Kong Yingda (574-648), Yu Chongyuan, was a Tang Dynasty classicist and a native of Hengshui, Jizhou (present-day Hebei Province).
Kong Yingda is as famous as his name, talented and intelligent, knowledgeable and strong. At the age of eight, he was able to diarize more than a thousand words and recite the "Three Rites and Righteous Sects" and other classics backwards. A few years later, the classic works of Confucianism, such as "Poetry", "Book", "Li", "Yi", and "Spring and Autumn", have been secretly memorized by Kong Yingda. Kong Yingda's writing is excellent, and her articles are smooth and vivid. Liu Zhuo, who lived in a county with Kong Yingda, was a Confucian scholar, and Kong Yingda came to the door to seek advice. Liu Zhuo did not pay attention to this nameless youth, but after listening to Kong Yingda's speech, he found that this young man not only had a profound Foundation in Confucianism, but also had incisive and original insights, and he could not help but be greatly impressed.
In the early years of the Sui Dynasty (605-616), Kong Yingda was selected as the "Ming Jing" and awarded the doctorate of Hanoi County, and he first appeared. Since the Han Dynasty, classics have become synonymous with Confucianism, and many Confucian scholars have devoted their lives to the study of scriptures. However, due to the cumbersome methods of scriptural research, many scholars often have little to gain from the sutras, but there are also many white-haired people who are still tireless in the study of scriptures. Kong Yingda is young and has already achieved a lot of results in sutra research, which is enviable. The Sui Emperor once summoned Confucian officials in the eastern capital Luoyang and asked the secretary of the state to conduct an academic debate with them. In this big debate, Kong Yingda took the lead. This was not easy, but in all the Confucian palaces, Kong Yingda was the youngest, which caused the jealousy of some elderly and unaccompanied Su Confucians, who sent assassins to put Kong Yingda to death. In a hurry, Kong Yingda fled into Yang Xuangan's home and escaped a disaster. This victory enabled Kong Yingda to win people's recognition and was soon added as a teaching assistant of Taixue. However, the turmoil at the end of the Sui Dynasty forced him to constantly drift away, and he could not do learning at ease at all.
After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the world was stable, and Kong Yingda was finally able to engage in beloved research work again. He was awarded a bachelor's degree in the Museum of Literature and was transferred to the position of Doctor of Guozijian, and was soon transferred to Shizhong. Kong Yingda is loyal to the country. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, politics was still relatively clear, but he still regarded the affairs of the world as his responsibility, and when the opportunity came, they tried their best to advise the emperor to warn the emperor. Li Shimin once asked Kong Yingda what Confucius meant by saying, "To be able to ask questions is not to be able to ask, to ask more questions than to widows, to have nothing, to be real is to be false.". Kong Yingda replied: "This is the saint who is educating us and asking us to learn to be humble. A man is brilliant, but he still asks the incompetent what he does not understand; he, though knowledgeable, asks the ignorant in order to get more. There is a wealth of knowledge that fills the heart, but do not be complacent and overflowing with words; the heart is full and the attitude is humble, which is the behavior of a gentleman, and the king must act according to it. The "I Ching" in the "I Ching" "Meng Yi Yang Zheng" and "Ming Yi to the masses" also mean the same thing. If people rely on their high positions of power and unscrupulously show off their talents, the court will be chaotic and the monarchs will be discordant. Since ancient times, the reason for the demise of many countries is precisely this! These words were very loud and loud, and they were called explanatory verses, which actually exhorted the emperor and greatly impressed Emperor Taizong.
Kong Yingda had been lecturing in the Eastern Palace for a long time, and the crown prince Chengqian did not obey the etiquette, and he looked at him in the eyes and was anxious in his heart, and several times risked provoking the prince to enter the counsel. The crown prince's nursing mother, Lady Sui'an, couldn't look past it and persuaded Kong Yingda: "The prince is already old, and he always scolds him in public like this, so that he can't get off the stage, I'm afraid it's not too appropriate, right?" Kong Yingda replied: "The country is generous, and there is no hatred in death." (Old Book of Tang, vol. 73) Since then, his advice has become more frequent. From this point of view, Kong Yingda can be regarded as a loyal subject.
Academically, Kong Yingda is a representative figure among the scribes of the Tang Dynasty. In the sixth year of Zhenguan (633), Kong Yingda was appointed as the Secretary of the State. After being transferred to the position of Crown Prince's Right Concubine, he still held the position of Guozi Siye. He took academic research as his mission, and his views became the authoritative views of the scholarly community. Kong Yingda wrote the History of Sui together with Wei Zheng, summarizing the rise and fall of the Sui Dynasty, prompting the Tang rulers to take this as a lesson and examine themselves. In the eleventh year of Zhenguan (638), Kong Yingda edited the "Five Rites", explaining the difficulties encountered in previous research in this regard.
Throughout his life, Kong Yingda successively served as a regular attendant and a wine offering, and also wrote many articles, such as "Filial Piety Chapters and Sentences" and "Interpretation of The Ode to Dian", but the most important academic contribution was to preside over the compilation of the "Five Classics of Justice". At the convocation of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Kong Yingda, together with Yan Shigu, Sima Caizhang, Wang Gong, Wang Yan and other Confucian masters, wrote the Five Classics of Righteousness, which consisted of 180 volumes, which was later renamed the Five Classics of Justice. This book is an explanatory text of the Five Classics, and also includes the research results of the previous generation of famous masters, which is a more rigorous academic work. The influence of the Five Classics of Justice was enormous, and when this book was first completed, Tang Taizong praised Kong Yingda and others: "Qing and others are comprehensive in ancient and modern times, righteousness should be negotiated, the heterogeneity of Confucianism before the examination, and the secret purpose of the saints are indeed immortal." (Old Book of Tang, vol. 73) Throughout the Tang Dynasty, this book became the standard teaching material for the examination of scholars.
The final completion of the Five Classics of Justice also went through many twists and turns. After reading the book in detail, Dr. Ma Jiayun raised questions about the omissions in the book, so the emperor issued an edict ordering Kong Yingda and others to strive for excellence. In the second year of Yonghui (651), under the Zhongshu Gate and the Guozi Sanguan Doctor Wujing Justice, it was revised in detail and finally finalized.
After Kong Yingda died, he received a high funeral treatment and was posthumously awarded to Tai Changqing.
Kong Yingda's son Kong Zhi inherited his father's legacy and also served as the secretary of the state, immersed in the study of scripture. Kong Zhi's son Kong Huiyuan was an introvert, but his academic skills were very deep, and he also served as the secretary of the State Son, and was later promoted to the position of Prince Ofe. Three generations of the Kong family have successively served as the state sub-industry, and when it was passed down as a beautiful talk.
Key references
Old Book of Tang, Punctuation edition of Zhonghua Bookstore.
New Book of Tang, Zhonghua Bookstore Punctuation.