Chen Tingjing (1638-1712), with the courtesy name Ziduan and literary names Yueyan
and Wuting, was born in the village Huangcheng, Beiliu Town, Yangcheng County, Shanxi Province. He was very clever and talented in his childhood. At the age of 20 he succeeded in the provincial examination, and was chosen as a student in the royal school to study Chinese and Manchurian lessons. Soon he gained the favor of the emperor Kangxi. In his whole life he was promoted 28 times. He functioned as the emperor¨s teacher, head of the imperial academy, and minister of personnel, minister of revenue, minister of judicature, and minister of construction successively. In the 42nd year of Kangxi (1703) he was made Wenyuange Academician and minister of personnel, thus becoming a famous mighty chancellor.
In his 53 years serving and helping the emperor, Chen Tingjing had excellent merits in his official administration, and laid a solid basis for the thriving era of Kangxi and Qianlong. He displayed outstanding literary talents in compiling many important big books as
The History of Ming Dynasty, JIANGU JILAN,
Peiwen Rhyming Dictionary, PINGDING SANNI FANGLUE
, Kangxi Dictionary and DAQING YITONGZHI, and making a collection of his own writings. As an eminent politician, Confucianist, literature man and poet, he was praised by Emperor Kangxi with a poem comparing him to famous prime ministers and poets in ancient times.
In 1712 (the 51st year of Kangxi) Chen suddenly fell seriously ill and soon died at the age of 74. The emperor personally wrote an elegiac poem and a speech and made the prince preside an unprecedented funeral ceremony in memory of him.
