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distinguished scholars, Wang Chang (1725-1806) and Sun Xinyen (1753-1818) were invited by Ruan Yuan to serve as senior lecturers at the academy he established in Hangzhou, the Gu jing jing she.
Wang Chang, a man-of-letters with expertise in such diverse fields as the Classics, linguistics, Buddhist scripture, border warfare, and copper administration, had attained the jinshi degree in 1754 and had served as a clerk in the Grand Council. After a long career that included serving on the personal staff of Wen-fu (d. 1771), the Manchu President of the Board of Barbarian Affairs during the ten military campaigns of the mid-Qianlong reign, he retired to join Ruan Yuan in Hangzhou. Wang had been one of the three chief compilers of Ping ding liang Jin chuan fang lue [Official history of the Jinchuan war] 136+17 juan, printed 1800, and wrote a dozen or so major works of his own, including Yun nan tung zheng chuan shu [The complete work on copper administration in Yunnan], 50 juan, completed in 1787 (now listed as lost), Qing pu xian zhi [Local gazetteer of Qingpu], 40 juan, 1768, and Tai cang xian zhi [Gazetteer of Tai cang], 65 juan, printed in 1803, Shan sheng lü lie [Statutes and precedents of Shanxi province], 50 juan, c.1786, and many others.
Sun Xingen, a leading Classicist, specialist in astronomy, Buddhist scripture, geography and mathematics, never attained the jinshi degree but had passed the provincial examination in 1786. He was a friend of such noted scholars as Yuan Mei (1716-1798), Hong Liangji, Duan Yucai, Sun Zhizu, Gui Fu, Wu Yi and Wang Zhong. He met Ruan Yuan during the latter's tenure as director of studies in Shandong. Before joining the Gu jing jing she, Sun also served as director of the Jishan Academy, Hangzhou (1800) and in 1811 was appointed director of Zhongsan Academy in Nanjing. He participated in the compilation of several local histories but made his reputation as a Classical scholar by meticulously correcting the mistakes made throughout the centuries and publishing new editions of ancient texts. He compiled his own local histories — Lu zhou fu zhi [Gazetteer of Lu zhou in Anhuai], printed in 1803 and Sung jiang fu zhi [Gazetteer of Sungjing, including Shanghai], printed in 1819. His considerable literary works were collected in Sun Yen ru shi wen ji [Poems and essays by Sun Xinyen]. Sun was also a noted calligraphist, specializing in the seal script. His wife, Wang Cai wei (1753-1776), and a daughter, Sun Yi hui (married Xiao), both accomplished in poetry and literature, published poems.