Tei Junsoku
- Born: 1663/10/28[1]
- Died: 1734/12/8[1]
- Other Names: 名護親方寵文 (Nago ueekata Choubun)
- Japanese/Chinese: 程順則 (Tei Junsoku / Cheng Shunze)
Tei Junsoku was a Ryukyuan Confucian scholar and government official, credited with numerous major educational reforms.
Born into the Kumemura scholar-bureaucrat class, he spent four years in China as a youth, studying Confucianism, among other subjects.
He journeyed to China in 1689 as an official translator, residing there for four years. After his return, he presented copies of the Seventeen Histories (shíqī shih) to the Confucian temple. He traveled to China three more times, the fourth trip taking place in 1707, when he served as the vice-envoy on a tribute mission. Following his return, he had copies of the Six Courses in Morals (六諭衍義) printed, and presented copies to Satsuma han, who in turn presented them to Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune. The shogunate then distributed copies to terakoya to use as textbooks. In total, Junsoku traveled to China five times over the course of his career,[2] and to Edo at least once, as part of the 1714 Ryukyuan embassy to Edo.[3]
In 1718, Junsoku established the Meirindô as a school for the children of Kumemura's scholar-bureaucrat class; it would later become the kingdom's first public school. The following year, at the peak of his career, in 1719, he held the rank of shikin daifu (紫金大夫) and the post of Kumemura sôyaku (head of the administration of Kumemura). A Chinese investiture envoy mission visited the kingdom that same year, and Junsoku is said to have become lifelong friends with the deputy envoy of that mission, Xu Baoguang, with whom he actively exchanged poetry and otherwise remained in communication.
Junsoku later served as a member of the Sanshikan, and in 1728 was named jitô of Nago magiri.
He died in 1734, at the age of 72.
References
- "Tei Junsoku." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryûkyû Shimpô. 1 March 2003.
- "Tei Junsoku." Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten 沖縄歴史人名事典. Okinawa bunka-sha, 2002. p50.
- Plaque on-site at former home of Tei Junsoku, Naha Kume 1-6-14.
