At the age of seven, Wei Yuan studied classics and history with his teachers Liu Zhigang and Wei Fubang, and often worked hard until late at night. Mother pitied her for being too diligent and turned off the lights regularly every night to let her lie down. He waited for her parents to sleep soundly so as to be covered by the light and read silently. At the age of 9, he went to the county to test boys. The examiner pointed to the teacup with "Tai Chi map" and proposed that "Tai Chi is in the cup". Wei Yuan touched two wheat cakes in his arms and said to him, "I am pregnant with Kun." The examiner was surprised. In the 15th year of Jiaqing (18 10), he was elected as a Wu Geng Jinshi. Next year, Xin is not old enough to try to make up lessons for his classmates. In the eighteenth year of Jiaqing, Gui Youke chose tribute. In the second year of Daoguang (1822), Renwu won the second place in Chinese style. In the fifth year of Daoguang, he was hired by He Changling, the political envoy of Jiangsu Province, and compiled 120 volumes of imperial classics. He also helped Tao Shu, governor of Jiangsu Province, to do water transport and water conservancy. Write Cao Cao Pian, Cao Cao Tea Pian and Huguang Water Conservancy Theory.
In the nine years of Daoguang, he was admitted to the Ministry of Ritual, and he and Gong Zizhen were both second. Liu wrote "Two Life Travels" in "A Room Examination", and Gong Wei became famous from then on. Wei Donation Pavilion has a rich collection of books, which is the official book of the Secret Collection Pavilion of the World Expo History Museum and the private writings of literati. When the social unrest intensified, he witnessed the uprising of the Yao nationality in Jianghua and had a deep understanding of the corruption of the regime. When the Opium War broke out in Daoguang for 20 years, the foreign crisis made him even angrier and further stimulated his patriotic enthusiasm.
In the 21st year of Daoguang, Wei Yuan entered Yu Qian's shogunate, the governor of Liangjiang, and directly participated in the War of Resistance Against Britain, personally interrogating the front prisoners. Later, seeing that the Qing government and the war were unclear, the capitulators were confused for a moment, misunderstood the country, resigned angrily and decided to write. In the twenty-second year of Daoguang, he completed the book Wu Shengji, which described the military history and system from the founding of the Qing Dynasty to Daoguang Light-year. The article puts forward that "if a husband is short of money, he is not competitive, then the country is not poor, which is called poverty;" If you don't do it abroad, you won't win, and if you don't do it at home, you will win. Therefore, the former king did not suffer from wealth, but only needed talent; Rest assured, do not yearn for the four kingdoms, but rest assured, do not yearn for the four realms. Without talent, the country is rich and the people are strong; Without the abolition of the decree, the country is strong.
In the twenty-fourth year of Daoguang, Wei Yuan once again took the examination of does. He is a scholar and was assigned to Jiangsu as the magistrate of Dongtai and Xinghua. He has made outstanding achievements in reforming salt policy and building dikes to control water. He compiled 50 volumes of Atlas of Sea Countries on the basis of the Western historical and geographical data "Sizhou Zhi" compiled by Lin Zexu, combined with historical records of past dynasties, "Island Zhi" since Ming Dynasty and Yi language at that time. After revision and supplement, there are hundreds of volumes in Xianfeng two years (1852). Including world geography, history, political system, economy, religion, calendar, culture and products. We have made a relatively in-depth exploration on the road of resisting aggression, correcting the disadvantages of the times and revitalizing the national pulse. Put forward the viewpoints of "attacking foreigners with foreigners", "paying foreigners with foreigners" and "controlling foreigners with Shi Yang people", and advocate learning advanced technologies such as warships and fire fighting equipment made in the West and methods of selecting, training and cultivating soldiers, so as to reform China's army. In order to defend China's independence, he called for "stopping heaven from robbing" and believed that the people of China could defeat foreign invaders. He warned people not to forget "the ambition of Hubei (Russia) to annex the northwest" when "the British invaded the southeast". He advocated the establishment of civilian industry, allowing private enterprises to set up factories and bureaus, and manufacturing and selling ships and firearms on their own, so as to make the country rich and strong. He advocated innovation, demanding "to discard the false and retain the true, to decorate, to be afraid of difficulties, to raise carbuncle, and to camp in caves"; "Do practical work with practical work, and do practical work with practical work." In Mo Mo, he put forward the ideas of "the more convenient it is to change the past" and "the more difficult it is to learn", which was the pioneer of China's modern reform thought. It sharply criticized the Qing dynasty's long-standing ignorance, arrogance, self-restraint, closed-door policy and flattery of foreign countries. As Liang Qichao pointed out in On the General Trend of the Changes of China's Academic Thoughts: "Hai Guo Zhi had a great influence on the Meiji Restoration in Japan, and was regarded as an irreplaceable medicine for turtles. The academic history of China in the past 300 years points out: "The theory of charts has ruled people's hearts for a hundred years. Until today, it has not been completely divorced, and its relationship in the history of China cannot be said to be good. "
In the first year of Xianfeng (185 1), Wei Yuan awarded Gaoyou the title of well-known. After finishing his works, Xianfeng completed the new compilation of Yuan history in three years. Later, he was dismissed for "delaying his post" and "fighting military aircraft". When he was reinstated, he resigned because he was over 60 and suffered setbacks. In his later years, he devoted himself to studying Buddhism and compiled the Four Classics of Pure Land.
Wei Yuan's works include: Gu Weitang's Poems and Poems, Shu Guwei, Poetry, Ram, Ceng Zi, Zi Sizi, Xue and so on. In the late 1980s, his poems were edited into Wei Yuan Ji.
Xianfeng died on the first day of March (1857 on March 26th) in Hangzhou Dongyuan Monastery. At age 63. Buried in Fangjiayu, Nanping Mountain, Hangzhou.