Biography of Wei Yuan

Author: Xia Jianqin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: After Wei Yuan arrived in Beijing, he made many friends, but the one who truly clicked with him and became a lifelong close friend should be Chen Hong. Chen Hong (1785—1825), styled Taichu, styled Qiufang, was from Qishui, Hubei. He became a top scholar in the 24th year of the Jiaqing reign and served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, an examiner, and later a censor of Sichuan Circuit. He passed away in the sixth year of the Daoguang reign.
Chen Hong enjoyed reading the works of Song Dynasty Confucian scholars and had a close relationship with Dong Guifu and Yao Xue rang. When he met Wei Yuan, Chen Hong had already passed the imperial examination as a juren and was serving as a director of the Imperial College in Beijing, having gained considerable fame. Some advised Chen Hong against associating with Wei Yuan, arguing that Wei Yuan had neither official rank nor achievements and was "difficult to approach like a fisherman with scales." But Chen Hong paid no heed. He not only did not consider associating with Wei Yuan beneath his status but rather increased his interactions, deepening their friendship.
After reading Wei Yuan's first poetry collection Beidao Ji, Chen Hong was greatly impressed and happily inscribed a poem titled A Poem in Ancient Style for Wei Moshen, Inscribed After Beidao Ji:
"Straight trees have no low branches,
Clear waters have no.
You are but twenty now,
Yet your words seem divine.
Like a storm and wind,
You overturn countless dust.
The ancient style grows corrupt,
The great path becomes a maze.
Each holds their own,
How can they be called poets?
Take your Beidao Ji,
It brings ancient spring to my breast.
My eyes are filled with wandering,
And my carriage emits sorrowful cries.
Alas, it is all for you,
Yet it cannot ease the people's suffering.
Now I must part with you,
Go and cherish your own safety.
May we cast off vanity and reach the realm of tranquility."
This poem not only praises how Beidao Ji reflects the people's hardships and shows the poet's unconventional character but also reveals the lingering sorrow of their impending separation after a short acquaintance.
This kind of bond—meeting and feeling instantly connected—was even more vividly expressed in Chen Hong's poem On the Eve of Departing the Capital, First Meeting Wei Moshen, and Singing a Long Farewell to Him. The poem reads:
"Ten years I traveled in the south,
Never heard of Wei's name.
One day on Chang'an Road,
We met as if we knew each other.
Yesterday we met, today we part,
Clasping hands, speechless in the vastness.
When I first saw you in autumn,
How youthful and spirited you were.
With a deep bow, you spoke to me,
Your words vast and profound.
At that time, I listened in awe,
And for three days, I pondered your words.
You excel in ancient style,
Rarely met with your equal.
Our meeting and parting are but chance,
Life's joys and sorrows lie elsewhere.
I asked you, but you did not speak,
Returning home, I called you Yunxin."
This poem was written in the Jiaxiu year (1814), when Wei Yuan first arrived in Beijing. It vividly describes the scene of their meeting on Chang'an Road, their close conversation, and Chen Hong's initial impression of Wei Yuan. At the time, Chen Hong's father Chen Guangyi was still serving as the magistrate of Changsha. "Returning home to visit our Chen family's Yunxin" refers to visiting his family in Hunan to see Chen Qipo (styled Yunxin). Because Chen Hong was returning to Hunan for a family visit and would be leaving the capital, Wei Yuan not only went to bid him farewell but also entrusted him with a letter to Chen Qipo, a fellow scholar in Chenzhou.
Chen Hong devoted himself to his friendship with Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan also deeply admired Chen Hong's character, and the two "always debated and questioned each other's works, striving for excellence." For example, regarding Chen Hong's poetry collections Shiba Mountain Studio Poems or Jianxue Zhai Poems, Wei Yuan read them eight times in total, once for each revision, and left comments for each (five of which survive). After Chen Hong passed away at the age of 41, Wei Yuan compiled his own work Shibiji Xing Jian and presented it to Chen Hong's son Chen Tingjing, asking him to publish it under Chen Hong's name to honor his friend and leave a lasting legacy, further demonstrating the unbreakable bond between them.