Researches On A Renowned Cultural Family-the Wus In Hai Feng(Wudi)

The Wus in Hai feng (Wudi County) was a well-known cultural family group of the Qing Dynasty. It developed from the early years under Emperor Shunzhi to the last years of Emperor Xuantong, lasting hundreds of years. The thrive of the Wus in Haifeng had a close relationship with the local geographycal and humanitarian conditions. The material foundations laid by agriculture, the good social and educational environments, and the courageous spirit characterized by the ocean, all had an Impressive influence on the development of the Wus.There was a clear configuration inside the Wus kinship. From the immigration to Haifeng during the Yongle Period in Ming Dynasty ,to the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Wus bred twenty-two generations, which added up to hundreds of years. Its development as a whole could be divided into four phases:"inner morality"from generation one to nine,"initial popularity"from generation ten to twelve,"prosperity"from generation thirteen to seventeen, and"declination and reorientation"from generation eighteen to twenty two.The Wus in Haifeng was a famous official family during the Ming and Qing period.The ancestors of Wus not only established the simplized and charitable family character, but also pointed out a direction for the following generations to struggle. These ancestors practised hard on sharping their moralities, which were critical to the vitality of the Wus. Many celebrities emerged from the Wus historical process, making the family all the more famous. Wu Zisu is one among them, he's the first official in the Wus who got first in the imperial exam. He wrote a lot, and set up an example of loyalty and integrity for the offsprings of Wus to follow. So renowned was he that he was given the title of"the fist miracle of Wu". Wu Shaoshi and his two sons Wu Yuan and Wu Tan were all indispensable elements contributing to the prosperity of the Wus. They not only reached high status in their official carreers, but also became expertised in law due to their knowledge and wisdom during the mid-Qing years. They influenced the court of Qing so greatly that they were known as the"core of Wus in Haifeng". Wu Shifen divided his whole life into study and leadership, and he was a famous gold-stone expert called"talent in art and renowned in the government", whose outstanding cultural achievements had pushed the Wus to the most well-known family in Qilu, and therefore, he was regarded as the"cultural pioneer of the Wus in Haifeng". Wu Chongxi stayed as an officer for more than forty years, he had patriotism and fought strongly against foreign invasions. He advocated charity and automony and established industries and schools; he was worried and concerned about the common people and made longlasting efforts for the modernisation of China, all these achievements had earned him the name of"the last glory of the Wus".The officials of the Wus showed the administrative charateristics of the traditional feudal society, and formed the distinctive governmental styles during the long-period governing career. It can be generalised into three aspects respectively: loyalty to the king and love for the populace, frugality ; honesty and industry; emphasis on education and moral edification.The Wus in Haifeng were famous for their cultural contributions. They attracted the public attentions due to their outstanding achivements in the fields such as literature, ethnical, gold-stone study, and bibliography etc. In the field of literature: from early Kangxi till the end of Qing, many literary men emerged, like Wu Zisu, Wu Zichong, Wu Xiangbi and Wu Chongxi. They wrote a dozen of books and their family became a cultural chain that could be described as a well-educated family with regualar productions of poems and books. In the field of law: during the years of Qianlong, Wu Shaoshi took his part in compiling the most advanced《law of Qing》,and he also compiled two volumns. His son inherited the family knowledge and did deep research into law, devoting his whole life into compiling the 39 volumn《A thorough exam into the law of Qing》, which was rich in resources and contents and exact in rearching, thus had an important academic value in familarising people with the development and changes of Qing's law system. It almost became the sum-up of law compiling in Qing Dynasty.In the field of gold-stone study: Wu Shifen made overall achievements in collection, essays and researches on printing. The books《Collecting the antique》,《The golden versions of collecting the antique》written by him and the book《Research on sealing cements》that he wrote together with Chen Jieqi, played an important part in the development of Gold-stone study of Qing. In the field of reserving books: Shilian Temple of Wu Chongxi had a wide collection of antique books, handscripts and original valuables.Among the 42 original copies he collected, 30 were handscripts, which contributed greatly to the preservation of literature classics. He also editored and amended the remaining books of the Wus, among which《The remaining books of Wu》,《The remaining poems of Wu》,《The everlasting morals of Wu》and《A record of Wus attending the imperial exam》were dubbed as the"four comprehensive collections of Wu".The Wus showed their distinct family characters in passing along their family ethos, such as the continuous development of family culture due to the records of each generation; the high achievements due to the wide absorb of other cultures; the large collection of classics due to the recollectiong and reediting of literacies.The reason why Wu's culture was so energetic was a combination of internal and external factors. It was no exaggeration to say that all the factors led to the glory of the Wus culture in Qing Dynasty. The internal factors refers to the emphasis on education and culture, the material benefits generated from family officers and the widened horizons due to resettlements in various areas. The external factors mainly depended on the change of epoch and the influence of geography and culture, and also the stimulation of educated group composed of marriages and friendships."A family would flourish only through several generations". The reason that the Wus developed and flourished as a notable cultural family was closely related to the family ethos that were cultivated throughout the history of Wus. The family ethos of the Wus can be catagerized into three facets, firstly, humble and general, secondly, well-educated and literated, thirdly, loyal and polite. The Wus paid special attention on modifying oneself through ethics, emphasized the passing on of cultures, and sticked to the etiquette of the feudal society, all of the above showed the family distinctiveness of the Wus as a renowned cultural clan. The Wu found it important to pass along the family ethos, and the precedent ancesters required their offsprings to"study hard, and regulate their behaviors so as to support the growth of the clan". With the advocation and nurturing of the family ideas, the Wus were able to strenghthen their clan's and family's ethos, the centralisation of the traditional clan was solidated and the family trees was well protected and passed along.