Qian Zhenchang

Qian Zhenchang (1825–1899), originally named Fuzong, courtesy name Zixian. He was a native of Guian County, Huzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, during the Qing Dynasty. He was the younger brother of Qian Zhenlun, a jinshi of the Daoguang era. He was a descendant of King Qianliu of Wu and Yue. He was the second son of Qian Xiangyin. Born in the fifth year of Daoguang (1825), he achieved jinshi status in the tenth year of the Tongzhi era (1871). He served as a preliminary officer in the Ministry of Personnel, then resigned in the eighth year of the Guangxu era (1882) to return south. He was appointed as head of the academies in Shaoxing and Yangzhou; Cai Yuanpei was one of his students. Later, he resided in Suzhou and in his later years was dedicated to textual research. He studied elementary education and was skilled in tracing changes in characters. He was not fond of fame, and his writings are few and not widely circulated. He was critical of Kang Youwei. He died in the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu (1898).

His works include: *Supplementary Annotations to the Collected Writings of Fannan* (twelve volumes), *Six Volumes of Parallel Essays from Shipu Studio*, *Four Volumes of Rhetoric from Shipu Studio*, *Discussions on Artistic Craftsmanship* (eight volumes), *Annotations to Bao Sanjun’s Collection*, and *Superior Essays of Parallel Style from Shipu Studio*. He had sons named Qian Xun and Qian Xuan Tong.