Wei Leweng

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Wei Leweng was born on the eighth day of the sixth lunar month in 1178, the fifth year of Chunxi, in Pujiang County, Qiongzhou. His grandfather Wei Ge married Lady Gao and had seven sons and two daughters. Wei's father, Wei Xiaoshu, was adopted into the Gao family and changed his name to Gao Xiaoshu; he had six sons. Wei Leweng displayed exceptional intelligence from early childhood. When only a few years old he followed his elder brothers to school and reportedly behaved with the seriousness of an adult. As he grew older, he could read more than a thousand characters a day and remember material after a single reading, leading people in his home region to call him a prodigy. At age fifteen he wrote On Han Yu, praised for mature rhetorical control. The History of Song, volume 437, preserves this characterization of his precocious learning and literary ability.

Examination Career and the Kaixi Period

In 1199, the fifth year of Qingyuan, Wei placed third in the jinshi examination. At a time when the court was reluctant to discuss “Daoxue,” or Learning of the Way, Wei nevertheless referred to it in his examination essay. After passing, he was appointed assistant judge of the Jian'nan Western Circuit military commissioner's office and was diligent in official work. In 1202 he was summoned to serve as Director of Studies at the Imperial University, and the next year became Instructor at the Military Academy.

In 1205, the first year of Kaixi, Wei was summoned for examination at the Hanlin Academy. The powerful Han Tuozhou was then planning a northern campaign. Wei memorialized that the state's institutions were unsettled, public policy lacked consistency, social customs were lax, frontier defenses neglected, finances exhausted, and talented men scarce. He also argued that Jin possessed broad territory and great strength and could not be quickly conquered while the Song had not yet developed the material basis for victory. The urgent task, he said, was “internal cultivation.” His argument surprised many. He was transferred to Corrector in the Palace Library. Investigating Censor Xu Nan impeached him for reckless language in his examination response, but Han Tuozhou did not pursue the matter further.

In 1206 Wei was promoted to Collator in the Palace Library. Because his parents were elderly he asked for a provincial appointment and was named prefect of Jiading, present-day Leshan. Late that year, while traveling to take office and reaching Jiangling, Wu Xi, Deputy Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan, rebelled against Song and submitted to Jin. Wei therefore could not assume his post and predicted that Wu Xi would fail. In the second month of 1207, An Bing, Li Haoyi, Yang Juyuan, and others killed Wu Xi and suppressed the rebellion. While Wei resumed his journey he received notice at Guang'an that he had been dismissed, and he escorted both parents back to Pujiang. Later that year, after Shi Miyuan secretly arranged Han Tuozhou's assassination, the Neo-Confucian scholar Liu Yue urged Shi to honor Neo-Confucian learning and recall prominent scholars in order to improve his political image. Wei Leweng was among those summoned.

Heshan Academy and Local Administration

In the tenth month of 1210, Shi Miyuan became grand councilor and took control of government affairs. Wei believed that Shi's recall of scholars served political purposes and repeatedly declined appointment. Soon afterward his father died, and Wei left office for mourning. He built Heshan Academy beneath Baihe Ridge west of Qiongzhou, wrote and taught there, and promoted Neo-Confucian learning. The History of Song says that he opened his doors to students using what he had learned from Fu Guang and Li Fan, and that scholars came carrying books from afar; as a result, people in Sichuan came to know the Learning of Principle.

After completing mourning, Wei served as governor of Hanzhou, present-day Guanghan. He remitted unpaid taxes but was demoted to a sinecure associated with temple service after a bridge in his jurisdiction collapsed and caused deaths. A few months later he was restored to rank and made governor of Meizhou, present-day Meishan. In 1211 he became Judicial Commissioner of Tongchuan-fu Circuit. In 1215 he concurrently administered the circuit's Ever-Normal Granary affairs and later served concurrently as assistant transport commissioner. In 1216 he temporarily served as prefect of Suining Prefecture. In the spring of 1218 he became governor of Luzhou and concurrently administrator of the Pacification Commission of Tongchuan-fu Circuit. After his mother's death he again observed mourning, then returned to service as governor of Tongchuan. In 1221 the court promoted him to Judicial Commissioner of Tongchuan Circuit.

