Dai Zhen (1723 or 1724–1777) was a Qing-dynasty Chinese scholar, philologist, and thinker. He was styled Dongyuan and Shenxiu; Gaoxi is variously given as a courtesy name and as a studio name or sobriquet; he was from Xiuning in Anhui.
Life
He was a shengyuan, became a juren in the 27th year of the Qianlong reign (1762), and in the 38th year (1773) was summoned to serve as a compiler for the Siku Quanshu. In the 40th year (1775), he failed the metropolitan examination, was specially ordered to take the palace examination, granted tong jinshi chushen status, and appointed a shujishi in the Hanlin Academy. His literary and scholarly work brought him to the notice of the Qianlong emperor, Aisin Gioro Hongli.
He studied with Jiang Yong, was his student, read his works, and incorporated Jiang's writings into the Wuli Tongkao. He was a friend of Qian Daxin, Wang Mingsheng, Zhu Yun, and Ji Yun; his students included Wang Niansun, Kong Guangsen, Duan Yucai, and Ren Dachun.
Thought and scholarship
His scholarship covered phonology, the study of Chinese characters, calendrical computation, and geography, and he went on to elucidate moral principles. He criticized the Neo-Confucian claim that one should “restrain human desires and preserve heavenly principle.”
Works
His works include *The Commentary on the Rhapsody of Qu Yuan*, *Diagrams of the Kao Gong Ji*, *Explanatory Evidence for the Meaning of Words in the Mencius*, *Yuan Shan*, and *Collected Works of Dai Dongyuan*; he also collated the *Da Dai Li Ji* and the *Shui Jing Zhu*. Other works include *Study of Phonology*, *Table of Phonological Classes*, *Continuation of Fangyan*, *Continuation of the Concise Treatise on Astronomy*, *Jing kao*, and *The Gougu Circle-Cutting Record*.
References
- CBDB Dai Zhen (65933)
- 搜韵 戴震 (63315)
- Wikidata Dai Zhen (Q714369)