# Ruan Yuan > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ruan_Yuan > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ruan_Yuan.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruan_Yuan > Source revision: 1343567287 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Chinese historian, politician and writer (1764–1849) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (January 2026) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Russian article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:Жуань Юань]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ru|Жуань Юань}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation. In this [Chinese name](/source/Chinese_name), the [family name](/source/Chinese_surname) is *[Ruan](/source/Ruan_(surname))*. Ruan Yuan 阮元 Grand Secretary of the Tiren Library In office 1835–1838 Assistant Grand Secretary In office 1832–1835 Viceroy of Huguang In office 1816–1817 Preceded by Sun Yuting Succeeded by Qingbao Viceroy of Liangguang In office 22 October 1817 – 22 June 1826 Preceded by Jiang Youxian Succeeded by Li Hongbin Viceroy of Yun-Gui In office 1826–1835 Preceded by Zhao Shenzhen Succeeded by Yilibu Viceroy of Rivers and Waterways In office 1812–1814 Preceded by Xu Zhaochun Succeeded by Guifang Personal details Born February 21, 1764 Yizheng, Qing dynasty Died November 27, 1849 (aged 85) Yangzhou, Qing dynasty Occupation Historian, politician, writer Ruan Yuan Chinese 阮元 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Ruǎn Yuán Wade–Giles Juan3 Yüan2 IPA [ɻwàn ɥɛ̌n] Wu Romanization Niun-nyy Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yúhn Yùhn Jyutping Jyun5 Jyun4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Ńg Guân **Ruan Yuan** ([Chinese](/source/Chinese_language): 阮元; 1764–1849), [courtesy name](/source/Courtesy_name) **Boyuan** (伯元), [art name](/source/Art_name) **Yuntai** (芸臺), [posthumous name](/source/Posthumous_name) **Wenda** (文達), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer of the [Qing dynasty](/source/Qing_dynasty) who was the most prominent Chinese scholar during the first half of the 19th century.[1] He won the *jinshi* degree in the [imperial examinations](/source/Imperial_examination) in 1789 and was subsequently appointed to the [Hanlin Academy](/source/Hanlin_Academy). He was known for his work *Biographies of Astronomers and Mathematicians* and for his editing the *[Shisan Jing Zhushu](/source/Shisan_Jing_Zhushu)* (Commentaries and Notes on the Thirteen Classics) for the Qing emperor. Ruan Yuan was a successful official as well as a scholar. He was the [Viceroy of Liangguang](/source/Viceroy_of_Liangguang), the most important imperial official in Canton ([Guangzhou](/source/Guangzhou)), during the critical years 1817–1826, just before the [First Opium War](/source/First_Opium_War) with Britain. It was a crucial time when Chinese trade with the outside world was allowed only through the [Canton System](/source/Canton_System), with all foreigners confined to Canton, the capital of [Guangdong](/source/Guangdong) Province. During his tenure in Canton, Ruan is estimated to have earned more than 195,000 [taels](/source/Tael) of silver.[2] He was widely recognized as an official, scholar, and patron of learning both by his contemporaries and by modern scholars. He was also praised as an honest official and an exemplary man of the ‘Confucian persuasion’. His name is mentioned in almost all works on Qing history or Chinese classics because of the wide range of his research and publications. A number of these publications are still reprinted. Ruan Yuan was a follower of the [Han Learning](/source/Han_Learning) tradition and as such, with the encouragement of [Liu Fenglu](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liu_Fenglu&action=edit&redlink=1), he edited and organized publication of the compendium of the imperial achievements in *kaozheng* scholarship, the *Huang Qing Jingjie* ([皇清经解](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9A%87%E6%B8%85%E7%BB%8F%E8%A7%A3)) published in 1829. Kong Luhua (relative of the [Duke Yansheng](/source/Duke_Yansheng)) was the second wife of Ruan Yuan.[3] ## See also - [Yanjingshi ji](/source/Yanjingshi_ji) - [Wei Yuan](/source/Wei_Yuan) - [Lin Zexu](/source/Lin_Zexu) - [Qishan](/source/Qishan_(official)) - [Yishan](/source/Yishan_(official)) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEShaughnessy199112_1-0)** [Shaughnessy (1991)](#CITEREFShaughnessy1991), p. 12. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWei2006301_2-0)** [Wei 2006](#CITEREFWei2006), p. 301. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Wei2006_3-0)** Betty Peh-T'I Wei (1 August 2006). [*Ruan Yuan, 1764-1849: The Life and Work of a Major Scholar-Official in Nineteenth-Century China before the Opium War*](https://books.google.com/books?id=8lxUMoR5TXcC&q=kong+luhua&pg=PA246). [Hong Kong University Press](/source/Hong_Kong_University_Press). pp. 246–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-962-209-785-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-962-209-785-8). **Bibliography** - [Hummel, Arthur W. Sr.](/source/Arthur_W._Hummel_Sr.), ed. (1943). ["Juan Yüan"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Eminent_Chinese_of_the_Ch%27ing_Period/Juan_Y%C3%BCan). *[Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period](/source/Eminent_Chinese_of_the_Ch'ing_Period)*. [United States Government Printing Office](/source/United_States_Government_Publishing_Office). - Miles, Steven B. (2006). "Establishing authority through scholarship: Ruan Yuan and the Xuehaitang Academy". In Hershock, Peter D.; [Ames, Roger T.](/source/Roger_T._Ames) (eds.). *Confucian Cultures of Authority*. [SUNY Press](/source/SUNY_Press). pp. 151–169. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7914-8156-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7914-8156-1). - Miles, Steven B. (2006). *The Sea of Learning: Mobility and Identity in Nineteenth-Century Guangzhou*. [Harvard University Press](/source/Harvard_University_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-674-02134-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-674-02134-1). - Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1991). *Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels*. University of California Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780520070288](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780520070288). - [Wei, Betty Peh-T'i](/source/Betty_Wei) (2006). *Ruan Yuan, 1764–1849: The Life And Work of a Major Scholar-Official in Nineteenth-Century China Before the Opium War*. Hong Kong University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [962-209-785-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/962-209-785-5). ## External links - [Ruan Yuan biography from St. Andrews University](http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Printonly/Ruan_Yuan.html) Government offices Preceded by Jiang Youxian (蔣攸銛) Governor-general of Liangguang 22 October 1817 – 22 June 1826 Succeeded by Li Hongbin (李鴻賓) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Japan Czech Republic Spain Netherlands Norway Korea Israel Belgium Academics CiNii Artists ULAN People Trove Other IdRef Open Library 2 Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruan Yuan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruan_Yuan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruan_Yuan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). 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