Xiong Cilü

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Xiong Cilü was born in 1635, the eighth year of the Chongzhen reign, on the fifth day of the eleventh lunar month, in Xiaogan County, Hanyang Prefecture, Huguang. The Xiong family of Xiaogan was locally prominent and traced its ancestral origin to Nanchang, Jiangxi. His father, Xiong Zuoyan, was a shengyuan in the Ming dynasty and later lectured at Lianqi Academy, gaining a considerable local reputation. His mother, Li Rubai, was well versed in the classics and histories and was renowned locally for her filial conduct.

After the outbreak of the late-Ming peasant rebellions, Huguang became one of the areas most severely affected. Xiong Zuoyan organized local militia to defend his home district. In 1643, the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, when Xiong Cilü was eight, his father was killed by roving rebels. His mother carried the young Xiong Cilü into thorn bushes and hid there, thereby saving his life. According to the Huguang Gazetteer, the Xiong household was otherwise killed, while the eldest son survived because he happened to be with his teacher; that son was Xiong Cilü. Deeply grieved, Li Rubai nevertheless resolved to survive for her orphaned child after her husband’s death. She supported the household by weaving, working day and night and at times eating only every other day. She disciplined Xiong Cilü strictly: by day she sent him out to study with a teacher, and at night mother and son shared one lamp, she weaving while he read aloud until dawn. These hardships in early life directly influenced the uprightness and frugality associated with Xiong Cilü in later years.

Entry through the Examinations and Rise in the Early Kangxi Reign

In 1658, the fifteenth year of Shunzhi, Xiong Cilü sat the metropolitan examination, obtained a third-class jinshi degree, was selected as a shujishi, and entered the Hanlin Academy. In 1659, after receiving an excellent examination rating, he was appointed a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. In 1665, the fourth year of Kangxi, he became a reader in the Inner Hanlin Hongwen Academy.

The year 1667, the sixth year of Kangxi, marked a turning point in Xiong Cilü’s political career. He completed the Neo-Confucian work Xiandao lu and submitted the influential “Ten-Thousand-Character Memorial.” At the time, the Kangxi Emperor was young, and the Four Regents—Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun, and Oboi—held power. Their policies gave priority to the interests of the Manchu aristocracy and came into sharp conflict with Han officials and Confucian traditions. In his memorial, Xiong Cilü sharply criticized current politics. He wrote that “the ruler’s mind is the pivot of the myriad affairs and the source of the myriad transformations; therefore, the kingly way must take rectification of the mind as its foundation.” He urged the young emperor to deepen his Confucian cultivation and to make Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism the basis for Qing governance and education. The memorial brought him to the Kangxi Emperor’s attention, and in 1668 he was appointed reader-in-waiting of the Secretariat Academy.

In 1669, the eighth year of Kangxi, the emperor removed the Oboi faction, and Xiong Cilü’s political standing rose rapidly. In 1670 he was promoted to academician of the Historiography Academy. After the Grand Secretariat system was restored and the Hanlin Academy separately re-established, Xiong Cilü became head of the Hanlin Academy. Over the following years, through lectures at court he systematically instructed the Kangxi Emperor in Confucian principles of government and became an important influence on the formation of the emperor’s political thought.

Entry into the Grand Secretariat and the Chewed Draft Slip Case

In 1673, the twelfth year of Kangxi, the Qing court decided to abolish the feudatories. Xiong Cilü opposed the decision and warned the Kangxi Emperor that abolishing them would inevitably provoke rebellion. After the Revolt of the Three Feudatories broke out, Xiong actively assisted the Qing campaign against it. He drafted the “Edict Proclaiming Instructions to the Officials and People of Yunnan and Guizhou and Other Areas,” which announced the removal of Wu Sangui’s title, promised not to implicate the people of Yunnan and Guizhou, and offered Wu’s own rank to whoever captured or killed him. The edict played an important role in isolating Wu Sangui’s forces and winning support.

