Biography
Family Background and Early Years
Xu Heng was born on the third day of the fourth lunar month in the first year of the Da'an era under the Jin ruler Weishao, corresponding to May 8, 1209, at Yanghuanli in Xinzheng County, now Xugang Village, Xindian Town, Xinzheng, Henan. His father Xu Tong and mother Lady Li originally lived in Henei County, Huai Prefecture, present-day Qinyang, Henan, but moved to Xinzheng to escape warfare. The *History of Yuan*, juan 158, “Biography of Xu Heng,” states: “Xu Heng, courtesy name Zhongping, was a man of Henei in Huai. His family had been farmers for generations. His father Tong took refuge in Henan and in the ninth month of the ninth year of Taihe gave birth to Heng in Xinzheng County.”
Xu Heng's family had farmed for generations, but he was diligent in study from childhood. When he first entered school at age seven, he asked his teacher why people studied. The teacher replied, “To pass the examinations.” Xu asked, “Is that all?” The teacher was astonished. Thereafter, whenever texts were explained, Xu repeatedly pressed for the underlying meaning. Eventually the teacher told his parents, “Your son is extraordinarily intelligent; I am not equal to teaching him. Please find another master,” and left. In this way Xu went through three teachers in succession.
As he grew older, his family was too poor to buy books, so Xu often traveled a hundred *li* to borrow and copy them. At the home of a fortune-teller he once saw a work explaining the *Book of Documents* and stayed overnight to copy it by hand before returning. Later, while fleeing warfare to Mount Culai, he finally obtained Wang Bi's commentary on the *Book of Changes*. Amid war and disorder, Xu continued to read by day and reflect by night, putting what he learned into practice and measuring his words and conduct against moral principle.
Study in a Time of Disorder and Intellectual Transformation
In 1233, the second year of the Tianxing era of the Jin, Mongol forces approached Xinzheng. Xu Heng and others traveled from Luoyang, crossed the river via Heyang, present-day Meng County, and returned home. He later moved to Wei Prefecture in Shandong. People who observed his moral conduct gradually began to follow him. After three years in Wei Prefecture, hearing that the warfare was subsiding, he returned to Huai Prefecture. In weddings, funerals, and other family rites he insisted on observance of ritual and thereby encouraged local people to do the same; growing numbers came to study with him. Because he was poor, Xu worked his own fields. When grain was ripe he ate grain; when it was not, he lived on husks and coarse food without complaint. The sound of his reading carried outside his house like music. Whenever the household had a surplus, he shared it with relatives and poor students. If a gift contained even the slightest element contrary to ritual or righteousness, he refused it.
Xu thereafter traveled between the Yellow River and Luoyang regions. At Liucheng, Yao Shu gave him works by Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, and Zhu Xi, turning his scholarship decisively toward Neo-Confucian learning. Xu later moved to Mount Sumen in Huixian and often discussed learning with Yao Shu and Dou Mo. Their subjects ranged over the classics and commentaries, philosophical and historical works, rites and music, names and institutions, astronomy and calendars, military and penal matters, state finance, and hydraulic works. Xu once said: “The moral bonds and human relations cannot be abandoned by the state for a single day. If those above do not practice them, we ordinary people must still practice them.”
Teaching and Entry into Government
Xu Heng lectured in Daming Prefecture in Hebei, where many students came to learn from him. He named his studio “Luzhai,” and thereafter became known as Master Luzhai.
In 1254, the fourth year of Möngke Khan's reign, Kublai Khan received a fief in the Qin region. He appointed Yao Shu as agricultural commissioner and summoned Xu Heng to serve as educational supervisor of Jingzhao Prefecture. Young people in the region had endured years of warfare and wanted to study but lacked teachers. When they heard that Xu had arrived, they came in large numbers. Xu established schools throughout the prefectures and counties, and the local population was said to have been greatly transformed by education. When Kublai campaigned south, Xu returned to Huaiqing. The scholars of Jingzhao were unable to persuade him to stay and escorted him as far as Lintong before turning back.
