Biography
Qian was born in Yuyao, Shaoxing Fu (紹興府/绍兴府; current Ningbo), Zhejiang Province. His original name was Kuan (宽), and style name was Hongfu (洪甫). Because his recent ancestry also had the same name, to avoid the taboo, his name was changed from Kuan to Dehong.
When Qian was young, he settled in Lingxu Hill (霛緒山/灵绪山; aka Lingxushan) and systematically studied the I Ching, so people also call him Mr. Xushan (緒山先生/绪山先生).
In the 11th Year of Jiajing Era (嘉靖十一年; 1532), Qian joined the imperial examination together with Wang Ji, who was his classmate and also an important confucian philosopher during his time. Qian was qualified and ranked as Jinshi (進士/进士).
He was later matriculated as a local governmental official. Qian spent most of his life as a secretary for Wang Yangming, and a lecturer in several schools.
Read more about this topic: Qian Dehong
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