.” Scholars from across the region considered it a shame not to have reached his door; people consulted him on ritual and government, and those who heard him were convinced. He remained within his native community for forty years.

Among his friends were Zhang Shu, Du Ben, and Ye Jinweng. His pupils included Wang Shun, Zhu Zhenheng, Wei Fuyi, Wu Shidao, Su Youlong, Su Boheng, and Hu Han, among more than a thousand listed disciples.

His ancestry included Xu Yanshou, his ninth-generation ancestor; Xu Shi, his seventh-generation ancestor; Xu Jingguo, his great-grandfather; and Xu Yinglong, his grandfather. His father is variously named Xu Rixuan and Xu Gong, with Xu Gong also identified as his adoptive father. His mother was Tao, wife of Xu Rixuan, and his adoptive mother was Han, wife of Xu Gong. He had an elder brother, Xu Jing; his wife, Zhu, was the daughter of Zhu Tianyu, and they had two sons, Xu Yuan and Xu Heng. His dates are given as 1270–1337, although another account says that he died in the third year of the Zhiyuan era at the age of sixty-eight.

Intellectual Tradition

Xu continued the learning of Jin Lixiang. The line of transmission was traced from Huang Mianzai, who transmitted Zhu Xi's learning to He Ji; Wang Bai then stood in a teacher-and-friend relationship with He Ji, and Jin Lixiang learned from Wang Bai before entering He Ji's school. Scholars treated these three as legitimate heirs of Zhu Xi and regarded Xu as the one who carried on their transmission.

Works

His writings dealt with the Four Books, classical commentaries, Spring and Autumn learning, and the study of poetry. The titles and variant titles include 《白雲集》, 《許白雲先生文集》, 《讀書叢說》, 《讀書傳叢說》, 《假借論》, 《日文雜記》, 《春秋三傳義疏》, 《春秋溫故管窺》, 《治忽幾微》, 《觀史治忽幾微》, 《自省編》, 《詩集傳名物鈔》, 《詩名物鈔》, 《讀中庸叢說》 in two juan, 《讀論語叢說》 in three juan, and 《讀四書叢說》 in four juan.

《白雲集》, in four juan, does much to support the interpretation of the Classics and to uphold moral teaching; judging it only as belles-lettres would be superficial.

Posthumous Honors

After his death, Xu was buried in Jinhua, was known as Baiyun xiansheng, and was posthumously granted Wenyi. The Jiang-Zhe provincial government petitioned the court to establish the Four Worthies Academy for his enshrinement.