Zha Jizuo

Zha Jizuo (1601–1676) was a Chinese writer and scholar who lived during the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty.

Names[]

Zha Jizuo's given name was originally Jiyou (繼佑) before he changed it to "Jizuo" (繼佐). His courtesy name was originally Sanxiu (三秀) but was later changed to Yousan (友三). He was also known by various pseudonyms, including Yihuang (伊璜), Yuzhai (與齋), Dongshan Diaoshi (東山釣史), Dongshan Diaoyu (東山釣玉), Zuoyi Feiren (左尹非人), and Mr. Jingxiu (敬修先生).

Life under the Ming dynasty[]

Zha Jizuo was born in an impoverished family in Haining, Zhejiang Province, during the reign of the Wanli Emperor of the Ming dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province. His father was Zha Erhan (查爾翰). In 1633, during the early reign of the Chongzhen Emperor, he sat for the imperial examination and obtained the position of a juren (舉人).

After the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, Zha Jizuo accompanied Zhu Yihai, the Prince of Lu, to Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province, where the latter assumed the title of Jianguo (監國; "Regent") of the Southern Ming dynasty, a state formed by Ming loyalists. Zha Jizuo was appointed as an official in the Ministry of War. When the forces of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty invaded Zhejiang Province, Zha Jizuo joined the Southern Ming forces to resist the invaders until Shaoxing fell to Qing forces in 1646.

Life under the Qing dynasty[]

Zha Jizuo then went into retirement in present-day Xiashi District in Haining City, Zhejiang Province. In 1652, he moved to Hangzhou, where he taught at Juejue School (覺覺堂) near the West Lake and later at Jingxiu School (敬修堂) in Tiezhiling (鐵治嶺). He had thousands of students, who referred to him as "Mr. Jingxiu".

In 1661, during the early Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty, Zha Jizuo was implicated in a case of literary inquisition involving a merchant Zhuang Tinglong (莊廷鑨), who sponsored the publication of an unauthorised book about the history of the Ming dynasty. (This book was different from the History of Ming, which the Qing government approved.) This was because Zha Jizuo had served as a proofreader for the book. Although he was arrested and imprisoned, he was eventually released.

Two historical texts – Lang Qian Ji Wen (郎潛紀聞) and Ming Shi Ji Shi Ben Mo (明史紀事本末) – mentioned that Zha Jizuo was the one who reported the unauthorised book to the Qing government.^[1][2]

Another account stated that the general Wu Liuqi saved Zha Jizuo from imprisonment because he wanted to repay Zha's kindness.^[3] Zha Jizuo himself denied this account in Zha Jizuo Nianpu (查继佐年譜). Wu Qian (吳騫; 1733–1813) also wrote in Bai Jing Lou Shi Hua (拜經樓詩話) that this account was unreliable and unlikely to be true.^[4]

In his later years, Zha Jizuo wrote a number of books and other writings, including Zui Wei Lu (罪惟錄), Guo Shou Lu (國壽錄), Lu Chunqiu (魯春秋), Dongshan Guoyu (東山國語), Ban Han Shi Lun (班漢史淪), and Xu Xixiang (續西廂).

Relation to Jin Yong[]

Zha Jizuo was from the scholarly , whose members include the wuxia writer Jin Yong (birth name Zha Liangyong). Jin Yong was also born in the same place as Zha Jizuo: Haining, Zhejiang.^[5] Zha Jizuo appears as a minor character in one of Jin Yong's novels, The Deer and the Cauldron.

References[]

Further reading[]

• Hummel, Arthur W. Sr., ed. (1943). "Cha Chi-tso" . Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. United States Government Printing Office.