or Fan Chung-yen
born 989, Wu, Jiangsu province, China
died 1052, China
Chinese scholar-reformer whose reforms anticipated those of Wang Anshi .
He attempted to abolish nepotism and corruption, reclaim unused land, equalize landholdings, create a strong local militia system, reduce corvée labor, and reform the civil-service examination system. He proposed establishing a national school system to train men to deal with the problems of history and politics; the proposal was adopted in 1044. See also Neo-Confucianism ; Song dynasty .