Chén Chángfāng 陳長方 (1108–1148)
Zì Qízhī 齊之, hào Wéishì xiānshēng 唯室先生 (“Master Sole-Room”). Native of Chángzhōu (Jiāngsū) — son of Chén Shēn 陳侁, who was a peer of Yóu Zuò 游酢, Yáng Shí 楊時, Zōu Hào 鄒浩, and Chén Guàn 陳瓘 — the Northern Dàoxué mainstream. Lifedates 1108–1148, CBDB id 3050.
His learning takes the Chéng-brothers (the Hénán Lǐxué school) as its school. Zhū Xī’s Yǔlù, when speaking of contemporary scholars, generally cites them by zì — but addresses Chén alone among contemporaries by hào (Wéishì xiānshēng), marking unusual respect. The Sìkù editors quote Féng Shíkě’s Yǔháng zálù on Chén’s tendency to “hé ér wù shēn” (strictness and depth-going) — noting his judgments of historical figures are often more morally severe than the historical record will support, but theoretically correct.
His Shàoxīng 6 (1136) responsorial zházǐ anticipates the actual military disasters of the 1140s–1160s by holding a middle position: neither dogmatically peace-seeking nor reckless-warfare. The Lǐyī (Village-Doctor) piece arguing for graduated military strengthening is one of his most quoted programs.
Surviving works in Kanripo:
- KR4d0209 Wéishì jí (4 juǎn + 1 appendix-juǎn, WYG; reconstructed from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn; about half of the original 14-juǎn / 200-piece recension lost).
- Bùlǐ kètán 步里客談 (a biji-style notebook, separately listed in Zǐbù).