8.3.1 Introduction of Chen Mian and His life in Ji...
Chen Mian (1859-1893) was born in Jinan.In 1883 (Guangxu Emperor 9th Year), he took part in the palace examination[7]and won first prize, achieving the title ‘Zhuang Yuan’.[8]Then he took charge of recording national history in ‘Hanlin’[9]Imperial Academy for ten years.[10]In 1998, the book The First Policy of the World: A Review of the Champions’ Strategies in Palace Examination of Past Dynasties recommended eight of the most successful champions in Chinese history.Chen Mian is ranked as the first (Fig.8-9).[11]
A distinguished and wealthy family provided Chen Mian a superior living condition.Chen Mian received a good education because of the foresight of his family, which paid attention to cultivating his moral code and talent.Although Chen Mian has excelled since childhood, he was not arrogant, but worked hard and pledged to contribute to the country.[12](https://www.daowen.com)
In 1883, the year when Chen Mian became ‘Zhuang Yuan’, the Yellow River flooded.More than 400,000 people were homeless.Chen Mian and his father Chen Enshou provided massive funds for disaster relief.He also went to the flooded area to participate in disaster relief work.With no consideration for his personal safety, he took a boat to deliver food and clothes to disaster victims.Meanwhile, Chen Mian paid for thousands of houses to be constructed on higher elevation to settle a large number of the victims.After the flood, Chen Mian donated more than half of his families’ property.Chen Enshou, his father, died of overwork during the disaster relief.In 1884, when the Yellow River flooded again, Chen Mian donated funds, and led his relatives and friends to help those disaster victims.In 1893, during the severe drought in Shanxi Province, Chen Mian donated all his family’s wealth and the collected funds by writing and selling calligraphy on the streets.Several times in disaster relief, he not only donated the money of his grandfather, who had accumulated wealth in his salt business, but also sold much real estate in Jinan, leaving only a few rooms for his family to live in.On 17th August 1893, 34-year-old Chen Mian died due to overwork in disaster relief and charity work.From the beginning of his official career to his death, it was only 10 years.[13]