Wei Yuan

Wei Yuan, born Wei Yuanda (魏遠達), courtesy names Moshen (默深) and Hanshi (漢士), was a Chinese scholar-official from Shaoyang, Hunan. He lived during the reigns of the Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng emperors. He moved to Yangzhou, Jiangsu in 1831, where he remained for the rest of his life. Wei obtained the provincial degree (juren) in the Imperial examinations and subsequently worked in the secretariat of several statesmen such as Lin Zexu. Wei was deeply concerned with the crisis facing China in the early 19th century; while he remained loyal to the Qing dynasty, he also sketched a number of proposals for the improvement of the administration of the empire.