en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gu_Yanwu
2 corrections found
in what was then the province of Jiangnan
In 1613, Kunshan was in South Zhili (Nanzhili), not a province called Jiangnan; "Jiangnan" was the Qing-era name adopted later.
Full reasoning
This is an anachronism. Gu Yanwu was born in 1613, during the Ming dynasty. Scholarly references on Ming administration explain that the Ming had two Zhili provinces, and that the area including modern Jiangsu and Anhui was South Zhili (Nanzhili). A separate academic source states explicitly that South Zhili was renamed Jiangnan only in 1645, after the Ming-Qing transition. So describing Kunshan in 1613 as being in the province of Jiangnan is historically inaccurate. (Calling the broader region "Jiangnan" informally would be different, but the article specifically says it was a province at that time.)
2 sources
- Where the Two Worlds Met: Spreading a Buddhist Canon in Wanli (1573-1620) China
Since the Ming had two capitals, there were two Zhili provinces in this dynasty... The South Zhili (Nan Zhili 南直隸) included parts of what are today the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, and the administrative district of Shanghai.
- Notes, Introduction (Brill)
South Zhili was a province under the Ming; in 1645 it was renamed Jiangnan.
After the death of his adoptive grandfather, he passed preliminary examinations in 1626
The chronology is backwards: Gu passed the exam in 1626, while his adoptive grandfather died later, in 1641.
Full reasoning
This sentence reverses the order of events. A biographical entry on Gu Yanwu states that in 1626 (Tianqi 6), at age fourteen, he obtained the xiucai/shengyuan degree. The same biographical source states that his grandfather Gu Shaofei died in 1641 (Chongzhen 14). So Gu could not have passed the 1626 examination after his adoptive grandfather's death; the grandfather was still alive for many years afterward.
2 sources
- 顧炎武 Gu Yanwu - Chinese Text Project
天启六年（1626年），十四岁取秀才，与归庄友好，即加入复社。
- 顧炎武 Gu Yanwu - Chinese Text Project
崇祯十四年（1641年）二月，祖父顾绍芾病故。