Chen Liang

Type Figure Region Southern Song Time 1143–1194 Also known as Chen Tongfu、Longchuan、Master Longchuan

Chen Liang (1143–1194) was a Southern Song thinker and political commentator, courtesy name Tongfu, style name Longchuan, from Yongkang, Wuzhou.…

Timeline

1143–1188Yongkang · Yongkang CountyBorn into a gentry family in Yongkang, he was confident in his moral integrity from youth. In the fifth year of Qiandao he submitted the Five Memorials on Restoration, forcefully arguing for moving the capital to Jianye and reforming the habits of partial occupation; during the Chunxi era he exchanged scholarly debates with Zhu Xi, promoting the distinctions of practical achievement and of kingly versus hegemonic rule, forming the embryonic thought of the Yongjia school.
1189–1193Lin'an · Lin'an PrefectureHe was appointed to office at Jiankang early in the Shaoxing era, and in 1191 was imprisoned on false charges of poisoning at a banquet. Through the strenuous efforts of Vice Minister Zheng Ruxie and others, Emperor Guangzong ordered his release. After leaving prison he continued his political commentary and writing, maintaining close ties with Ye Shi and other Yongjia colleagues.
1194Jiankang · Jiankang PrefectureAfter his release in the fifth year of Shaoxing he returned north and died of illness at Jiankang. His disciple Ye Shi wrote the preface to the Longchuan Collected Works, and his son Chen Hang later compiled and published the Longchuan Collected Works. During the Jiatai era he was posthumously granted the title Zhongdaifu and the posthumous name Wenyi.