Court Service and the Imperial University
In 1260, the first year of the Zhongtong era, Kublai Khan ascended the throne and summoned Xu Heng to the capital. Wang Wentong was then serving as Grand Councilor and advocated governing through material profit. Xu and his associates believed that righteousness had to be the foundation of government, provoking Wang's resentment. Dou Mo also criticized Wang Wentong's learning before Kublai. Suspecting the three scholars of forming a faction, Wang proposed that Xu be appointed Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Yao Shu Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent, and Dou Mo Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent. The appointments appeared honorific but would have kept them away from Kublai. Xu considered the office inconsistent with proper ritual and joined Yao and Dou in declining it. He was instead appointed Chancellor of the Imperial University, but soon resigned because of illness and returned home.
In 1265, the second year of the Zhiyuan era, Kublai appointed Antong as Right Chancellor and summoned Xu Heng back to the capital to participate in the affairs of the Secretariat. Xu submitted the memorial “Five Matters of Current Affairs,” advocating the adoption of Han-style institutions. Kublai praised and accepted the proposal. Xu normally submitted many memorials but did not keep copies; this is the only one that survived.
In 1269, the sixth year of Zhiyuan, Kublai ordered Xu Heng and Xu Shilong, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, to determine court ceremonial, and ordered Xu to work with Grand Protector Liu Bingzhong and Left Vice Director Zhang Wenqian in defining the official system. Xu consulted earlier dynastic institutions and removed offices that had been created only temporarily. He submitted the plan in 1270. Because it affected the interests of powerful men, some people advised him not to alter the existing system. Xu replied, “What I am discussing is the institutional structure of the state; it has nothing to do with private individuals.” Kublai approved his recommendation.
In 1270, the seventh year of Zhiyuan, Ahmad Fanakati became Grand Councilor of the Secretariat and wielded great power. Xu never yielded to him in debate. When Ahmad's son was appointed an assistant official of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Xu alone objected and told Kublai: “The great powers of the state lie in military affairs, the people, and finance. Ahmad already controls the people and finance; if his son also controls military power, that cannot be allowed.” Xu later listed further cases in which Ahmad monopolized power, deceived the ruler, and harmed the state and people. Receiving no response, Xu pleaded illness and asked to be released from executive duties.
In 1271, the eighth year of Zhiyuan, Kublai appointed Xu Grand Secretary of Jixian Hall and concurrently Chancellor of the Imperial University, personally selecting Mongol youths for him to teach. Xu requested that twelve of his own disciples—Wang Zi, Liu Jiwei, Han Siyong, Yelü Youshang, Lü Duanshan, Yao Sui, Gao Ning, Bai Dong, Su Yu, Yao Huodun, Sun An, and Liu Anzhong—be assigned as study companions. Xu cared for the Mongol youths as if they were his own children, while maintaining a strict teacher-student hierarchy comparable to ruler and minister. In addition to reading the classics, the students practiced ritual. Over time, they respected their teachers and applied themselves to learning; even the youngest came to understand the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues as principles of human conduct.
In 1273, the tenth year of Zhiyuan, powerful officials repeatedly undermined Han-style institutions, and supplies of grain for the students were interrupted. Xu asked to resign and return home. Wang Pan, a Hanlin academician, told Kublai: “Xu Heng has a method for teaching people. Once his students have learned, they can enter government. This concerns the fundamental structure of the state; do not let him resign.” Dou Mo, however, pleaded on Xu's behalf, and Kublai eventually allowed him to return home, appointing Wang Xun as supervisory official over the National University in his place.
Calendar Reform and Later Years
After the Yuan gained the Central Plains, it used the Jin dynasty's *Daming Calendar*. As the calendar aged, its errors became increasingly apparent. In 1276, the thirteenth year of Zhiyuan, Kublai ordered Wang Xun to prepare a new calendar. Wang argued that ordinary calendar specialists understood numerical techniques but not calendrical principles and petitioned for Xu Heng to return to the capital and take charge of the Astronomical Bureau. Xu worked with the Director of Astronomy Guo Shoujing and others, developing new observational instruments, conducting detailed observations, comparing earlier calendars, and removing errors. In 1280, the seventeenth year of Zhiyuan, the new calendar was completed. Kublai named it the *Shoushi Calendar* and promulgated it throughout the empire.
In 1280 Xu returned home because of illness. He died the following year, 1281, at the age of seventy-three. He was posthumously granted a succession of honors, including Meritorious Official Who Upheld Orthodox Learning and Assisted the Dynasty, Grand Tutor, Commander Unequalled in Honor, and Duke of Wei, and received the posthumous title Wenzheng. In 1313, the second year of the Huangqing era, he was accorded subsidiary sacrifice in the Temple of Confucius.