Wang Niansun

Wang Niansun was a prominent scholar-official who lived through the turbulent transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty. He was well-versed in classical studies, poetry, calligraphy, and painting. He passed the imperial examination in 1789 and held various official positions in the Qing government. He was also a critic of the neo-Confucian orthodoxy and advocated a materialist and naturalist view of the world. He also defended the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of China and resisting foreign influences. He is regarded as one of the most original and influential thinkers of the late Ming and early Qing periods. He compiled a massive anthology of Ming poetry, the Collected Poetry of the Successive Reigns, which included biographies of the poets and his own critical comments. He also wrote histories of the Ming dynasty and the Donglin movement, as well as collections of his own poems, essays, and letters.