Petitioning for Posthumous Titles for Neo-Confucian Thinkers

As a Neo-Confucian scholar, Wei noted that Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi had already received posthumous titles. In the spring of 1216 he petitioned that Zhou Dunyi also receive a posthumous name because Zhou had once held office at Hezhou within his circuit, and he simultaneously requested titles for Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi. After repeated petitions, the court in 1220 granted Zhou the posthumous name Yuan, Cheng Hao the name Chun, and Cheng Yi the name Zheng. Wei then petitioned for Zhang Zai and asked that all four men be associated in sacrifice at the Confucian temple. The court later granted Zhang Zai the posthumous name Ming but did not approve their inclusion in the temple sacrifices. Even so, the source argues that exceptional posthumous honors for four founders of Neo-Confucian learning substantially raised the prestige of the movement and helped lay institutional groundwork for its later dominance.

Return to Court and Exile to Jingzhou

In 1224, after Emperor Lizong of Song ascended the throne, political conditions changed rapidly. Wei became ill from accumulated anxiety and three times requested retirement, but his requests were refused and he was appointed Recorder of Court Audiences. When thunder occurred out of season and Lizong became uneasy, Wei received an audience, expounded his Neo-Confucian and political views, emphasized the role of the mind, and advised the emperor on long-term stability. He also urged fair consideration of differing views and impartial treatment of people and affairs.

In the first month of 1225, former crown prince Zhao Hong, who had been deposed as Prince Ji, died suddenly. Because Emperor Lizong had been installed by Shi Miyuan while Zhao Hong had been removed under an allegedly falsified order, rumors spread when the funeral arrangements were handled carelessly and burial rites failed to meet expected standards. Wei repeatedly sought audiences and urged Lizong to uphold humane family obligations and give Zhao Hong a proper burial in order to quiet public suspicion. Only Wei, Hong Zikui, Hu Mengyu, and Zhang Zhongshu among senior officials are described as citing classical precedents in forthright remonstrance. Wei, frustrated, requested retirement on grounds of illness.

Right Remonstrator Li Zhixiao impeached Hu Mengyu, causing his exile to Lingnan. Wei gave Hu a farewell gathering. Li then accused Wei of originating heterodox arguments and prepared to impeach him, although Shi Miyuan initially expressed unusual tolerance. Within two days, however, Remonstrance Grandee Zhu Duanchang impeached Wei for deceiving the age, stealing reputation, associating with evil men, and slandering the state. The court demoted Wei three ranks and assigned him to residence in Jingzhou.

After arriving in Jingzhou, scholars from Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang traveled long distances carrying books to study under him. He taught diligently and devoted himself to transmitting Neo-Confucian learning. During this period he wrote the 263-juan Essential Meanings of the Nine Classics, which the source describes as an exceptionally precise scholarly work.

Final Return to Service and Supervision of the Armies

In 1231 Wei was restored to office and placed in charge of Chongyou Temple at Mount Wuyi. In 1232 he was reassigned to supervise Taiping Xingguo Temple in Jiangzhou, then named prefect of Suining but declined the appointment. He was subsequently promoted to Awaiting Orders of Baozhang Pavilion, Pacification Commissioner of Tongchuan Circuit, and governor of Luzhou. Luzhou guarded a frontier region extending some two thousand li but its defenses were neglected and walls decayed. Wei petitioned to repair towers, walls, and battlements, expand military equipment, train shield troops, restate military regulations, establish schools, remit unpaid taxes, restore community granaries, build charitable cemeteries, and improve poor-relief institutions. The source says that within only a few months neglected affairs were revived.

In 1233, after Shi Miyuan's death and Emperor Lizong's assumption of direct rule, Wei was promoted to Awaiting Orders of Huawen Pavilion and granted a gold belt while remaining in his post. On his way in response to an imperial summons, he submitted a memorial describing ten defects in current government. He urged restoration of established institutional practices and presented more than ten thousand characters of argument based on concrete examples and contemporary abuses. The source says Lizong was deeply moved and could recite parts of the memorial from memory, after which older institutions were restored.

