[1]Identity and datesWei Xiao was a Ming-dynasty official and thinker who lived from 1483 to 1543.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The person record gives the name, dates, Ming affiliation, thinker classification, and an official appointment.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biographical passages identify the person as a Ming figure and give his 1483–1543 lifespan and official career.
WikidataWei Xiao (Q16077659)The entity label is Wei Xiao, its English description is politician, and its time claims point to 1483 and 1543.
[2]Courtesy names and styleWei Xiao used the courtesy names Zicai and the variant Zicai, styled himself Zhuangqu, and was associated with the original surname Li.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The alternative-name entries identify Zicai as a courtesy name, give the variant Zicai, identify Zhuangqu as a style name, and mark Li Xiao as the original surname.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biographies give the courtesy-name variants, the style Zhuangqu, and the original surname Li.
WikidataWei Xiao (Q16077659)The name and alias values include the Romanized and Chinese forms of Zicai, Zhuangqu, and the related Chinese aliases.
[3]Native placeHis native place is given as Yuanhe or Kunshan, while the biographies place him in Kunshan of Suzhou Prefecture or Kunshan County in Zhili, now Kunshan City, Jiangsu.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The address entries give Yuanhe and Kunshan as basic native-place entries.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biographies describe him as from Kunshan in Suzhou Prefecture or Kunshan County in Zhili, and identify present-day Kunshan City in Jiangsu.
[4]Residence and style nameHe lived at Zhuangqu near Fengmen in Suzhou and took Zhuangqu as his sobriquet.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biography connects his residence at Zhuangqu near Fengmen in Suzhou with his adoption of the sobriquet Zhuangqu.
[5]FamilyHis family connections include great-grandfather Wei Lin, grandfather Wei Zhong, two variant father names, mother Zhang, unnamed elder and younger brothers recorded as Wei Mou, and wife Wang.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The kinship entries give the named ancestors, the two father-name forms, Zhang as mother, two Wei Mou siblings, and Wang as wife.
[6]SchoolingHe was a shengyuan with the listed rank of second.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The school-status entry identifies him as a shengyuan and gives rank two.
[7]Provincial examinationIn 1504 he ranked second in the Yingtian Prefecture provincial examination, while the juren ranking is also given as seventh.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The examination entry identifies the juren status and gives rank seven.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biography dates the Yingtian Prefecture examination to 1504 and gives second place.
[8]Metropolitan and palace examinationsIn 1505 he ranked seventh in the metropolitan examination and ninth in the second class of the palace examination.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biographies give the 1505 jinshi result, seventh place in the metropolitan examination, and second-class ninth place in the palace examination.
[9]Early official careerEarly in Zhengde he served in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice, progressing from zhushi through yuanwailang to langzhong.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The office entries give the Nanjing Ministry of Justice post and the subsequent yuanwailang and langzhong appointments.
[10]Conduct in officeWhile serving in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice, he acted according to his own judgment and did not submit to the supervising eunuch Liu Lang.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biography says that he acted directly on his own judgment and was not subdued by the supervising eunuch Liu Lang.
[11]Transfer and returnHe transferred to a Zhifang lang in the Ministry of War to avoid Liu Jin's persecution; the post is also given as Ministry of War langzhong, and his return is attributed either to illness or to mourning.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The office list gives a Ministry of War langzhong appointment.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biographies give the Zhifang lang and Ministry of War langzhong forms, and give illness and mourning as the two reasons for returning home.
[12]Jiajing appointmentsAt the beginning of Jiajing he became Guangdong educational vice commissioner, returned for mourning his father, then after mourning served in Jiangxi, supervised Henan education, became vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and next year headed the Imperial Academy while lecturing at the Classics Banquet.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The office entries give the Guangdong, Jiangxi, Henan, Court of Judicial Review, Imperial Academy, and Classics Banquet appointments.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biographies provide the Jiajing sequence, the mourning for his father, the three-month interval, and the daily Classics Banquet lectures.
[13]Later office and retirementHe was later made an additional vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, became its minister and supervisor of the Siyi Institute in Jiajing's eighth year, and retired the following year.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The office entries give the Taichang Temple vice-minister and minister appointments.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biography gives the additional Taichang Temple appointment, the eighth-year promotion, supervision of the Siyi Institute, and retirement in the following year.
[14]Death and posthumous honorsHe died in the twenty-second year of Jiajing, 1543, received the posthumous rank of Right Vice Minister of Rites, and was posthumously named Gongjian.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The person record gives the death year 1543 and the posthumous name Gongjian.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biographies give the Jiajing twenty-second-year death, the Right Vice Minister of Rites posthumous grant, and the name Gongjian.
[15]Learning and doctrineWei Xiao privately followed Hu Juren's learning of reverence, held that principle and qi were unified, and sought to connect the various Confucian traditions while selecting among them with precision.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The association entry identifies Hu Juren as the scholar whose learning Wei Xiao privately followed.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biography states his reverence-centered learning, unity of principle and qi, and synthesis and selection among Confucian teachings.
[16]Pupils and disciplesHis pupils and disciples included Xu Guan, Tang Shunzhi, Gui Youguang, Wang Jingchen, and Wang Yingdian; Gui Youguang is identified as his pupil and Tang Shunzhi as both pupil and disciple.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The associations identify Xu Guan as a disciple, Tang Shunzhi as student and disciple, and Gui Youguang, Wang Jingchen, and Wang Yingdian as students.
[17]Friends and literary relationsHe was a friend of Zhou Guang, exchanged poetic responses with Xu Shen, received a preface by Cui Xian, and wrote the epitaph, tomb inscription, and biography associated with Li Cang, Xu Zhongxing, and Lu Ao.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The associations identify Zhou Guang as a friend, Xu Shen as a poetic correspondent, Cui Xian as the writer of a preface, and Wei Xiao as writer of the works for Li Cang, Xu Zhongxing, and Lu Ao.
[18]CorrespondenceHe received letters from Zhang Bangqi, Fang Feng, Fang Peng, Fang Liangyong, Wang Shenzhong, Zhou Yong, and Yang Lian.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The correspondence entries show letters sent to Wei Xiao by Zhang Bangqi, Fang Feng, Fang Peng, Fang Liangyong, Wang Shenzhong, Zhou Yong, and Yang Lian.
[19]WorksHis attributed writings include Daxue Zhigui in two juan with an appended juan of textual variants, Zhouli Yange Zhuan in four juan, Chunqiu Jingshi in one juan, and Liushu Jingyun; the titles Zhuangqu Yishu and the sixteen-juan Zhuangqu xiansheng yishu are also associated with him.
CBDBWei Jiao (30595)The book-title entries give Zhuangqu Yishu, the sixteen-juan Zhuangqu xiansheng yishu, Zhouli Yange Zhuan, Chunqiu Jingshi, and Daxue Zhigui with its appended textual-variants juan.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biography names Daxue Zhigui and Liushu Jingyun among his works.
[20]LegacyWei Xiao was grouped with Hu Shining, Li Chengxun, and Yu Youshan as the Nandu Four Gentlemen.
Souyun魏校 (50817)The biography groups Wei Xiao with Hu Shining, Li Chengxun, and Yu Youshan as the Nandu Four Gentlemen.
CBDB
