Xia Zengyou 夏曾佑

Xià Zēngyòu 夏曾佑 (1863-1924)

Style names 號: Biéshì 别士, Suìfó 碎佛 Courtesy name 字: Suìqīng 穗卿 Born October 1863 (Tóngzhì 同治 2) in Hángzhōu 杭州 Died 1924 in Běijīng 北京

Notable Associates: Liáng Qǐchāo 梁啓超 Tán Sìtóng 譚嗣同 Yán Fù 嚴復

Xià Zēngyòu 夏曾佑 (1863-1924) was a famous historian and poet of the late Qīng 清 period, as well as a noted lay Buddhist scholar.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Important Works 3 Notable Students 4 Notes 5 References

Biography

Xià was the son of a famous mathematician from Hángzhōu 杭州. His father died at a young age, but he mother was able to educate him and at 28 suì 歲 he received his xiùcái 秀才 degree. He entered the prestigious Hánlín Academy 翰林院, and before long took a job with the Ministry of Rites 禮部. In Běijīng 北京 in 1894 he became acquainted with Liáng Qǐchāo 梁啓超. Xià also met Wú Jiāruì 吳嘉瑞, with whom he began studying Buddhism. They focused some of their energies on Consciousness-Only 唯識 thought. Two years later, they both taught Buddhism to Tán Sìtóng 譚嗣同 in Běijīng. Xià's interest in Consciusness-Only thought proved influential on Liáng and Tán.^[1]

During his time in Běijīng, Xià became interested in new ideas and participated tangentially in the Hundred Days' Reform. In 1899 (Guāngxù 光緒 25) he was assigned to a post in Ānhuī 安徽. When he mother died several years later he retired and moved to Shànghǎi 上海. There he became acquainted with many of the town's lay Buddhists, he also began writing the historical and artistic (mostly poetic) works for which he would become famous.

In 1905, after the Russo-Japanese War, Xià was part of a delegation sent by the government to Japan on a fact-finding mission. During this time he wrote a draft of a modern constitution for China. After his return, he went back to Běijīng and worked for the reform of the government. Eventually he gave up and retired to devote his energies to Buddhism. After the founding of the Republic, he worked in the Ministry of Education.

He died in Běijīng in 1924.

Important Works

Notable Students

• Liáng Qǐchāo 梁啓超
• Tán Sìtóng 譚嗣同

Notes

1. ↑ Mori Noriko, “Liang Qichao, Late-Qing Buddhism, and Modern Japan,” in Joshua A. Fogel, ed. The Role of Japan in Liang Qichao’s Introduction of Modern Western Civilization to China, China Research Monograph, no. 57. (Berkeley: University of California, 2004), 222-246. P. 226.

References

• Yú Língbō 于凌波, ed. Xiàndài Fójiào rénwù cídiǎn 現代佛教人物辭典 (A Dictionary of Modern Buddhist Persons), 2 vols. Taipei: Foguang, 2004. Pp. 1.815c-817b.