In the tenth month of 1234, Wei became acting Minister of Rites and concurrently served directly in the Hanlin Academy. During roughly six months at court he submitted more than twenty memorials, all addressing urgent matters. The emperor wished to draw him into central policy deliberations, but rivals resisted his influence and made it difficult for him to remain securely in office.

In the eleventh month of 1235, because Wei was familiar with military texts and strategy and had shown devotion to state affairs, he was appointed Academician of Duanming Hall and joint signer of Privy Council affairs. In the twelfth month he was ordered to supervise the armies of the Jianghuai and Jinghu regions. Mongol forces were then invading and Song armies had suffered defeats, causing alarm at court. After a routine audience, Lizong personally presented Wei with a poem by the Tang poet Yan Wu urging a flying general to pursue arrogant enemies and not let a single horse return from the battlefield. He also granted Wei a gold belt, saddle, and horse, and ordered the grand councilors and senior officials to hold a farewell banquet outside the city.

On April 14, 1237, the first year of Jiaxi, Wei Leweng died at the office of the Pacification Commissioner in Shaoxing Prefecture at age sixty. He was posthumously granted the title Grand Preceptor and Duke of Qin and the posthumous name Wenjing. He was buried at Jinpingwu on Gaojing Mountain near Fengqiao and received an imperial grant of a residence in Nangong Ward, Suzhou, now in the area of Shuyuan Lane.

Major Activities

Philosophical Thought and Neo-Confucian Contributions

Wei Leweng admired Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism and rejected the Buddhist and Daoist ideal of being without desire. He argued that “the mind is the Taiji of the human being, and the human mind is also the Taiji of Heaven and Earth,” emphasizing the function of mind in a manner close to Lu Jiuyuan. He associated with Zhu Xi's disciples Fu Guang and Li Fan and was friendly with Lu Jiuyuan's son Lu Chizhi, drawing on elements of the learning of mind.

Wei studied the Book of Changes intensively and valued interpretations by Wang Bi, Shao Yong, and others. He held that the meaning of the goodness of human nature was fundamentally contained in the Changes. He treated statements, transformations, images, and divination as its key framework and emphasized technical knowledge of line texts, diagrams, positions, correspondences, and related interpretive systems. He also accepted theories concerning the Yellow River Diagram, Luo Writing, and earlier- and later-heaven arrangements.

Wei's petitions for posthumous titles for Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, and Zhang Zai helped raise the prestige of Neo-Confucian learning. He rebuilt and taught at Heshan Academy, spreading the Learning of Principle in Sichuan. During his exile in Jingzhou, scholars traveled great distances to study with him, and he wrote the 263-juan Essential Meanings of the Nine Classics.

Political Activities

Wei served under both Emperor Ningzong and Emperor Lizong. In 1205 he opposed Han Tuozhou's planned northern expedition and argued that the state should first strengthen itself internally. In 1225 he risked conflict with Shi Miyuan's faction by urging humane treatment and proper burial for the deposed Prince Ji Zhao Hong, for which he was impeached and exiled to Jingzhou. After Shi Miyuan's death in 1233, Wei submitted a long memorial on ten defects of current government and urged restoration of established institutions concerning the central secretariats, Privy Council, court deliberation, attendants, imperial lectures, censorship, edict drafting, reception of advice, military commands, and frontier governance. The source says Emperor Lizong was moved by the memorial and restored older arrangements. In 1235 Wei became Academician of Duanming Hall and joint signer of Privy Council affairs and was ordered to supervise the armies of the Jianghuai and Jinghu regions; the source also credits him with directing Song forces in the recovery of Xiangyang.

Travels and Areas of Activity

Wei Leweng's career took him through present-day Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. He was educated in Qiongzhou, entered official service after his jinshi degree, and held posts in the Chengdu region, Jiading, Hanzhou, Meizhou, Suining, Luzhou, and Tongchuan. He spent six years in exile at Jingzhou and established another Heshan Academy there; the source states that Emperor Lizong granted the academy an imperial calligraphy plaque. In his final years he served at the capital Lin'an, supervised the Jianghuai and Jinghu armies, and died at the Pacification Commissioner's office in Shaoxing Prefecture.

