Yuan Cai
Encyclopedia
Yuan Cai was a Song dynasty
scholar and official
, best known for penning the Yuan shi shi fan, a manual of advice addressed to family heads on the subject of how to handle their responsibilities.
Yuan was born in Xin'an, the capital of Quzhou
prefecture, to an established gentry
family. In the 1150s he was a student at the National University (大学) at the Southern Song capital of Hangzhou
. After passing the jinshi degree in 1163, Yuan Cai served in several prefectures outside the capital. Altogether Yuan Cai served as magistrate
of four counties.
During this time, he spent much of his time writing. Two of his early works, Zhenghe za ji ("Mischellaneous Notes from Zhenghe) and Xianling xiao lu ("Minor Records of Magistrates"), are no longer extant. From the bibliography
chapter of the Book of Song
and Ming dynasty
gazetteer
s of Quzhou, he is also known to have written a number of other books, all of which are also lost. Most of them were concerned with the administration of local and central government. At least one detailed ways in which the central government could improve its capacity to fend off the Jurchens
who had seized north China
.
Serving as magistrate of Leqing from 1178 onwards, Yuan acted as compiler of a ten-chapter gazetteer of the county. He probably completed and published the Yuan shi shi fan around this time. Liu Zhen, one of the members of the local families, whom Yuan had met at the National University, wrote the preface for Yuan's work. The Yuan shi shi fan was reprinted in 1190, whilst Yuan Cai was at Wuyuan in what is now southern Anhui
.
In 1192 he was recommended for promotion by the poet Yang Wanli. Yuan Cai's last post was in the capital, as director of the Public Attention Drum Bureau. He probably died sometime in the mid-1190s. After his death, his second son and a cousin also attained the jinshi degree in 1205.
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
scholar and official
Official
An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority .A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public...
, best known for penning the Yuan shi shi fan, a manual of advice addressed to family heads on the subject of how to handle their responsibilities.
Yuan was born in Xin'an, the capital of Quzhou
Quzhou
Quzhou is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Zhejiang province, China. Sitting on the upper course of the Qiantang River, it borders Hangzhou to the north, Jinhua to the east, Lishui to the southeast, and the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi and Anhui to the south the south, southwest and...
prefecture, to an established gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
family. In the 1150s he was a student at the National University (大学) at the Southern Song capital of Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
. After passing the jinshi degree in 1163, Yuan Cai served in several prefectures outside the capital. Altogether Yuan Cai served as magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
of four counties.
During this time, he spent much of his time writing. Two of his early works, Zhenghe za ji ("Mischellaneous Notes from Zhenghe) and Xianling xiao lu ("Minor Records of Magistrates"), are no longer extant. From the bibliography
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
chapter of the Book of Song
Book of Song
The Book of Song , also called "The History of the Song," is a historical text of the Liu Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties of China. It covers history from 420 to 479, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories, a traditional collection of historical records. It was authored by Shen Yue from...
and Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
gazetteer
Gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or directory, an important reference for information about places and place names , used in conjunction with a map or a full atlas. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup of a country, region, or continent as well as the social...
s of Quzhou, he is also known to have written a number of other books, all of which are also lost. Most of them were concerned with the administration of local and central government. At least one detailed ways in which the central government could improve its capacity to fend off the Jurchens
Jurchens
The Jurchens were a Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century, when they adopted the name Manchu...
who had seized north China
North China
thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....
.
Serving as magistrate of Leqing from 1178 onwards, Yuan acted as compiler of a ten-chapter gazetteer of the county. He probably completed and published the Yuan shi shi fan around this time. Liu Zhen, one of the members of the local families, whom Yuan had met at the National University, wrote the preface for Yuan's work. The Yuan shi shi fan was reprinted in 1190, whilst Yuan Cai was at Wuyuan in what is now southern Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
.
In 1192 he was recommended for promotion by the poet Yang Wanli. Yuan Cai's last post was in the capital, as director of the Public Attention Drum Bureau. He probably died sometime in the mid-1190s. After his death, his second son and a cousin also attained the jinshi degree in 1205.