, was from Yinxian County in Qingyuan Prefecture (now part of Haishu District, Ningbo City). He was a political figure, scholar of classics and history, and a philologist during the late
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Biography
Wang Yinglin was born on July 19, 1223, in Yinxian (now part of Yinzhou District, Ningbo). His father, Wang Hui, was a student of Lou Fang and served as the governor of Wenzhou. Wang Yinglin received his early education under his father's guidance.
In the first year of the Chunyou era (1241), he passed the imperial examination and became a jinshi. In 1243, at the age of 21, he served as the clerk in Quzhou, where he was influenced by scholars of the Cheng-Zhu school such as Wang Ye and Zhen Dexiu. During his tenure, he devoted himself to studying classics and history.
In the fourth year of the Baoyou era (1256), he passed the examination for the erudite and eloquent scholar, and later served as Minister of Rites and concurrently as Imperial Censor. At a time when Mongol invasions were threatening the empire and internal politics were dominated by powerful ministers such as Ding Daquan and Jia Sidao, he submitted memorials on border defense and criticized the political situation.
In the second year of Emperor Xiangxing (1279), after the fall of the Song Dynasty in February, Wang Yinglin retreated to his hometown and spent twenty years lecturing on classics and history. After the fall of the Song, he refused to serve in any capacity and only wrote dates using the cyclical system rather than imperial era names, thus indicating his refusal to recognize the new regime.
He passed away on June 12, 1296, during the second year of the Yuanzheng era of Emperor Chengzong of the Yuan Dynasty.
Works
Wang Yinglin's works are numerous and highly valued for their academic content. They gained more recognition during the Qing Dynasty. Among his works, Yuhai is a compendium compiled while he was preparing for the examination of erudite and eloquent scholars. Kunxue Jiwen is a notebook that collects his extensive research on classics and history. Han Zhi Kao is a historical work, while Tongjian Dili Tongshi focuses on historical geography. Xiaoxue Gongzhu is another compendium that delves into philology.
There are theories suggesting that Wang Yinglin authored the Sanzijing (Three-Character Classic) and the Baijiaxing (Hundred Family Surnames), but there is insufficient evidence to confirm these claims.
Evaluation
In his work, Shiqi Shi Shangque · Han Yiwen Zhi Kaizheng, Wang Mingsheng stated: "Wang Yinglin's ten volumes of Han Yiwen Zhi Kaizhong are very erudite."
Zhang Xuecheng pointed out: "Today's learned gentlemen, who exhaust their energy on the classics, commentaries, and histories, often fail to make significant progress in learning. This is precisely because they revere Wang's methods and mistakenly believe that knowledge acquisition itself constitutes true learning."
Notes
Further Reading
References
• 王應麟 (Chinese)
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Wang Yinglin (August 17, 1223 – 1296), with the courtesy name Ba Hou, and the pseudonym Shen Ning, was from Yinxian County in Qingyuan Prefecture (now part of Haishu District, Ningbo City). He was a political figure, scholar of classics and history, and a philologist during the late Southern Song Dynasty.