Timeline of Feng Zikai

Author: Sheng Xingjun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: In February-April 1898 (the 24th year of the Guangxu reign and the Wuxu year), the severe situation of the second wave of imperialist division of China formed. On June 11, Emperor Guangxu issued the "Proclamation on Establishing National Policies," appointing the reformists Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao to implement new reforms, known as the "Hundred Days' Reform." On September 11, the Shanghai-Jin Railway was completed and a ceremony was held. This month, Tan Sitong and six others were executed, known as the "Wuxu Coup." The self-imposed reform movement of the bourgeoisie failed. That year, Li Shucong moved his family from Tianjin to Shanghai with his mother, renting a house in the French Concession of Shanghai and joining the "Nanfang Literature Society," where his poems and writings were the best among the members. On November 9, Feng Zikai was born on the 26th day of the ninth lunar month in Yuxi Town, Shimen County, Zhejiang Province (now Shimen Town, Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province) in the Feng Tongyu Dyeing Workshop. His childhood name was Ciyu, and his given name was Feng Run. Later, he changed "Run" to "Ren," and then took the name "Zikai" as his title. Feng Zikai mostly used "Zikai" as his name when publishing literary and cartoon works. Feng Zikai was born into a family of poetry, literature, etiquette, and propriety. According to the "Huangtang Fengshi Zongpu" (Feng Clan Genealogy) of Tangxi Town, Jinhua County, Zhejiang Province, Feng Jie's ancestor, Feng Ji, was the 90th descendant since the Shang Dynasty and was known as Qing?. If Feng Ji is considered the generation, Feng Ji's great-grandson, Feng Yu, moved from Jinyun to Tangxi Huangtang in the first year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1131). The 22nd descendant of Feng Ji, the three brothers Shengwen, Gongxian, and Wangshan, moved from Tangxi Huangtang to Tongxiang Shimen Town. It is certain that Feng Zikai's ancestors moved from Tangxi. According to the "Zhejiang Provincial Examination Record," Feng Ercheng, the eighth generation of ancestors of Feng Zikai, was an eighth-rank official who welcomed Emperor Kangxi during his southern inspection. Below the seventh generation, such as Feng Pu, Feng Yuanyun, Feng Qisheng, Feng Jun, and Feng Qiaoshao, were all students of the Imperial Academy generation after generation. From Feng Zikai generation, his grandfather Feng Qiaoshao, was a student of the Imperial Academy during the Qing Dynasty, but his family had declined and he worked as a dyeer. His grandmother, Shen Shi, was known as "Feng Ba Niangniang." The second generation is Feng Jie, his father. Although he passed the imperial examination, he was unable to take the imperial examination in the capital due to "dingyou" (mourning for his mother) and thus could not enter the scholar class, passing away at a young age. His mother, Zhong Yunfang, was virtuous and hardworking, deeply influencing Feng Zikai. According to historical records, Feng Zikai's birthplace, Shimen Town, is located in the center of the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plain in Zhejiang Province, a beautiful and prosperous town in the Jiangnan region. It was originally under the jurisdiction of Chongde County. Shimen Town was the boundary between Wu and Yue during the late Spring and Autumn period over 2,000 years ago. The State of Yue built two stone gates here as passes for communication with the State of Wu, hence the name "Shimen Town." These two stone gates no longer exist, but a stone lane called "Leishi Lane" remains on the west bank of the Grand Canal. At the entrance of Leishi Lane, a stone monument stands today as a memorial. In the fifth year of the Xuande era of the Ming Dynasty (1430), Tongxiang County was separated from Chongde County. Shimen was divided into two parts by the temple lane, with the east belonging to Tongxiang and the west to Chongde. Later, Emperor Taizong of Jin, Aisin Gioro Hong Taiji, began using the era name "Tianzong" in 1627 and changed it to "Chongde" in 1636. After Emperor Kangxi ascended the throne (1662), he changed the name of Chongde County to Shimen County to avoid taboo, and it was restored to Chongde County in 1914. Chongde