In 1675, the fourteenth year of Kangxi, the emperor promoted Xiong Cilü, saying that he had “always possessed ability and served with integrity and caution,” to Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall concurrently serving as Minister of Justice, placing him at the center of power. His good fortune did not last. In the seventh lunar month of 1676, the fifteenth year of Kangxi, the “Chewed Draft Slip Case” occurred and altered his political fate. According to the Veritable Records of Emperor Shengzu of Qing, Grand Secretary Batai and others impeached Xiong for incorrectly drafting the endorsement “refer to the Three Judicial Offices for deliberation and memorialization” on a memorial from Shaanxi governor-general Hazhan concerning captured bandits and the reinstatement of officials previously held responsible for lapses in security. When ordered to explain himself, Xiong tried to conceal the error. He privately took the draft slip and chewed it up, then rewrote another draft based on one prepared by Grand Secretary Du Lide, tearing the edge of the paper and writing smaller characters in an effort to shift blame onto Du. Du Lide informed Songgotu, and the matter ultimately reached the Kangxi Emperor. The Ministry of Personnel judged that Xiong had “made an error in drafting the endorsement, attempted to shift blame to his colleague Du Lide, altered the draft slip, and privately took and chewed up the original, thereby failing to uphold the dignity of a great minister.” He was sentenced to dismissal, which the emperor approved.

Retirement in Jiangning and Writing

Xiong’s dismissal came while the Revolt of the Three Feudatories was still unresolved. He moved his entire household to Jiangning, present-day Nanjing, first living near Lianhua Bridge in the north of the city and later at Qingliang Terrace west of the stream. For more than a decade thereafter, he did not leave Qingliang Terrace. Because he had served with little concern for personal wealth, he had accumulated no substantial savings, and his life in Jiangning was difficult. Even in these conditions, however, he continued his Neo-Confucian studies. Works such as Xuetong, Xiaxuetang zhaji, and Puyuan eryu were completed during this period.

During his retirement in Jiangning, Xiong Cilü maintained close contact with the Western missionary Bi Jia, an unusual feature of his social circle. He also exchanged letters with Gu Yanwu in the name of being the Kangxi Emperor’s teacher, attempting to draw the prominent late-Ming and early-Qing scholar into association with him, but Gu did not accept.

Recall, Final Years, and Death

In 1688, the twenty-seventh year of Kangxi, the Qing court appointed Xiong Cilü, then at home, as Minister of Rites. Soon afterward, because of his mother’s death, he returned to Jiangning to observe mourning. In 1690 he was again appointed Minister of Rites. He entered the capital in 1691, and in 1692 was transferred to the post of Minister of Personnel. In 1699 he became Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and served as chief compiler of Strategies for the Pacification of the Northern Desert and the History of Ming.

After 1701, the fortieth year of Kangxi, tensions between the Kangxi Emperor and Crown Prince Yinreng grew increasingly severe, and Xiong repeatedly requested release from office. In the fourth lunar month of 1703, at the age of sixty-eight, he requested retirement on the grounds that he was nearing seventy. The Kangxi Emperor relieved him of active duties while allowing him to retain his original rank and salary and remain in the capital for consultation. In 1706 Xiong returned to Jiangning. He died there during the wei hour on the twenty-eighth day of the eighth lunar month of 1709, the forty-eighth year of Kangxi, aged seventy-four, and received the posthumous name Wenduan.

After his death, his family was poor. Gali, governor-general of Liangjiang, went to offer condolences and, “seeing that his household was impoverished, gave travel silver from this servant’s own funds to assist with the funeral.” The Kangxi Emperor was moved when he learned of the situation. In 1721, the sixtieth year of Kangxi, the emperor recalled his former minister and said, “Whenever I think of his former service, I do not forget it.” The emperor later instructed Li Xu, the Suzhou textile commissioner, to inspect the Xiong family’s circumstances and asked Cao Fu to look after Xiong Cilü’s son. In 1730, the eighth year of Yongzheng, Xiong was enshrined in the Temple of Worthies. In 1736, the first year of Qianlong, he was posthumously given the name Wenyi.

Major Activities

Neo-Confucian Thought and Scholarship

Xiong Cilü was a representative of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism in the early Qing. He followed the Cheng-Zhu tradition and advocated that “no books other than the Six Classics, the Analects, and Mencius should be read, and no learning other than that of Zhou Dunyi, the Cheng brothers, Zhang Zai, and Zhu Xi should be taught.” He attacked Wang Shouren’s Learning of the Mind, saying that “Wang Yangming’s approach to the learning of the sages is nothing but reckless nonsense.” The Kangxi Emperor once remarked: “Xu Sanli, Tang Bin, and Li Guangdi all speak of Wang Shouren’s learning of the Way; Xiong Cilü alone follows Zhu Xi. Their learning differs.”

