Wei Yuan

Wei Yuan, born Wei Yuanda (魏遠達), courtesy names Moshen (默深) and Hanshi (漢士), was a Chinese scholar from Shaoyang, Hunan. He moved to Yangzhou, Jiangsu in 1831, where he remained for the rest of his life. Wei obtained the provincial degree (juren) in the Imperial examinations and subsequently worked in the secretariat of several statesmen such as Lin Zexu. Wei was deeply concerned with the crisis facing China in the early 19th century; while he remained loyal to the Qing dynasty, he also sketched a number of proposals for the improvement of the administration of the empire.

23 April 1794

Born on the same birth day (23 April): Afonso II of Portugal • Aliagha Shikhlinski • Barbara McIlvaine Smith • Barry Shepherd • Dorian Leigh • Gezahegne Abera • Issachar Berend Lehmann • James Anthony Froude • Judy Davis • Michael Arroyo • Michael Copps • Michael Kerr (rugby union) • Michael Moore • Patrick Olsen • Sinah Estelle Kelley • Victoria Glendinning • Vilna Gaon

Born in the same month (April 1794): Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius • Edward Everett • Germinal Pierre Dandelin • Jean Pierre Flourens • Matthew C. Perry • Søren Christian Sommerfelt • Theobald Boehm • William Debenham