Chen Hengqing

Chen Hengqing (1844–1920), courtesy name Zijiu, was a native of Weixian in Shandong (present-day Weicheng District, Weifang). A late Qing official and scholar, he passed the provincial examination in 1873 and the metropolitan examination in 1886. He served successively as a secretary in the Ministry of Works, rising through the Waterways, Construction, and Colonization Departments, and later held posts as Supervising Censor of the Ministry of War, Investigating Censor of the Henan Circuit, and Chief Supervising Censor. In 1908 he was appointed prefect of Jinzhou. He retired at sixty and wrote works including Jianshu Xian Notes (also known as Jili Qingtan) and Unofficial Gleanings of the Late Qing. His extant writings are considerable, with 154 titles held in our collection, many drawing on folk literature and Eastern philosophy. They touch on modern upheavals such as the militia conflicts, the Boxer movement, and the Nian rebels, as well as rural tales and social types like foxes and swindlers, and social issues such as Manchu-Han differences, bearing the documentary flavor of note-style historiography. Public information is limited, and his literary standing and influence await further study.