Lin Hongnian
Lin Hongnian was a politician, writer and calligrapher of the Qing dynasty.
Lin was born in Houguan county, Fuzhou. In 1836, he achieved the highest score in the Imperial examination and was appointed as the senior compiler in the Hanlin Academy. He was the first zhuangyuan from Fujian during the Qing dynasty. Two years later, the Chinese Qing court sent him as the chief envoy to Ryukyu Kingdom for the investiture of Shō Iku, while Gao Renjian was the deputy envoy. The mission had stayed in Ryukyu for 160 days, and Lin wrote down an official account of the Ryukyu islands entitled Shi Liuqiu-lu, however this book was lost. He also compiled a document titled Nautical Route from Fujian to Ryukyus together with Gao Renjian.
Later, Lin had served as the magistrate of Qiongzhou, Governor of Lei Qiong Circuit, magistrate of Lin'an, the Judicial Commissioner of Yunnan, and the Administrative Commissioner of Yunnan. Lin was appointed as the Governor of Yunnan in 1864. He took part in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion. In 1866, he was accused of "overstay due to being in dread of the rebels " and was stripped of official position. Although rehabilitated in the same year, he was tired of power struggle and decided to retire. Invited by Zuo Zongtang, Lin returned to his hometown, Fuzhou, and became the master of the Zhengyi Shuyuan academy, which was the precursor of the Fuzhou No.1 Middle School. He raised a large number of students from 1866 to 1885, including Chen Baochen, Lin Shu,, and.