Wen Zhenmeng (文震孟; 1574–1636), courtesy name Wenqi (文起), art name Zhanchi (湛持), also known by the names Congding, Zhancun and Wuzhong sanmeng, was a late Ming political figure and calligrapher. He was a native of Changzhou county in Suzhou prefecture, with ancestral roots in Hengshan county, Hengzhou prefecture, Huguang; some sources give his native place as Wu county or Yuanhe.
Life
Wen was a great-grandson of Wen Zhengming and a grandson of Wen Peng; his father was Wen Yuanfa and his younger brother Wen Zhenheng. He had two sons, Wen Bing and Wen Cheng, and a grandson, Wen Dian. In his youth he passed the provincial examination; after ten attempts at the metropolitan examination he finally became a jinshi in 1622 (Tianqi 2), placing first in the palace examination, and was appointed a compiler (xiuzhuan) of the Hanlin Academy.
At the time the eunuch Wei Zhongxian was gradually seizing power and ousting ministers one after another, Wen submitted his memorial “On Diligent Government and the Imperial Lectures” (Qinzheng jiangxue shu), criticizing the conduct of government. Wei seized on a phrase in the memorial, claiming that Wen had likened the emperor to a puppet; Wen was thereupon demoted in rank and transferred to a provincial post, and he resigned and returned home. In 1626 (Tianqi 6) he was implicated in a case and reduced to the status of a commoner.
In 1628 (Chongzhen 1) he was summoned to the imperial lecture court and served successively as expositor (shidu), zhongyun and daily lecturer (rijiang guan). After repeatedly impeaching Wang Yongguang, a surviving partisan of Wei Zhongxian, he offended the powerful minister and, taking the occasion of a mission to enfeoff the prince of Yi, returned home and stayed there. He returned to office in 1632 (Chongzhen 5) and rose to junior supervisor of the household (shaozhanshi). In 1635 (Chongzhen 8) he was appointed left vice minister of rites and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Hall; unwilling to pay the customary courtesy call on the Directorate of Ceremonial, and at odds with Wen Tiren, he was ensnared and dismissed after only two months in office. He returned home and died, and was given the posthumous name Wensu.
Character and associates
He was firm, upright and incorruptible, and possessed the integrity of a great minister of antiquity. He took disciples and lectured, numbering Xu Zhi and Qiu Minzhan among his students; his friends included Huang Daozhou and Zheng Man, he was a fellow examination graduate of Ni Yuanlu, and he studied together with his nephew Yao Ximeng. Wang Wan wrote his biography, and Chen Jitai composed a sacrificial address for him.
Writings
His works include Brief Records of the Worthy Men of Gusu (Gusu mingxian xiaoji) and Record of the Pacification of Shu (Ding Shu ji); he also left a poetry collection, Draft Poems from the Herb Garden (Yaopu shigao).
References
- CBDB Wen Zhenmeng (34682)
- 搜韵 文震孟 (51417)
- Wikidata Wen Zhenmeng (Q7982258)