Early-Southern-Sòng 南宋 scholar-official, zì Shào zhāng 少章; hào Guān rú jū shì 觀如居士. 1085–1144 (CBDB 16681). Native of Wùyuán 婺源 (modern Jiāngxī 江西). Famous as a Southern-Sòng emissary held hostage by the Jīn 金 dynasty for sixteen years (1127–1143), remaining loyal to the Sòng throughout. Grand-uncle of the great Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhū Xī 朱熹 (1130–1200). Author of [[KR5c0145|Tōng xuán zhēn jīng zhù]] (DZ 749, 7 juàn) — a commentary on the Wénzǐ.
Biography. Born 1085, studied at the Imperial University (Tài xué 太學) in Kāifēng 開封 during the late Northern Sòng. When the Jurchen Jīn invaded and conquered Kāifēng in 1126–27 (the Jìng kāng 靖康 incident), Zhū Biàn’s first wife, surnamed Cháo 晁, was killed by Jurchen soldiers. Zhū himself volunteered as an officer in the remnant Sòng armies.
Captivity (1127–1143). Zhū Biàn was sent as an envoy to the Jīn to attempt peace negotiations. He was held hostage for 16 years (1127–1143), during which he:
- Refused to serve the Jīn.
- Remained in constant communication (via intermittent channels) with the Southern-Sòng court.
- Composed poetry of loyalist longing that became cultural icons of the Southern-Sòng aesthetic.
- Composed his scholarly works, including his [[KR5c0145|Wénzǐ commentary]] (DZ 749) and poetry collections.
Remarriage. During his captivity, news of his first wife’s death reached him. Cháo Yuè zhī 晁說之 — admiring Zhū Biàn’s poetry and being the father of his deceased first wife’s brother — arranged a remarriage with another of his nieces, extending the family tie.
Return and death. Released in 1143 at age 58 as part of a SòngJīn peace negotiation. He died within one year, in 1144, probably of exhaustion from the captivity.
Zhū Xī connection. Zhū Biàn is identified in Zhū Xī’s 朱熹 (1130–1200) sacrificial prayer (Zhū Xī wén jí 98.11a–15b) as Zhū Xī’s grand-uncle. Through this lineage tie, Zhū Biàn is a direct ancestor of the great Neo-Confucian philosopher, and his loyalist Southern-Sòng identity is preserved in Zhū Xī’s own family genealogy.
Works.
- [[KR5c0145|Tōng xuán zhēn jīng zhù]] 通玄真經註 (DZ 749, 7 juàn) — commentary on the Wénzǐ. The principal Southern-Sòng commentary on the text.
- Qǔ wěi jiù wén 曲洧舊聞 — a collection of Sòng anecdotal literature (10 juàn).
- Fēng yuè táng shī 風月堂詩話 — a poetry-criticism collection.
- Sòng MǎnJīn shíliù nián 送北宋十六年 — captivity poems.
- Various other poems, essays, and official correspondence from captivity.
CBDB: 16681. Primary sources: Sòng shǐ 宋史 437.12963; Zhū Xī Wénjí 98.11a–15b (sacrificial prayer for his grand-uncle).