Wang Xianqian (; 1842âÂÂ1918), courtesy names Yuwu (çÂÂå¾) and Kuiyuan (èµåÂÂ), was a versatile Confucian scholar and philologist of the late Qing dynasty.
Wang Xianqian was a native of Changsha, Hunan. A member of the prestigious Hanlin Academy, he was well versed in the Confucian Classics as well as classical prose and poetry. He taught at the Yuelu AcademyâÂÂwhere he also served as directorâÂÂand at the Chengnan Academy (Chengnan shuyuan ), both located in Changsha.
Among his major works is his continuation of the Huang Qing jingjie , known as Xu Huang Qing jingjie ç»ÂçÂÂ渠ç»Â解 or Huang Qing jingjie xubian . Comprising 1,430 juan, it contains 209 treatises on the Confucian Classics written during the Jiaqing and Guangxu reigns and first published at the Nanjing Academy (Nanjing shuyuan Ã¥ÂÂèÂÂ书é¢) in Jiangyin. He also compiled the Xu gu wen ci lei zuan ç»Âå¤æÂÂè¾Âç±»çºÂ. Wang authored a wide range of works esteemed among Chinese scholars, including the Collected Commentaries on the Xunzi (Xunzi jijie èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂéÂÂ解), the Zhuangzi (Zhuangzi jijie åºÂÃ¥ÂÂéÂÂ解), and his supplemental commentary on the Book of Han (Hanshu buzhu æ±Â书补注), among others.
While in Jiangyin, he also published works such as Nanjing shuyuan congshu Ã¥ÂÂèÂÂ书é¢ä¸Â书, Qingjia ji 渠åÂÂéÂÂ, and Jiangzuo zhiyi jicun æ±Âå·¦å¶ä¹Âè¾ÂÃ¥ÂÂ, the latter referring to writings from the Jiangzuo æ±Âå·¦ region, i.e., Jiangsu or the lower Yangtze area.
During the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898, Wang opposed the radical ideas promoted by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. Nevertheless, he advocated the study of Western scientific knowledge. He was also involved in mining development and railway enterprises.
For a detailed list, see âÂÂWang Xianqians Schriftenâ (âÂÂWang XianqianâÂÂs writingsâÂÂ) in Wang Weijiang's dissertation (pp. 235 ff.). His studies of early Chinese texts listed in the bibliography of the Hanyu da zidian (HYDZD) include studies to the following works: