Wang Zongmu (dates disputed: one account gives 1523–1591, another 1524–1592, while a further range places his birth in 1524 and his death in 1593–94) was a Ming scholar and political figure. His courtesy name was Xinfu and his sobriquet Jingsuo; he was from Chengguan in Linhai, Zhejiang, was listed as second in birth order, was also known as Wang Zongshu (王宗沭), and received the posthumous name Xiangyu.
His father was Wang Xun (王訓) and his mother was Zheng; his great-grandfather was Wang Zuan and his grandfather Wang Yiqing. He had an elder brother, Wang Zongyuan, and four younger brothers—Wang Zongwei, Wang Zongsi, Wang Zongjia, and Wang Zongluo—and his wife was a member of the Qin family. His sons were Wang Shiqi, Wang Shisong, Wang Shichang, and Wang Shiye; his nephew was Wang Shixing. In 1539, Qin Mingxia, who valued him, married his daughter to Wang Zongmu.
Life
In 1540, he ranked first in both prefectural and county examinations; he placed third in the Zhejiang provincial examination in 1543 and passed the jinshi examination in 1544, ranking 43rd in the second class. He was first appointed as a zhushi (主事) in the Ministry of Justice, promoted to yuanwailang (刑部員外郎) in 1548, and transferred in 1550 to the post of qianshi (按察司僉事) in Guangxi; there he rebuilt Xuancheng Academy and founded Chongdi Hall.
In 1554 he became a canyi (參議) in Guangdong; in 1556 he was appointed Jiangxi educational commissioner (提學副使), where he renovated Bailudong Academy and lectured in person. He later served as a canzheng (參政) and an anchashi (按察使), and in 1561 was promoted to right provincial administration commissioner of Shanxi. He was a friend of Li Panlong and Wang Shizhen, with whom he shared literary interests, and had studied under Ouyang De.
In 1567 he completed the Song-Yuan Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government. During the Longqing era he became a right vice censor, took charge of grain transport, and concurrently served as governor of Fengyang; he petitioned unsuccessfully for the restoration of sea transport. When debate arose in the fifth year of Longqing over opening the Jiaolai River to transport, Wang Zongmu considered the project unlikely to succeed and advocated sea transport; in the sixth year, 120,000 shi of rice were sent from the Huai River into the sea and reached Tianjin in the fifth month.
In the first year of Wanli, flooding in Xu, Huai, Yang, and other areas led Wang Zongmu and his colleagues to petition first for tax exemptions and relief; in the second year he submitted the Illustrated Guide to Grain Transport, arguing that the collection and conveyance of grain were difficult. In the third year of Wanli he became left vice minister of the Ministry of Justice and was fined a portion of his salary for failing to complete official duties; in the fourth year, in the first month, he concurrently became a right vice censor and was sent to inspect Xuanfu and Datong.
He was dismissed in the ninth year of Wanli after being listed for removal in the metropolitan review. He spent more than ten years at home, built the Qiyuan garden for his own enjoyment, and visited the three caves of Wuzhou and scenic places such as West Lake in Hangzhou. His tomb was twenty li south of the county seat.
Scholarship and writings
His poetry and prose were accomplished; he said that he had attained the spirit of the early Tang. Works associated with him include the Song-Yuan Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, the Eighteen Histories, the Gazetteer of Taizhou Prefecture, Detailed Studies of Sea Transport, Gazetteer of Sea Transport, Memorials of the Grain-Transport Governor, the Illustrated Guide to Grain Transport, and the Jingsuo Collected Works.
He also wrote prefaces for works by Wang Shouren, Ouyang De, Mao Kun, Wu Guifang, He Qian, Yuan Fuzheng, Qin Mingxia, Cai Yuncheng, and Ying Jia. His collected writings are also listed as the Xianggao Collection, in 33 juan, and the Collected Works of Master Wang Jingsuo, in 30 juan.
References
- CBDB Wang Zongmu (35065)
- 搜韵 王宗沐 (51142)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 王宗沐 (A019240)
- Wikidata Wang Zongmu (Q15916933)