Boxing Zhang

Zhang Boxing (, 15 January 1652 – 28 February 1723) was a Han Chinese politician and scholar in the Qing dynasty.

Biography

Zhang was a native of Yifeng, Henan. He was awarded a jinshi degree in the imperial examination of 1685, becoming a secretary in the Grand Secretariat in 1692. He was then made intendant of the Jining Circuit, Shandong, where he helped relieve famine and floods in 1703. Three years later, Zhang was appointed judicial commissioner in Jiangsu before becoming governor of Fujian in 1707 and receiving a special commendation from the emperor. As governor, he quickly relieved famines in three districts in Formosa and stabilized the price of grain in Fujian. In addition, Zhang paid special attention to education, establishing academies and converting temples into free schools. According to historian R. Guy Kent, 'Both officials broke the code of silence, indicting each other in one of the loudest and most colorful exchanges of official broadsides in the early eighteenth century.' Among other offences, Gali accused Zhang of dereliction of duty and reading on the job while Zhang claimed his Manchu superior accepted bribes from juren candidates in the provincial examinations. While both Gali and Zhang were officially dismissed, the latter was allowed to remain at his post. In 1715, Zhang was summoned to Beijing. The emperor appointed him to the Imperial Study and also made him acting superintendent of government granaries. In 1720, Zhang was made vice-president of the Board of Revenue, which he served concurrently with his role as superintendent of granaries. He was made Minister of Rites by the Yongzheng Emperor in 1723. He died in 1725 and was honoured with the posthumous name Qīngkè (淸恪) and the title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In 1878, Zhang was further honoured with his name's inclusion in the Temple of Confucius.

Literature

During his life, Zhang wrote fourteen titles noted in the Imperial Catalogue, mostly concerning philosophy and ethics. He was an avid proponent of Zhu Xi's work and edited two collections of major works of Song dynasty philosophy. He also published a work on river conservancy.