Three features were especially prominent in Xiong’s Neo-Confucian thought: first, he placed primary emphasis on reverent attentiveness; second, he valued personal practice; and third, he advocated “honoring orthodoxy and rejecting heterodoxy,” defending the exclusive status of Neo-Confucian orthodoxy. While upholding the Cheng-Zhu line, he classified Xunzi, Yang Xiong, Lu Jiuyuan, Chen Baisha, Wang Yangming, and others as belonging to a “mixed lineage,” and Laozi and Zhuangzi, Mozi, Gaozi, and Buddhism as belonging to “heterodox lineages,” attacking and excluding them forcefully.

In standards for selecting officials, Xiong gave first importance to whether a candidate’s thought was orthodox and defended the eight-legged-essay examination system. His policy questions emphasized the genealogy of Neo-Confucian learning and ultimately promoted Zhu Xi while suppressing Lu Jiuyuan. He believed education had first to rectify the human mind, attached importance to elementary learning, and valued education through poetry. His major works included Jingyizhai ji, Xuetong, Xiandao lu, Xuegui, Xiaxuetang zhaji, and Puyuan eryu. Among them, Xuetong systematically traced the line of transmission of Confucian teaching and was particularly influential.

Political Activity

The most politically active and historically influential period of Xiong Cilü’s career was the early Kangxi reign. Amid intense Manchu-Han cultural conflict, although he was not yet highly placed, Xiong stood at the forefront of political controversy. From a Neo-Confucian position, he sharply criticized the political order dominated by the Four Regents and explicitly argued that Confucian learning should guide government and statecraft.

His “Ten-Thousand-Character Memorial” of 1667 was the representative political text of his career. It criticized current government and urged the emperor to deepen his Confucian cultivation, making Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism the foundation of rule. Thereafter Xiong strongly advocated restoring regular imperial classics lectures and daily lectures, seeking to create an institutional channel through which Neo-Confucian officials could influence the emperor through Confucian teaching. Over the following years, he worked to inculcate the young Kangxi Emperor with Confucian thought and principles of rule. At the core was the effort to influence the ruler through the ideal of inner sageliness and outer kingship and thereby establish fundamental values to guide the Qing court’s appointments and administration. The Kangxi Emperor later praised him: “Morning and night he was always diligent; never did he fail to speak frankly and discuss the Way of inner sageliness and outer kingship and the foundations of rectifying the mind and cultivating the self, insisting on reaching the utmost principle before stopping.”

The principles of government Xiong communicated to the Kangxi Emperor chiefly included five points: first, successful rule should take winning the people’s hearts as its foundation; second, the people are the foundation of the state and should be allowed to recover and prosper; third, the ruler should purify the mind, restrain desires, and govern subordinates with simplicity; fourth, appointments should be made cautiously and the ruler should inquire widely and investigate carefully; and fifth, government should be practical rather than devoted to empty talk. These ideas had a lasting influence on the formation of the Kangxi Emperor’s political thought.

Travels and Residences

Xiong Cilü’s movements centered mainly on Beijing and Jiangning. He studied and sat examinations in Huguang in his early years and entered official service in the capital in 1658. He then served in Beijing for many years. After his dismissal in 1676, he moved to Jiangning and lived at Qingliang Terrace for more than a decade without leaving. After being recalled in 1688 he again entered the capital. In 1706, after retiring, he returned to Jiangning and remained there until his death.

Contacts with Contemporaries

Xiong Cilü interacted with many important figures of the Kangxi reign. He and Li Guangdi were both prominent Neo-Confucian officials, but they had an unfriendly relationship. Xiong attacked Li as someone who “did not recognize a single character and merely plagiarized other people’s arguments,” while Li said that Xiong “did not discuss genuine learning, but merely repeated the partisan rhetoric of the late Ming.” The Kangxi Emperor was displeased with mutual attacks among Han officials and once remarked: “Xu Sanli impeached Xu Qianxue for recommending Xiong Cilü. Formerly everyone said Xiong Cilü was bad; now that they see me employ Xiong, they say Xiong Cilü is good... Xiong Cilü’s Explanations of the Four Books for the Daily Lectures is very good, yet Tang Bin says otherwise. From this one can see that the conduct of Han men is particularly shameful.”

Xiong became hostile toward Du Lide because of the Chewed Draft Slip Case and also had political entanglements with Songgotu. During his retirement in Jiangning, he maintained close contact with the Western missionary Bi Jia. In addition, presenting himself as the Kangxi Emperor’s teacher, he attempted to draw Gu Yanwu into association with him, and the two exchanged letters.

Personal Relations

Family

Father: Xiong Zuoyan, a late-Ming shengyuan who organized local militia against roving rebels and was killed

Mother: Li Rubai, well versed in the classics and histories and known for filial conduct; remained a widow and raised her orphaned son

Eldest son: Xiong Zhiyi

Second son: Xiong Zhiqi

Youngest son: Xiong Zhikui

Teachers and Associates

Gu Yanwu: Xiong attempted to draw him into association in the name of being the Kangxi Emperor’s teacher; the two exchanged letters

Bi Jia: Western missionary with whom Xiong maintained close contact during his retirement in Jiangning

Ruler and Minister

Kangxi Emperor: Xiong served as a lecturer at the imperial classics lectures and enjoyed considerable trust; the emperor praised him as “upright in office and well supplied with learning”

Colleagues and Conflicts

Du Lide: colleague; the two became hostile because of the Chewed Draft Slip Case

Songgotu: involved in political disputes with Xiong; in the Chewed Draft Slip Case Du Lide informed Songgotu, through whom the matter reached the throne

Li Guangdi: fellow prominent Neo-Confucian official; the two attacked one another and were on poor terms

Tang Bin: differed in his assessment of Xiong’s Explanations of the Four Books for the Daily Lectures

Historical Assessment

Qing / Contemporary Assessments

The Kangxi Emperor stated: “Former Grand Secretary Xiong Cilü served uprightly in office and was well supplied with learning. Whenever I think of his former service, I do not forget it.” (Veritable Records of Emperor Shengzu of Qing)

The Kangxi Emperor also praised his teaching: “Morning and night he was always diligent; never did he fail to speak frankly and discuss the Way of inner sageliness and outer kingship and the foundations of rectifying the mind and cultivating the self, insisting on reaching the utmost principle before stopping.” (Collected Writings of the Shengzu Ren Emperor)

The Draft History of Qing assessed him as follows: “Cilü was firm, upright, and outspoken. His memorial advocating the classics lectures sought to aid the ruler’s virtue; perhaps he was one who served his ruler through the Way.”

A contemporary said of him: “With the talent to assist a king, he served as aide to a sage sovereign, opening and enriching the ruler’s mind and helping launch a great enterprise; all under Heaven looked forward to his bearing and reputation.”

Late Qing and Republican Period

Zhang Taiyan criticized him: “From Tang Bin, the two Weis, Xiong Cilü, and Zhang Boxing onward ... they truly flattered the Hu people and obtained high office; they are unworthy of inclusion in the forest of Neo-Confucian learning.” (Zhang Taiyan, “Account of the Sequence of My Studies”)

Liang Qichao grouped Xiong Cilü with Zhang Yushu, Zhang Boxing, and others and denounced them as “village worthies” who “condemn nothing and criticize nothing.”

Modern Assessments

Modern scholarship has offered more varied assessments of Xiong Cilü. On the one hand, scholars recognize his role in defending Confucian learning amid Manchu-Han cultural conflict in the early Kangxi reign and in influencing the formation of the Kangxi Emperor’s political thought. On the other hand, they have criticized the exclusivism of his program of “honoring orthodoxy and rejecting heterodoxy” and the character flaws revealed in the Chewed Draft Slip Case. Scholars generally regard him as important to the transmission of Neo-Confucianism in the early Qing and to the formation of the Kangxi Emperor’s governing thought, while viewing his intellectual originality as limited and seeing him more as a transmitter and defender of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.