Relations with Contemporaries

Wei Leweng and Zhen Dexiu were jointly known as “Zhen and Wei,” and both were leading Neo-Confucian scholar-officials of the later Southern Song. Wei associated with Zhu Xi's disciples Fu Guang and Li Fan and was friendly with Lu Jiuyuan's son Lu Chizhi. During the Prince Ji Zhao Hong affair, he remonstrated together with Hong Zikui, Hu Mengyu, and Zhang Zhongshu.

Personal Relations

Family

• Grandfather: Wei Ge
• Grandmother: Lady Gao
• Father: Wei Xiaoshu, adopted into the Gao family and renamed Gao Xiaoshu
• Brothers: Six sons in the family; Wei's exact birth order is not specified, and he studied with his elder brothers as a child

Teachers and Friends

• Fu Guang: Disciple of Zhu Xi; Wei learned from him
• Li Fan: Disciple of Zhu Xi; Wei learned from him
• Lu Chizhi: Son of Lu Jiuyuan and friend of Wei
• Zhen Dexiu: Paired with Wei under the expression “Zhen and Wei”; fellow Neo-Confucian scholar-official

Colleagues

• Hong Zikui: Court colleague who remonstrated with Wei during the Prince Ji affair
• Hu Mengyu: Court colleague exiled to Lingnan over the Prince Ji affair
• Zhang Zhongshu: Court colleague who joined the remonstrance over the Prince Ji affair

Rulers and Subject

• Emperor Ningzong of Song: Wei served under him as Director of Studies, Military Academy Instructor, Palace Library Corrector, and in other posts
• Emperor Lizong of Song: Wei served under him as Recorder of Court Audiences, Minister of Rites, Academician of Duanming Hall, and in other senior offices

Conflicts

• Han Tuozhou: Wei opposed his northern campaign plan, although Han did not punish him directly
• Shi Miyuan: Wei resisted his efforts to draw scholars into his political camp and was later impeached by Shi's faction after the Prince Ji affair
• Zhu Duanchang: Remonstrance official who impeached Wei for deceiving the age, stealing reputation, associating with evil men, and slandering the state
• Li Zhixiao: Right Remonstrator who accused Wei of originating heterodox arguments

Historical Assessment

Song and Contemporary Assessments

• Liu Yue recommended that Shi Miyuan honor Neo-Confucian learning and recall leading scholars; Wei was among those summoned, reflecting his reputation.
• Emperor Lizong was said to be deeply moved by Wei's memorial on ten defects of government, reading and reciting it during the imperial lecture, and later honored him with gifts and a personally presented poem.
• Huang Baijia, in the Records of Song-Yuan Scholars, praised Heshan's extraordinary power of judgment and broad reading.

Song-Yuan Period

• The History of Song, volume 437, says that as a child Wei followed his brothers to school with adult seriousness, possessed exceptional intelligence, read more than a thousand characters a day, and remembered texts after one reading. It also describes the Essential Meanings of the Nine Classics as arranged with a precision not previously achieved by scholars.
• Huang Zongxi's Records of Song-Yuan Scholars made Wei the central figure of the Heshan scholarly case and recorded both his biography and philosophical thought.

Ming and Qing Periods

• The Qing scholar Miao Quansun compiled a chronological biography of Duke Wenjing Wei, systematically organizing Wei Leweng's life and career.
• Qing scholars studied Wei's Neo-Confucian thought and the transmission of Sichuan learning, generally recognizing his importance in intellectual history.

Modern Period

• Modern scholar Zhang Wenli published Literary Studies of Wei Leweng with Zhonghua Book Company in 2008, providing a systematic study of his literary achievements.
• Modern scholarship generally regards Wei as a representative figure of the late-Southern-Song Sichuan school, paired with Zhen Dexiu as “Zhen and Wei,” and as an important transmitter of Neo-Confucian learning.