Britannica Concise 2005

Wang Chong or Wang Ch'ung \'waq-'chuq\ (b. ad 27, Kuiji, China—d. 100?, Kuiji) Chinese philosopher of the Han dynasty. A ratio¬ nalistic naturalist, he paved the way for the critical spirit of the next philosophical period and prepared China for the advent of Neo-Daoism. He opposed the superstitious element of Confucianism, declaring that natu¬ ral events occur spontaneously and are not influenced by the actions of humans, who have no exceptional position in the universe. He also insisted that theories be supported by concrete evidence and experimen¬ tal proof. Though never greatly popular in China, he attracted new inter¬ est in the 20th century for his foreshadowing of rationalism and the SCIENTIFIC METHOD.

Wang Hui (b. 1632, Jiangsu province, China—d. 1717) Chinese artist who was the paramount member of the group of Chinese painters known as the Four Wangs (including Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, and Wang Yuanqi). Wang Hui, much like the other Wangs, primarily painted land¬ scapes. In his best works he built up an intense web of rhythmic brush- work, while at the same time maintaining a composition’s sense of unity and clarity. His fame reached the court in Beijing, and in 1691-98 he was commissioned to supervise the production of a series of hand scrolls commemorating the Kangxi emperor’s tour of the South.

Wang Jingwei or Wang Ching-wei Vwag-'jiq-'waN (b. May 4,

1883, Sanshui, Guangdong province, China—d. Nov. 10, 1944, Nagoya, Japan) Chinese leader, head of the regime established by the Japanese in 1940 to govern their conquests in China. A leading polemicist for Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary party, in 1910 he tried to assassinate the imperial regent and was caught; his courage in the face of execution resulted in his sentence being reduced. He was released the following year, after the republican revolution. In the 1920s he served as a major official in the Nationalist Party. After Sun’s death, he chaired the party while Chiang Kai-shek led the Northern Expedition against China’s warlords. Chiang and Wang vied for party control; in a compromise in 1932, Wang became president and Chiang headed the military. After war erupted with Japan, Wang flew to Hanoi, Viet., and issued a statement calling on the Chinese to work out a peaceful settlement. In 1940, in cooperation with the Japa¬ nese, he became head of a regime that governed the Japanese-occupied areas centred on Nanjing. Though Wang had hoped to be granted virtual autonomy, the Japanese continued to exercise military and economic dominance. He died while undergoing medical treatment in Japan.

Wang Mang \'waq-'maq\ (b. 45 bc, China—d. Oct. 6, ad 23, Chang’an) Founder of the short-lived Xin dynasty (ad 9-25), an interlude between the two halves of the Han dynasty in China. Wang’s family was well con¬ nected to the Han imperial family, and in 8 bc Wang was appointed regent, only to lose the position when the emperor died. When the new emperor died in 1 bc, Wang was reappointed regent and married his daughter to the subsequent emperor, Ping, who died in ad 6. Wang picked the young¬ est of more than 50 eligible heirs to follow Ping and was named acting emperor. In ad 9 he ascended the throne and proclaimed the Xin dynasty. His dynasty might have endured had the Huang He (Yellow River) not changed course twice before ad 11, causing massive devastation and atten¬ dant famines, epidemics, and social unrest. Peasants banded together in ever larger units. In ad 23 rebel forces set the capital, Chang’an (modem Xi’an), on fire, forced their way into the palace, and killed him.

Wang Xiaotong (fl. early 7th century) Chinese mathematician who made important advances in the solution of problems involving cubic equations. In 626 he took part in the revision of the Wuying calendar (618), which had erroneously predicted eclipses in 620. About 630 he fin¬ ished his Jigu suanjing (“Continuation of Ancient Mathematics”). All 20 problems in this book, except for the first one dealing with astronomy, involve cubic or biquadratic equations. Thirteen of the problems involve solving for the volume or the dimensions of a polyhedron. In solving some of these problems, Wang first used the formula for the volume of a dike of varying cross section. Other problems involve right-angled triangles.

Wang Yangming or Wang Yang-ming Vwaq-'yaq-'miqV (b. 1472, Yuyao, Zhejiang province, China—d. 1529, Nanen, Jiangxi) Chinese scholar and official whose idealistic interpretation of Neo-Confucianism influenced philosophical thinking in East Asia for centuries. The son of a high government official, he was both a secretary to the Ministry of War and a lecturer on Confucianism by 1505. The next year, he was banished to a post in remote Guizhou, where hardship and solitude led him to focus on philosophy. He concluded that investigation of the principles of things should occur within the mind rather than through actual objects and that knowledge and action are codependent. Named governor of southern Jiangxi in 1516, he suppressed several rebellions and implemented gov¬ ernmental, social, and educational reform. By the time he was appointed war minister (1521), his followers numbered in the hundreds. His phi¬ losophy spread across China for 150 years and greatly influenced Japa¬ nese thought during that time. From 1584 he was offered sacrifice in the Confucian temple under the title Wencheng (“Completion of Culture”).