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1820-1840. Ding xiang ting pi tan, 4 juan, 1800 and several other volumes.
How Ruan Yuan managed his scholarly projects
As Chief Executive in the provinces, with authority to allocate public resources and solicit private funding, Ruan Yuan was able to make decisions to sponsor academic and scholarly activities. With government affairs demanding his constant attention, the scholars around him, with expertise in various fields, were entrusted with the actual research and writing of the works. Ruan Yuan could draw from the large field of scholars he knew who either did not qualify or had preferred not to enter government service. A number of these scholars from Ruan Yuan's own home district, the Yangzhou and Jiangdu area, which had enjoyed a long literary and intellectual tradition, followed him throughout his career. From the provinces of Shandong and Zhejiang where the scholarly heritage was also exceptionally strong, and where there was a rich legacy of book collecting as well, he was able to recruit many scholars. In addition, as examiner for several provincial level examinations and in particular as Metropolitan Examination examiner in 1799, he could lay claim to a network of 'students' all over the country. Lynn Struve's observation about the Xue Brothers is equally applicable in Ruan Yuan's case.
The opportunities to serve as examiners for the most important capital and provincial examinations, through which they could develop networks of "student-teacher" relations among the most promising examinees in the country.21
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Ruan Yuan himself showed how he gave up all his time away from government affairs on literary production. “I have no time-consuming avocation. Nor do I enjoy a capacity for wine. Therefore, I tend to spend all my spare time with a brush in my hand, in the company of books and scholars.” He indicated in the preface of each work where the idea for its creation had originated. The subjects for his earlier works as a young Hanlin had been assigned to him. Two major subjects for compilation later on had been proposed by other scholars—the Chou ren zhuan by Li Rui (1765-1814) and the Shi san jing zhu shu fu jiao kan ji by Lu Wenchao (1717-1796). In addition to the scholarship needed for such tasks, Ruan Yuan provided the management for such productions. He wrote on how his writing projects were organized.