Feng Menglong Complete Works (Full 24 Volumes)

Author: Zhang Shuti, Wang Huaimao, Editors
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Feng Menglong (1574—1646), styled Yulong, also known as Eryou, styled Longziyuyou, and Muhanzhai Master, was a native of Changzhou (now Wuxian County, Jiangsu). He was a renowned litterateur and dramatist of the late Ming Dynasty. With keen literary talent and elegant prose, he devoted most of his life to writing, except for a five-year tenure as magistrate of Shouning County, Fujian. He compiled or revised dozens of works, the most famous of which are Yushi Mingyan, Jingshi Tongyan, and Xingshi Hengyan. Feng Menglong was active in the final days of the Ming Dynasty, witnessing the corrupt rule of the Ming regime. Apart from writing works like Jiazheng Jiushi and Zhongxing Weilüe to express his views on current affairs, he also explicitly advocated for birth control and population control. He believed that "having two sons and two daughters" (Taiping Guangji Chao·Guyuanzhi) would inevitably lead to a massive population explosion, making it impossible to sustain them. Therefore, he argued, "It is better to have one son and one daughter, ensuring no increase or decrease, which can last long. If one has two sons and two daughters, each birth doubles, and the population grows endlessly—how can it be supported?" (Taiping Guangji Chao·Guyuanzhi, marginal note). Here, although Feng Menglong failed to recognize that the primary cause of the people's hardship at the time was the ruthless exploitation of the laboring masses by the ruling class, he first broke through the long-standing traditional belief that "more children and grandchildren bring blessings" and recognized the relationship between population growth and the increase in living resources. He proposed that each couple should ideally have only two children.