Mao Qiling (simplified Chinese: 毛奇龄; traditional Chinese: 毛奇齡; pinyin: Máo Qílíng; Wade–Giles: Mao Ch'i-ling; 1623–1716) was a Chinese scholar and philologist of the early Qing dynasty. A native of Xiaoshan in Zhejiang province, he became a licentiate at the age of fifteen sui.[1] After the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, he refused to serve the Qing. In 1679, however, he took part in and passed a special honorary examination held by the Kangxi Emperor to attract scholars who had not yet announced their allegiance to the new dynasty.[1] He was then appointed to the compilation of the official History of Ming.[1] After retiring from office in 1687, he went to live in Hangzhou (Zhejiang), where he taught many disciples.[1]
A scholar of wide learning, Mao compiled works on the Confucian Classics and on phonetics, music, history, and geography.[2] After Mao's death his writings were collected and published as an eighty-volume work, The Collected Works of Xihe ("Xihe" was a popular pseudonym of Mao's).[3] He was famous for vehemently opposing the orthodox commentaries on the Classics by Song-dynasty Neo-Confucians like Zhu Xi.[4] He also unsuccessfully attacked Yan Ruoju's demonstration that the Old Text chapters of the Book of Documents (one of the Five Classics) were Han-dynasty forgeries.[5]
In the Shang shu guangting fu (Record of a broad understanding of the documents), Mao presented criticism of the earlier association between the early nonary cosmographic schemes and the Luoshu.[6]
- ^ a b c d Tu 1943, p. 563.
- ^ Tu 1943, p. 564.
- ^ Legge 1893, p. 20.
- ^ Wang 2008, p. 107; Elman 2001, p. 89.
- ^ Elman 2001, pp. 237–9; Tu 1943, p. 564.
- ^ Henderson 1995, p. 224.