Library

Mr. Fu, whose given name was Shan (Mountain), courtesy name Qingzhu (Green Master), and also Gongta, was a native of Yangqu. His grandfather, Fu Lin, served as a Canyi (Assistant Administrator) in Shandong and Liaodong. His father, Fu ZhiMo, taught students after obtaining the Mingjing degree, and was known by the pseudonym Ligou Xiansheng (Master Li Gou).

Shan was born exceptionally intelligent; he could read ten lines at a glance and recite them immediately after reading. At the age of fourteen, the Provincial Education Commissioner Wen Taiqing selected him to enter the Xiang (local school system). His successor, Yuan Jixian, appreciated him deeply upon their first meeting and allowed him to receive official grain rations. When summoned to study at the Sanli Academy, they often encouraged each other with moral cultivation (Daoxue); Shan became even more diligent, lowering his curtains to study in seclusion. Yuan often said, "Shan's writing is indeed excellent, but I regret that he has not yet shed the rustic air." In the Bingzi year of the Chongzhen reign, Yuan Jixian was imprisoned due to false accusations by the Censor Zhang Sunzhen. Shan walked a thousand li to petition at the palace gates for Yuan's innocence. Enraged, Zhang Sunzhen ordered a massive search for Shan. Shan, wearing tattered clothes, moved secretly from place to place, unyielding despite numerous setbacks, ultimately clearing Yuan's name. At that time, Shan's reputation for righteousness spread throughout the empire. Later, when Yuan held office in the south and summoned Shan several times, Shan never went.

After the Qing dynasty established its capital, Yuan Jixian was arrested in Jiujiang and taken north. Shan then secretly entered the capital to monitor Yuan's living conditions. After Yuan was executed, Shan collected his remains and returned them home. Shan was naturally extremely filial. When his father Fu ZhiMo was critically ill, Shan kowtowed to the spirits morning and night, wishing to take his father's illness upon himself. Ten days later, his father recovered; people said his filial piety reached the gods, just like the ancients. As Qianlou stated: "In mourning for one's parents, one suffers greatly from grief, sleeping on straw mats, using earth blocks as pillows, drinking only water, and eating no vegetables or fruits." Shan loved his younger brothers dearly. Although his brothers squandered more than half of their inheritance, Shan bore no resentment throughout his life. After a brother died, he raised the orphan better than his own children. When his wife died at age twenty-seven, his son Mei was only five years old, and there were no maternal relatives to help. He vowed never to remarry. He did his utmost to help neighbors and relatives in emergencies, showing humility and generosity in interactions, being respectful, frugal, and modest towards others. In conversation, he emphasized loyalty and filial piety as the foundation, and honesty in planning affairs. His profound ethical conduct stemmed naturally, not from coercion. Since Li Zicheng attacked the capital and the Emperor Zhuanglie of Ming perished, Shan abandoned his ambition for official career, gave up his scholar's robe for a Daoist habit, and took the pseudonym Shidao Ren (Stone Daoist Man). Wearing grass shoes and coarse clothes, he traveled frequently between Pingding, Qi County, and Fen Zhou, leaving calligraphy and paintings wherever he went. He excelled in poetry and prose, mastered the spiritual essence of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi in calligraphy, and was broadly learned in ancient and modern classics and the Hundred Schools of Thought. He responded proportionally to inquiries ("strike hard, sound loud; strike soft, sound soft") and also expressed himself through freehand painting, capturing subtleties perfectly. He was proficient in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), deeply understanding pulse diagnosis (Maili), and often integrated Confucian principles into his medical practice, not strictly adhering to the theories of Wang Shuhe or Zhu Danxi. The door of his house was often full of patients seeking treatment; he treated nobles and commoners alike. Though originally wealthy, he gradually became poor, remaining content in poverty and devoted to the Way (Dao). Houses and fields were occupied by petty people, which he ignored. In the Wuwu year of the Kangxi reign, an edict called for scholars of broad learning and literary talent; court officials recommended Shan repeatedly, but he firmly declined citing old age and illness. Officials forced him to travel; he claimed leg disease prevented walking and was carried in a sedan chair to the capital, where he lay in an inn refusing to take the exam. Princes, ministers, scholars, down to horse doctors, farmers, and commoners, all respected Shan's character and righteousness. Visitors crowded his door, overwhelming his son Mei who could barely manage greetings. Shan merely leaned on his couch saying, "I am too old to perform rites." The nobles respected him even more for this and did not blame him. In the third month of the following year, the Ministry of Personnel verified his illness and reported it. An imperial decree stated that since Shan was renowned for literature and was elderly, he was specially appointed as Zhongshu (Secretariat Official) in the Grand Secretariat, with local officials instructed to visit him. He was thus allowed to return home. He became even more indifferent to fame, willingly living in remote villages, avoiding cities. However, those who admired him increased, detouring to visit him, considering it an honor to see him. Six years later, he passed away. Thousands gathered from near and far for his funeral. Shan's works include *Xingshi* (History of Nature), *Shisan Jing Ziqu* (Character Zones of the Thirteen Classics), *Zhouyi Oushi* (Occasional Explanations of the Book of Changes), *Zhouli Yinbian Tiao* (Items on Pronunciation Differentiation of Rites of Zhou), *Chunqiu Renming Yun, Diming Yun* (Rhymes of Names and Places in Spring and Autumn Annals), *Lianghan Renming Yun* (Rhymes of Names in Two Han Dynasties), etc.

Ji Lizhai said: "I once wondered why Mr. Fu, living in an era like Yao and Shun, maintained high aspirations and earnestly refused recruitment, acting so decisively. Upon reading Han history and seeing figures like Zhou Dang and Wang Ba, who did not compromise under Xin Mang and refused repeated summons during Jianwu, I realized scholars have different ambitions. Mr. Fu was truly a Daoist recluse. He clearly saw that in the late Ming, everyone sought profit, leading to destruction by bandits. His heart was already attached to forests and grasses (seclusion); how could he value high office? Furthermore, his righteousness in avenging a friend's injustice far exceeds those who pretend friendship in peace but turn away in disaster, cold as strangers. As the ancients said: 'People are born of Heaven, Earth, and Sovereign/Parent; serve them equally, and die for them where they are.' Mr. Fu was truly without shame!"

Eulogy:
Behold this gentleman, inheriting the purity of the Sages;
Running to plead grievances and report deaths, unshaken by calamity.
Declining glory and refusing appointments, following the example of ancestors;
His merit lies in moral teaching, revered and imitated for a hundred generations.