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Tang Gao (唐皋，1469-1526) was born in Yansi town(巖寺鎮), She county(歙縣), Huizhou(徽州府), South Zhili(南直隸), in China. Tang Gao became the Zhuangyuan, or Number One Scholar(狀元) in the ninth year (1514) of the Zhengde Emperor's (正德皇帝) reign during the Ming Dynasty. He styled himself as Shouzhi(守之), Xin’an(心庵), and Ziyang hermit(紫陽山人). Due to his premature death, the loss of his biography and epitaph, and the fact that much of his early life wasn't documented, scholars have been unable put together a detailed summary of his life.
Life
Tang Gao was born into an educated and aristocratic family within a well-established Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism (程朱理學) academic tradition. Little is known about his early life, but at some point his family lost much of their wealth and he leads a meager lifestyle during early adulthood. Despite failing the imperial examinations (科舉) multiple times he eventually passed and started his career as an Imperial Historian at the Hanlin Academy (翰林院修撰兼修國史). He then became an expositor of the academy (翰林院侍講學士兼經筵講官) but died unexpectedly in 1526 aged 58. His 12 year political career, though relatively short, was during the transition from the Zhengde Emperor(正德皇帝) to the Jiajing Emperor's (嘉靖皇帝) reign during the Ming Dynasty, and was a period of great change to politics, the economy, academic life and literature.
Political activities
Tang Gao, who had a straightforward attitude and was mature in nature, was generally considered to be the Prime Minister(宰輔) of the future. At the beginning of his official life, he had already adopted the view that the government statutes(紀綱) should be strengthened. In the twelfth year of ZhengDe Emperor (1517), as the vice examiner of the metropolitan examination(會試同考官), he appointed many talented people. When Zhengde Emperor died, he served as an imperial envoy abroad Korea(欽差朝鮮正使) and issued the Imperial Edict of Jiajing Emperor’s Ascending Throne(登極改元詔), which could be considered his political career’s peak. During his visit to Joseon Dynasty(李氏朝鮮), he was acclaimed as the most righteous man in the world by the King and officials there, due to his discipline and honesty. After he returned to China, Tang Gao wanted to realize his aspirations, and wrote a letter depicting the employment problems of the Jiajing Emperor. In the “Great Ritual Controversy”(“大禮議事件”), he mediated the two groups, and expressed his political foresight, which angered the Emperor. In the fourth year of Jiajing Emperor, “The Factual Record of Ming Emperor Wu Zong”(《明武宗實錄》) was finished. As a historian, he made a significant contribution to the historiography of the Ming Dynasty.
Confucianism
Tang Gao once pursued his studies in ZiYang Academy(紫陽書院), the Prefectural School(府學) of Huizhou, where the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was deeply rooted. He advocated pragmatism, focused on the ways of the world and the heart of humans, so that his early works all agreed with the concept of Neo-Confucianism. However, in his late years, he resorted to WangYangming’s Idealistic Theories(陽明心學), and his articles then combined both the Cheng-zhu School and the Idealistic School. Besides, different from his early poems and essays, which regarded Taosim (道教)as heresy, his late works often cited Buddhist Scriptures(佛典). And thanks to the unique copy he reserved, the representative work of the convergence of three religions(三教合一) entitled “Xing-Ming-Gui-Zhi”(《性命圭旨》) were thus circulated.
Literature
Tang Gao advocated pragmatism, thus his works focused on the documentary form. Influenced by the “Former Seven Scholars”(“前七子”), his writing style tended to revert to old ways. The several existing Yue Fu(樂府詩) drafted by him all seemed extraordinary with a trace of Yang Weizhen(楊維楨)’s style. The poems were once selected into Qian Qianyi(錢謙益)’s “Lie-Chao-Shi-Ji”(《列朝詩集》), which represented his retro trend. He especially admired Li Mengyang(李夢陽) and was also on good terms with some retro scholars like Wang Jiusi(王九思). During his diplomatic mission, he versified together with some civil officials of Joseon Dynasty such as Li Xing(李荇), and introduced the opinions of the“Former Seven Scholars” such as Li Mengyang from the official level. The “Xin-Si-Huang-Hua-Ji”(《辛巳皇華集》) versification and the direct result—the spread of Li Mengyang’s poetry eastwards, have a far-reaching effect on the literature innovation in the mid and late period of Joseon Dynasty.
In addition, several of his travel poems carried a style of Xie Lingyun(謝靈運)’s scenic poem. Among them, some particular ones also contained the style of Tang Yin(唐寅)’s Wu School. Apparently, his poetic creation learned widely from others’ strong points and appealed to both refined and popular taste. This was quite similar to his good friend YangShen(楊慎).
Wife and Sons
Tang Gao led a short life, which made many scholars once sympathize him not to fulfill himself. Tang Gao’s wife Yan(閻氏) left a single poem, with a prosperous charm of Tang Dynasty. His eldest grandson Tang Rulong(唐汝龍), who received a good education from Tang Gao, learned Li Bai(李白)’s poetic style and was highly appreciated by Qian Qianyi. He tried several times in the imperial exams but every time he just failed and was finally down and out.
References
- Tang Chen:"The Lost Poems and Articles Collection of Number One Scholar Tang Gao in Ming Dynasty", Master's Dissertation of Shanghai University, PRC, 2013.