See Also: Fan Zhongyen(encyclopedia)

Fan Zhongyen (sh)




or Fan Chung-yen

born 989, Wu, Jiangsu province, China
died 1052, China

Chinese scholar-reformer whose reforms anticipated those of Wang Anshi.

He attempted to abolish nepotism and corruption, reclaim unused land, equalize landholdings, create a strong local militia system, reduce corvee labor, and reform the civil-service examination system. He proposed establishing a national school system to train men to deal with the problems of history and politics; the proposal was adopted in 1044. See also Neo-Confucianism; Song dynasty.