Wang Fuzhi

Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692), courtesy name Er Nong and pseudonym Jiang Zhai, was known as Mr. Chuanshan. A native of Hengyang, Hunan, he was a thinker, philosopher, historian and literary figure of the late Ming and early Qing periods. He lived through the Ming–Qing transition, once raised troops to resist the Qing, and later lived in seclusion at Shichuan Mountain for more than forty years, producing over a hundred works. His writings cover philosophy, history, literary appreciation and social thought, with representative works including the Du Tongjian Lun, Song Lun, Huang Shu and Jiang Zhai Wen Ji. He is regarded as the great synthesizer of traditional Chinese materialist thought and, together with Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu, is counted among the three great thinkers of the late Ming and early Qing. His historical commentaries draw lessons from the past with rigorous reasoning; his philosophical works carry forward and develop Zhang Zai's thought; and his literary criticism is perceptive and original. His posthumous writings have had a profound influence on later generations.