Zhu Changwen (朱長文, 1039–1098) was a literatus and calligrapher of the Northern Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Boyuan (伯原); his sobriquets were Lepu (樂圃) and Lepu xiansheng (樂圃先生), and he was also known as Qianxi yinfu (潛溪隱夫). He was a native of Wu County, Suzhou (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu). Some sources give his dates as 1041–1100.
Life
Zhu Changwen was a grandson of Zhu Yi (朱億) and a son of Zhu Gongchuo (朱公綽). He studied under Sun Fu (孫復) and was admired by Hu Yuan (胡瑗), and he counted Fan Shijing (范世京) and Lin Xi (林希) among his friends. He passed the jinshi examination in the fourth year of the Jiayou era (1059), although one account places it in the second year of Jiayou (1057); as he was still under age, the Ministry of Personnel deferred his appointment. The following year he was appointed assistant for revenue affairs (sihu canjun) at Xu Prefecture (許州), but after a fall from a horse injured his foot he declined to take office, and he lived in retirement west of Suzhou for some thirty years. His family had an old garden with terraces, ponds, bamboo, rocks and fine trees, which men of letters delighted to visit; the prefect Zhang Bowang (章伯望) named his residence the Lepu quarter.
In 1086, the first year of the Yuanyou era, he was recommended and appointed professor of the prefectural school of Suzhou; Su Shi (蘇軾) had submitted a memorandum recommending Zhu Changwen for the post. He was afterwards made collator in the Palace Library (mishu sheng jiaoshu lang), transferred to assistant for revenue affairs at Xu Prefecture, and appointed professor at Suzhou. In 1093 he was summoned as erudite of the Imperial University (taixue boshi). In 1097, the fourth year of Shaosheng, he was promoted to corrector in the Palace Library (mishu sheng zhengzi) and editor of the Bureau of Military Affairs (shumi yuan bianxiu wenzi). He died in the second month of the first year of Yuanfu (1098), aged sixty. Other titles recorded for him include shang qingche duwei and dianzhong sheng shangshe fengyu.
Friends and associates
He was a fellow graduate of Lin Shao (林邵), Lin Yan (林顏) and Ding Yan (丁偃); he received a reply letter from Cheng Yi (程頤), and in 1093 Cheng Ju (程俱) wrote a farewell piece for him. He composed colophons for the writings, poems and calligraphy of Fan Chunren (范純仁), and a shrine record for Lin Gai (林概). Funerary inscriptions by him are recorded for Cai Ting (蔡挺), Cai Qin (蔡欽), Cai Zheng (蔡拯), Cai Tianjing (蔡天經), Cai Xin (蔡昕), Cai Qian (蔡潛) and Cai Ting's wife née Wang. He exchanged poems with Yang Yiru (楊懿孺) and the monk Zuyin (釋祖印).
Writings
Zhu Changwen was a prolific author who discoursed on all six classics. His works include the Chunqiu tongzhi (春秋通志) in 20 juan, the Wujun tujing xuji (吳郡圖經續記) in 3 juan, the Yijing jie (易經解), the Mochi bian (墨池編) in 6 juan, the Qinshi (琴史) in 6 juan, the Qintai zhi (琴臺志), and the Lepu wenji (樂圃文集) in 100 juan. As a calligrapher he followed Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿) and was held in equal repute with Xu Ji (徐積). His collected works were destroyed in the wars towards the end of the Northern Song; in the Southern Song his grandnephew Zhu Si (朱思) gathered the surviving writings into the ten-juan Wujun Lepu Zhu xiansheng yugao (吳郡樂圃朱先生餘稿).
Legacy
After his death Mi Fu (米芾) wrote his tomb tablet inscription and Zhang Jingxiu (張景修) his epitaph. His biography appears in juan 444 of the Song Shi (宋史). He had three sons, Zhu Si (朱耜), Zhu Fa (朱發) and Zhu Geng (朱耕); his fifth-generation descendant was Zhu Qinyan (朱寢炎), and later descendants include Zhu Liangyu (朱良育) and Zhu Xiwen (朱希文).
References
- CBDB Zhu Changwen (11316)
- 搜韵 朱長文 (27322)
- Wikidata Zhu Changwen (Q11094899)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 朱長文 (A018359)