Zhang Hua
Western Jin minister and poet, compiler of the Bowuzhi
- Born
- 232, Fangcheng (modern Gu'an, Hebei)
- Died
- 300, executed during Sima Lun's coup
- Dynasty
- Western Jin
- Office
- Minister of Works (by 296)
- Work
- Bowuzhi (Records of Diverse Matters)
The Jin dynasty statesman whose Bowuzhi, a book of marvels compiled around 290 CE, tells of the Qigong people's flying cart.
What is Zhang Hua known for?
Zhang Hua (232–300) was a poet, scholar and statesman of the Western Jin dynasty. Rising from humble origins, he helped plan the conquest of the rival state of Wu and later served as Minister of Works. When Sima Lun seized power in a coup in 300, Zhang refused to join him and was executed with his family. He was posthumously rehabilitated in 303.
He is remembered as the compiler of the Bowuzhi, usually translated as Records of Diverse Matters, a collection of notes on geography, strange peoples, animals, plants and marvels, much of it drawn from older books. The surviving text has been reworked over time.
Among its entries is the story of the Qigong people, skilled makers of devices, whose flying cart was blown by the wind to the land of King Tang of Shang. Scholars read it as part of a long Chinese tradition of wondrous peoples at the edges of the known world.
His Bowuzhi is the most-cited source for the Qigong flying cart.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeThe Qigong (Jigong) flying cart
- PassageThe Qigong flying cart (Bowuzhi)
- PersonHuangfu Mi
- PersonKing Tang of Shang
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Zhang Hua'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Bowuzhi'Reference
- Klassiek Chinese Teksten, 'Bowuzhi' (Records of Diverse Matters, by Zhang Hua, c. 290 CE)Reference
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