Education
He passed the imperial examination for xiucai when only thirteen years of age, and graduated as juren in 1600. But disgusted with the prospects of the Ming dynasty, clouded by the development of eunuch dominion, he devoted himself to a life of study and retirement.
Career
Often invited to take office by Emperors both of the Ming and Qing dynasties, he ever steadfastly declined. Though in 1636 he did take part in the successful defence of Roncheng against Li Zicheng. have been recommended to students by Zhang Zhidong. He also wrote on Ceremonial, and published the lives of eleven famous Confucians.
He taught in a college near Suzhou during the last twenty-five years of his life, and in 1828 he was admitted into the Confucian Temple.