(b Jintan, Jiangsu Province, 1735; d Suzhou, 1815). Chinese etymologist and phonetician. He took the imperial civil-service examinations in 1760 to gain his juren degree but twice (1761 and 1769) failed the final examinations. He was appointed a magistrate in Guizhou c. 1769 and from 1772 to 1778 held several such offices in Sichuan Province. In 1778 he retired from official service, pleading ill health. From 1763 onwards he was a devoted disciple of the scholar and philosopher Dai Zhen (1723–77), whom he met in Beijing. He later compiled a chronological biography of Dai Zhen and in 1793 re-edited his literary works.