Feng Dao

Served four dynasties and ten emperors; oversaw the woodblock printing of the Nine Classics.

Life

Farm-Born Scholar

Born into a farming family, Feng Dao was studious and a capable writer, and early on served as secretary in the household of Li Cunxu, Prince of Jin. Under Later Tang he became chancellor, and afterward served Later Jin, the Khitan, Later Han and Later Zhou, always holding high office. Ouyang Xiu said he "served four houses and ten rulers" (the four houses being Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou, not counting the Khitan); he called himself the "Old Man of Changle."

Chancellor under Four Dynasties

Frugal and generous, he lived in a thatched hut and slept on a straw mat while with the army, and often used the rewards he received to help the poor. When the Khitan destroyed Later Jin in 947, he met Yelü Deguang and urged him to limit the killing, saying, "At this moment not even the Buddha could save them; only the emperor can." Historians believe this saved many lives.

Printing the Nine Classics

In 932 he petitioned to have the Nine Classics printed from woodblocks under the name of the Imperial Academy; the project took 22 years to complete and marked the beginning of large-scale official woodblock printing of the Confucian classics. In 954 he was rebuked for trying to dissuade Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou from personally campaigning against Northern Han, and died soon after.

Legacy

Feng Dao is one of the most divisive figures in Chinese history: Ouyang Xiu and Sima Guang condemned him as shameless, while others hold that he did his best to protect the people and culture in an age of chaos, and his printing of the Nine Classics was of major cultural significance.

Major works & achievements

• Oversaw the woodblock printing of the Nine Classics

Did you know? His printed edition of the Nine Classics marked the start of large-scale official printing of the Confucian classics in China, about 500 years before Johannes Gutenberg printed the Bible in Europe.

Key dates

• 923Served Later Tang
• 932Proposed printing the Nine Classics
• 936Served Later Jin
• 947Met Yelü Deguang and urged him to kill less
• 951Served Later Zhou
• 953Printing of the Nine Classics completed
• 954Died