Luo Rufang (1515–1588) was a Ming thinker and official and a representative of the Taizhou School. His courtesy name is written as 惟德 and 維德, his sobriquet was Jinxi (近溪), he was sixth in birth order, and he came from Nancheng in Jianchang Prefecture, Jiangxi; 明德 (Mingde) is also recorded as his posthumous title.
His father was Luo Jin, his grandfather Luo Tingshu, and his great-grandfather Luo Sizhong; his mother was from the Ning clan, his wife from the Wu clan, and his younger brothers were Luo Rushun and Luo Ruchu.
Life
He was a shengyuan; his provincial-examination ranking is given as twelfth in one account and 295th as a tribute candidate in another. The circumstances of his jinshi qualification are disputed: one account says that he passed the Jiachen metropolitan examination in 1544 but did not take the palace examination, and that he became a jinshi in the Guichou examination of 1553; another calls him a Jiachen jinshi who took the Guichou palace examination and places him 66th in the third class.
After the 1553 jinshi qualification, he first served in the Ministry of Works in an observation capacity, became magistrate of Taihu County in Zhili, where he was said to have achieved notable results, was promoted to a Ministry of Justice secretary, and later served as prefect of Ningguo. After mourning his mother, he returned home; when the mourning period ended, he became prefect of Dongchang and soon transferred as deputy commissioner of the Yunnan Tuntian Office. In Yunnan he repaired the Kunming embankment, dredged Dian Lake, and lectured at Wuhua Academy. He later became a right provincial administration commissioner, was assigned to administer Yongchang, was impeached by remonstrance officials after being charged with an offense, and was eventually dismissed. In 1576 he travelled to Chicken Foot Mountain with Wang Ji.
Thought and associations
Rufang studied under Yan Jun. His place in the line of transmission is given in two different ways: one account calls him a second-generation disciple of Wang Gen, while another calls him a second-generation disciple of Wang Ji. He advocated “extending innate moral knowledge” (致良知) and lectured at Guanghui Temple, in Liangzhe and the Min and Guangdong regions, and at Wuhua Academy in Yunnan.
His students included Deng Yuanxi, Feng Mengzhen, Yang Qiyuan, Chen Lüxiang, Li Dongming, and Li Tingzhi; Yang Qiyuan and Chen Lüxiang were regarded as leading disciples in his circle. He received letters from Luo Hongxian, Tang Xianzu, Zhou Yi, Geng Dingxiang, Li Cai, Wang Cai, and Wang Ji. He also received replies from Zou Yuanbiao, Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Siwei, and Wang Cai, as well as poems and prose presented by Zhou Yi and Wang Ji. Zhou Shen admired and valued him; Rufang wrote epitaphs, sacrificial texts, and a shrine inscription for Yang Qiyuan.
Works
His writings range across classical learning, moral cultivation, ritual, community compacts, water management, poetry, and travel. Major works include 《孝經宗旨》, 《四書一貫》, 《明通寶義》, and 《近溪子文集》; 《近溪集》 is also found as a title. Titles vary: 《明通寶義》 also appears as 《大明通寶義》, and 《孝經宗旨》 as 《孝敬宗旨》; 《近溪子文集》 is extant and is catalogued in five juan.
Death
He died in the sixteenth year of the Wanli era (1588), with 21 October given as the date. After a landslide at Conggu Mountain and a storm that uprooted trees, he believed he would die on the first day of the ninth month. His students asked him to stay one more day, and he died at noon the following day, aged seventy-four.
References
- CBDB Luo Rufang (133519)
- 搜韵 羅汝芳 (51089)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 羅汝芳 (A011429)
- Wikidata Luo Rufang (Q5946443)